Taking Up Running

In an effort to encourage you to take up running as an everyday practice, I have no delusions of grandeur. I realize that it’s going to take some pretty powerful imagery to get us off the couch and into the habit of running. So let’s get started:

The most recent International House of Pancakes commercial is for their endless stack of pancakes, all you can eat pancakes. The camera zooms in on 4 pancakes stacked high, fluffy and golden brown, the vestiges of melting butter clearly visible with the maple syrup glistening as it covers the pancakes. The stack is cut into quarters, with one missing piece on the top, having been consumed by the lucky patron of your nearest IHOP Restaurant. Is it any wonder I’ve had a craving for pancakes for two weeks now?

The second picture is from the World Series of Poker and is of the lucky player sitting behind stack after stack after stack of poker chips, chips of every color and value that are out there. Those chips tell the story of someone who is beyond lucky, drawing three-of-a-kind, straights, flushes and full houses hand after hand. And for every euchre player out there who complains of far too many Farmer’s Hands, those stacks seem too good to be true.

The third example is found in Eugene Peterson’s rendering of Psalm 31:19 in The Message Bible:

“What a stack of blessings you have piled up
for those who worship you,
Ready and waiting for all who run to you
to escape an unkind world.”

So maybe it’s not the kind of running you envisioned as you decided whether this devotion just might be better placed in the junk mail bin of your email account. But it is the kind of running that lays hold of God’s strength for today, it’s the kind of running that finds comfort and encouragement in the daily struggles of life, and it’s the kind of running that gets you through the roughest of times. Running to God doesn’t always come naturally; we all too often turn to other people or to other outlets first to ease our pain and frustration. But that pales in comparison to the stack of blessings that God has ready and waiting for those who run to him for strength, support and help in their times of need. This turn to God first kind of running is a habit that has to be developed, one that takes a certain kind of spiritual discipline to master, but it’s the kind of running guaranteed to leave you in the best shape of your life!

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church
 

No Drinking

“Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it,
but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.”

Deuteronomy 4:2

 

The warning label for the latest antibiotic I’ve been prescribed comes with the all-caps caution, ‘DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL WHILE YOU ARE TAKING THIS PRODUCT’ followed by a long list of woes that might be caused if the patient chooses to ignore the warning. Despite assuring the doctor that I don’t drink alcohol as he wrote out the prescription, he proceeded to caution me twice again, the last time as I was opening the examination room door to leave, of the dangers of mixing alcohol with this particular medicine.

To be honest, I never once thought that the doctor was out to spoil my fun, that he was taking away my freedom of choice, or that he was worried about the appearance of what it would look like if one of his patients was found drinking alcohol. No, I left there convinced that he was clearly educated on the effects of combining this particular drug with alcohol in any form and that he was looking out for me in giving me the repeated warnings. In fact, it would be pretty sad to have a doctor that didn’t warn you about something that could seriously hurt you, that didn’t look out for your best interests and have your back on something as profound as this. And it would be equally sad if, in our own pride, we ignored the warnings and followed what we thought best or what we felt like doing.

The Bible contains God’s warning labels, His cautions and admonitions, but so often He doesn’t get the respect or obedience that we so willingly follow in the natural realm. God’s cautions on every area of life can be counted on to be for our good. Now, I’ve never studied the effects of combining the 13 letter long antibiotic with anything but I’m going with the professionals on this one. And the same holds true with God only infinitely more so. His commands are flawless, His law is perfect, His statutes are trustworthy and His precepts are right. No need to add to them, or subtract from them; if God’s Word calls us to do something, or to not do something, it’s a guarantee, it’s a sure thing! Be encouraged that you will never go wrong by following God’s commands and walking in obedience to the divine prescriptions found in His Word!

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Unbridled

“You are not held back, restricted and restrained by us 

but you are held back, restricted and restrained by your own affections.”

II Corinthians 6:12

The newspaper article was not impressive enough that I even remember the subject matter but what stood out was the use of a single word as the writer spoke of the unbridled optimism that existed in some area of business. It was the word unbridled that caught my attention, the reference being to the bridle that is used to restrain and control a horse. Probably a few of us have been told at different times that we need to bridle our tongues, a pretty clear reference to our need to restrain ourselves before we say something we’ll later regret. Or maybe you can remember hearing the statement “someone needs to bridle that young man” as someone is running wild and about to get into trouble.


And so a bridle is anything that holds us back or restrains us from going forward. Our fear of what other people might think is certainly one of them. Timothy was being held back in his flowing in the gifts of the Spirit when Paul admonished him that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Timothy’s fear was acting like a bridle, holding him back from launching out, holding him back from acting on what the Lord was telling him to do. Our task becomes to identify and weed out any priorities, affections, habits, areas of sin, or even relationships that are bridles in our walk with the Lord and in our living out God’s plans and purposes for our life. The horseman would search his barns when a horse needed to be bridled; now we have to search our hearts to get the bridles back in the barn.


But it’s the word unbridled that represents the place we want to get to. A faith that is unbridled by circumstances in our lives, or by the past, is the kind of faith that will see mountains move, miracles occur, and the promises of God come to pass. A courage that is unbridled by the opinions of others, or by the fear of failure, is the kind of courage that prays bold prayers and receives answers, that defeats Goliaths in our lives, that is willing to step out of the boat into uncharted waters, and that won’t take no for an answer. And a love that is unbridled by the fear of rejection, or by what the cost might be, is the kind of love that will meet the needs of hurting people, that will open hearts and that will change the world. Let’s make it our goal in the days ahead to discover where we are being held back and to make the transition from bridled to unbridled, released into a life of unbridled faith, hope and expectation!


God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

A No-Name

"‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, 

I will reimburse you for any extra expenses you may have."  

Luke 10:35

He is part of a group of people, joining the woman Jesus met at the well, the widow whose two mites represented all she had, the thief on the cross who begged for mercy and so many more, whose names we will never know. Where he was traveling to that day has not been told us, and what plans he had that were interrupted were not part of the story. But so noteworthy was what he did that the story was told by Jesus to those who were questioning him. And so impactful were his actions that, in our day, a host of ministries and charitable organizations incorporate into their names the story of a no name who we know as the Good Samaritan.

We live in a day and age of staged events. Even this week, as one of our football players is signing a letter of intent to a state university, the media will be present to take pictures and report on the young man’s accomplishment. But that day, on the road leading down to Jericho from Jerusalem, there was no notoriety to be gained, no ulterior motive to be satisfied, with not even an onlooker to record his name for posterity. The unnamed man saw a need, he had pity in his heart, and he felt compassion for the man suffering. So moved was he by the man’s condition that he was willing to inconvenience himself (remember that not only did he bandage up the man’s wounds by the roadside but he took him to an inn and spent that entire night caring for the man at the inn.) Someone no different than us was willing to interrupt his plans because he saw someone in need and decided he couldn’t just pass by and do nothing.

Most of us live incredibly busy lives but have we become too busy to notice the hurting around us. One man said that “sometimes the pace of life can crowd out God’s place in our lives.” Have our schedules, our plans and how we want to spend our time and money become so regimented that there is no room for divine interruptions and divine appointments. Have the needs and requests for assistance and aid become so frequent that, like the priest and Levite who passed by the wounded man, they automatically fall on deaf ears. I am thankful for the example of a man whose name isn’t known and whose name isn’t important – but who left us more than an example, really a standard, of not passing by and of caring for one another, whether that be in the major crises in life, or in the times when a shoulder is needed to cry or lean on, an ear to listen, or a hand to pull us up. Now it’s our turn, with no desire for fame, acknowledgement or recognition, to show that kind of love and compassion in our generation!

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Muster

“The Lord Almighty is mustering an army for war.”  

Isaiah 13:4

Stories of individual accomplishments, fictional or true, whether in battle or against seemingly overwhelming odds, have a way of thrilling and inspiring us like nothing else. Who doesn’t enjoy John Rambo wreaking havoc on the Vietnamese captors of American P.O.W.s or John McClain, of Die Hard fame, single-handedly taking on an international gang on Christmas Eve? And the Bible provides us with so many stories that show us what God can do through one man or woman willing to trust the Lord and step out in faith.  From the lesser known stories like that of Shammah, who took his stand alone in the middle of a field of lentils and won an incredible victory, to that of David who as a teenage boy was unafraid to stand toe to toe with the giant Goliath, we find courage in the heroics of others.

But the reality is that, no matter how strong their faith, how deep their commitment or how courageous they might be, the job can’t always get done by one person standing and fighting alone.  Sometimes it takes an army. In fact, more often than not, when we talk warfare, we’re talking gathering an army to engage an enemy force in battle. It’s been a week since the phrase from Isaiah, taken out of context, jumped off the pages of my Bible, “The Lord Almighty is mustering an army for war!” To be honest, I couldn’t read any further; God was shouting something and He wanted my attention. God was going to gather an army of believers, an army of what David Ireland called “Kneeling Warriors”, and use that army to fight battles too big for any one man or woman. And with me, as with you, He is calling us to be a part of that muster.

Joshua mustered his army for battle because there was a stronghold standing in the way of God’s people. David mustered his troops for battle when an enemy threatened the inheritance God had given His people. And God, in our day, in our generation, is mustering an army. There are strongholds in so many lives that need to be brought down, strongholds that keep good, sincere, God fearing men and women from all that God has purposed for their lives. In our churches, in our cities and around the world, we have husbands and wives, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters under prolonged attack from the enemy. Will we answer God’s muster? Will we say like Aragorn, as he faced the gates of Mordor, “This day we fight!” and be a part of loved ones near and far experiencing the long fought victories they have so desired? I hope so!

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Undefeated

“Now thanks be unto God who always causes us to triumph in
Christ, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
                                         II Cor. 2:14, I Cor. 15:57

As impossible as it might seem, picture for a minute your favorite sports team, maybe the perennially hapless Detroit Lions, the 4-time Super Bowl losing Buffalo Bills, or the pride of the Corn Belt Iowa Hawkeyes, going undefeated!! Yes, I said undefeated, a perfect record, holding high the championship trophy for all to see, the victory parade through the city streets, appearance on all the morning talk shows, and all the acclaim that accompanies such an outstanding accomplishment in the world of sports. Even at just the thought, hearts begin to beat a little faster and imaginations run wild!

And while such a feat falls into the ‘too good to be true’ category in the natural arena, our going undefeated in this life, as we face the struggles and the hurdles that come our way, is promised to those who are in Christ. Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers that God always causes those who are in Christ to triumph, and to be victorious in life through their relationship with Jesus. Our challenge is to discover what it means to be “in Christ” and to remain in that place no matter how great the storm that we find ourselves in is.  And as we learn to face life’s difficulties as an outflow of our relationship with the Lord Jesus, as opposed to taking them on ourselves, we will begin to experience the joy of living the victorious Christian life promised us.

Last night’s champion in college football fell behind in the first half, and we too may fall behind sometimes as we react to the hard things that come our way. But as we turn to the Lord for help, and as we get to that place of trust where we find ourselves “in Christ”, the score will turn in our favor and the victory will be ours when the final whistle blows. The thought of this devotion, undefeated, is that you will never lose when you live your life in intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. You’ll never lose when you trust the Lord with all the hopes and dreams you have for your future!  You’ll never lose when you show tangible love to another human being who will never be able to repay you! You’ll never lose when you surrender your life fully to Him and walk in obedience to all that He asks of us in His Word! And so as we start a new day, it can be the first day of your undefeated season, of your finding victory in Christ!

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church 

The Litmus Test

“By this all men will know that you are
my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:35

In the natural, it’s a simple chemical test to determine the acidity of a solution, but, in recent years, the term “litmus test” has taken on a much broader application. In political circles, a candidate’s stand on a particular issue, such as gun control or abortion, is often referred to as the litmus test of whether that person will be voted for or against.  Judicial appointees seeking congressional approval face intense questioning on a wide range of issues with each party having well defined litmus tests that are used to make a judgment on whether that nominee is acceptable.

In much the same way, the Bible has some pretty clear litmus tests that we can use to stay on the right path and to make sure that our lives line up with the truth of God’s Word. Some are very simple such as in John 14:23 where Jesus says “if anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” When litmus paper is placed in a solution, it indicates by the degree of shading the level of acidity. We have to ask ourselves what a litmus test of our love and of our obedience would reveal on the litmus paper of heaven.  We can be thankful that one of the beauties of God’s Word is that it provides every litmus test we need to ensure that we live fruitful lives, pleasing to the Lord and blessed by Him in every way.

The scripture above focuses on one particular test – the litmus test of love. Jesus said it was how the world would know that we are His disciples. John wrote that we can judge if we are living in the truth by how we love others saying, “let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth”, defining love by its sacrificial nature. Only tolerating others who are different than us doesn’t pass the litmus test of love. Giving lip service to the needs of others who are hurting doesn’t pass the test nor does telling people we love them but never showing it by our actions. Loving one another as God so loved us, in a real and tangible way, is the only kind of love that lights up the litmus paper of God’s love.

As we journey into 2014, let’s commit to “living a life of love.” Let’s be purposeful in laying down our lives for others, in revealing Jesus to the world around us by the sincerity of our love, in committing to loving more deeply and with greater purity in our motives. That kind of love, the I Corinthian 13 kind of love, passes the litmus test of love and brings joy to the heart of God.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church