Picking Up the Shield

Take up the Shield of Faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.   Ephesians 6:16

Some of you have seen the huge sword that stands guard inside my front door these days. It is on loan from a very dear friend, and every time I pass by it I am reminded to pick up the Sword of the Spirit, "...which is the word of God," (Eph. 6:17) The word of God is living and active and powerful. It penetrates through the darkness to do damage to the enemy and the evil that would seek to overcome us. It is part of the full armor of God that Paul, in Ephesians 6, tells us to put on each day to fight the battle of the faith. This isn't a make-believe battle, friends. It is real. Our battle-cry is 1 John 4:4, "Greater is he who is in you [me!] than he who is in the world." The Shield of Faith is another piece of that armor. In battle, the shield and the sword work together. The sword pierces and cuts; the shield is the protector--the deflector. It prohibits the arrows of the enemy from penetrating us. God wants us to live each day carrying a strong shield of faith by which he may protect us from the "flaming arrows of the evil one." What are those arrows? We know them well: an evil thought; a nagging false guilt; a statement of condemnation; an accusation; a tidbit of despair; a seed of contempt; a temptation; a lie from Satan himself. I find it interesting that this is something we must do ourselves. A shield is only valuable if it is picked up and carried; it's worthless if it's left on the ground. The shield of faith deflects the arrows, "..and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith." 1 John 5:4 The power of Christ, folks, is within us, and it is greater than anything we will see, hear, or think. It is our calling as followers of Christ to pick up this shield daily and use it for protection, to stand firm in our faith. Today some subtle but powerful arrows may be shot your way--arrows that are meant to lodge in your mind and destroy your peace...or hurt your heart....or send you on a dangerous detour......or cause you to doubt God's goodness. Have you picked up your shield today? Only you can do it. Greg

The Wind, the Fire and the Tongues

"Suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush  of a   mighty wind    and it filled all the house where they were sitting."     Book of Acts Chapter 2

Before Jesus ascended into heaven he gave his disciples this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Acts 1:4-5 Now it's the Feast of Weeks in Jerusalem, a Jewish harvest celebration where the first fruits of the wheat harvest are brought to the temple. The streets are packed with Jews from every nation who have come to celebrate and bring their offerings. Imagine you are in the Upper Room with the followers of Jesus. You are barricaded, disillusioned, confused and ready to give up. Christ your leader is gone. Your fledgling movement, once holding forth the promise of liberation and freedom, seems to have fizzled out. You wonder: Is it "game over" for Christianity? Then, suddenly, you hear it. The sound starts as a whisper, and then explodes with ear-shattering intensity. It is the sound of a mighty rushing wind. Beginning with a spark, then a flicker, then a fiery burst, each person in the room appears to have a flame above them. Each believer is endowed with miraculous gifts. This is not your ordinary prayer meeting or small group Bible study. This is the Day of Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit unleashes His presence with unprecedented power and an astonishing miraculous display. "Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language." Acts 2:5-6 How can it be? These men are locals--ordinary Galileans--who are speaking in foreign languages. Some make fun of them and think they're drunk, but it's only 9 o'clock in the morning. Peter gets up and addresses the crowd, and on that day over 3000 people are baptized and join the disciples as followers of Jesus Christ. It's not "game over" for Christianity; it's "Game On." From now on, these disciples would turn the world upside down with the life-changing news of God's love and the resurrection of Jesus, who lived and walked on this earth. Everywhere they went they preached the gospel message of new life in Christ and the forgiveness of sin. They healed people from sickness and delivered people from evil spirits. Friends, two thousand years later we share in this message. We share in this healing ministry. We, too, are recipients of this same Holy Spirit. We proclaim this Good News. "Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12 Let it be so, O Lord, for us. Greg

The Buzzard, the Bat, and the Bumblebee

Sorrow  looks   back;     Worry looks around; Faith looks up!

The Buzzard: If you put a buzzard in a small pen that is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be a prisoner. The reason is that the buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run it will not even attempt to fly. The Bat: The ordinary bat that flies around at night--a remarkable nimble creature once it is in the air--cannot take off from a level place. If it is put on the floor or on flat ground, all it can do is shuffle around helplessly until it finds some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, all at once, it takes off like a flash. The Bumblebee: A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will buzz around until it dies unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides of the glass near the bottom. It will keep seeking a way out where there is no way until it completely destroys itself. This little story came across my computer this week from my friend, Keith. Sometimes, friends, we can be a little bit like the buzzard, the bat and the bumblebee. If, like the bumblebee, you ever feel like you have been buzzing and banging your head against the glass and going nowhere, just stop for a moment. Back up from your situation and consider a different perspective on things. Instead of grumbling, "Why me, God?" ask this instead: "What do you want me to learn from this, God? What do I need to know about this person or this situation?" Or how about this question: "Who will I be in this situation?" Maybe, by turning to God for answers, you can stop sabotaging yourself. Maybe the answer is in the opening at the top of the glass. Maybe you need to look up! "I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."  Psalm 121:1-2 Sorrow looks back; Worry looks around; Faith looks up! Bzzzzz. Greg

For All Our Moms

My mother taught me about RELIGION: "You'd better pray that comes out of the carpet." My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL: "If you don't shape up I'm going to knock you into next week." My mother taught me about FORESIGHT: "Be sure you wear clean underwear in case you're in an accident." My mother taught me about IRONY: "Keep crying and I'll give you something to cry about." My mother taught me about WEATHER: "Your room looks like a tornado went through it." My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION: "Just wait til your dad gets home." My mother taught me about JUSTICE: "Some day you'll have kids of your own, and I hope they turn out just like you!"

When I was a kid I was in trouble a lot of the time, first with my Mom and later with Mr. Kennedy, the school principal. It wasn't that I was a bad kid. I was just distracted and mischievous and much more interested in having fun than studying. My Mom was a typical stay-at-home 50's housewife. She took me to Boy Scouts every Friday, tucked me into bed every night, and had milk & cookies waiting when I got home from school in the afternoons. Nevertheless, I put her through her paces as a parent. Like the time we were visiting relatives in northern Minnesota. I thought my cousin, Kathy, was a little stuck up, so I decided to give her something to get excited about. I put a frog in her bed that night, with some pretty loud and hilarious results. Needless to say, it did not make me popular that weekend with my parents OR the relatives. But it was my high school days, Mom claimed, that just about "did her in." That's when I discovered my love for fast cars and the art of sleeping in with only seconds to spare, then racing to school in my GTO with the convertible top down and papers flying. That usually resulted in a late slip from - guess who? - Mr. Kennedy, the principal. (Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Go ahead - say it. I haven't changed that much.) In fact, I almost didn't get to graduate. Due to an innocent little drag race down Burke Boulevard that ended in the school parking lot, me and my three best buddies were kicked out of school three weeks before graduation. Mom had a conniption fit over that one. I guess she was tired of phone calls from Mr. Kennedy by then. She used to tell Jeane funny stories about my adventures, but she would always end them with, "Oh, Greg was a terror alright, but I could see that he was really a good kid inside. He had a kind heart; he just had too much 'spit & vinegar' in him!" Oh my...the things we put our mothers through! My Mom represented the unconditional love of God in so many ways to me. She loved me through all my youthful escapades, and I never doubted her love for a minute. In spite of it all, we got along great and I have fond memories of her laughter and great sense of humor that cheered me through the years. How about you? I hope you weren't as trying a child as I was, but raising kids is hard. Be sure to give your Mom a big hug this weekend for all she went through raising you. And if she is no longer with you, send a big thanks heavenward to God for her. I'll be doing the same. Greg

....but God

From the very beginning He establishes order out of chaos and creates something out of nothing. He is still doing it.

In the beginning there was nothing but God. In Genesis 1 it reads, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." From the very beginning God brings order out of the formless, empty darkness. From the beginning he separates the light from dark, the sky from water, the water from land. "But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding." Jeremiah 10:12. From the very beginning he establishes order out of chaos and creates something out of nothing. He is still doing it, isn't he? But for God, we are left to our own devises. We are left to wander through this world on our own, grabbing for the gusto of life and hoping it's all going to turn out. But God steps into our life and our situation is never the same. He goes about his purposes of redemption for each and every soul, reversing what the evil one intends and bringing light where only darkness exists. That is what he's all about. "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good..." Gen. 50:20 "No eye has seen, no ear has hear, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him - but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit." 1 Cor. 2:9-10 "But God raised him from the dead..." Acts 2:24 "...we were harassed at every turn - conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us..." 2 Cor. 7:6 "They sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him..." Acts 7:9 "...but God has surely listened and heard my prayer." Ps. 66:19 "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Mark 2:7 "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." 1 Cor. 3:6 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 "For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him;" Phil. 2:27 Friends, it doesn't matter what your life is like right now. It might be formless, empty and dark. It might be full of hassles, overcome by sorrow, empty of love, lacking direction, riddled with sickness, devoid of meaning..."but God." ...but God! Greg