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Surprising Joy… (3)

There are times when the Spirit and the Word convict us and we are filled with guilt and sorrow. Shame over sins and shortcomings causes our heads to hang, our hearts to grieve, and our shoulders to sag.  

The realization of God’s goodness beyond our foolishness can make us want to hide our faces.

This was the case in the times of Ezra the prophet and Nehemiah the  governor, when a remnant was allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild during the exile. 

While Nehemiah focused on building the walls of the city, Ezra focused on building the people up – chastening and encouraging them with the word God. At the reading of the Scriptures, the people wept.

Fortunately, the people’s hearts were tender at the hearing of God’s

word. While they were blessed to return from exile and to rebuild Jerusalem, there was a deep sense of remorse as they realized that it was their own rebelliousness that caused the ruins upon which they stood.

Amid their tears and sorrow, however, Nehemiah responded to their with this surprising encouragement:

Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” 

Nehemiah 8:10

What a surprising joy it is to know that even in discipline God proves God’s love for us!

Are you in a transition? Rebuilding or repairing a relationship?  Getting up from a nasty fall? Healing from some past failure?  Grace abounds!

Don’t be discouraged and do not be grieved!  This is the day the LORD has made!  And…

‘… the joy of the LORD is your strength!’  

Good morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

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Surprising Joy?

We are almost halfway through another year, and time has been flying, but not because we’ve been having fun.  

Things have been tough, huh? There is so much suffering and turmoil, so much bad news, it can get overwhelming.  Socially, politically, economically – things are bad.  And on top of all these things,  we all have our personal struggles and trials.  It’s not surprising that we find ourselves weary and restless. It’s not surprising that we are tired and frustrated.  

But what I do find surprising is how joy persists amid our sorrow, how hope prevails despite pervasive darkness, and how compassion continues to cut across the cruelty that seems to be winning the day!

You may be wondering where I am encountering such compassion, hope and joy.  I will tell you where…

When we gather for worship, fellowship, prayers, service, or study – I witness the love of God, the compassion of Jesus, and the glad presence of the Spirit. When we gather, just to spend time, I hear the kindness and sincerity of the gracious words you offer to one another, and sometimes even to me – I see your generosity.

You are a deeply encouraging reminder that light will not succumb to darkness, that love is durable and resilient, and although we do have our struggles – life is sweet!  You are a reminder that we are not alone.  

When I see you,  I see living breathing proof of God’s goodness, faithfulness, and love! 

Thank God for you!

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” 

John 16:33

Good morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

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Stand Still…

When I get lost, the last thing I need to do is to try to go fast. It induces more anxiety, and in most circumstances, it takes me further away from where I’m supposed to be.  There’s nothing more worrisome for me than the notion of speeding when I don’t know where I am going.

As a father, I’ve noticed that when my kids thought they knew what I was asking them to do they would begin to move before I finished giving them instructions. On rare occasions things worked out, but in many situations, we would end up having to start over again and I’d end up repeating myself.

I can’t be too hard on them, though, especially when I look at my own life.  The times I thought I knew what the LORD was up to, only to discover that I was off track or simply out of order are too numerous to count! 

I can only imagine how God feels when we listen poorly, move rashly, and  jump to conclusions that leave us lost and far from His intended plans and destination for us! And then for us, as a consequence we just end up frustrated, confused, and disappointed.

The message for today is simple.

Stand still.  Discipline yourself to listen carefully for the voice of the Spirit, turn down the noise and distractions, and then wait for God’s direction.

Being still allows us to get our bearings and to reorient ourselves so that we can move faithfully forward.

Are you wondering what your next move should be, anxious about the future, trying to figure out which way you should go? 

Stand still.  Listen carefully.  Pay attention to signs around you, and slow down!  

Pray this Psalm with me:

4  Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.  

Psalm 25:4-5

For you, LORD, I wait…

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

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The Holy Spirit (6)

Jesus ascended forty days after His resurrection.  Ten days later is what we call the Pentecost – fifty days after the resurrection.  It coincides with the Jewish Festival of Weeks that occurs fifty days after the Passover when God delivered His people from bondage through Moses.

It is an important time for Christians and Jews alike. Jerusalem would be bustling with Jews from all over the diaspora.  Despite their different backgrounds these Jews would travel from all over the known world to be in Jerusalem for the Pentecost.

And it’s here we find a group of Christians gathered together in the upper room, on one accord, and in one place… in one place!

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place , Acts 2:1.  For ten days they stayed together in one place, waiting on the promise of the Father, waiting and on one accord.

For ten days they prayed and encouraged one another as they waited on the promise.  For ten days they chose something bigger than themselves. For ten days they stayed and prayed together…

This is instructive for us.  When we want to encounter God’s power and God’s presence we must choose something bigger than ourselves. Faithfully, patiently, waiting together on one accord – they agreed that the promise of the Father was more important than their own plans.

I wonder if we may ever possess such deliberate discipline. I wonder if we might find such fortitude and faithfulness.  Making unity their priority, these faithful few prepared and positioned themselves to encounter the power of God! Can we?

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 

Acts 2:1

I know the culture has changed us, and more recently the pandemic has undermined the priority we’ve placed on just being together, but I cannot abandon the importance of us just showing up – just being together to experience God’s power and presence.   How about you?

Amazing and wonderful things can happen when we choose unity as an expression of our faith! Don’t miss it!

Good morning, I love you all!  

ihs,

just adam

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The Holy Spirit (4)

After Jesus’ resurrection and before His ascension, He gave His disciples instructions to go and wait for the, ‘promise of the Father.’

After recounting to them all of what they encountered over His time with them, He told them to ‘stay in the city’ until they received ‘power from on high…’

‘Stay in the city,’ He said.

All who were present were witnesses to the teaching, the miracles, the passion, and now the resurrection.  Wasn’t that enough? Why must they wait? 

Perhaps Jesus knew the problems that lay ahead of them. Perhaps He knew what pressure they would face in the days to come.  Perhaps He knew the persecution they would have to endure.  

Jesus wanted His disciples to be prepared for what was ahead.  

The disciples would need more than just excitement to carry out the mission that was assigned to them.  They would need more than just the memory of what they had witnessed.  They would need a personal, life-changing, infusion of the Spirit’s power to not only start, but sustain their efforts.

How many times have we set out to do something without the necessary vision and power to see it through to the end?

I know there are many tasks, projects, and goals that I have pursued that began with excitement, but over time they fizzled out.  Sometimes it was because my great idea was just that, ‘my great idea.’  Other times, it was because I hadn’t appropriately assessed the cost of the project.  And then there were times when I just didn’t have the resources or the power to finish well.

Jesus would have no such thing for His disciples.  So, He told them to go and wait, to stay in the city, until their Helper arrived.

I can remember hearing old preachers say, ‘I can feel my help coming…’

In their own way and with the simplest expression they were signaling their need to rely on Someone beyond themselves, Someone beyond their strength, Someone beyond their giftedness – to sustain the work they were trying to do!

We would all do well to learn the same.  Wait, stay, be still until our Helper comes!  Wait, stay, be patient, don’t proceed until your power comes!  Then you will have not only everything you need to get started, but also everything you need to sustain your efforts, and to see things through to the end!

In the meantime, ‘Stay in the city!’

49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”  

Luke 24:49

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

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The Holy Spirit (3)

I always chuckle a bit when I hear people, particularly clergy, speak of the ‘new ways’ the Spirit is moving and what new trends we need to adhere to, if we are to be relevant to the culture.  I can remember being a young minister and almost succumbing to the hype – the constant pressure to create something innovative, to keep the Gospel fresh,  to make sure that our faith ‘looks cool’ to the young people and to those on the fringes of commitment to Christ.

As I’ve gotten older as both a minister and a tech professional, I’ve come to realize that everything that is new becomes old and while advances in technology do occur, much of what is new is the result of someone reconsidering some old principle or practice and then tweaking it a little bit…  It’s a remix – nothing really new under the sun, huh?

Remember when cell phones got super small and that was the thing? See how now all of us are walking around with flat screen televisions pressed to our faces?  In many ways we have the same basic functionality the either way, but the presentation has changed… Same stuff, repackaged, rebranded, but no less the same!  

At this point, I probably sound like a grumpy old man, so let me get to the point.  

When it comes to the work of the Holy Spirit and the relevance of the Gospel, we need to tread lightly.  When you go to chasing trends and fads, we would do well to take care, because while we like to imagine that God is ‘doing a new thing,’  the ’new thing’ that the prophet was speaking of is Jesus!

I am about to do a new thing;

    now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

    and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:19

So, then, be careful of listening to those who claim that God ‘told them to tell you…’  or that ‘God is doing a new thing…’ We must not be enamored by innovation,  this is a means to an end,  but in these times we need inspiration and revelation from God’s word declared and rightly divided by the power of the Holy Spirit!

Good Morning, I love you all!

Ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

The Holy Spirit? (2)

How do we both neglect, misrepresent someone at the same time?

The most obvious answer is to fail to listen intently and the second reason is an extension of the former – we don’t really know them.

The Holy Spirit is the most neglected and misrepresented person of the Godhead.  Separated from God the Father and Jesus the Son, things have been attributed to the Spirit that often contradict the character of God.

So, how do we discern when the Spirit is at work? For Christians, the Bible is normative.  But understanding scripture does not always come easy.  

Studying requires more than just reading – it requires grasping context, culture, history, and genre! It requires understanding literary devices and rhetoric.  It requires one to identify presuppositions and assumptions that may influence one’s interpretation, and it requires sitting under the words we dare to stand over and declare to others. 

Because the  Bible is a spiritual document written for spiritual purposes for spiritual people, it requires devotion before one attempts declaration or demonstration. 

But this studying is absolutely worth it.  It provides a basis for an intimacy that allows us to recognize the voice of the Spirit amid the myriad other voices (even our own) that may be  shaping our views and guiding our actions.

So, if your desire is to understand the work of the Spirit and discern the direction we must go, we must not neglect our need for regular and intentional study.

We know better what God is saying when we acquaint ourselves with what God has already said.  There is no substitute, no Cliff’s Notes, no shortcuts to true understanding.  Get it?

Make time for studying.  Get a good study Bible (if you don’t have one, let me know), stay active in Bible study or small groups, pray, and then watch God’s will become clear to you!  

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

2 Timothy 2:15

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

The Holy Spirit?

When we encounter God’s presence, we should experience bits of both comfort and conviction. The Holy Spirit is both cheerleader and  challenger, a teacher and a trainer.  

In nearly equal parts, the Holy Spirit is both a doting parent and drill sergeant – our Helper and also the One who haunts and hassles us when we need correction! 

We need both.  The problem is that most of us gravitate toward one aspect of the Spirit’s presence while we reject the others!  

We lean in willingly to the comfort of the Holy Spirit, but then we resist anything that challenges or convicts us.  We often crave coddling while we resist coaching. 

Or…we succumb to the opposite expression.  With a conflicting sense of both self-righteousness and self-deprecation – we express conviction so fervently that we end up lacking compassion for ourselves or for others.  

The Holy Spirit is both our Comforter and our Counselor, who chastens, challenges, consoles, and has compassion on us.  And we need all of this!  Too much compassion and we invariably cheapen grace; too much conviction and we are consumed by guilt that renders grace ineffective.  We need both the compassion and conviction that accompanies the Spirit’s presence and nothing less.  

All else is a distortion of the character of God – a liability, that will eventually rob us of the life-giving power, and the liberating presence of God the Holy Spirit – rendering us either too weak or too rigid to embrace and enjoy the promise of the Father!  

We must learn to accept the fullness of God’s presence, the Holy Spirit within us – with all of the conviction and compassion, the comfort and the correction that follows.  This is the holy power that challenges and changes, trains and transforms us!

Come,  Holy Spirit, in the fullness of Your power, fill us, feed us, and fix us, in Jesus’ name! 

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 14:26

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs, 

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Sufficient Grace?

Change is inevitable and adversity is unavoidable. But, we possess agency – that is the ability to choose how we respond to these things.  While we are certainly all shaped by our circumstances, we needn’t allow these things to define us.  We are all more than the sum of our experiences.  We are more than what we’ve been through.  We are more than our trials and challenges.  This is God’s grace to us.

We grow, we learn, and we are changed by what we go through, but God’s grace is also at work and able to transform our experiences so that what is apparently destructive may become mysteriously constructive.  God is able, when we yield to grace, to not only grow us but to get the glory out of everything that we endure and encounter.  This means that no matter what stage we are at on the journey, or what chapter we are on in our story, we are not at the end, and God can turn things around.  God can take even what people intend as evil and make it work out for our good and for the good of others! (Genesis 50:20)

Don’t take my word for it, though.  Ask Joseph, or Hannah, ask Paul or Silas, ask Jesus!  

Choose today to trust God.  While circumstances may have wearied you, don’t you dare doubt that God is yet at work, and God’s grace, living and active, is sufficient for you!  (2 Cor. 12:9)

Hang in there.  Lean on those who love you.  This is not your end.  This is not your destination.  God is not finished.  This too shall pass.  This is God’s grace for you! God’s grace is enough! 

Do you believe this?

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Romans 8:28-30

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam 

Posted on by Pastor Poet

There is Hope…

There is a war of attrition that’s  going on to erode any vestiges of hope for humanity.  The barrage of bad news from political operatives and pundits is nearly constant – drawing us downward and backwards into despair. 

We are tempted to be suspicious of one another, always anticipating the worst.  We are so guarded, thinking that we are protecting ourselves, when we are actually just isolating ourselves.  We are imprisoned by loneliness.

But there is a hope for us that remains, that opens us and can heal us, if we will allow it to. There is light and beauty in this world.  There is joy and the possibility for peace within and with others, if we dare to believe.

As we open our eyes today, let’s choose to see the good, let’s seek what is beautiful and true.  Let’s open ourselves to the possibilities of a future that outshines the past, and let’s do some good.

Back in the day, I remember listening to a DJ on the radio who used to say, ‘When you meet someone who isn’t smiling today, give them yours!’

At the risk of sounding corny today, I want to offer us the same advice.  

There is goodness, light, and beauty in this world.  I know this is true when I remember each of you.  Now, go and pass that on! 

So before you allow the morning news to douse the light in you, remember…

…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. 

Philippians 4:8-9

Peace!

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam