Peace in a Chaotic World

Chuckle: "Two men were shipwrecked and floating on a raft. One of them started to pray -- 'O Lord, I've broken most of the commandments, I've been an awful sinner all my days. Lord, if you'll spare me, I'll --' The other man shouted -- 'Hold on, don't commit yourself -- I think I see a sail!!!'"

Quote: "All men desire peace, but very few desire those things that make for peace." --Thomas A. Kempis

PEACE IN A CHAOTIC WORLD

"For the Lord is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. 'I am the Lord,' he says, 'and there is no other'" (Isaiah 45:18 NLT).

Every day, it seems our world sinks deeper and deeper into a chaotic state. Wars are raging and terrorists are killing innocent people around the world. All sorts of unreasonable violence occurs constantly. Adults are shooting kids. Kids are shooting each other. Parents are shooting their children and each other. Random violence is everywhere and the perpetrators seemingly have no remorse -- no consciences.

What in the world is going on? Well, one thing is certain, God is not the instigator of such chaos. We serve a God of peace and joy who wants us to live in serenity and happiness even in the midst of chaos around us. How then can you find order and peace in your spirit during these troubled times?

As we seek to know our Lord God better each day, the One who created order and peace, he will fill us with his peace. It is your relationship with Jesus Christ that gives you peace. It is his gift to you, and he wants that peace to become more complete in your life every day as you follow him. "Since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us" (Romans 5:1 NLT).

Everywhere you look, destructive forces seem determined to take away your safety, peace, and contentment. If you turn to the world for solutions, they cannot be found. It's only from your relationship and fellowship with God through Christ that the solutions become apparent. Troubles and chaos will always be found in life which can threaten your peace of mind and spirit. To find inner peace in the midst of chaos, seek to better understand God's perspective on life. As your faith deepens, peace will come.

"Picture a massive hurricane raging over the ocean. On the surface of the sea the violent winds whip the water into giant waves and create a scene of havoc and chaos. Yet, a mere twenty-five feet below the surface, the waters are clear and calm. The fish there go on living their lives totally unaware of the thunderous tumult just above them. Where there is 'depth,' there is peace. So it is in the Christian life." "May God bless you with his special favor and wonderful peace as you come to know Jesus, our God and Lord, better and better" (2 Peter 1:2 NLT).

Love, Jerry & Dotse

Abundant Life

Chuckle: Willie: "I have an awful toothache." Tommy: "I'd have it taken out if it was mine." Willie: "Yes, if it was yours, I would too!"

Quote: "No conceivable life can be so interesting, so stimulating, as that which we live in Christ." --William Little

LIVING THE WONDERFUL LIFE

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10 NKJV).

Is your life all that God would have it to be? The messages being sent to us by the world, television, billboards, tabloids, etc., try to convince you and me that we can find fulfillment, contentment, and happiness if only we adopt the world's standard of morality for our marriages, our career advancement, raising our children, or pursuing personal pleasure.

If you or I believe this, we will never experience life's fullness and blessings that our Lord intends for us. It's sad, and tragic, to heed the messages of the world instead of the One who created life and wants us to experience life to its fullest. That's what happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan convinced them that by disobeying God they would find the good life. But, instead, for the rest of their lives they experienced only a fraction of the blessings and fulfillment God had intended for them.

It is our Lord's desire that you live with a feeling of absolute security and safety, with the assurance that you're a beloved child of God Himself. It is also his desire that you experience love, joy, and peace. If you are not experiencing such a life, you have settled for less than God planned for you.

In contrast to the thief who takes life, Jesus gives life. The life he gives right now is abundantly rich and full. It is eternal, yet it begins immediately. Life in Christ is lived on a higher plane because of his overflowing love, forgiveness, and guidance.

Let's join together and stop making excuses for not experiencing the abundant wonderful life. Let's decide today to settle for nothing less than God's very best for our lives. Let's stop living by the world's standards and methods for finding inner peace and satisfaction. Instead, let's keep our spiritual ears tuned to the voice of our Savior and we will find fulfillment.

Someone has aptly said, "Living without God's plan for your life is like sewing with a needle without thread, or writing one's biography with a pen empty of ink."

Love, Jerry & Dotse

Search Me, O God

Chuckle: "Smartness runs in my family. When I went to school I was so smart my teacher was in my class for five years.” --George Burns

Quote: "When God measures a person, he puts the tape around his heart and not his head." --Author Unknown

SEARCH ME, O GOD

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life" (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT).

We do not know our own hearts well enough to search and test them for ourselves. David asked God to search his heart and mind and point out any wrong motives that may have been behind his strong words against his enemies. This request is important because "The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I know! I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve" (Jeremiah 17:9-10 NLT).

Our tendency is to want to examine our own hearts, but, in our own strength, we are incapable of doing so by God's standards. If we sincerely ask God to examine our hearts, while studying his Word and praying, He will reveal secret motives, weaknesses and sins that we never knew existed. Have you ever acted in a sinful way, then asked yourself, "Why did I do that?" Your actions may be the result of some hidden motive that only God can reveal when you let him do a thorough heart and mind search.

In a similar way, we may think we can make ourselves good enough to be acceptable to God by cleaning up our lives according to the best of our abilities. But God knows our actions mean nothing without a change of heart. "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (I Samuel 16:7 NIV).

God makes it clear that we sin based on the condition of our hearts. Our hearts are inclined toward sin from the time we are born. Even Christians can forget God and slip into sin, but to sin or not is our choice. We can yield our lives to Satan's temptations, or we can turn to God, confess our sins in repentance and allow God to cleanse and purify our hearts as he removes the motives for our sinful actions and words. See 1 John 1:9.

When people observe your life, does what they see accurately reflect the condition of your heart? It can -- if you ask God to search your heart, as David did, and reveal any hidden motive or condition that offends him and causes you to bring dishonor to his Name. Once God has cleansed your heart and forgiven you, then your joy will return in full measure.

Love, Jerry & Dotse

Prioritizing Our Prayers

Chuckle: "Pharaoh's daughter was a great financier -- she went down to the banks of the Nile and drew out a little prophet."

Quote: "Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

PRIORITIZING OUR PRAYERS

Jesus said: "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one'" (Matthew 6:9-13 NIV). Some late manuscripts add: "for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

The "Lord's Prayer" is quoted widely and has been beautifully set to music. These words from Jesus were meant to teach His disciples and us how to pray. Perhaps it is more accurate to call this the "Model Prayer." To me, John 17 is more appropriately called the "Lord's Prayer." But, as most do, we will call our passage the "Lord's Prayer." When we pray, we are tempted to jump right in with our shopping list of personal requests for God to grant. But let's look at how Jesus prioritized the contents of this model prayer.

First, we take time to focus our prayer on God, not our requests. "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." In reverence and awe, we are to seek the face of God and express the content of our hearts in worship. By addressing God as our Father, we are acknowledging Him as not only majestic and holy, but as the very personal, caring and loving God. We praise Him for who He is and for His loving relationship with us.

Second, Our concern is for God's universal spiritual kingdom. "your kingdom come." In verse 33, Jesus said: "But seek first his (God's) kingdom and his righteousness, and all these (material) things will be given to you as well." As we become concerned about the broader work of God's kingdom, our selfish desires fade into the background. Our concern for the kingdom also reveals our confidence that God will meet our needs.

Third, Our desire is for God's will to be done, not ours. "your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Here, we must resist the temptation to put our personal desires ahead of God's will for our lives. If we have adequately conditioned our hearts through worship, we can say with joy that God's will is paramount and we exchange our wills for His. We acknowledge that His will is best for us. We want His perfect will to be accomplished in all things.

Fourth, Now we are prepared to make our personal requests to God, including our physical needs as He wills. "Give us today our daily bread." We may think we provide for our physical needs ourselves by our ingenuity and hard work. But when we ask God for His provision, we acknowledge that He is our sustainer and provider. He wants us to ask even though "your Father knows what you need before you ask him" (vs. 8).

Love, Jerry & Dotse

Sacrifice or Inconvenience

Chuckle: First girl: "I spend hours in front of the mirror admiring my beauty. Do you think that's vanity?" Second girl: "No, it's imagination."

Quote: "The principle of sacrifice is that we choose to do or to suffer what, apart from our love, we would not choose to do or to suffer." --Archbishop William Temple

SACRIFICE OR INCONVENIENCE

But Jesus called them (his disciples) together and said, “You know that in this world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them. But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must become your slave. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give (sacrifice) my life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28 NLT).

Here, Jesus teaches His disciples and us about the kind of servant that God wants in His kingdom. Jesus capped off His lesson by using Himself as the example of a servant's heart that we should emulate. His message is that rather then using people, we should serve them. We become first by putting ourselves last; and we become a leader by being a servant to others. In other words, it is by being a servant that spiritual leaders are born. This concept is alien to the secular world, but central to the kingdom of God.

The dictionary defines "sacrifice" as "the act of offering something, as the life of a person or animal to God; the act of giving up one thing for the sake of another." The supreme sacrifice is "the giving of one's life for a cause." The major theme is that a meaningful sacrifice is costly to us.

In the Hebrew culture, the word, "sacrifice" meant the taking a life and the shedding of blood. People brought their best lambs, goats, bulls, rams, etc., to be offered as sacrifices to God. The blood of animals was intended to cover their sins and the sins of their households until Jesus came.

After Jesus gave Himself as the ultimate atoning sacrifice by the shedding of His blood on the cross, animal sacrifices were no longer required. ". . . we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Hebrews 9:10 NIV). This is "because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4 NIV). "Without the shedding of (Jesus') blood, there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9:22 NLT). The once for all sacrifice by our Lord means that no other blood sacrifice will ever be needed. Jesus' come to earth to redeem mankind by sacrificing Himself to ransom us from the bondage of sin.

Today, when we speak of "sacrifice," I'm afraid we often really mean "inconvenience," not legitimate sacrifice. Our definition of "sacrifice" often falls way short of the kind of sacrifice Jesus is talking about when He speaks of giving His own life as a ransom for many. A true servant, and devoted follower of Christ, continually makes sacrifices on behalf of others. What are we prepared to sacrifice (give up) for our Lord in ministry to others -- our time, our money, our abilities? Are you ready "to offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God? (Romans 12:1 NIV).

Love, Jerry & Dotse

How Will You Be Remembered?

Chuckle: A three year-old kissed his Mom goodnight. "I love you so much, that when you die I'm going to bury you outside my bedroom window."

Quote: "As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death." --Leonardo da Vinci

HOW WILL YOU BE REMEMBERED?

"As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him . . ." (Psalm 103:15-17 NIV).

If you are a Christian, no doubt you are well versed on God's eternal plan for you following your physical death. This morning, I want to share with you about death from a different perspective. Let's begin with these questions: If you were to die today, how would you be remembered? How do you want to be remembered by your family, friends, and acquaintances after you are gone? What would you like people to say about your life?

I think most of us would answer these questions something like this: "I would like to be remembered as a godly, kind, loving, caring, compassionate, and giving person -- as a good parent who gave his best to his family, etc." I doubt any of us would say we want to be remembered by how much money we made, the size of the house in which we lived, or the kind of car we drove. Yet, many of us are driven by a selfish desire for such material things in this life. When we come face to face with the prospect of death, our values immediately take on a more wholesome and spiritual quality. How about those values while you live?

So, you must live today the way you want to be remembered. People's opinions of you are being formed today by what you say and do; and each of us would be wise to pause and think about how we would want to be remembered, then work our way backwards to the present. Then start doing those things: loving, serving, giving, etc. At the end of your life, what evidence will there have been that you were a Christian? Jesus said, "By their fruit you will recognize them" (Matthew 7:16 NIV). Here are some things that will determine how we are remembered according to A. W. Tozer:

1. What we want most. 2. What we think most about. 3. How we use our money. 4. What we do with our leisure time. 5. The company we enjoy. 6. Who and what we admire. 7. What we laugh at.

Robert Morris said, "I hate funerals and would not attend my own if it could be avoided, but it is well for every person to stop once in a while to think of what sort of a collection of mourners he is training for his final event."

Love, Jerry & Dotse

Courage to Face Death

Chuckle: "You know you're getting old when you bend over in the morning to tie your shoes and realize you didn't take them off the night before!"

Quote: "It is we ourselves and not outward circumstances who make death what it can be, a death freely and voluntarily accepted." -- Deitrich Bonhoeffer

COURAGE TO FACE DEATH

"For we are not our own masters when we live or when we die. While we live, we live to please the Lord. And when we die, we go to be with the Lord. So in life and in death, we belong to the Lord" (Romans 14:7 NLT). "Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where O death is your sting?" (I Corinthians 15:54-55 NLT).

The Bible has much to say about death: it's certainty, its meaning, and its defeat for the Christian. For those facing imminent death and suffering severe pain, death often becomes a welcomed relief. But most of us want to avoid death as long as possible. The will to survive has to be the strongest instinctive human trait.

We Christians often talk about having no fear of death, but most of us want to live in this life as long as possible. Having said this, every one of us should be planning for the day our lives will end. Life is so terribly fragile and uncertain. We have no guarantee of tomorrow, much less next month or next year. "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that'" (James 4:14-15 NIV).

It takes faith and God-given courage to look death in the face and see it for what it is: the transition from this earthly physical life to our eternal life in God's presence in a place the Bible calls heaven. And the truth of God's Word is that when we know God through faith in Jesus Christ, we should not waste our time worrying about or dreading death. We should not be afraid. Instead, we should spend our time preparing for it. By his resurrection, Jesus was victorious over sin, death, and the grave.

How then can we have the courage to face our death without fear? It's really very simple -- we must surrender our lives totally to Jesus Christ and trust him completely in death as well as in life. As we claim his promises of our resurrection and eternal life, he will give us all the courage we need -- even to face death. "Even though I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me." (Psalm 23:4 NLT).

"There are many instances of those whose faith has triumphed in the hour of death. D. L. Moody, the great evangelist of the past century, said on his deathbed, 'Earth is receding, heaven is approaching. This is my crowning day!'"

In summary, the reality of death casts a frightening shadow over our lives because we are entirely helpless to prevent it. Death may be delayed by healthy living habits, but it cannot be avoided and comes to each of us. ". . . it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment . . ." (Hebrews 9:27 KJV). But there is One who promises to walk with us through death's dark valley and bring us safely to the other side. We, then, should have the courage to fearlessly follow the Good Shepherd who has promised us eternal comfort and peace.

Love, Jerry & Dotse