Raspberries and M&Ms

I recently fasted from dinner the night before until breakfast the next day.  I say that, not to sound more religious, but to talk about something God taught me.  In fact, when it comes to the discipline of fasting I am lacking.  I hardly ever do it and I've never gone more than about 40 hours and I likely won't ever write a how-to on fasting.

So, on the afternoon of my day of fasting I saw some raspberries on the dining room table and walked over to grab a few.  I almost forgot I was fasting.  I almost responded to my hunger and didn't think about what my plan was.

Then that evening I was going to leave the house.  I looked over on the kitchen counter and saw a big bag of dark chocolate M&Ms.  I reached over to grab some and then remembered that I was supposed to be fasting.

I was struck by a thought after the raspberries and definitely after the M&Ms: I have such easy access to food.  I began to pray for those who don't have access to food at any moment.  I began to think about how I was hungry by choice rather than by circumstance.  I began to thank God for the way He has blessed me.  I am so blessed by God that not only do I have my needs met, but He has showered me with conveniences.  I can eat any time I want to eat.  I have snacks and meals readily and quickly at my disposal.

So, would you pray with me for those who struggle with food scarcity?  This is people in Ethiopia, in China and in Bremer County, Iowa.  Pray that they would have their needs met.  Pray and ask God if He wants you to be a part of meeting that need.  If you are a part of my church then perhaps you should serve at the community meal.

"Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love
and His wonderful deeds for men,
for He satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things."  Psalm 107:8-9

God literally satisfies me with good things to eat and drink.  However, Psalm 107 talks about spiritual hunger and thirst and God longs to satisfy that need for you, too.

In Psalm 107 the anonymous writer lists off the many ways that people come to fear and trust the LORD.  He writes of the ways that people are redeemed and from what they are redeemed.

"On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.'  By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.  Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified." John 7:37-39

"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life.  He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35

"Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare."  Isaiah 55:1-2

"Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." Psalm 34:8

There is a great need for physical food and there is a greater need for spiritual food.  Jesus Christ is that food and drink.  His body was broken for us as bread and His blood was poured out for us as wine.  In communion we remind ourselves of our need to have Jesus to survive in the same way we need food and drink.

"Whoever is wise, let him heed these things
and consider the great love of the LORD." Psalm 107:43

God's love for us is great.  He has given us His Son.  And He has given His Son for others.  So, as I was reminded of the luxury I have with raspberries and M&Ms that others don't, as I was drawn to pray that others would have food, I am also drawn to thank God for the good food and drink He gave me in Jesus and I am compelled to pray for those who are spiritually starving.  Pray with me that those who are dying of spiritual starvation would taste and see that the LORD is good today.

A Full Cupboard

My son turned one this week.  He's a good little boy but like most of us he gets a bit cranky when he's hungry.  Hangry, I guess would be the term.  And sometimes when Joshua is hungry and complains we go to the cupboard and get him a graham cracker or fruit bar or some sort of snack.

We make it a priority to have snacks in the cupboard for Joshua.  We sometimes forget to get the things we need, but we always have something for Joshua because we love him and we know that babies are not known for their patience.  I hate when we get in that rare jam where we don't have something he needs.  It would not be pretty if he was hangry and I hadn't purchased his food for him yet.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't give Joshua whatever he asks, whenever he asks.  Snacks are not a spoiling for him, they are a necessity. There are other things in the cupboard he asks for and other times when I know he doesn't need to eat that I deny his request despite his whining.

This all leads me to this question: how do you pray?

Do you pray to the Father of the full cupboard or the possibly empty cupboard?

When Jesus died on the cross He purchased every grace we need.  When Jesus said, "It is finished" (John 19:30), He meant it.  When Christ paid our price He purchased a cupboard full of everything we need.  Christ's cupboard is full, it is bursting at the seams, it is beyond bulging because of the infinite supply of grace it contains.

This does not mean that He will necessarily give all that we want, but He will give us the supply of grace for our every need.

"And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

So, how do you pray?  Do you pray to the god of the empty cupboard or to the LORD that has purchased everything you'll ever need?  When you pray for patience do you imagine that God has to manufacture patience for you or do you know that He simply takes it out of the cupboard?  When you pray for the grace to endure today do you know that that grace comes from His glorious riches and not from spiritual food stamps?

Pray to the God of the full cupboard.  When Jesus died He died for more than your get out of Hell free card.  When Jesus died He died to start and finish your sanctification.  When Jesus died He purchased a full cupboard of grace to give you for every need.  When Jesus died He died to adopt children into His Father's household that will be well cared; cared for much better than I care for Joshua.

Pray like your Heavenly Father has a full cupboard today.

When Mothers' Day Isn't Happy

Mothers' Day is supposed to be happy but what about when it isn't?

For many, Mothers' Day is somber or perhaps even cruel day.  For some, the Mothers' Day church service is a reminder of what they don't have anymore or never had.  For some each carnation passed out amongst the pews is a dagger to their soul.

Some have lost their mother and this holiday is the reminder of what they lost.  For some their pain is an empty chair at the table that belonged to the child they had to bury.  Others mourn the child that was miscarried.  And others hurt for the mother they can't seem to be able to be even after tests and IUI's and every intervention they've ever tried.

Mothers' Day is a holiday worth celebrating.  Mothers' Day should be celebrated.  But on Mothers' Day let us pray for those who are wounded by the holiday.  For the women, and even men, that lament on Mothers' Day, please know that I hurt with you. 

When I was a boy and I needed comfort, I rarely went to Dad.  My dad is a great fixture in my life, but when I had a physical or emotional wound I went to Mom.  Mom would put me on her lap and kiss away the pain and wipe away my tears.

God is our Heavenly Father, but He also has all the great traits of moms.  The beauty and strength and ability to create life that moms have  are a shinning example of the image of God.  God is like a mother is so many ways. 

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4

To all of you that hurt on Mothers' Day, I want you to know that it is more than okay to hurt.  Your pain and agony is valid.  But do not mourn as those who have no hope.  Lament with hope.  It hurts now and it stings so much, but Jesus will one day put you on His lap and wipe every tear from your eyes.  He will make all that is wrong (the death, infertility, estrangement, etc) right again.  He will fix it all.

To those who hurt on Mothers' Day know that our God loves you today.

The End of All Things is Near

If you were told the end of the world was near, what would you do?  Would you tell people that you loved them?  Would you go skydiving because, what the heck, you had nothing to lose now?  Would you spend all your savings on fun stuff?  Would you hole up and buy supplies to last the end out?

In reading 1 Peter chapter four today I was told the end of all things is near.

"The end of all things is near." 1 Peter 4:7a

Well, shoot.  The end of the world is near.  It says it in black and white.

Peter announces that the end of all things is near and then gives us instructions on how to live in light of that fact.  Before we look at that I want to address those who think Peter may have been wrong since he wrote that sentence two-thousand years ago.

Peter was not wrong.  He was not like the crazy "numerologist" who claims to have found a code for when the apocalypse would take place.  He isn't the strange guy who's predicted the date of the rapture three times.  Peter is right: the end of all things is near.  From Christ's resurrection to now we have been in the last times.  The Second Coming of Christ could be today and that statement has been true every day from His coming out of the tomb to today.  We are one blink of an eye from the end of the world and we could be another thousand years from the end.  We don't know when the day is but we do know that it is as near as ever.

So, Peter proclaims that the end is near and then gives instructions.  Let's look at the passage:

"The end of all things is near.  Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.  Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.  Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.  If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God.  If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.  To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.  Amen." 1 Peter 4:7-11

Let's quickly break down what we must be in response to the news that the end of all things in near:

1) Pray
We must pray.  In fact, we must have a clear mind so that we can pray and be self-controlled so we can pray.  Peter says that our prayers can be dampened by a cluttered mind.  Our prayers are most effective when we clear out the junk and replace it with thoughts about and to God.  Peter also says we must have self-control in order to pray well.  Prayer is a delight but it also is a discipline.  We must have self-control in order to have a healthy prayer life and a thriving prayer life is needed in our doomsday prep kit.

2) Love Each Other Deeply
Peter says we must love each other deeply and that this is the most important thing in light of the end of all things.  Why?  Because love covers a multitude of sins.  If we are going to live with one another we will sin against one another and we need love to cover up those sins.  When is the last time you've been offended and elected to let love cover that up?  Without deep love we won't be prepared to live in the last days.

3) Offer Hospitality Without Grumbling
How many had this down until the "without grumbling" part?  Offering hospitality is one of the themes of the entire Bible.  Look at it yourself and you'll see Abraham being blessed for it, Sodom cursed for a lack of it, Israel blessed and cursed for being on both sides of it, and the Savior's parents needing it on the night of His birth.  Hospitality is a BIG deal to God.  Hospitality is not being Martha Stewart; hospitality is having the posture that all of "my" stuff is actually God's and then acting accordingly.

4) Use Gift to Serve Others
Whatever talents you have (and yes you can call to mind the parable of the talents) are given to you by God.  Even if you think, "I've worked hard to hone this skill", the talent itself and even the desire to craft it comes from above.  Every good gift comes from above (James 1:17).  Therefore all of our gifts are to be used to serve others in the name of Jesus.  God gives grace to others through you.  Are you being a faithful administer of His grace?  Peter says if you can speak (and he doesn't necessarily mean speak well) then do it as if you're speaking for God.  If you are writing then do it as a representative of Jesus.  If you can play baseball or do hair or trim trees or cook or drive a car, do all things for others in the name of Jesus. Why?  "... so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ." 

The end of all things is near.  How's your prayer life?  How deeply are you loving others?  How are you at offering hospitality without grumbling?  How are you using your gifts to serve up God's grace to others? 

The end of all things is near and this is the assignment.  How are you going to prep for the end?  Be obedient to Peter's end times instructions today.