The signal broke through the ionosphere

 It's kind of like a radio signal breaking through the ionosphere and travelling through space into eternity.

Oh how awful I am to be a slave to sin! I try to be good but fail to all sorts of temptation. You want the truth? That's the truth of it. I'm addicted to sin and can't stop it. I hate it but I keep going back to it. I'm a slave to sin, to gluttony, to sexual desires, to murder of all sorts, I covet, I steal, I judge falsely, I break every one of the commandments in some form or another. I'm a slave to sin and that's the truth of it. 

Knowing my sinful self, I live in the fear of a God that is just the opposite of my sinfulness. God never changes. God always protects me and yet I know that God hates my sin more than I hate my sin. I deserve death and eternal damnation. That's the truth of it.

I look around and see that everyone struggles with sin. Some acknowledge the struggle, some run from the struggle, some give up and run towards the sin for even more of that good stuff. And then there are those that admit their sin, realize they are slaves to sin and turn to God.

Or did God turn to us? I hear the message of the Baptist in the wilderness to Repent! Turn around. See God! See God in flesh among us. Give God glory even in the midst of our sin.

Where is the Truth in all of this? I know I sin... that's one truth, but how do I deal with my sin?

Then I hear the Gospel of John 8:31-36. Jesus is Truth. Truth leads to freedom... my freedom comes through the Truth. And real Truth is revealed from above. From the other side of that ionosphere so to speak. The Truth came down to me beneath the ionosphere.  Only with Jesus can I break through and be free for eternity. 

It's on this "other" side and then on "this" side that Jesus frees me. He frees me from my sin beneath and upon this earth to a new life in eternity. Will I live in this freedom? Will I return to my sinfulness? 

Most likely. But I can return, repent, and live in the knowledge that my Truth, my Jesus, my Savior has a place for me on my journey towards his house and his Truth on the other side... even as I live here and now.

You see, it's not just about how I get there. I go along and grow. I go along in my truth of sin and look to what Jesus Truth has done for me. 

I can't do this... but Jesus has already done this for me. Jesus is the one that frees me, the slave to sin. Frees me to live a life in joy, happiness, love, honor, service and discipleship to the One who grants the freedom and to the other people God gives me daily who are all in the same boat with me in sinfulness.

So I rejoice that Truth and Freedom and Jesus come to me, not through some ritual or some automatic descendancy. Truth comes to me and frees me to live for one another and live in the knowledge that I'm free from sin. I can leave that sinful stuff behind and respond in the joy of eternal freedom.

The signal broke through the ionosphere... came to earth and gets sent right back freeing all of us to a live a life of freedom, on and on and on into eternity.

All thanks to God for loving grace and freedom and life!

Thanks be to God... today... tomorrow... and forever!

Standing Under the Sun

 I look towards a sunrise or a sunset and begin to realize my place in this universe. It's a place before God. It's a place that needs God. 

I read in the book of Genesis... Eve produced Cain with the help of God. Eve also produced Abel with the help of God and then once again... things took a turn.

Two brothers offering gifts and one is jealous of God's acknowledgement of the other brother's gift to God. Murder... death... separation happen.

Sometimes I think I'm like Cain. I'm produced with the help of God, yet I get jealous of my brother and "kill" him, so to speak. And yes... I suffer the consequences of my sin. My brother's blood cries out to me, and to God from the very ground of this earth... but God forgives me and saves me and marks me for protection against the evil of this place under the sun. 

In my sinfulness, I am saved through the waters of baptism and marked as God's own child... even in the midst of my sin, God loves me.

You see, I can't trust myself. I'm going to sin. I can't make myself right before God. I can't... I sin! So, why do I sometimes think  that I can regard others with contempt? They are in the same situation that I'm in. All of us sin and need to take refuge in God alone. Surely I can't hide in my own good works.

Jesus tells a parable about a couple guys who come to the temple to pray. One of the guys prays about how great he is... he prays I, I, I, I, I... me, me, me... It's like he is praying to himself and how God owes him something. 

The other fella knows his place before God. He knows that he is sinful and in need of God's grace and love. This guy realizes his sin before God and prays for God to have mercy on him.

How do I internalize this parable? I realize that there is only one "Big shot" in heaven, and that's not me. There are Children of God in heaven.

So, I need to realize that I can't exclude myself from the other people around me. My sin is great and I'm no better than anyone else as far as sin goes.

Jesus does not justify my sinful life... he hates it!

There is a danger in spiritual pride.

God "owes" me nothing. In fact, everything I have comes from God. Not because I have been good and done all the things to please God, but because God chooses to.

I open my soul to God, instead of locking on myself. No matter how  good I think I am; I confess my need for God to save me from my sin. I certainly can't trust in myself to be righteous.

I turn to God in trust... unquestioning trust. I look for God's justification and acceptance of heaven's grace. I need Jesus to touch my life, my soul, my being.

And yes, I look for a second childhood before Jesus. For I am fully dependent on God. 

God loves us not for being good. God loves us because God helped  our mother make us. God loves us because we are part of a creation given by God. God loves us as children who need him and his love to survive a life not only under this sun but beyond this sun into another place and  time. God loves us because God chooses to love.

So, here I am Lord, standing under the sun, asking for mercy because I'm sinful. Only you, God, can save this your child. I cry out to you... today... tomorrow... and forever. Here under this sun and beyond this sun in your eternal realm of love, grace and glory.

I fall in the arms of Jesus and seek his touch always.

Come on already

 

Come on already! Just this week I was impatient. On my way to the drive through after sitting through a concert that my grandson Daemien played in, some one pulled out in front of me and drove slowly... Come on, you Jackass! Then I get to McD's and the person in front of me takes forever to pay. After she pays, the attendant takes forever to take my money and the food takes forever to come to the window. Come on already!

There's a parable in the book of Luke about a poor lady that wanted a judge to give her justice against her opponent.  This judge didn't really care about God or the people. The woman was probably poor and didn't have any power to hold over the judge, so she pesters the crap out of the judge so much and so many times that the judge finally grants her request.

So what do the above two paragraphs have in common for me? I think God has a message for me here, and maybe it applies to you as well. That's up to you. But here is what I gather:

Before God I hope and desire to be faithful, true, and honest in the hope that God would keep me in his care. But then I realize that all that action of mine is a little screwy and backwards. God cares for me and loves me into being faithful, true and honest with him... he doesn't love me and care for me because I'm faithful, true and honest.

But kind of like this woman going to the judge, I go to God in prayer and ask and sometimes wrestle with God to help me and guide me and show me his will and his way for my life. I wrestle with God because I want answers!

But... I don't want to wait! Hurry it up God! Give me what I want! Fix this thing or that thing and tell me what to do or how to handle this or that situation.  Pick up the pace! Don't dart out in front of me and then slow down. Don't drive up to the window of my life and take forever to grant me what I want! Come on, God! I don't have forever, like you do!

So my prayer life goes. I go back and back and back for the same thing and no answer. I persist like the woman with the judge and bug the crap out of God. I don't give up and I persist.

And then through this little passage in Luke, I think about this woman and the judge and I also think about me and God.

God teaches me to be patient. In this patience God is making me persistent and more importantly creating in me faith. God is faithful. I hear the voice of God telling me that there is more to all of this than any request I may make.

God answers my prayer through a call to me to stop being in such a hurry. Listen and respond to the call. There IS after all this forever thing going on, that goes far beyond my persistent requests. God wants to hear from me over and over and over again. Through all this prayer, God is WITH me, God HEARS me, and God responds to me and my prayer requests.

And then,,,, beyond my persistent prayer requests and the constant requests of all God's people... a Kingdom is coming. A kingdom led by Jesus. A Kingdom of Jesus' faithful gathering together with Jesus. A Kingdom where Jesus IS faith. A persistent faith of the people from Jesus. A Kingdom in which the faithful don't give up and a Kingdom where all God's people respond to the call with the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to each and every one of God's faithful people. This is a Kingdom that comes to me and to you and to all who believe and have faith in that time when all will see Jesus face to face. Jesus comes... yesterday... today... tomorrow and will be forever.

Lord, may I be like that poor old lady. May I be persistent in my requests to you, knowing all along that, you give me faith in time, you have so much more in store for me than I could ever imagine.

God will answer prayer. In a way that is beyond any expectation I may have placed upon God. Believe it!

So, Billy... get off your high horse. Settle down. It's in God's time not yours... have a little faith will ya?

How about you? Can you relate to my situation here?

Return in Faith and Believe

 

Ten lepers... all healed. Jesus sees them and loves them and has compassion on them. Jesus commands them to show themselves to the priests... but along the way... healing occurs. One of the lepers is a Samaritan, kind of a double outcast, not only is he a leper, he is spurned by Jews. 

The Samaritan didn't even get to the priest, he turned back to Jesus. I suppose the other nine strictly followed Jesus' command to show themselves to the priest.

I can identify with the Samaritan and the other nine. If Jesus commanded me to go to the priest... I go!

Also, I can identify with the Samaritan. I think I identify with the Samaritan even more. I'm a diseased outcast myself. I see Jesus... Jesus sees me and loves me. Jesus has compassion towards me and heals me. Jesus heals me in a much deeper means than from leprosy and disease to body. Jesus heals me eternally. Jesus heals my soul with his love. 

As I journey through life, as my body rots and decays and becomes diseased; I notice a healing taking place. A deep healing... from the inside out. And the healing is from the love and compassion Jesus has already shown to me, without my even making it to the priest.

Jesus loved me so deeply that he suffered and died and rose again, all for my disease and death that I am going towards in this life. Jesus loved me to death... his death and my death. 

Just as in my baptismal waters... while going under the water... I died to myself. Even as an infant... I died in my sin to rise again to a new life in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A new life free to me as a loving gift. I do nothing for this gift of love from God.

And Jesus returns to me in body and spirit each and every time I follow his command and partake of his body and blood in with and under the bread and the wine of communion. Jesus comes to me... both in my body through the bread and the wine and in my spirit through his body and blood. I take Jesus in and he is part of me, healing me for a future resurrection even after Jesus own resurrection and promise to return for me, for you, and for all who have faith and believe in Jesus.

I'm a sinful, separated leper for sure. But along the way Jesus has loved me and saved me and healed me in a much deeper sense than this rotting flesh of mine reveals. I certainly do not deserve this gift of healing on my own accord.

My response? Thanks be to God! 

Jesus didn't ask to be thanked or worshipped --- but, I think, myself and the rejected Samaritan leper, witnessed Jesus' deep love and compassion... and we return to Jesus with a thankful heart to worship Jesus. To love Jesus, to be a disciple of Jesus. To follow Jesus.

Jesus is my savior and your savior as well. Jesus saves you from sin, death and  the devil. He has done all that needs to be done to give you life, here today, tomorrow and forever! Return in faith and believe. My only response.

Thanks be to God!

(Painting by Melani Pyke)