DAY 219 - The Forgiveness of Sins

Matthew 18:23-35 (NIV)  ²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. ²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. ²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. ²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ ³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. ³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. ³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

What is this thing call sin? Sin is a failure that cannot be overcome by human effort. Sin is specific human failure. The servant in the parable did not simply fail the King in a general way. He failed to pay a debt. He failed to keep his word. He failed to have the open, trusting, responsible relationship the King wanted with his servants.

If sin is this specific failure, what then is forgiveness? Forgiveness is sending away our failure. It is what the King did when he released his servant. He eliminated the debt. He sent away the failure. Disaster was turned to delight. Slavery was turned to freedom. It was a marvelous moment for the servant. Forgiveness sends away the failure so it does not destroy the relationship. Forgiveness is what husband and wife do when they work through the way they have failed one another and maintain both the commitment and the love of marriage.

Forgiveness sends away our failure and does it in a way to bring about change in our life. Forgiveness happens when two events come together: the fact of Jesus and the experience of our failure. Forgiveness was at the heart of Jesus’ ministry. He told of it in His parables. And He demonstrated the power and force of forgiveness in His miracles. And whatever else we might believe about Jesus, it is clear that Jesus believed that His death was necessary for forgiveness to happen. Forgiveness happens because it is a truth seen in Jesus, paid for by His death and affirmed by His Resurrection. As with the servant, forgiveness is going in to God as a debtor and coming out debt free.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope August 20, 1995

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 218 - Communion of the Saints

Matthew 16:15-18 (NIV)  ¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Acts 2:1-4, 43-47 (NIV) ¹ When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.  ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Before Jesus called people to believe, before Jesus taught them how to live, He simply called them into a belonging community. They entered into this fellowship without much understanding but with a sense that somehow they belonged in this group of disciples. And, when we hear about the beginning of the church the words and actions crackle with invitations to belong. The word Luke uses over and over again in the book of Acts to describe the togetherness of the church has its base in the word harmony.

But here is the paradox: people often resist finding that sense of belonging in church. Our society tends to speak of community as intrusive, oppressive, dominating, and coercive, stamping out mindless, colorless individuals who conform just because they are told to. We hear little about the way community helps the health and happiness of the individual.

Sadly, sometimes the church fails to be a place of belonging. The church becomes a place where we get helps and hints on better living. It becomes an organization for the moral development of our children. It becomes a social service organization that helps people do a little good in our world. All of this is very good, but it falls short of being the community of belonging to God and to one another that Jesus came to give. The church is a community of belonging, of belonging to God and to one another because we have Jesus’ word on it and His commitment to it. I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. He will build a community where people really belong and all the forces that seek to keep people isolated and deprived of community will not prevail over His will and commitment to the church. That is Jesus’ promise.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope August 13, 1995

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 217 - I Believe in the Holy Spirit

John 14:25-27  (NIV) ²⁵ “All this I have spoken while still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Galatians 3:1-5 (NIV) ¹ You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. ² I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? ³ Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? ⁴ Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? ⁵ So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

We believe that there is a God who is sovereign and who exercises sovereign power over the world. We believe in Jesus Christ, uniquely the Son of God, One who is God in the flesh. He is not only a visible example of God, but One who has accomplished something for us, who has granted us forgiveness, reconciliation to God, and the gift of life upon life with God. But if that is all we can say, our belief is simply a “recipe religion.” We believe the right things and say learned things, but it is not real to us.

When we say we believe in the Holy Spirit, we have sampled God’s personal work in our life. We have experienced Jesus forgiving, reconciling us to God and granting us life upon life. “I believe in the Holy Spirit” is a big claim. The most basic way of summarizing the claim is to say we believe in and trust in God’s Spirit to deliver the goods that the recipes of our faith speak about.

I hear the Scriptures and the Church say love one another, and I agree and I believe it is right and a good thing to do. Then I realize what it means to love those who are hard to love, and I do not want to do it, yet I am compelled and even enabled to love, when I don’t want to. The Scriptures tell us that the Holy Spirit will guide us in all truth, solve problems, discipline us, enable people to love, produce unity in the midst of diversity, meet financial needs, heal bodies and minds, overcome human weakness, convince people of the truth. How much confidence do we have in what the Holy Spirit will do?

There is no deep, dark secret to why we see so little or experience so little of the Holy Spirit’s work. We have been bewitched, distracted and deceived by the pressures of the ordinary. We do not see or experience the Holy Spirit because we just have too many other things on our mind. We do not submit our minds and hearts to the power and presence of God because our minds and hearts are too busy with other things. To walk in the Spirit is to live each day with a confidence in and commitment to what the Holy Spirit will do. It is a daily sorting out of what God will do and of what God is calling us to do.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope July 30, 1995

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 216 - He Descended Into Hell

I Peter 3:18-4:3-6 (NIV) ¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. ¹⁹ After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— ²⁰ to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, ²¹ and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. ³ For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. ⁴ They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. ⁵ But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶ For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

From the early church through the church of the Middle Ages “descended into Hell” was taken quite literally. Descended into Hell meant that between the Friday of His death and the Sunday of His Resurrection Jesus preached the gospel to those who had died, to the spirits in prison. Martin Luther believed that between the Friday of His death and the Sunday of His Resurrection, Jesus completed His work of salvation by defeating the power of evil. John Calvin understood this passage differently, that the descent into Hell was not so much a place as a condition of the soul. Hell was the condition of the soul cut off from God.

All interpretations say something to us about hope. To feel ourselves trapped in a situation, whether in a job that is suffocating us, or a relationship that is harmful, or a destructive habit we cannot shake, to feel ourselves trapped is by definition a belief that we have been abandoned by God. That Jesus descended to the dead or into Hell tells us that “trapped” is never the right conclusion, that in the midst of our “trappedness” God is invading our life to deliver that spirit that is in prison.

“He descended into Hell” tells us that God is at work in the hells made for us and also that God is at work in the hells we make for ourselves. Indeed, to recognize that our misery is of our own doing, and recognizing that God can and will do something about it is the beginning of our salvation. It is also a call for us to abandon ourselves to this God who pursues. When we experience misery, it is almost always a call to abandon something. And sometimes we need help from the Christian community to find out what that something is. In abandoning our life to God we discover that God has not abandoned us, and we are delivered. We are given freedom, peace, and life.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope July 16, 1995

© Rhonda Hinkle Mithchell

DAY 215 - Did You See That?

Luke 9:28-36 (NIV) ²⁸ About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. ²⁹ As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. ³⁰ Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. ³¹ They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. ³² Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. ³³ As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) ³⁴ While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” ³⁶ When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

About eight days earlier, Jesus had asked His disciples who do you say that I am, and now on this day Jesus asks the disciples Peter, James, and John to walk with Him away from the questions and demands of the crowds and to go with Him up a mountain. It was as if He were saying come away with Me for a while. Come away from the bustling business and dizzying demands of your everyday life. Come away from the problems that plague you and the life that drains you.

Something special happened that day on the mountain. Something significant. Something that Peter and James and John would never forget. But though Peter, James, and John were turned in the right direction by their mountain top experience, they were not changed. All the disciples still expected Jesus to bring in an earthly kingdom.

This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him. When it was over Jesus and the disciples started back down the mountain. But, did you see it? Did you see the way His whole countenance seemed to shine? This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him. Did you see that? Did you see those other two people up there? Moses and Elijah?  Did you see that and do you remember the voice we heard? Do you remember what that voice said? This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.

Have you ever had a mountain top spiritual experience? Asking that question is like asking if you have ever fallen in love. If you have, you know it. If not, you may be unsure of what the question even means. But still, in this noisy world, there comes to us a quiet invitation to go away to a mountaintop with Christ for a while. This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope February 25, 2001

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 214 - A Little Temptation

Luke 4:1-12 (NIV)  ¹ Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, ² where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. ³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” ⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” ⁵ The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶ And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷ If you worship me, it will all be yours.” ⁸ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” ⁹ The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. ¹⁰ For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; ¹¹ they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” ¹² Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

When we think of temptation, we might think of a “little temptation,” like splurging on a chocolate sundae or telling a little white lie to get us out of trouble. Temptation is usually a little temptation, but it is also more than that. The bigger temptation is to live without trusting God, and that temptation comes cloaked in several little temptations.

There is an ancient proverb that says “beware of the camel’s nose.” The story is that once there was a camel and rider who suddenly come into a dust storm. The rider jumped off his camel, put up his tent and went inside. Soon he heard his camel nuzzling the tent and saying, “Please, let me put my nose in the tent. At least let me breathe some clean air.” First the camel’s nose was in, then his head, then his neck, and before long the rider was crowded out of his tent by the camel and he had to sleep in the dust storm. “Beware the camel’s nose.”

The temptations of Jesus were like that. In the desert, Jesus was tempted to compromise who He was and what He was called to do, but it was just a little temptation, the first small step that would lead to the erosion of His soul. The devil tempts us away from our trust in God one degree at a time.

How do we distinguish between the small stuff that is harmless and the “camel’s nose?” How do we tell the difference between the harmful and the harmless? We do it with Scripture. We get the power from Scripture. We sharpen our discernment with Scripture, though Scripture can be tragically misused and abused. But here is the mystery and the power of the Scriptures: we are not to apply the Scriptures “unto our lives.” We are to submit to them. That is the difference between receiving the Scriptures from the hand of the devil or from the hand of Jesus. When we receive from the hand of Jesus, the power of the Scripture is released in our lives and in our world and miracles occur. When we submit to the Scriptures, we see. We discern the harmless from the harmful. And we are released to live.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope March 4, 2001

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 213 - Love Your Enemies; Easier Said Than Done

Luke 6:27-36 (NIV) ²⁷ “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you. ³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Do you have any difficult people in your life? Would they be in the category of enemy, as in love your enemies? And do you? Do you love those people in the spirit and with the love of Jesus Christ? Do we love our enemies?

What kind of love are we talking about -- agape, philios, Eros?  What if Jesus means all the loves thrown into one and expressed through our emotions, hearts, wills, and actions? What if Jesus means bless them, and don’t complain about them? Don’t simply tolerate them. Don’t simply try to be nice to them. Bless them; bless them with the gift of Christ’s love. Can we do that?

Bless them. Pray for them. Pray for them in love. Pray with the belief that God really does want something good to happen to them. And, if they strike you, do not strike back. If they say all kinds of false things about you, don’t try to get back at them with your actions, in your mind or in any other way. Can we do that?

Bless. Pray. Do good. And when you are mistreated and when your life has been made hard and difficult, does it stop with you?  Love your enemies. This is the stuff that great novels are written about, and this is the stuff that changes and transforms our world. But, is this the stuff that has changed us, you and me?

Jesus gives only one reason for loving our enemies. It is the way God is. God is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Love your enemies because God does and God will enable you to do so as well. We cannot do it without knowing the love of God for you and me. And once we have known that love, the price of doing anything else is just to big a price to pay.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope February 18, 2001

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 212 - For Richer, For Poorer

Luke 6:20-26 (NIV)  ²⁰ Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. ²¹ Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ²² Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. ²³ “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. ²⁴ “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. ²⁵ Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. ²⁶ Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.

Blessed are you, how fortunate you are, what a good life you will have when you are poor, hungry, crying your eyes out, and everyone is criticizing you. Do you believe that? Does it even make any sense to you? Some of us talk about the “good old days” when we were poor and struggling and how good life was. We say that, but very few of us want to go back there. Poverty is a much better memory than it is a reality.

Blessed are the poor … and woe to those who have basically everything they need. How unfortunate it is for them. Blessed are the poor who are living in conditions that are contrary to God’s will. For God will deliver them from those conditions and from that mind set. Woe to those who are rich who are betting their time and energy that money will make them blessed. Blessed are the poor who are kings in beggar’s clothes. Woe to the rich who are like the king who wore no clothes.

God has the same desire for the poor and the rich, that neither the plight of poverty nor the prison of wealth will deprive them of life in the kingdom. To live in the kingdom of God is to live with an awareness of God, that we have been delivered from the dark forces around and folly within. To live in the kingdom is to have the inner conviction that we matter to God. To live in the kingdom is to regularly be brought back to the way of life God wants us to have.

Blessed are the poor for I am bringing them to kingdom of God. Woe to the rich who let wealth come between themselves and life and the kingdom. So what can we do that we might be released form the pitfalls of poverty and the problems of wealth. Nothing. And that is hard to deal with. Jesus does not dwell on our wrongs nor urge more effort of obedience. He announces facts. Poverty cannot keep people from the good life in the kingdom, and wealth can be a barrier to the good life in the kingdom. Blessed are you even when you are poor and everything goes wrong in your life, for none of this can keep you from life in the kingdom, and woe, woe to you when you no longer see and realize how blessed you are.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope February 11, 2001

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 211 - Caught by the Catch

Luke 5:1-11 (NIV)  ¹ One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. ² He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. ³ He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. ⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” ⁵ Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” ⁶ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷ So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. ⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”

Are you doing with your life what God has called you to do? It can be disturbing, so disruptive to our life. Each person is called in a unique way, such as in the incident near the Sea of Galilee. Simon and his friends had been out fishing all night without much luck and Jesus asked Simon if He could use the front of Simon’s boat as a kind of speaker’s platform. Simon was glad to help, it was his nature to want to help. But then Jesus told Simon to push out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch. Simon responded that they had worked hard all night and not caught anything. But,  because you say so I will let down the nets. It was no sooner said than done and a huge haul of fish filled the nets past their capacity. Peter was caught by the catch, but then made a strange remark. Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!

How do we describe that response? At that time Simon Peter’s reaction was much like Moses who asked who am I to do this thing you ask of me, or like Isaiah’s response, woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips. Depart from me. Go away from me. But Jesus did not depart. Rather, He told Simon He would show him how to catch people. How many of us have heard God speak that word to us? I am going to make your life fruitful and worthwhile. I will make you. I will make something of your life. I will make something worthwhile and fruitful.

We live in a time of blossoming spiritualities that look kindly upon Jesus as a good teacher, but not as a Savior who died for us and not as a Lord who asks for our complete trust and obedience. I will make your life fruitful and worthwhile by giving you the responsibility, the power and the wisdom to bring people to me. I will make you become the kind of person that attracts people to me. I will make you, beyond the level of reason. There is the unexplained experience that it is important to bring people to Jesus.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope February 4, 2001

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 210 - Yes, But…

Jeremiah 1:5-10 (The Message)  ⁵"Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations—that's what I had in mind for you." ⁶But I said, "Hold it, Master God! Look at me. I don't know anything. I'm only a boy!" ^7-8God told me, "Don't say, 'I'm only a boy.' I'll tell you where to go and you'll go there. I'll tell you what to say and you'll say it. Don't be afraid of a soul. I'll be right there, looking after you." God's Decree.  ^9-10God reached out, touched my mouth, and said, "Look! I've just put my words in your mouth—hand-delivered! See what I've done? I've given you a job to do among nations and governments—a red-letter day! Your job is to pull up and tear down, take apart and demolish, And then start over, building and planting."

Have you felt it? Have you felt God’s call to your life as it comes to Jeremiah? Jeremiah’s peace of mind and his desire to mind his own business is shattered by the call of God. But, before God calls Jeremiah to do anything, God reminds him I have known you. I have known you in the nudity of your body and of your spirit. I have known your character, defects and all. I consecrated you. You are special to me, you matter to me. Your success or failure is not going to change that. And, I have appointed you. I have special plans for your life. Fulfilling that plan may be hard, but you will also have the great pleasure of serving me.

When the call of God came to Isaiah, he said “here I am, Lord, send me.” But Jeremiah was not like Isaiah. He questioned. He excused. Jeremiah resisted the call of God. He could have done worse and dismissed the call of God.

It is one thing to resist God’s call and quite another to dismiss it. God says, no excuses. God will win, but not by force. We can struggle as hard as we want. We can struggle as long as we want to. But, there is something to be said for letting go, for finally giving in to God’s call. For it is in acceptance that clarity and conviction come. It is in acceptance that we develop sensitivity to the voice of God in our thoughts and the midst of the daily routine. It is in acceptance that we become aware of the hand of God engineering our circumstances. It is in acceptance that we develop the habit of yielding over to God those things we cannot change and we accept responsibility to change the things God calls us to.

I am too young. I am too old. I am too busy. I am too tired. And raising children is a fulltime job. And I have to pay the bills. Sometimes there are good reasons for our excuses. And, who really wants to be the troubler of Israel, or of our society or of our church or of our family?

Your job is to pull up and tear down, take apart and demolish.  In our world we do not want to give up that we might gain. But, before there was a resurrection there was a cross. The message is not the ending but a paving of the way for a new beginning to start.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope January 28, 2001

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell