Our pastor reminded us today of the responsibility we have as followers of Christ. After his resurrection, and just before his ascension into heaven, Jesus charged his disciples with what has come to be known as the Great Commission. He said,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)

Jesus had spent some three years preaching about the kingdom of God, ministering to the poor, the sick and the outcasts, and teaching his disciples in the process, grooming them to participate in his ministry. Having alienated the religious authorities, he was arrested on trumped-up charges, ridiculed, scourged and then put to death on the cross. However, three days later he rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples on several occasions, on the last of which he gave them this charge. He also instructed them,

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:5,6,8 NIV)

The he was taken up to heaven and a cloud hid him from their sight. They waited as he had instructed, and then forty days later

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4 NIV)

Hearing the noise, a large crowd gathered. Peter, who not many days before had denied knowing Jesus, stood before them and preached a powerful sermon declaring that Jesus, whom they had seen crucified, had been raised from the dead and exalted to the right hand of God, where he had received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and had poured out what they now saw and heard. He urged them,

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Acts 2:38-39, 41 NIV)

The Holy Spirit had passed the baton of ministry from Jesus to the Body of Christ, the Church. What began some two thousand years ago is still happening today. As followers of Christ, we are tasked with carrying on his ministry. As our pastor said today, we are writing the next chapters of the Book of Acts. And as Watchman Nee says in his book “The Release of the Spirit”:

“The people of God should know the ultimate purpose of the church, and also the inter-relationship among the church, God’s power, and God’s work. There came a time when God committed Himself to human form – in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Before the Word became flesh, God’s fullness knew no bounds. However, once the incarnation became a reality, His work and His power were limited to the flesh. Will this man, Jesus Christ, restrict or manifest God? The Bible shows us that, far from limiting God, He has wonderfully manifested God’s fullness. The fullness of God is the fullness of this flesh.

In our day God commits Himself to the church. His power and His work are in the church. Just as in the Gospels we find all God’s work given to the Son, so today God has entrusted all His works to the church and will not act apart from it. From the day of Pentecost up to the present, God’s work has been carried out through the church. Think of the church’s tremendous responsibility. God’s committal to the church is like His committal previously to one Man, Christ -without reservation or restriction. But the church may restrict God’s work or limit his manifestation…”

It is our responsibility to see that this does not happen. We must yield ourselves to God to allow him to work through us unhindered. When we do, as Jesus said,

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12 NIV)

The Bible tells us it is through faith and patience that we inherit God’s promises.

“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” – Hebrews 6:12

My faith and patience are both being severely tested at this time. I wrote earlier (see “Giving Thanks Always for All Things”) about the recent changes in my health, but I have learned to live with these without undue concern. However, I am experiencing more difficulty in dealing with my wife Mary’s health. Although she was diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune liver disease in 1990 and told she would soon need a liver transplant in order to survive, she has lived for over 26 years without a transplant and without experiencing the rate of health decline that the doctors expected. Within the last year, though, she began to exhibit some of the symptoms that would indicate that the liver failure was progressing. During that time she also fell several times, with the most recent (shortly after Thanksgiving last year) resulting in a stress fracture of one of her vertebrae. This put her in the hospital for several days followed by several weeks in rehab to promote healing of her back and to counter the effects of the progression of the liver disease. This was a devastating blow to her, having previously suffered a fractured pelvis and injured shoulder in a January 2013 fall that had put her in the hospital and then in rehab for over a month. Although she had fully recovered from that fall, this was deja vu with a sense of “here we go again.” On top of that, her doctor now told her the liver disease had “entered another stage” and that she should expect a continuing downward spiral in her health and that a liver transplant was unlikely due to her age and overall health. A rather grim prognosis.

I have felt for a long time, however, that God has been telling me our mission on earth is not yet complete and he still has work for both of us, work requiring both of us to be healthy. Along with this comes a promise that God is healing Mary in ways that go beyond what the doctors can do. I am learning that faith and patience are needed in order to receive these promises. The hardest part for me is patience. The prayers of many have gone up on our behalf, and the doctor has been surprised that Mary shows signs of improvement when he expected further decline. Nevertheless, this has been an extremely slow, though steady, process. Why can’t God speed it up? The answer seems to be that this is a time of learning to wait on God, to trust that he is using this time to prepare us for the work he has for us, work that will require both faith and patience. He has told me the things I perceive as obstacles and hindrances to our progress will actually become stepping stones to help us on our way.

Here we are in mid-March 2017 and Mary’s healing is not yet complete. Once I identify a problem I want to get it resolved right away. This time, though, it is not something I can control. God has told me to let go of it and let him finish what he has started. It is hard for me to wait on him, but I am learning.

Our pastor recently preached a sermon in which he told us that truly healthy living (body, mind and soul) begins with getting our priorities straight. That is great advice for a number of reasons. There is only so much time in a day (or a lifetime for that matter), and we continually make choices (deliberately or by default) as to how we are going to fill that time. If we have clear-cut goals for what we want to accomplish and determine what is necessary to accomplish them, we can then establish priorities to help us focus on what is important. If not, we will just wander from one activity to another without really getting anywhere.

The key to setting proper goals for our lives and correctly aligning our priorities to accomplish them is to seek God’s advice. After all, he created us for a purpose and has a plan for our lives that is intended to fulfill that purpose. The Bible is his instruction book to explain his purpose and plan. Reading the Bible, while asking God to help us understand what he is saying to us in it, enables us to discover his intentions for us.

The Psalms tell us in several places that reverence for God is the beginning of wisdom. Acknowledging his sovereignty then is the first step in discovering who we are and why we are here on this earth. Jesus reinforced this by saying the first and greatest of God’s commandments is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, and soul and mind. He went on to say the second is to love our neighbors as ourselves. He then illustrated this by telling a story about a man who went out of his way to help a stranger in need. (Luke 10:30-37). Our lives should be ordered such that our foremost priorities are to demonstrate our love for God and for those around us.  This means much more than just saying “I love you”.  Love involves commitment, not just an emotional feeling.  Love is demonstrated in the way we treat people.

Remember: “But God demonstrates his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

And: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for a friend.” (John 15:13)

Now obviously the ultimate sacrifice anyone can make is to die in order that someone else can live.  But, while most of us will probably never have the opportunity to demonstrate our love in this manner, there is another sense in which we can all “lay down our lives” on a daily basis. This is by giving preference to others so their needs can be met, even when it means we must sacrifice what we want.   The Apostle Paul said to the Christians at Rome:

“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.” (Romans 12:10)

Remember Jesus also said:

“Anyone wanting to be a leader among you must be your servant.  And if you want to be right at the top, you must serve like a slave.  Your attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28 )

God’s priorities always place people above things. We do well when we follow his example.

The world today seems increasingly to be divided into warring camps – based on religion, nationality, gender, liberalism, conservatism, and many other isms. Each is these is occupied with hurling insults, slanders and hatred – if not grenades and bombs – at the others. There seems to be little desire for peace and reconciliation among the warring factions, much less a realistic chance of achieving these. But if you are overwhelmed by the flood of vitriol that fills the news today, take heart. There is hope for the future.

That hope is based on recognizing who the real enemy is. It is not the people on the other side of the fence that divides us. In fact, it is not people at all. Our enemy is much more pervasive and powerful than that. He harbors a deep-seated hatred for all of mankind and seeks to destroy us by dividing and conquering us. The Bible says of him:

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” I Peter 5:8 NIV

And he is not alone. He has a host of spiritual beings in league with him, all of them bent on our destruction. Because of this, the Bible instructs us to:

” … be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:10-12 NIV

Powerful as they are, the spiritual forces of evil are no match for us if we are in fellowship with God, because

“the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world.” 1 John 4:4 (MSG)

So we are guaranteed the victory, not just for ourselves and our little group, but for all mankind, if we recognize who the real enemy is, stop fighting one another, and come together against him and his minions, relying on the power of Holy Spirit within us.

Rejoice, brothers and sisters, the war may not be over yet, but the battle is already won.

When we recite the Lord’s Prayer “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. ” – KJV I suspect most of us feel that we are requesting a future event associated with Christ’s millennial reign and/or the New Jerusalem of Revelation where God dwells with his people. However, Jesus gave us this model prayer early in his ministry in the context of a series of instructions on how to live differently than the self-righteous religious leaders. It was part of his teaching on how to live in the kingdom of heaven. He had just begun his ministry by calling “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” – KJV  In other words, “Get ready, here it comes.”

Throughout his ministry Jesus instructed his disciples on how they should live, demonstrating his message by his actions. They were to spread the good news about the coming of the kingdom of heaven and in the process they were to demonstrate it by healing the sick, cleansing lepers, raising the dead and casting out demons. Later, after informing his closest disciples that he would suffer and die, then rise up alive after three days, he warned them that if they wanted to follow him they would have to do it his way even when they didn’t understand it. They would suffer as he would, but the rewards would be great. “This isn’t pie in the sky by and by. Some of you who are standing here are going to see it happen, see the kingdom of God arrive in full force.” – The Message As the time of his arrest, trial and crucifixion drew near, he said “The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it.” – The Message 

Jesus had promised them that his leaving would be to their benefit because when he returned to the Father he would send the Holy Spirit to instruct and empower them. When he appeared to them after his resurrection, he said “What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until he arrives, until you’re equipped with power from on high.” – The Message  Then, on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and they were empowered to carry out the work Jesus had entrusted to them. The kingdom of God had arrived in full force.

So we are living in the midst of the kingdom of God today. As Jesus said, “The kingdom of God doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar.  Nor when someone says, ‘Look here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you.” – The Message So spread the good news that the kingdom of God is here and demonstrate how to live in it as Jesus has called us to  do.

Having lived now for over 73 years, and having survived several bouts with cancer and a couple of heart-related surgeries, the fragility of the human body and the brevity of human life are becoming ever more obvious to me. I am not, however, discouraged by this. I have lived a relatively long life (by human standards), and it has been an enjoyable one for the most part. Even the less enjoyable parts have been of value to me, as I have learned lessons from them that continue to improve my life. I have been married to a wonderful woman for over 50 years who is still my best friend. I have a beautiful and talented daughter, who has added a handsome and equally talented son-in-law to our family, as well as two terrific grandsons.

I have had professional careers in three different industries, lived in several cities in three states, traveled extensively (all 50 of the United States and about 60 foreign countries) and developed many lasting friendships over the years. Almost five years ago I launched a new career that has already been the most rewarding one of all.  I can hardly wait to see where that leads me.

The biggest reason that I am not discouraged though is that I know that this life is not all that there is. Far from it. This life is but a prelude to the life that God has in store for me after this one is over. The Bible tells me my spirit is immortal and I will continue to live after my body dies. And not only that but God will one day provide me with a brand new body that will not be subject to death and decay, and also that he will replace the current heavens and earth with new ones that are likewise free from pollution and decay. Here I will be reunited with family and friends that have passed on ahead of me. And best of all, the new earth will be a place where I will live and work with God to oversee his kingdom forever. Talk about an exciting prospect.

As the Apostle Paul said:

That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. (Romans 8:18 – The Message)

So stop worrying about the inevitable consequences of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, and rejoice that we are built for eternity. The best is yet to come.

Ask that question to a group of people at any gathering and you will most likely get a variety of answers as to why someone is in attendance there. But if you say, “No. I mean why are you on earth? What is your purpose in life?” you will probably get a lot of blank stares. It has been my experience that most people don’t know how to respond to that question because they haven’t given much thought as to why they are here and what it is that they should be doing. But if we want to be truly successful in life we need to discover the reason we are here and what it is that is expected of us. It is my belief that each and every one of us has a unique set of talents, abilities, strengths, experience and God-given gifts that is meant to fill a specific need. Finding out where that need is and satisfying it is then our purpose in life. As Richard Nelson Bolles says in his highly acclaimed book “What Color is Your Parachute? – A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers.”:

What the world most needs from you is not to add to their number, but to figure out, and then contribute to the world, what you came into this world to do.

While his book is primarily intended to provide a framework for job seekers to find the employment opportunities for which they are  best suited, Bolles takes the process a step further in the appendix. Here he speaks of marrying your religious beliefs with your work by undertaking a search for a sense of mission – a continuing task or responsibility that you are destined of fitted to do.  Your mission in life, he says, has three parts:

First, to seek to stand hour by hour in the conscious presence of God, the One from whom your Mission is derived.

Second, to do what you can, moment by moment, day by day, step by step to make this world a better place, following the leading and guidance of God’s Spirit within you and around you.

          Third, 

• to exercise that Talent which you particularly came to Earth to use…your greatest gift, which you most delight to use
• in the place(s) or setting(s) which God has caused to appeal to you the most
• and for those purposes which God most needs to have done in the world.

Discovering your mission or purpose in life then provides the answer to the question of why you are here. And accomplishing that mission, fulfilling that purpose is the means of achieving success in life. Do you know why you are here?

Ephesians 5:20 tells us that we should be “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”. This is more difficult to comprehend than what I Thessalonians 5:18 says, ” In every thing give thanks : for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” I can easily understand that I should be thankful in any situation in which I find myself, as I know that God is with me in it and will bring me through it. And I will emerge from it stronger and wiser if I pay attention to all that transpires. And I understand the need to be thankful for all of the blessings that accrue to me each and every day. That I should be thankful for the negative experiences that I encounter is much less intuitive.  But that is what Ephesians 5:20 seems to be telling me. To always give thanks for all things would certainly include the negative as well as positive occurrences. 

I have been giving more thought lately to this idea of continual and comprehensive thanksgiving. I have been blessed my whole life with good things: a loving, nurturing family as a child, an opportunity to attain two college degrees and to have successful careers in three different industries, a wonderful marriage that has lasted more than 50 years and just keeps getting better, a beautiful, intelligent daughter who has added a wonderful son-in-law and two delightful grandsons to the family. And I have always thanked God for these blessings.

Also, I have been generally very healthy all of my life, with a few notable exceptions. In 1969, at age 46, I was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer that with surgically removed at the cost of my left eye. Then last July I was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma. It was also surgically removed, with no trace remaining. Both of these were short term events, with no recurrence. In retrospect, I am thankful that God allowed me these experiences, because it has shown me his ability to take me through them and has enabled me to better relate to others experiencing similar events in their lives.

My latest health experience, however, is a somewhat different matter. I lived for over 72 years without the need for any prescription medicines on a continuing basis. I hate to admit it, but I was somewhat proud of that. Then in January of this year, I was diagnosed with hypertension and atrial fibrillation (high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat). I was prescribed three medications to lower my blood pressure and heart rate and to prevent clotting, which could lead to a stroke. I now take those on a daily basis. In addition I have undergone two electrical cardioversions to reset my heart to a regular (sinus) rhythm. I reverted to atrial fibrillation after both of these. I also had a heart monitor inserted into my chest to record my heart rhythm, since I am asymptomatic and cannot tell what my heart is doing without using a pulse oximeter to check it. My cardiologist will discuss further options with me after monitoring this activity for about two weeks.

The bottom line is that I have a chronic health issue for the first time in my life. Whereas previously I have always had any health issues completely resolved in a short period of time with no recurrence, I now have a situation that (barring a miracle) will continue for the rest of my life. While I do not anticipate any significant reduction in my quality of life due to this condition, it is nevertheless something that I will need to learn to live with.

I don’t really know why God has allowed this to happen to me. It could be a form of discipline for my pride in my health (as if it were of my own doing rather than a gift from God). Or it could be something else entirely. I have learned over the years to trust God in whatever situation I find myself, so I believe that his intent in this is for my own good. And I have learned not to resent the negative experiences I have had as I have always been able to learn something from them. As Proverbs 3:11, 12 advises:

11 My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke,

Mary and I recently achieved a milestone – our 50th wedding anniversary. Our daughter and son-in-law hosted a party to celebrate the occasion and presented us with a photo album documenting our lives together over these 50 years. Looking back over those photos and remembering the adventures that we have shared reminds me of the ways in which God has used our marriage to transform both of our lives.

Mary was not a Christian when we met and married, and I was a very poor excuse for one. Although I was raised in the church and had accepted Christ as my Savior when I was about 11 years old, I had stopped attending when I left home for college and had no thought of returning. God, however, had other plans. Mary’s family had not attended church and she was very skeptical of Christianity. But then she met a young lady who worked with Campus Crusade for Christ at Arlington State University (now the University of Texas at Arlington) and began a months-long conversation that culminated when she, too, accepted Christ as her Savior. At her request we began attending church and the real adventure of our lives began.

I had pretty well planned out my life by the time I graduated from high school, leaving God out of the equation. I wanted to have a career in the aerospace industry, marry a beautiful woman, raise a family and live happily ever after. I made a good start of it, convincing Mary to become my wife, earning a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, going to work at LTV Aerospace Corporation and starting a family. But God began to alter my plans once Mary became a Christian and we started attending church together.

We began to meet people who had a real joy and vitality in their lives and discovered that it was due to the ways in which God was working in them to accomplish his purposes for them. In due course we did what they had done, committing ourselves to Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives, as well as our Savior, and beginning to seek God’s will for us. And that is when he began to transform us and alter the direction of our lives.

We began to feel God’s call to follow his plan for us, rather than our own plans. In the process, we found that his plan was much more exciting and rewarding than what we had imagined for ourselves. He made it clear that he had work for both of us to do, and that we would travel a path of his choosing together. Following that path has led to a voyage of discovery that has taken us places we never expected to go and given us the opportunity to  do things that have far exceeded what we dreamed of when we began our life together. I have had successful careers in three different industries, while Mary has had a lengthy career as a university professor. We have visited all 50 of the United States, living at times in 3 of them, and have traveled to more than 60 foreign countries.

Our marriage has proven to be a partnership that has provided the support and encouragement for both of us to accomplish much more than we would have been able to on our own. We have experienced many joys and sorrows together, and our lives are much richer for having shared them. God has used our marriage to transform both of us in ways that have grown and strengthened us, and has taught us that, with God’s help, we are capable of doing anything that he asks us to do. We look forward to seeing what God has in store for us to experience next.