DAY 240 - Exam Time

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Psalm 139:1-8, 11-12, 17-18, 23-24 (Good News Translation) Lord, you have examined me and you know me.  ² You know everything I do; from far away you understand all my thoughts. ³ You see me, whether I am working or resting; you know all my actions. ⁴ Even before I speak, you already know what I will say. ⁵ You are all around me on every side; you protect me with your power. ⁶ Your knowledge of me is too deep; it is beyond my understanding. ⁷ Where could I go to escape from you? Where could I get away from your presence. ⁸ If I went up to heaven, you would be there; if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there. ¹¹ I could ask the darkness to hide me or the light around me to turn into night, ¹² but even darkness is not dark for you, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to you. ¹⁷ O God, how difficult I find your thoughts; how many of them there are! ¹⁸ If I counted them, they would be more than the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you. ²³ Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me, and discover my thoughts. ²⁴ Find out if there is any evil in me and guide me in the everlasting way.

 

I Corinthians 11:23-28 (NIV)  ²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. ²⁷ So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.

Whether we want it or not, whether we like it or not, the Lord knows us inside and out, knows every thought that flits through our minds, knows every step we take, every plan we make, every word we speak. Sometimes that is comforting, sometimes it is frightening, but it is always beyond our comprehension.

There is no way to escape God’s examination of our life. As the Psalmist ponders this fact, his resistance begins to melt away and a sense of wonder and of awe begins to flood into his soul. Desire replaces his hesitancy. And, that is faith and repentance all rolled up into one great commitment – a complete, carefree casting of our life into the hands of God.  That is the spirit we are invited to bring to the Communion Table. It is one thing to believe God knows us inside and out, and quite another to desire it, and to seek God’s verdict on our life. When we desire His examination, we are able to accept our sins without self-abasement and our strengths without pride, and we will judge others with the same magnanimous spirit with which God has judged us.

Examine me O God … test me … find out if there is any deceit in me and guide me in the eternal way.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope August 4, 1985

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 239 - Believe It … Or Not

Luke 4:40, 42-43 (NIV) ⁴⁰ At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. ⁴² At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. ⁴³ But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”

Colossians 3:1-2, 5, 8-10, 12-13  (NIV) ¹ Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  ⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁸ But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

The kingdom of God is the invasion of God’s world into this world, and the supernatural of the gospels is always tied in with this kingdom. The miracles are illustrations of life in God’s kingdom. Angels are ambassadors of that kingdom. The devil is opposition to that kingdom. Hell is the judgment of that kingdom. And heaven is the promise of that kingdom.

When the church has proclaimed and sought the supernatural apart from the kingdom of God, the supernatural has degenerated to superstition. The miracles become personal favors. Angels become good luck charms. The devil becomes something feared hiding under every rock. Hell becomes coercion to conformity. And heaven becomes wishful thinking. The key to understanding the supernatural is the kingdom of God. The key to recovering an awareness of the supernatural is Jesus Christ.

Paul is not saying that we should not give a thought to how we spend our times, earn our living, or carry out our responsibilities on earth. Rather, he is talking about a frame of reference, a point of view. To set our minds on things of earth is to focus our attention only on what can be seen. It is to be dominated by immediate needs, desires, or problems. To seek the things above is to see beyond the immediate show of things, it is to feel beyond the pressures of our own desires until we become aware of another realm where Christ is enthroned as king of kings and Lord of Lords. To set our minds on things above is to learn how to take our cues from Christ in the details of every day living.

One night, worn and frazzled, I visualized in my mind that I was giving my life to Christ in a small box, and as I looked upon this scene going on in my mind, He did a strange thing. He gave it back to me. There is an eternity of difference between living my life self-possessed, and living my life as a gift from Christ. May we find the daily horizons of our life stretched with the perspective of eternity.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope 1985

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 238 - Will Success Spoil Ol’ Joshua?

From Joshua 6 and 7 (NIV)  ² Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. ¹² Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. ¹³ The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the LORD and blowing the trumpets. ¹⁴ So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days. ¹⁵ On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. ¹⁶ The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! ¹⁷ The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. ¹⁸ But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. ²⁰ When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. (Joshua 7) ² Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” ³ When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai.” ⁴ So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai… ¹³ …for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them ²⁰ Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. ²¹ When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them.

Success and victory are sometimes harder to handle than opposition and overwhelming odds. Success has a way of pushing our confidence in God to the periphery. We believe we can get what we want if we just play our cards right. Have you found that to be true?  After the heady experience of overcoming the overwhelming odds of Jericho, Israel fell before the puny power of Ai. At Ai, the Israelites demonstrated no trust in God, no hearing of the promise or command, just the naked belief that the city could be had if the cards were played right.

“When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them.”  When we covet, life begins to resemble a huge game that we must play to win. The command is, “you must maneuver and manipulate.” The promise is, “if you do it right, you will win.” This way of thinking always does damage and finally brings defeat.  But, here is the good news of Ai: the defeat restored their faith.

The point of the story is not simply to open our eyes during a time of defeat. The story is given so we might be vigilant in our success. Success is not the end of the fight. Success brings the fight against the erosion of our confidence in God. The question is the same, “do I battle on my own or do I fight in the confidence of God, listening for the promise and obeying the command?” It was faith that brought down the city of Ai, confidence in the unseen power of God based on the promise, and a response to the command.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope, 1985

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 237 - The Morality Gap

Romans 1:18-20 (NIV)  ¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 

In past centuries and in most societies, moral rules have often relied on the sanction of the holy, whether it was the Greek mind discerning the divine order, the Romans assenting to the divine commands of the Emperors, or the founders of the USA declaring that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. And, if any of us have found ourselves looking over our shoulders thinking God is going to “get us for that,” then we have had some first hand experience of living with rules sanctioned by the Holy.

But, another dominant thought is that all moral rules are relative, are man-made and differ greatly from group to group depending on the varying needs and understandings of each group and place. This way of thinking has brought some positive benefits to move people beyond blind obedience to inherited traditions, and to no longer accept authoritative statements of any person or group as the last word. This way of thinking undercut the Divine Right of Kings. It stripped church and government of its ability to declare holy wars. There have been benefits in believing that all rules are relative, but these benefits have been a mixed blessing at best. Where there has been gain, there has also been loss. Ironically, the belief that rules are man made has not led to a lessening of laws, but to an increase of lawful control over people to preserve order and to prevent chaos.

What then is the Christian response to the belief that all rules are relative? Certainly we acknowledge that many rules are man-made and not God given. But, we also assert that God does have a way He wants us to live in this world, and He does have a will for us that is expressed through His laws. What we are given in the commandments of God is affirmed in what we discover in our life together when we seek to bring honor to and among all people. Against the chaos, we assert the order of God’s creation. Against all the brutalities of human life we assert God’s way of justice. Against all distortions of human relationships we assert God’s care and love.

The Creator is also Commander. His commands fit what He created us to be. His rules are not unjust restrictions on our wishes and desires. They are constructive channels for our energies to accomplish His purpose. His rules are not burdens that bury us in a sea of responsibilities. His rules are guides to a grace filled life.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope September 15, 1985

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 236 - None of Us … All of Us

I Corinthians 12:12-14, 17-26 (NIV)  ¹² Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body. ²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴ while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

The digital clock has become a symbol of modern life. With the analog clock, every minute is seen as part of the whole. With digital time, each minute stands alone. Isolation and independence is a common characteristic of many lives today. Understandably, many people want and need some privacy. Yet, the desire can become so consuming that it undermines our life together.

The church is not simply an activity we attend. It is not a loose association of individuals who are interested in religion and moral conduct. It is not a program of helps and hints on how to live. It is not simply a discussion forum on life’s problems. Above all else, the Church is the body of Christ. The church is a community of people where we both experience the life of Christ with one another and seek to make that life visible to the world.

Deitrich Bonhoeffer said, “God has willed that we should seek and find His living Word in the witness of a brother, in the mouth of man … Therefore the Christian needs other Christians who speak God’s word to him. He needs other Christians again and again, for, by himself, he will belie the truth … This is the goal of all Christian community: that we meet Christ in one another.”

That is what we are called to be and to do. Some of us may feel that is a tall order to fill. We may wonder how the life of Christ could be made visible through the imperfections and problems of our lives. Alone, as one person, it is difficult to impossible. It takes a community. It is in the blending of our lives, in the contribution of our distinctive gifts that the life of Christ literally rises up in our midst. The whole is greater than the imperfections of the parts.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope, October 20, 1985

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 235 - What You See Is What You Get

Psalms 33:6-12 (NIV)  ⁶ By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. ⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. ⁸ Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. ⁹ For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. ¹⁰ The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. ¹¹ But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. ¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,  the people he chose for his inheritance.

Part of the new way of thinking in our day is the belief that God does not cause things to happen. He did not create, and he does not intervene in the ways of the world today. Creation was an accident. It happened against overwhelming odds, which is cause to wonder, but not to worship. There is no purpose in life and no reason for our being here. What you see is what you get and all you need. Enough wealth, a good marriage, success in your work, and you have as much of heaven as you are ever going to know.

What is the Christian response to these beliefs? We believe God did create, and He created with a purpose in mind. And He still intervenes in the workings of our world in both mysterious and recognizable ways.

Ultimately our confidence rests not on the evidence of creation, but on God’s Son. His life and His ministry revealed that God had a purpose for the world, one that He called the kingdom of God. The Cross was the world’s no to the kingdom. Death was the world’s pronouncement on God’s purpose. The Resurrection was God’s yes to that kingdom, His living assertion that His purpose would be accomplished.

We believe God created. He created with a purpose, and that purpose is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth with Christ as head. This is our longing. This is our hope. And, when our hope is a matter of mind and heart, we see we become channels to make this hope come true.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope September 1, 1985

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 234 - Go … Speak … Life.

From Acts 5 (RSV)   Now many signs and wonders were done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high honor.  The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. But the high priest rose up and all who were with him, that is, the party of the Sad'ducees, and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the common prison. But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, "Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life." And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and taught.

I John 1:2,4 (NIV)  ² The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.  ⁴ We write this to make our joy complete.

The early church was not a debating club on the existence of God, nor a benevolent human agency with good intentions to help other people. The church was a conquering community with startling vitality. It was exhilaratingly alive with the very life of the risen Christ. And that life was contagious, rejuvenating a world grown cold and weary, replacing doubt with faith, fear with hope, and pessimism with courage and confidence in a sovereign God.

Evangelism is offering the life of Jesus Christ to another. Evangelism begins when the power of His life invades and impacts the lives of others. We have that life alive in us. We have the power to impact the life of another with the life of Jesus Christ. Evangelism is complete when we recognize the source and are drawn into a relationship of faith and obedience to Him.

There are still people being put into jails for offering the life of Jesus Christ to others. But, for most of us, our prisons are of our own making. We may be held in captivity by our own complacency.  Self-doubt can also bind us, the belief that we are not good enough, or spiritual enough, or we do not know enough to offer the life of Christ to another. We can also be held captive by the closed, cramped quarters of daily demands, hassles and busyness.

Go … and speak to the people all the words of this life. Go, not because you are forced to but because by God’s grace you have been freed to offering the life of His Son to others. Go, not because you are good enough but because you are willing enough to speak to the people all the words of this life.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope August 11, 1985

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell