Hope for Life Blog

He was a poison detector and that was a job not a title. He would sip the liquid and if he didn’t fall over dead, he would hand it to the King so the King could safely drink it.

Nehemiah was called a “cup bearer” and he made sure that all drinks, water, wine, the hard stuff, did not contain poison before the Persian King, Artaxerxes would consume it. Nehemiah was a devout Jew living in the royal palace as a slave in the capital city of the Persian empire, Susa. And while he has his memoir written, the book of Nehemiah of the Old Testament, he was still a poison detector. He was not a spiritual leader. His biography is very clear, he just wanted to rebuild the walls of the city he had heard stories about. He was just an ordinary guy, who believed in God and asked God to help him. He had no special religious training, wasn’t a Levite thus a priest, didn’t have a pulpit in which to stand nor had a prophet’s training.

If you think about it, a lot of those Bible times people were just devout individuals seeking to do what God wanted them to do. Abram, Gideon, Zerubbabel, Matthew, Peter, Andrew, Luke, Phillip, Demas, Tychicus to name just a few.

Today we tend to think that only “Spiritual leaders” can talk or tell us about Jesus. That the “professional staff” are the only ones with training and insight to convey the important passages to others. Our religious environment tends to focus on the manuscripts, blogs, and opinions of those leaders without conferring with the sources: God, Jesus, Holy Spirit and the Bible.

Yet the history of Judeo Christian faith demonstrates that it was the Nehemiahs of the times that most effectively and most often carried the message.

In our 21st century world, we are overlooking the Nehemiah within us.

Who have been the Nehemiahs in your life? Why were they important to you? Then the bigger question is, are you a Nehemiah to others?

It was horrific! They were ripped from their dwellings, forced to travel for months, held as slaves for 70 years, everything about “home” was remembered and some had never seen the places they were told about. Their names were changed, they were expected to eat different foods and told to assimilate into their new surroundings or else!

Then one day, they were allowed to go “home.” Just under 50,000 who made the four months’ journey wanted to reclaim what they had left.

The story of the Jews returning from Babylonian captivity is found in the first six chapters of Ezra. Those chapters talk about how those returning exiles went to great lengths to restore their place of worship, the Temple; to restore their religious practices, festivals and sacrifices, to restore their relationship to Jehovah God. Ezra, the writer, tells about the almost insurmountable obstacles that cluttered their way and how their determination conquered those barriers. They wanted restoration with God. Being separated from Him by distance, by culture, even by kingly command did not quench that need to be once again close to their God.

And God Almighty has always wanted restoration with his creation. From the time man introduced sin into the world and God asked “where are you?” (Genesis3:8-11) to the image of Jesus standing at a door knocking, waiting to be let in (Revelation 3:20), God has made it possible for man and woman to be “pure and Holy” again in His sight.

Like the Israelites of old, we too can find ourselves ripped from our homes, forced to go places we don’t want and become slaves to our emotions and desires. BUT we can go “home” anytime we choose restoration with our Father.

The question then is what keeps people from seeking restoration with God?

And more specifically what keeps you from having restoration with you heavenly Father?

It’s awkward isn’t it? “Happy Thanksgiving” no longer applies. “Survive Black Friday” doesn’t seem appropriate because you did. And since it’s the last day of November it’s a bit early to say “Merry Christmas”. So we’re stuck with “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy Holidays”.

Historically the busiest day for buying Christmas presents is the Saturday before Christmas and the second is Christmas Eve. This year both of those fall on Saturday, December 24.

So my suggestion is that we greet each other with “Survive Christmas Frenzy time”.

It seems easy to lose Jesus amid the hurry and scurry of finding that perfect present and the varied activities of celebrating the season. It’s easy to reduce Him to a catch phrase, “the reason for the season!!”

Yet, He IS the reason for the season. His birth was heralded as welcome to the Savior of the world. And through Him we have the promise of life forever with God Almighty.

For there’s born to you this day in the city of David a savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you: You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. Luke 2:11-14

So maybe we should say to each other, “Thank God for Jesus.”

So what do you think?

The sex was good, the rival eliminated, the baby bump was beginning to show and the whispers and gossip were flying. Then with a point of an aged finger and words that must have caused his head and heart to quake, “you are that man” everyone knew.

From the smug smile that flashed, “I’ve got this under control”, to the horrible realization that he was an adulterer, murderer, deceiver, liar, and betrayer, his world was reduced to the cesspool of reality that he was drowning in.

At that moment only the answers to two questions mattered. What does God say you should do? Are you going to do it?

What appears to be a script for a movie or TV show is a story from ancient times, sadly acted out over and over in the centuries since.

David, second king of Israel, had it all and lost it when lust controlled him. It is then that he answers those two most fundamental of questions. His answer can be read in the 51st Psalm.

Have mercy upon me, Oh God, according to Your loving kindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

David betrayed God, asked for forgiveness and is granted it, yet David still suffered the consequences of that sin (two of his sons die). In spite of all this both the prophet Samuel and Luke describe David as a man after God’s own heart.

If there was forgiveness for David, then there is nothing you can do that God can’t forgive!

Those two questions remain for you to answer. What does God say you should do? and Are you going to do it?

Which of those two is the hardest to answer?

He asked it! It was a startling question for a preacher to make to our sophisticated and technologically advanced congregation.  I admired his courage and wondered if he would be marginalized for being “out of touch” with the 21^st century.  He asked something like this:

“We are connected to our iPhones, iPads, iTouch, iTunes, iMac, iChat, but

   have we lost the connection to the I AM?”

God says:

“I am your shield, your exceeding great reward.”

Gen. 15:1

“I am Almighty God, walk before me and be blameless.”

Gen. 17:1

“I am the God of your father Abraham…for I am with you.”

Gen. 26:24

“I am the Lord, that is My name.”

Is. 42:8

“For I am God and there is no other, I am God and there is none like Me.”

Is. 46:9

“I am who I AM, thus you say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.”

Ex. 3:14

“I am with you.”

Jer. 1:14

“I am merciful.”

Jer. 3:12

Jesus says:

“I am the living bread which came down from Heaven.”

John 6:51

“I am from Him and He sent me.”

John 7:29

“I am the light of the world.”

John 8:12

“I am the door.”

John 10:9

“I am the good shepherd.”

John 10:11

“I am the resurrection and the life.”

John 11:25

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

John 14:6

“I am the vine, you are the branches.”

John 15:5

“I am Jesus….”

Acts 9:5

So the question awaits your answer.  Are you more connected to your idevice or the I AM?

If so what can you and I do about that? Or should we?

She approached cautiously and her eyes never left it. When her hands touched it, it was a caress, not a grab. Then she bowed, not to me but to the book. I was just the holder; she knew the importance of the gift itself. And I watched as she gently took the Bible in her native language of Swahili and cuddled it against her chest. Then as she sat, she began to read because she wanted to know what was written there. A young woman in Mbeya, Tanzania, not having a Bible before, hungered to know for herself what God says.

We have access to numerous Bibles, different versions, different styles. At times it seems that we more often read books about the Book, consult blogs offering opinions as to what the Bible is implying, listen to people with initials after their names as if only they understand the depth contained within the covers.

The contrast is striking, a young woman who had only heard what scripture says wants to read and understand it for herself. We who have those same words readily available seemingly would rather rely on someone other than God to tell us His thoughts. Do we really want the message of God homogenized and filtered by someone else?

The Apostle Paul reminded Timothy that:

…From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

II Tim. 3:15-17

To know what God says we must, like the young woman in Tanzania, read the Bible. We must become people of the Book, again.

So let me pose the questions and most don’t want to answer:

Do you really believe that the Bible is God’s word and thus the guide for our lives?

What is the basis of your thinking? How do you know?

How do you reconcile how you behave with what you believe?

It was a chanced exchange that happens when you sit next to someone on an airplane. “What does Herald of Truth do?” she asked. I smiled and gave my standard reply, “we tell people about Jesus.”

Then almost rudely she queried, “Why?” As I looked at her face, I realized she didn’t understand the motive and I started to formulate an answer that should have been obvious to her as well as to me, but I had rarely framed a response. “It’s about souls to Heaven. It’s all about heaven. We want people to get to heaven,” I finally affirmed.

“Oh,” she countered and her book came out, signaling that our conversation had ended.

The book of I John talks about: Doing what God wants you to do, believing in Jesus, confessing sins, loving your brothers by actually do things in addition to saying them and then in chapter 5, verse 13, he writes:

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

In his gospel, John says God loved the world so much that He gave Jesus so we can believe in Him and have everlasting life. John 3:16-17:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

It’s All about Heaven!! Our mission, obligation and responsibility is to tell the remaining 2/3 of the world’s population (4.4 Billion) about Jesus, so that those who do what God commands will go to Heaven.

Sooooo:

For you, is going to Heaven important?

Why?

How do YOU get to Heaven? And what are you going to do about it?

It was an email that carried the news. It was one of those things that catches you off guard and makes you think. I needed to express my appreciation, my honor of their work, so I wrote my email and addressed it to their daughter. It was my way of giving honor to whom honor is due, based on Romans 13:7.

I was told yesterday that Mrs. Scott went to be with the Lord that morning. You will note that even after all these years it was and still is Brother and Mrs. Scott. I have been thinking a lot about both of them since receiving that news. And about their Legacy.
I was a young, immature know it all when I came to Freed Hardeman College in the summer of 1967. Hopefully I have grown out of at least two of those afore mentioned items. That summer I enrolled in your Dad’s world history class and entered a world of discovery. As a result I think I took every class your Dad offered into Acts and Church History. I also had the opportunity to have your Mom for British Literature when I learned the prologue to the “Cranberry” Tales. (my name for them). Which to this day I try to work those words into many of my presentations (I learned it so I want to use it).
As you already know, both of your parents worked with me on my commentaries on WFHC-FM. I would write, they would comment in red, I would rewrite, they would comment in red again and finally when they approved, I would record and air the result of our collaborations. There were times when it wasn’t so pleasant, probably for all three of us, but we kept at it.
When I came to Herald of Truth one of the first things I noted as I looked at our donor base was your Mom’s name. In fact I wrote on her receipt asking if she had taught at Freed and in fact had she been my teacher. Her response was that in fact she was. For 29 years your parents contributed to the work of Herald of Truth, most of that time sending their gifts monthly.
Your parent’s legacy is multifaceted. They have helped more people know Jesus through their gifts of money to Herald of Truth, their local church and numerous other efforts that they championed. They taught students not just the facts of their respective disciplines, but also about God and His Son.
There is a personal legacy that I hold. For they shared with me a quiet determination to finish even when things become unpleasant. They shared with me a sense of discovery and appreciation for things that I view as different. They shared their time, energy and counsel with a young, immature, know it all, who years later still cherishes those memories.
You already know these things from your personal closeness to your family. I hope knowing that when your Mom joins your Dad in Heaven, there will be people there they know and then someone will approach them and say: “ you don’t know me, but you taught so in so, and they taught so in so, and they taught so in so, who taught me about Jesus. So I wanted to thank you for sharing your faith with all of us.” I pray that this will ease a bit of the loss you feel.

We should acknowledge those influences before the eulogies. Why do we want until after someone dies to acknowledge what they meant to us? Shouldn’t we tell them before we unable to tell them?
Whom do you need to honor? What did they do to make your life different?

He knew the answer before he asked the question. He was one of the outstanding Hebrew scholars of his time, noted author, recognized speaker, leader, prisoner and eventually martyr for a religious cause.

His treatise is a letter he sent to Christians in the city of Rome and it is in the eighth chapter that he poses the question and notes that no external influence can cause separation.

Yet Paul, the Apostle, knew the whole answer which began in Moses’ book of Genesis, in Chapter 3 when God asks of His creation “where are you?”, Adam was afraid for he had disobeyed the Lord God and hid himself. The answer was finalized by the visionary prophet Isaiah when God used his pen say:

“Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” Isa 59:2

The question remains, who can separate us from the love of God? And the answer is—we can when we choose not to follow his ways. We can when we disobey his rules for living. We can when we hide behind our habitual sin. We can when we decide to be unholy and unworthy.
But, if we choose to allow Jesus to redeem us, save us, make us Holy, affirm that we are worthy—Then NOTHING can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Sooooo.. Are you separated from God?

Why have you chosen to be so distant from Him?

Are you like Adam, having disobeyed God that you have hidden yourself from him?

“Let your Yes be Yes and your No, No.” The words in Matt 5:37 were spoken by Jesus as he explained that swearing by something or making an oath based on validation should not be necessary. When you say something, your actions must support your words.

In our culture saying “I swear on my mother’s grave” or “Cross my heart, hope to die” or
using profanity to convey a sense of importance or urgency are modern manifestations of the swearing or oath taking. Yet even in the 21st century we ultimately respect and believe someone who is as “good as his word,” “his word is as good as his bond.”

In spite of political correctness and public relations attempt to say something that is ambivalent and thus cannot be attributed as a stand, people still hope to find those who say what they mean, whose Yes is Yes and No is No.

Jesus was saying that during His time on earth and His words are pertinent as well for today, some will verbally commit to do something, but not follow through. Thus, to emphasize that they really mean to do it, they would swear by something.

Jesus says two things here that remain relevant today—say what you mean and then do what you say. Those around you will come to trust you when your actions are the same as your words.

So the question is this, does your Yes mean Yes and your No mean No?

Is that a first century idea relevant for our 21st Century world?

Do you know people who say Yes for Yes and No for No and how do you feel about them?