Instead

“Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. ‘With His stripes we are healed.’” (E.G. White, Desire of Ages, p 25)

Go back and read that quote again…slowly…really think about what it means. Can you feel the weight of it? It is probably the best and clearest description of the plan of salvation that I know. Jesus paid the penalty for my sin, instead of me. Can you wrap your imagination around the enormity of it?

There’s a popular Christian song on the radio these days called, “Should’ve Been Me” and the chorus reminds us of that we haven’t been paying the consequences of our own sinful actions.

“It should've been meIt should've been usShould've been there hanging on a crossAll of this shameAll of these scarsShould've been stains that were never washedWhy do I hideWhy do you tryOver and over and over againI guess it just leaves saying thank GodIt leaves me saying thank God, thank GodFor the should've been”[1]

From the very first sin in the Garden of Eden, God has been covering our sins with the blood of a sacrificed Lamb so that instead of being permanently separated from God, we can live with Him for eternity. Instead of getting what we deserve, we get what He deserved. Instead of being a subject of Satan, we can be a friend of God.

I’ve been trying to think about the Old Testament sacrificial system, and I have to admit that it’s really hard for me to imagine. I’m thinking that if, like me, you live in a western culture, it’s probably hard for you too. Many of us live in a society that is mostly “sanitized for [our] protection.” The closest most of us get to actual blood shed is our own if we happen to accidently cut ourselves. Those few drops of blood are nothing compared to what the priests in the Jewish Tabernacle must have been exposed to on a daily basis. Killing an animal is not a neat process. The animal is struggling, probably making distressed (and distressing) sounds, and once the animal’s neck is cut, watching the animal die as it bleeds out must be horrifying.

Several times in my life, I’ve had to look into the eyes of a pet and make the decision to have it put to sleep. It has been absolutely heart-rending every single time even though I know that the death will be painless. I cannot imagine holding a terrified squirming animal down and cutting its throat.

As nightmarish as the whole process sounds, though, the Bible tells us that even the most horrible things can become routine. That’s what happened to the Jewish nation. They forgot that the sacrifices were not an end in themselves, there were object lessons to demonstrate that the price of sin is death. And if we don’t want to pay with our own blood, we must accept the payment of someone who is willing to take our place.

Amazingly, Jesus was willing.

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:6-8(NLT)

Jesus died instead of us.

I read an amazing story this week from the book, Hidden in Plain Sight, written by Mark Buchanan. The story is about a woman named Regine. She was from Rwanda and became a Christian as she read her sister’s Bible. Later she moved to Canada because of the genocide that was happening in Rwanda at that time.

In Canada, she met Gordon and they got married and then decided that they needed to go back to Rwanda to show Jesus’ love to people who had been her enemies.

It was in Rwanda that she met a woman whose only son had been murdered.

"She was consumed with grief and hate and bitterness. ‘God,’ she prayed, ‘reveal my son's killer.’“One night she dreamed she was going to heaven. But there was a complication: in order to get to heaven she had to pass through a certain house. She had to walk down the street, enter the house through the front door, go through its rooms, up the stairs, and exit through the back door.She asked God whose house this was.‘It's the house,’ he told her, ‘of your son's killer.’“The road to heaven passed through the house of her enemy.“Two nights later, there was a knock at her door. She opened it, and there stood a young man. He was about her son's age.“‘Yes?’“He hesitated. Then he said, ‘I am the one who killed your son. Since that day, I have had no life. No peace. So here I am. I am placing my life in your hands. Kill me. I am dead already. Throw me in jail. I am in prison already. Torture me. I am in torment already. Do with me as you wish.’“The woman had prayed for this day. Now it had arrived, and she didn't know what to do. She found, to her own surprise, that she did not want to kill him. Or throw him in jail. Or torture him. In that moment of reckoning, she found she only wanted one thing: a son.“‘I ask this of you. Come into my home and live with me. Eat the food I would have prepared for my son. Wear the clothes I would have made for my son. Become the son I lost.’“And so he did.”[2]

Could you do it? Could I? That’s exactly what God has done for each of us. Except He didn’t wait for us to come to Him, He came looking for us! “While we were yet sinners…” He put a plan in action before the foundation of the world so that, if we choose to, we can go into His home, live with Him, eat His food, wear the robes that He has prepared for us, and become His children.

What God did for humanity is unfathomable to the sinful, human mind. It’s not logical – it doesn’t make sense.

“It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.” (E.G. White, Desire of Ages, p.83)

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[1] Should've Been Me, Citizen Way, Love Is The Evidence, Fair Trade Music Publishing (ASCAP)

[2] Mark Buchanan, Hidden in Plain Sight (Thomas Nelson, 2007), pp. 187-189

God’s Hands

If you were a high school student in the United States anytime in the last 100 years, you were probably assigned the reading of a sermon preached in 1741 by Jonathan Edwards, called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” It’s not a warm and fuzzy, feel good sermon. Edwards describes God as angry and anxious to dole out justice to all who deserve it.

“So that thus it is, that natural Men are held in the Hand of God over the Pit of Hell; they have deserved the fiery Pit, and are already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked, his Anger is as great towards them as to those that are actually suffering the Executions of the fierceness of his Wrath in Hell, and they have done nothing in the least to appease or abate that Anger, neither is God in the least bound by any Promise to hold 'em up one moment; the Devil is waiting for them, Hell is gaping for them, the Flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them, and swallow them up; the Fire pent up in their own Hearts is struggling to break out; and they have no Interest in any Mediator, there are no Means within Reach that can be any Security to them. In short, they have no Refuge, nothing to take hold of, all that preserves them every Moment is the meer arbitrary Will, and uncovenanted unobliged Forbearance of an incensed God.”[1]

“An incensed God” is terrifying, isn’t it? Combined with the statement that “they have done nothing … to appease or abate that Anger,” we see a belief system that is based on works and fear rather than grace and love. It’s a pity that every year, millions of public school students read this sermon and won’t learn that God is not “an angry God.”

 Before Adam and Eve ever fell for Satan’s lie and ate the fruit, God had made a plan to keep us out of Satan’s reach, a plan that would ensure that anybody who wanted to could live with God forever.

“Ever since the fall of man, Satan has been sowing the seeds of error. It was by a lie that he first gained control over men, and thus he still works to overthrow God’s kingdom in the earth and to bring men under his power. A sower from a higher world, Christ came to sow the seeds of truth. He who had stood in the councils of God, who had dwelt in the innermost sanctuary of the Eternal, could bring to men the pure principles of truth. Ever since the fall of man, Christ had been the Revealer of truth to the world. By Him the incorruptible seed, ‘the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever,’ is communicated to men. 1 Peter 1:23. In that first promise spoken to our fallen race in Eden, Christ was sowing the gospel seed.” (E.G. White, A Call to Stand Apart, p. 19)

God never wanted His children to be confused about His plan. He gave Adam and Eve the first object lesson. It showed them that sin required that blood be shed through the sacrifice of a perfect lamb.

At Sinai, God gave Moses specific plans for a tabernacle – a constant reminder that God wants to live in the midst of His people. Every part of the tabernacle and the sacrificial system was to point to the coming Messiah, of the plan of salvation and of the original, heavenly sanctuary.

Everywhere that God abides with His people is a form of that sanctuary. Eden was the first earthly version of it – God dwelling with His people. When that wasn’t possible anymore because sin separates people from God, God gave instructions to, first Moses and then Solomon, for a sanctuary that was a model of the one in heaven, where God’s could live with His people.

When Jesus came to earth, He came as Emanuel – God with us. He became our Sanctuary. He was God living among His people.

None of that sounds like an angry God who can hardly wait to throw us over the edge. In fact, we know that Jesus is right now, standing before God, pleading for each of us who have accepted His sacrifice as payment for our sins.

“As the sins of the people were anciently transferred, in figure, to the earthly sanctuary by the blood of the sin offering, so our sins are, in fact, transferred to the heavenly sanctuary by the blood of Christ. And as the typical cleansing of the earthly was accomplished by the removal of the sins by which it had been polluted, so the actual cleansing of the heavenly is to be accomplished by the removal, or blotting out, of the sins which are there recorded. This necessitates an examination of the books of record to determine who, through repentance of sin and faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefits of His atonement.
“Then [in the great day of final award] by virtue of the atoning blood of Christ, the sins of all the truly penitent will be blotted from the books of heaven.
“He [Christ] asks for His people not only pardon and justification, full and complete, but a share in His glory and a seat upon His throne.” (E.G. White, The Faith I Live By, p 206)

“As Jesus once prayed for Peter, now he prays for us… In fact, the New Testament's only glimpse of what Jesus is doing right now depicts him at the right hand of God 'interceding for us.' In three years of active ministry, Jesus changed the moral landscape of the planet. For nearly two thousand years since, he has been using another tactic: prayer.”[2]

Jesus is praying for you and me right now, in the heavenly sanctuary. And we have nothing to fear! There is no angry God totally up every misstep trying to keep as many people as possible out of Heaven. In the heavenly sanctuary is where justice and mercy meet and salvation becomes reality.

God’s hands aren’t holding us over the abyss just waiting to throw us in, they carry the scars of His crucifixion – His death in our place. God’s hands are folded in prayer for each and every one of us.

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him. He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation—he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ’s name.]” John 3:16-18 (AMP)

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[1] Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, A Sermon

Preached at Enfield, July 8th, 1741.

[2] Philip Yancey, Prayer (Zondervan, 2006), p. 88

Jesus-side Up

I’ve been doing some thinking about how things might look if more Christians were open to being filled and used by the Holy Spirit. Oh, I know, most of us believe that we are open and ready, maybe already being used by Him. And we’re probably right on some level, but not on a Moses-on-the-mountain, Day-of-Pentecost, turn-the-world-upside-down, being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Those of us who live in “Western Civilization” like to imagine that our Christian experience as though we have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, when in reality, most of the time, we have barely dipped our toes into the pool. We are comfortable in our polite, not too invasive or time consuming involvement with the Gospel.

That’s really a huge problem, though, because it causes us to live in a bland, politically correct bubble through which we’ve been inoculated against a real relationship with Jesus. We get just enough that we think we’ve got it all. Our experience may be worse, in many ways, than someone who is just getting to know Jesus for the first time.

Jesus didn’t call us to be “safe,” or “polite.” He called us to follow Him and to bring as many folks along with us as possible.

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20

“The disciples were not to wait for the people to come to them; they were to carry the message to the people. Christ had imbued them with His power; He had laid upon them, His ministers, the sacred work of preaching the gospel of His grace which, from generation to generation, from age to age, would never lose its power. They were to go to the people with hearts softened by His grace. Their influence they were to regard as a sacred treasure. Christ’s work of personal ministry on earth was ended, and they, as His chosen ones, in the spirit of their Master, were to communicate to men the will of God.
“In their own lives they were to present to men Christ’s unselfish life of service. Knowing the requirements of God and the gospel of His grace, they were to consider it their sacred work to communicate this gospel in an ever-enlarging experience. As Christ’s ambassadors they were to improve every opportunity to seek for the lost.” (E.G. White, Manuscript Releases, Volume 13, page 47)

Many of us want to be an ambassador for Jesus, but we don’t want to draw too much attention to ourselves. Unfortunately, I don’t believe that’s possible. If we accept the position, we are going to have to be willing to be different – different enough for people to look at us and see Jesus, different enough that we might make some people (and ourselves) uncomfortable.

Think about how different Moses was after he had been with God on Mt. Sinai. The glory of God shone out of his face and people we so uncomfortable with it that they asked him to wear a veil. The apostles, at Pentecost, looked different after the Holy Spirit was poured out on them – so different that people thought they were drunk.  It’s not possible to be that close to God and not be changed by His presence.

Beyond looking different, those who have completely surrendered to being used by God act differently. They aren’t worried that somebody might think they’re weird, or that somebody night not agree with what they say. They do and say what is necessary to bring as many people as possible into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, we might have called folks like that “Jesus Freaks,” and they made many of us more than just a little bit uncomfortable.

Think about this, though, as we move toward Jesus’ second coming, He has given us a job to do – we are to make the Gospel available to every corner of the world – to everybody, everywhere. That is an impossible task, without the Holy Spirit. It can’t be done by throwing money at it, by strength of will, or by legislating it. It can only be done when the people of God completely, and without reservation, surrender to the use of the Holy Spirit.

So, what’s keeping us (me) from taking that last step? Well, I don’t want to look different; I’m afraid God will ask me to do something I’m afraid to do; I’m afraid I might have to leave my comfortable life; I’m afraid some people might not like me.

And you know what, all of those things will most certainly happen…Moses did not want to go back to Egypt and stand before Pharaoh; Gideon didn’t want to lead an army (especially a small one); Noah probably didn’t want to spend so much of his life building a huge boat and preaching to people who laughed at him everyday; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego probably would have preferred to stay unnoticed and out of the King’s crosshairs, but every one of them allowed God to use them for His glory, to be a tool in His hand to lead others to Him.

Before Pentecost, the idea of spreading the Gospel to the whole world seemed impossible to the apostles, bat afterward, those few people turned the world upside down – nothing has ever been the same since.

Now it’s time for us to turn the world Jesus-side up so that when He returns as many people as possible will be ready. To do that, we have to walk so close to Jesus that we look more like Him than we look like the people around us. We have to remember that whatever He asks us to do, He will equip us to do it. We have to remember that, no matter what, His grace will be enough for us. Remember what Paul said?

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

“The work will be similar to that of the day of Pentecost. As the ‘former rain’ was given, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the opening of the gospel, to cause the upspringing of the precious seed, so the ‘latter rain’ will be given at its close, for the ripening of the harvest. …The great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening. The prophecies which were fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the opening of the gospel, are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its close.
“…Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from Heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers. Satan also works with lying wonders, even bringing down fire from heaven in the sight of men. [Revelation 13:13.] Thus the inhabitants of the earth will be brought to take their stand.” (E.G. White, The Great Controversy, p.612)

Are we ready to take our stand? to turn the world Jesus-side up? We don’t have much time.

Let’s roll!

Porcupines In Church

What? You say you’ve never met a porcupine? I’ll bet you have. In fact, you may be one yourself. I’m pretty sure I am.

“The German philosopher Schopenhauer compared the human race to a bunch of porcupines huddling together on a cold winter's night. He said, ‘The colder it gets outside, the more we huddle together for warmth; but the closer we get to one another, the more we hurt one another with our sharp quills. And in the lonely night of earth's winter eventually we begin to drift apart and wander out on our own and freeze to death in our loneliness.’”[1]

So, have you been hurt lately? Have you thought you might be better off outside in the cold? Have you hurt one of your fellow porcupines causing them to wander out on their own? How can we stay together as a church when we keep hurting each other?

Excellent question…except most of us already know the answer.

My clients are intellectually delayed adults who live in group homes. Most of them have roommates and they get into the same types of squabbles and disagreements as folks in the 3^rd, 4^th, or 5^th grade might get into. One of the things I help them with, individually, is getting along better with their roommates and housemates. We work hard on learning to apologize to and forgive each other. And I’d be surprised at how hard it is for them, except I know how hard it is for me.

That’s a problem for every one of us, isn’t it? We feel like making an apology is showing weakness. Of course, we’d be happy to forgive them, as long as they apologize first…right?

Think about it, would you rather be right (and out in the cold) or forgiven (and in the warmth with the rest of the porcupines)?

Hang on! Think about your answer…what are you willing to do to back up your choice?

“Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.’ Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.” Acts 15:36-41

Did you get that? “The contention became so sharp that they parted from one another.” Now we know that God used their separation to increase the spread of the gospel, but Paul and Barnabas had to have been really mad at each other.

Wait a minute! Christians don’t get mad at each other, do they? We don’t disagree about anything, right? We certainly don’t ever disagree about how church work should be done.

Ahem…we’d better think about that again.

The big problem is not that we disagree about methodology from time to time, but the way we handle the disagreement. How often do we “agree to disagree” and then go on about our business? What tends to happen more often, is that we get our feelings hurt and instead of going back to that person and talking to them about it, we go to our friends and tell them how rude so-and-so was. So now, all of our friends are upset too. They tell their friends and pretty soon we have factions in the church and long standing feuds. And Satan wins because nobody is spreading the Gospel anymore, we’re all too busy poking each other with our big, puffed out, porcupine quills.

But what’s the answer? How do Christians handle disagreements and differences of opinion?

I’m glad you asked…because Jesus has the answer!

“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.” Matthew 18:15-17

Bummer! I guess that means I have to talk to the person and try to settle things first. And the text says “you and him alone.” That does not mean standing in the church parking lot yelling at each other.

I think the trick is to first put off any kind of discussion until both of us have cooled off. Then we can meet privately and discuss, calmly, where things went off the tracks. Then, we can try to figure out how to keep it from happening again. Of course, then we don’t get the satisfaction of hearing our friends commiserate with us over what a terrible person that other person is for disagreeing with us.

We know that Paul and Barnabas and John Mark worked through their issues without splintering the early church. Years later, can you imagine them sitting around reminiscing about the disagreement and laughing at themselves? I can. “Weren’t we silly,” they’d say, shaking their heads. John Mark would laugh and remember how young, homesick and overwhelmed he was. Paul would remember how angry he’d gotten at John Mark and then at Barnabas for defending him. But then John Mark would thank Barnabas for his patience with him as he matured both emotionally and spiritually. He’d thank Paul for giving him a second chance. They’d smile and realize that “… all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Here are some guidelines I’ve come up with for myself. I’m not saying I always use them, but, I have them.

•     Don’t take things too personally. Everybody has bad days and sometimes they just don’t realize how sharply and/or dismissively they’ve spoken.
•       Don’t spread my hurt feeling around. Nobody needs to know except the person who hurt those feelings.
•        It’s not all about me. It’s about Jesus and how best to spread His truth.
•        Apologize often. Relationships are more important that being right.
•        Forgive freely – even when the apology never comes.

“When the laborers have an abiding Christ in their own souls, when all selfishness is dead, when there is no rivalry, no strife for the supremacy, when oneness exists, when they sanctify themselves, so that love for one another is seen and felt, then the showers of the grace of the Holy Spirit will just as surely come upon them as that God’s promise will never fail in one jot or tittle.” (Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 175)

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[1] Wayne Brouwer, Holland, Michigan. Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 2.

Keeping Up Appearances

Have you ever noticed that humans, as a group, tend to be extremely superficial and shallow? We expend enormous amounts of time, money, and energy making sure that we look a certain way – wear particular brands of clothes and shoes, dye our hair, even have surgery. We go to great lengths to change our outsides…but do almost nothing to change what really matters.

Even back in Jesus’ day, folks gave more attention to how they looked. This is what Jesus had to say to some people who worried too much about appearances:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Matthew 23:25-28

In many parts of the world, packaged foods are required to carry a list of ingredients used in the making of that particular food. The ingredients are listed in descending order – the ingredient that’s listed first is more than any of the other ingredients in that particular product.

Say for example that you’re shopping for orange juice. All of the packages look inviting – pictures of bright, juicy oranges and tall glasses of orange juice with just the right amount of condensation on them. The packaging people have done their research, but it you look carefully at the ingredient lists on the package, you’ll find a very different story.

One package has this list: “water, high fructose corn syrup and 2% or less of each of the following: concentrated juices (orange, tangerine, apple, lime, grapefruit), citric acid, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), Thiamin hydrochloride (vitamin B1), natural flavors, modified cornstarch, canola oil, sodium citrate, cellulose gum, xantham gum, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium benzoate to protect flavor, yellow #5, yellow #6.”

Um, where’s the orange juice? If you look closely it’s listed third: “2% or less … concentrated juices (orange…)”.

Pick up another juice container and check its ingredients list: “100% pure squeezed pasteurized orange juice.”

Wow! If you just looked at the pictures on the packaging, you wouldn’t be able to tell that one of the bottles of juice is going to be much healthier than the other. One is going to be much more expensive as well, but that’s a whole ‘nother discussion.

Anyway, one of those containers is actual orange juice and the other is basically a chemical cocktail made to look and taste like orange juice.

If I came with the ingredients of my heart and mind listed on a label, what would you learn about me by reading it? What would be the first ingredient listed? Would I be able to call myself Jesus-flavored or Jesus-filled? Would my packaging match my ingredients? Or would I be like the Pharisees, “whitewashed tombs … full of dead men’s bones?”

The next question is, how do I become Jesus-filled?

“As we behold Jesus in His Word, we are changed. New thoughts replace old ones. By beholding Him, we become more like Him. ‘It is a law both of the intellectual and the spiritual nature that by beholding we become changed. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. It becomes assimilated to that which it is accustomed to love and reverence. Man will never rise higher than his standard of purity or goodness or truth. If self is his loftiest ideal, he will never attain to anything more exalted. Rather, he will constantly sink lower and lower. The grace of God alone has power to exalt man. Left to himself, his course must inevitably be downward.’” (Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 555)

“By beholding we become changed.” Doesn’t that sound simple? Everything we put in our brains, pushes us in on direction or the other – either to a closer relationship with Jesus or leads us farther away from Jesus.

Not too long ago I heard a Native American story called “The Wolves Within.”

In the story, a little boy comes to his grandfather because he is angry at a friend. The grandfather admits that he, too has struggled with feelings like hate and anger. He tells his grandson that those emotions only hurt the person who experiences them. Holding on to those emotions is like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die.

The grandfather continues, “It is as if there are two wolves inside of me. One is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when none is intended.

“But the other wolf is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into fits of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate consume him. And he is helpless because anger doesn’t change anything.

“It is hard to live with these two wolves inside me because both of them are trying to dominate my spirit.”

The boy studies his grandfather for a few seconds and then asks, “Which wolf will win?”

With a smile, the grandfather says, “The one I feed.”

Many of us grew up singing the song, “Oh, Be Careful Little Eyes.” It reminds us to guard the information that enters our mind no matter which pathway it follows.

“Oh, be careful little eyes what you see …

Oh, be careful little ears what you hear …

Oh, be careful little hands what you do …

Oh, be careful little feet where you go …

Oh, be careful little heart whom you trust …

and

Oh, be careful little mind what you think …”

Paul gives us some advice on how to feed the good wolf. In Philippians 4:6-9, he says, 

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”

And in Romans 12:1-2,

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Homesick

Have you ever been homesick? It’s a terrible feeling, isn’t it? Do you remember the first time you spent a night away from home on your own? The first few weeks of college were really hard for me. I know I must have called home so many times, just to hear the voices of my family.

That’s what homesickness really is, right? We don’t usually miss the actual building or even the place so much as we miss the people whom we love and whose presence helps us feel safe and loved. With the electronics we have today, homesickness is more easily treated than it was a few years ago. Can you imagine leaving your family when your only contact might be a letter that might take months to get to you?

Growing up I loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder books about growing up in frontier America. It all sounded so exciting – traveling in a covered wagon, building your house out of whatever was available, contending with wild animals, weather and insects… But thinking about it now, I really can’t imagine how difficult it must have been leaving everything and everyone you had ever known and loved and going someplace about which you knew absolutely nothing, knowing that you would almost certainly never see the people you had left behind ever again. I don’t believe I could have done it.

For some people it’s easier though. I don’t believe my older son has ever been homesick! He just has this adventurous streak that helps him enjoy discovering new places and people more than he misses the folks at home – no offense to the people at home, he is just having a great time where ever he is.

For other folks, I’m thinking of the prodigal son in Jesus’ parable, the urge to leave home is overpowering. I guess instead of being homesick, they’re sick of home.  The man/boy in the story couldn’t stand to be home another minute, could he. He couldn’t get away fast enough.

“Then He said: ‘A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.” So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country …’” Luke 15:12-13

Have you ever tried to figure out just what was so awful at home that he felt the need to leave the way he did? It seems like he just felt like living at home was just too boring and restrictive. The next part of verse 13 says that he “wasted his possessions with prodigal living.”

Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe I ever looked up the word “prodigal.” I think I just always assumed that it meant someone who left home and then came back. Not so!

“prod·i·gal adjective \ˈprä-di-gəl\
1: characterized by profuse or wasteful expenditure : lavish <a prodigal feast> <prodigal outlays for her clothes>
2: recklessly spendthrift <the prodigal prince>
3: yielding abundantly : luxuriant —often used with of <nature has been so prodigal of her bounty — H. T. Buckle>”[1]

So, did you know that’s what prodigal meant? Come on, be honest.

Anyway, based on that definition, I’m pretty sure he didn’t feel homesick … at first. He was too busy “sowing his wild oats.” Once all the money was gone, though, things started to get real! “But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.” Luke 15:14

How long do you think that took – “to be in want?” How long do you think he spent crashing on each friend’s sofa until they’d all had enough of him? How long do you think he kept telling himself that all this was just a minor setback and he’d be back on his own soon? How long do you think he looked for a job before he finally settled for working on the pig farm? How long do you think it was before he allowed himself to think that he might have made a mistake in leaving home?

This is how Mrs. White describes the story.

“This younger son had become weary of the restraint of his father’s house.
“Having obtained his patrimony, he goes into ‘a far country,’ away from his father’s home. With money in plenty, and liberty to do as he likes, he flatters himself that the desire of his heart is reached. There is no one to say, Do not do this, for it will be an injury to yourself; or, Do this, because it is right. Evil companions help him to plunge ever deeper into sin, and he wastes his ‘substance with riotous living.’...
“The precious years of life, the strength of intellect, the bright visions of youth, the spiritual aspirations—all are consumed in the fires of lust.
“… The youth who has boasted of his liberty, now finds himself a slave. He is in the worst of bondage—‘holden with the cords of his sins.’ (Proverbs 5:22.) The glitter and tinsel that enticed him have disappeared, and he feels the burden of his chain. Sitting upon the ground in that desolate and famine-stricken land, with no companions but the swine, he is fain to fill himself with the husks on which the beasts are fed.” (E.G. White, A Call to Stand Apart, p.12)

That’s homesick! Maybe part of homesickness is feeling like we can’t go home for one reason or another. When I went to college, I didn’t have a car to go home whenever I wanted. The prodigal son knew he could get home…he just was pretty sure he wouldn’t be welcome there. He didn’t know, then, that his father had been watching the road every day for him. In a way, his father was homesick for him.

Do you realize that no matter how far we’ve wandered from our Heavenly Father or how we’ve wasted our lives in “prodigal living,” the way back to Him is just one step.

 “Out in the wilderness wild and drear,
Sadly I’ve wandered for many a year,
Driven by hunger and filled with fear,
I will arise and go;
Backward with sorrow my steps to trace,
Seeking my heavenly Father’s face,
Willing to take but a servant’s place,
I will arise and go.
 “Why should I perish in dark despair,
Here where there’s no one to help or care,
When there is shelter and food to spare?
I will arise and go;
“Deeply repenting the wrong I’ve done,
Worthy no more to be called a son,
Hoping my Father His child may own,
I will arise and go.
“Sweet are the memories that come to me,
Faces of loved ones again I see,
Visions of home where I used to be,
I will arise and go;
“Others have gone who had wandered, too,
They were forgiven, were clothed anew,
Why should I linger with home in view?
I will arise and go.
“O that I never had gone astray!
Life was all radiant with hope one day,
Now all its treasures I’ve thrown away,
Yet I’ll arise and go;
“Something is saying, “God loves you still,
Tho’ you have treated His love so ill,”
I must not wait, for the night grows chill,
I will arise and go.
Refrain
“Back to my Father and home,
Back to my Father and home,
I will arise and go
Back to my Father and home.”[2]

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[1] Prodigal. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved August 30, 2013, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prodigal

[2] T.O. Chisolm & George C. Stebbins, The Prodigal Son, Tabernacle Publishing Co., 1914

One God -- One Goal -- One Glory

Have you ever been part of a musical group of some kind – like a choir, band or orchestra? Making music together is an amazing experience. Practicing together somehow brings the members together into almost a single organism. Each person has their specific part to play or sing. It may be similar to someone else’s or it may be unique to that one person, but each person and part are crucial in making the performance beautiful.

I spent a large part of my growing up years in the school band. We spent a minimum of five hours a week together practicing our music. We were also expected to spend at least an hour each day practicing alone, the parts we would play with the group, as well as working on individual skills that would ultimately make our performance with the group better.

Thinking back, it’s interesting that band members tended to be friends with other band members. We knew people in our math classes, English classes and history classes, but we hung out with other band members. We ate lunch together and socialized outside of school together. We tended to date people who were band members more often than people who were not. And our love and admiration of our band director easily surpassed anything we felt for any of our other teachers. Many years later, those feelings of loyalty and friendship are still very strong.

Now, does that mean that there were never any disagreements between band members? Did we always perform perfectly? Did we always practice the way we were expected to? Absolutely not. I often wonder how our (or any) band director maintained his sanity. We were a diverse, exuberant, distractible, non-compliant, and undisciplined bunch of fourteen to nineteen year olds from vastly different homes, ethnic backgrounds and economic levels, not to mention varying degrees of talent and musical ability.

And yet, the music we played, if not perfect, was beautiful. If nothing else, we shared the desire to perform our parts well so that the band as a whole would perform well. We were pleased with our individual performance only as it was reflected in the group performance – whether we were playing a solo or were one of fifteen flutes all playing the same part, we realized that our contribution was needed, wanted, and important.

Research has found that as groups of people who sing together, their breathing and heartbeats quickly synchronize. (I’m guessing that the same thing would occur with any musical group.)

“… what really struck him was that it took almost no time at all for the singers' heart rates to become synchronized. The readout from the pulse monitors starts as a jumble of jagged lines, but quickly becomes a series of uniform peaks. The heart rates fall into a shared rhythm guided by the song's tempo.
“‘The members of the choir are synchronizing externally with the melody and the rhythm, and now we see it has an internal counterpart,’ Vickhoff says.
“This is just one little study, and these findings might not apply to other singers. But all religions and cultures have some ritual of song, and it's tempting to ask what this could mean about shared musical experience and communal spirituality.
“‘It's a beautiful way to feel. You are not alone but with others who feel the same way,’ Vickhoff says.”[1]

Did you notice any similarities in the description of band life, to what should be our Christian life? We should be spending several hours a week with other Christians in an organized group setting (church). We should also be spending time daily preparing for that group (lesson study) as well as increasing our individual skills (personal Bible study and prayer). The bonds we create with those who believe as we do give us strength and courage to meet the world around us and share our good news. Our love for our Leader (Jesus) is the bond that draws us and keeps us together.

Our church family is made up of a wide variety of ages, talents, ethnic and economic backgrounds, the personal histories are vastly different. And yet we share a love for our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. We share a desire to reach those around us with the saving love of Jesus. And we all want more than anything else to spend eternity with Jesus and our spiritual brothers and sisters.

Does that mean that we all agree with each other all the time? Do we all have the same role to play in the church family? Do we all share the same methods for spreading the Gospel? Do we all live the perfect Christian life all the time? Do we pray and study and witness like we should all the time? Do you think there are times when we disappoint Jesus? And, does any of that mean that we aren’t unified as a church?

The family of God is made up of changeable, diverse, sometimes unrepentant, sinful individuals, all of whom are loved and forgiven and have been given highly specific and individual roles to play in the completion of God’s work. No one’s part is unimportant or expendable.

“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.
“If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.”1 Corinthians 12:12-18

“I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God-
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I'm part of the family, the family of God.
You will notice we say "brother and sister" 'round here-
It's because we're a family and these folks are so near;
When one has a heartache we all share the tears,
And rejoice in each victory
In this family so dear.
From the door of an orphanage to the house of the King-
No longer an outcast, a new song I sing;
From rags unto riches, from the weak to the strong,
I'm not worthy to be here,
But, praise God, I belong!”[2]

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[1] Anna Haensch, When Choirs Sing, Many Hearts Beat As One, NPR, Shots, Your Health,  July 10, 2013, http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/07/09/200390454/when-choirs-sing-many-hearts-beat-as-one

[2]Bill and Gloria Gaither, The Family of God.