Tag: judgment

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What Are You Waiting For? A Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic

28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength; NKJV

I’ve always tried to practice the wise saying that says, “The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.” (Proverbs 15:28) During this coronavirus pandemic I have not said much on social media yet, except to caution us not to live in fear because I wanted to be sure of what I say. The last thing I want to do is mislead anyone.

In the midst of this Pandemic there are many voices who have rushed to announce the end of the world is coming or that this is a great plague sent by God on an evil and unbelieving generation. I do not want to join those voices. They rush to pronounce a judgment that if it is true, only God knows.

Rather, I have chosen not to comment much but instead to study how to answer the cacophony of questions, most of which begin with the word, ‘why’. While I certainly do not feel qualified to answer all those questions, I do have some thoughts to offer to the dialogue. Here are a few things I believe I can say in response…

Questions: Why is this virus happening? Is it not God’s judgment on us?

Answers:

Perhaps, but only God knows for sure. But if this virus is a judgment from God to punish an unbelieving world, then so is every other sickness, malady and tragic occurrence that has ever happened. The problem with that line of thinking is that it misses the true character of God and the true nature of the world in which we live. God is good all the time – and everything he created is good.

All the bad things that happen in our world (and have happened since the Fall of Adam and Eve) are NOT God’s direct judgment on humanity; that will come at the end of time. They are, if you will, God’s indirect judgment. They are the consequences of living in a fallen world…of humanity’s choice to disobey God and to not love Him and our neighbor.

God doesn’t need to sit around and think up thinks with which to afflict our world: wars, famines, earthquakes, and diseases. All these things entered our world as consequences of sin, and the death it brought to the natural order. We should not be surprised when they happen. And, we should not look for a supernatural reason with which to blame God.

When tragedies occur, whether through widespread disease or natural environmental disasters, we need to see them for what they are – reminders that we are not in control of anything, except our own will in how we respond.

Our Response:

So, what should our response be? Our response should be threefold:

To listen to our authorities who are trying to help us stop the spread of this disease. Yes, even if that means we need to practice ‘social distancing’ for a while…maybe even a long while. I prefer to call it ‘physical distancing’. We can still be social through social media. Right?

To pray for God’s mercy for our world, this situation, and those who are suffering and dying and giving their lives to defend us. Scripture is filled with calls for God’s mercy, as well as promises of His mercy to those who seek Him. The great English reformer, John Wesley said, “I believe God does nothing but in answer to prayer.” Think about it. God can do anything but why should He intervene on our behalf. God desires that we seek Him and His blessing. Prayer changes things.

To wait…scripture promises good things come to those who wait for Him to act. That does not mean we do nothing. A big part of waiting is praying, listening, and doing as He leads. It is in waiting on the Lord that we find new strength. It is in actively waiting as we pray that He leads us to answers, to develop proper treatments, and to find cures.

“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.” Lam. 3:25 NKJV

Scripture is clear. Have you not heard? Even the strong and mighty fall. But God gives strength to the weary…to those who wait on Him. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s all listen, pray, and wait on the Lord to lead us through this Pandemic, as He has all the others throughout history. Deliverance always belongs to the Lord.

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

Image credit: https://www.nejm.org/coronavirus

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Stop Building Dams

Waves of Mercy pentecost-1024x493For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

James 2:13

 

As a kid I loved watching court room dramas like Perry Mason. I always thought it would be cool to grow up and be a judge. However, as I matured and began to realize how difficult and dangerous it can be to judge someone’s intentions, I changed my mind. Judgment is a two edged sword that can cut right or wrong; judge wrong, and the innocent are hurt.

Jesus never said we shouldn’t judge in this world. I know, He did say, “Judge not that you be not judged” (Matt. 7:1). But, He also said we are to take the speck out of our own eye before we judge another for the log we see in theirs (Luke 6). I think Jesus was telling us we better be very certain of the truth before we make a judgment of someone. It’s pretty much impossible to be certain of someone’s intentions when you don’t know their heart, and only God sees what’s in the human heart.

So, rather than judge our neighbor, why not show them mercy? Why not give them the benefit of the doubt? Certainly we still need laws, courtrooms and judges if we are to live in a civilized society, but most of us are not judges, and we don’t have all the evidence needed to know the truth of someone’s actions.

Like Jesus said in the Beatitudes, St. James tells us there is no mercy for one who has shown no mercy. And for the one who has shown no mercy, their own judgment will be harsh. I don’t know about you, but I want all the mercy I can get on my judgment day. God’s mercy flows in waves but when we judge our brother or sister wrongly, we build a dam to block it. Let’s stop building dams and let the waves of mercy flow.

Grace and Peace,

+Pastor Brad

Prayer

Father of all mercy, help me not to be judgmental of my brother or sister and forgive me for the times I have been. Help me not to be dam that blocks the flow of your mercy. Amen.

Image credit: https://projectwarmsb.org/2013/12/16/mercy-triumphs-over-judgement/

 

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Mercy Always Wins

Click Here to Read Today’s Epistle: James 2:1-13

mercy wins

 

Why are the poor so important? When Jesus said, “…the poor will always be with you”, He wasn’t saying we should take them for granted, that they were somehow unimportant. As a matter of fact, I think he was saying something quite the opposite. I think He was raising our awareness to the poor around us. The disciples were upset the woman with the alabaster jar of perfume had poured it out on Jesus’ feet; they felt it should have been sold and the money given to the poor. You can read the story in St. Mark 14.

Jesus taught the disciples (and us) that giving to Him is the highest priority. By telling them He would not always be with them, He showed the immediacy of the importance of what the woman did in anointing his feet, since He would soon leave them. However, the poor are always with us and we must show them mercy and grace – in doing so we honor Jesus.

St. James has a way of getting in our face when he writes. His letter offers some of the most convicting scriptures; they convict us because in them we see our true selves. Though we don’t mean to, we often show partiality in how we treat others, especially the poor. And, James tells it to us straight out – partiality is sin.

If we’re honest with ourselves we will admit we often tend to gravitate to the wealthier people in a room, and away from those we deem poorer. I don’t mean that we do it on purpose. It is for the most part, an unconscious movement. But, what a sad commentary that is on our instincts.

James teaches us when we show such partiality we have judged people. And furthermore, when we make such judgments we judge ourselves. Instead of instinctively judging people on their perceived wealth or influence, or what we may gain from association with them, as followers of Jesus we should be servants of His mercy. Mercy always wins over judgment. If we hope to receive mercy, in both this world and the next (I do!), then we must be servants of Christ’s mercy.

This Weekend:

There is perhaps no better place for us to practice such mercy than at church. Often people who visit churches decide not to return because they felt they were judged (or worse, completely over-looked). While it may sometimes be the case the visitor came in with a chip on his/her shoulder still, we need to show mercy, not judgment.

People’s lives really are at stake in how we, as servants of Christ, treat them. We have the privilege of seeing people through the eyes of Jesus, and to show His love to all humanity. Listen to singer/songwriter Brandon Heath’s message in his song “Give Me Your Eyes”.

Here’s a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mhpLjPslbM

Evey time I hear this song I’m convicted of the partiality in how I see others. Listen to it with me today and ask Jesus to help you see others differently. This weekend, resolve to go to church (and wherever else you go) and see others as Jesus sees them, – with eyes of mercy. Mercy always wins.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Brad

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

Image credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nCInUHPcas