Promises, Promises

"I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil." (Ps. 119:162 NIV)

When I graduated from Bible college a few hundred years ago, I received a small gift - a handbook of Bible promises. It still sits behind my chair in the bookshelf as it has for every church that I have served. It's a quick reference when I can't remember a verse or if I need to offer a word of encouragement to one of my church family members. 

They are promises of God to his people. Anchors for a storm. Stable foundations when it quakes. Deeply rooted trees for hurricane winds. Certain. True. Trustworthy. Hope filled. Positive and negative. Blessings and curses. Seldom memorized. Seldom referred to. A great treasure that remains buried because very few are willing to work hard to uncover it and claim it for their own. 

I have been struggling with a promise lately and hungering for another: The promise of Jesus' coming and the promise of a new heaven and earth. Peter wrote about both in 2 Peter 3:4 and 13. 

The first is the struggle of waiting, of anticipation, of not falling prey to the scoffers who say, "Where is his coming? It's been two thousand years." It reminds me of the man with a demon possessed son who said to Jesus, "I believe; help my unbelief." My spirit of late. The second is the hope, the longing of what is to come. Escapism. Of course, and proud of it. 

The first is a patient endurance as things become worse and worse. "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some are but is patient, not wanting anyone to perish but to come to repentance." The second is the motivation for hanging in there and staying at the work.  

I often think of all the prior post-cross generations that longed for Jesus's coming. They longed for it but didn't see it. They died in anticipation - holding on to a promise. 

And we, the generation that has seen the establishment of Israel, who are now seeing all the evil actors forming an alliance (Russia, Turkey, Iran) that will end up being the Ezekiel 38/39 war, Jerusalem being once again recognized as the capital of Israel, high inflation, government collapses, shortages of food, etc..., we, have more reason to believe in the fulfilled promise of Jesus' coming than any generation. And yet are still struggling with the fulfillment. 

Perhaps it is just war weariness. I am reminded of Proverbs 13:12, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." 

A present sickness with a certain cure. 

The promises of God. 

Blooming

"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains."

 (Matt. 24:6-8 NIV)

My butterfly bush is blooming. It was supposed to bloom in the spring and go through the summer. I thought it was dead. So, I did what the biblical parable said to do, "I'll dig around it, and fertilize it, and if it doesn't produce, I'll dig it up and burn it." My Azalea bush did the same thing. And weirdly enough, my Tulip Magnolia tree is flowering. Something that should be happening in the spring. Weird. 

It feels like things are off kilter. My nation is hell bent on killing babies and supporting debauched lifestyles. We are changing definitions of words, like "woman", "man", "recession" to fit certain political agendas but it's all evil. It all goes against the truth of the Scriptures. 

It feels like the end-time baby is coming. Russia and Ukraine. China and Taiwan. Iran and Israel. North Korea and...everyone. Nation against nation. Kingdom against kingdom. 

That darn Chinese virus keeps coming around and around. The Monkey Pox or LGBTQ Pox is being unleashed as HIV was in the 1970's. And look for more juvenile heart and overall health complications from parents jamming these untested vaccines into their kids before school starts. 

It has been oppressively hot...everywhere. I about stroked out power-washing one side of my house Saturday. Hurricane season, which begins soon, is slated to be unusually active this year. Note the political connection of this with any president trying to divide Jerusalem (Republican or Democrat). Floods in Kentucky and Missouri. Forest fires out West. I told my bride, "Wait for the earthquake. It's coming. And it won't be a little one that rumbles a bit. It will collapse cities."

As my brother-in-law so eloquently stated it, "I'm not trying to be negative. Actually, the total opposite. 'When you see these things coming, look up, and lift up your heads, for your salvation is very near.' Jesus is coming for his church and that ought to excite every believer." 

The baby (Jesus) is coming but we have some pain to go through first. 

Make sure you have good batteries for your flashlight, and some extra spaghetti noodles in the pantry. 

And enjoy the flowers...no matter if they are out of season. It is always a sign of hope. 

Heart of Worship

  "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness." (Ps. 29:2 NIV)

First of all, my apologies for being inconsistent in my writing; it's summer. I should just stop at the end of May and start after Labor Day like many of my church members 😎. 

A few weeks ago, Deb and I had the privilege of attending Billy Graham's Evangelistic Training Center in Ashville, North Carolina. A beautiful facility in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Twelve hundred acres of holiness and serenity. I needed it. 

It has been...whew...I honestly can't remember when I have had an opportunity for a ministry break to be ministered to. A common hazard for those of us in full-time ministry and the cause of many a burnout. I was desperately in need of something/someone. 

I had always wanted to go to the Cove. With Covid, Deb and I have agreed, with the exception of seeing our parents in Florida, that we would keep our travels to driving and to an eight-to-nine-hour journey. The Cove fit the parameters. 

I am also not a person that goes to "pastor's conferences." I find them boring and usually a one-up exercise. "So how big is your church?" "How many staff members do you have?" "Is your wife blond and does she play the piano, lead VBS, head up the Women's Missionary Society, and always participate in bake sales and funeral dinners?" "Now tell me again, what school you graduated from?" "Hmmmm...never heard of it?" 

I sometimes tell them that I am from the Celestial Universalist Unitarian Non-Conformist, Non-Religious Church of the None's. They only hear the last part and think I'm Roman Catholic. They move on. Leper! Leper! Unclean! Unclean! Humorous.

As I was looking at the Cove schedule, I noticed that Dr. R. T. Kendall was speaking. Dr. Kendall was the pastor of Westminster Chapel in London, England, the successor to the great Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones. Amazing...since I thought he was dead. He turned 87 the week we were there. 

I heard him speak in the 1990's when he was going through a very pivotal change in his ministry and in his walk with the Holy Spirit. It captivated me. Like listening to Leonard Ravenhill or Duncan Campbell. Riveting. Convicting. Motivating. 

I did my early registration and looked forward to the time away with my bride sitting at the feet of a Christian great. 

Double blessing. Speaking of Elisha...but for me it was having Marty Goetz lead us in worship before every session. Three times a day he brought us into the presence of the Lord. 

I didn't realize how lacking this aspect of my life was. I knew it mentally. Most of the churches I had been in since my days at Word of Life have been... no offense intended...ones that have just sung songs. It has been a long, long time since I have truly worshipped. Oh...how I missed it. How I was reminded that this is what I was created for. Most of the time I couldn't sing for my spirit welled up inside of me and the tears flowed. Tears of joy. Tears of sorrow. Tears of future hope. 

I wonder how many churches suffer from the same malady - a good song service. 

Marty Goetz does a home worship service with his wife and sometimes his daughter Misha on Tuesday and Friday nights at 8 eastern (MartyGoetz.com). He invites us into his home but more importantly, he invites us into the presence of God through our worship. 

Sometimes our heroes, we find, are just men like us. It might sound a bit prideful, but I didn't learn much, and the Q and A I could have handled easily. There were nuggets I gathered, but I think my time away was to remind me that for all of the "brain" time I put in, my heart needs just as much attention. Probably, more so...

A heart of worship. 

May I encourage you to do the same.