Waiting on God

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (NIV)

16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

The first care of the Redeemer in that day will be about his dead saints; he will raise them before the great change passes on those that shall be found alive: so that those who did not sleep in death will have no greater privilege or joy at that day than those who fell asleep in Jesus. [Matthew Henry]

In his book It Happens After Prayer, Pastor H. B. Charles Jr. provides the following helpful illustration of why God often makes us wait for the answer to our prayers.

One hot afternoon, a certain woman walked to her neighbor's produce stand to buy grapes. The line was long. And each person seemed to get special attention. But she waited patiently. When she finally made it to the front of the line, the owner asked for her order. She asked for grapes. "Please excuse me for a minute," was the answer. Then the owner walked away and disappeared behind a building. For some reason, this rubbed the woman the wrong way. Everyone in line before her was greeted warmly. They were given special attention. And, most importantly, they were served immediately. But she was forced to wait. And when she got to the front of the line, she was forced to wait some more. She was offended. She felt the owner took her regular business for granted. The longer she waited, the angrier she became.

Finally, the produce stand owner reappeared. And with a big smile, he presented her with the most beautiful grapes she had ever seen. He invited her to taste them. She had never tasted grapes so good. As she turned to leave with her delicious grapes, he stopped her. "Oh yeah, I'm sorry I kept you waiting," said the farmer. "But I needed the time to get you my very best."

How long have you been in line waiting on God to get to your request? How long have you been waiting in line for God to meet a need, solve a problem, or open a door? Whatever you do, don't get out of line. And don't stop praying. Wait on God.

Christ came to save

John 3:17 (NIV)

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Ever since man sinned, he has dreaded the approach and appearance of any special messenger from heaven, as being conscious of guilt and looking for judgment: We shall surely die, for we have seen God. If therefore the Son of God himself come, we are concerned to enquire on what errand he comes: Is it peace? Or, as they asked Samuel trembling, Comest thou peaceably? And this scripture returns the answer, Peaceably. [Matthew Henry]

Stephen Baldwin is one of the famous Baldwin brothers, a family of Hollywood actors.

Referring to his newfound faith in Christ, Stephen said, "I've never been as excited or happy about where I am in my life. There's no one I know in Hollywood who can say that."

Stephen's wife came to Christ in 2000 and announced to Stephen, "I'm going to be serving Jesus now." Baffled at her conversion, Stephen thought, Who does this Jesus dude think he is coming around here?

The events of September 11 were pivotal in his change of mind as he realized that the impossible was possible. As Stephen describes it, "It made me say the Bible is true, and Jesus Christ could come back tomorrow."

How has his life changed? Stephen's work as an actor "has largely dried up." He won't work in a film that includes adultery, violence, or profanity.

He's traded his Porsche for a Chevy Malibu.

Stephen spends his available time preaching the gospel. He directs and hosts a DVD project aimed at reaching young people through extreme sports.

As for his marriage, Stephen and his wife are now "as one." Stephen truly is a new creation. ["Baldwin's Great Awakening," The Week (11-5-04), p. 12]

Christ came into the world to change the lives of people for the betterment of themselves and mankind. There is a hope offered through Christ that cannot be found anywhere else. The hope is a gift of salvation that Christ freely offers to any who ask for it. I’m thankful for the work Christ has done in Stephen’s life and the life of the other Baldwin’s as well as many other people in this world. Let us praise God for the work He has done in our lives.

Honor one another

Romans 12:10 (NIV)

10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

It properly denotes the love of parents to their children, which, as it is the most tender, so it is the most natural, of any, unforced, unconstrained; such must our love be to one another, and such it will be where there is a new nature and the law of love is written in the heart. [Matthew Henry]

Gordon MacDonald shares the following story about visiting a small group of men and women affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous. MacDonald said that he visited the group because he has friends who are recovering alcoholics and he wanted to see for himself what they were talking about. Here's what he found:

One morning Kathy—I guessed her age at 35—joined us for the first time. One look at her face caused me to conclude that she must have been Hollywood-beautiful at 21. Now her face was swollen, her eyes red, her teeth rotting. Her hair looked unwashed, uncombed for who knows how long.

"I've been in five states in the past month," she said. "I've slept under bridges on several nights. Been arrested. Raped. Robbed (now weeping). I don't know what to do. I … don't … want … to … be … homeless … any more. But (sob) I can't stop drinking (sob). I can't stop (sob). I can't … "

Next to Kathy was a rather large woman, Marilyn, sober for more than a dozen years. She reached with both arms toward Kathy and pulled her close, so close that Kathy's face was pressed to Marilyn's ample breast. I was close enough to hear Marilyn speak quietly into Kathy's ear, "Honey, you're going to be OK. You're with us now. We can deal with this together. All you have to do is keep coming. Hear me? Keep on coming." And then Marilyn kissed the top of Kathy's head.

I was awestruck. The simple words, the affection, the tenderness. How Jesus-like. I couldn't avoid a troubling question that morning. Could this have happened in the places where I have worshiped? Would there have been a space in the program for Kathy to tell her story? Would there have been a Marilyn to respond in this way?

It take love and honor to put others first, letting them know you care for them and will be there with them through the struggles. May you be like Marilyn who reaches out to the Kathy’s of the world.

Accountability

Matthew 18:15 (NIV)

15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.

This verse reminds us to be sensitive in the way we confront people. First we should always go to them privately to point out their fault in love. If they listen and heed what you say then you have won them over to do what is right.

Toward the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, there's a scene where Harry, Ron, and Hermione are about to break the rules and leave their dormitory after-hours to stop the bad guy from stealing a powerful magic artifact. Before they leave, though, they must face none other than Neville Longbottom, a rather bumbling, ineffective student in their class. "You're sneaking out again, aren't you?" Neville asks. "I won't let you. You'll get [our classmates] into trouble again." He fails to stop them, and Harry and his friends manage to stop the villain. But, surprisingly, at the end of the year banquet, headmaster Dumbledore gives the greatest honor to Neville. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies," he explains, "but just as much to stand up to our friends."

Although Neville never becomes truly close with Harry, Ron, or Hermione, he still stumbled across two of the key traits of a friend or an accountability partner: the ability to recognize patterns of sinful behavior, and the courage to call the person out on them.

[Lisa Eldred, "More Than Single: Finding Purpose Beyond Porn," Covenant Eyes]

Confess your sins

James 5:16 (NIV)

16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

The confession here required is that of Christians to one another, and not, as the papists would have it, to a priest. Where persons have injured one another, acts of injustice must be confessed to those against whom they have been committed. Where persons have tempted one another to sin or have consented in the same evil actions, there they ought mutually to blame themselves and excite each other to repentance. [Matthew Henry]

In his bestselling book, Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, founder of Equal Justice Initiative, tells the story of Jimmy Dill, a convicted murderer who had been scheduled for execution in the state of Alabama. Stevenson's staff took on the case in the last 30 days of Dill's life because Dill not only suffered from an intellectual disability, but his conviction had been based on suspect evidence that Stevenson's team believed to be erroneous. Had Dill been able to afford a lawyer the first time, he wouldn't be on death row. As it happened, though, nothing could be done. In the last hour, Dill called Stevenson to say thank you for trying.

In his chapter entitled "Broken," Stevenson reflects on our common story of brokenness:

When I hung up the phone that night I had a wet face and a broken heart. … I thought myself a fool for having tried to fix situations that were so fatally broken … I worked in a broken system of justice. My clients were broken by mental illness, poverty, and racism. They were torn apart by disease, drugs and alcohol, pride, fear, and anger … In their broken state, they were judged and condemned by people whose commitment to fairness had been broken by cynicism, hopelessness, and prejudice …

After working for more than twenty-five years, I understood that I … do what I do because I'm broken, too. My years of struggling against … injustice had finally revealed something to me about myself. Being close to suffering, death, executions, and cruel punishments didn't just illuminate the brokenness of others … it also exposed my own brokenness … We all share the condition of brokenness … I desperately wanted mercy for Jimmy Dill and would have done anything to create justice for him, but I couldn't pretend that his struggle was disconnected from my own. The ways in which I have been hurt—and have hurt others—are different from the ways Jimmy Dill suffered and caused suffering. But our shared brokenness connected us.  [Adapted from Ethan Richardson, "No Wholeness Outside Our Reciprocal Humanity," Mbird blog (1-7-16)]

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. For confession depowers the sin within us and helps us to begin the process of healing. 

Hold on to instruction

Proverbs 4: 13 (NIV)

13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.

That good thing which is committed to us we must keep, and not let it drop, through carelessness, nor suffer it to be forced from us, nor suffer ourselves to be wheedled out of it; never let go such a jewel. [Matthew Henry]

Paul likens us to shining stars, and the word shine means to reflect. The scientific term is albedo. It's a measurement of how much sunlight a celestial body reflects. The planet Venus, for example, has the highest albedo at .65. In other words, 65 percent of the light that hits Venus is reflected. Depending on where it's at in its orbit, the almost-a-planet Pluto has an albedo ranging from .49 to .66. Our night-light, the moon, has an albedo of .07. Only seven percent of sunlight is reflected, yet it lights our way on cloudless nights.

In a similar sense, each of us has a spiritual albedo. The goal? One hundred percent reflectivity. We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord. You cannot produce light. You can only reflect it.

[Mark Batterson, If: Trading Your If Only Regrets for God's What If Possibilities (Baker Books, 2015), page 220]

A soldier knows that his gun is there to protect him. He is to keep it with him at all times. Likewise prayer is also our weapon to defend against evil in life. So guard what you have learned that it may protect your life.

Asking God

1 John 5:14-15 (NIV)

14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

The matter of our prayer must be agreeable to the declared will of God. It is not fit that we should ask what is contrary either to his majesty and glory or to our own good, who are his and dependent on him. And then we may have confidence that the prayer of faith shall be heard in heaven. [Matthew Henry]

Imagine you've been convicted of a terrible crime, and are given the chance to speak for a few minutes before your execution. Would you express anger? Remorse? Love? The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, maintains a digital archive of every inmate's last statement, going back to 1976. This amounts to 534 prisoners.

One website analyzed all of these prisoners' final statements for common words and patterns. Of 534 total inmates, 417 inmates either spoke or wrote out a final statement. The most common word, used by 63 percent of all speakers, was love. Other words that convey affection—heart, care, loved—also ranked high on this list.

In most cases, the word is used to address family members who are present at the execution, on the other side of the glass window. But it is also used to express feelings toward the victim's family members, lawyers, the court, and even the warden/prison staff.

Here are a few examples of the actual last words from death row inmates:

-          "I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you. Take care y'all."

-          "I say this with love: I'm sorry. I say this for my family with love and with God, I love you. To the family of my boss, I love you. All I have is love."

-          "I'll start by saying I love all of you."

-          "I want to tell you folks there … I have a love in my heart for you."

-          "First, I would like to give praise to God for the love and grace that he has allowed for all of this to come together."   [Zachary Crockett, "What Death Row Inmates Say in Their Last Words]

No matter who we are, no matter how much we struggle in life, deep down we are all hungry to give and receive love—from God and others. God loves us deeply and when we ask God in accordance with love and desire for His will to be manifested; God will hear us and answer our request.

May God be with those who have steered away from Him, yet returned later to acknowledge their faults. May God bless each and every one of you! Amen.