Sharing Burdens

Practical Ways to Bear Burdens

 Directly copied from today's In Touch devotional
Comments to follow

Read | 1 Thessalonians 5:14
There are hurting people everywhere, but at times we just don't know what to say or do to ease their pain. Here are six practical ways to bear someone else's burden.

1. Be there. At times the best "method" of helping is simply to be present. During our darkest hours, we don't need someone who tries in vain to fix everything; we just need a friend.
2. Listen. Don't attempt to give answers or tell people what to do next. Injured souls frequently want simply a listening ear so they can express what's on their mind.
3. Share. Never parade yourself as someone who has all the answers. Instead, allow your own pain and failures to help others.
4. Pray. There is power in speaking people's names before the Lord. When they hear someone talk to Jesus on their behalf, healing often starts taking place.
5. Give. Sometimes helping others involves more than a handshake or warm hug. Maybe they need something financial or material. One of the best measures of sincerity is how much we're willing to give to others.
6. Substitute.You may know an individual who bears the burden of caring for someone else. If you step in and take his or her place for a while, you are emulating your Savior--He, too, was a substitute.

Because we were unable to do it ourselves, Jesus bore all of our sin and sorrow, even unto death. As a result, we can live happily and eternally in communion with our Father. If Christ did that for us, how can we ever say, "I'm too busy to bear someone else's burden"?

Copyright 2012 In Touch Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. www.intouch.org. In Touch grants permission to print for personal use only.

Burdens of others

I sense, lately, a sentiment and a movement that there are a lot of us who would like to reach out and help someone but that we do not really know how. The need and the reticence may both have roots in the materialism of society today. To quote from "The Jerk", "I can live without the money. I just like all the stuff." There is a great tendency to think that stuff is what it's all about where realistically it's thoughts and emotions that are most burdensome. That is why the 6 steps

Be there

Listen

Share

Pray

Give

Substitute

make so much sense. Jesus's guidance is pretty straightforward  about these things: if your neighbor needs it and you have it, give it to your neighbor.

That is true brotherly love.

Unfortunately, a lot of people over the years fall into the trap of "letting Joe do it." If the attitude is "I'm too busy, take care of it for me" prevails, then it is a quick transition to having the government take over, and we end up with robbing from Peter to pay Paul. Smacking loudly of socialism, because it is, we eventually reach the point that there is not enough of somebody else's money to steal and spread around. Big difference when that "somebody else" is allowed and driven to share his gifts with others.

Be that somebody else. Take stock in what you, yourself have. Determine what you are going to do to help your neighbors bear their burdens. Then do it. 

Timing is the Father's Business

Our pastors have been talking about Acts lately, and more specifically addressing the reality of the Resurrection. 

So I dutifully dug out my Bible (typed in biblegateway?) as suggested and read the opening of Dr. Luke's book in two translations - my favored The Message and the latest adopted translation for the LCMS, the English Standard Version.

The Message, Acts 1:1-11

ESV, Acts 1:1-11

The ESV phrase is: “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” The Message expresses this phrase as: "You don't get to know the time. Timing is the Father's business".

Timing is the Father's business. That was a really neat awareness for the day. It really is His business in different contexts: it's up to Him, not you; it's what He does, His job; timing is something that keeps Him busy, timing does not just happen; ... keep thinking about it for a while.

We who have chosen to be disciples, as the followers of Christ called themselves (or followers of the Way - but NEVER calling themselves Christians, a derogatory term)  try to relate His word to how we choose to live our lives. In so doing we feel like we are following the Way. So, we always jump on Romans 8:26-28 to explain unexplainable, and most of the time bad, stuff: in The Message then the ESV

•   "Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good."
• 26 "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

And now I remember the old song, "Who Knows Where or When?" "called according to his purpose" cf. worked into something good. Different, but the same. 


He assures us things will get better. He also assures us that timing is strictly His business. We are well to remember that.

Choosing to Believe?

Infrequently, I disagree with Charles Stanley. When I do, it is undoubtedly the contrast between the Baptist perspective, in which I was raised, and the Lutheran perspective to which I have come over the years. Today's In Touch devotional was an excellent example.

Choosing to Believe

Read | John 3:1-21

Faith isn't something we can lay claim to because we were born to believing parents or have citizenship in a Christian country. Nor can we attain it by attending or even teaching Sunday school, though I've often heard such incorrect assertions. Instead, the following should be true of genuine believers.

A clear understanding of the gospel is essential for a person to believe and receive the good news of Jesus Christ. His death on the cross was the only sacrifice required to remove our sins. God offers His grace as a gift to anyone who will receive it.

A definite decision at a particular point in time serves as a sort of landmark of the heart and mind. People do not just slip into Christianity; faith in Jesus must be chosen. Believers are those who have made a deliberate decision to trust the Lord and follow in His ways.

A blessed assurance follows the clear-cut decision so that believers can be certain of their salvation. God wants confident, assured children (1 John 5:13).

A visible symbol of what happens when someone receives the Savior--namely, baptism--illustrates dying to one's old ways and rising to new life in Christ Jesus. Believers are to take this step as a public way of identifying with Him (Matt. 28:19).

A man or woman of faith chooses to surrender to Christ, embraces the Word of God, and lives fully for the Lord. True believers no longer muddle through the practices of religion out of habit, but instead worship and rejoice in a vibrant personal relationship with the Lord.

Copyright 2012 In Touch Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. www.intouch.org. In Touch grants permission to print for personal use only.

Here we go - my version!!
First, read Ephesians 2:8-9, like Martin Luther did.
Concentrate on these words: 

"Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. 

Baptists ask for a public affirmation of faith and an (optional) demonstration through baptism. In some cases, the baptism is not optional. Lutherans point to one baptism for salvation. Me, I am an engineer, very binary, very logical. When I finally quit over-analyzing all of this stuff, I realized it is EXACTLY as my Bible says:

1. God had the idea and did it to us; we don't play the major role. Questionably do we play a role at all. So, someone talking about when they were saved is not demonstrating that they are and probably does not realize that they were saved when God turned His back on His Son for that awful time at Calvary.
2. We do not make nor do we save ourselves. It is completely God doing it, a gift, freely given and, by us, MUST BE freely excepted - no strings, no conditions.
3. Thank you, Steven Curtis Chapman, for these words: I know there's a God who knows my name and a Son who died to take the blame; I believe Jesus is comin' back; promises are promises and Facts are Facts." 

All of this is dependent only on the individual knowledge of what is going on. In general works, not even specific is necessary. That is how and why salvation reaches even those who have not had the blessing of hearing or reading The Word, but have come to these realizations through their observation of the world and God's nature.


Then comes FAITH. Boy, do I have fun talking about faith. Faith happens regardless of, despite what we do or think. Once the Holy Spirit finds you, it's all over. Faith formation is His, not yours.


More on that later.

Christians and Gays - It's up to we the people. Or it still was the last time I read the Constitution.

Well, I'm in between a rock and a hard place. North Carolina amendment 1 is up for vote tomorrow. You either have to be for it or against it; I guess like Rush says, even if you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.

Here's my problem. And, I guess it's the problem with a lot of the LGBT hubbub we run into. It is SO, SO, SO binary.

I normally like binary. There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't. being an engineer I am, of course, in category 0. Not in this case though. Feelings, interpretations and explications are not binary. If they were, then there wouldn't be so many different denominations and so many people would not get so rich writing about how gays are wrong/right, gay marriage is wrong/right, love the sinner, love the sin, whatever!! Fill in the string with YOUR favorite aphorism.

Engineers do not have a binary version of the Bible. Yeah, some of the redneck SOBs (Sweet Old Boys, of course) preach infallibility of the "King James Bible." These same guys do not realize that there really isn't a true King James Bible, it is the Authorized Version (actually the Authorised Version) and that there are well over 200 blatant errors well documented throughout Christendom and respected by anyone who actually thinks.

Don't get me wrong. God's word is complete, inerrant and infallible as far as I am concerned. This is a logically defensible binary conclusion for me. Don't debate it off of this post - been through it so many times I am tired of writing about it. But, what the complete, inerrant and infallible Word tells me is really open to interpretation.

My rule 1: scripture interprets scripture. So when I pull out a verse that says if a man has sex with a donkey they should both be put to death I need to read a few verses before and after and cross-referencing from there to get a good idea of what I am talking about.

Rule, or observation, 2: My Bible does not have the terms gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, queer, dyke, pimp (well, maybe indirectly) - you get the idea. When I read my Bible, I try really hard to decide what the words say to me and how they affect how I should live (thank you Chuck Colson - How Now Shall We Live?). How should you live? I haven't found that in my Bible yet, that is up to you to find.

Rule 3: Wuv, twue wuv, is what bwings us together. In history, when Buttercup was lined up with Humperdinck, it was in a church. It was not in a city hall. It was not in front of Congress or a court. It was a church and they were being treated by that church in accordance with that church's practices and doctrine. (Hate to use the word doctrine, opens up a can of worms. Only way to get rid of a can of worms is to get a bigger can). Marriage has always been a religious thing, up until sometime in the 1800s, and probably the late 1800s. The government, in its infinite wisdom and knowledge that they can tell us how to live better than we can tell ourselves, and, of course, finding a nice new way to make more money, started doing this marriage license and registration thing. Think of it. The first thing they did is start taxing married couples more than singles, right?

Rule 4: My church's belief and interpretation about homosexuality and marriage is NOT your church's (unless we go to the same church, and maybe not even then) and vice versa. As Steven Curtis Chapman said:
I believe there's a God who knows my name
And a son who died to take the blame
I believe Jesus is comin' back
Promises are promises and facts are facts

And then, as the EPA says, your mileage may vary as will your driving habits.

So, after all is said and done, I am not what is known as "gay embracing." Neither do I consider myself what is called homophobic, although a lot of people probably would.  For the record: my Bible tells me that homosexual behavior is a sin. My Bible also tells me that being fat is a sin. Finally my Bible tells me that sin is sin, pick one, any one, it's just as good/bad as any other. So, I'm fat. That's enough, I'm a sinner. Tell the government to shut up about obesity, please, while I tell them to shut up about gay marriage. It's not up to them. It's up to we the people. Or it still was the last time I read the Constitution.

Rekindling the Flame of the Spirit

I have always enjoyed Charles Stanley and In Touch. Today's devotional is so to my point that I reproduce it here in its entirety. IAW copyright, this is for my personal use only as far as I am concerned. You can go to the URL if you want your own copy, too.

Rekindling the Flame of Our Ministry

Read | 2 Timothy 1:6-7
What do you do when you've lost your enthusiasm for ministry? Perhaps difficult circumstances have led to discouragement. Or maybe you just keep going, but the Spirit seems absent and no fruit is visible. Paul told Timothy to "kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you" (v. 6), but how is that accomplished? Over the years, God has taught me what to do whenever I sense that my flame is beginning to flicker.
Refill: Ministry is exciting when we're filled with the Holy Spirit, but everyone springs a leak now and then. Get on your knees before the Lord and ask for a refill. Examine your life, repent of any sins, and submit to His leadership in every area.
Refocus: Nothing dims the flame like fixing your eyes on the problem. Whenever we focus on obstacles, they grow larger. But when we shift our eyes to Christ, He becomes bigger than any problem we face.
Reject: When we're down, the Devil whispers his lies into our minds: You can't do this. No one appreciates you. Why not call it quits? We need to recognize all discouraging thoughts as coming from him--and reject them.
Retreat: Turn off the phone, electronics, and entertainment, and get away with the Lord to rekindle your intimate relationship with Him.
After going through all these steps, you will be able to return to ministry with new enthusiasm and commitment. Hard circumstances may remain, but you'll be equipped to handle them because the Spirit's flame is burning brightly within you. Rely on Him, and He will empower you for service.

Copyright 2012 In Touch Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. www.intouch.org. In Touch grants permission to print for personal use only.

God's Normal Way of Beating Me Upside The Head

 There's the old joke about the farmer and his wife going to town with a cart hitched to a mule. After a little while, the mule quit going, so the farmer had to call out "Giddyap!" The mule started on down the road.  After a little while longer, the same thing happens. When the mule quit the third time, the farmer gets down, picks up a 2 x 4 from the back of the cart, and goes up to the mule, popping him right on the top of the head.

The wife screams "WHY DID YOU DO THAT??!!" The farmer answered: "Sometimes my mule quits paying attention to my voice, and I have to catch his attention by beating him upside the head!"

My latest upside the head beating was a simple post by my close spiritual friend Stephanie Pittock. God has given this woman MUCH to be patient about in her much-shorter-than-mine life. [At least she does not, currently, have to put up with Buffalo blizzards, right Steph?] I routinely read In Touch ministries's daily devotional, because I have long loved the Word as explained by Charles Stanley. Dr. Stanley has 30 Life Principles, based on a simple concept, which is also listed as one of the principles (principle 2): Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.

So, what Stephanie did was to post yesterday's daily devotional on Facebook and specifically tag me. One of the blessings of faith partners is that God and the Spirit use them to tickle your ears in the right way and pay deep attention to something you otherwise might be superficially reviewing. I took His lead by her hand and went over the devotionals on Following God's Schedule and Developing Patience word by word a couple of times each (well, maybe more times than that. When I get in the zone I'm in the zone, and only God knows how long I am in there and what I am doing). I have copied the verses for those devotionals here, taken from The Message translation posted on The Bible Gateway

James 1 The Message (MSG)

 I, James, am a slave of God and the Master Jesus, writing to the twelve tribes scattered to Kingdom Come: Hello! Faith Under Pressure
 ^2-4Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

Romans 11:33-36 The Message (MSG)

 ^33-36Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It's way over our heads. We'll never figure it out.

   Is there anyone around who can explain God?
   Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do?
   Anyone who has done him such a huge favor
      that God has to ask his advice?

   Everything comes from him;
   Everything happens through him;
   Everything ends up in him.
   Always glory! Always praise!
      Yes. Yes. Yes.
FOR THIS BLOG: I think it's enough to present the verses and that introduction. Otherwise I will REALLY start rambling and go way too long. I will pick up from here, hopefully tomorrow.

Following God's Schedule - Dr. Stanley

Following God's Schedule

Read | Romans 11:33-36
Most of us enjoy feeling in control of our own schedule and grow frustrated when things don't go according to plan. Yet if we truly desire to walk in the center of God's perfect will, we must become willing to cooperate with His time frame.
Consider how you pray about situations in your life. Without realizing it, you may be demanding that God follow the schedule you've constructed according to your very limited human wisdom. Yet if we believe He is who He says He is, how can surrendering to His way not be to our benefit? Think about His unique, praiseworthy qualities:

• His all-encompassing knowledge. Unlike us, the Lord has complete awareness about our world and the details of every individual life--past, present, and future.
• His complete wisdom. God understands man's every motive, whereas none of us are able to accurately discern people's intentions. We make choices based on partial information, whereas He has the wisdom to take action based on truth.
• His unconditional love. Our Creator is always motivated by love and constantly has our best in mind. Unless we trust His heart, our view of reality will be distorted.
• His perfect sufficiency. At just the right time, God will provide us with everything we need to carry out His plan.

Submitting to God's timetable requires faith and courage. Believe in the goodness of His heart and His plans--and determine to wait until He gives the signal to move forward. Then, as you follow His schedule, you'll experience the joy of watching Him make all things beautiful in His timing.

Copyright 2012 In Touch Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. www.intouch.org. In Touch grants permission to print for personal use only.