2 Corinthians 5:7

“For we walk by faith, not by sight”

Proverbs 3:5-6

“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.”

Everything in this world is based on faith, which in turn has a lot to do with trust. Let me explain. How often do you go to a doctor’s office and ask where he graduated in his class? Or what the list of his qualifications are? When you go in for surgery do you trust the surgeon? Do you know their qualifications? Do you know that they are going to do exactly what is right for you? Mind you while in surgery you may be under anesthesia. What about when you get in your car, you have faith that it is going to start just like it did yesterday and the day before right? And when you go to do your laundry, you have faith that the setting you select is going to be the one that the washer actually runs, don’t you? Those are just a few examples of faith in your everyday lives.

Look at the verse from 2 Corinthians again, “for we walk by faith, NOT by sight.” Even though you are “out cold” so to speak and not able to see what the surgeon is doing, you are still faithful that they will do the right thing. Even though you don’t see the inner workings of your washer or drier, your clothes will still be clean when they come out wont they (barring you add detergent and set the machine to the proper settings)? When you get in the shower you turn the nozzle to the warm side and warm water comes out even though you don’t see it. Faith is everywhere, even when you can’t see it.

This is just like Christ. You may not see Him, but if you look harder He is everywhere. He is there in the nursing homes, in hospitals, in schools, on the streets and in your homes. He is there through thick and thin, through every up and every down. Even though you don’t see him, you still have faith in Him.

So let us add trust to this picture of faith. Everyone goes through tough times. Whether it be a death, a sickness, an injury, or a separation of any sort (friends moving away, losing a significant other, or getting close to someone just to see things fall apart). And yet through all of that Christ is still there. Death for example in Romans 6 it says “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” So because of God’s grace and our faith in him, even through death we will have everlasting life with him. Falling away from someone you have gotten close to can often times lead to questioning why it happened as it did? How come the outcome wasn’t different? Why would God put someone into my life just to push us further apart again? The list goes on and on just as it does with deaths, with sicknesses like cancer, disabilities and that list goes on and on. And it may be hard to see why. I have been through a situation like this, and even though it is years past I still for some reason dwell on it. But every time it comes up in my mind I see how God has led me in the path He has chosen for me. My faith and trust in Him has greatly increased through the situation. I have come to better understand what I am to do with my life, who I am to search out as friends, and to be who God created me to be. Not to be someone else. He created me for me, and the situation I had has really taught me that. But most importantly, and I will repeat myself again, it has increased my faith and increased my trust in Him.

Even those you are close to can often times struggle with these very things. Take Thomas for an example. As one of the 12 disciples many would think he would have no trouble trusting in God. Even after hearing Jesus say that he had to die and rise again and that He would return, Thomas still had problems trusting. A step further, Christ returned to the 10 in a locked room (Judas had hung himself and Thomas was not with them) and also returned to Mary Magdalene in the garden. And even after the disciples told him that they had seen Jesus he still did not believe. It was not until Jesus appeared to Thomas personally (in the book of John 20^th chapter) and Thomas felt the nail holes and the hole in Christ’s side, did he believe.

I pray that each and every one of you does not get stuck in the past, or get stuck in the down things of this world, or continue to wonder “what if” but rather that you look to God to continue to lead you in life. I pray that you continue to draw closer to Him, and most importantly to build your faith and trust in Him. I would like to leave you with 2 verses regarding all of this that kind of wrap it all up to me, and I hope they do for you also. The first is John 20:29 Jesus is speaking to the disciples and says “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” And the second is the same one I began with 1 Corinthians 5:7, but this time from a different version called the Message. It reads, “It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that keeps us going.”

Psalm 46:10

“Be still and know that I am God.”

I recently was very privileged and blessed to accompany Pastor on rounds to the nursing home. It just so happened to be the time of the month when he goes to give communion. We visited 3 people who received communion that day and man was it a moving experience. Our first stop we visited a retired pastor full of knowledge and advice (especially for someone my age). We simply talked with him for a while and after 30 minutes of talking or so we had a short service filled with prayer which ended in communion. We moved on and did the same thing with an elderly woman, this time the service was out of the hymnal, but the same procedure. Lots of talking followed by communion. The last stop was much the same more talking (in my case listening) which ended again in communion. After each of the individuals had partaken in communion it seemed like pastor and I just got up and left. Well it didn’t seem like it, because it is exactly what we did. On our rather short drive back I asked him, why do you leave right after communion. His response was simple, and also where this verse came to mind for me. He told me that it is only once a month that these individuals receive communion and that there is just a level of reverence that he feels should be their time alone with God. “Be still and know that I am God.”

So often while in nursing homes it appears to be hard to see God’s hand at work. These people I got to visit changed that opinion completely for me. They were open and caring to not only me, but to others in the home as well. They asked us to offer up prayers of petition for the others in the home, especially those searching for God as well as those who hadn’t found Him at all yet. And as I look back on it each and every one of them sat there. Completely still, knowing that God was there with them, not only through pastor and I, but through communion and through the individuals in the home as well.

The verse came to mind again today during the Gospel lesson. The reading was from the book of Mark the fourth chapter. The passage speaks of the calming of the sea. Christ spoke to the wind and the waves saying “Quiet, be still!” The wind and waves obeyed. It’s not just about the wind and the waves though. It’s about each and every one of us. How often are you quiet, just sitting there, listening to God? How often are you looking around through all the storms of this earth and seeing how He is working.

As you enter the mission field wherever it may be, in your house, your neighborhood, down the road at Victory Mission or Salvation Army, or whether it is overseas, in Africa, Brazil, or just in a neighboring country like Mexico, I urge you to be quiet and be still. Search to see where God is leading you. Search to see where He is already working, and where you can help out. Trust that God is working in your life, and look around to see how He is working in others. Be willing to step out of your boundaries and share Jesus with someone. Let Christ lead you to walk in His ways, so that others can have confidence, and when that storm of life comes their way, that they too can be still and know who God is.

1 Timothy 1:14-16

“The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners- of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”

Those are a few of my favorite verses and man is there a lot in them! Just in that first verse three things are talked about, grace, faith and love. In the book of Ephesians it is written “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith . . .” In my opinion, this verse in Ephesians really emphasizes the point that Paul is trying to make. God’s grace is poured out in such a fashion that all people it at their fingertips, if they so choose to accept it. The grace is so abundant because of the faith that we have in Him. To add to that though is something even more. That something is love. It’s not just love between you and Christ, but that love is to be spread between you and your friends, and your family, and even your enemies. Love is to be encompassed with all people no matter what. No matter how hard it may be. This is how great that love is to be. The book of Luke says, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” That is one great love, loving others just as you love yourself.

That is all great, but Paul goes on. The next verse goes on to say that Christ came to save sinners. And he goes even deeper. Paul admits his faults by saying that Christ came to save sinners- “of whom I (Paul) am the worst.” WOW! Paul is telling us here that out of everyone in this world, he is the worst of all sinners. So let me ask a question. Do you agree? Is Paul the worst of sinners?

I have to agree, yes Paul is the worst of sinners, but at the same time, so am I. It is written in the book of Psalms “If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord who could stand?” Thankfully the Lord does not keep a record of all my sins, or yours or anyone else’s. But each one of us is equally sinful and therefore is equally the worst of sinners. (That is my opinion and if I am wrong please correct me.)

The last verse really hits to home though. Paul talks about Christ’s patience, belief in Him and the ultimate prize. That belief and patience and prize to me are all wrapped into a few verses in the book of John. They are probably pretty familiar to you. They read, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world though him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” It comes around full circle, the abundant grace that is poured out for us, the faith we have in Christ and the love we have for Him and He for us has given us the opportunity to receive the ultimate prize. Eternal life in heaven. “Christ came into this world to save sinners- of whom I am the worst.” And I am thankful for that, and pray that each and every one of you are too.

Matthew 9:9

“As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.”

How easy is that? Two words, two words is all that Christ has to say for Matthew to follow him. Wouldn’t that make your life much easier? You wouldn’t have to wonder which profession Christ was leading you into. You wouldn’t have to worry about what school to go to, who to hang out with, and if this or that was ever going to happen. But at the same time isn’t that difficult? Two words are all that were used. Can you imagine following someone whom you have never met, when all they say is simply “Follow me?” I think it would be awful difficult. So let’s look at another example. In the fourth chapter of Matthew a very similar phrase is used. In verse 19 Christ again (speaking to Peter and his brother Andrew) and says “Come, follow me.” But this time Jesus gives them more detail. Peter and Andrew were out at sea fishing when Jesus called them, and after he told them to come follow him, he let them know what they were going to be doing. Christ says “and I will make you fishers of men.” Just a few more words, but this time Christ lets them know what they will be doing. The same result happened as with Matthew. Peter and Andrew left their nets and began to follow. Christ continues to call us even to this day.

First of all he simply says “Follow me.” We as brothers and sisters in Christ are called to be his disciples. We are called to spread the Word, called to make disciples of nations, sharing the Word with everyone we can. Matthew 28:19 says “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”

But when it comes down to our daily life or what we will do when we grow up it may not be as easy to distinguish which path God is leading us on. Yes we will always be called to share his Word, but what about your profession, or where you will live, or go to school, the list goes on and on. I have never really been 100% sure of what I want to do after college. My mind has gone back and forth and round and round in circles. I am not as lucky as some who have known what they wanted to do since they were little and actually stuck with it. I know a friend of mine has always wanted to do mission work and is actually in that process now after graduation. I haven’t always known I wanted to work with kids, or be an accountant, or construction worker, or farmer, or personal trainer. My mind has always wondered what God has in store for me. Opportunities open and close. Decisions come and go. But one thing remains constant, I know that in whatever it is that God leads me to do and whenever it is that I finally see what He has planned, I know that I am going to do my absolute best to spread his Word, and walk in His ways, to the glory of his holy name.

To wrap everything up, at church last Sunday we had a reading from the book of Isaiah the sixth chapter. And verse 8 really hit me, and I think it applies here so I will leave you with it:

“Then I heard the voice of the LORD saying ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”

Psalm 34:18

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted 

       and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Two things: close and saves.  Let’s look at saves first. The LORD “saves those who are crushed in spirit.”  Saves is a great word.  The Lord no matter what is going on in our lives saves us as long as we keep our faith in Him.  Life brings about so many challenges, and more often than not we struggle and our spirit seems to be crushed.  Luckily we have a Savior who gave up everything to come to this world as true man, and do all the work for us, so that we can reap the benefits.  Just look at all the things that Christ endured in His life that could bring Him down and possibly give Him the idea to change his mind and not die on the cross for us.  Everything from people not believing in Him, to spending time being tempted by the devil.  The things that crush us in this life don’t really seem to even compare to me.

One more thing to look at.  “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted.”  I simply have a question and a confession to go with this one.  First off the question.  Does pretending you aren’t broken push you further away from God? My confession is that I do this entirely too often.  I hide behind my everyday life and say that everything is ok.  Life is just going swell and I have nothing on my mind.  But just like everyone else I have stuff going on, and I sometimes feel myself having an even harder time because of the way that things bottle up.  I like to look at it as a long run short run scenario.  The short run really seems to push me further away from God.  I’m not sure why, but it seems to.  I find my mind wandering more and having a harder time praying like I want to and should.  But in the long run I find myself looking at the whole situation and finding myself closer to God.  It really is rather interesting.

So I propose the same question to you.  Does pretending you aren’t broken push you further away from God?  What do you think?

2 Corinthians 12:7-9

⁷To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

I would like to look at two parts of this passage. The first is verse 7b where it talks about thorns in flesh. Obviously times have changed and we don’t deal as much with physical abuse and problems when it comes to faith but they are still out there. Nor do we have the same temptations as prior history. Things have changed and the thorns are different but still given by the same individual (Satan). So what are some of the thorns in your life? What temptations do you have, and how do you deal with them?

Prayer is a big thing when working with these thorns in life. Something simple as being pressured into drinking or smoking, or doing something you don’t feel is right. Pray that God helps you with every decision and not just the big ones. To me it is just like saying “THY will be done.” The problem is more often than not I find myself saying “thy will be done.” By this I mean that I am really hoping that God’s will coincide with mine. This most likely is not the right idea, which initially pushes me further away from Him. This is where I like to look to Christ to remind me that my will is not the important one, but God’s is. Look at the book of Luke the 22^nd chapter. In verse 41 Jesus asks God to remove the cup from his hands, if it is his father’s will. Thankfully the cup was not removed, because if it were we would have no reason to be here on earth. Jesus obeyed the will of His father and because of this we have the gift of eternal life.

The other portion I would like to look at is that of grace. “My grace is sufficient for you.” Grace is enough, because of God’s grace through faith we are able to have eternal life. The verse continues saying “for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Looking back at the first portion regarding thorns, sometimes when we are at our weakest of times we are closest to God. Its crazy how that works, but it does. I pray that daily we work more to allow God’s will to be ours and that we ask for His every guidance in the decisions we make both big and small. “For it is by grace we have been saved, through faith, and not by works so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Matthew 22:15-22

^"15Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. ¹⁶They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. ¹⁷Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

¹⁸But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? ¹⁹Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, ²⁰and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"

²¹"Caesar's," they replied.
Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."

²²When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away."

Okay, lets look at the obviously most viewed portion of this passage in terms of sermons and commentaries. "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." Here Jesus was in a bind. If he said it was unlawful (according to the Jewish law) to pay taxes to Caesar then he could be arrested and even killed for being a revolutionary against the Roman rule. If he took the other stance that it was okay to pay taxes to Caesar he risked losing many of his Jewish followers because he would be taking a soft stance on the "evil" Roman rule and that he never had any intention of overcoming them. It would be like going into a big conservative rally in a red state and saying its okay to fund terrorists, except maybe even worse because the Jews (for the most part) hated the Roman rule.

Jesus came up with the perfect answer, "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." If your a politician, that is how you both dodge a question, but also answer the question! Not exactly the yes or no answer the Pharisees were looking for, but it was the right answer. So what exactly does it mean? The most common part that is examined is the "give unto Caesar" part. The meaning that is drawn from this is that it is good to pay taxes (regardless of... uh.... how much you may disagree with the system), and that we should all be good citizens, and that most of all, what is earthly is earthly, and we cannot put too much stock in it. In the end, God put Caesar in the position that he was in, and God put the leaders we have today in the positions they are in today. God gave us all the possessions that we are responsible for caring for, and he expects us to use them in certain ways, including the paying of taxes, and the giving of offerings back to God, which leads me to the final portion of this post....

Many times when looking at this passage, and the answer that Jesus give, the portion of "give unto God what is God's" is completely overlooked. As important as it is to give to Caesar what is his, it is even more important for us to give God what is God's! I submit to you for discussion that most of the time we do not give to God what is His. We seem to do the esseentials like paying taxes and obeying laws in terms of doing our earthly citizen duties (and praise God for those doing above and beyond and helping others to be good stewards and citizens too), but how often do we even do the basics in giving to God? I think everyone, including and especially myself fail miserably in this.

What exactly would be considered giving to God what is God's? In my opinion, and I welcome and agreements or disagreements on this, it would be giving offerings (monetary, time, talents, heart, mind, and soul) back to God since he gave all of those to begin with. I think its also giving him our worship, our praise, and obeying his commands. What do you think?

John 10:11-18

11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

The passage about being the good shepherd. I think it is important to realize the 1st century Judean context that this passage was written in. The area surrounding Jerusalem is a desert. It is dry the vast majority of the year except during the heavy rain season (which is also perilous for the sheep due to the massive flooding). There is very little if to no vegetation in most areas. The fact of the matter is, that in this landscape, without a shepherd, the flock of sheep will soon die. It isn't like American style shepherding (not that I am a shepherding expert) where there is generally a man made pond or other water source, and plenty of grass and other vegetation in which the herd just needs to be moved from time to time and cared for physically (which of course has to be done there as well).

Looking at the sheep and shepherding from this context (of which the Jesus' audience in this area would've been well aware of), we can see how much of a statement it is for Jesus to say that he is the Good Shepherd and we are his sheep. He cares for our every need, and when one of us goes lost, he longs for us and searches for us. We recognize the Christ's voice just as the sheep would recognize the voice of their shepherd calling for them.

Most of all, Christ lays down his life for his sheep. His laying down of his life for us is what saves us. In one of Peter's letters it talks about how satan prowls like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8), and yet we are deliverd from that prowling lion, delivered from death, and have eternal life because of our shepherd!