Day 5 of 40 Days of Prayer: Search Me, O God

In one Biblical account, Jesus describes two people who approach God in prayer.  One is occupied with pointing out the flaws in others, overlooking his own faults, while the other takes an honest appraisal of his own plight and beseeches God for mercy in heartfelt contrition. 

Towards the end of the 139^th Psalm, David became enraged as he remembered the wickedness of others around him, when one can almost imagine the Spirit of God whispering in David’s ear, “Uriah.” It seems that David abruptly remembered his own sinfulness, which included incredible offenses to God such as adultery and murder.  David then asked God to search him and know his short-comings and to lead him instead in the ways of everlasting righteousness.

As we pray for all of the issues that concern us, let us also ask the Spirit of God to inspect us, not for condemnation, but for purification and restoration so that God’s mercy and grace might abound in our lives and in the lives we seek to touch in the Lord’s Name.

Day 4 of 40 Days of Prayer: Purify Your Heart

Our hearts dictate our motives in prayer - what we ask for when we pray and why we ask.  The Book of James says that one of the hindrances to answered prayer is impure motives.  James says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” We cannot expect to receive anything from God when we ask to receive from Him with only our own pleasure in mind.

Jesus showed us the way to pray with a pure heart.  When faced with the excruciating execution on Calvary, Jesus punctuates His prayer to the Heavenly Father with the qualification, “not my will, but your will be done.” As we continue our 40-day prayer journey, approaching our Heavenly Father about all manner of needs and situations, let us be sure to purify our hearts from the contamination of self-centeredness and temporal focus.  Let us seek to calibrate our minds to seek and obey God’s agenda, praying with all sincerity, “not my will, but Your will be done!”

40 Days of Prayer – Day 3 – Help Needed! Confess Pride/Embrace Humility

It can be challenging to admit one’s need in an era that values self-sufficiency. But that’s just what the Lord asks of those who would follow Jesus.  In Matthew 23:12, after having issued a series of warnings against haughty thoughts and self-promotion, Jesus warns, “those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Prayer requires voluntary humility.  It is an admission of one’s own limitations and one’s need upon the provision of God.  It is a declaration of dependence and admission of vulnerability in a world obsessed with independence and strength over others. 

God beseeches us to ask Him for what we need and to admit our weakness and need of His help.  “If God is for us, who can stand against us?” Let us demonstrate our trust in God, humbly approaching Him with our needs in joyful expectation of His readiness to answer and to help.

40 Days of Prayer - Day 2 - Remember God's Power!

On this 2^nd day of 40 days of prayer, our devotional reminds us to remember God’s power!  God calls His people to remember what He has done and what He is able to doing. He says,

⁹ Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
¹⁰ Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
Isaiah 46:9-10 (NKJV)

As you seek God in prayer, remember His character and nature. Nothing is too difficult for God.  He will see us through any of the problems and challenges we face.  He hears and He is able to answer!  We serve an All-powerful God! Trust Him and remember His power as you pray!

40 Days of Prayer - "Help My Unbelief!"

On this first day of 2018, the Hope Community Church family is beginning a journey together titled, 40 Days of Prayer.  On this first day of the journey, we are called to avoid the tragedy of unbelief.  Upon reading the devotional for today, I was reminded of the Mark 9 passage, where a man’s son is besieged with an evil spirit and Jesus assures him that he can be healed if he believes.  The man’s answer is honest and noteworthy, “Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

Oh, how I identify with those sentiments.  Yesterday, I shared something with our entire congregation that I have to this point, shared with a limited number of people.  Many years ago, I learned that I have a chronic kidney disease.  It is a condition that progressive gets worse and will eventually lead to some significant steps to assist the function of my kidneys, including dialysis and ultimately, transplantation.  As that time nears, I find that I often wrestle with doubt regarding some basic truths: “God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”  Jesus said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

As I process the challenges ahead, I also must reflect on the victories behind, as well as the testimonies of countless others who have trusted the Lord in every conceivable situation and found Him faithful.   I am also crying out in the uncertainty of my personal situation, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Friends, we all face challenges, or will face them, that test us and stretch us beyond our normal daily expectations.  Don’t fear taking your doubts to the Lord. Deal directly with the worries that may hound you.  Take your burdens to Him as you pray, and allow His comfort to surround you, sustain you and give you peace. Let us press on together, in spite of our doubts and fears, in prayer and faith!

2018 - Take Life As It Comes

As a High School JROTC student in Hanau American High School in the late 1970's, I would frequently bid adieu to my Senior Army Instructor, CW4 Donald M. Lesch with a hearty, “Take it easy, Mr. Lesch!”  He would invariably respond with a pause, upward glance, and a smirk I now recognize as wisdom while saying, “I’ll take it like it comes!”  That wisdom came from surviving as a combat infantryman in multiple campaigns of WWII, Korea and Vietnam, and always caused me to stop and consider what he had said and why he had said it.

As I reflect on the year 2017, Mr. Lesch’s wisdom is more profound than ever.  2017 has been filled with a variety of happenings that were both anticipated and unforeseen that helped me to understand more completely how every person must prepare themselves to encounter a very broad spectrum of happenings, ranging from the highly desirable to the least desirable human experiences.

2017 has brought the jarring news of the unexpected deaths of several dear friends.  It also marked the expected yet nonetheless painful earthly departure of my personal lifetime hero and ultimate icon, my father, Command Sergeant Major Sam Jackson.  In his passing, I saw more urgency in living my own life well and leaving behind a legacy of love, devotion and goodness that hopefully will outlive me in the hearts of those who know me and can be passed on when I am long forgotten as an individual.

2017 caused me to face more unexpected challenges as a recurring pain in my hip ended up being a sign of major deterioration and signaled the need for corrective surgery and an unplanned period of physical limitation and self-reflection.  Taking life as it comes has involved these challenges and the opportunities for experiencing humanity in the fullest as a husband, father, pastor, and friend. I have rejoiced with those who have rejoiced and overcome in life’s major challenges.  I have mourned with those who mourn when death has interrupted life uninvited and tragedy has numbed the most stout-hearted souls.  Life has come in a vast variety of ways that has called me time and time again to rely on the God I serve to strengthen me in my now more easily recognized weaknesses and to comfort me in the mysteries that sometimes continue to confound me when it seems life just isn’t transpiring the way I believe that it should. 

I am thankful for Mr. Lesch’s wisdom and the seeds planted to recognize that sometimes life doesn’t give one the option to “take it easy.” But, if one is willing to take life as it comes – the good, bad and ugly – one can persevere and emerge through even the most tumultuous times with joy of heart and peace of mind.  This truth is at the heart of what the Apostle Paul meant when he penned the words, “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.”  This is not an athletic or business performance verse, but rather a verse that anticipates that life will confront every human with experiences that will both “bless” and “curse.”  For those who know the Hope that exists in Christ, there are resources of the soul available to uplift, strengthen and encourage, even in the most trying times – even at the point of death – to cause one to be “more than a conqueror” if one perseveres and does not faint. This truth is reflected in the portion of the serenity prayer that pleads for Christ-likeness in,

Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it...

With those thoughts in mind, I pray for a great 2018 for all of you, my friends, but also pray for your continual encouragement and perseverance knowing that greatness often emerges from trial, and sunshine is seldom appreciated apart from stormy seasons.  May the Lord bless us all as we enter into another New Year with all the challenges and potential that await us, taking life as it comes!

Your Brother,

Sam.

Faith and Politics - God Is Not On Our Side!

In every political era, people are understandably hopeful that their views fall on “the right side of history” and that God is on their side.  Our age is no different. In the aftermath of every election, analysis and reflection find one side of an issue or one candidate or another claiming righteousness and some level of superiority over those whose views did not generate a winning level of support.  Some even go as far to claiming a position of alliance to God Himself.

As I have listened to claims of “God being on ‘our’ side” or of certain groups being "on the right side" from people of differing political perspectives, I was reminded of a mighty biblical personality who seemingly should have had no doubt about being on God’s side or even God being on his.  The reality was not as simple as one might be inclined to think.

In the 5^th chapter of the Bible book Joshua, the man for whom the book is named and mighty leader of Israel is preparing to lead the people of Israel to overtake the city of Jericho as directed by God.  As he surveys the situation, he has a chilling encounter.  Here is how that encounter is presented in the Biblical text:

13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
14 “No,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”
15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

It is interesting that this Heavenly representative came to engage Joshua, but offered no assurance of favoritism or alliance.  He only affirmed that God was present, sovereign and that Joshua needed to acknowledge God’s unique righteousness perspective which was His alone and not the product of human diplomacy. Like Joshua, we must weigh into situations with our best understanding of right and wrong but make adjustments when we've thought more of our position than we ought.

For those who walk with Jesus, we must seek God’s Word, walk in humility, pursuing righteousness and exercising restraint in claiming “God’s favor” when, in spite of our intentions, we may be standing within striking distance of receiving God’s judgment.  As Abraham Lincoln said, “… my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.”  That may mean rejecting a viewpoint or candidate within one’s own affiliation that does not represent what one is deeply convicted is right.   It may even mean standing utterly alone when no viewpoint expressed adequately represents what one believes to be true.

Jesus warned that standing with a prophetic voice can even turn one’s hometown and kindred against you and standing on principle can be an express ticket to an early exit from this life.  The Apostle Paul declared that those who follow Jesus are looking for a country that is not of this earth and can expect a challenging earthly journey as strangers in strange lands.  As my own life progresses, and politics and public discourse become increasingly toxic, I often feel more alienated from the world around me than I did in years past.  If the biblical writers are to be believed – and I believe them – being “someone else from somewhere else” is just the right passport for our perilous times. 

Stay true to what is right friends, and don’t fear standing firm and standing alone when everywhere others are trying to persuade you to stand is unstable and broken ground.  Dare to be different, when the labels that are available don’t fit you or your ideals.  Do not compromise your convictions for a temporarily satisfying political victory.  Blaze new trails.  Seize the opportunities to lead that come your way.  And, like the Captain of the Armies of the Lord, even when someone you admire more than their opponent, but with whom you have significant issues, asks if you’re on their side or their opponent’s side, stand your ground and resolutely say, “No.”