Christian Living

And Take Your Chair With You!

/ Bill Jones / 2 Comments
Chair

Chair (Photo credit: elycefeliz)

The Lord blessed our Easter Sunrise Service again this year. That morning the chairs were neatly lined in rows in the grass on the east side of the church. The sound equipment was set up on a folding table and the speakers and microphone were in front on their stands. To anyone driving by, it would have been clear there was a service being held on the lawn. And, since many of the chairs were filled, it was also clear there were people who were committed to worshiping the Lord even when it was early in the morning and the temperature was a little nippy.

As the service began, a turkey’s gobble echoed through the woods across the road, and songbirds welcomed the sun as it rose above the tree-lined horizon. We sang praises to God, proclaimed Christ risen indeed, and heard a message about that morning long ago – when the tomb was found empty; About the joy that spread among those first disciples as they began to understand (and see) what Jesus had told them was true. He had conquered death for them and us!

We closed the service with that joy still in our hearts. As we left to begin breakfast preparations, the able-bodied folks folded up a chair or two and carried them toward the fellowship hall. Like ants, the chair-carriers converged from different directions and formed a single file, slow moving line into the building and around to the storage area. The sound equipment was also packed up and returned inside.

If someone drove by fifteen minutes after the closing prayer, they wouldn’t have seen chairs or people sitting in them – no evidence of a worship service, no evidence of commitment. By that time, the chairs were stacked away, and the bacon and eggs were on the griddles. The joy remained with us, but like the chairs, it was now hidden from the world outside.

Jesus called us to be light of the world (to brighten it) and salt of the earth (to season it with grace). That does happen inside the church building, but to be truly effective, our light and salt should also be evident to those who interact with us outside the church building – including those that just happen to be passing by at a particular time. We have to remember not to leave our joy and our commitment to Christ stacked and stored at the church house, but to always carry them with us as we go out again.

 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”  Matthew 5:14-16 ESV

Do We Cover Ourselves With Religious Tablecloths?

/ Bill Jones / 4 Comments
Woe unto You, Scribes and Pharisees

Woe unto You, Scribes and Pharisees (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As my wife, Sharon, and I wandered through the local discount store, a “50% OFF!” sign caught my eye. I picked up a package from the stack and read the label: “Religious Tablecloth”. I wasn’t sure how you make a tablecloth be religious, but apparently someone figured it out. There it was on the shelf for sale. I considered buying it and watching it to see how well it did in being religious (but, of course, it was only given that label because of “The Last Supper” design that was on it.)

Through years of helping Sharon decorate for Church functions, I have learned that you can cover up a lot of things with a tablecloth – like a stack of hymnals, a super-sized can of green beans or an old, nearly collapsed cardboard box. Then, whatever you set on it, from a flower arrangement to a group of candlesticks, will look good and you won’t see what’s under the tablecloth. I guess if you put a religious tablecloth over something, it will look good and appear to be religious too.

Jesus often condemned the Scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy. (He repeated the phrase “Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” so many times in the 23rd chapter of Matthew that I sometimes call it the “Woe” Chapter). He said they were like whitewashed tombs – beautiful on the outside but unclean on the inside. “So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matt 23:28 ESV)

We Christians can also be guilty of hypocrisy – of hiding under a religious tablecloth. We might outwardly appear to be following God, and even sincerely believe ourselves that we are. But in the place where it counts, in our heart, we may be envious or greedy or in other ways sinful. While we may be successful in hiding that from others, and deceiving ourselves for a while, we can never hide it from God. “…Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.” (Luke 12:1-2 ESV)

God knows our heart so there is no need to try covering it up. The best thing to do is to be obedient to Him, search our heart and confess our sins. God’s Word has given us this marvelous promise: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 ESV)  If we trust in that promise and rely on His power to cleanse us, we won’t need a religious tablecloth to cover us. For what is within us will be revealed and be beautiful – a righteousness not from ourselves, but a righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ Himself! “Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Php 1:11 ESV)

The Joy of the Lord is Our Strength!

/ Bill Jones / 32 Comments

 

This post is part of the Christian Writers blog chain. Our theme for this month is “Joy”. Please see the list to the right and visit my friends’ blogs to see what they have to say about this topic

Our church is having a Good Friday Tenebrae Service tonight. Tenebrae is a Latin word meaning shadows or darkness, and the service commemorates Jesus’ last days leading to the cross. With a combination of music, and Scripture readings from the Prophets and the Gospels, we’ll follow the path from light to darkness.

The candles will be lit during the opening song, “Jesus is the Light of the World”. As the service progresses with more songs and Scripture, the candles will be extinguished one by one. Total darkness comes after the singing of “The Power of the Cross” and a reading of John 19:30: “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” The congregation will leave in silence (in the shadows, in the darkness) as the choir sings “Beautiful Savior”.

As you might imagine, it can be a solemn and touching service. Participants can find themselves grieving like the people of Israel when Ezra read the Law. In the eighth chapter of Nehemiah, we read of Ezra and other priests publicly reading the Word of God. Apparently, that had not been done for many years, and “all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law” (v9).

Nehemiah’s response to their weeping: “Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared : for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry ; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.” Nehemiah 8:10-11 KJV

Nehemiah wasn’t telling them God’s Word should have no effect on them. He was saying the time to weep was over – it was now time to rejoice – much as described in Ecclesiastes 3:4, there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” At times, The Word should cause us to mourn over our sin, but The Word will also take us beyond that into great joy. And, as Nehemiah said, the joy of the Lord is our strength that overcomes and can turn us from grief to rejoicing.

In a Tenebrae service, such as many churches will have tonight, or in our own time of Bible study and meditation, we should be broken-hearted when we consider the suffering Jesus endured for us. It may bring tears to our eyes when we imagine the hammer’s ring as the nails are driven in, or remember His forlorn cry of “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” as the Father turned His face away.

But, we can’t stay there long. We should continue to what awaits – to what washes all the darkness away – the joy of the empty tomb! Yes, the joy of the Lord – Who He is and what He has done for us – is our strength that overcomes the darkness.

 “Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalms 30:4-5

A Prayer for Our Leaders

/ Bill Jones / 2 Comments
English translation of hebrew version. Map of ...

Map of the twelve tribes of Israel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I stopped reading and listening to the news several years ago. Someday, I’ll probably give more explanation of that, but for now, I’ll just say I realized it added very little that was positive to my life. So, I try to live as I should, and do pray and vote, and that seems about all I can do. (I say “try” because I identify with the Apostle Paul when he bemoaned the fact that he didn’t do what he should but did do what he shouldn’t).

However, even if you make a concerted effort to avoid it, you are bound to read or hear snippets of news every day. You can even hear news on The Weather Channel, and if you go into a business or office that has a TV, it’s likely tuned to CNN or Fox News. And, you don’t want to be rude and run away if folks around you start a conversation about politics or the economy, so you have to participate in those to some extent.

I say that to note that I am aware of some of the conflicts, roadblocks, and seemingly senseless happenings within our government. Based on those, it appears to me that we need some men of Issachar among us these days.

Chapter 12 of the book of 1st Chronicles gives an account of King David’s mighty men. Some joined him when he was still fleeing from King Saul – they were of Saul’s tribe of Benjamin and were able to use both hands in shooting arrows and flinging stones. The Gadites joined him in the wilderness, and were fit for battle and swift as the deer in the mountains. It lists the names of the tribes, along with their characteristics, among the group who went to Hebron to turn the kingdom of Israel over to David after Saul died in battle. Of the tribe of Issachar:

“Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command.”  1 Chronicles 12:32 ESV

That’s why I said we need some men of Issachar among us – we need people (men and women) who understand these times. Most of all, we need them to know what the United States ought to do. May we all pray that God will bless us with such leaders as that.