Lamplight 

Isaiah 43:18-19

“Remember not the former things nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing something new, do you not see it?”

 

This is the time when you’ll see a lot of programs on T.V. that look back at the significant events of 2012 and that is a good idea. Someone who is wise once said, “Those who don’t remember history are condemned to repeat it.”  We can learn from the past, from our victories and from our mistakes. 

I guess that’s why the Bible places such a high premium on memory.  There are 244 verses that call us to remember. For example in Deuteronomy 32 Moses sang new song about the old days, “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask your father and he will show you the elders and they will teach you.”  In other words those who are younger should ask those who are older what life was like back then, and how God moved. 

Now the people of Israel were great for remembering the old days.  Read the Old Testament and much of it sounds like the words of a parent to a teenager today. “You don’t have to do it just because your friends are doing it. I did it, and it was a foolish, and I don’t want you to make the same mistakes.”  

The Bible tells again and again that we ought to remember until we hit this prophecy in Isaiah, “Remember not the former things nor consider the things of old.” 

Now, I don’t believe that the Bible is squaring off against itself; that Moses and Isaiah are at opposite ends.  I don’t believe God has changed his mind.  I think he’s just telling us we need to have some balance.  We need perspective.  Sometimes we can get locked into the old days.  Memory can become a trap. 

That is what happened to Isaiah’s congregation.  For eighty years they had lived as strangers in a strange land.  Their grandparents had been hauled across a thousand miles of desert by a conquering Babylon army and there they served as slaves.   

To keep the memories alive, every night after dinner Grandpa would talk about the old days when he lived free in a land flowing with milk and honey.  He spoke of God and how great God was and the great things God did and the great men and women of faith who lived back then.  This was good and it was important, but all of it was in the past tense.   

So, after a while that’s the way people began to look at God – in the past tense.  Consequently, few considered that God might be with them today in the present tense, and fewer still had any notion that God might do something tomorrow in the future tense. 

That’s why God said, “Remember not the former things nor consider the things of old, behold I am doing something new, do you not see it?”  Do you have eyes to see and ears to hear? 

God of eternity, we know you old the future in the palm of your hands because you have promised through your Word, “I know the plans I’ve made for you for your welfare to give you a future and a hope.” Grant that we may have eyes to see this hope fulfilled in this coming year and throughout our lives.  Amen.

Lamplight

James 2:1-10 

          We are taught that you “can’t judge a book by its cover”, and “appearances can be deceiving”, but sometimes we buy a book precisely because its cover is intriguing, and we are drawn to people whose appearance is attractive.  They are well dressed and appear powerful so we want to get to know them. 

          Kids returning to school pay attention to the clothes they wear, and the labels on their shoes, and the names they drop, and even the outward attitude they express.  Why?  They know that if they do not fit it, they will be punished by their peers, or if not punished, then ignored.  So, they “go along to get along.” 

          So many decisions we make are based upon what and how we see with our eyes.  As a result, we may become enticed by the superficial and miss the opportunity to explore the profound. We pass up a good book or pass by an interesting person only because they don’t capture the eye.  We miss some of the best things God has to offer.  Our spiritual growth, or lack thereof, are guided and limited by how we see the world around us.  It is a matter of vision.  Our spiritual vision can become clouded. 

          The Apostle Paul saw that problem when he lifted us up in this prayer: 

I pray the eyes of your heart may be opened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory. [1]  

 

---

[1] Ephesians 1:18 KJV



Choices

Lamp Light

“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.”

Joshua 24:15 

          Every time we drive through a fast food restaurant, or stroll down a grocery store aisle, or wander through a used car lot we face choices, decisions that have to be made.  When we choose one thing it often means we’ve decided against something else.  Our new car will either be a convertible or it won’t. 

          Choices can be hard because instead of either/or we want both/and.  The folks to whom Joshua spoke were both/and kind of people.  They wanted to worship the God who had brought them out of the land of bondage, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but they also wanted to hedge their bets.  Their Amorite neighbors worshipped a god called Baal who guaranteed good crops and healthy babies. 

          So, they tried to have it both ways.  On the Sabbath they worshipped the God who created heaven and earth, and then during the rest of the week they worshipped at the altar of an idol one who promised wealth and prosperity.  It seemed to them to be the best of both worlds. 

          But, Joshua stood up at Shechem and declared a choice must be made.  God who laid the foundation of the world would not play second fiddle to a golden idol.  Both/and cannot work in matters of the spirit because such things reach deep into the heart and a divided heart can never find peace.  So, “choose this day whom you will serve”, and let that decision become the rock upon which you stand.

Lamp Light

AThey have healed the wound of my people lightly, Saying, `Peace, peace,= when there is no peace.'

Jeremiah 6:14

AIt is in the past so get over it@ is a phrase often used by those who have done wrong, but wish to avoid the consequence. They maintain the past should be forgotten since it is so obviously gone and cannot be changed.  It is the future that matters so it=s best to put yesterday behind you and set your face toward tomorrow.

But, those who are victims, who have been hurt, see such easy grace as being disrespectful of their wounds.  Justice does matter to them, and cannot be taken lightly.  So, they maintain that healing only takes place when sin is acknowledged.  Where there is no justice there can be no peace.

But, justice is easier said than done, and everyone has their own view.  That=s why the cross holds such a profound place in the Christian faith.  Christ=s sacrifice takes sin seriously.  There is a price to be paid for real and lasting peace, and God himself has made it.

So, both sinner and victim (and aren=t we all both) can come to the foot of the cross for satisfaction.  Justice is served and mercy is offered. AMy peace I give unto you,@ Jesus said, Anot as the world gives. So, let not your hearts be troubled, and neither let them be afraid.@

Lamp Light 

“The goal of our instruction is love

from a pure heart, and a good conscience

and a sincere faith.”

1 Timothy 1:5

           Where does conscience come from?  Why do some seem completely lacking in conscience, feeling guilty for nothing, while others feel bad for even the smallest of infractions?

          For years the answer to that question was found in family.  Some parents sought to create moral values in their children and some did not.  But, society as a whole did much to influence the thinking of those who were in the process of forming their views of what was “right” and what is “wrong”. 

          In this passage to his protégé, Timothy, Paul sets love as his goal for all Christians.  Further, this love should flow love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.  The question every believer has struggled with from that time to this is, “how do I do that?”   There are so many distractions that bombard my life, from T.V. to magazines, to the Internet, to the conversation around the water cooler that erode a pure heart and good conscience.

          The only answer to that question is Jesus Christ.  Keep your eyes fixed upon him.  Let his life become your model, and then the distractions will lose their power.  The real thing is always better than the counterfeit.

Faith won’t guarantee purity, but it will keep you headed in the right direction.

Lamp Light 

“Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,

looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 

          Those who run races of great distance soon learn that the best way to run the course is to think not about the finish line, but to focus, instead on a reachable goal. For, when fatigue sets in, and the finish line seems still too far away, the temptation to give in and give up begins to tickle your mind and sap your will. So, a good runner will pick out a tree or rock or some point in the distance, and set sight on just on reaching that objective, and when completed, select another and another until the race is done. 

          The writer to the Hebrews understood this concept well.  He knew that faith over the long haul might leave some tired and despondent.  The responsibilities of faith may seem too many and too great.  So, he advised us to “lay aside the weight of sin…and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.” 

          This has been the impetus behind every great saint, the motivation behind every faithful disciple.  When facing trial or temptation, problem and pain; we can focus on our problems, which will lead only to self-pity.  Or, we may focus on Jesus, which leads to hope and life and love.   

          The choice is ours to make.  This decision will carry us through this life and lead us to another.

Lamp Light 

“John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness,

preaching a baptism of repentance.”

Mark 1:4 

          As the train left the station, a young man stood up and preached “fire and brimstone” from the Shady Grove Station to Metro Center.  Since, this was my first ride on the Metro train in Washington D.C., I thought it odd they offered that kind of service.  My son thought this “street preacher” was horning in on his dad’s job, so elbowed me to get up and take over. 

          Most in-your-face self-appointed prophets make us uncomfortable.  They just don’t seem civilized.  No doubt, I would have felt the same about John, dressed in his camel’s hair tunic.  The difference between my Metro evangelist and John is that you had to go out of your way to hear the Baptizer.  He set up his pulpit in the middle of a desert wilderness that was located nowhere near a metro stop.  You had to walk a long way to get there.  People did; but why?  What were they looking for? 

          I think they were looking for a new beginning, a fresh start, a clean slate.  The changing of a calendar into a New Year reminds us of just how much baggage we carry around; how many regrets, how much guilt, how many disappointments.

          John offered a fresh start, but more than that he would point to one who could show us how to finish.  That’s why scripture remembers John.  He was the first one to say, “Look to Jesus”.  He would not be the last.

Lord, as we begin this new year help us to keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith so that we may see you more clearly, follow you more nearly, and love you more dearly day by day.  Amen