I am a Christian!

³² So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³ but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.  ³⁴ “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. ³⁷ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Scripture comes to life in many ways.  Just reading a familiar scripture brings a particular truth or teaching into our minds.  Listening to someone teach scripture opens our minds in other ways.  But, nothing opens our minds to the teaching of a particular scripture like seeing it enfleshed.  

Saeed Abideni is a name that may be familiar to you.  He is the Christian minister who has just recently been sentenced to eight years in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran, Iran.  He was formally charged with being a nationally security threat.  His real “crime” is being associated with a Christian house church movement that is spreading through Iran.  He participated in this effort in the early 2000’s when the house church movement was not considered a threat by the Iranian government and more especially, Islamic extremists.  Times have changed.  He was recently identified on a recent trip involving humanitarian aid and subsequently arrested.  He is 34 years old, has a wife and two small children.   Sources from within the prison say that part of his interrogation involves undisclosed torture for the purpose of locating the house churches.  He will be given his freedom, allegedly, if he gives up his brethren.  Other Iranian Christians and ministers have been imprisoned for the same reasons.  

Each time I hear a story like this one it brings a lot of things to my mind.  It reminds me that our faith is a “confession.”  To be a disciple of Jesus Christ means that we stand behind the truth about the gospel with our “lives.”  Confession is more than something we say before baptism.  It is a mantra we pick up and carry with us everyday.  Paul said, “We carry in our bodies the dying of Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:10).  

Stories like this one remind me that faith is not lived out in isolation from other believers.  We are bound to each other by the Holy Spirit based on our confession of faith and obedience to Christ.  Christian community is anchored in a conviction about what God has accomplished and promises only in Jesus Christ.  I doubt the Iranian house churches have time for “bickering, slander, rudeness, and anger” given the circumstances in which they live.  With Satan prowling about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour through Islamic extremists, I can only imagine how much they depend on and treasure each other in prayer, encouragement and worship.  

Stories like this one rebuke and encourage me.  They bring scripture from the page and set it starkly and passionately in my mind awakening my imagination about what it means to be a Christian.  Such stories sharpen my confession and show me the true purpose of Christian community.  

We should pray for Saeed and his family.  We should pray for ourselves, too.  We should pray that in a land of peace and protection we can possess such a faith as theirs.

O Father, we live in blindness sometimes and call it sight.  Use your Word and your Spirit to drop the scales from our eyes so that we can see the majesty and power of our confession that Jesus is Lord.  Our world needs us to live with such conviction so that they might know Christ and the power of his resurrection.  Because of Jesus….Amen

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas

No More Clarity

A few weeks ago I was reading through Philip Yancey’s book “Reaching for the Invisible God” and was struck by the following excerpt:

“When the brilliant ethicist John Kavanaugh went to work for three months at “the house of the dying” in Calcutta, he was seeking a clear answer as to how best to spend the rest of his life.  On the first morning there he met Mother Teresa.  She asked, “And what can I do for you?”  Kavanaugh asked her to pray for him. 

      “What do you want me to pray for?” she asked.  He voiced the request that he had borne thousands of miles from the United States:  Pray that I have clarity.”

      She said firmly, “No, I will not do that.” When he asked her why, she said, “Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.”  When Kavanaugh commented that she always seemed to have the clarity he longed for, she laughed and said, “I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust.  So, I will pray that you trust God.”

We can all identify with the need for “clarity.”  Handing our lives over to God is easier said than done. Clarity allows us to stay in control while consulting God for “direction.”

We want to know the details.  God says, "Trust me."

We want to know where the road of a particular decision leads us.  God says, "Trust me."

We want "clarity" because we are really uncomfortable with the "unknowns" of trusting God.  Gods says, “Trust me.” 

Can it be that simple?

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."  

That will do for clarity.

Father, quiet our hearts and help us to lean on you.  You are faithful and trustworthy in all things. May we lay our lives at your feet knowing that you will lead us into the blessing of your purposes.  At the end of the day, there is no better place we can be.  Amen.

Randy Daugherty
Stephenville, Texas

God Reveals His Attributes

Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving kindness and truth; who keeps loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.  (Exodus 34:6, 7).

Even if we had the right to, we mustn’t judge folks who don’t respond to God’s love as easily as do we.  Too many people have been abused by their earthly father, which makes it difficult for them to trust their Heavenly Father.

I’m blessed because my birth father – though not perfect by any means – modeled for me many Godly attributes.  He was kind and gentle.  He set rules to keep me safe, and he disciplined me thoughtfully and cautiously – always with love and never out of anger – when I broke those rules.

Our Heavenly Father is compassionate, slow to anger and always ready to forgive.  He also promises to discipline those who make no effort to obey Him.  He gave us rules for living because He loves us, not because He wants to things difficult for us or to keep us from enjoying life.

As grateful children we respond to His love with obedience; we obey because we trust Him; and we trust Him because He is trustworthy.  He will never let us down.

God, you are our perfect parent.  Your word tells us how to live.  Your crucified son, Jesus Christ, shows us how to live.  Your discipline is only as harsh as our rebelliousness requires, and it’s always gentle because of your unfathomable love.  Thank you.

Sandra Milholland, Abilene, Texas

Heard a Good Story Lately?

I love a good story.  Always have.  In fact I don’t know anybody who doesn’t enjoy listening to a good story. Stories have a way of awakening our minds and stoking our imagination. As a story unfolds we naturally anticipate “what’s next”?

I think that partly explains why Jesus told stories. Scripture calls them parables. Jesus had a knack for taking slices of everyday life and serving them up as pictures of what kingdom living is all about. Someone once said to me, “I think about the parables as ‘talking in crayon’”.

Most teachers in Jesus’ day talked about faith in rather complicated terms. Spiritual conversations were mostly heavy and uninteresting. But, Jesus’ style was different. He used stories and imagery from everyday life that allowed his teaching to stoke the imagination and turn the heart toward a divine perspective of life.  He told stories about a farmer planting seed, fishermen and fishing nets, hidden treasure, weddings, and banquets, stewards operating large estates, lost coins, lost sheep and lost sons, trees struggling to bear fruit, and a guy fixated on building it bigger and better until the day he suddenly died. He drew on experiences, attitudes and events that everybody knew about. And, tucked away in every story was a punch line about the kingdom of God.

These simple stories were re-told by gospel writers for a reason. Who among us hasn’t been overwhelmed by life? We know how crazy life can get. We know about its seductions. We know the occasional struggle of trying to hum “this little light of mine” in a world that scoffs at faith and says, “live instinctually”. These stories bring strength and perspective disguised in simple plot lines.  Consider this:

• Has God thrown seed across your life? If so, what kind of ground are you? Am I? Is the seed still bearing fruit in us?
• Do we live oblivious to the fact that Jesus will return or do we, like the stewards who took care of the estate, carry on knowing the master could return any day?
• Do we respect our faith like the guy who found buried treasure in a field and sold everything to buy the field?
• Can we hear the Father’s invitation to come to His table or are we too busy with “our lives” to hear the most magnificent thing any person can hear – the call of God through the gospel of His Son?
• Would we hunt for a person like the lady who searched for a coin or a shepherd a lost sheep or a father his estranged son? And, do we know how to throw parties for people who have come back from the spiritual dead?

Point? We need these stories because they can help us stay focused on what really matters in life.  

My encouragement to us all is to spend some time traveling across the landscape of Jesus’ parables. Tucked away in each story is a “faith awakening” that can bless our lives.

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas

Remember

Sometimes when we are told to “remember” something, it means merely to recall the facts of the matter. Other times, it means that there is something we must do.   For example, if I tell my granddaughter, “Remember you put a cake in the oven.” It is not enough that she recalls that fact. If she does nothing else, the cake will burn and be ruined. But if she watches it, takes it out of the oven when it is done, and ices the cooled cake, then the family will have a lovely dessert.

In 1 Corinthians 11:2, Paul praised the Corinthians for remembering him in everything and for holding to what he had taught them. In the same chapter we are told to take communion in remembrance of Jesus. When we do, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes again. Remembering often demands action.

The lady in the following true story remembered to do most of the necessary things when making a special cake.

It was his birthday, and she wanted to serve him a birthday cake he would always remember. So she gathered everything she needed: the recipe, the ingredients (yes, she was making it from “scratch”), mixing bowl and spoon, baking pan, etc.  When she took the cake out of the oven, it was beautifully done. When the cake was cool enough, she spread the icing on it, adding the icing roses she had made.  When she finished, she stood back to admire her work.  It was the best cake she had ever made; and she was known for her beautiful and delicious cakes. Yes, this cake was the masterpiece that she had hoped for. Surely he would always remember this birthday and this cake.

As she glanced at the clock, she realized that she needed to hurry to get the kitchen cleaned up so she could cook supper. The first thing she must do was wash the dishes she used in making the cake. It was then he heard her scream. He ran quickly into the kitchen to see what happened.

He found her crying beside the ruined cake, which was on the stool she always sat on to wash dishes. But on this day she had put the cake on it to decorate it. The back of her skirt was covered with icing, so he got a dinner knife and began scraping off the icing. Between her sobs she managed to say, “I wanted it to be a cake you would always remember.” As he continued to scrape off the icing, my cousin gently said, “Don’t worry, Honey, I’ll never forget this one!”

Sometimes what you need to do is scrape off the icing and comfort the cook!

Nancy Ferguson

Abilene, Texas

Discerning the Word

Word of God speak
Would you pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your Majesty.

To be still and know
That You’re in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your Holiness.
Word of God speak. 

Mercy Me  “Word of God Speak”

The Bible is the #1 best seller of all time in the world with no other book even close.  In fact it continues to be the #1 best-seller each year of all books.   Estimates are that 2.5 billion to 6 billion copies of the Bible have been sold.   Why is this when it seems so many dismiss it as being irrelevant.   Read these combined passages from John 1 and Hebrews 4. 

In the beginning was the Word.  The Word was with God and the Word was God.   God’s Word is alive and working and is sharper than a double-edged sword.  It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined, to the center of our joints and bones. And it judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts. (John 1:1, Hebrews 4: 12).

The Bible is more than a book on the best seller list.  It’s alive, God breathed, knows us and reaches into our innermost being.  It is powerful, it is eternal, and it provides true life.  It is the Word.  No wonder it dwarfs any other book in sales, because we are not dealing with a book but the embodiment of God Himself.

When the Word is understood as being God, being alive, and being something that judges our thoughts and feelings a different view is revealed.  Instead of me examining the Word it is examining me.  How can I stay in tune and discern this awesome, amazing Book?  Instead of just reading the Word, approach it with reverence and see it as holy.  This is a spiritual experience to be taken in with all my senses.  Spiritual listening with the heart attuned to the Spirit’s leading.   Be open and aware expecting something will be revealed, inviting an encounter with the Word God and the Word Jesus Christ.  When I enter in this posture the Word speaks.  More than reading the words it is holding them, touching them with my senses, and feeling them while being led by the Spirit.  Take it as bread and drink hungering and thirsting for its righteousness.  Ingest it tasting its goodness and receiving its nourishment.  It is through this sensory experience of taking in the Word that we experience God.  It is so powerful and so personal that with His Spirit in us we cry out “Father”!  (Romans 8:15)  A deep yearning with deep feelings, a call of affection, of help, of submission, of assurance of the knowledge He is there and He is fully with me.  This is a new way of thinking of and seeing scripture.  It is God Himself.

For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. (Hebrews 5:13-14)

This approach and understanding of the Word does not come easily and requires effort, attention and practice.   After you have spent time reading scripture try to be quiet.  God Himself said through the Psalmist: “Be quiet and know that I am God.”  Not just being silent but quieting your mind.  Not thinking about yourself, others, work, play, school, kids, parents, nothing.  Your mind is quiet.  Open, listening, meditating on staying quiet yet alert to the revealing of God through His Word.  Being quiet is an acquired skill that requires practice and consistent attention.  Over time the fruit of this exercise is an amazing delicacy of revelation.

Discernment of the Word is like the Emmaus story where the two disciples’ eyes are opened to recognize Jesus and know the “resurrection” was in fact true.  He is in the flesh, and in front of them.   This is the journey to see the Word for what it is: Jesus Christ as God Himself and the realization of the kingdom.  As I read the Bible I want to make it about me, about my comfort, my success, my prayers being answered, and many times my glory.  My awakening and the true revealing of being in tune with Scripture is the realization that it is about God the Father, about His glory, and His promises of true life which is a perfect relationship with Him and His son Jesus Christ.  Until I look to Him, and view all from the perspective of seeking, asking, knocking, looking, listening, and longing so that I can know Him, I will miss the reality of life in Christ.  The disciples, apostles, and those who walked with Jesus spent days, months, and years with Him.  Yet they did not understand who He was or what He offered until after He was killed, raised, and then appeared to them. 

Lord open my servants eyes and let him see.  II Kings 6: 15-17
Teacher I want to see.  Mark 10:51

If His own disciples misunderstood who He was how do I find Him?  I must stop all that I am “doing” and be still, silent, fallen before my Father in heaven, completely submissive and say here I am.  I trust Him and allow Him to transform me and show me what the true life and abundant life is really about.  Communing with God, discerning His Word, following His Spirit’s leading allows me to know Him.  Being present in the Word, listening, seeing, hearing, and knowing His voice when it comes is from my Father.  I bow in worship, I thank Him and He is glorified.

Father, thank you for your Word that is beyond our comprehension.  Give us wisdom, discernment and understanding.

Scotty Elston
Shallowater, Texas

Love According to Peter

Most any conversation about love will bring to mind the famous love chapter, First Corinthians chapter thirteen.  It is indeed a beautiful statement about the importance of love and what mature love looks like.  

There are other texts that provide powerful teaching about love that often go overlooked.  First Peter 1:22-25 is one of those texts.  It teaches us about the kind of thinking and habits that sustain mature love.

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.  For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For,

   “All people are like grass,
   and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
  the grass withers and the flowers fall,
   but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

   And this is the word that was preached to you.

Love doesn’t simply sneak up and grab us.  Mature love takes action on our part.  How often is our personal comfort zone the starting place for how we love people?  Peter’s starting place for understanding love is the gospel and obedience to the same.  He says we should love like Jesus loved because:

• We have been purified by obeying the truth of the gospel. 
• We were born again of incorruptible seed, the word of God. 

Point?  Something happened to us when we came to Christ.  We came under the power and influence of the gospel.  As such, being born again marries us to the gospel’s style of love.   

How does Peter describe love?

It is sincere.  The greek word (anupocritos) means “without hypocrisy”.  We should not be phony or disingenuous in how we engage people.  He accents it further by saying that love should be “from the heart.” 

Fraternal affection (philadelphos).  This is the kind of love families share within a family unit.  Christians are brought together in God’s family.  We care for each other like members in a close human family care for one another.  What a beautiful picture! 

Fervently.  The greek word (extenos) means to “stretch out the hand.”  It implies earnestness, going after something purposefully and with intensity.  The Message translation reads, “…love one another as if your lives depended on it.” 

Our natural inclination is to think about love and to give love according to how our subjective filters work.  We’ve all done it.  Do I like them?  Do I think they like me?  Have they been mean to me?  Rude?  Ignored me?  Discriminatory?  Arrogant?  I don’t think I have the gift of love for that person.  “The gift of love?”   Peter says we have the calling to love - not the gift of love.  In fact he later points out some of the things that congest our ability to love and plainly says….”get rid of them!”  Mature love takes work.(2:1-2).    

Love comes with the territory of our calling in the gospel.  As we are presented opportunities to love other people we know we are "growing in the Spirit" when we think about what we need to do in a given situation from the vantage point of our life in the gospel.  Maybe that’s what Jesus meant when he said, “by this all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

Father, loving the way you love is hard.  We can’t do it on our own.  Condition our hearts to your kind of love as we come to see ourselves as people of the gospel.  Awaken us each day to the powerful truth of what the gospel means and what it means to live in it as those called through your Son.  Amen.

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas