Tag: Celebration

Today’s Word Is DELIGHT

Tue-Jun-23-2020

For the Lord takes delight in his people; He crowns the humble with victory. (Psalm 149:4)

The radio talk show host of many years ago, Steve Brown, used to say, “God’s not mad at you, he’s really not!” But, oh, how many people think that he is! Instead of running toward God for life, peace, and victory, they run from God thinking they should avoid some inevitable punishment or escape from a life of God-imposed boredom and deprivation.

God is the perfect father. God is love. Ask yourself what a perfect father who is perfectly loving would do about you. If your answer is punishment, then you have not heard the true message of the Bible. Or maybe your ears have heard the true message, but your mind blocked it out, and preferred a self-condemning message that you learned from the negative experiences and the poor preaching you have heard in the past.

God is delighted for you to come to him, to rely on him, to be loved by him and to love him in return.

You come to him in humility … but … sometimes … you might be trying to be humble, but it is really self-condemnation. The difference? True humility leads to victory not condemnation. And this victory is not achieved, it is gifted to you, placed on you as if wearing a crown. It is God’s declaration of your worth to him. It doesn’t matter what you think you’re worth. It matters what God thinks you’re worth. It matters that God thinks you are worth dying for, worth blessing, worth crowning you with victory.

Are you a child of God, one of his people, have you been reborn through his Spirit? Well … God takes delight in his people … and thus in you! Do you begin your devotional time with self-condemnation, or does it occur to you that God your Perfect Father is delighted that you have sat down to talk, to share, to unload, to seek help and wisdom? I am not suggesting you skip the confessional part of your God time. But I am saying that as you confess, your words fall on the ears of the Holy One who understands and forgives … the God of second chances.

As you relate to the Father, your joy grows. Now you can do the victory dance!!

“Let them praise his name with dancing, and make music to him with timbrel and harp.” (Psalm 149:3)

Have a blessed day!

Chaplain Mark

The BEMA Podcast is a great Bible Study tool from a Messianic Jewish perspective. I highly recommend it. It is a long-term study which will increase your understanding of the Scriptures in a new and deeper way.

Today’s Word Is SHARED

It’s Humor Day!
Fri-May-15-2020

First some pastoral humor …

A pastor visits an elderly woman from his congregation. As he sits on the couch, he notices a large bowl of peanuts on the coffee table. “Mind if I have a few?” he asks.

“No, not at all!” the woman replies.

They chat for an hour and as the preacher stands to leave, he realizes that instead of eating just a few peanuts, he emptied most of the bowl. “I’m terribly sorry for eating all your peanuts, I really just meant to eat a few.”

“Oh, that’s all right,” the woman says. “I can’t eat peanuts anyway. Ever since I lost my teeth all I can do is suck the chocolate off of them.”

Oops.

And now for my word … SHARED …

The Apostle Paul said: Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15)

The word “shared” makes all the difference. It increases our joy and reduces our sorrow.

I spent too many years keeping my difficulties and sorrows to myself. There are others around us that don’t mind sharing our load a little bit. And there are certain friends and family who not only don’t mind being supportive – they really want to share our load, because they care.

Jesus said: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5: 4)

Do you resist letting others share in your sorrows? I’ve had church members in the past who didn’t want anyone to know when they went into the hospital or had difficult burdens, such as wayward children, lost jobs, or financial struggles. Something in our culture and in human nature resists telling others the difficulties we face. But God is not pleased in our secretiveness. If we desire for the love of God to come in and bless us, then we must change our approach – listen to others’ burdens that we may lighten their load – and share our burdens that others may lighten ours.

As for shared joys, I find it interesting that when people in church are asked to share their prayer concerns, joys, and sorrows, it is likely that there will be ten concerns shared, and then a silence. Everyone is having a hard time thinking of some good news to share – anything that would make us smile or shout for joy. I wish I had a catchy phrase to explain how to overcome this. I think our culture in general, and our churches in particular, have a hard time experiencing true joy.

The 23rd Chapter of Leviticus is entitled, “Feasts of the Lord.” And God says, “These are My feasts” – Sabbath, Passover, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles – seven in all. The routines of the working world were set aside for many days, and celebration took place. There were serious days, yes, but then there was dancing, singing, storytelling, and thankfulness for the goodness of God.

 It is sad that the church over the centuries has lost much of the celebratory spirit of the faith. God wants us to know how to have a good party – where joy and laughter abound, where God is at the center while his people enjoy the life he has given.

Sharing our joys and sorrows as Christians means acknowledging that God is right there in the middle of it all – he is the giver of good gifts that bring joy, and he is our comfort in times of sorrow. Sharing it with one another multiplies the blessings and divides the sorrows.

Blessings,

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Christmas Word Is … MEANING

Christmas 2019
Wed-Dec-4-2019

Getting ready for Christmas for many people in our society usually means putting up decorations and launching into gift purchasing. When my now-middle-aged children were kindergarten age, in order to add more meaning to this wonderful time of year, we decided (this means I decided) to put up a manger scene that would serve a purpose.

We put the stable in Bethlehem, which was on the buffet in the dining room. The rest of the cast was spread out over the house. Shepherds were out in the field with their sheep, close by in the living room.  Nazareth, the beginning point of Joseph and Mary’s journey, was at the far end of the house, and the wise men began from the East far away, meaning upstairs in the back bedroom. I suppose the angels could have started out on the roof, but I thought better of that.

These characters made their way to Bethlehem and the manger by being moved along an appropriate distance every few days. As we did this, we would talk about how they were feeling … excited? tired? … Did they encourage each other when they were weary? I did most of the talking, of course, while they rolled their eyes. Singing an appropriate Christmas carol helped. Their occasional comments, some funny, some profound, some absurd, and their child-like singing were precious moments.

Mary and Joseph arrived at the manger first and settled in. The shepherds stayed put in their field until the last moment, when the angels showed up with a notification, and all headed to Bethlehem on Christmas day to see the baby Jesus. The wise men arrived last, and a good time was had by all!

Have you thought about devising a way to stay focused on what your journey to Bethlehem really means this Christmas? It is, of course, far more than gifts and decorations. And considering the difficulties of late … hurricanes, floods, wildfires, droughts, not to mention personal difficulties and tragedies … we are surely thinking about how precious life is, and how unpredictable.

Make this Christmas season memorable for yourself and your family as we remember that God came into our world for a purpose. We didn’t make up the idea of Christmas gift-giving ourselves. God did that … and gave the first and best Christmas gift. The wise men followed suit and the tradition continues. A memorable Christmas is one upon which we may reflect long afterward, and sense our eyes getting moist or a smile breaking out, as we think about the amazing work that love does in our own heart and in our family.

Let the season of joy fill our homes!

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is … DANCE

Tue-Nov-26-2019
You can talk about the pro’s and con’s of the other side of the fence, but eventually you’ve got to just hop over.

“Life is not about how you survive the storm, it’s about how you dance in the rain.” – Anonymous

It is certain that we will have troubles in this life. But these troubles do not have to rob us of our joy, because:

FIRST – There is a great joy coming that outweighs everything. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” – The Apostle Paul (2nd Corinthians 4:17)

SECOND – As blessings come and we grow in faith, the troubles are forgotten. “For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.” – The Prophet Isaiah (65:16b)

THIRD – We have help from God who can overcome them for us. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – Jesus (John 16:33)

I hope you can learn sooner than I did to let loose and “dance in the rain.” You can make up lots of reasons not to, which I have done. But it is highly unlikely that you will get the courage to dance in spite of troubles by coming up with “logical reasons” that you should do it. You might just have to decide in a crazy moment … why not just dance! Of course, dancing can be embarrassing. But embarrassment can be quite the thief. How much has it stolen from you?

There may not be anything in your circumstances that says you have the right to dance, the desire to dance, or the energy to dance. But don’t let that stop you!

For me, it was a little like jumping a fence. You can talk about the pro’s and con’s of the other side of the fence, but eventually you’ve got to just hop over. And the people around you will just have to get used to what you are like on the dancing side of the fence.

Go ahead and dance in the rain,

Chaplain Mark