“Fear not.”
It’s what angels say whenever they show up because they put off a very bright white light that would be quite alarming to any mortal. It’s also what Jesus said when He surprised His disciples with an unexpected show of His miraculous power, such as when He appeared to them in the middle of the night walking on the water, or when He showed up in their midst after His resurrection in the upper room with the doors locked. Don’t be afraid; it’s me.
I trust in the Lord for protection.
So why do you say to me,
“Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!” Psalm 11:1
Look, either you trust in the Lord or you do not. How can you say, “I trust in the Lord for protection,” and then head for the hills in order to protect yourself? If you trust in the Lord for protection, you don’t also go out of your way to protect yourself, just in case the Lord doesn’t do His job. In other words, we don’t live in fear while we mouth pious words about trusting the Lord.
Does anyone know whose dog this is?
We truly need a lovely story like this one right now. This is a neighborhood being a neighborhood. This would make Mister Rogers proud.
It started out last night when one of our Chihuahuas got out. His name is Churchill because he looks a little like Winston. He looks like he should be sporting a cigar, don’t you think? He’s a Chihuahua with the face of a bulldog and he’s never been beyond the confines of our small yard. So last night he somehow got outside the door and decided to venture out into the great unknown.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, 1st and 2nd Timothy, and Philemon, all start out this way. “Grace and peace to you …” I used to think that was just a nice sentiment. Not sure why he chose “grace and peace,” but it seemed to be just a generic greeting. Now I see it in entirely different light.
If you read our latest communique, “The Bridge to 2021,” you are aware that we had to let everyone across that bridge from 2020 into the New Year. Nothing we could do about it. Sorry about that. We had no choice. Hell’s Angels, junkies, all the convicts in jail, and who knows how many North Korean spies — just everyone, no exceptions whatsoever.
Darn. Just imagine if we could have left all the Democrats or all the Republicans back in 2020, (depending on your own political bent). Actually, maybe that would be a good thing to do. Think about who you would have like to have left behind in 2020 and then realize, those are the very people you need to learn to love. That’s right, LOVE. Not just tolerate. We think tolerating certain people should be enough, but that’s not enough for the Lord. The Lord wants us to love our enemies.
What do you think it takes to love your enemies? It takes seeing their worth and value before God. It takes seeing the image of God in them. It takes imagining them as someone’s father or mother — someone’s brother or sister. It takes seeing them as someone like you who has the same desires and needs, hopes and dreams, as you have. And it ultimately means seeing them as someone loved by God for whom Jesus died.
So I’m thinking right now of someone — actually a few someones — who are of the opposite political persuasion as myself (not hard to do these days) and I’m thinking of how I can focus on their inconsistencies and think of myself as more righteous and reasonable as they are. I can also be offended by the political propaganda they feed me to show me they are right, and to try to get me to think like they do.
So what do I do? Take an end run around politics and love these people for who they are. Why does God love this person? What does He see? Find out what I can affirm in this person. Love them in the love of the Lord. And finally, look up to them. See them as more important than myself, because they are.
Do for others what you would like them to do for you. This is a summary of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12
Let me remind you that we live in a time when truth is hard to come by. For instance, there are countless sources of information available on television and on the internet that will tell you who and what was behind the events that shook the U.S. Capital this week. Every one of those sources is purporting to be the truth. But they are not all in agreement, so they can’t all be true. So how do you know?
A bigger question behind that might be, how much does it matter to us as followers of Christ to know who stormed the Capital?Jesus put truth within our grasp. He said that if we hold to His teaching then we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. So with that in mind, let’s look at these very famous words of Jesus which are central to His teaching. This is a key to His teaching because Jesus calls this particular statement a summary of all the law and the prophets. Follow this and you will automatically be following everything else. And in that, therefore, you will know the truth.
Here should be our conclusion to this, then: God is more concerned with how we treat the people around us than with us knowing who stormed the Capital. Keep these things in perspective. Don’t become so wrapped up into supposed truths, lies and theories that you lose sight of the truth that matters.
Holding to the teachings of Jesus is the truth that matters.
As followers of Christ, it matters little that truth is hard to come by in this current age. As followers of Christ truth is spelled out clearly in the teaching of Jesus and that is what He cares about us knowing and doing.
Knowing and doing. They both are important. Just knowing the truth is not enough. Doing it is the proof that we truly know it.
What’s the first word of the Golden rule — the verse we are looking at today? “Do.” “Do for others what you would like them to do for you.” That’s it. That’s the truth that counts. “Do for others.” What are you doing for those around you? There is too much knowing and speculating going on. What are you doing? That’s the real question.
What would I like my neighbors to be doing for me? That should get me going on what I could do for them. What would you like your family members and friends to be doing for you? Well there you go. That’s the truth that matters.
Yesterday was one of the darker days in U.S. history, no matter what your take on it or your political persuasion. And what happens from here is equally disrupting.
It was unsettling to see as revered an icon and symbol of liberty as the Capital building overrun by a mob bent on destruction and the interference of the business at hand. Terrified legislators were faced with their sacred halls under siege and their own lives in danger. It was definitely a tense and unnerving afternoon.
Last night was also our weekly International Bible study, and my wife suggested that instead of study, we should air our thoughts and feelings about what we had been watching, and spend some considerable time praying for the country. It turned out to be the right choice. Sharing our concerns and fears was comforting, but the prayer time was what stood out to me. In light of events that seem far beyond our control, it is hugely empowering to know we can together appeal to the One who is in control, and know that He hears us and will respond to our prayers.
After asserting that Nancy Pelosi was not Satan (one of the signs outside the Capital building alleged that she was!) I acknowledged in my prayer that Satan was nonetheless present at yesterday’s disruption, and knowing that he is the author of lies and is bent on destruction and the taking of lives, we need to all be in prayer because we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and rulers of darkness in heavenly places. Yes, you and I can pray against the powers of darkness on a grand scale and know that our prayers are indeed making a difference. God has enlisted us in His army and our primary weapon is prayer.
So by the end of an extended prayer time, I must say, I felt lifted up, energized, comforted, and sure that our prayers had made a difference, not only in our lives, but in the world at large. Jesus has enlisted us to pray that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. And that’s no small thing. I highly recommend it.
You’ve heard of the rule of law. The rule of law is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as “the authority and influence of law in society, especially when viewed as a constraint on individual and institutional behavior; (hence) the principle whereby all members of a society (including those in government) are considered equally subject to publicly disclosed legal codes and processes.” The rule of law implies that every person is subject to the law, including people who are lawmakers, law enforcement officials and judges.
We are bound to be hearing a lot about the rule of law in the next few days and weeks as our nation goes through the ratification of a disputed election and the establishment of a president. But what we won’t be hearing about, and yet, what will be most important for us to be manifesting in all our relationships and especially those in the marketplace is another kind of rule — the rule of love.
Yesterday we established that truth was found in holding to the teaching of Jesus, and that the teaching of Jesus can be summarized into one single thing: love. Loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and loving your neighbor as yourself is actually the embodiment of the rule of law for all followers of Christ. Heed this “rule of love” and you will be fulfilling all of what the law and the prophets require. So we will call it the rule of love. Love God, love one another, and so fulfill the law of God.
This is not a nice thing to do. This is not an option or an opinion. This is a rule that needs to permeate everything we do. It’s a means by which we assess our attitudes and relationships as to whether we are truly living as followers of Jesus.
Here are some questions that might reveal issues of the heart — whether we are operating under the rule of love or what it might look like if we did.
Am I loving God with my current attitude?
What would be the loving thing I could do for this particular person?
Am I loving such and such a person by how I am thinking about them right now?
How do I think about my perceived enemies?
Am I forgiving this person or holding a grudge?
Note: This is not an attempt at self-effort. This is not drumming up love. These are questions that should reveal our thinking to us and throw ourselves on the mercy of God for the love He surely has for people we might find hard to love. Love is of God, John said, and those who love are born of God. We cannot generate or manufacture love. We are either born of God or we are not. If you find love welling up within you, rejoice. If you find yourself overcome with hate and revenge, get on your knees and seek the Lord. It all begins inside and then works out as we step into situations by faith that call for our loving action.
Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32
We live in a day and age when truth is hard to come by. First, postmodernism has pretty much done away with the concept of truth being absolute. Truth is pretty much what you make it. It’s relative. There is your truth and my truth; not THE truth. Even biblical truth is up to interpretation, and that’s within the church. Outside the church, truth is totally up to whatever information source you choose to listen to. There is truth on the right, and truth on the left, and conspiracy theories, and on the internet, literally hundreds of sources of information, hardly any of them verifiable. How can we even have a discussion when there is no central source of information we can trust or agree upon?
This is why, in a time like this, the words of Jesus come as such a refreshing contrast to what we see and experience around us — something solid — something we can know and count on. Not only does Jesus tell us we can know the truth, He tells us how we can. The knowledge of true truth comes from holding to the teaching of Jesus and becoming His followers. When we hold to His teaching, we know what to do. When we are His disciples, we have Him living inside us through His Holy Spirit guiding and empowering us.
And what is the teaching of Jesus? On one hand that’s a pretty big assignment. We’ve got His teaching spread out over four gospels in the New Testament. And yet, we have those teachings summed up into one statement. One statement which Jesus said if you get this, you get all the law and the prophets. And that is to love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Do this, Jesus said, and you will know the truth, and more than that: the truth will set you free.
That’s the way to do it. Judge all truth by love — love of God and love of one another. Then we know what truth is and what truth does. Hold to this everybody. This is so important. Love.
John Fischer The Catch 