OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN

 "This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Matthew 6:9 (NIV)

                In my devotions, I have been reading Tim Keller’s book on prayer. This morning the chapter I read dealt with the Lord’s prayer. I was struck with the thought that Jesus instructs us to approach God as our Heavenly Father.

                What is your image of a father? For some people a father is a person who makes them feel secure and loved. For others a father is a person who doesn’t care and has abandoned them. For some a father is kind and compassionate. For others a father is hard and judgmental. For some a father is close and personal. For others a father is distant and impersonal. The image we have of our earthly father shapes our image of our Heavenly Father.

                In Jesus’ day, as is still common today, God was viewed as distant, unapproachable, judgmental, and harsh. A person did not get close to God. Jesus changed that image in a radical way. When He taught his disciples to pray, He taught them to approach God as their Heavenly Father. Not only were they to view God as their Father, they were to see God in positive, even intimate terms.

                In most churches, we place our primary emphasis on Jesus, our Lord and Our Savior. I think this is right, but it often leads to a distorted view of God the Father. Unintentionally we begin to see God the Father as distant, unapproachable, and someone to fear. The beginning of the Lord’s Prayer opens the door for us to view God the Father from a different perspective.

                There are a couple of things that are implied by that simple phrase, “Our Father in Heaven.” By referring to God as our Father, we acknowledge that we have a relationship with Him. But not just any relationship. As our Father, God is the very source of our life. He has brought us into the world intentionally to live in relationship with Him.

                In addition, we recognize that He is in heaven, which implies that He is different from our fathers on earth. Because we all have different images of our fathers, we need to move outside of our personal experience to encounter the father who stands alone and unique. God is the ultimate standard for who a father should be.

                How does the Bible describe this ultimate Father? Psalm 103 is one of the most complete statements about who God is in relationship with us.

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children-- with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
Psalm 103:8-18 (NIV)

                In contrast to the image of God being distant, hard, and judgmental, the Psalmist gives us an image of a compassionate father, who cares for his children beyond measure.

                In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that God is a Father who genuinely cares about our ever need.

"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Matthew 7:9-11 (NIV)

                Jesus invites us to approach God, not in fear, but as dearly loved children. Paul tells us that we can expect an intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father. When we place our faith in Christ, we become adopted into God’s family and we have ready access to the Father.

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
Romans 8:15-16 (NIV)

                Children have different ways they address their father. Some call him Dad, some Papa, some Pa, some father. The closer the relationship, the more intimate the name a child will use. The word used in Jesus’ day for an intimate relationship with one’s father was Abba. It is a term of endearment. The Bible invites us to approach God is this way.

                I had the privilege to grow up with a loving, caring father. It is not hard for me to view God in a similar way. For those of you who had a negative relationship with your father, I can understand how hard it can be to see God as your father. But that is exactly what God offers to all of us; He desires to be our Father, to embrace us in His arms of love and enrich our lives.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
1 John 3:1a (NIV)

READJUSTING OUR ATTITUDE

 Praise the Lord. O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name.

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and for get not all his benefits

Psalm 103:1-2

                As we approach Thanksgiving this Thursday, it is a good time to stop and reflect upon all of the blessings that we enjoy; and too often take for granted.

                The truth is, we are not naturally thankful. We are naturally the opposite. We are more often ungrateful for what we have, complaining about what we don’t have. Those of us who live in America are blessed far beyond what the majority of the world experiences. Yet, we fail to be thankful for these blessings. Instead, we are constantly in a state of discontent and complaint. We think of ourselves poor, when by world standards we are rich. We think of ourselves are deprived, when in reality we have access to more than most of the world. This is all fostered by the contentious world in which we find ourselves. We are being told every day that we don’t have what we deserve and that we are victims of some conspiracy to deprive us of our rights. It is time to stop and do an attitude adjustment.

                Let’s start with the basics. Last night I slept in a bed inside of a warm house. Currently there are 26 million refuges in the world, most of which are living in tents and sleeping on the ground or folding cots.

                This morning I took a hot shower and brushed my teeth with safe water. Many people in our world do not have access to safe drinking water, nor do they have the luxury of taking a shower every morning.

                This morning I selected clothes to wear out of a closet filled with shirts and pants. I know a man who has only two sets of clothes to his name.

                This morning I got up and had breakfast and made a sandwich for my lunch. According the Feeding America, 50 million people in America have experienced hunger and food insecurity this year.

                Today I got in my car and drove from Whitehall, MI to Grand Rapids, MI. The vast majority of people in the world can not afford to own a car. In many places it is not safe to drive the distance I drove this morning. In many places in the world the roads are dirt not pavement.

                Today I will not live in fear of a bomb dropping on my house. I will not live in fear of an army overrunning my town. In places like Ukraine, both of those threats are a daily reality.  

                Recently, I had the privilege to vote in a safe orderly election. This is not true for millions upon millions of people in our world.

                Recently, I was able to go to Walgreens and get my prescription refilled. According to the United Nations, half of the world’s population does not have access to basic health care.

                As I write these words, I am connected to the internet. According to the United Nations, 1.1 billion people in the world do not have such access. In addition, in many countries an individual’s access to the internet is controlled and restricted by the government.

                This past Sunday I had the privilege of joining with a group of people for worship in a church building. I had the freedom to preach from the Word of God. There are places in our world where this is a capital offense.

                It is time that we readjusted our thankfulness meter. As David says in Psalm 103, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” All of the things we complain about pale in comparison to the abundant blessings that we receive from God. The greatest blessing of all is salvation through Jesus Christ and a renewed relationship with God.

                Paul challenges us to go from complaining to thankfulness and contentment in Christ.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
Philippians 4:4-8 (NIV)

                No matter what our circumstances currently are, we have a multitude of reasons to be thankful. This Thanksgiving, let us readjust our attitude away from complaining and toward praise and thanks to God for all that He has given us.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)

 

THE PROBLEM WITH EVIL

 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

Ephesians 4:17-19 (NIV)

                As a part of my daily devotions, I have been reading Dallas Willard’s book, The Spirit of the Disciplines. In my reading today, he asked the question, why are we always surprised when bad things happen? Whenever there is some tragedy, our first response is to ask why. We often respond with; I can’t believe that happened. Yet evil things happen all the time. Why are we continually surprised by them.

                If we follow the logic of evolutionary thinking, we should expect bad things to happen as a normal course of action. Of course, we can’t call them bad. They are the outcomes of the evolutionary process; the survival of the fittest. The strong should dominate the weak. The powerful should control what goes on. And yet, when these things appear in real life, we have this uneasy feeling that they should not. We see them as wrong, even though in theory there is no absolute standard of right and wrong.

                One of the big reasons we are surprised by evil in our world is that we have lost our awareness of sin. As a society we have done everything we can to mask sin as something else. People do not sin today; they make bad choices. Sin is relative, depending on the point of view of the person. Sin is not objective, but subjective. In some circles, it is a sin to even mention the concept of sin. It is unloving and judgmental.

                Another reason that we struggle with evil is that we see it as something outside of ourselves. Evil is always what bad people do, not what people like me do. There is something unnaturally wrong with people who engage is evil activities. By making sin something “out there”, we take away any responsibility we have to deal with the root cause of evil; sin. We also place ourselves squarely in the position of always being the victim of evil, never the perpetrator. When some horrendous evil comes to light, we are quick to say, I would never do that!

                The Bible tells a completely different story regarding evil. Evil is the child of sin, and we are all sinners. Evil is not something out there that we don’t have any control over. Evil is resident within us, waiting for the opportunity to emerge when the conditions are right.

                James makes it crystal clear that if we are ever going to deal with the problem of evil, we need to begin with ourselves.

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
James 1:13-15 (NIV)

                The birthplace of evil is within each of our hearts. When sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, evil took up residence within humanity. Evil is a part of our sinful, fallen nature. It is our natural response to situations where we feel entitled, wronged, or envious. Again, James confronts this unpleasant reality head on.

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 4:1-3 (NIV)

                The cause of all the evil that occurs in our world comes directly from our selfishness and pride. We want what we want, and so we will take whatever action is necessary to secure it. We should never be surprised by the evil in the world. In large and small ways, it is resident in each one of us.

                But we do not have to despair. Evil does not have to have the final say. In fact, there is a solution to the problem of evil in our world. That solution is not found in new laws or social programs. It is found in the transformation of individual hearts.

                Jesus came into the world to set us free from the power and control of sin in our lives. Through his death and resurrection, the power of sin has been broken. When we turn our hearts away from the world and toward Christ, we are set free from being slaves to sin. But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Romans 6:17-18 (NIV)

                We now have the power to do something about the evil in our world. We cannot only resist the power of sin and evil, we have been empowered to live in a totally different way. We can now live in harmony with God. To do this though, we must be intentional about how we live our daily lives. We need to recognize the influence of sin and evil in us and refuse to give in. Instead, we need to continually give ourselves over to the control of the Holy Spirit. Not just in our thinking, but in our very actions.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Romans 6:11-14 (NIV)

                As we yield more and more to the Holy Spirit, the influence of sin and evil in our lives diminishes. Although vestiges of it will remain, our power to resist will increase.

                But we can take our battles against sin and evil one step farther. In fact, we need to. Evil is a personal issue, but it is also a corporate issue. We cannot afford to fall into the trap of spiritual isolation, where we shut the doors of our lives to the outside world. We have been called to be salt and light in our world. Jesus wants us to be a positive influence that counters the natural tendency of evil within our society. We can do this by intentionally living differently, counter-culturally. We can choose to relate to those around us with love and compassion. We can overcome evil through good.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:17-21 (NIV)

                As individuals we cannot tackle the problem of evil in our world, but we can tackle the problem of evil in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our places of work. We can be a part of a spiritual resistance movement that sabotages evil one personal interaction at a time.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV)

 

THE BEAUTY OF CLOUDS

 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 1:6-7 (NIV)

                It is my habit to get up at 6:00 AM, have my breakfast, and then sit down for a time of devotions. The past couple of mornings I have been rewarded with some spectacular sunrises. This morning the sky was awash with reds and oranges. The sky was also filled with clouds. In an odd way, the clouds are what make for such a spectacular sunrise.

                Just down the road from our house there is a place on the shore of Lake Michigan where people park in the evening to watch the sunset. We have done it on several occasions. Interestingly, the best sunsets are seen when there are clouds in the sky. When there are no clouds, the sunset is just an intensely bright ball on the horizon. When the cloud cover is too thick, the sunset is a faint glow. But when there is the right amount of cloud cover, the sunset is amazing.

                As I was observing the sunrise this morning, I realized that it is when God allows clouds in our life that we see His glory the clearest. Peter wrote that God allows a certain amount of suffering and trials in our lives for this very purpose. It is when we go through these “cloudy” times in our life when our faith is refined. If we focus only on the clouds, we will miss God’s glory. If we intentionally look for God in the midst of the clouds, we will discover His glory.

                The bright sunny days of our life actually obscure the glory of God. We bask in the brightness, but forget that it comes from God’s hand. As Moses was preparing the people of Israel to enter the promised land, he warned them to not be enamored with the blessings they were going to inherit and forget God.  

When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you--a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant--then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Deuteronomy 6:10-12 (NIV)

                On the other hand, when the clouds are thick in our life it is hard for us to see God’s glory. We can become discouraged and feel like God has abandoned us. He has not, but it can truly feel that way. In those times we need to remember a simple truth. Even on the cloudiest, most dreary day, the sun is still shining. We just can’t see it. I have experienced this when I have gotten on an airplane on a dreary, cloud covered day, buckled in, taken off, broken through the clouds, and there, in all of its glory is the sun. On the cloudiest days of our lives, God is still present. His glory is not diminished, even if we cannot see it.

                But on those days when clouds skidder across our spiritual sky, if we pay attention, we will see clearly the glory and beauty of God displayed. We can feel the warmth of God penetrate through our clouds and into our soul. We can rest in the hope we have in Christ, knowing the end of our story is secure in Him. For He has promised never to leave us or forsake us; even on cloudy days.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)

WHOLE AND HOLY FAITH

 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)

                What does it mean for us to be both holy and whole as a person? That is an important question if we want to experience the fullness of our new life in Christ. I have been challenged recently by two books that both point to the reality that we have tended to separate our spiritual life from our bodily life. For many of us, our faith is far more intellectual than it is physical. We have placed our emphasis on believing the right things. We give lip service to doing the right things, but that is seen as secondary to what we think.

                One of the things that has led to this dichotomy is our proper rejection of works righteousness; the idea that we somehow have to earn God’s love and grace. In our efforts to distance ourselves from this false idea, we have rejected works altogether. This has led to an almost exclusive intellectual faith that has very little effect on how we live our lives.

                The Apostle James challenged this approach in his powerful letter.

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:14-17 (NIV)

                James was very bold to denounce a faith that was purely intellectual. If a person’s faith does not shape the way they actually live their daily life, then that faith is meaningless.

                Whole and Holy living is more than being a good, moral person. There are many people in our world who are good and moral people and do not place their faith in Jesus. So there needs to be something different, something unique about how we are to live.

                At the heart of this concept is the question of why do we do what we do? What is our motivation for living in a certain way? As a follower of Christ, our motivation should be to glorify God in all that we do. Our actions are not an attempt to get God’s attention or to win His favor. Our actions should be a response to the love and grace that God has already showered upon us.

                Both of the books I referred to earlier make the point that our habits shape our lives far more than our thoughts. Our habits are those things we do without thinking. Some habits are good and some are bad. We know this intellectually, yet we still yield to our habits when the circumstances of life come our way.

                I was vividly reminded of this just yesterday. The power company has come through our property and cleared a path to allow them to have access to the powerlines. As a part of this process, they have cut down a large area of brush and several trees. They cut one of the trees down yesterday, which happens to be in a lightly wooded area behind our house. Instead of taking the branches away, they cut them into small pieces and left them in a pile. I found myself getting angry over this. In fact, the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Then it dawned on me that I am allowing a sinful response to dominate my life. I was reminded that my anger, even if unexpressed to others, is a destructive response. As James writes: My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. James 1:19-20 (NIV)

                My point is that I have a habit of getting angry about things that don’t go the way I want them to go. I have to recognize that and work to change my response. It is not that my emotion of anger is wrong, it is what I do with that emotion that matters. Do I stew on it, fondle it, embellish it, or do I acknowledge it and give it over to Christ. As Paul says: "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Ephesians 4:26-27 (NIV)

                The way we change our sinful habits is by replacing them with godly habits. This does not happen automatically or even easily. We have spent a lifetime honing our current habits. It will take time and effort to create new ones. The classical way that Christians have accomplished this is through what is called spiritual disciplines. These are activities that are intentionally entered into on a regular basis that re-program our minds and our bodies to respond in godly ways to life’s challenges.

                To put it all together, it is not enough to just think the thoughts of Jesus, we need to also do the actions of Jesus. Our outward lives need to be a reflection of the inward reality of our heart. In fact, they will be, in one way or the other. To be whole and holy we need to form godly habits that point people to Jesus.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)