Put his words into Practice

 We see 2023 coming to an end.  It’s not quite like 2020 where everyone stayed up until midnight to make sure that sucker was out the door, but it included some interesting things, to include:

Tom’s first international medevac.

I heard that prices were higher.

COVID found its way into the montage of other illnesses.  You could get the regular flu again.

VBS was a game-changer.

Campers got the full camp experience, especially those who rode in the van.

We did F4 without food.

We changed our Thanksgiving and Christmas evening services and meals.

We ended the year with the front doors still needing to be replaced. Build Back Better seems to move at its own pace.  I think we are getting close though.

And today, we add a new elder to our ranks.

We also:

Gave out more food than any previous year and had more in reserve.

We helped with various needs for those in and out of our congregation.

We challenged our youth to bring their Bibles with them, something that had been lost over the past few decades.

We took the good news door to door.

We remembered Jesus in the way that he told us to remember him.

We worshiped him in and out of the assembly.

We gave out gospels by the hundreds.

But:

Did we forgive?

Did we reconcile?

Did we love our enemies?

Or:

Did we walk by on the other side of the road?

Did we say, Good enough when it came to working for the Lord?

Did we take a casual approach to our salvation?

Did we say—probably not out loud—but to ourselves: I love being saved from sin and death but this whole doing everything that Jesus told us to do is a bit much.

 Jesus, thank you for saving me. I really needed that.  For real. But could you just let me work some things out my way for a while?  When I’m old and not long for this world, I will come around, but for now, I just need some space.

The last thing that we really need is to have God tell us to do it our way. Our own understanding too often works against what the Lord has in store for us.

This whole trust in the Lord with all of your heart business includes putting the words of our Master into practice.  We need to practice doing things his way.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

We are made right with God by the blood of Jesus but are we truly willing to follow him?

How do we do this in 2024?

We put his words into practice. We do what he told us to do. 

We put his words into practice.

There is more to come. Let’s get ready to do what Jesus told us to do in the year to come.

Amen.

Into Practice

 Read Matthew 7:24-27

We will embark on a journey in the first part of 2024 that we will call the words of Jesus. How can you go wrong with something titled The Words of Jesus?

You can go wrong with the words of Jesus.  Jesus said so.  How?

The person who hears the words of our Lord and Master and Savior but does not put them into practice will see his life go to pieces, now and perhaps forever.

But this can’t be us, right?

We live in a time that I would say observes Casual Christianity. We know what the commandments are.  We know what Jesus said.  We cling to the words that we who are weary and heavy-laden should come to Jesus.  He will give us relief.  He will give us rest for our body and soul.

But we ignore the next verse that says take my yoke and learn from me.  Jesus said learn from him.  Jesus said to take his words and practice them.

We ignore the part that our rest is tied to putting the words of our Master into practice.

But instead of putting his words into practice, Casual Christianity says, make a post.  Use a Bible verse. Tell people if they don’t share, they are not really a Christian.

We live in a time where Christians have never had it so good.  We want for little. We have modern conveniences. We fuss about what to eat never wondering if we will eat.

We have a roof over our heads.  We can shelter from the Oklahoma winds. We don’t even have to go outside to draw water or use the bathroom.

It may seem like the end of the world when the Wi-Fi goes down, but we have it easier than any generation of Christians has ever known.

So, is our world at risk of crashing and leaving us devastated?  The world at large is headed for a very turbulent time—tribulation and great tribulation.  But what about us?

We are warned that the person who does not put the words of Jesus into practice risks everything.  He is like the person who builds a house on a flimsy foundation.

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

Have you ever been to the beach?  The sand looks the same day to day and week to week, but it’s not.  Some sand is washed ashore.  Some are washed back to sea.  Some migrate left or right depending upon the waves.

It looks smooth. It seems to be constant. But it is sand and it does not make a good foundation.

But there are high rise buildings along every coast with a nice beach.  Their foundation is not on sand.  Pilings are placed far into the ground until there is something to support the structure above.  Sand won’t do the trick.

No builder is going to put a $10,000,000 condo on a $10,000 foundation, but do we?

We who live in this time of Casual Christianity need to be sure of our foundation.  Jesus said that to be sure, we must put his words into practice.

That doesn’t mean Facebook wars over whose favorite scripture trumps someone else’s favorite scripture.

It doesn’t mean pointing out where others fall short of the words of Jesus.

It doesn’t mean finding the most convoluted interpretation of scripture to promote your own doctrine and make your own god.

It means taking what Jesus said and doing it.

That might take a little thinking of how to apply his teaching in our time, but that thinking process should not be debilitating. We are not to think on his directives for so long that we don’t do anything.

Here are the words of Jesus. Practice them. Learn from him by doing what he said to do.

Don’t skip over the ones that seem too hard.

Don’t just do something once and say, “I’ve got this.”  Remember, this is practice.  There is repetition in practice.

Don’t modify the instructions. Go and sin no more is not the same as do the best that you can. We are to strive to hit the target every time.

Do you understand the difference between shoot that way and hit that target.  Shoot that way is my metaphor for our best effort.  Hit the target is my metaphor for what Jesus told us to do.

Both shooters might miss the target but at least one is aiming for it. We must continue to aim for the target, not just something in the general area.

Sometimes, hitting the target involves only our hearts and minds.  Sometimes is physical action, but it’s always with focus on what Jesus told us to do.  That’s our target.  We must keep it in our sights.

God will never leave or forsake us but that does not mean that we get to lower the bar. Do the best you can is not the standard.  We must do the best that we can, but the target is whatever Jesus told us to do.

We probably won’t get it right the first time or the twenty-first time or for those like me the hundred and twenty-first time, but we keep practicing.

We practice. We put his words into practice.

Here’s one that I use often in the teaching of thinking skills.  Does practice make perfect?

No! Perfect practice makes perfect.

Back in my golfing days, I had a swing that was tolerable.  I could hit the fairways most of the time but I could also find the worst possible places on any golf course for the rest of the time.

I put my time in on the driving range, but I kept practicing the same old swing.  I got really good at a bad swing.

Why would I do this? It was comfortable. It seemed to work out most of the time. I wasn’t ready to do the work needed to get a good swing.

Are we ready to do what is required to live as our Master told us to live?

Do we understand that living his way is for our own good.  I’m not talking about going to hell. I am talking about abundant life. I am talking about weathering the storms of life. I am talking about finding your purpose in life.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

For the next few months, we will be looking at the words of Jesus.  We won’t cover them all. We will probably do this again sometime down the road.

For now, consider that every word that Jesus gave us was to be put into practice.  Some are direct. Some come in metaphor. All are meant to be applied in our lives.

What is worse than not knowing what to do in a situation?

Knowing exactly what to do and not doing it.

Jesus tells us what to do, how to live, and even what’s in it for us. We must be willing to move beyond our comfort zones. We must be willing to put the words of our Master into practice.

We must be willing to endure a little scorn from those who do not believe.

We must be willing to sacrifice when Jesus calls us to sacrifice.

We must be willing to reach out to those who are not in our social circles.

We must be willing to change our schedules.

We must be willing to love people that we don’t even like.

We must be willing to take the yoke of our Master and learn from him. Do you know what they call people who do this?

Disciples.

We must be the disciples of our Master.  We live in an age of Casual Christianity, but we must be serious about being the disciples of our Lord.

How?

We put his words into practice.

Amen.

The Awe of Christmas

 Read Luke 2:1-21

Ok, there’s your traditional Christmas story.  Now go open your presents, eat too much, have some eggnog with or without additives, and call it a day.

But before that, consider the following.

The willingness of a young maiden to be the humble servant of God, whatever that required.

The willingness of Joseph to marry young Mary who was pregnant but not by him.

The events that had to unfold for the child to be born in Bethlehem.

The circumstances that led the parents to take refuge in an area set aside for animals—a mean estate for humans.

Shepherds as the recipients of such a grand announcement.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

Shepherds who were in shock but went to see what all was happening in their time and in this place.

Shepherds who would broadcast the news of this birth to all they encountered.

A mother who could only treasure these moments in her heart.  Did she have an inkling of what was to come?

And a few days later, the child was named Jesus as the angel had instructed.

We remember the events.  We believe it all transpired this way.

But how should we feel?

We should feel amazed.  You know that Christmas feeling you had when you rose early Christmas morning to a tree surrounded by gifts. That feeling that we have for the secular things that excite us Christmas morning should be but a sample of the joy and amazement we have when we think of the gift of life and life eternal that we know in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus.

I jump briefly to the first chapter of John.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

How should we feel this Christmas?  Amazed at the love that our God has for us.

Let us be joyful, knowing we are so blessed.  Let us live in amazement of God’s love that we celebrate in the birth of his Son.

When we say Merry Christmas, we are saying, take joy in the birth of our Savior. He is worthy of our worship.  Come and worship him.

Come and joyfully worship the King of kings as we celebrate his birth into this world—the Word made flesh who dwelt among us and who brought us to the Spirit that now lives within us.

Amen.

I am the Lord's Servant

 Read Luke 1:26-38

Luke begins his gospel by saying, I did my research.  I heard the accounts of those who were witnesses to the advent of God with us, and then I followed up.

Others wrote first-hand accounts.  I did a research paper and now put it into the form of a letter.

Luke began with the parents of John the Baptist.  They were Zechariah and Elizabeth, both descendants of Aaron. Zechariah was on duty and got picked to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

While inside he was visited by an angel named Gabriel. Gabriel told him that his wife would conceive and have a son and he was to name him John.

Zechariah questioned the angel as to how this was possible.  C’mon, we are both very old.  Evidently, this priest had forgotten the story of Abram and Sarai.

Gabriel told Zechariah that he stood in the very presence of God and he should have believed him, but as he did not, he would not be able to speak until the birth of the child.

The angel said that everything would happen in God’s time.

Sure enough, Elizabeth got pregnant.  Now we pick up the story 6 months later with a young maiden named Mary.  She was engaged to a young man named Joseph.  They surely had plans for a wonderful marriage.

They were godly people and were betrothed to one another.  The future was surely bright for them both.

And then, an angel of the Lord came to visit Mary.

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was understandably stunned, maybe in shock.  This was likely her first encounter with an angel, so the angel has to do the angel thing and say, OK don’t be afraid.  It’s all good.

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.

If that were not enough, the angel said, OBTW—you will bear the Son of God.  That was probably a little too much to a young gal to take in all at once.

You do know that I am a virgin, right?  I have never been with a man, much less pregnant.

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

The angel consoled and encouraged Mary a little. Even childless Elizabeth is 6 months pregnant. If God wills it, if God speaks it, it happens.

For no word from God will ever fail.”

Mary was in shock but she believed.  Her belief was manifested in this response.

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”

We know what followed.  Mary visited Elizabeth and John leaped in the womb.  Gabriel told Zechariah that the Spirit of God would be with John and fill John even before he was born. 

Joseph had doubts and needed some angelic counsel as well.

There was a census and a trip to Bethlehem.  We know about the whole no room at the inn deal. I can hear Mary now telling Joseph that he should have downloaded that Expedia app while they still had Wi-Fi in Nazareth.

We know the story but today I ask you to see the trust and acceptance and faith of Mary.  She was a young girl without much life experience but she knew that she belonged to, worshiped, and now would serve the Lord in a very special way.

Think of the power in these words.

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Today is not a day for intense biblical study, but one to be in awe of the magnitude of the message given to this young lady and her acceptance of her role—however unique—to be the servant of God.

A few weeks ago, I was privileged to speak to the students at their Veterans Day Program.  I talked about those who would serve. It was a topic with which I had some experience and familiarity.

I mentioned the sometimes cliché expression of a veteran being someone who at some point wrote a blank check to their country. It’s an apt comparison.

Now think of Mary, young Mary, writing a blank check to God.

Whatever you call me to do, I will do.  I am your servant.

Let’s celebrate the Advent and the Birth of the Christ into this world.  Let us also celebrate this young and willing servant of the Most Hight God.

As we prepare for the coming of the Lord to claim his own, let us prepare ourselves by being humble, willing servants who will say to the Lord, I am the Lord’s servant.

Let the simplicity, honesty, and trusting nature of those words sink in.

“I am the Lord’s servant.”

 “May your word to me be fulfilled.”

Let Mary’s willingness to write a blank check to her God be imparted to us.  Let us say these words from our hearts.

I am the Lord’s servant.

May your word to me be fulfilled.

Amen.