Skeletons in the Closet

 "His (Manasseh's) prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness,...all these are written in the records of the seers. Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried in his palace." 2 Chronicles 33: 19-20

    Obituaries usually follow a certain format. After personal information may come a list of the person's contributions to society, family and church. Rarely do any contain negative aspects such as sins or regrets. Have you ever tried to pen your own? It's a true exercise in humility. I found I am not always willing to look in the rear view mirror too closely.

    When reading about this fellow Manasseh today, it struck me that ALL his sins were written in the record books. His skeletons didn't have a closet to hide in! Made a king at age twelve, here are some examples of his leadership over his 55-year reign in Jerusalem: He erected altars to idols inside the very temple of the Lord, worshiped the starry host, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, consulted mediums and sacrificed his own children in the fire! God spoke to him and all the people he led astray, but they paid no attention until the Lord had enemies lead Manasseh away, bound in shackles with a hook in his nose. Finally, in his distress, this evil king sought the Lord in humility and prayer, and God listened, extending mercy.

    Most of us have a pile of dirty laundry hidden in the basement, but God sees it all, which makes our sin even more distressing. The next time you see a cross - be it on a steeple or a necklace - think of the power of the blood of Christ. How blood makes the stains of sin disappear is a mystery I am grateful to embrace. In the Bible, we are told God not only forgives, He forgets. "...you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:19) "...all my sins are behind your back." (Isaiah 38:17) "I will remember their sins no more." (Hebrews 8:12)

    Once we confess our sins, God is faithful to wash our clothes and clean out our closets. Now, keep tidy by forgiving others! 

"Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13

     

Faith or Fiction?

"The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and the moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both the summer and the winter."              Psalm 74: 16, 17

    Do you remember taking science tests in school? There were myriad ways to divulge your knowledge or lack thereof: multiple choice, true or false or the dreaded essay answer. It seemed like the true or false questions were preferable because at least there was a 50/50 chance your guess was correct. 

    These types of questions present themselves in our lives as adults. I have found it's usually Satan who is giving the test. For instance, I was looking up some information about the origin of the sun on Wikipedia and here is the answer: "It formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of matter within a region of a large molecular cloud. Most of this matter gathered in the center, whereas the rest flattened into an orbiting disk that became the Solar System."

    Now, I don't claim to know everything, but that sounds like an Eddie Haskell answer to me. To be able to recognize lies, one has to become familiar with the Truth. Listen to what the Bible says about the origin of the sun: on the fourth day of creation, God made "the lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night...God made two great lights - the greater to govern the day and the lesser to govern the night. He also made the stars." (Genesis 1: 14, 16)

    The first explanation, though is sounds grandiose, is full of holes. Where did the matter come from? Who made the molecular cloud? Knowing my Father the way I do, when He tells me something, I believe it because He cannot lie. He says: "For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him." (Colossians 1:16) Therefore, the answer to my question about the origin of the sun is found in the truth of scriptures: God made it.

    If I were to take a test in science class today, knowing that they teach the theory of evolution as fact, I would likely fail, but I wouldn't fail miserably! I pass God's test with gold stars.

"Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens; who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing." Isaiah 40: 26

If You Don't Like it, You Can Exchange It

 "They exchanged their glorious God for an image of a bull, which eats grass. They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt." Psalm 106: 20 & 21

"Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles...They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped it and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen." Romans 1: 22, 23, 25

    Years ago, I received a beautiful winter coat for Christmas from my daughter's friend, Pablo. Smiling and quite surprised by such generosity, my face fell as I noted it was not my size. Not having full command of women's sizes in the English language, he'd selected "grande" because I was tall. So, I had to exchange the coat.

    The practice of exchanging a gift usually means the recipient selects something better, as in my case, a better fit. Why would anyone exchange a gift for something worse or of less value?

    As foolhardy as that idea sounds, it is done all the time with the gift of God, which is eternal life in Christ. Perhaps they like the feel of a full wallet or the size of their lust for the flesh. A grand ego fits some while human praise and power cloak their days. Some never open the gift of grace; they say they don't need it. Their good works are enough for them, a garment worn in pride. They are trading in abundant life, everlasting love and life eternal in heaven for temporal gain not caring to realize that "what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:18)

    With the gift in His hand and a smile on His face, He extends it to you saying, "If you don't like it, you can exchange it." The choice is yours.

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might have life through him." 1 John 4:9 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus." Romans 6:23

Grow Up

"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forevermore. Amen." 2 Peter 3:18

    Most kids can recall their vertical progress being measured on a growth chart. When my own girls were in their formative years, we marked their heights on the door frame in our bedroom. They always had excellent posture on that day, striving to be taller than ever as they hoped to catch up to me. There was a feeling of accomplishment because it meant they were growing up. 

    Just as seedlings push through soil and babies wriggle about in the womb, life is meant to grow. Pediatricians become concerned if a child does not reach the percentiles they'd like to see. Physical growth is measured on a door jamb; mental growth is measured through the report cards and test results. 

    How much emphasis is placed on spiritual growth? If God had a growth chart next to the pearly gate, how much would you have grown since last year? In my own life, I spent a lot of years minimally picking at God's word like a lukewarm meal. Reading the Bible seemed like such a dry heave; doing anything else had much more appeal. But then I thought, "If a cataclysmic event wiped out everyone save me, would the Bible be any less relevant?" So it was then that I devoured the Scriptures as the truths rose like an aroma from a steaming pan of lasagna. It's so much more than just a book.

    If you're like I was, I encourage you to "grow up." After all, the Bible tells us that even Jesus had to mature: "And the child grew and became strong; He was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was on Him." (Luke 2:40) "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:52)   

"But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Hebrews 5:14

I Hope So

 "Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken." Psalm 62: 5 & 6

    My childhood friend, Pam, and I spent many happy hours constructing our blanket-over-the-clothesline tents. For our home-away-from-home, a pile of old blankets became the A frame of our cabin. To secure the frame, we fetched bricks from behind the neighbor's garage to secure the blankets against the wind. Without those, it was all just laundry on a line. We placed our hope in those bricks, and they didn't disappoint us. 

    What if we'd used a plastic Barbie car and a container of Nestle's Quik instead of those bricks? We could clamber in and hope with all our fingers and toes crossed, but that wouldn't have made a difference when the wind blew because we'd hoped in the wrong thing.

    Biblical hope differs as widely from worldly hope as a brick does from a Barbie car. Christian hope is based on the fact that the crucified Jesus rose from a sealed tomb; his body was never found. Over five hundred people witnessed seeing him during the forty days prior to his ascension to heaven. All of his disciples (except for John who was exiled to the Isle of Patmos and Judas who betrayed him and hung himself) died as martyrs believing this hope, which was an anchor for their souls. 

    And what hope is this? Eternal life! Solid as a brick are the promises of God so go ahead and construct your life on it. When the storms of life batter your dwelling, you will sleep as securely as a child in a backyard tent.

"May the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13  

Good Government

     Can you imagine if the President of the United States and all persons of authority from him on down were to practice the words of Psalm 101? If school teachers, professors, police officers, judges, senators, mayors, business leaders and movie producers would commit each morning to practice these words from the psalm, what changes could be wrought?:

"I will sing of your love and justice; to you, Lord, I will sing praise. I will be careful lead a blameless life. I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart. I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I will have nothing to do with what is evil. Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not tolerate. No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence." (from Psalm 101)

    These words were penned by King David, who was said to be a man after God's own heart, and it's little wonder how he earned that description. To be fair, David had his times of deceit in his life, but he repented of his sins and pled with God to "create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10) He had a broken and contrite heart, which is just what one needs when pursuing a right relationship with God. 

    Now, imagine if each one of us recited this psalm as a personal pledge each day, how it would affect what we will and will not do. The problems in our broken world can not be fixed by bigger government, economic stimulus checks or hand sanitizer. Wearing a mask or succumbing to a "vaccine" will not cure what truly ails us. Each one must govern his/her own heart from within and that can only succeed by the power of the blood of Christ.

    At the risk of sounding like a bearded street preacher whom some ignore, I implore all to repent and seek the Lord while He may be found. That's good government.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

Childlike Faith

 "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me."         Matthew 18: 3-5

    It is with great joy I have been helping at Vacation Bible School this week at Zion Lutheran Church. The rafters in the old chapel tremble with the zealous singing, clapping and shouting of these happy children. They are eager to memorize verses and challenged to compete in the Bible quiz show. We sing and sway while doing the motions, holding nothing back, just as King David danced before the Lord with all his might. I know that our loving God smiles broadly at the little ones' enthusiasm.

    After more than a year of experiencing the dismal affects of the coronavirus, I, for one, simply cannot get enough of praise and worship sans the mask! Can I get an amen?

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.

It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise;

give thanks to Him and praise His name.

For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;

His faithfulness continues through all generations."

Psalm 100