Not Unto Us

'Tis the season to let go. It is the beginning of a new year and, no doubt, you've made some resolutions. Whether you've taken the time to write them down or just quietly consider changing some things in you or around you, a sense of "new" has possibly come upon you. Check your local store websites and you will find sales on healthier food choices, exercise equipment, storage totes and home improvement supplies. Shed those extra pounds! Declutter your life! Let go. Letting go can be hard. We don't like to let go of the things that bring us comfort. Letting go can be a lifelong process. 

The Hallel, a Jewish prayer of praise recited from Psalm 113-118, begins by recounting God's love for His people and His mighty goodness to them. Psalm 115, shifts just a bit with the psalmist crying out, "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but to Your name give glory." Surrender. Nothing we have done warrants this kind of goodness from our God. No good or wonder we could ever perform can be attributed to us. Only God is good. This psalm would have been sung at the Passover dinner Jesus shared with His disciples only hours before going to the cross. Jesus would have sung these very words, ascribing glory to the Father and not to Himself. Jesus was confessing those things He had already left behind in coming to live with humanity -- His throne, the glory of Heaven -- and surrendering to the comprehensive sacrifice He was about to offer. "All for You, O God! Whatever I have for Your glory, that I might gain nothing, but You might gain everything!" Jesus said that, and He is God! How much more should we imitate Him in our hearts and on our lips? "This all about You, O God."

Romans 8:28 tells us, "all things work together for good to those who love God, those called according to His purpose." Wonderful to know that even the hard stuff will turn out for our benefit, but would we be as willing, as capable, as eager to serve the Lord if the verse simply stated, "Everything you go through brings God the glory He is due"? I hope so. I hope I am that sold out to bringing glory to God with not a thought for myself. But the reality is, parts of my nature have cried out, "What's in it for me?" and seasons of hardship can be long and wearisome. Romans 8:28 is not only a testimony to God's innate goodness, but an encouragement to my flesh. "When all things appear hopeless, when you are ready to throw in the towel, know that God is good, and it will be okay." We can confidently, safely imitate Christ in His surrender. We can humbly say, "Not unto us. This is all about You, O God. This is all for Your glory. Whatever I have is Yours. Whatever accolades are to be gained belong to You!"

It is time to let go. It is time that, as Francis Chan says, "The point of my life is to point to Him." It is time to give God the glory He is due by giving God all we have. "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but to Your name give glory,"

A New Year Filled with Hope

My daughter and her family are currently in Japan. When I spoke to her on New Year's Eve, she said they'd be getting up to watch the first sunrise of 2021 -- a Japanese custom known as "hatsuhinode." The Japanese believe it brings good fortune in the new year. Cynical me wondered how many people were watching the sun rise a year ago. 

This has been a year for the books -- or maybe it should be redacted. Never mind the newsworthy stuff, even the things my friends and family have experienced this year are like nothing I've ever known. My prayer list is longer than it's ever been, with so much sickness and sorrow, so many lives turned upside down, and so much uncertainty. And yet, we hope. The same people who were jobless and hopeless in August are now filled with hope that flipping the page on a calendar will make all things new. The same folks who begged for relief in May will breathe a sigh of relief when the big hand and little hand converge at an apex and tomorrow will be. Why? What is the big deal? How can 11:59 be all that's wrong with the world, and 12:01 be rife with possibility? What does one second mean to the whole of humanity?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not when it comes to the things we've seen this past three hundred sixty-five days. COVID cares nothing for time. Racial tensions don't wait for a certain time of day to boil over. Natural disasters, sexual misconduct and trafficking, elections, impeachments and bankruptcies do not rest on one single tick or tock. And yet, we hope. We hope that one second will change the course of history; we hope that in less time that it takes to pop the cork on a champagne bottle, all the dismal memories of the past year will be laid to waste and goodness will burst forth. We hope that a moment in time will change the years of bias, greed, underhandedness, glutting and gutting, raping and pillaging that have destroyed our earth and destroyed one another, and brought us to this place. We hope, in that one...single...second that propels us into a new day, a new year. 

How foolish we can be. Not because we hope, not at all. We were made for Hope. But that's Hope with a capital "H". In Psalm 71:5, the writer declares, "For You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth." God set the sun and moon in the sky to mark out the days; God is the Author and Keeper of time itself. We simply measure it and decide what type of stewards we will be over it. And our stewardship should be determined by our hope. Psalm 146:5 says, "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God." Placing our hope in the Lord means surrendering to His design, stewarding our time in such a manner as to bring glory to His name, and having full confidence He is working for our good. Placing hope in a "1" over a "0", or an AM over a PM, or a Friday over a Thursday is as silly as -- well, believing that watching the sun obey its Creator will bring good fortune. 

I will be waking early to watch the sun rise. Not to seek some reward, but to thank God for another year, to ask for more opportunities to bring Him glory, and to dedicate these next twelve months -- however events materialize -- to Him and Him alone. I pray your new year is filled with Hope!

Be a Part of the Solution

Recently, I had razors delivered to our house. Razors. I didn't run ten minutes to the local drug store or discount store. Razors. To my doorstep. Convenient, yes, but someone once said, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." I felt like part of the problem. Our society is self-indulgent, lazy, money-centric, undisciplined, by the standards of our not-so-long-ago ancestors. My family history is one of laborers and craftsmen. Hard working, up at the crack of dawn, God-fearing, country-loving, and thrifty. Here I was, so desperate for razors, too lazy to fight the slippered crowds at Walmart, and such a part of the "convenience culture," I was expecting someone to walk up thirteen steps in twenty-degree weather to drop off a pack of razors. If they'd offered "lovingly-tuck-them-inside-your-warm-house-so-you-don't-have-to-stick-your-hand-out-in-said-cold" service, I might have paid the extra two dollars.

Have you ever paused to wonder how you would have fared in the days your grandparents lived? How about the early days of our nation? Ancient Jerusalem? This year I have been using The One Year Christian History Devotional, by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten. It has made me wish I'd paid more attention in Miss Williamson's high school history classes. More than that, it has made me reflect on my commitment to Christ. How far would I go? Would I be able to withstand persecution and hardship for my faith the way others did? Christ is our standard; our behavior and attitudes are to be measured by His alone, but seeing how others followed His example, and measured their lives against His as they should, is inspiring.

We are entering a new year in just a few days. A simple flip of a page. People love to see it as the start of something better, but any day can be just that. Maybe your day is today. Commit or recommit to faithfully reading Scripture. Find a good devotional to inspire you. Silence yourself humbly before the Lord, asking Him to reveal areas in which you need to take it up a notch. Refuse to allow things to remain status quo. Find a great accountability partner. 

Seek the greatest Solution ever -- Jesus Christ -- and be a part of Him.

Third Degree Burns Won't Change Your Enemies

Since we've become such an internet-centric society, the power of a positive review can be extraordinary. So can the power of a terrible one. Just a couple months ago we got ripped off. Someone who came to us highly recommended, who had one -- just one -- questionable review went to work for us and failed to do the job. Nothing subjective about it. No miscommunication. This person simply didn't listen, didn't take the job seriously, and failed to do what they were paid to do. The cost was beyond calculation. A friend suggested I Yelp a terrible review, but something told me I shouldn't. A day or so later, Scott wondered aloud if this person was the least bit remorseful, if maybe, they would consider returning at least a portion of what they stole. That was confirmation: if I write that scathing review, I remove an opportunity for this person to do the right thing. 

One of those "difficult" passages of Scripture is Proverbs 25:21-22:

"If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat;

And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;

For so you will heap coals of fire on his head,

And the Lord will reward you."

What is that whole "burning coals" thing all about? Some study Bibles suggest acts of kindness will cause enemies to feel guilty for their bad attitudes and unkind actions toward you, and they will repent and seek forgiveness. That's good, right? We want others to repent when necessary -- especially when those who don't know Jesus repent for all they've done, not just the ways they've wronged us. But is that really what this verse is talking about?

In Romans 12:14-21, Paul instructs us in the way to win over our enemies using kindness. He reiterates the proverb about burning coals. While we need to persist in kindness toward everyone, even our enemies, and Paul's words can encourage us in that obedience, we cannot count on a Hallmark ending each and every time. We are all given free will, and some people, no matter how kind we are, will never even notice much less be won over. Besides, isn't doing kind things strictly for the purpose of changing the "bad person" a bit judgmental and formulaic? Aren't we to be kind because we have been changed? Paul and the writer of Proverbs is saying just that. 

In ancient Israel, coal was important for heating and cooking. A household bereft of fuel was a household in peril; but if a neighbor -- even an enemy -- was willing to share their fire, coals could be carried in a fire pan, likely on one's head, back to the household in need. What a blessing! These authors are not talking about some "holier than thou," "kill 'em with kindness" act, but an act of charity born out of the Holy Spirit's work in the heart of a believer. When Christians extend God's forgiveness and charity toward others, we give them the opportunity to not only stay warm or eat, but to do the right thing. We give them the opportunity to thank God for changing hearts and sending help. We give them the opportunity to know God's grace. We give them the opportunity to repent -- for the terrible things they've done to us, if necessary, but primarily for their sin against God. We point to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit simply by be being transformed ourselves, by walking out that changed life. 

I wanted this person to work for us; I wanted to see what they are capable of -- I believe it's so much more. I want this person to not be satisfied with what they have done. I want them to know they have the potential to be better. I want them to know God will bless their repentance. But I won't be dishing out third degree burns to prove it.