Jonah 2: Repentance, Perhaps?

“Repentance, Perhaps?” Jonah Chapter 2

            What does it mean to say, “I’m sorry,” and actually mean it? If you think about it, we often say “sorry” in life for and about a lot of things without ever truly feeling sorry for them. For instance, I am sometimes sorry that I got myself into a situation. I’m terrible about goofing up and forwarding emails not meant to be forwarded. I am often sorry—not that I forwarded something—but that I’m now in the mess it caused. We often say sorry to a lot of people and in many situations. It’s greatly overused much like the word, “love.” 

            Sometimes, though, we need to actually live what it means to be sorry—to say it truly and to actually feel every ounce of the meaning of that root word of sorrow. When we say sorry, in the truest and purest sense, it should affect both our heart and mind, bringing grief for what we have done as well as a desire to change and do or live better in our lives. This is how we actually live the meaning of repentance and have repentant lives for what we have done wrong. So, let’s look at that idea of repentance and how it is a state of examination for those who believe, the difference between the words of repentance and a heart of repentance, and how this affects our desire to live into the Gospel of deliverance and healing. 

            First we see in the Bible that repentance was something directed towards the religious, designed to call them into a state of examination of themselves. In verse 4, Jonah says, “O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.” Jonah knew that he had messed up royally, and God was not happy with him. If anything, during his time in the fish’s belly, he definitely learned of God’s displeasure with his willful disobedience. And, I believe that Jonah knew he needed to look towards God, or towards the Temple where sacrifices and penance were made, to be redeemed from his wrongdoing. Jonah was God’s prophet, God’s chosen one, yet he needed to repent. 

            If we read in other parts of the Bible, we see that Jesus often preached not only to the Jewish believers but also to the Pharisees, who were the supposed leaders of the faith. We also read in Acts 3 that Peter preached in the Temple. These were not areas where the unwashed masses or vast unbelievers would be found. These were the faithful, the religious, the followers, and to them God spoke the word, “Repent.” We even read in II Chronicles 7 those famous words we all like to quote on Independence Day, “If my people…will humble themselves and pray.” We don’t hear “those people” or “other people.” The words are my people. That is because we are not exempt, just as Jonah was not exempt. The Pharisees and the faithful of Jesus’s day needed to hear that word spoken calling them to repent. Perhaps the lesson is—if we think everything is fine and we need to make no changes nor room to grow, then we probably are the very ones in need of repenting. 

            Likewise, we must realize from Jonah that there is a difference between simply the words of repentance and having a heart of repentance. In this chapter, we read that Jonah spoke all the right words—his prayer is moving and powerful. But as we see later in Jonah, it’s just words. If you look closely, there’s nowhere in here that he fully embraces the idea of “I’m sorry for disobeying, please forgive me.” He talks in one quick phrase about offering sacrifices and vows, but it’s just a passing thought. Jonah spoke the right words, but his heart is not surrendered, nor is his heart truly repentant. 

            It reminds me of the parable of the pharisee and publican. Both came to pray before God. One boasted in his own abilities and condemned others in his prayer. The other begged humbly for God’s mercy. Saying “I’m sorry” to someone (or to God) is pointless if you don’t actually mean it. And anyone who does not offer a heartfelt sorry in their life or who hasn’t felt true repentance has no room for Christ in his or her heart. 

            It reminds me of the old hymn, “Is thy heart right with God—cleansed and made holy, humble, and lowly, right in the sight of God?” As theologian Karl Rahner said, “The number one cause of atheism is Christians. Those who proclaim him with their mouths and deny him with their actions is what an unbelieving world finds unbelievable.” We must pray, “Lord, tune my heart to sing your praise!” We must live lives where faith and Christ’s love call us to true repentance and a change in our thoughts and actions. And that word is preached to both the church members and those who have no faith. If you and I have no heart for repentance and change, how can we expect anyone else to do so? 

            Finally, we see how this change in our lives calls us to live a Gospel that offers deliverance and healing. God called Jonah to go and preach to Nineveh because God wanted to save and deliver the city. And in verse 9, Jonah says, “I will fulfill all my vows.” He’s still neither agreeable nor willing, but he has learned he really has no choice at this point as he is God’s prophet. This call to heal and deliver requires us to have priorities like Jesus did. Jesus prioritized those in need: of grace, of living water, of sight, of healing because they were injured, lame, and sick, of welcome because were cast out of society for whatever reason. That, right there, is a gospel which speaks loudly and speaks of Christ’s grace. 

            Author Beth Moore writes, “When the [G]ospel has become bad news to the poor, to the oppressed, to the broken hearted and imprisoned, and the good news to the proud, self-righteous, and privileged instead, it is no longer the gospel of or Lord Jesus Christ.” If the Gospel no longer speaks in our world, through us as Christ’s changed and redeemed people, then people will find the Gospel is no longer needed in their lives. In the end no faithful one will be left. Christ’s words are seen and lived by us. Nineveh, as we will soon read, was changed because a prophet finally dared to walk into their city and speak God’s word. That word meant something and made a difference to them. And living and speaking that prophetic Gospel word can still make a difference today. 

            Would we say Jonah was sorry? I think in some ways he was. He was sorry he was in a whale or big fish. He was sorry he got in trouble. He was sorry he caused a mess for the sailors on that boat. But was he sorry he disobeyed and put his selfishness before God’s call? That’s a tougher question, isn’t it? Our words must be accompanied both by right actions and by changed hearts, hearts tuned to God. So, maybe we should wrap up with saying, “Let us be a sorry people.” In so saying, I pray that makes us a people of respect, love, and care. I pray that makes us a people who are willing to repent and do better not because we have to, but because we know it is the right thing to do. Let us be a people and a church that prayerfully and wholly say, “All to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.” 

 Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/314042303154067

Jonah 1: Actions Have Consequences

Jonah 1: Actions Have Consequences

            I will never forget one of my elementary school teachers. Mostly because it was a school year filled with utter and complete turmoil for me. Rarely do I ever blame a teacher for being problematic, but this one took the cake. I probably was not the easiest kid to teach, so I played a role in the problems, but for once in my life, I am going to blame the teacher. The worst part was she told my mom at a parent-teacher conference that I was playing around in class constantly saying, “I don’t get it,” and she believes I was just acting out and saying that. However, when the report card came out, it was VERY evident that I “didn’t get it.” 

            So this teacher told my mom I was “acting dumb” getting me in trouble, then she gave me a bad grade which only made life worse. Finally, in order to explain myself and try to wiggle out of some kind of trouble I said, “But everyone did poorly, we all compared grades. No one did well!” My mom said one of those things which will stay with me forever, “I don’t care how everyone else did. YOU are my son. I only care how you did and that you did well. And if you didn’t do well, we’re going to work together until things are right.” My concern is how well you did, for you are my child. Jonah is a story of how God sometimes works in and through us even despite us and our worst behaviors. Today we look at the idea that actions have consequences, and in doing so we see that disobedience leads to dangerous places, our disobedience can have a ripple effect on others, but God does not let us down or cast us aside even when we are contrary. 

            In our lives, disobedience can often lead us to dangerous places. Jonah was called by God to go to Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, which was a very war-like and dangerous empire. God wanted Jonah to preach to them and announce judgment should they not be willing to end their wickedness. Jonah did not do this; instead, he directly disobeyed God. I have no idea the motivation. Some theorize he was afraid. Some say he hated Nineveh too much to even want to prophesy to them. And some have said he wanted Nineveh conquered to elevate his own status in Israel. Whatever the motivation, Jonah pointedly disobeys and goes literally the opposite direction. 

            Sometimes though, we take this too far. God does not send disasters as punishment, for instance, you will not get a hurricane because your city did something God doesn’t like. God is more concerned with redemption than smiting things off the face of the globe. But there is a natural consequence to disobedience. If you put your hand on a hot stove, it will burn. God doesn’t burn you on purpose or for philosophical reasons. It simply happens. God sent the storm to Jonah to make him compliant, not to destroy or punish him. And we see that God used the struggle both to work God’s mission within Jonah as well as to bring Nineveh to repentance. 

            But disobedience doesn’t just bring consequences to us—it has a ripple effect. The storm, meant to inspire Jonah, appears to have fallen flat with him, although it severely affected those with him on the ship. We read in verse 5 that “fearing for their lives, the deperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.” Where was Jonah? He was downstairs asleep. Jonah, though, knew he had caused the trouble, yet he didn’t even own up to it. It wasn’t until they cast lots that he admitted what he had done and how God was unhappy with him. 

            It’s a reminder that we do not live in a personal bubble—we live in a community. The other day I read how a lady went to a nail salon then texted the owner and nail technician, “I’m so sorry, but I was diagnosed with COVID two days ago. My nails needed work so bad and I was bored. I’m sorry—you should probably quarantine.” The woman had been silent when asked if she was sick or had been diagnosed. The nail technician is now out of work two weeks struggling to pay her bills. She is also immunocompromised and terrified she will die from getting sick. How we live and act and the choices we make affect others whether we like it or not. Jonah’s selfish choice left his fellow sailors terrified and miserable thinking they had killed him when they threw him overboard. 

            Jonah was God’s prophet, the voice and witness of the Holy One on earth. And Jonah was just as stubborn, disobedient, and sinful as a shady televangelist caught red-handed. Jonah had an obligation and responsibility to follow God. We have an obligation and responsibility to show Christ in our love, our actions, and our behaviors. Sometimes we even have to get up and drag ourselves through our own Nineveh no matter how bad we would rather not. We do not live all alone—we live in a community of people who need us to lead with Christ’s grace and Christ’s way of behaving. When we disobey, it affects everyone around us. 

            But there is good news, for even when we are stubborn and rebellious, God does not let us drown or cast us aside. When the sailors threw Jonah over the side of the boat, it was all but certain that he would drown. But instead something else happened. God sent a large fish to swallow Jonah. I am sure this was not pleasant, but it was not doom, gloom, death and destruction as predicted. God still had plans to work in and through Jonah despite his need for an attitude adjustment. And ultimately, the sailors were spared as the storm dissipated. 

            The story of Jonah shows us that at times we must learn to be yielded to God and yielded to God’s will. That often requires us to have already or receive the hard way a dose of humility, which is a very bitter medicine. Jonah had his mind made up. Jonah knew best. Jonah was fully aware of Nineveh and had no intention of going there. Jonah did not care what God said or asked. Sometimes we must calm the frenzy within us, quell that fiery fury that takes over instead of our Christ-like walk. My mom is fond of quoting from the movie Signs, “Everybody needs to calm down and eat some fruit or something.” But in our souls and spirits we must bring ourselves to be humbled and yielded to God’s will. Always and in all ways God’s will is best even when Nineveh looms on the horizon ahead of us. God’s will is still what is good and what is right. 

            Sometimes we are troubled and unwilling in life. Sometimes we find ourselves weary and “done.” Sometimes we are just plain stubborn and contentious like Jonah was. We are now on month 5 of interrupted lives from politics, pandemic, and the craziness of life around us. We are all getting quite sick of it, tired, and weary. Sometimes this can lead us to go “full-Jonah” and have a meltdown before God in a big way. The better path though is to seek out God’s mission, to rely on the wisdom God gives, and to use the intelligence God gave us.  Actions have consequences in our lives. We have to live with every choice, every action, and—yes—every reaction we make. Why not take God’s path? We can simply say, “Take my hand, Precious Lord, lead me on.” As one old pastor said in a Jonah sermon, “Remember this: it is better to find yourself on the paths of righteousness than in the belly of a fish.” 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/3123089451141429

Ruth Final Part: O What a Foretaste of Glory Divine

Ruth: O What a Foretaste—Ruth 4: 1-6, 11=17; I Peter 1: 1-7

            One of the greatest lessons in life is that God will make a way for us, even when we cannot see the way forward. Let me give you a little example. I have a tremendous fear of heights, and I avoid anything where I might be looking over a ledge, near a suspended bridge, or anything like that. When I was in third grade, we had a small obstacle course for P.E., which we had to complete, and as part of it, we had to slide down the pole from the playground equipment. It was a pretty long pole, and I NEVER went down this. Ever. So that day I was incredibly nervous, panicked even, and didn’t expect to be able to do it. 

            As I got to the pole, I nearly blacked out and moved away from it unable to even go near. Suddenly I felt the teacher come up behind me, and he said, “It’s fine, there’s a slide as well, so there’s another way.” I gave a quick “Thank you, Lord, for making another way!” and went down the slide. Sometimes we have to sit back and appreciate that God’s grace for us is truly amazing. That’s what God’s grace does for us—it finds God way, keeps us safe, and eventually sees us through to our reward. 

            First we see that grace finds God’s way in this world. We read in Ruth how Naomi endured struggle including her husband and children’s deaths, returning home feeling like a failure, poor, and likely embarrassed. She was the object of pity of the other women in the town. But in the end, God redeemed her. The women of the town said, “Praise the Lord who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May [this child] restore your youth and care for you in your old age.” God restored her family and her personally from her devastation. And we see that God is in the business of restoration. 

            God restored Job after all he had was taken from him by Satan. God restored Abraham after leaving his home country making him the father of many generations. God restored the Israelite people after their slavery in Egypt and after their exile in Babylon. Our God is in the business of building back and restoring what is lost and broken. In I Peter 1:6 we read, “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead even though you must endure many trials for a little while.” Naomi and Ruth endured more than a decade of sorrow before they were restored and found joy ahead. But God will deliver joy to us, and there is always hope in the end with God. We have to trust that God has made a way, and that we will be safe when we follow God’s way. 

            Next, God’s grace reminds us that we are safe. Boaz, we read, went out of his way to protect Ruth and Naomi. He kept Ruth safe in the field. He made sure they had plenty of grain and provisions. He worked it out so that they had a family redeemer. Finally he even remembered to send Ruth home to Naomi with plenty of food after they talked on the threshing floor. And here we read that Boaz went even further. He gave Ruth a home, a new family after she left hers, and he gave her love, and security. He married her with the promise that she would not be the foreigner and outcast, nor would Naomi be the foolish and scorned elderly widow. Boaz loved, cared for, and kept them safe in every way. 

            I Peter reminds us, “and through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.” I think, ultimately, that is our greatest concern about the future. Once we get done worrying about the whole “what’s next?” part, we wonder whether or not we will be okay. Especially now with all going on around us we ask this question. There’s a tremendous amount of fear over the pandemic. There’s worry over the upcoming election no matter what side you’re on. We ask, “Have we lost all sense of normalcy…have we lost life as we know it?” But the biggest fear is in the midst of all this struggle, will we be safe and okay? 

            There’s an old hymn which answers that question. It says, “Trials dark on every hand, and we cannot understand all the ways that God would lead us to the blessed promised land.” And it wraps up with these words, “But we’ll understand it better by and by.” God has already answered this question for us. Yes, we may suffer, and yes, we may endure trials and pain, but God is still protecting us. Don’t mistake a trial in life (or many) for God’s abandonment. While God does allow our trials to come, God will never, never abandon us. 

            Finally, we know that grace will lead us home. Ruth found a home and family with Boaz. Naomi found her redemption and restoration in a child which carried on the family legacy. Through much of this Naomi is very miserable and bitter in her attitude. I wonder sometimes how frustrated God got with her. She left her homeland (the promised land) for something better. She often lacked a trust in God. She never seems to soften until God actually gives everything she wants. But she had God’s grace in front of her the whole time. The women of the town say about this new-born child, “for he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!” I often wonder if Naomi stopped sometimes to appreciate the level of God’s grace and love that was present with her in Ruth and Ruth’s love for her. 

            But there’s more at work here. The child was named Obed, and his son was Jesse, and his son was King David in whose family line Jesus was born. Not only did Ruth find a home and a new family, she also became the ancestor of Christ occupying a powerful place in the story of God’s grace and restoration of humankind. In I Peter we hear that our faith is more precious than gold, and that we have a priceless inheritance. I know some these days struggle with this other side of faith which deals with spiritual things, but at the end of the day, I have to believe that following Christ is more than a good philosophy. Yes, Christ’s way is a good way to live, but there’s so much hope built into these teachings that it begs of us to believe that living lives of grace will give us a more eternal hope. Every single gospel writer talks about Jesus in terms of his role as both teacher and Savior. And, I think, when we are struggling, we need to remember that aspect of Christ as Savior and Redeemer in our lives. 

            There’s a song which speaks to us in our darkest hour and most difficult test. It says this, “God will make a way when there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see; he will make a way for me. He will be my guide; hold me closely to his side with love and strength for each new day, he will make a way. God will make a way.” Our darkest hour is never so dark, our toughest trial is never so daunting, and that final hour of life is never so fearful when the light of Christ is with us. In all of life, there is one final word—God will make a way, through his amazing grace given to us.

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/245839556387111

Ruth Part 4: A Story of Redemption

Ruth: A Story of Redemption—Ruth 3; Matthew 18: 12-14

            Now, I loved my college and law school experience, and I will admit that I did not visit home all that regularly. Sometimes, however, the saying is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder. One of the best parts of getting to go home was the great, big, amazing welcome from mom and my family, but especially mom. That’s been difficult during this COVID crisis because it has hampered my travel plans to visit family in Kentucky. After awhile, you start to miss that big welcome home. There’s something about that hug and that welcome that makes all of life okay. It feels like all of that time away and of missing one another has somehow been bought back and been given value again.  

            It reminds me of the word redemption. Now, if you grew up on the Baptist side of things, that idea of redemption, if you glanced in the dictionary, meant “saved by God’s grace from your wicked, sinful ways,” and those words wicked and sinful were always given a very sinister emphasis in the preacher’s voice. But there’s a second definition of redemption that I want us to look at today. That definition is this: to remove a debt or to regain value in something. For instance if you pawn an item, you get it back by redeeming it. You buy it back and add the full value back into it, then you bring it home. 

            So in our text, we see a very crude example of this kind of redemption. It was common in Ruth’s day for a related family member to “redeem” a widow and take care of her and her family.  In Ruth’s time the care of the most vulnerable was placed within the family. In Deuteronomy 25, we learn that it was obligation of the next closest male relative to marry his family member’s widow, so she doesn’t end up destitute, or worse, sold into slavery. Naomi was aware of this law and of Elimilech’s family and relatives and used this knowledge to get Ruth married away. Now, while I’m sure Naomi had good motives for wanting Ruth cared for, she also had a deep self interest in making sure she was comfortable in her elder years. 

            This concept of the family redeemer was done out of rules and obligation. There were some issues here, though. Naomi doesn’t just have Ruth politely ask Boaz. She has Ruth ask for Boaz to be the family redeemer AFTER she has put him and her both in a somewhat compromising position by spending the night with him on the threshing floor. To make matters more complicated, there would be no small amount of gossip about Boaz marrying Ruth, who was much younger in addition to being a foreigner and outsider to the people in Bethlehem. For us, however, redemption is neither an obligation, nor does it come from tricky motives, for Christ redeems us as a free gift out of love and desire to be reconciled. 

            So let’s turn our attention to how redemption looks in our lives and in our modern  times in the parable of the lost sheep. In the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd leaves the 99 other sheep which belong to him and searches for the on which is missing. In the simplest terms, this sheep was lost, but now it is found. But there’s a bit more to that “finding.” The shepherd doesn’t just say, “Oh there’s the sheep,” then leaves it alone. The shepherd brings the sheep back, returns it to the fold, and watches over it more carefully. The sheep isn’t just saved; it is redeemed or brought back to the fold. 

            For some this may be a difficult passage. There were, after all, 100 sheep. What does it matter if one of them wandered off? The shepherd had 99 of them left. Besides, what about the 99? Shouldn’t the shepherd have kept watching them instead of leaving them alone? It’s tempting to think that the attention to the one sheep in trouble is a slight to the other 99, but that’s not accurate. The shepherd did not love or care for the other 99 any less, but they weren’t the sheep who were in trouble. That one sheep was in trouble immediately at that time. Likewise, God’s love is not like a pie, if one person needs a bigger slice at a given time, it doesn’t mean you or someone else gets less of God’s love. Instead, God’s love is all-encompassing, unconditional, and endures forever.  There is always enough of God’s love to go around. 

            That’s what redemption means to us. We hear in “Amazing Grace” that iconic line, “I once was lost, but now am found.” But God’s redemption is so much more than simply finding us. God’s redeeming love brings us back from where we’ve wondered off, fills us with God’s goodness, overshadows the wrongs we have done, and overlooks faults and shortcomings. God’s redeeming love doesn’t just find us, it brings us back and says, “Welcome home, my child.” 

            And that’s the final point. Redemption demands a welcome home. Ruth was without family, friends, and close associates in a foreign and hostile land. But Boaz being the family redeemer said to her, “Welcome, you are home, and this is family.” Likewise the one sheep was out on its own subject to predators, dangers, and death, but the shepherd found it and brought it back into the safety and welcome of the fold. 

            We live in a society that seems to miss the point of redemption, where often African Americans still feel like second class citizens, where Hispanics seem to only be valued for their work and looked down on otherwise, where the mentally handicapped are still an embarrassment and ignored, where those who have physical disabilities are considered weak or needy, where the elderly are considered “beyond it,” and where people who are hurting emotionally and spiritually, who may be right on the cusp of losing it, are told to suck it up, buttercup—and their pain is ignored. Some may call these issues “political,” but if we follow Christ, then we must also buy into God’s redeeming love which makes all things new, makes the wounded whole, heals the sin-sick soul, and calls the lost, the wandering, and those in danger back into the safety of God’s fold with a grand welcome and great rejoicing. 

            As Christians, we have to look to the literal words of II Peter 3:9, that God “is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come back to repentance.” If we believe in God, and if we believe in following Christ here on earth, then we must be about the work of BOTH God’s saving love and God’s redeeming love. For as the old hymn says, “Redeemed how I love to proclaim it! His child and forever I am.” To believe in redemption is to believe in the idea that God’s love says to us and to all who seek God, “Welcome home, my child,” for you are part of God’s family. But I also know this. If ever you find yourself as the one sheep, lost and separated, lonely and in danger, you would pray with all your might for God, the Shepherd, to come and find you and bring you home. That is an opportunity which God affords to every single person. 

            So just as Ruth was preparing to be welcomed into the family, so too, does God welcome us into the holy family. Redemption is an often-tricky idea in faith. It generally means salvation, but there’s something more—giving value back or re-purchase—this idea of paying the debt to bring something home. God has paid that debt, and you are welcomed as God’s beloved children. So, when you find yourself a bit lost or left behind like the wandering sheep (and trust me it will happen in life), listen quietly for your own call to redemption, for God will speak to you in a quiet voice, softly and tenderly calling you home. 

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Ruth Part 3: Go Find Your Boaz

Ruth: Go Find Your Boaz—Ruth Chapter 2

            Typically, when churches have turned to the scripture of Ruth 2 and discussed the beginnings of the relationship between Ruth and Boaz, it has been discussed in the context of relationship advice. I can remember growing up and the Youth Pastor cringeworthily telling the girls in the class to “go find your Boaz.” Now, in my current ministry context, this might be a bit of a wasted sermon opportunity if I approach it that way. 

            The church congregation here is generally a bit beyond the years of youthful romance, and for the most part either in committed relationships or decidedly single. In fact, I can hear it now, “I’ve been single for 36 years—why am I about to sit through a sermon on dating advice?” So, perhaps it’s not the relationship advice we should look at in Ruth. Instead we look to the person of Boaz himself. A person ought to be judged by the content of his or her character; therefore, we must look today at the level of character Boaz had. Then, perhaps, we can all listen to the advice, “Go find your Boaz.” 

            If we look at the beginning of this scripture, we see that Boaz had no reason or need to engage with Ruth given his wealth and power, but he did so anyway. We read in Ruth 2 that he was a wealthy and influential man. He had what appears in context to be a significant amount of land, workers, and would have been considered a fairly prominent man in town. Ruth by contrast was poor. She was out to gather grain that had fallen off when the workers were harvesting, so she and Naomi could have a little food. Essentially, she was begging. It wasn’t the kind we see on the street corner; however, it was gathering scraps and remnants left behind, nonetheless. She was also a Moabite, and as we mentioned last week, the Jewish people and Moabite people were not friends. 

            And yet, we see Boaz stoop down from his lofty position to speak to Ruth, to offer her food and shelter, to make sure she gathered as much as she needed to feed her and Naomi. True, that he and Naomi were loosely related by marriage, but that didn’t require him to go out of his way to be nice to Ruth. We see the same example in Jesus, who came down from his lofty place to Earth here with us. Jesus did not come as King and Lord, instead, he spent his time here teaching fishermen, healing lepers, visiting with the Samaritan woman, and caring for the outcast and the stranger. The lesson for us is that Boaz checked his pride and his status in order to care for Ruth, who was far beneath him in society and in economic status. 

            Next, we see that Boaz gave Ruth food, shelter, and extra grain to harvest, and he expected nothing in return. Boaz tells the workers, “Let her gather grain right among the sheaves without stopping her. And pull out some of the heads of barley…and drop them on purpose for her. Let her pick them up, and don’t give her a hard time.” Not only did Boaz allow Ruth to gather the food needed, he made sure she had an abundance from his own fields. He did this because he knew her heart. Verses 11 and 12 tell us that Boaz tells Ruth he has heard of her sacrifice and care for Naomi. 

            Jesus tells us in Luke 6: 33-34, “And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get any credit? And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.” We live in a world consumed by this idea of “what’s in it for me?” We hear it from all around us people saying, “What about me, what about what I want, I, I, I…” and so on. I worry sometimes we won’t be able to find anyone in the world who is a Boaz because we have become so self-focused that we have forgotten about empathy, kindness, and love. We’ve forgotten that phrase in Ephesians4:32, “Be ye kind one to another.” It does NOT tell us be ye kind so long as you get something good out of it. 

            We should not live our life where we struggle to remember the last time we thought of others before we demanded what we wanted. Likewise, every good thing we do should not be plastered on Facebook, twitter, or Instagram as if it were some kind of “good deed porn” for all to view. Jesus lived and died, loved and saved not because we could pay back the debt or work off what we owed, but because he loves us. Oh, how he loves us. 

            Lastly, Boaz realized in Ruth that every person is vulnerable in some way and needs someone in their life who truly cares. In verse 22 Naomi tells Ruth to stay with Boaz during the entire harvest because she “might be harassed in other fields, but…will be safe with him.” We are not told what level of harassment could befall Ruth in other fields, but from the strength of Naomi’s warning, we are left to imagine that it would be very bad. 

            It was startling to me to hear from female friends that, before they go on first dates, they have a check-in time with a friend, let them know what type of car the date drives, what restaurant, what he looks like, and so on, just in case they end up in danger from a predatory man. It’s not a new warning. Naomi told Ruth to stay with Boaz because he was safe and would not let the young men harass her. 

            Ultimately, even though we’re not going on first dates, we crave a feeling of safety and security from the people around us. That’s one of the reasons we trust Jesus; we know we are safe with our trust in him. Jesus tells us Matthew 11: 28-29, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Jesus goes on to say, “I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” One of the greatest aspects of Boaz was the fact that Ruth was safe with him. 

            We must also be the kind of people who make our presence safe for others. We should not be piling burdens on people to make them weary and from the old wording, “laden down with care.” Such people are the equivalent of spiritual vampires, sucking the life and spirit right out of others. Instead, we should be like Boaz who provided food, shelter, and safety to Ruth. We should be like Jesus who lives up to the words of being humble and gentle at heart, and in whom our souls and spirits find rest. 

            In his “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. talked about people being judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Boaz’s character is above reproach. He is a model of what is good, of how to show love, and redemption, and welcome. There are other models for us: Jesus, maybe a father or mother, mentors, pastors, or teachers we look up to. What they have in common is one defining characteristic—that second commandment—love your neighbor as yourself. 

            And so we learn from Boaz that we must reach out to those who are often times socially or economically beneath us even when it’s humbling or a struggle for us. We must give to others in need without expecting a return or reward for our good actions. Lastly we must remember that every person needs love and care, and we offer a presence of trust and love where faith and hope can grow. So, what is your character? There we find the measure of one’s faith. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/325579351904435

Ruth 2: Two Women, Two Choices, and You?

Two Women, Two Choices, and You?: Ruth1: 6-22; Luke 18: 18-30

            Recently, I read an article that talked about church attendance trends during this time of COVID-19, and how the pandemic is affecting church attendance. Many churches have started back some form of in-person worship, and most are still offering either exclusively or alternatively an online worship experience. In this study, it was discovered that only 1 in 3 people have consistently viewed their church and only their church without “church shopping” among videos. Another 1/3 of those surveyed said they were faithful most Sundays but definitely church shopped around for better opportunities online. And 1/3 had stopped viewing, attending, or participating whatsoever. 

            Faith, at its core, involves some kind of commitment to God and to God’s church. I look throughout history, and how church attendance and participation has ebbed up and down, and I wonder if we really have ever fully embraced this idea of commitment? Many of you remember a time (probably in the 1940s, 50s, or so) when churches were filled and the center of family life. If you go a few years before that from the 1890s to the mid-1920s, church participation was at an much lower. And during colonial and early 1800s America, regular church attendance hovered at 25-35%. Historically, we have struggled with the idea of commitment. What does it mean to be committed, wholeheartedly, to our faith? 

            We read in the Book of Ruth about Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah, and their tearful departure after the death of Naomi’s sons. All three are widowed, and, being from two vastly different and often non-friendly countries, Naomi has decided it is better to return home to Bethlehem—alone. The first choice to consider is that of Orpah, who walked away with love and a continued blessing. At first, Orpah was set on going with Naomi. She declared with Ruth, “No, we want to go with you to your people!” in verse 10. But then, Naomi gives Orpah and Ruth a reality check. She is beyond the age of remarrying and having children. She is leaving to a country foreign and hostile to Ruth and Orpah, and there is no way they could marry and be a part of the society there in a legitimate way. So with tears, and final farewells, Orpah chooses her own way and her own future and leaves. 

            We all have these folks in our lives. They talk about a commitment, about faith, about all the grandiose things they want to do. They feel this pull from God in their heart, but in the end, their faith will wither away, and they will walk away. We have to be prepared to handle with love and grace those for whom their heart is not ready for the journey. Faith and following Christ is not an easy journey by any means. It’s a road filled with discipline, trials, struggles, and sometimes pain, but it is also a journey where Christ’s healing, loving, redeeming presence walks with us all the way. 

For some, that is hard to swallow. It was for the rich young ruler in our Gospel lesson. So many things he did right, so much faith and hope were in his life, but his heart and mind were not ready for the journey with Jesus. But Jesus loved him still. Jesus loves us when our hearts and souls are heavy, and when our spirits feel too weak to make the journey. Jesus still loved the rich young ruler. In Mark we hear that Jesus looked on him with pity, or genuine love.  Jesus knew that the only thing to call back someone who is unready is that same love which drew them in the first place—God’s unconditional love. 

The better, and righter path, however, is to make a firm commitment in Christ and let Christ help us live up to it, just as God helped Ruth in the scripture. Ruth made a commitment to Naomi and to God despite knowing it could make her an outcast for years to come. She says, in one of the most power-filled statements in the Bible, “Don’t ask me to leave you or turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God…May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” What a commitment; what a promise! It reminds me of the hymn “Where He Leads Me,” which says, “Where he leads me, I will follow—I’ll go with him, with him, all the way.” 

Ruth had a general idea that she might face loneliness or exclusion, but she probably had no clue how poorly the Jewish nation looked on Moabite people. Yes, there was law in Leviticus which said, “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native born. Love them as yourself for you were once foreigners in Egypt.” (Leviticus 19:34). But, if we’re honest, this part of Levitical law gets shuffled to the wayside from the time of Ruth all the way to our treatment of brown-skinned people and children today. But that’s a sermon for another time. Ruth made a commitment knowing she faced struggles, knowing she faced a potentially terrible journey, and uncertain of what the future might hold for her. Ruth’s decision is a blueprint for us and calls us to make our own commitment to God, to God’s people, and to a life of faith. 

Some struggle because they don’t understand God’s call. The rich young ruler likely missed the point. He heard Jesus’s words to go and sell everything he had and give it to the poor. He assumed Jesus was calling for him to be poor as well. But if you read closely and think on how Jesus works, that’s not correct. Jesus didn’t say, “Go be poor and suffer.” Jesus got right to the young man’s heart. The riches were more important than the desire to follow Christ. Jesus doesn’t call us to give it all up, necessarily, he calls us to value our faith more than our blessings. He gave the young man an opportunity to show where his heart truly was. Jesus’s actions require us to examine our own hearts. What stands between us and Jesus? There is our idol. It’s like the old hymn, “Nothing between my soul and the Savior. Keep the way clear, let nothing between.” 

In the end, however, there is a promised blessing. Peter comments to Jesus that the disciples have given up everything to follow, and Jesus makes them this commitment: “Yes, and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brother or parent or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come.” God will never ignore your faith, nor will God ever forget your commitment to follow Christ all the way. And to follow means Christ will be with you, helping you each step of the way as well. 

When we make a commitment, we do so knowing that we will be journeying through times of peace and joy, through times of struggle and difficulty, and even through times of heartache and sorrow. We are, each one, measured by our commitment—to trust, to love, and to build a solid relationship in all times, and even when we mess up utterly and completely. Faith has not brought me a perfect life by any stretch of the imagination, and I’m certainly not where I envisioned I’d be when I was young. But I have never regretted the choice to follow Jesus as best as I can with his help. The question, now, is yours. As the hymn says, “Will you decide now, to follow Jesus—no turning back, no turning back?” Amen. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/725074441663067

Ruth 1: The Grass Is Not Always Greener on the Other Side

Ruth Part 1: Ruth 1: 1-5; Luke 15: 11-19

Recently a friend of mine decided to try something new. He had been going to the same old, boring barber shop for years. The same guy had been cutting his hair the same way in the worn and somewhat, shall we say “vintage,” shop. It was old, familiar, and he was treated like family. But just up the street, this fancy new barber shop opens. It’s glitzy and glamourous. It has large television screens and nice lighting. It’s about as fantastic and fabulous as you can get in a men’s barbershop. Allured by all the glitz and glam, my friend decided to try it out, because, of course, something that nice has to be better, right? 

When he went he was overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds, how modern and nice everything appeared to be. He was given a warm welcome and treated like a king as opposed to family. He sat down in the chair and had this sleek, silver cape wrapped around him for the haircut. The barber, dressed in a casual suit like something out of a movie gets the cut underway. As the clippers come alive with a buzz, my friend feels plain, cold metal touch the back of his head as the clippers go through his hair. Then he hears the barber say, “Oh no, no. Oh man. Oh no.” The barber forgot to put a guard in the clippers and just shaved part of my friend’s head bald. The grass is not always greener on the other side. 

We begin this week a four part series on Ruth which is a story of strength even in the midst of adversity. But the story is also just as much about Naomi and her struggle as it is about Ruth and her faith. Both of them faced strong difficulties, persecutions, and possibly varying levels of regret, but both of them grew in their faith and found God’s hope, restoration, and even redemption in the end. When we pick up the story we realize an important lesson from Naomi and Elimilech, that sometimes we are going to have to endure while our own house is in a mess or a state of disorder. 

Israel, we are told, was in the midst of a famine. In those days a famine was a very serious and frightening thing. It could mean a food shortage, and there would be no other place to gather food leading to starvation. Whereas now we have ways of predicting weather and crop cycles, in Naomi’s day there was no way to tell how long a famine would last. It could be simply an off year for the harvest, or it could last seven years like in the story of Joseph. The rules in those days said that the Israelite people were not to intermingle with the Moabites, yet Elimelech did this anyway, moving his whole family to Moab where things seemed better instead of staying where he was and trusting God. 

Likewise, in the story of the prodigal son, I imagine the young man was bored at home, wanted something new and exciting or was seeking a lot more pleasure out of life than working on his father’s farm. He thought life would be much more fun if he could just get away and move to a nice, exciting city. Sometimes, though we have to be prepared to deal with a little bit of mess in our own house. We often face two choices—stay or leave. It’s a recurrent choice in life. Now, suppose you come home and your realize that your house is a complete disaster, a total mess. What do you do? The answer is you clean it. You can’t just close the door and walk away—you stay and you put the house back in order. Elimilech and Naomi didn’t want to endure the struggle at home with their family and friends, staying and trusting God; they wanted to toddle off to something they thought was nicer and better. The prodigal son didn’t want to stay and make his father’s farm the best he could—he walked away from his home and family, thumbing his nose at them. 

The problem with this is we have to discern whether we are being led by God’s call or by our own temptations. For Naomi and Elimelech it was clearly temptation. They did not trust God to provide and bear them through the famine. Moab wasn’t struggling with a famine, so the family uprooted and walked away from home and from obedience to God. The prodigal son, likewise, was tempted away by the excitement of a far off place where he could get all he wanted with his riches. And I imagine with a sizable inheritance, he was quite popular wherever he landed. 

But walking away has consequences. For Elimelech it was death, and Naomi suffered the loss of practically her whole family. I can’t imagine the suffering and desolation she felt at having her husband die, then her two sons dying also. The prodigal son also had to pay the consequences. He squandered everything he had and was left broke, desolate, and hungry enough to eat the slop fed to pigs. And yet we read elsewhere that the disciples heard God’s call and left their homes, jobs, and everything to follow. Abraham heard God call and left his home to travel to the promised land, so what is the difference? 

The difference is the motivation—why are we doing what we are doing. For Naomi, Elimelech, and the prodigal son, they wandered off for selfish reasons whether it be their lack of trust, desire for a world of sinful opportunities, or even because they just thought they knew better—their motives were wrong and selfish. Abraham and the disciples devoted themselves to following God. They left everything to work for the kingdom, to sacrifice for Jesus’s mission of love, grace, and building a loving, welcoming church that saved the soul and body from struggle. 

Our society today is rife with this same kind of restless selfishness. It comes in all shapes, sizes, races, ethnicities, and political persuasions. For every action we take, for every thought that leaps out of our mouth, for every comment we speak, post on social media, or debate in person, what is the motivation? Are we trying to point people to God? Or like Elimelech, Naomi, and the prodigal son, are we looking to be right, to prove our point, or to live however we want to regardless of whether it’s what God would have us do? Sometimes God calls us to be quiet, to clean and get our own house in order, to wait and endure if there’s a famine and struggle around us, and to work where we are because it’s the job God has called us to do. Naomi and Elimelech should have stayed in Bethlehem. The prodigal son should have stayed at home and tended the farm. If we always live our lives in the “should haves,” we will forever be struggling against God. 

But the good news is that no matter how far we walk away, wander away, or even stubbornly refuse to be obedient, God will always welcome us home. A friend tells me how her mother used to counsel that no matter how many steps you take away from God, it’s always just one step back. The prodigal son was welcomed not as a punished servant, but as the beloved son. For Naomi, the road was a lot longer, and we are going to journey with her over the next few weeks. But, she also finds redemption and healing in the end. 

Unfortunately in life, the grass is not always greener on the other side. But we are often difficult and stubborn and even jealous people at times. But what I know is this: no matter how selfish, stubborn, or difficult we may have been, “there’s a wideness in God’s mercy. There is welcome for the sinner. There is mercy with the Savior; there is healing in his blood.” Though the grass may not always be greener where you go with selfishness and disobedience, I can promise you something on the opposite side. The grass is always green, and the soil for God’s love and grace will always be fertile where God leads you. 

The Book of James: Prayer and Restoration

James—Prayer and Restoration: Psalm 24: 1-6; James 5: 13-20 

            In full honesty, Independence Day, or Fourth of July, as some say, is not my favorite holiday in the whole scheme of national holidays. As it falls right in the middle of summer, the holiday is usually swelteringly hot here in Georgia. Beaches, pools, and anything fun are overwhelmingly crowded. I’ve grown far less enamored with fireworks, especially given the devastating effect they have on veterans with PTSD for whom the sound of fireworks can be devastating. Lastly, I dislike the messy convolution of church and nationalism. Yes, the church should be supportive of our institutions and should encourage good citizenship; however, we must be careful running afoul of the giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s and giving to God what is God’s. Blurring that line is uncomfortable for me. 

            But we must still ponder the question that the church lives and moves within society, within our nation, and within the civil institutions we have created, so how does the church do this? What course should the modern church chart to have effective ministry, growing faith, and sharing grace and love around the world? There are three things we should look at: authority, relationship, and mission. 

            First we must recognize the proper authority and practice of our churches. Psalm 24 tells us this: “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. For God laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.” Not only do we rely on God, find our strength in God, and have all the good aspects of our faith in God, we also must realize that God is an authority figure in our lives deserving of our respect. That is because God is…well…God, worthy of worship, praise, and love. God created the heavens and the earth and all that is within both of them, and as such, God has authority over what God has created. 

            In and through that authority, James gives us a few specific practices as part of our faith. If we have hardship, pray about it. If we are happy, sing praises to God. If we are sick, call the elders to pray and anoint the one who is ill. If you find yourself having done wrong, confess that wrongdoing and seek forgiveness (which you will always find in God). If you are earnest in your prayer and faith, expect an answer from God. Though these things seem simple enough to do, we often forget to do them. Prayer is often an afterthought. Praising God seems to be only in our minds instead of actually done. We get angry and stubborn instead of confessing and finding humility. Easy concepts that James lays down here can be forgotten in the busy-ness of life. But they call us to render to God what is God’s—our time, our thoughts, our attention, ourselves. 

            That rendering to God demands that we live in a good and right relationship with God first and foremost, but, hold on, because we’ll expand that idea globally in just a bit. Psalm 24: 4-5 tells us of this relationship by asking who may stand in God’s holy place: “Only those whose hands and heart are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior.” In law, we have the doctrine of unclean hands. It means (loosely) that, if you are just as guilty, you cannot come to court seeking a remedy for what has been done to you. For instance, and I promise this actually happened, if you are selling drugs, you should not call the police because someone stole your drug money. Clean hands, pure heart, faithful relationship—these are things which we should be striving for in life. 

            James also touches on the idea talking about someone who wanders from faith and is brought back. He notes that the person bringing the wandering one back will be greatly celebrated. That is because we shouldn’t be nosy about one another’s business, but we should help one another grow and develop in our relationship with God. Our desire should be to help, lift up, and encourage one another, not destroy and tear each other down, and not to meddle in one another’s lives for bad purposes. There’s an old saying, “Live and let live.” I actually think it’s a little lacking because we are all connected to a degree. My college community service group expanded on it saying, “Live, let live, and help live.” We should be about the business of helping others to live, to love, and to grow in faith, peace, and hope. 

            Lastly, not only do we live in right relationship with God, but we should also live in good relationship with those around us. Not only do we render to God what is God’s, but we must also contend at some point with Caesar. That calls us to stand for truth and justice in this world, even as Christ teaches and did himself. That doesn’t mean dragging the church through politics. But there are Gospel and Biblical truths on which the church must stand and insist. 

            We must take a stand to be reconciling and welcoming of all people who seek God and who seek to worship with us. Galatians 3:28 says, “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This is Paul’s clear call to stop seeing differences and separations and to start living as if each person we see is a child of God in need of God’s loving, changing, and matchless grace. As a quote I saw recently said, “You will never look into the eyes of someone God does not love. Always be kind.” 

            We are to stand on the truth of helping the poor, the widow, and the orphan. In Mark 12 Jesus told a parable about the faith of a widow who gave everything she had. In Matthew 25, Jesus talks about caring for the least of these. In Exodus we read the command not to take advantage of the widow or orphan. In Luke 14, Jesus says when you prepare a banquet invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.

            Jesus also defends the marginalized in life including parables and stories about the good work of Samaritans and speaking with the Samaritan woman. Jesus also defends the immoral woman charging that the one without sin should cast the first stone. Over and over, we see Jesus, and those who followed him standing for what is right, not on politics, not on Democrat or Republican, right or left leaning policies, but on the truth of the Gospel and the commandments to us in the rest of the Bible. These things the church cannot ignore or compromise on. Our ultimate mission is to bring grace and God’s love to the world, but we cannot shirk the other duties given us as well, to listen and to do God’s Word as James says. 

            The church must stand firm on what is right, yet also the church must live in the modern era of life. James calls us to maturity and growth. Change in life is inevitable, but I’ve learned people don’t necessarily fear change. They fear loss, that something may be taken away from them. But here is another truth I know. As long as you and I stand in right relationship with God, and render to God what is God’s, he will continue to help us to grow. We will never be abandoned and never be lost and wandering. God never has and never will leave us. But, be mindful not to let the distance between you and God grow either. Follow closely as God leads and even as God continues to march us forward—perhaps into the unknown, but always in faith. 

            https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/704640570113769

The Book of James: Patience

Patience and Endurance: Job 1: 1-4, 20-22; James 5:7-11

            A friend of mine and someone I consider to be a wise person once told me, “Never pray for patience. God will teach it to you, and you won’t like it.” I believe we all have some instances where we have zero patience in life. When we sit in traffic that simply won’t let up, our moods drop and our inclination to hit the horn grows minute by minute. Those times we have to drive through Atlanta during rush hour, we can feel our hands tightening on the steering wheel and our blood pressure increasing. 

            Or, perhaps closer to home, there are times we are standing 15 people deep in a line at the Wal-Mart check out and only two registers are open. I know from some of you, that in those times you get the closest to a meltdown that you’ll ever be. I, too, share in that struggle. But there’s a common theme. This idea of patience always comes up in our tough times. It’s the common theme that when all is well, you don’t need to patiently endure, patience is only needed when there is a struggle either on its way or already upon us. 

            One of the most difficult aspects of having patience is that patience grows in our waiting periods of life. James writes, “be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return.” And we are then told to take courage with the example of farmers who wait for the rain to fall and harvest to ripen. This idea of waiting is found all throughout the Bible: Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” Isaiah 30: 18 says, “Blessed are those who wait on God.” And perhaps the greatest words on waiting, Isaiah 40;31, “But they that wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not be faint.” 

            Our waiting periods are a time to grow closer to God, and patience is the bridge which gets us there. We continue in these days to see trials and turmoil. I saw a comic the other day had someone staring out the window, and they said, “Looking out to see what part of The Book of Revelation we’re living through today.” But in trying times, we must patiently and actively wait for God’s Word and God’s healing. We must have patience over panic if we see safety and security crumble. We must patiently and pointedly hold out until justice is done for those on life’s margins. Waiting is more than sitting idly by. Waiting is a time of preparation and a time of work. Let patience grow in your waiting periods, and let your strength be renewed during waiting periods. The struggle is there, but so is God’s strength. Don’t waste the wait. 

            James also teaches us that endurance is the power to overcome and the final product of our patience. James writes in verse 11 that we give great honor to the ones who endure through suffering. But there is also a promise of restoration at the end of the suffering, “for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.” Romans 5: 3 and 4 says, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” 

            Endurance builds the character which strengthens our confident hope. This means that patient endurance is the hallmark of a mature faith. It is the actual living of the “I can” attitude for those who say, “I can do all things through Christ.” Patience and endurance may go hand in hand, but neither one is easy to live with. Both require us to trust in God. There are really only two options we have in times of trial—trust in God and wait with patience and endurance, or walk away. The latter choice will never bring us peace or comfort in the long run. 

            I remember a friend who talked about her struggles with patience and endurance and managing to get through trials in a graceful way. She is an older woman, and she said for most of her life when things were unpleasant or difficult, she made sure people knew it. If she was going to suffer, she was going to let everyone else know loudly and boldly that she wasn’t happy. That means it was frequent and consistent that she was complaining about something in life annoying her, bothering her, or causing her some level of distress. Three of us were in the car headed to a meeting, and after that statement, we prepared for the worst through the next 45 minutes of the trip. After a pause, however, she said, “But I stopped it as I grew older. I realized that no matter how much I complained, how much I made other people struggle as well, I still had to endure through the trial.” 

            And finally, we are given the example of Job, who lived a life showing patience, endurance, and restoration in the end. Job was a man who had everything he could ever want in life: a great family, land, livestock, servants, quite literally everything. But in one short time period, all was taken away from him, and Job began to endure the worst trial imaginable. He lost family, land, servants, livestock, and even the support of his wife and friends. He was left utterly alone and without much hope at all. 

            But Job had the kind of mature faith needed to wait for the Lord. Job had the patience to endure the struggles and trials until the end. In fact Job lasts for 42 very, very long chapters. This was not a quick or easy waiting period by any means. But Job sets his attitude and his trust in God early on, and never, never waivers. He says, “The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord.” And perhaps we read one of the boldest statements of faith and trust in the next line: “In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.” 

            In the end, Job was rewarded. All of his blessings were returned, and everything which was taken from him was restored. Job 42 tells us that God actually restored twice what Job had before. This doesn’t take away the pain of the suffering, but it shows that God has in mind restoration, hope, and life instead of destruction and death. Job saw that God’s promises were true. Remember that in every painful waiting period, there is a new and wonderful thing awaiting. Sometimes that is restoration double fold here on earth, and sometimes that promise is eternal, not earth-bound. Remember that when we patiently endure, the end result is always hope, even when it seems to be such a far way off. Hope is still there even as we continue to trust in God. 

            But the waiting is tough. I was once told never to pray for patience, for God will teach it to you, and you won’t like it. But patient waiting is where we find God’s presence most strongly with us. Patient waiting is where we spend our time growing and preparing. If we trust and endure, God will always see us through to our hope made real. Patiently listen, willingly do, endure to the end until hope is a reality. This isn’t just a good thought or wishful thinking. It is a promise which God himself has made. 

The Book of James: Integrity

James 4: 13 through 5:6—“Integrity” 

Growing up I often heard the phrase, “A good man is hard to find.” It was always said with a bit of a smirk and wink like some kind of inside joke for adults only. I’m sure many of you have heard that phrase as well, or have maybe even said it: a good man is hard to find. It was later on in life as a college student that I began to read Flannery O’Conner in my American Literature class. The phrase came from her book by the same title. Out of interest and the general commands of my professor to read it for the exam, I read through the book late one night. 

And, oh, wow. It is a short story about the meaninglessness of life including a serial killer, violent murder descriptions, and human suffering—very incredibly dark stuff. There was nothing uplifting or redeeming in it at all. Yes, it was a very good story, but not for the faint of heart. But as I read through James 4 and 5 and thought on what it means to be “good” or morally right, the word that came up over and over was integrity. As it is Father’s Day, we need to talk a little bit about fathers even though some of us have, at best, strained relationships with our own dads. The question we should ask is this: have we lost integrity? Is a good man (or woman) really hard to find these days? 

The first step to having integrity is understanding the phrase, “if the Lord wants.” James talks about people who say, “I will do this or that,” and set up very definitive plans which may or may not part of the Lord’s will. For James, plans are nice, but God’s will is the best one can do. He asks how we will know what life is like tomorrow as we plan and move in our lives, and suggests that such plans are simply our own boasting . Instead we should approach life from the perspective of “if the Lord wants us to…” This idea is in our prayers as we say, “Thy will be done.” It’s in our hymns, as Amanda sang, “All along my pilgrim journey, Savior, let me walk with Thee.” Integrity means we see our own short-sightedness and rely on God’s wisdom and foresight to guide us. Yes we will go, and yes will will act, “if the Lord wants.” 

But integrity also calls us to act when necessary and not remain quiet in the shadows. James writes that “it is a sin to know what you ought to do and then not to do it.” There are a couple of ways this can occur. The first is that we simply forget either willfully or recklessly. James believed Christianity was a continuation of the Jewish traditions with Christ added into the mix, in a very simple explanation. Others believed Christianity was a whole new thing, separate and distinct from Judaism. James is attempting to call back those who have wandered from what he believed was the right approach. 

But for us, we often simply get too busy or distracted to follow God or to do what we ought to do. Be kind one to another. Respecting one another’s boundaries. These are things we often forget about or try to avoid because we don’t like them. Integrity means that we live in such a way that we respect the idea that each is made in the image of God. We must remember this and that respect and care are things we are called to do. But also we wrestle with people who simply don’t care about following God’s ways and what is right. As Ephesians 6:12 says, we wrestle against “principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world.” 

Having integrity means that we hear God’s call, respond to God’s word, and know that doing otherwise sets us on the pathways of wrongdoing. We have to set aside these desires to delve into selfish motivation or manipulation for our own motives. This idea is the repeated theme of James throughout his Epistle—hear what God says and do it! If we are to have integrity we must respond in this way. 

Finally, one of the biggest issues for James that causes problems with our integrity is our positions of power in life and over one another. In Acts 2: 44-45 we read, “And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.” The early church understood that each and every person was simply a broken human being needing Christ’s grace in his or her life. They understood the importance of helping the poor, feeding the hungry, and sharing as each one had. 

James points out the power issues and suffering he sees in his day. The rich have fine clothes, gold and silver, great wealth, but it is all useless. For all that has been hoarded will testify against the proud and powerful on the final day. The stories which will mark them are those of cheated field workers and the murdered innocents. A wise person once said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Well, actually, it was the comic book character Spider Man, but the wisdom is no less powerful. As followers of Christ, as people of integrity, we cannot use what power we have to exploit and abuse. Christ calls us to care for the least of these. And how we do treat the least of these will testify to our faith and integrity. 

So may it never be said of us that good men and women are hard to find. We need to make sure that good people are easy to find in this world. That starts with parents, and fathers, who teach the truth and what is right. That starts with people who set an example of love and care, who do right in all place both in public and when nobody is watching. It starts with people of Christ who encourage life and hope in a weary and hurting world. Many of you have talked to me about everything going on and the worry and unsettled feeling our present trials bring. The answer is two fold—first we must pray, then we must live as people of integrity and people of Christ. If you cannot find good in the world, then go out (safely with a mask) and be the good in the world. Be the light of Christ. 

Many of us grew up with the saying that a good man (or woman) is hard to find. But I believe that saying is actually untrue, because if you look closely, you will find them. You will see them in the homeless shelters and the treatment centers. You will see them in churches and in missions. You will see them at home and in the streets. Look around. You will find people of integrity who love God and work hard in faith to bring life and hope. And each one of us has the opportunity, or even the call from God, to be one of those people. I with you all a Happy Father’s Day, and pray for you to be blessed and strengthened with God’s almighty power.