Remembering Those Who Paid The Price

Freedom is never free.

Someone has to pay for it.

Currently 2,717,991 men and women have died or been wounded in conflicts from 1775 to present. Once a year we set aside a day to remember them and be grateful. Its a day of celebration. A day off from work. A day to spend with family and friends. A day some mark as the “unofficial” start to the Summer season. No matter what we call that day we get to enjoy it safely under the blanket of protection and freedom purchased by the blood of those who answered a call to arms. We owe them a debt we can never repay. I doubt that they would accept payment from us if we could. It is their gift to us.

I am Proud to be An American by Lee Greenwood

On a hill far away a long time ago One Man gave His Life so that those who followed after Him would be Free also. Freedom from sin and freedom from death itself. We owe Him a debt we can never repay. I know that He wouldn’t accept payment from us if we could. It is His gift to us and we could never earn it.

As we enjoy this Memorial Day holiday and whatever it may bring, let us take a moment to remember those who gave their all to purchase our freedom here in America. Let us also consider Him who came and died so that we might be free from the sting of sin and death. Consider the gift of God, the price He paid and whether or not you will accept His gift to be free for all eternity.

Happy Memorial Day! God Bless.

“God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. People who believe in God’s Son are not judged guilty. Those who do not believe have already been judged guilty, because they have not believed in God’s one and only Son.They are judged by this fact: The Light has come into the world, but they did not want light. They wanted darkness, because they were doing evil things.All who do evil hate the light and will not come to the light, because it will show all the evil things they do.But those who follow the true way come to the light, and it shows that the things they do were done through God.” John 3:16-21 NCV

Caps and Gowns

Commencement Ceremony?!?!

 Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin,  Zec 4:10 NLT

The first time I heard the term commencement exercise I thought it odd. After all it’s a graduation ceremony. The end of High School, or College, so why call it a beginning? Obviously, I was young and naive.

When Zerubbabel was encouraged to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem he was told to not despise the undertaking of such a monumental task.

That word of encouragement resonates threw time and can be applied to every young believer  setting out on their journey into the world today.

Do not let fear or economic circumstances distract you. Do not be concerned with what others around you may be facing. If God is for you who can be against you? Let Psalm 91 be your compass into the uncharted waters that lie ahead.

Its a beginning and not and ending! A beginning that is full of hope, excitement and promise when you begin it with God on your side. Be encouraged even as Zerubbabel was to get started no matter how small the start or how daunting the task

Sports Metaphors Abound

So many sports activities have a similar first rule – look closely at the object of the sport. Whether it’s the basket you are shooting for or the baseball you are swinging at or the pins at the end of the bowling alley. If you are looking at something other then the intended target you shouldn’t expect to hit the target.

Our spiritual walk is not dissimilar in this one rule. Case in point – Matthew 14:22-31

Then Peter called to him: “Sir, if it is really you, tell me to come over to you, walking on the water.” “All right,” the Lord said, “come along!”So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

Peter knew that there was a storm in progress. He had been in the boat with the others for hours fighting the weather but when he saw (look at intently) Jesus, Peter was eager to join Him on the lake. Peter even stepped over the rail and walked on the water UNTIL he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the circumstances around him. That’s when he fell victim to those circumstances.

What a powerful example for us to learn from. No matter what storms we may be in we should keep our eyes on Jesus. In fact the Scriptures say exactly that – Heb 12:1-3

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,

Heb 12:2a NKJV

The Living Bible says – Keep your eyes on Jesus! Good advise in any language. So, no matter if the sun is shining on you today or if the storms are raging all around, remember how Peter and the disciples found Jesus in the midst of their storm and know that He is there with you. He is ready to reach out His hand and save you just as He did Peter.

Be encouraged and be blessed.

 

the first commandment with a promise

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” Ephesians 6: 1-3 NKJV

That it may go well with you and you may live long.

The Living Bible translates this scripture like this –

This is the first of God’s Ten Commandments that ends with a promise.  And this is the promise: that if you honor your father and mother, yours will be a long life, full of blessing.

Whatever translation you choose to read the idea still resounds. God will reward you for honoring your parents.

See also Exodus 20:12  and Deuteronomy 5:16 NKJV

On this Mothers’ Day as we salute our Moms  and celebrate their devotion in raising us through the years we need to remember that not all Moms are feeling loved and appreciated today. Sadly many Moms (and Dads too) are abandoned or ashamed by their children.  Is it any wonder that prisons and morgue are filling up as our society shows less respect for parents and more concern for what matters only to me.

That it may go well with you and you may live long

Fortunately, God is the God of U-Turns. If  we think that we have been less than “honorable” towards our parents we can repent and turn towards God as we change our ways. Even if our parents have passed away we can still ask God to forgive us of being rebellious and disobedient children. Even if they were less than perfect parents, we can be honorable towards them. God does not tell us to honor our father and mother if they are good and perfect parents. The responsibility is on us to honor our parents. How good a job they do with the children they were given is between them and God. So, if they were poor parents or even abusive derelict parents, we should forgive them.

That it may go well with you and you may live long

It’s a promise from God that He clearly put in writing. No reading between the lines or ambiguity here. Simply put do this and this is what will happen. So, the exact opposite is rationally true. Dont honor your parents and it will not be good for you and you will not live long.

Maybe this should have been a happy funny uplifting post but I don’t tend to plan what I write too far in advance. I write what is on my heart. I speak as a layman – not a clergy. I have to say that this is something that I had to learn and like almost all of my life lessens – I learned the hard way. After years of disrespecting and disobeying my parents and years of speaking critically about their shortcomings I found myself in a bad place. Only by the love of God was I able to learn Gods Word and live a new life.

My parents both died long before I learned what kind of child I should have been but I know that God has forgiven me and I honor them today in how I speak of them to others and by looking back at them with compassion rather then judgement.

Finally, I pray that everyone had a wonderful Mothers Day today but if you did not, I want you to know that there is a God in Heaven Who sent His Son, Jesus, to show the greatest measurable amount of love towards YOU! He died so that you don’t have to. He LOVES you and will wash away that hurt you feel because of  a child or a parent who hurt you so long ago.

He will hear you when you call – Honestly, He Will.

24601

Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? 24601!

This is the famous exclamation at the climax of a conflict of conscience in the musical Les Miserables

During this second conflict of conscience, Jean Valjean struggles with surrendering to the authorities that he has successfully eluded for years because they have a man in custody that they believe to be him. So, does he let this man take his place and give him freedom or does he turn himself in and save this innocent man from suffering?

Here Hugh Jackman performs Who Am I from the 2012 motion picture Les Miserables

Previously, we see a bitter and angry Jean Valjean, faced with a decision resulting from compassion of the Bishop who had the power to see him back in chains for stealing silver. The Bishop told the authorities the silver was a gift and gave him two huge candlesticks as well and tells Valjean that this silver is the price of his soul. Shocked by this show of love and compassion Valjean becomes a new man and walks a righteous path forging a new life as a businessman and even Mayor of a small town.

Watch Hugh Jackman perform the conflict of conscience here

This is not unlike the epiphany that Simon Peter had the day he met Jesus. (Luke 5: 1-8) There in the familiar surroundings of his boat on the lake he fished so many times before, Peters eyes were opened to the fact that he was a sinful man. Face to face with Jesus Peter’s soul is bare for all to see. The contrast between Jesus’ holy person and Peters humanity brought his sin out of darkness and into the light. What could he do?

Like Peter and Jean Valjean we will all come to that place in our lives where we are face to face with our humanity, our hearts, our sin. God will be sure of it. The Holy Spirit brings us all to this place the only difference is where we go from here. In both examples above the choice was to fall down in humility and shame. In each case these men chose to turn away from sin and pursue a righteous life.

But, that is not the only choice. When faced with the dilemmas of life we have the free will do whatever we may choose. This is the very choice that God has given to each of us and is the very reason we are different from the animal kingdom. We do not act on instinct but rather are driven by choice.

This is why the Word of God so often reminds us that we are free to make our own choices –

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:  Deu 30:19 KJV

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.  Joshua 24:15 KJV

 

Les Miserables is now on Broadway, again!

The Painter and the Mouse

I backed my van into the driveway next to a similar looking work truck. It had a sign on it advertising a nationwide paint brand and the name of a local painter. At the open back doors of this dusty van stood a small group of construction workers huddled around one guy sitting with something in his lap. Of course I had to see what was up. I drew close and heard one guy ask “Is it dead?” “well, it’s not moving.” answer another guy hammer and tool belt in hand. “no, no no. He’s just cold.” stated the big-fisted guy sitting with a shallow box on the lap of his white painter pants. Inside the box was a thumb-sized lump of grey in the form of a mouse. “you can see that he is breathing so he ain’t dead!” continued the caretaker as he fashioned a bed out of a clean rag around the little guy. As the group dispersed to get on with the remodeling project you could here them talking amongst themselves about the plight of this little creature who was clearly hanging on to life. Being the last to arrive I was the last to leave the scene but not before the painter looked away from his charge to sadly confess, “I almost stepped on him as I unload my truck. He’s cold and hunger and I just had to do something for him.”

The whole event was a study in contrasts. This burly guy and his huge truck compared with this tiny mouse and a cigar box makeshift bed. This business owner with a big life full of responsibilities and concerns compared to this new born rodent with only one worry – survive.

Not knowing the painter I would not speculate on his motivation for showing such concern for the mouse. Yet, I came away wondering if this act was what Jesus had in mind when He said – Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to ever creature. Mark 16:15 KJV

With Resurrection Sunday behind us and Mothers Day and Graduations coming up quickly it’s easy to just get on with life as usual. Even the Disciples went back to fishing before Jesus “sent them” with His mountain top speech prior to His Ascension. “ and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8b HCSB or, if I may paraphrase – you will show Me to those in your city, your State, the States around yours and even the entire world.

Really?! But how? By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35 KJV

As Spring rolls into Summer and Easter fades with the business of life – keep in mind – Jesus said – GO!