Lost Their Song

       In Second Chronicles, chapter 29, we see a strange picture of God’s people without a song. There have not been any songs for sixteen years. Israel sang all the time. They sang when they went to war. They sang when they won victories. They sang when they remembered great days. They sang when they worshipped. When God was with them, they sang. They couldn’t help it. They sang…but they haven’t sung in sixteen years. It must have been a long sad sixteen years. What happened to them? How did they lose their song? Go back to chapter 28. The wicked man, Ahaz, is the King. He introduced all sorts of idol worship…even in God’s house.

      There could be no song with all that evil.

      But in chapter 29, Hezekiah becomes King. He tears down the idol altars. He cleans out the temple. He restores true worship to God. With restoration, they sang again.

      When a person is slipping from fellowship with God, one of the very first things to go is his song. Before he misses the assembly, before he abandons his duty, he quits singing and praying. You see, it is only natural for a person who is close to God to sing. They have to sing. It’s like a person in love has to smile. What about you? Have you lost your song? If so, come back to God.

     Dear Father, the only true and living God. I praise you for who you are. There is no one like you. When I cannot approach you , I know it is my sin that separates me from you. When my worship is flat, I know it is because I harbor sin in my heart.

     So now, I come to you asking you to cleanse me of my sins. Forgive me. Save me. Thank you for this forgiveness. Thank you for receiving my praise. Thank you for restoring my song. In the name of Jesus, I pray, amen.

Paul Shero

San Angelo, Texas

Sharing the Grace

I love to share good news with people.  When our teams at Tarleton win, it’s fun to write the articles. When the student-athletes are honored for their efforts on and off the field, it’s exciting to tell of their awards. When my wife and I found out we were pregnant, we were busting at the seams to tell our family.  We had good news, and we wanted to shout it from the rooftops so everyone would know.

It’s amazing how we are so comfortable with spreading our good news around to all those in which we come into contact whether we know them or not, but why is it so hard to share the Good News?

God’s grace is a gift.  And usually, we forget to pass it on to others.His grace is big enough for everyone.  It is not limited to any one person, but it is open for all.  Jesus healed the blind, lame and deaf.  He ate with the sinners, talked with the prostitutes and interacted with thieves. 

It is our faith that limits God’s grace, not God Himself.  How big is your faith in the God who heals and forgives?  Is our view of God’s grace limited by our view of God? God is not just for Americans or certain Christians or certain races – God is much bigger than that.  He is in every breath I take. He is in every person I encounter.  He is in every event.  Whether I see Him in those people/events or not reflects my view of God. I don’t fully understand God’s grace.  I sometimes pray for friends and family members to be healed of physical ailments, but sometimes, they die.  I sometimes pray for friends/family who are suffering, yet many times, their suffering continues or worsens.  Sometimes it seems as if good people suffer and rotten people prevail.  Obviously, God’s grace has nothing to do with my will, but His alone. 


To accept God’s grace is to surrender my will and everything else I have to His purpose.  His control.  His direction.  His result.  God’s grace is omnipresent – just like God Himself.  His grace renews us. It is offered to all, but do we extend His grace to others? Do we share His Good News?

Casting Crowns has a song entitled “Does Anybody Hear Her” which describes a young lady who is troubled and looking for something or someone to fill a void in her life.  After making bad decisions, the music video shows her watching a group of Christians enjoying themselves on the way to a worship service.  She decides to pull into the parking lot.  As she gets out of her vehicle, a lady walks by and gives her a judgmental look.  She almost gets back in her car, but decides to go ahead to the door.  As she nears the door, the same group that walked in front of her on the crosswalk walks right past her.  Some of them even look at her, but none of them invite her in.  She leaves wondering why they didn’t speak to her or invite her in if they were supposed to have it all “figured out” as Christians.  Later, she sees the group at the diner where she works.  As they leave, they place a card alongside the tip that says something like “experience Eternal Life”.  Knowing that they “talked the talk,” but did not “walk the walk,” she crumpled the card without continuing to read its message.  She was denied the opportunity to understand the grace of God because those individuals did not take the time to teach Jesus.  Then, one of the girls returned for her purse and notices the girl crying and troubled, and sits down and talks with her.

The song starts with the words, “She is running, a hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction. She is trying but the canyon’s ever widening in the depths of her cold heart. She sets out on another misadventure just to find she’s another two years older and she’s three more steps behind.”

Do we know anyone like that? I am sure the answer for all of us is a resounding “YES!” But what have we done to help them? Have we extended the grace of Jesus to them?  Or do we fit into the chorus of the song:
“Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?  Or does anybody even know she’s going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple with all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that’s tucked away in you and me?
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?”

Who is around us that we are denying the chance to know God’s grace? And if we are knowingly denying them the opportunity to know God and His mercy – are we not in fact denying God?  Are we ourselves denying God’s grace by not sharing?

I pray we look past people’s appearance.  I hope we come down from our lofty positions we have placed ourselves upon.  I plead for us to look around us – “under our steeple” – to find the people who need God.  Those who need a Savior.  Those who are looking to fill a void.  Because you and I both know that the only one who can fill the void is God Himself.  Let’s share that message – the Good News – so they, too, can find God’s grace and mercy at the foot of the cross.

Father God, help us to spread the story of your grace to those around us.  Help us to reach out to those who are searching. Help us to show people the cross which bridges one side of the void to the other.  Help us to be people who are active in teaching the Good News – not just with our words, but with our actions. Father, let us reflect Your Spirit in our everyday lives.  Amen.

Joey Roberts

Stephenville, Texas

The Prayer Jesus Refused to Pray

Jesus could have anything He wanted. He knew it. Anything He asked for was His. Rocks to bread…just say the word. Legions of angels…yours for the asking. The prayers of Christ were bold; dead people came to life, storms stopped, naturals law was ignored.

That’s why we read with such interest His prayers; especially His prayer in John 17. We notice the things He asked for and we notice something else; there was a prayer Jesus refused to pray. Read verse fifteen.

    “I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world,

but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one.”

He has already said we belong to Him, and He loves us and the world hates us. But He refused to pray that we be taken out of the world. We are here; that’s where we are supposed to be. We are His body. We have work to do. We are light: we have darkness to dispel. We are salt; we are to influence this world. Jesus said we are not of the world but we are in it.

We are missionaries in a mission field. The only Bible most people read is you. The only sermon most people hear is you. You are here for a purpose. You are His ambassador. You have work to do. How are you doing?

Dear Father, You have all power and know everything. All of creation answers to you. I know you love me and know me. But right now my life is hard. I need help. If I have to stay here I need help. Please forgive my self-centeredness. Please give me wisdom to know the way and please give me the peace that passes understanding. And please keep me from the evil one.

         

Thank you for not giving up on me.   In the name of Jesus, I pray.

Paul Shero

San Angelo, Texas

Not My Eutopia

            Sometimes I like to dream up my own eutopia. Yes, that is the correct spelling, because in the Greek “eu” means “good.” Eutopia means “good place.” “Utopia,” the spelling which we usually prefer, means “no place.” I’d rather be in a good place than no place, I think.

            This world likes to wield the power of eutopian ideals over and inside our heads, like we don’t have reason to enjoy what we’ve got now. My thoughts jump from this--now--to heaven, never formulating thoughts of possible eutopias in between, because when people try to force you to dream up perfection it can be rather off-putting.

            I know of no “eutopia,” in the truest sense of the word, but we live in “utopia,” I think. Our reference point for beauty is airbrushed photos, sliced and stretched wealthy people who live lives that I can’t even imagine--the most intricate and extravagant and painted up. So I don’t know where their beauty is coming from--the person or the alterations. And I don’t have any major alterations, so where does my beauty come from? Probably “no-place.”

            Sometimes I want to turn off my cell phone or ignore text messages, delete my Facebook account and never check my email. But that makes people angry. They get offended. Sometimes I just need some peace. Complete and total solitude. Is there any place we can go to get that, without repercussions that evoke guilt? Nope. “No-place.”

            There is no way to banish insecurities or the belief that we are inadequate or that we should be achieving greater or making more money or losing more weight. I can’t, because there’s always a girl walking by weighing 103 pounds and an unbelievably tanned, muscular man strutting just behind. And then their bodies are always on billboards. There are always useless Louis Vuitton bags doing their song and dance in a store window. Yes, they are useless, but such a necessity. Then the girl from the billboard is carrying one so why shouldn’t I carry one too?

            I can’t banish the thoughts. They invade every corner of my mind--not always the same ones and usually not all at the same time, but there is always at least one floating around. There is “no-place” for my thoughts to travel and hide from inadequacy, no place where they will not encounter that from which they are fleeing. They flee from our misjudged and wrongly created eutopias that are not what they claim to be. They flee from “eutopia” and end up wandering around in “utopia.”

            Within a utopian mindset, knowledge is pleasure and pleasures are happiness. Within this mindset, we believe that God created us for the purpose of giving us total earthly happiness. Utopians believe that genuine happiness can be found in earthly pleasures. Scripture says ultimate happiness is inherent in the nature of God. That is what we must pursue for true happiness and fulfillment and pleasure.

“How happy is the man

who does not follow the advice of the wicked,

or take the path of sinners,

or join a group of mockers!

Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,

and he meditates on it day and night.

He is like a tree planted beside streams of water

that bears its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers” (Psalm 1:1-3). 

Father,

May we find pleasure in your instruction

in the strength of your salvation

in your undying compassion

in your loving mercy

in your relentless grace

in your concern for our

transcendent joy.

We love you.

Amen.

Erin E. Daugherty, Abilene Christian University

Two Doors

Two doors, which one will be opened?

Which one will remain closed and locked?

Sin, deceitful and crafty, crouches at the door.    

The LORD God warned Cain concerning sin.
God instructed Cain to master sin. (Gen. 4:7)

Another knocks at the door.  Jesus, victorious over sin, says if anyone hears His voice and opens the door, He will come in and dine with him. (Rev. 3:20)

Jesus directed His disciples to watch and pray-to avoid falling into temptation. (Matthew 26:40-42, Mark 14:37-39, Luke 22:39-46)

In the wilderness, Jesus conquered the temptations dangled before Him with the powerful truth of Scripture. (Matt 4:1-11)

Jesus told a parable that illustrates a wise man builds his house on the rock;
the wise man hears and puts into practice the words of Jesus (Matthew 7:24).

A nugget of truth is conveyed in the book of James:

Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and He will come near to you. (4:7)

Each soul must endeavor to master the sin that waits to lure our mind and heart into its deadly trap.

Two choices remain.

One choice embraces sin and reaps death.
One choice submits to Jesus as Lord and reaps life.

Which door will be opened?
Which door will remain closed and locked?

Gracious Father,

Thank You for the choice Jesus provided through His ultimate sacrifice, to rescue us from the slavery of sin.  Father, strengthen us through Your Word, Your Spirit and the sweet communion of prayer.  Help us to be watchful, to recognize sin and flee quickly from its influence.  Give us courage to teach others about the good news.
In the precious name of Jesus,
Amen.

Michelle Oliver

Stephenville, Texas

Fasten Your Seatbelt

A recent trip from home ended with quite a stir at the airport. The first clue for how the day would go came in a phone call stating our flight was delayed an hour. A second call noted the flight was delayed another hour. Upon arrival at the airport, I learned that the flight was cancelled due to a hydraulic leak and I was being routed to another flight. I felt good about it because the two guys behind me got routed to LAX before returning to Dallas whereas I was on a direct flight. Good for me, right? Well, 15 minutes into our flight it was obvious something wasn’t right when the pilot announced that our landing gear wasn’t working, we were going to fly around and burn off 10,000 pounds of fuel and then make an emergency landing. He went on to tell us that we would need to assume the crash position and we would see the firetrucks and emergency personnel lining the runway. Needless to say, the atmosphere on the airplane changed dramatically as an air of fear permeated the cabin.

After we landed without incident, we waited in the terminal for another plane to arrive to bring us home giving us plenty of time to breathe, relax and share some of our thoughts. I was struck by the number of times I heard something similar to “it really makes you think about things” and “I sure reconsidered my priorities.” Most seemed to agree with each other giving knowing nods or chiming in with similar comments. I tried to stay quiet until someone finally asked me directly how I felt about it and my response simply left blank stares.

 

Having the spent the past week thinking about some of the comments and talking to someone I know who was on the plane, I wonder how many of those thoughts while circling in the air and not knowing what would happen have created changes in those people’s lives. I wonder how many have changed their priorities, their habits, their thoughts, their relationship with God. I wonder because I spent many years knowing I was doing things that put my heart in danger, even my life at times, thinking I needed to straighten up, to get right with God and to begin living differently only to find myself doing the same things I had been doing because the bad stuff I feared didn’t come to fruition. I spent years knowing what I was doing was wrong but I was caught in the trap of the accuser, kept allowing myself to believe that I was a bad person who just did bad things and someone that God couldn’t really love, someone God wouldn’t embrace, someone God was disappointed in.

For me, the decision to make changes and the decision to begin living in submission to God didn’t come from the bad things that could happen to me. No, the decision came after something bad did happen that will alter the course of my life forever. I was humbled, knocked to my knees, when I realized that I had no control of my life and that my plans and dreams and desires would no longer be put ahead of God’s control, God’s plans, God’s dreams and God’s desires for my life.


James 4:7-10 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” [emphasis mine]

Having been humbled before God, I have learned to live in the peace of his mighty power and in the knowledge that he is in control. I don’t know the people in the airport who gave me the blank stares but I can’t help but wonder if many of them don’t know the peace I have living in the knowledge that God is in control. When asked how I felt during the hour we were flying around burning fuel I simply shared with them my simple prayer, “Lord, I pray that in whatever happens this day, you are glorified. In our safe return, Lord, I pray that you are glorified. If the end of this story isn’t a safe return, Lord, I pray that you are glorified. Lord, let your peace descend on all involved in this situation.” With that, I was at perfect peace with whatever was to come. If we landed safely, I knew the Lord still had a plan for me to live out and if we didn’t land safely, I knew the Lord would be calling me home. Either way, I knew God would show me his desire and I would go from there.

I pray that you know the perfect peace that comes from the Lord and that you live in that peace each day as your light shines to a dark world.

Grace and peace to you.

Jeff Jones

Decatur, Texas

Love, Simply

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God... (I John 4:1).

I’ve always been painfully aware of my imperfections.  In childhood I often felt not-quite-good-enough, smart enough, or capable enough, and my insecurities are still disabling at times.

But God can do surprising things with our weaknesses if we let him.  He took mine and lovingly burdened me with empathy for those who appear less fortunate than I.  Through my chosen profession -- helping those born with intellectual and developmental disabilities – I learned that the ability to love can’t be measured by an IQ test, and that one’s value as a human being doesn’t depend on intellectual prowess.

Chad’s arms and legs were permanently drawn up in a fetal position.  At 22, he could do nothing for himself.  He would spend some time each day in a beanbag chair, placed there by caregivers.  He couldn’t speak, but would cut his eyes and smile in my direction when he heard my voice.  Gary had severe behavior problems.  He couldn’t read or write, but he loved to sing, and I loved to listen:  God is so good…He loves me so…He’s so good to me.

Chad blessed me with a smile – everything he had to give.  Gary taught me with a song  --  simple, yet profoundly eloquent.

I want you to know Tina.  Developmentally disabled, widowed, mother of three children, and grandmother of one.  My husband and I saw her walking one morning.  It was drizzling rain and she was carrying a small grocery sack.  Having known us for years, she let us drive her home.

She said her daughters were coming to visit and she wanted to make them a special treat.  She walked 2 miles on that chilly, wet morning to buy ice cream.  She was making milkshakes for her girls.

Every now and then – if we have an open heart – we can glimpse eternity in a smile, a song, or in the form of pure, innocent, sacrificial love, like Tina’s.  After she was safely inside, I wept at the beauty of it.

God, you are the essence of pure, innocent, sacrificial love.  Help us love this way.  Through Jesus Christ who showed us how, Amen.

Sandra Milholland

Abilene, Texas