A Desire Stirred Up

But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up. 1 Kings 21:25

It wasn't all Ahab's fault, nor does all the blame fall on Jezebel, but when they got together, oh the horror! We have a desire to be known as the best at something. Reading our verse for today, that isn't the right answer. To go down in biblical history in the Hall of Sinful Infamy is probably not what Ahab meant to happen when he married Jezebel, and yet the consequences of that sin and its wages came to Ahab's palace. If you have a picture in your mind of a long line of the worst sorts of sin coming into the home of Ahab and Jezebel, each carrying its bag of consequences and satchel of death, then you have a good picture of this household. As God cared for His people in the north kingdom of Israel, He sent none other than Elijah to do battle for the souls of those God loved. 

Was Elijah as mighty as Samson to stand before the evil thrones in the fullness of human strength? No, Elijah acted just like one of us. When he got scared, he ran. When he got down, he moped. We know of course that it was the strength of Almighty God facing those two evil rulers and their prophets, Elijah was simply God's servant. As evil rulers seem to gain power by the day in our time, we can trust in that same power to raise up His servants in these dark times. We trust in the Lord!

May His name ever be praised!

Bucky

The Realm of PC Speech Already?

 And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’ ” So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke. 2 Kings 2:20-22

A scribe in the days of Elisha the prophet appears to use some carefully chosen words in our scripture passage for today. Surely the credit should go to the Lord for this, as it had done in former times when it would say something like, 'as the Lord spoke through the prophet.'  Did they enter the realm of PC speech already? We can read quite plainly that Elisha said, "Thus says the LORD..." And yet the scribe gives credit to Elisha at the end. Was it one of those kings again, the kings who are written in the Kings and Chronicles as, "He did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD? It would appear to be the case, as just before Elijah passed on and Elisha took up his mantle, we have a story of a king inquiring of Baal-zebub. From our reading distance here with the Spirit of Jesus in our heart, it causes us sorrow to see a king of God's people act in this way. "Oh, no! Not that one! Don't go to that demon spirit for information!" we can easily say as the king in the ancient story falls to evil. 

Don't forget the Lord. Trust in Him and give Him the glory! 

Bucky

As The World Gives

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  John 14:27

If you like to watch some news on the computer or television, as I do, you are well aware of how the world gives. Jesus makes it clear to us in our verse for today that He does not give like that. And with those two gifts we go through each day. Like a guard on the wall, we have the peace of our Lord's city behind us and the fear of the wilderness before us. In our Lord's city of peace there are no loud trains, no strife in the streets, and no fighting in the homes. In the wilderness as we stand our watch on the walls, we hear the booming of the war drums, the sound of marching as of mighty armies comes to us on the wind, and the constant din of diverse earthquakes seems about to split the earth. We hear the Savior's voice in His scripture, "Peace I leave with you..." and we are comforted even as we stand to our guard duty. "Doom! Boom!" comes the noise of the world and the flesh reacts in fear. "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid," the Savior speaks to us from His word. And so goes life each day for us as the world gives it to us one way and our Lord gives us His peace in His way. 

Just as a guard is relieved after a time on duty, so too we must withdraw from the noise of the world and rest in our Lord's peace for a while. 

Bucky

Behold, A Mystery!

...the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  John 14:17

Jesus our Lord gave to the disciples and us at Pentecost this great gift of His Spirit. In verse 14:6 of John's gospel, with which we are quite familiar, Jesus says that He is the truth. Therefore the Spirit of truth He gives to us is His own Spirit. The world is left out of this as it will insist on what it can see. We come to know this Spirit because Jesus tells us this great mystery: the Spirit of truth dwells with us and will be in us. We understand that the disciples listening there to our Lord did not have the indwelling Spirit of truth at this time but would receive Him at Pentecost. When did you and I receive the Spirit of truth? I cannot point out to you the exact moment as those disciples in the upper room could back in their day, but the Word of God came alive to me as I read it and sermons became not battles against the minister but battles against those fiery darts Paul writes of in Ephesians. And of course I went from a basically decent and good guy in my sight, to more of what the Spirit saw in me when He came to set up housekeeping. A picture of a hoarder house comes to mind when I think of our Lord's Spirit of truth coming to dwell in me. Praise God that the Spirit did not show to me all of my vileness at once! 

Paul trusted that He who had begun the good work in him would never stop until the work was done, and so do I trust in the Lord's Spirit of truth. 

Love in Christ Jesus to you,

Bucky

Giving Defense

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 1 Peter 3:15

There are lots of folks these days who don't want us to give offense to anyone for fear of damaging their delicate psyches, but we are always ready to give defense for our hope in Christ Jesus. Some might come from predictability, and that is not always a bad thing. We know for example that old guy who has his stories. Mention a particular word or subject and it is like the start button on the machine. "Boy, let me tell you about the time in the good old days when I was with that good old outfit that needed someone just like me to do this great and noteworthy thing..." You know the format of the story even before the start having heard it so many times. It wouldn't hurt us as disciples of our Lord Jesus to be a bit predictable in the area of our hope in Jesus. Let the hard to reach cases around us be those saying, "If you mention the Bible or Jesus around him, he will go off on one of his stories about how he was and how he has been born again, so don't say things like that!" It is a good thing to be a bit predictable in this, even those who refuse to believe, for now, will remember always where you stand. 

When offense is not called for, we can be ready to give defense...for the hope we have in Jesus!

Bucky

Leaving A Trail

All this is for the transgression of Jacob
And for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the transgression of Jacob?
Is it not Samaria?
And what are the high places of Judah?
Are they not Jerusalem? Micah 1:5

A fundraising letter came and stated that in the past I had been one of their strongest supporters, and then suggested some support options for me. Sorry, the minister said that I cannot live in the past anymore! 

May I learn from the past though? Yes of course, and if we take a look at this verse for today, we see much to learn. This learning is especially necessary for those who have not read the Bible. There are several names, imagine that you had not heard any of them before this verse. Confusion? Sure, but there is also mention of transgression and sin. It seems that this one, person or place, is the transgression of this fellow Jacob. What the writer probably means is the one is evidence of this transgression of the law the other has done. It would seem that this Jacob fellow has left a trail of his transgression. 

Paul once told us that all have sinned and fallen short of God's glorious standard. (Rom 3:23) This sin leaves a trail that points right to each of us. This is why the Lord erases this entire record by the sacrifice of His Son Jesus. Without the justice paid for by our Lord's Son, all He would see is each of us followed by this gross slime trail following along behind. That is why the next three verses from Paul speak of what the Lord did to fix our slimy mess. The next time we are reminded of that infamous Romans 3:23, let us all go read 3:24-26 too. How do we earn this reprieve in those three verses? Can't earn it, but we are given it by just what it says: faith in Jesus! 

Have a graceful weekend, you have been redeemed in Christ!

Bucky

Not Doing It Right?

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26

One day I lifted up my head to count the prayers that I had not, it seemed to me, received an answer for. Was it 10,000? If I prayed for 10,000 days, which according to some is the magic number for full proficiency at a task, ten times on each of those days, then I would have prayed 100,000 prayers without the answers I sought. And it is possible in this life as 10,000 days is approximately 27 1/3 years, so we are not talking unattainable numbers here. But, the thought came to me, what if on each of those prayers on every one of those 10,000 days I had been doing it wrong? What if I didn't know how to pray as I ought? Shouldn't be any surprise to me, it says so right in the Bible! 

Could it be that when I look in the mirror or down at the self, that when I pray, "Lord, we need to fix this," that I am making the wrong request? I think most of the saints have arrived at that sudden revelation and the remainder of us will get there soon. Paul found out about it and wrote to the Roman church in our verse for today. Now, the joyous revelation is that all of those many prayers have not been wasted. Any talking to the Lord is a great place to start, travel through, and end a day. Plus, best of all, our Lord's own Spirit makes intercession for us to present our most needful cause before the Lord. And the Spirit does so with such a piteous groaning that God's love is reminded of our plight every time. We are not doing it right, but our Lord is! 

Make some joyous prayers, our Lord will see them home to Himself!

Bucky

Shorting His Mercy?

Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. Genesis 19:19

From the story of Lot: the man acknowledges the Lord's mercy through His angels in saving his life, but then turns right around and says how sending him to the mountains will cause his death? If we search the word for an example of 'ye of little faith' this one example can hardly be bested. But then, there is the wife who turned around when told not to do so and became a pillar of salt. Oh, and the two men who married Lot's daughters who thought he was joking when he tried to save their lives. A lack of faith is readily apparent all around this story, but what about old Lot and his shorting the Lord's mercy? 

Often we are like Lot in questioning whether the Lord who gave His Son to save us will continue to be merciful to us. As if, somehow, tomorrow the Lord will simply cease being who He is.  Jeremiah noticed that the Lord's mercies are new every morning in the Lamentations. We can take note of that as well. But, Little Faith says, if the mercies are new each morning, does that mean God changed His mind overnight? No, no, Little Faith, they are new each morning because we need them like a hungry person needs breakfast. 

We pray for a little warming in Christ around our nation,

Bucky

Who Can Stand Before His Cold?

He casts out His hail like morsels;
Who can stand before His cold?  Psalm 147:17

How cold is it? It is so cold that steam from my oatmeal broke off and fell on the kitchen floor. I'll have to pick it up later. Actually, we praise God a little extra this morning for furnaces and utility services and other warm/warming things that shelter us from a -28° reading at 0549! Yow, that's cold by most any reckoning! Who can stand before the Lord's cold? Not me, I want my blankies and hot tea this morning. 

In Israel, they were praising the Lord in Psalm 147. They had the statutes of the Lord which He had not given to any other nation. Cold and heat went out from the Lord to everyone, but Israel had a special dispensation from the Lord God. Blessings followed obedience to those laws and there was a place for praise and worship in Jerusalem. How much more reason do we have to praise the Lord in our age when Jesus has come and paid the blood price for our sin? How much more cause do we have to glorify God as we look around at the state of man in this age? How easy it is to live lost and hopeless in a world filled with distracting things, but we have the Lord Jesus living in us. Cold it may be outside, but the warm love of Jesus lives in us! 

Praise God for the love of Jesus!

Bucky

And The Snow Came Down

Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.  John 18:18

Uh oh, we think, watch out Peter! Soon after this verse we know that Peter met his worst moments as he denied Jesus knowing fully well what our Lord had said about whoever denies Him. And Peter did it three times. Doom, the drum tolls heavily from below. But our Lord met Jesus again after His resurrection, and the words from our Lord were not ones of condemnation. How can this be? 

One of the great, at least as we consider such things, Christian ministers was Charles H. Spurgeon. And in his devotional writing this morning, recalled to us from more than a century ago, Spurgeon wrote: Consider who we were, and what we feel ourselves to be even now when corruption is powerful in us, and you will wonder at our adoption. Yet we are called "the sons of God." Based in the scriptures of 1 John 3, Pastor Spurgeon wrote as though he was alright with God too. How can this be? 

When, we might ask, did Peter and Pastor Spurgeon stop sinning and enjoy complete victory over temptation? Probably about the same time that you and I will, when we see Jesus in the clouds of His glory in the heavenly places. It is not the spiritual mightiness of Peter, or Chuck Spurgeon, or you, or me that will save us. No, we all need someone greater who made that eternal sacrifice and saved the world from sin. And today, that someone is with us. Him we call Immanuel! 

Rejoice in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

P.S. Psst! Hey, yer title ain't got nothin' to do with the devotional! Yeah, it's true, but after a week of snow and frozen temperatures, I just can't write without putting some of that in the text. 

An Incomparable Disaster

Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.  Revelation 16:3

NOAA estimates there are more than 321 million cubic miles of water in the oceans of the world. One cubic mile of water would sit about nicely on top of our town and extend 1 mile high. When it collapsed it would then wash the town into Nebraska. We may talk of disasters in the oceans, but this second bowl poured out upon the Earth is difficult to imagine. All those cubic miles of salt water become blood as of a dead man. And, every living creature dies: plankton, mollusk, lobster, crab, octopus, fish, shark, or whale. This is not a joy-filled part of the good news of Jesus to bring to the world! Preaching this, do you suppose some might hate the messenger? And yet, there it is: the Revelation of Jesus Christ, that's how the message begins in the first verse. 

We have a few environmental problems floating around in the sea. These things are utterly insignificant when we look at the Lord's wrath poured out in the second bowl judgment. The message is ours to deliver, but is there any comfort to be found in the Revelation? The judgments of this final book of the Bible are so terrible that even we speak of the Rapture coming before the Tribulation begins. How can we say to the world that this sort of suffering is coming for them? For one, a multitude that no one could count is saved out of the Tribulation in the seventh chapter of Revelation. That is enough for us, but also God is preparing the Earth to be made new. And there are the judgments poured out on those who refuse to repent to the bitter end. Horrible as the second bowl judgment is, there are more of them to come in the Revelation. God's final attempt to reach every one who will be saved is coming soon, get ready!

Glory to God in the highest!

Bucky

A Strong Statement To A Woman

So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.  Genesis 29:20

As the holiday of love, or Valentine's Day comes this weekend, I thought that I might share from the Bible stories of love. That should last a bit longer than using my personal knowledge of romantic love, since all of my own experience will fit between these two brackets []. Now that we have that out of the way, Jacob made a strong statement to Rachel by his labor. While earlier there may have been a glance, a longer look, perhaps even a longing look, it was the statement of labor that spoke volumes. Those seven years of what would turn out to be fourteen, since the father-in-law was a bit of a... we'll just let you find a word for Laban, went by so quickly for Jacob that he did not consider it the burden it might have been. And yet, seven years (and seven more years) of labor speaks to commitment. Easily we may think from the state of our culture today that love is about gaining something else, but Jacob stated by those seven (+7) years that he was there to stay when Rachel needed him and not just for the honeymoon night. 

Be committed to our Lord's cause, He is the light of the world! 

Bucky

A Turning To A Better Way

For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.  1 John 2:16

Before the salvation of our Lord, what John writes in his letter describes a day quite well. From the lust to the pride, we lived it around and around in a sinful cycle. Repentance was the turning that brought us to Jesus to be saved. Like our Lord's disciples though, we have this clingy burden that followed us into our new life. The evil trio of lust, lust, and pride gives us no peace, no quarter, and assaults us at every opportunity. And as we all know their means and methods well, I don't need to provide examples. What we need is the good news of someone better who brings to us peace, love, gentleness, self-control, and, dare we hope for it, contentment. Have you noticed that when contentment comes from our Lord nothing the world offers has any hold on us? Contentment comes from a turning to a better way, His way. And, by golly, He is the Way too! 

John's verse shows how much we need our Lord's way. Paul had to learn until he could claim to have contentment. It is not an easy or quick journey from the lust and pride of this world to the contentment we find only in Christ our Lord. Have faith in Jesus that we are on the way to that place and state of contentment in Him. And 'on the way' of course means that He is leading us and we are completely dependent upon Him to get us there! 

Have a great and joyous day in Christ! 

Bucky

What We Have

The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the LORD.
Let your heart live forever!   Psalm 22:26

With ticket prices easily exceeding $4,000 this year it is obvious that the Super Bowl is no longer for the common folk. I may have said that in years past when the prices were less than that. It was The Blind Side for me, as even Locast demanded $5 to continue in the pregame show. There is that moment in the movie where Michael shows a difference between some of them and most of us: you know, those raised with a bed to call their own and the poor who have never slept on one. The thing in a bedroom that I called 'my bed' goes back as far as I can remember in life. Voices in the crowd shout out to us to fix this with all of our energy and resources, but is it the most important thing? 

In what is known as the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), Jesus does not even address poverty, slavery, or many other social ills that man's attempts at governing this world have produced. Well, He does not address them directly that is. The part about "teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you," which would include loving our neighbors as ourselves is what allows us to work against poverty to our heart's content. However, the most important thing is in sharing what we have by way of repentance and the salvation of Jesus Christ. Even those without the means to buy a Super Bowl ticket can share the good news of Jesus, and that is what we have! 

Love and peace in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

P.S. Yes, the weather is reaching across the barriers from outside to grab at me too, but it is predicted to be cold all week, so no need for me to go on about it.

The Fallout Time

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  Hebrews 11:1

The fifth day of the second month of this year has come, and I don't know how your year is going thus far but around these parts our faith is still being tested. The fallout from last year, that year we all hoped would just go away quickly, continues to cause suffering in and all around us here in this little town. It is the marathon race of faith that pushes us this year. The longer the race goes on, the easier it is to give up hope. And, the more reason there is to not give up hope and to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ more and more. Did a moment of doubt just pass there? Indeed, it is to Christ our Lord we turn when our strength of faith wanes and falters in the race. 

I don't recall God saying to me or anyone else that all suffering would end on January 1st, 2021. If an expectation crept into the mind somewhere then it has proven to be false and to Christ the Lord we turn. Our hope of things to come does not rest on a turning of the calendar but on the assurance of our Lord Jesus; One who does not often give us times and dates to mark on those same pieces of paper. However long the fallout from 2020 continues, we will together trust and hold faith in our Lord Jesus Christ! 

In the confidence of our Lord Jesus! 

Bucky

How Can You Say?

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  John 14:9

Jesus gives to the disciples a simple word equation: you've seen Me, therefore you have seen the Father. So simple, and yet so difficult for the disciples to understand. And we too often wonder what God looks like. If you say, "Well, He looks just like Jesus!" Then you are well on your way to the wisdom Jesus taught. Is it any wonder that we would learn to call Him Immanuel, translated as God with us, when we learn that Jesus is in the Father and the Father God is in Jesus? And if we need to review that further, then Jesus gave to us verses 10 and 11 immediately following for our edification. How can you say, show us the Father? The Son has revealed the Father to us in Himself. But, we don't really know what Jesus looks like, do we? We have faith to sustain us in our journey to meet with our Lord, face to face. That day, like most days we see coming from afar, will arrive sooner than we might think. 

Have a kinder, gentler day in our Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Thoroughly Broken

And He shall break it like the breaking of the potter’s vessel,
Which is broken in pieces;
He shall not spare.
So there shall not be found among its fragments
A shard to take fire from the hearth,
Or to take water from the cistern.”  Isaiah 30:14

This verse today concerns the breaking of a certain wall that the people of Jerusalem had placed some measure of faith in. The overall story of this verse is what happened to those people when they tried to cut a deal and bring in Egypt as a defense contractor instead of seeking counsel from the Lord their God. So great was the Israelites' unbelief in the Lord that they didn't even offer up the same price to Him to be their defense. Surely if one thinks that there is a price that can bring security, wouldn't he at least try the Lord first? However, the Lord's people thought first of the things of this world, and in time the Lord brought the things of this world to smash their pretty wall into shards and take the faithless Israelites away to captivity. 

In a nation and time where it seems that all things have a price in dollars, there is a lesson for us in this too. Go first to God in prayer and wait for His answer. That is a good one. God is also far more trustworthy than money. Yes, many of us can testify to that in a backwards way since we already know that money seems to vanish faster the more a person needs it. Many more lessons can be learned in the study of God's word, and a heap of money cannot buy those lessons. 

Love to God our Father in the name of His loving Son, Jesus Christ!

Bucky

Baptism

Jesus said: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20

The pastor opened up once more in his sermon yesterday the debate on baptizing, the water or the name, babies, believers, unbelievers, and questions about the baptism commanded by our Lord as we read in our scripture passage for today. Well, I am here! The Monday morning pastor, and I can...give only my testimony. 

As an infant in the care of my dear mother, I may have been baptized or dedicated, as dunking babies underwater was seen as risky in some times and places, unto the Lord and I can testify that I had no choice in the matter and don't recall a thing about it. In the case of infants, I think that baptism is more for the parents than the baby as infants can hardly make a public statement to their acceptance of our Lord's salvation unless something like, "Bwaaaaaa!" is a statement to that effect. 

As a youth, I seem to recall that at least one baptism was done at a vacation Bible School in one or both Baptist churches in town. Again, so little memory of it that I cannot tell you the age I was nor whether it was the full dunk, partial dunk, or a sprinkling of the water. Again, in the case of children it seems to be more out of a sense of duty toward the command of our Lord Jesus by the teachers, parents, or pastor than a statement by the child, this child at least, of his salvation by our Lord. 

As a teenager, and on the young side of it at that, I was full-dunked at Lake Alice by the pastor of our church, but it was not done properly by me, and the fault is mine. At that age, I sought attention for myself in all manner of ways, some better and some worse. The baptism gave me the opportunity for some attention and I took it. Only partially might that time have been a public statement of my salvation. I am certain that my decision was not made fully understanding what salvation meant, and my swimming away from the dunking in a somewhat showy manner proved that I was both mentally and spiritually in teenage adolescence. 

At last, the fourth, fifth, or even sixth time that I approached the ceremony of baptism, I was of adult age and attended class with scripture research under the pastor's guidance. The ceremony was scheduled the next week, with admonition to pray often for the full week and cancel if insincerity was found. The church body turned out to bear witness, and this time was quite different from all other times before it. Someone or something did not want me to make this statement of faith in Jesus Christ, and anxiety came after me with a vengeance. However, through much prayer and some suffering, we made it through the ceremony, last, with my dear brother in Christ, Burt, assisting Pastor Doug, and the assault on me was taken away. This time I can testify it was genuine and appropriate, a true ceremony of baptism. 

Does this contradict or conflict with the sermon yesterday? No it does not seem so to me, though I am not the authority on baptism and only testify to the story I have seen Jesus write in me. 

My advice on baptism: don't count on the experiences of youth. Participate in an adult baptism including consultation with your pastor ahead of the event. Make it properly public as baptism is a public statement of your faith in Christ. And don't put it off! 

In the love of Christ our Lord,

Bucky