One Scary Thing in Scripture

 

‘Tis the season. Somehow, our culture has changed Hallowed Evening into Horror Eve. Instead of driving off the evil spirits, we invite them, decorate with them, play with them, “frighten” ourselves with them for our enjoyment. Personally, I don’t get it. I never liked to be frightened. Spook houses and horror movies are not for me.

If anyone wants to be scared, just read the Scriptures. Some parts of that are hair-raising! Here’s the concept that rattles me. We love to think about God forgiving us. Maybe not so much about Him forgiving certain other people. But when we can’t forgive others, we put our own forgiveness in jeopardy!

Mt. 6:12-14: 
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Luke 6:37:
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 

Mark 11:25:
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

Mt. 5:44:
But I tell you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you; that you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.

In Matthew, chapter 18, Peter asks Jesus how many times to forgive his brother. Jesus’s answer, “Seventy times seven,” was followed by the story of the unforgiving servant, which ends with a warning.

Mt. 18:32-35:
Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant,” he said, “I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart. 

Yikes! 

Some commands from the Lord are easier to keep than others. “Do no murder.” So far, so good. “Don’t steal.” OK. “Don’t covet your neighbor’s stuff.” I was doing fine with that until my friend’s new used car came with the blind spot warning signal and my new used car didn’t. I got over it.

But, “forgive.” That one is really hard. It was I who was offended, hurt, damaged, inconvenienced, and maligned. How can I forgive these offenses against me, me, me? But that’s my self-centered perspective. Jesus claims that offenses against His children, prophets, disciples, followers are actually offenses against Him – Matthew 25:40 & 45. Furthermore, He claims the right of payback.

Romans 12:19:
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge, I will repay,” says the Lord. 

If I can picture the offenses against me as against God instead, several things happen. First, I’m horrified to think of my friends/family/enemies doing those offensive things to God. Then I think I don’t have to take offense, since it was aimed at Him and not at me. Then I know it will be taken care of appropriately if I leave it to Him. Maybe I exaggerated and it wasn’t as bad as I took it, and He will not need to punish them like I would. Maybe it was even worse than I knew; in that case, He will do the right thing. It’s His weight and His responsibility. But, best of all for me, if I leave it to Him, He will forgive me because I have not kept unforgiveness in my heart. It’s hard, but it has to be done. Because the alternative is scary.

Note: If you want to have a better understanding of forgiveness and don’t want to be scared, go back and listen to Kelly O’Rear’s two messages on forgiveness, July 9 and 16, 2023, on the Grace podcast.

--Lynda Shenefield

The Prayer Behind the Song

 

A song that we sing fairly regularly at our church is actually based on an old Puritan prayer found in the classic book of Puritan prayers, titled The Valley of Vision. Sometimes, in the Baptist denomination, we can tend to shy away from prayers written out by others. Yet there is such richness in praying prayers that others have prayed before us with language that beautifully expresses our hearts, but that we would have struggled to put into words. 

We also realize when we pray these prayers that prayer is more than “moving down a prayer list.” There is an element of worship, penitence, and praise that can transcend time and cultures so that we can pray the same things as were prayed over 500 years ago (or even over 2000 years ago... think about the Lord’s prayer or Paul’s prayers for the churches recorded in his letters). So, here is the prayer I referred to. If you’ve been at Grace, even if just for a few months, I think you may recognize fairly quickly what song has sprung from these lyrics, and you may carry this song (and prayer!) with you throughout the week.

O God of the highest heaven,

            Occupy the throne of my heart,

            Take full possession and reign supreme,

            Lay low every rebel lust,

            Let no vile passion resist thy holy war;

            Manifest thy mighty power and make me thine for ever.

Thou art worthy to be praised with my every breath

                        Loved with my every faculty of soul,

                        Served with my every act of life.

Thou hast loved me, espoused me, received me,

            Purchased, washed, favoured, clothed, adorned me

            When I was worthless, vile, soiled, polluted.

I was dead in iniquities,

            Having no eyes to see thee,

                        No ears to hear thee,

                        No taste to relish thy joys,

                        No intelligence to know thee;

But thy Spirit has quickened me,

                        Has brought me into a new world as a new creature,

                        Has given me spiritual perception,

                        Has opened to me thy Word as a light, guide, solace, joy.

Thy presence is to me a treasure of unending peace;

No provocation can part me from thy sympathy,

            For thou hast drawn me with cords of love,

            And dost forgive me daily, hourly.

O help me then to walk worthy of thy love,

            Of my hopes and my vocation.

Keep me, for I cannot keep myself;

Protect me that no evil befall me;

Let me lay aside every sin admired of many;

Help me to walk by thy side, lean on thy arm,

                        Hold converse with thee,

That henceforth I may be salt of the earth and a blessing to all.

--Amy O'Rear

 

A Vagabond Song

 

         There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood—
         Touch of manner, hint of mood;
         And my heart is like a rhyme,
         With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time.

This is the first stanza of “A Vagabond Song” by Canadian poet Bliss Carmen. I have loved this poem since I was a child roaming the hills of West Virginia, and I think of it—along with several others—every fall. The last stanza goes like this:

There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir;
We must rise and follow her,
When from every hill of flame
She calls and calls each vagabond by name.

 I don’t know if it’s the subtle influence of this poem I’ve known most of my life or some other force, but I do get a wanderlust in the fall, when the idea of packing up the car and taking off seems so appealing. This week I’ve been thinking about that restlessness and the source of it. Am I not supposed to be content? Shouldn’t I have peace in my circumstances? Why this vague uneasiness?

One thing we know for sure: This world was not made to last forever. When John speaks of “a new heaven and a new earth” in Revelation, he does not seem to be speaking figuratively. Indeed, we can see things wearing out and winding down all around us, and—while I am heartily in favor of caring for the earth all we can—we are wise not to get too attached. (That’s a hard one for me.)

In more than one place in the Bible, believers are referred to as “strangers and pilgrims” (KJV). Hebrews 11:13 and I Peter 2:11 are perhaps the most notable. I am passing through this world. Remember the old song? This world is not my home; I’m just a-passing through. Since we are actually vagabonds on earth, perhaps a certain restlessness is appropriate.

The final chapter of Hebrews, which is essentially a list of admonitions, includes this meaningful verse: “For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come” (NKJV). That is, we don’t have a lasting home here on earth; we are waiting for our eternal home in heaven. When I was in college and weary with moving from the dorm to home and back again, this verse was a true comfort to me, and it’s one I can cling to now as well.

As much as I love the mountains and the fields and my own back yard, this world is not my real home. Autumn reminds me that the beauty of this earth is passing. I am so thankful for the prospect of an eternal home that will not fade.

--Sherry Poff

Our Almighty God

 

This song just keeps running through my mind. The promise is unbelievable!

“It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
To You only...

Great are You, Lord!”

Do you realize what that means? God Himself, the Creator, is the One who gives us every single breath we breathe! When we realize that, it frees us up from worry about tomorrow. He will determine our days (Psalm 35:15). Wow!

Charles Haddon Spurgeon said (and you might need to read it over twice):

“If this God is your God by His gift of Himself to you, what more can you have? If Jehovah has been made your own by an act of faith, what more can be conceived of? You do not have the world, but you have the Maker of the world; and that is far more...”

No matter what your situation is today, these are just a few reminders of what we have as the children of this Almighty God:

1. A Saviour, A RISEN Saviour! Mark 16:6 “... But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen!” And when we believe that Jesus died and rose again to give us eternal life, we have...

2. Forgiveness/MERCY. (one of my favorite words) - Psalm 103:8 “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. (12) As far as the east is from the west so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” If you haven’t read Psalm 103 lately, do it today. And if you don’t have peace that you are God’s child, ask Him to forgive you and make you His child today. Why today? Micah 7:18: because “He pardons iniquity and He delights in mercy.”

3. His Good Spirit to instruct us. Nehemiah 9:20: “You gave also Your GOOD SPIRIT to instruct them...” He doesn’t leave us on our own. Exodus 15: 13 tells us that God in His mercy leads us. Even when our way seems so dark and discouraging, Psalm 112:4 states that He gives us “light in the darkness.” How?

4. His Word of truth...the only book that is totally truthful and has endured through the ages. The Bible is so very practical. It not only tells us about our God and the way to Heaven, but it also instructs us for today on how to live, how to talk, how to listen, how to handle temptation, how to help the poor, how to handle illness... (Read the book of James).

5. His personal concern and care for us. His eyes are always awake, watching and caring for us, and His ears ready to listen. Psalm 121:3 and 4: God never slumbers nor sleeps. I Peter 3:12: “The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers...”

6. I have to include His beautiful creation that speaks of His power, His love for order, for beauty, for ways to delight all of us who enjoy the moon, oceans, flowers, snow, mountains, birds, giraffes J, fall leaves...to name a few.

7. All of this and Heaven, too. In John 14, Jesus promises that He is preparing a place for us; where He is, we will be also.

As the Psalmist said in Psalm 104:34: “My meditation of Him will be sweet; I will be glad in the Lord.” I hope you take a few minutes right now to meditate on the goodness of our mighty God because:

“It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
To You only...

Great are You, Lord!”

 

 --Maylou Holladay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,7,11

     The Gospel of John is my favorite New Testament book, so a few years ago, I wrote a series of poems taken from each of its twenty-one chapters. I thought that for today’s Cup of Grace post, I’d revisit three of those. You can guess which chapters I picked to highlight based on the title of this post, and I pray that a line or two will be a blessing to you as you read. As always, His Word is relevant to all the ins and outs of daily living!

 -MaryBeth Hall

 

He Above Me

John 3:30 – “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

 

When circumstances turn my attitude sour,

I increase.

When I respond with His gracious power,

He increases.

When I think only of what I feel or want,

I increase.

When I put others’ needs at the forefront,

He increases.

When I sulk inside and those thoughts hold sway,

I increase.

When I praise His goodness anyway,

He increases.

When all I see is what is wrong,

I increase.

When I count my blessings all day long,

He increases.

When I resign to temptation’s pull,

I increase.

When I by faith choose to follow His rule,

He increases.

When fear, frustration, or anger loom large,

I increase.

When Jesus in all His glory takes charge,

He increases.

And those decisions never cease:

Will I increase?

Will He increase?

 

 

 

John 7 - If Any Man Thirst

John 7:37-38 – On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 

The Feast of Tabernacles drew to a close;

The last great day of celebration arose.

The priest with water came near to the altar,

And joy overflowed in song and in laughter.

 

Then Jesus stood and shouted to all

A wonderful, beautiful invitation call:

If any man thirst, let him come unto Me!

Living water will flow so abundantly!

 

If any man, any man, any man thirst,

Let him come to the One Who’s preeminently first!

Nothing else satisfies mankind’s deepest longings

These all fall far short: fame, pleasure, belongings.

 

I wish I had been at the temple that day,

To hear those great words that Jesus did say!

I’d have fought through the crowd to fall at His feet,

To answer, “I’m here; please make me complete.”

 

But yet, just as glorious as that day long ago,

Is this truth: Jesus’ offer still each day echoes.

As I rise in the morning, He bids me to come

To fellowship with Him, find in Him the sum

 

Of all today’s questions, tasks, and each need.

His Spirit speaks to me as His Word I read.

I come and I come; He never runs dry,

And I know I shall see Him in Heaven on high.

 

From His throne above flows the water of life

It flows to my soul and conquers sin’s strife.

He knows me and loves me and ever will be

With me and in me for eternity.

 

I worship You, Savior; I bow at Your feet,

To cling to You, Giver of Mercy so sweet.

Your comfort’s so full it’s a longing, my Lord,

To know You and love You and walk with You more.

 

If any man, any man, any man thirst,

Let him come to the One Who’s preeminently first!

Hear now Jesus’ words that He shouted to all,

His wonderful, beautiful invitation call!

 

 

 

John 11 - If Walls Could Talk

“…See how He loved him.” (John 11:36)

 

If walls could talk in Lazarus’ home

(In the time when Israel was ruled by Rome),

They’d tell of a family who welcomed the Christ,

When to be His friend carried a price.

 

If walls could talk, they’d tell of good times

When the Teacher taught of things sublime.

Lazarus, Martha, and Mary knew that this Guest

Deemed for them most important at His feet to find rest.

 

If walls could talk, they’d tell of a sick man

Desperately cared for, yet claimed by death’s hand.

They’d tell of great grief for a brother beloved,

And tears without number by sisters devoted.

 

If walls could talk, they’d tell of sad questions

That screamed in the minds of those disillusioned

“Why didn’t God answer our prayers?

Why didn’t Jesus come if He cares?”

 

If walls could talk, they’d echo the sounds

Of feet that went running over outside grounds.

And who were those footfalls making their way towards?

The One Who could handle those questions and more.

 

If walls could talk…; well, at this point I’d say,

Those house walls would give center stage to walls gray.

For the gray rock walls of Lazarus’ tomb

Heard the words of the Master break through their gloom!

 

If those walls could talk, they’d to us describe

How they couldn’t hold one who’d been made alive,

And the joy and the smiles that shone from each face

As family united in love’s embrace.

 

If your walls could talk, what would they say?

What stories recount from your life today?

Perhaps there’d be tales of “unanswered” prayers,

That you later discovered God had been at work there.

 

If my walls could talk, I hope they could tell

Of a Christian who trusts that her Father works well.

Jesus cries when I cry, though He sees joy ahead.

His ways are the best; by His love I’m led.