Bible
commentator William Barclay wrote about a young woman named Edith who was very
self- centered – "Edith lived in a little world, bound on the north,
south, east, and west by Edith." I don’t agree with everything Barlcay
wrote in his commentaries, but he very often had, as we say, "a way with
words." In those few words about Edith he reminded us why
self-centeredness and selfish living is such an awful thing. If we leave
self-centered tendencies and habits in our lives unchecked, we not only
inadvertently shrink the world we live in down to a little bitty thing, but we
shrink ourselves as human beings and make our lives much smaller than God
created us to be. The Bible collides head-on with worldly think- ing about
"self." Philippians 2:3b urges "with humility of mind let
each one regard one another as more important than himself" (New American
Standard Bible). But the evidence is everywhere that most people don’t live
that way. We like to look at ourselves, hear ourselves, express ourselves, talk
about ourselves, display ourselves, promote ourselves, post about ourselves,
and seek to fulfill ourselves. In short, millions now live in a little world
bounded on the north, south, east, and west by themselves. Consider this
article by an unknown source entitled "How To Be Miserable" –
"Think about yourself. Talk about yourself. Use ‘I’ as often as possible.
Listen greedily to what people say about you. Expect to be appreciated. Be
suspicious, jealous and envious. Be sensitive to slights. Never forgive a
criticism. Insist on consideration and respect. Demand agreement with your own
views on everything. Sulk if people are not grateful for favors shown them.
Never forget a service you have rendered. Shirk duties if you can. Do as little
as possible for others."
In
Matthew 16:24-26 Jesus Christ issues this counter-cultural call –
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let Him deny himself, and take up His
cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man
if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Of what will a man give in
exchange for his soul?" Those words are not hard to understand, but are
very difficult to obey. To deny one’s self is more difficult than pulling up a
dandelion by the root. It means a lot more than giving up something like
chocolate for a week or not spending six hours a day watching TV or on
Facebook. Barclay, quoted above, wrote, "To deny oneself means to
obliterate self as the dominant principle of life, and to make God the ruling
principle, more, the ruling passion of life." This is not the way worldly
people live, and sadly, it is not the way many professed followers of Jesus
live. The great screen star of days gone by, Katherine Hepburn once observed,
"If you always do what interests you, at least one person is
pleased." That thinking is pervasive in our "me-first ... I’m worth
it" culture. But the Spirit of God calls us to swim against the strong
current of selfishness – "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good,
leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is
written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me’ " (Romans
15:2-3). Here is the great challenge of the Christian life. If you want to
live in a little world, make life be all about you. But if you want a bigger
and better world for yourself (and others) you must deny yourself! So said
Jesus – history’s supreme expert and example on denying selfishness and taking
up a cross. Now, will you do with your self?
by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN
The
power of hope defines the psychological victim and psychological survivor. If I
could find a way to package and dispense hope, I would have a pill more
powerful than any antidepressant on the market. Hope is often the only thing
between man and the abyss. As long as a patient, individual or victim has hope,
they can recover from anything and everything." Those words sound like
they were written by a Christian preacher. But they weren’t. They were written
by Dale Archer, M.D. in an online blog @ psychologytoday.com. The title of the
piece was "The Power of Hope," posted, July 31, 2013. The doctor goes
on to say, "However, if they lose hope, unless you can help them get it
back, all is lost." I don’t know if Dr. Archer is a Christian. What I know
is that the New Testament and the church described in its pages are unrivaled
when it comes to hope and the power that comes packaged with it! The apostle
Paul referred to God as "the God of hope" who can "fill you with
all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the
Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13). We are saved in hope that we cannot
yet see, even as "we eagerly wait for it with perseverance" (8:24-25).
The apostle Peter describes the Christian hope as "a living hope,"
grounded not on a wish or hunch or luck, but in the bedrock reality that Jesus
Christ was raised from the dead and walked out of His tomb (1 Peter 1:3)!
Hope is "laid up for you in heaven," and we hear about this laid-up
hope "in the word of the truth of the gospel" (Colossians 1:5).
The Hebrews writer taught Christians to "lay hold of the hope set
before us," and that, "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul,
both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil" (Hebrews
6:18b-19). The hope the gospel brings to our hearts anchors our souls in
Heaven even as our ship is battered and tossed about by earthly winds and
storms that beat into our souls here on earth. Edward Mote expressed it this
way in verses two and three of his powerful 1834 song, "My Hope Is Built
On Nothing Less" – "In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds
within the vale ... When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope
and stay." We are taught to "put on ... as a helmet the hope of
salvation" (1 Thessalonians 5:8b). This verse likens our hope in
Jesus to a helmet covering our head, protecting our prone-to-wander minds,
helping us to keep our minds "set on things above, not on things on
earth" (Colossians 3:2). And when a loved one dies in Christ,
Christians sorrow, but "not sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we
believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those
who sleep in Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 4:13b-14). No wonder then the
apostle Paul referred to "the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope" (1
Timothy 1:1b). A fundamental truth of Scripture is that we are not made
solely for this present life. This life was never intended to fully satisfy us.
"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most
to be pitied" (1 Corinthians 15:19). Christians freely admit that
when it comes to forgiveness of sin, separation from God, death and getting out
of the grave, we have only one hope (Ephesians 4:4). The thing is,
that’s one more than the world has, for those without Christ have "no hope"
(Ephesians 2:12). Please tell me – why would anybody ever abandon the
one hope we have for a world that offers no hope at all? Just asking.
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without
wavering, for He is faithful who promised" Hebrews
10:23
by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN
Somebody
observed that patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like
stripping your gears. Americans don’t like idling. Idling suggests not moving
or if moving, moving very, very slowly, as in "just idling along."
Americans don’t like idling and we don’t like slow. We like fast. As in fast
lanes, fast cars, fast computers, fast food, fast banking, and fast doctor and
dental visits. We want "same day delivery" or at least "over
night." At the restaurant we want fast service, not waiters (that is
"servers") who keep us waiting. We even like things speeded up at
church sometimes. Like the song leader who announced, "We will now sing
‘Take Time To Be Holy,’ and for the sake of time let us sing verse 1 and verse
4." There’s no denying we live in a hurry-up, pedal-to-the-metal,
on-your-mark, get set, let’s go, warp-speed world! The plain fact of the matter
is, "Most Americans can’t bear to wait." Those words were the title
of Associated Press article (THE TENNESSEAN, Monday, May 29, 2006, p 1A). The
article, by Calvin Woodward, began with these words: "We’ll make this
quick. We know you’re busy. An Associated Press poll has found an impatient
nation." The nation, of course was – and still is – our nation. The rest
of Woodward’s article discussed our impatience when we get put "on
hold" on the phone or have to wait in line at a grocery store or other
places we go. To quote Woodward again, "In short, Americans want it all
NOW. Or awfully close to now." Truly, millions of Americans stink when it
comes to waiting.
But
wait! God’s word directs Christians to be good "waiters." Psalm
27:13-14 (attributed to David) calls to readers in an "it can’t
wait" world – "I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I
would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the
Lord!" David was dealing with difficult circumstances and people as he
penned this psalm. He surely wanted immediate relief, but he had learned to
wait on God and to trust the Lord to act in His own time and way. James,
considered by many Bible students to be the half-brother of the Lord Jesus,
calls on God’s people to be good waiters. In James 5:7-8 he gives this
inspired directive to Christian brothers and sisters who were living through
very difficult times, suffering injustice and egregious mistreatment at the
hands of powerful, rich people – "Therefore, be patient, brethren, until
the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the
earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at
hand." Translation – "Times are tough right now. But trust God. A
better time is coming." James urges them to be "good waiters."
These words have an important application for us at this present moment. The
drastic measures taken to battle the Covid-19 – orders to stay at home,
"social distancing," avoiding all non-essential travel, etc. – have
left us feeling our very lives are on hold. We are waiting, and waiting – even
as we say, "I can’t wait until it’s over and I can (you finish the
statement) ..." As we await that time, let us trust that God is good all
the time, and all the time God is good. Let us not lose heart. Let us, like
David, believe that we will continue to see the goodness of the Lord in the
land of the living. And like the farmers Bro. James referred to, let us wait
patiently on the Lord. Remember friends – God wants good waiters! Think about
it.
by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN
The
phrase "social distancing" is now a part of our vocabulary, and,
until the Covid-19 crisis is over, it will be a routine part of daily life. At
urmc.rochester.edu the phrase "social distancing" is defined as
follows: "Social distancing means not interacting with anyone outside your
household, and limiting trips to places where you might interact with other
people. It is strongly recommended that you only leave your home for essential
travel." You know the drill. Avoid public spaces. Stay away from large
social gatherings. Stay six feet apart. Wear a face mask. Wash your hands
often. Don’t touch your face. No handshakes, hugs, or friendly kisses on the
cheek. If possible, work from home instead of your office or other public
workspace. Visit friends and loved ones online instead of in person. Reports
indicate the widespread practice of social distancing has been key in slowing
the spread of the dreaded virus and will in the end help defeat it. That being
true, for the time being, let us stay together on the practice of staying
apart! Meanwhile, let us recognize medical professionals and all those who
provide other truly "essential" services from day to day. We salute
you for your bravery and willingness to stay close and expose yourself to what
most of us are working hard to stay away from. Your actions are truly heroic!
Now
think about Jesus and social distancing for a moment. In a word – He didn’t
practice it! Stay with me here. This is NOT in any way a slam on the wisdom or
necessity of the practice as we battle Covid-19. But Jesus didn’t practice it.
He was often found smack dab in the middle of crowds of hurting and unhealthy
people (read Mark 1:32-34 for one of a number of such instances). The
diseases He healed were physical and spiritual in nature. At Mark 1:40-45
Mark reports Jesus doing something absolutely unheard of in His time – He
reached out to and touched and cleansed / healed a leper! Leprosy required
social distancing. Read Leviticus 13:44-46. The infected person
"shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp." As in
isolation and quarantine. Leprosy dumped anguish on the leper at all levels –
physical, mental, social, and religious. In mark’s account the leper pitifully
pleaded with the Lord, "If You are willing, You can make me clean. Then
Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said
to Him, ‘I am willing; be cleansed’ " (verses 40-41). In other
cases of healing in the gospel accounts Jesus healed at a distance. But He
didn’t practice social distancing in this case. Or in ours. To cure our
spiritual leprosy of sin Christ drew near. Scripture says He was
"Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us’ " (Matthew 1:23).
Jesus was "the Word, and the word was with God, and word was God...And the
Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:1, 14). Matthew
8:17 (quoting Isaiah 53:4) says Jesus "took our infirmities And
bore our sicknesses." That verse is not talking about Covid-19. First
Peter 2:24 declares Jesus "bore our sins in His own body on the tree
... by whose stripes we are healed." Again, "This is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners, of whom I am chief" (1 Tim.1:15). To cure our disease
Jesus exposed Himself to it. Thank God He didn’t practice physical or social or
spiritual distancing. Thank God He didn’t stay at home. Thank God He drew near.
Say it with me: Praise the Lord!
by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN
