TIMING IS EVERYTHING

 

Galatians 4:4 (NIV)
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, …

               As I wrap up my current interim assignment, I marvel again at God’s timing. God’s timing is always right on, even when we can’t see it moving forward. Our natural tendency is to expect God to adjust His plans to our timetable. But it doesn’t work that way.

               The people of Israel waited a long time for God to send the Messiah. In retrospect, we can see how God’s timing was perfect, but it didn’t look that way at the time. Israel was a subjugated people. They were living under the rule of the Roman Empire. They had lost their prominent role on the world stage and had become a backwater province of a much larger empire. Yet, today we can see how strategic the timing was for the advancement of the Gospel. Rome had provided a common language, a relatively stable environment, as well as much improved transportation. The Gospel was able to rapidly spread through the known world because of these advantages.

               As we live in the interim time between Christ’s ascension and His return, we need to trust God’s timing. As Peter put it, The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV) Every generation of the Church since the day of Christ’s ascension have been wondering why Jesus has not come back yet. As we face more and more challenges in our world, we too are tempted to cry out to God, What are you waiting for!!! But God’s timing is perfect.

               On a less global scale, we need to learn to trust God’s timing for the events of our lives. Right now, we are eagerly awaiting the birth of our fourth grandchild. We would love to see him born sooner rather than later, but he will be born at just the right time. As I look back over the past two years, I can see how God lined things up for me and for the church I am serving to be able to get to the place where we are today; welcoming a new pastor. Had we rushed into the process, we would have missed the opportunity to call the man that we did; he was not ready to take on this challenge a year ago. Neither was the church ready to accept a new, young pastor at that time. But today, both the pastor and the congregation are at the right place at the right time. This is not because we were clever and orchestrated things well. It is because God knew what we needed and when we needed it. The timing was totally in His hands.

               As I look ahead, I wonder what is next for me. I want to have a plan moving forward, but God hasn’t chosen to reveal that to me. Instead, He is telling me to trust Him and take it one day at a time. I can rush into things, making things more difficult. I am learning to be patient and allow God to set the time table. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)

               Several of my last messages have been related to the second coming of the Lord. It can be a hot topic in some circles, garnering some lively debate. The one thing that I can be sure about is that no one knows God’s timing when it comes to the return of Christ. Just as the time was right for Jesus’ birth into our world, the time will be just right when He returns. Our role is to patiently await that time, actively doing what Jesus commissioned us to do. We can be sure that when the time has fully come so will Jesus.

Psalms 27:14 (NIV)
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Psalms 37:7 (NIV)
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

 

NEWS FLASH! WE NEED ONE ANOTHER!

 

1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV)
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

               We live in a highly individualistic society. We value being able to make our own way in the world without being dependent upon others. Pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps is firmly embedded into our cultural consciousness. There are many benefits of the independence that we enjoy and hold onto. But there are some significant downsides as well.

               America is facing a new epidemic, and it is not a new strain of Covid. We are facing an epidemic of loneliness. The U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is hoping to raise our awareness of the threat before us. “Most of us probably think of loneliness as just a bad feeling,” he told USA TODAY. “It turns out that loneliness has far greater implications for our health when we struggle with a sense of social disconnection, being lonely or isolated.”

               In a recent national survey of American adults, 36% of respondents reported serious loneliness—feeling lonely “frequently” or “almost all the time or all the time” in the four weeks prior to the survey. This included 61% of young people aged 18-25 and 51% of mothers with young children. 43% of young adults reported increases in loneliness since the outbreak of the pandemic. About half of lonely young adults in the survey reported that no one in the past few weeks had “taken more than just a few minutes” to ask how they are doing in a way that made them feel like the person “genuinely cared.”

               This feeling of being disconnected can affect anyone. Loneliness is not limited to rural, isolated communities. People can live in the midst of a bustling urban center and feel totally alone. Some of the times that I have felt the loneliest, I have been surrounded by people. It is possible to be in a crowd and feel invisible.

               We were not created to live solo lives surrounded by other solo lives. Instead, we were created to interact with one another in significant ways. We were created by God to live in community with one another. Our individualism needs to be tempered by the reality that we cannot live this life all alone. It just doesn’t work.

               When we live isolated, individual lives we rob ourselves of the care and nurture that we all need to thrive. The idea that we don’t need the help of others, that we can make it on our own, is a myth. In order for us to be healthy, both physically and emotionally, we need other people in our lives who really care about us. People who enjoy loving relationships with others live longer, healthier lives.  People without these relationships tend to withdraw into themselves and often die sooner.

               People who live isolated, individual lives rob themselves of their full potential. C.S. Lewis, in his book The Four Loves talks about the value of genuine friendship. He makes the point that genuine friends draw out different qualities from one another. Each friend brings something new to the table that highlights some new facet of the other. The broader the circle of genuine friends, the more a person blossoms. Lewis not talking about mere acquaintances. A person can have many acquaintances and still be lonely. He is talking about the kinds of friends that can get behind the public mask we all wear and see the real person behind.

               There are several things that can keep us in our isolation, if we don’t come to grips with them. Many people live lonely, isolated lives because they are afraid of being vulnerable. Our culture is not kind to those who are too open about their weaknesses and faults. A fear of being “found out” keeps people in the prison of loneliness. The Bible tells us that the solution to this is to risk being honest with a few close friends. As trust grows between friends, they are more willing to risk being vulnerable. When a person finally opens up, they suddenly discover that they are not alone in their weakness. Others share the same experiences. Therefore, James challenges us to develop the kind of relationships that will allow us to be vulnerable.

James 5:13-16 (NIV)
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

               Another reason people remain in isolation is the fear of intimacy, or more specifically, the fear of being hurt. We all begin life with a certain amount of social capital. We innocently enter into relationships with others expecting a positive result. Sometimes it works out that way and sometimes it does not. When a person gets hurt in a relationship, it makes it harder for them to enter into another one.

               Part of growing up and maturing as a person is learning to weather the hurts of life so that we can experience the joys of life. To do this we need to take the risk to get close to others. If we keep everyone at arm’s length, we may not get hurt, but we will also not thrive. Along the way, we will all get hurt by others and we will all hurt others. We don’t necessarily do this intentionally, but nevertheless we do it. Learning to live in genuine community with others gives us a foundation to stand on when we feel hurt. It also gives us a healthy way to deal with our hurts.

               Part of the reason for Paul writing letters to the churches that he founded was to teach them how to live together in community. They lived in a brutal world where every person was for themselves. They had to learn to live differently, and so do we. So Paul gave some very practical instructions on how to move out of isolation into community.

Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV)
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.

               Let me summarize Paul’s formula for breaking free of loneliness and isolation. First, we need to understand who we are in Christ. We are dearly loved, in fact, loved beyond measure. No matter what happens to us in life, nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. We can risk loving others because we are secure in Christ’s love.

               Second, we need to cultivate the character qualities that will set us apart from the norm. In a world that is often cold and uncaring, we need to cultivate godly compassion for those around us. In a world that takes advantage of others, we need extend genuine kindness. In a world that idolizes big egos, we need to strive to be humble, having a realistic understanding of who we are. In a world that is harsh, we need to learn to be gentle. In a world that hardly stops long enough to catch its breath, we need to cultivate a spirit of patience, waiting on God’s timing.

               Third, we need to extend the grace of God to one another. Forgiveness and letting go of our hurts are the keys to breaking the chains of loneliness and isolation. We have been forgiven by Christ. We can extend that same forgiveness to others.

               Finally, we need to learn to love as Jesus loves. Love to today has lost its deep and significant meaning. Love today is temporary and fickle. Much of what is heralded as love in superficial and based on physical attraction. Genuine love is so much more that those things. The love that Christ has demonstrated for us is a sacrificial love that is willing to give all for the other. Christ calls us to do the same. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 1 John 3:16 (NIV)

               We don’t have to live in isolation and loneliness. We have a choice. But it will mean taking some risks, being vulnerable and humble. The road out of loneliness will not be smooth. There will be bumps along the way, disappointments and setbacks. But if we stay on the path, we will discover the more abundant life that Jesus has promised to us.

Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

 

 

IT’S A JUNGLE OUT THERE

 

1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

               We have been watching an old TV show on Paramount Plus called Monk. It is the story of a brilliant detective who suffers from a multitude of phobias. The theme song for the show begins with the line, it’s a jungle out there. There is some spiritual truth to that statement.

               I have been reminded recently that we have to be aware that there are spiritual forces that want to derail our faith and make us ineffective. This is especially true when we are making positive spiritual progress in life. When things seem to be falling into place, we need to watch out for Satan’s attacks.

               Peter tells us that we need to be on our guard because we have an enemy who is looking for an opening through which he can attack us. He is like a hungry lion looking for easy prey. One of Satan’s tactics is to keep us oblivious to the spiritual realm all around us. In our materialistic world we tend to think about and focus only on those things that seem tangible to us. But there is an entire sphere of reality that is outside of our material world. As Peter warns us, it’s a jungle out there.

               In my experience, I have encountered two extremes when it comes to the spiritual realm. On one side are those who are obsessed with the spiritual realm. They see a demon behind every mishap in life. They go around trying to cast demons out of their car because it won’t start on a cold winter’s morning. Or they see catching Covid as a direct attack from Satan. I may be exaggerating a little, but not too much.

               On the other extreme are those who never consider the spiritual realm at all. They either deny its existence or just refuse to even consider it. These folks tend to see those who are concerned about the spiritual realm as naïve or superstitious or uninformed. In their mind, there is nothing to be concerned about.

               The Bible gives us a more nuanced and balanced view of the spiritual realm. It confirms that the spiritual realm exists. It also understands that the spiritual realm is subject to God’s authority. Angels and demons are not just real, they are a present reality in our world, even though we cannot see them. There are multiple examples of the interplay between the material world and the spiritual world given in the Bible. For example, there are multiple records of Jesus casting out demons from possessed people.

               One of my favorites is the story of the demon possessed man who was so violent and uncontrollable that he lived among the tombs. When Jesus encountered him, it was revealed that this man was possess by a legion of demons. So, Jesus cast them out of the man into a herd of pigs that then raced down a slope into a lake and were drowned. This was a great loss to the people who owned the pigs, but there was some interesting symbolism here. Pigs were considered unclean by the Jews and all demons are unclean. The unclean were cast into the unclean and the end result was destruction.

               In the book of Daniel, we read about a struggle between an angel and the Prince of Peria. Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come." Daniel 10:12-14 (NIV)

               In the New Testament, Paul reminds us that we are constantly in a spiritual battle that is being fought in the spiritual realm with material consequences. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:10-12 (NIV)

               We cannot afford to be ignorant of the spiritual realm around us. On the other hand, we do not have to live in constant fear of it either. As we actively put on the armor of God, we can take our stand with confidence. We have the power of God available to us through the Holy Spirit. As John tells us in 1 John 4:4, You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

               We should not be surprised that we are under a spiritual attack. In fact, we should expect it. The more that we draw closer to God in Christ and serve Him more effectively, the more Satan will try to derail us. Satan cannot attack God directly, but he can attack God’s children, and he does. So, we need to be on our guard.

1 Peter 4:12-13 (NIV)
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.