5/23/13- God as a Safe Room

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. (Psalm 27:5)

I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!  I would fly away and be at rest.
⁷ I would flee far away and stay in the desert; 8  I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.” (Psalm 55)

Thoughts:  Twenty two people were saved in the F-5 tornado in Moore Oklahoma when they locked themselves in Tinker Federal Credit Union vault.  Vaults and safe rooms saved many people.
    The terrible, horrible and shocking tragedy at Moore Oklahoma is a symbol of  what happens to all of us.  We think we will go on forever in a peaceful status quo and our ideal is smashed by some kind of storm.  Everyone of us faces the loss of everything we have one day- not by storm but by death.  Death is the great leveler- and it is a part of life.  Where can we find a shelter from death?  Some say there is none.  But God is described as a shelter in a storm.  It is true in life and is true in death.  Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me, though they were dead, yet shall they live."  

Prayer: Lord, help me to rest in you, my shelter.  

5/22/13- Tragedy and Faith

¹⁸ While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹ when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

²⁰ At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship²¹ and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
    and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
    may the name of the Lord be praised.”

²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Thoughts: One of the most tragic events in the Bible are the tragedies of Job.  I remember Arlo Guthrie had a song in which someone said, "I have it better than him" and then he said, "what about the last guy" (the guy compared to whom no one has it better).  Job was probably close to the last guy.
    Job lost everything he had- but it was when he lost his family to a terrible wind storm that he reacted.
     He was not stoic.  He didn't say, "everything is okay."  He truly grieved- tearing his robe, shaving his head in sorrow.  Later (chapter 2) his immune system and health would show his grief and sorrow.
     But neither did he give up on his ultimate help.  He questioned God.  He wondered what was going on.  But he held onto his integrity and his God.  It is a true witness of faith when someone does this.  I have seen it in the Moore Oklahoma disaster- people holding onto God and each other in the midst of the worst kind of human tragedy.  In many ways- the worst sorrow for a loving person is the loss of family.  

     Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has some suggestions of how we may help those in such horrible tragedy: http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/pda/oklahoma-tornado-may-2013/  (Give, Acts, Pray). 

Pray: Father of Compassion, pour out your comfort on the people of Moore Oklahoma.  Strengthen then hands of those helping, comfort those mourning with your Spirit.  Lord, when great tragedy strikes, help me to be faithful to you, and to reach out to others in your name. 

(Moore Oklahoma house)

Here is some comforting music (Third Day)

5/21/13- Pentecost and the Ascension

"I saw the Lord always before me.
    Because he is at my right hand,
    I will not be shaken.
²⁶ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest in hope,
²⁷ because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    you will not let your holy one see decay.
²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

²⁹ “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. ³⁰ But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹ Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. ³² God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. ³³ Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. ³⁴ For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “‘The Lord said to my Lord:    “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’

Thoughts: Peter addresses the crowd quoting from the Old Testament Psalms- Psalm 16:8-11 and Psalm 110:1.  He had just quoted Joel 2 about a day coming when the Spirit would be poured out on all people (men, women, gentiles).  Apparently Peter was trying to link the events of his day to the prophecies of the Old Testament.  Such a link would encourage the people to believe that God was not dead or asleep but very much alive.
    Often commentators focus on David's quote from Psalm 16 as simply about the resurrection.  But what both Psalm 16 and Psalm 110 have in common is the idea that the Messiah would be ascended to the right hand of the Father.  In the minds of these disciples at Pentecost- this has just happened.  Christ was taken up before their eyes.  While they may not have actually seen the actually raising of Christ from the dead (though they saw the empty tomb and the appearances afterwards referred to in vs. 32), they actually saw the ascension before their eyes- not long before Pentecost.  Doubtless they were searching the scriptures about ascending to the right hand- a place of  power and honor.  In verse 33 Peter links the ascension of Christ to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.  It is almost like Christ ascended to the right hand of God the Father and then poured out the Spirit of God upon us.  The power of Christ to help us, intercede for us is made complete at His ascension and His first act to help us was sending His Holy Spirit to us. In John, Jesus said that unless he left them he could not send the Spirit (14, 16).  But His going to a place of power meant sending the Spirit of power to help them.  This Spirit of God helps us even today to pray, leading us, convicting us- until we too are brought into the presence of the Father.  

Prayer: Thank you for the presence and power of your Holy Spirit, sent to us as a sign of your exaltation.  Lord have mercy on me this day that I might honor you.  Use me in the power of your Spirit to glorify you reflecting your power back to you.  Use my hands and feet as your body to do your work today.  

(Ascension Raphael)

5/20/13- Acts 2:22-24

²² “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. ²³ This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. ²⁴ But God raised him from the dead,freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. (Acts 2:22-24)

Thoughts: Once he had their attention, Peter's message was about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.  Peter mentioned that many of them had seen or heard of Jesus was a miracle worker.  But Jesus was arrested and crucified.  This event was not just evil men's actions.  But it also involved God's deliberate plan.  These two things deeply contrast- one was chaotic and mean while the other was purposeful and loving.  God allowed Christ to die in order to show His power in raising Him up.  Death cannot defeat Jesus- the God in the flesh.  In this short paragraph, Peter let people know the wonder of Jesus and the sorrow of his death by the people of his day.  It was convicting and elicited them to ask, "what can we do to be saved?"  

Prayer: Jesus thank you for living, dying, and rising for me. 

5/19/13- Pentecost a Different Kind of Spirit

⁵ And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

⁶ Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

⁷ And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?

⁸ And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

⁹ Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,

¹⁰ Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

¹¹ Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

¹² And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

¹³ Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

¹⁴ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

¹⁵ For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

¹⁶ But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

¹⁷ And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

¹⁸ And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

¹⁹ And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

²⁰ The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:

²¹ And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Thoughts: From a secular point of view how might one describe Pentecost?  Maybe someone might say, it was a spiritual experience for you, but I don't want any of it.  Maybe the people seemed confused- even "drunk?"  Ironically Paul contrasts being filled with alcohol spirits with the Holy Spirit when he said, "be not drunk on wine but be filled with the Spirit."  (Eph. 5:18).  Whatever happened, it was something unusual so that 3,000 people were added to their number that day.  That they understood the gospel clearly- in their own language or not- is important.  From the outside looking in spiritual experiences are best labeled "crazy" so that we might keep our distance.  But to the three thousand who formed the next nucleus of the church it was the most enriching, awe-inspiring, wonderful experience ever!  There are no adequate secular words to describe the mystical, mysterious, mystifying spiritual experience with the living God.  

Prayer: Lord, let me not be afraid to listen to your Spirit and to respond to you knocking upon my heart's door.  

 Gloucester- Pentecost

5/18/13- Pentecost Eve

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues^[a] as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4)

Thoughts:  There were 120 people together in a house (churches were not legal then).  So it was crowded. Tradition says it was the same upper room in which they had the Last Supper and the regular gathering place of the apostles outside of the Temple (which would have been John Mark's mother's house 12:12).  Pentecost was a crowded festival (fifty days after the 2nd day of Passover).  But the words used here emphasize unity- "all"- "together"- "one."  Unity is a pre requisite to the Spirit's moving.  Unity in prayer is important too.  Today is Global day of Prayer.  It is a day in which Christians of different persuasions, tongues, ethnicities come together to pray.
    Pentecost was a dual celebration.  It was a celebration of the giving of the Law and a harvest celebration of spring crops.  The Law was given by the  Holy Spirit who inspired its writing.  But when we try to keep the Law without the Spirit it becomes dry, crusty, hard, and broken.  But when we are inspired by the Spirit to love God then we want to keep His Law (John 14:26).  At Pentecost the people were convicted of their sin by the Spirit (Acts 2:37), and were told to repent and be baptized (2:38).  Repentance (metanoeo)- is a desire to get right with God and His will.  It literally means to turn around and get on the straight path.  Repentance and conviction are inspired by the Spirit.  When this happens the Law becomes a guide to keep us out of heartache, trouble, and keep us atuned to God's will.
    The harvest of souls began at Pentecost when the church went from 120 to 3,000 (Acts 2:41).  The Holy Spirit convicts people of their need for God- waking them up to Him- removing the blindness and deafness to God.  We need the Holy Spirit to come and convict us of our sin.  Reasoning with unbelievers does not work- but when the Spirit comes- no argument against God can stand.
    So we need to be in prayer together- repenting of our sins and calling for God's mercy on the Global Day of Prayer tomorrow (5/19/13). 

Prayer: Lord, help us to be together in you.  Help us to be convicted and convinced by your Spirit to follow in your ways.  Help us, O Lord, to reap a harvest- bearing fruit for you.  

(Joseph Ignaz Mildorfer- Hungarian National Museum Budapest 1782)

(Reading at the traditional site of the Upper Room- recognized by Helen mother of Constantine and crusaders). 

5/17/13- Spirit of Adoption

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:22-25) 

Thoughts: We have been looking this week at how we must wait on the Spirit.  This passage speaks of how all of creation is waiting on us- on our being made straight- being re-deemed.  In fact, the Holy Spirit is the One who wakes us up to this waiting.  We who were blind to our need to be fixed are enabled to see when the Spirit comes to us and makes us alive to God (regeneration).  
      But not only do we see our need to be redeemed but we are given hope for it.  The Spirit adopts us but gives us hope until our adoption is made complete and we are ushered into the presence of the Father.  The Spirit comes alongside us- even inside us to help us get to the Father.
     When a child is left, neglected or lost in our state, the state appoints a "Guardian Ad Litem" to walk beside that child, to oversee the meeting of their need, to make sure the child has oversight and help and hope until that child can get into a permanent and loving situation. The Guardian Ad Litem is the advocate for that child- whose only interest in the situation is for that child. When the child is confused before the judge or their situation- the GAL helps bring comfort and peace- ushering that child into a safe home.  The Spirit is often called our "advocate" who brings comfort and peace until we arrive safely at our ultimate home.   The Holy Spirit, Paul is saying here, is like a guardian ad litem who will never leave us- but lives with us- until we are ushered into God's presence. 

Prayer: Holy Spirit, thank you for being with us as a guarantee of things to come.  Thank you for guarding my heart and giving me hope.