A Reminder to Remember

I am beginning to identify with Jeremiah, the one called “the weeping prophet.” Not that I consider myself a prophet, but I am one who weeps.
Each time my fingers tap out the words to send from my heart to yours, this thought runs through my brain, “Maybe I should write something that has a lighter feel.” And each time God whispers to my ear that there are so many people hurting, struggling, wounded, and uncertain about the future. I count myself one of the many.

We truly want to finish well the race that is set before us. But in the spirit of authenticity, sometimes I find my faith teetering on the fence of doubt.

Perhaps the days of lightheartedness will come soon. I hope so.

But for now, we are called to-

lock arms
hold one another up
offer grace when one stumbles
lift each other up
and take one more step in this heavenly race.

We are to remember that this world truly is not our permanent home (Hebrews 13:14). There is a glorious place waiting for us. But until we stand face to face with Christ in all of His glory, we must remember we are ambassadors of His kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). We are called to bring what’s up there down here in our day to day lives. We are reflectors of grace, set apart for a greater purpose.

We are called to know Him and the power of His resurrection as well as the fellowship of His suffering (Philippians 3:10). Confession time. We have all seen that crazed football fan. The one who paints his/her face with the team colors and roars with every advancement of the ball down the field then jumps up punching the air with his/her giant sponge hand when the team scores. That’s me when I hear the first part of this verse, “the power of His resurrection.” YES!!! Go, God! That’s what I want to see, the resurrection power.

As I reflect on this verse in light of so many who find themselves in life’s hard places, there is a clearer message coming into view. There can be no resurrection power without death first. Wow! I never saw that before.

Maybe today you are experiencing a death of sorts–the death of a dream, a job, a relationship, health, or expectation. My friend, these are the places where His resurrection power breathes life into dry bones.

Every victory won was first a battle fought.
Each body cured, was first a disease diagnosed.
All mountain top views were reached by trekking the valley.

This week’s “Hope for the Journey” is less organized in thought than I am comfortable with. However, it seemed fitting to take a step back and remember some truths about who we are and who we are called to be. Suffering never negates the greater purposes of God or our identity in Him.

Stand strong, dear one. Hold tight to His promises. Live with your eyes wide open to…

His divine peace
His miraculous ways
His overwhelming joy
His unexplainable presence
His extravagant love
His wondrous grace

This is our God!
Remember Him and live in awe.

Until next time, let’s find hope in the journey,
Evelyn

Hi There! My name is Evelyn. I am a lover of all things family, faith and Fall. So grateful that you found your way here. The chaos of life can leave us feeling a bit worn around the edges. Sometimes a little ray of hope is all we need to provide courage for the next step in our journey. So come on in, take a deep breath. My prayer is that in this space, you will be able to grab hold of hope. For more of Evelyn’s columns, see her blog Hope for the Journey.

Something New

In an interview some 50 years after the fact, Paul McCartney related a story about the first time the Beatles recorded an album using “stereo” sound.

“What’s stereo?” McCartney had inquired, having encountered the technology for the first time. The studio sound engineer explained that in “stereo” recording, music is divided into two channels. “Some of the music comes out of the left side speaker,” Paul was told, “and some comes out of the right side speaker.”

McCartney’s early-1960s response was a playful, puzzled, “Yeah? Great! Why?”

Although today we can’t imagine sound or video recording that doesn’t offer the depth and texture of multiple tracks, multi-channel sound, and multi-dimension video, one of the last century’s and arguably one of history’s best known musical talents had to start, at some point, hearing about “stereo” for the first time. It was totally new.

This Beatles vignette was in a chunk of text I actually removed from something else totally new – something I did for the first time over the weekend – which was to preach a message – a sermon – in a small church service. It was at Allisonville Meadows assisted living center here in Fishers, Ind., and while I loved the “stereo” analogy, I forced myself not to veer so far away from the point I wanted to make.

And my point was… that the most shocking, totally new thing in all human history was Jesus Christ. He revealed to humanity eternal life, relationship with God, the fatherhood of God, forgiveness of sin, peace in this life, comfort of the Holy Spirit, and the assured knowledge of saving grace, sacrificial love, God’s glory, and ultimate victory over sin giving human life a depth and texture it never previously offered.

That is the truth of the Gospel; that was totally new and totally unexpected.

It’s surprising, really, that despite all the prophecy and Hebrew scriptures about a coming Messiah… everybody missed it. The greatest experts–the Pharisees and Jewish leaders–utterly and violently denied Jesus when they should have known his voice. Instead, they wanted to kill him. And did. They did not know Him.

The opening of John 17 was the text for the message. Verses 2-6 begin Jesus’s well-known “Priestly Prayer” given on His way to Gethsemane. After leaving the Last Supper, Jesus prayed for himself, his disciples, and for all believers. And he prayed aloud–as badly as Jesus needed to pray to God, the disciples needed to hear it.

Jesus opens by praying for God’s glory, His own glory (meaning His death, resurrection, and return to God), His authority, His work … and the eternal life that will be given to all who believe in Him. That was my core idea: knowing Jesus is “The Right Stuff” (that was the sermon title; I took out the Beatles, left in Chuck Yeager and Neil Armstrong and referenced Tom Wolfe’s 1979 book about aviation adventure) to know God, for God to know us, and for us to have eternal life.

The disciples–fearing Jesus’s death and likely their own–had no idea about eternal life or what was about to happen just three days later and on into human history.

I can imagine music without the Beatles, but none of us would have a clue–or could possibly have a clue–about eternal life or even new life without Jesus Christ.

That was really and truly something new.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) thanks retired ministers Bob Tinsky and John Samples for the opportunity to preach, which to be honest was kind of a bucket list thing for Bob anyway. How did it go? Evidently OK … they invited him back next month. For more of Walters’ columns, see commonchristianity.blogspot.com. For his books, see www.lulu.com/spotlight/CommonChristianity.

Truth at Work 2019 Conference

Friday, November 8th | 8AM-1PM
Northview Church (12900 Hazel Dell Parkway, Carmel)

TRANSFORM THE MARKETPLACE

This annual conference cultivates, encourages, and inspires leaders and those who desire to serve the Lord in the marketplace. If you want your work to have eternal significance, even if it means going against cultural norms, come, network with likeminded leaders, and learn from national experts on how to live out your faith so you can impact the marketplace for Christ.

Join thousands of other Christians in business for a powerful one-day event designed to equip and inspire you.

SPEAKERS

WHAT TO EXPECT

A day together that will equip and fortify you through learning how to become a transformational leader. This type of leader affects change in many ways, including:

Demonstrating Generosity
Building a Championship Culture
Creating a Vision
Disrupting Industries & Traditions
Leading through Service
Influencing Society

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from some of America’s top thought leaders on how to transform your leadership, business, and in turn, society.

Who should attend?

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Business Owners

Discover best practices, practical resources and a local community to help leverage your company as a platform for Christian ministry

Managers & Executives

Learn practical ways to live out your faith and model Christ-like servant leadership to your team and co-workers

Emerging Leaders

Learn how to build your career on proven biblical principles so your work brings honor and glory to the Lord

Pastors & Church Leaders

Equip, encourage, and empower marketplace leaders in your church to impact their workplace for Christ

For anyone wanting to integrate their faith and work, learn what God’s Word says about the integration of faith and work and how you can begin to do so right where you are.

For more information, see the Truth at Work website. To order tickets, visit the itickets event site.

God Says…

“God says to cast our care, not our responsibility.”
Joyce Meyer, “Stress Management.”

I’ve Not Forgot

“Oh, no!” says the Lord.
“That’s not your lot.
“Look unto me; I’ve not forgot.
“Give Me your hand,
“And come my way.
“You have a future.
“It’s a brand new day.”

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14-15)

Christian philosopher, Bible teacher, author, and prolific poet, Margarett Inez Bates is a graduate of Mount Vernon Bible College with a Bachelor’s degree from the Christian International School of Theology. Actively involved in Christian service for over forty years, she currently resides in her hometown, Kokomo, Indiana. Margarett has published two books: Poetical Insights: Lifting Up a Standard, and Poetical Insights Vol. 2: A Closer Look. You can read more of her work at Kokomo Poet.

So God, What is the Next Step?

The room is filled with deafening silence except for the tick of the clock and the periodic roar of the blood pressure cup inflating. We find ourselves once again in life’s waiting room. Dad has just come back from having his heart cath. He sleeps. I write. We both wait for the doctor to inform of us of the next step.

These days seemed to be filled with waiting and unknowns. My prayers of adoration often become overshadowed by prayers of desperation. “God, what is the next step? Just tell me and I will do it.” And just like we wait now for the doctor, I wake each day waiting for God to step in and provide light for my next step. Next steps for…

Dad’s health
Wisdom for caregiving
Guidance in my job
Answers for hurting friends
Stewardship of time and resources
Strength for my weary body

I glance toward my father. His deep breathing now adds to the rhythmic sounds being played out in this room. As my eyes witness the gentle rise and fall of his chest with each breath, my mind replays his favorite verse. The one I need to hear right now in the wait.

“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31

This “doing heart” of mine is unnerved with waiting. You too? To just sit seems so counterproductive. I would much rather be busy, moving around. At least then things are accomplished. But are they the right things? Are they the best things?

As I reflect on this familiar passage, my eyes move past the phrases at the front end and land on the “doing” words. “They will walk, they will run, they will soar.” These are the words that grab my attention when steeped in turmoil. However, these action words give me a false sense of control when life is filled with uncertainty. Then God draws my attention to the first half of that scripture. My eyes shift and I stare at the uncomfortable part of this passage… they that wait.

It is in the waiting light is given for the next step we take. It is in the waiting wisdom is gleaned for the race we run. It is in the waiting courage is gained so that we may soar higher than we dare dream.

Perhaps this is due in part to the desperation that comes in the silence of waiting. Our hearts yearn for comfort, direction, and wisdom. We intentionally lean in anxious to hear answers to the prayers we have poured out in the night season. We strain to hear the Father whisper hope to our worn heart.

My friend, maybe you can relate to the season of waiting. I am right there with you. One thing I know… God speaks in the wait. It may not be within the realm of our comfort zone, but He does speak. So, we must resist the temptation to rush ahead. The slow pace of waiting affords us precious time in His presence that is often stolen by the fast pace of life. It is in this time, waiting at His feet, that He does a transformative work in our hearts.

Let’s hold tight to Him knowing that He is with us in the wait. He is renewing, strengthening, and transforming us.

Until next week, let’s find hope in the journey.
Evelyn Sherwood

For My Sake

Jesus Christ on the excruciating cross of human salvation is a frightening image, one upon which only the very crassest among humanity would gaze and ask: “What’s in it for me?”

Fact is, none of us wants exactly that – the cross of Christ – as Christian life’s promise. Believe in Jesus, be Christ-like, do Godly things with a Godly attitude, love God, love others, read the Bible, go to church, be selfless, kind, obedient … and what do we get? A horrendous and humiliating public death? No thanks.

That’s not the deal anyone is looking for.

We must be especially wary, then, in our Christian witness and preaching, to be very clear what it is exactly that Jesus did on the cross. The world sees punishment, shame, payment, retribution, and maybe feels a little (or a lot of) personal sin and guilt. The neurotic Christian may wilt with remorse: “That agonizing passion on the cross is my fault! That bloody end is what I deserve!” The arrogant libertine may be repulsed and dismissive: “How can a good God allow that to happen to His son? I don’t believe any of it!” A devious theologian may see a means to control people with fear and guilt.

What we see on the cross is less a picture of God than of what a perfect human will do to glorify God. In that sense a little neurosis about our fate is quite apt. The wrathful God of the Law is the same loving and sacrificial God of the New Testament. God never changes, but the enormous gift we are given through Christ is to see the true nature of a Godly human: Jesus is our example of what a perfect human in God’s eyes actually is. Our fallenness makes it hard to see that.

We are – each of us individually – a great mess of conflicts, fear, aspirations, hope, and pain-avoidance. The sneaky truth of Christ that takes a while to truly see is that our greatest human joy – and our highest, most God-like humanity – is the picture of Christ humbly sacrificing himself for others. Seeing the cross as God’s love and mercy for us, rather than seeing it as God’s anger and wrath for our sin, changes everything about what kind of Christian we can be: loving? … or judgmental?

Our greatest joy, then, is in serving others in freedom, freedom not just from sin but freedom to be all that God created me to be… what He created each of us in His own image to be. I get that the cross is a picture of humanity’s gross failings and sinfulness, but more importantly it is the picture of God’s love, Christ’s humility, and the Spirit’s illumination of truth. In this picture are glory, love, self-sacrifice, humility, restoration, forgiveness, repaired relationship, covered sins, eternal life, the conquering of both sin and death… and overwhelming peace that exceeds all understanding.

As much as we fallen humans focus on “being forgiven,” in Jesus’s entire last prayer – indeed His final teaching we see in John 13-17 including foot-washing, the last supper, the vine, His relationship with God, the Kingdom as life, God as Father, Jesus as Son, the Spirit as comfort, plus persecution, glory, faith, and perseverance – there is not one word about forgiveness of sin. Instead, there is assurance of God’s truth.

When the chips were down and His own end was near, Jesus prayed humbly for God’s glory, His own restoration, and for our faith. So should we. It’s part of the deal.

That’s the best thing I can do for my sake; that’s what’s in it for me.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) notes that humility frees us from pride. Duh. For more of Walters’ columns, see commonchristianity.blogspot.com. For his books, see www.lulu.com/spotlight/CommonChristianity.

For Your Sake

“I don’t know” … and … “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
— Cain, to God, Genesis 4:9

First a lie, then a dumb question… after starting with a weak offering.

Cain simply did not understand, embrace, or cherish his responsibilities to God.

Since the second generation of man – well, if we include Adam and Eve it actually starts right at the beginning – humanity has sustained an overall miserable record of discerning that for which we are and are not responsible in the eyes of God.

Abel – the object of God’s question and the brother whom Cain had just killed – was an exception. Abel honored God with an offering of the best that he had, and God looked upon him with favor. Cain, essentially, offered God leftovers and God knew the difference. God’s favor was not on Cain, and Cain was self-righteously outraged.

You can read the entire story in Genesis 4, but here let’s focus on God’s reaction and some of the important aspects of man’s various responsibilities to God, to Mankind, and to all God’s creation. I can’t think of a better starting point than Cain and Abel.

First, note God’s even-keeled response to both offerings. He favored this and didn’t favor that. No celebration, no anger … just … favor or not. Abel’s pleasure was in honoring the Lord, period. Cain’s heart was set more on the transactional dynamic of if he gave something to God, God better like it and act like He likes it! Or I’ll get angry!

We often skip over Cain’s dissatisfaction with God and think Cain is simply but murderously jealous of his brother Abel. No … Cain is angry at God so he destroys that which God favors. Who/what does that sound like? Satan’s playbook; Page 1.

Just as God never asks a question to which He does not know the answer (such as, “Where is your brother?”), so too He knows the exact heart of every man and woman in His creation. Abel with his “fatted parts of the firstborn of his flock” revealed a heart truly with God. Cain thought his own duty to God amounted to something like a trade for which Cain could keep account. It is an error still with us today the world over – in church and out of church. Do we simply love God? Or are we working an angle?

I bring this up because I see a modern society quick to assign and approve an entirely self-directed, secular, and personal responsibility in sole support of one’s own appetites and opinions. But it is a one-dimensional responsibility to self, not the proper, manifest palette buttressing the workings of a Godly and civil society: responsibilities to family, community, nation, and God.

The shame of the modern public square is its numbed, frequent, and shockingly dire opposition to – and typically total ignorance of – God’s coherent commandments for how things go best for us. Call it “360-degree accountability.” We must honor God, but also weigh and discern the circumstances of our brothers and sisters; and they, ours.

This is the great lesson of Jesus Christ, what true responsibility before God and mankind looks like. We wildly assert personal rights of pleasure, comfort, and opinion, yet vehemently shout down suggestion of Godly regulation extending beyond our liking.

Jesus’s death wasn’t so much a payment; it was a picture of responsibility.

In the light of Jesus, we are all each other’s keepers and our responsibilities are never just to ourselves. We must always ask others: What can I do, for your sake?

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) believes God prefers we don’t mess with His plan. For more of Walters’ columns, see commonchristianity.blogspot.com. For his books, see www.lulu.com/spotlight/CommonChristianity.

Who Are My Neighbors and How Do I Love Them?

He asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

This past Sunday, Steve preached a message about what it means to start each day by “putting on Jesus.” What does it mean to get up each day and lay down self to be clothed with Christ? In the sermon, he shared the story of the good Samaritan from Luke 10:25-37. One I grew up hearing.

In short, a Jewish man gets beat up, robbed and left for dead. A priest walks by, sees the man and crosses over to the other side of the street. Then an assistant at the temple walks over, takes a look at the man lying in a crumpled heap, and turns away from the desperate scene. Finally, a Samaritan, despised by the Jews, sees the wounded man and has compassion. He cares for the man’s wounds then goes even further by ensuring that his medical needs were cared for. Jesus asked which of the three was a neighbor to the man.

This morning as I climbed into the car for my morning commute, the question Jesus asked so many years ago, haunts my heart. I will most likely not come upon a physically wounded stranger. But I may find myself surrounded by those whose wounds and scars are hidden to the natural eye. But I want to put on Jesus. I want to walk in compassion. How will I know if I don’t have His eyes to see? This line of thinking prompts a prayer on my lips, “Lord, who is my neighbor today?”

That was the prayer, plain and simple, nothing more. But that simple prayer set my heart on a journey. It was an invitation to journey with eyes wide open to the wounded. An invitation to embrace my neighbor and wrap their wounds with grace. I arrived at work ready to meet my neighbor.

What a surprise God had in store for me. Instead of God sprinkling my path with neighbors to love He brought neighbors to love on me. I was the wounded one, lying in a heap and I didn’t even know it. But God let unassuming strangers see me. They saw past the facade of “I’m fine, really I am.”

It started with the lady at the flower shop who heard me as I shared why I needed pink flowers. “My friend is still in the hospital battling cancer. She loves pink.” With that, a few extra flowers and greenery were added to the mix at no additional cost. With an encouraging word and a bit of wisdom, “Don’t forget to take care of yourself,” she sent me on my way.

It was in the smile of the barista who looked me in the deep in the eyes and asked, “So, how is your day going?” Her gaze at me reflected a heart that genuinely cared.

It was the bubbly teller at the bank, the one who threw her arms up in excitement as I entered the building. She had mistaken me for a dear friend. Though I was a temporary embarrassment, the kindness, smile, and conversation that proceeded, brought a ray of sunshine to both of us.

While I had hoped to be a neighbor to others, God taught me a lesson today.

When we love the Lord with our whole being and demonstrate that love by serving our neighbors with compassion, He, in turn, wraps our wounded places with His grace and mercy.

“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart,
all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’
And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Luke 10:27

I can’t wait to see who my neighbors will be tomorrow!

Who are your neighbors?

Until next time, let’s find hope in the journey,
Evelyn

P.S. If you know someone who is weary, struggling to hold tight to hope, please invite them into the journey with us. Let’s encourage one another on to love and good deeds.

For God’s Sake

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” – Paul, Philippians 4:13

The upcoming quote – a verbatim Instagram from 2015 by someone you never heard of – showed up in select media last week. As an all-purpose, plenary statement of Christian love, doctrine, trust, and obedience, I couldn’t have put it much better.

Read it slowly, let it soak in, and then we’ll talk.

“Jesus didn’t come to save those who already believed in Him. He came so that the lost, rejected, and abandoned men and women would find Him and believe. I believe with every fiber in my body that what was written 2,000 years ago in the Bible is undoubtedly true. It’s not a fictional book. It’s not a pick and choose what you want to believe. You either believe it, or you don’t. This world may change, but Christ and His Word NEVER will.
“My heart is that as Christians we don’t begin to throw a tantrum over what has been brought into law today, but we become that much more loving. That through our love, the lost, rejected, and abandoned find Christ. The rainbow was a [covenant] made between God and all his creation that never again would the world be flooded as it was when He destroyed the world during Noah’s time. It’s a constant reminder that no matter how corrupt this world becomes, He will never leave us or forsake us. Thank you Lord for your amazing grace, even during times of trial and confusion.
“Love won over 2,000 years ago when the greatest sacrifice of all time was made for ALL mankind.”
Jaelene Hinkle

Wow. Jaelene Hinkle, 22 years old at the time, penned that remarkable witness of Jesus’s love and sacrifice in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergfell ruling affirming same-sex marriage. Note that it is a statement of belief and trust, not of anger or derision. Note the rainbow reference. Note the very inclusive “ALL mankind.”

Jesus came for all: in grace, with courage, and even unto death … trusting God.

With grace and courage, Jaelene also experienced a death due to her faith in God: the death of her dream to play soccer for the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT). After much prayer, she declined a 2017 invitation onto the team for June exhibition matches during which the team would wear rainbow jerseys celebrating Gay Pride month. “I felt convicted that it was not my job to wear that jersey,” she said.

Without bitterness.

Playing for the pro Carolina Courage, Jaelene is called by some “the finest left-back in the NWSL” and now at age 26 was not invited back onto the 2019 U.S. women’s world cup championship team. A newspaper noted, “Hinkle likely would have been a fish out of water on the uber-woke women’s national team.” It’s hard to disagree.

We saw the team’s activist and desolately profane character in many cantos during and after its championship run. They won the Cup. Yet to me it is Jaelene’s faith that reveals a true champion’s strength not for what she did, but for what she did not do.

For God’s sake.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) notes that athletes everywhere love Philippians 4:13, often skipping over the notion that God loves us all equally, including the other team. And oh, did I mention? Jaelene is African-American; that would have made two on the ideologically sovereign but not especially racially diverse team. FYI. See links about Jaelene at: USWNT Snubs Star | Daily Wire and Snub sparks debate – Wash. Times. For more of Walters’ columns, see commonchristianity.blogspot.com. For his books, see www.lulu.com/spotlight/CommonChristianity.

Friday, November 8th | 8AM-1PMNorthview Church (12900 Hazel Dell Parkway, Carmel)