Bless US

“For there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile-the same Lord is Lord of all and richly bless all who call on Him.”

                                                               Romans 10:12

I often wonder what the word “blessed” means. Does it mean that you have everything you need or everything you want?  Is God going to make everything better and nothing bad will cross your path? Is that what being blessed is?

Our nation has so much. We are always discussing how we are blessed or how the Lord has showered His blessings. This is true. The poorest of us has an abundance compared to many places in the world. If you put it in perspective we really don’t have any needs.

Is that a good thing NOT to need? Or is it a blessing to know that life isn’t complete without the Lord? So, having a need may be a good thing?

I have heard that there are so many people who tip the scales financially. They bank their hopes and dreams on their bank account however, some mismanage what they have been given. These folks are in debt and the comfort of money leaves them wanting more. It is weird to hear so many folks in Hollywood or the industry being up to their eyeballs in overdue bills.

Still, there are others who are considered low income or poor who make ends meet. Especially in these times that is a feat in itself. Can I just come out and say it could very well be a miracle? (My mom was in that category. There were six kids, little funds, but we always had a square meal.) They have a happy family life even its Mac N’ Cheese on the table.

So maybe being blessed isn’t something you can tabulate. It isn’t a full belly or having 419 Facebook friends. The steak dinner? The connections that will close a big deal? These really are temporary things that aren’t strong enough on their own to count us blessed.

Jesus mentioned those who were blessed were poor in spirit, meek (self-controlled) peacemakers, patient, endured trials in life, and the like. These are things that money can’t buy. It is a character thing. These traits are a sign that there is more in you than what the world can put in. It’s a sign that you are blessed because the Lord is working in you.  Whatever your circumstances are you can able to function and even thrive because you are in Jesus’s hands.

My prayer for our nation, for the US is that we don’t try an easy fix in these times. Yes, we have been given much but what are we doing with it? How will it make a difference eternally? Do we see that we are a munitions depot in a spiritual war? What are we doing to send people into their eternal destiny using the things in our hands? I think once we get the heart and motives right then we will see what being blessed really looks like.

Bubble in My Cup

“I set MY rainbow…and it shall be for a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.”

                           Genesis 9:13

I am pealing back the plastic lid like the Pastor is telling me to do, careful not to break the communion wafer. It has its own foil. I am looking at taking the Lord’s Supper in a 21^st Century package.

“Whoa, that’s a trip,” I tell my wife. I turn my little coffee creamer-sized cup. “There’s a rainbow in my cup.” She pats my arm.

Half-joking she says, “That has to mean something.” 

Of course it does, to me anyway. It’s just something I have to take time to consume and digest on a few levels.

Every time someone mentions taking the Lord’s Supper they say to do so with the right heart and reason. I always wondered why. Maybe because it isn’t just a bit of cracker and bread anymore. Every day natural things change when they are touched with the supernatural hand of God.

I am not talking about it actually becoming flesh and blood. No, rather we take things into our life that can change us. It has significance to make a change because it’s now a part of us. I think our faith in Christ becomes real when it becomes personal. Otherwise it’s just a ritual that is striped of meaning.

Isn’t His sacrifice a promise? Isn’t it something presented to whosoever will? All we have to do is take it, open it, consume it, and now it’s a part of us. “God gives the supply, and it’s our job to apply,” The pastor also reminded us recently. Yep, we are what we eat. It has to change us from the inside out.

The rainbow in the past few decades has been used my a few groups with significantly different meanings. Its original meaning was God’s promise of salvation. He would provide a way for man not to be destroyed by sin.  That is in the life (the bread) and death (the blood) of His One and Only Son.

So, there you go. I think I see what this bubble is doing here. I am reminded that when I take the Lord’s Supper there is a greater promise backing it up. It’s not something I should do out of habit but out of awe and reverence. That little bubble holds a world of endless possibilities.

Maybe this pause is my way of letting the Lord know what I am taking his promises seriously. As I raise the tiny cup to my lips I think He is telling me the same thing.

OBT

“For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality.”

                                            I Corinthians 15:53

I remember the peculiar term in a meeting of educators a few years back. I laughed when I first heard it. Then, I pondered what it meant. Finally, I realized that the joke was on me when I found out I had one.

OBT. On Board Terrorist. This is the person who is the doom and gloom in the group. They are literally shooting down (or car bombing) every idea that has some sound wisdom to it.  They are the ones that argue for the sake of arguing. They live for the fight and the conflict.

This OBT is a friend one minute then Benedict Arnold the next. When you are hiding from a bad situation they rat you out when they gain some sort of upper hand or sweet indulgence. Yes, it’s a firm right hand and an over the top, cheesy smile while the left hand slides up with the knife for your back.

That sounds horrible, doesn’t it? However, if you are a believer you have one in your life. I bet you were thinking I was going to say the Devil, right? No, it’s someone who knows us better and more intimately.

It is our fallen nature that still tries to trip us up. While we are in the flesh we will have a struggle. Yes, our spirit is becoming a new person in Jesus day by day but the flesh is at war with it. Its time is short and it knows it. It is jealous to please itself more than the Lord. It will try all it can to have the upper hand. Sin has a life span but the eternal spirit does not.

I guess the question is, Do you have a plan to counter your OBT?

If you don’t I will give you what works for me. His name is Jesus Christ the victor of sin. He knows how to live and defeat the trouble that enters our lives. It is a matter of daily surrendering our stubborn and selfish counterpart to Him. I like to tell the OBT to wait at the door. “I am going to have you talk to the Master of this home”. I ask to the Lord to sick the troublemaker and take him down. I can do this because I hate salesmen who can’t take a hint that they are not wanted.

What Heroes Can't Do

“Buy the truth and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.”

                                            Proverbs 23:23

“So, tell me more about your day.” The shrink crosses his legs. The patient settles in and elaborates

“Well, I feel like everyone is looking to me to save the day.”

“Uh, huh.”

“I know that I have been given this job for a reason. I get the uniform and the responsibilities to go with it.”

“Go on.”

“However, after I swoop in and save the day it doesn’t take long for another crisis to pop up.”

“How does that make you feel?”

“Tired, very tired. I want to take a break and recharge but I feel really guilty about letting everyone down.”

“I see.”

“I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders.” The patient pinches his eyes tightly shut. “I see HIS face and know it’s not a healthy relationship.” The shrink cocks an eyebrow.

“Go on.”

“Call it what you will, an opponent, a nemesis, I don’t know. It seems that every time he says things will change for the better it’s just talk, just talk.”

“I see.”

“Do you, really?” The patient sits up. That throws off the shrink’s grove.

“Ah, well…I mean it sounds like you are ready for a change.” The shrink grins weakly.

“I may wear this outfit and have a reputation for doing good but even a hero has their limits.” The shrink nods. “It’s okay that I can’t fix every problem.”

“Okay.”

“I shouldn’t feel guilty if I need some down time not and then.” The shrink makes a note of that. “Being the good guy does not mean the villain should take advantage of my nice guy attitude.”

“Right.” The patient smiles. He holds up a finger.

“I think I realize now that I have a lot to learn from the REAL hero.”

“I…”

“Yes?” The shrink drops his head. “If there is anyone who knows heroes it would be Him.”

“That’s the best advice you’ve given all day.”

“Thanks.”