DAY 103 - For Heaven’s Sake

Matthew 24:36-44 (NIV) ³⁶"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴²"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

There are times when God seems beautifully present to us but there are also times when God seems totally absent. We are responsible to and accountable to God even when God seems absent - especially when God seems absent. The only calling worth our whole life is to be responsible to and accountable to God. Every other goal will simply run out on us or fall short. The promise of Jesus’ unannounced coming is not meant to petrify us, but to electrify us with a sense of meaning and purpose in the ups and downs of life, as well as in those many days we spend in the plain routine of our everyday lives.

Unless our life is lived for the glory of God it becomes very difficult to sustain a sense of satisfaction and a commitment to the good of others. Even the hunger for money, as strong as that is, begins to go flat. Unless we are somehow doing God’s work and serving His will we conclude life is “just not worth it.” Something of God’s purpose for our life has to be seen calling us beyond the tasks of daily life.

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Worship is one way we keep watch. Another way is our reaction to the daily experiences of life, which we can let lull us to sleep or beckon us to awaken. When we are batting our head against a wall of frustration it can also be a call to look up and see the higher vision. When we are bombarded by a barrage of responsibilities or are irritated at another person it can awaken us to our truthful inadequacy and turn us in trust to God.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope march 10, 1991

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 102 - In Your Honor

Matthew 23:1, 11-12 (NIV) ¹Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Luke 6:27-31 (NIV) ²⁷"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. ³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

I Corinthians 7:23a (NIV) You were bought at a price

Honor, as it has been understood and practiced over the centuries, presents us with a peculiar dilemma. Life without honor robs us of high standards and moral ideals. On the other hand, our defense of honor becomes itself a source of conflict, strife, and even of war.

Jesus warned us about the perils of seeking honor, and by His life and by His death gave a whole new meaning to the word honor. Honor is not a possession to be earned and defended. Honor is a gift from God to be given to others. Jesus taught honor. When He said, “if someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also,” this was more than a lesson on avoiding a fight. Jesus is saying return their insult with an act of respect and honor.

Jesus lived honor. Jesus healed bodies but also showed honor and respect as he healed shame. Jesus bestowed honor upon people, and it was primarily through His death on a Cross that Jesus bestowed honor on you and me. The Cross is the price, the value, and the worth that God has placed upon our life. We do not fully understand why the Cross was necessary or chosen by God to bestow worth and honor upon us. We do know that when the realization hits home with us that “Jesus died for me,” there is received a sense of being of infinite value, of immense worth, and humbly honored by God.

Whenever people find themselves honored by Jesus this way there comes that inner desire to show honor to all people. Honoring one another is one way we can all be servants. Honoring one another is one way we fulfill the command to love one another. We cannot honor one another unless and until we know in our heart the infinite value and immeasurable worth on our life. Have we received the gift? Is it our desire to share the gift?

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope January 20, 1991

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 101 - How Can I Ever Pay You Back?

Romans 15:14, 20-22, 25-28 (NIV) ¹⁴I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. ²⁰It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation. ²¹Rather, as it is written: "Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand."²²This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you. ²⁵Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. ²⁶For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. ²⁷They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. ²⁸So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way.

Giving as an outward and visible sign of appreciation for the inward and invisible gifts of spiritual blessings seems to apply to giving as Paul describes it when he says, “For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.”

Paul brings two spiritual blessings into focus for the Christians in Rome. The first is goodness. Real goodness is the power to rise above the coldness, cruelty, and crassness of our world as well as the corruption of our own lives. The second spiritual blessing is knowledge. Knowledge is more than knowing facts or being able to reason things out, but is what enables us to see beyond present pressures to know that God is still sovereign.

I suspect that for some of us “spiritual blessings” has a vague, nebulous sound, a kind of misty meaning. Spiritual refers to the work of the spirit. Blessing refers to the good work of God in our life. Spiritual blessings are the good works of God’s Spirit brought about in our lives. For the Christians in Rome, those spiritual blessings were clear, concrete, and manifold. For them, spiritual blessings meant being delivered from the iron fist of fate, and discovering that they were gifted and called to fulfill God’s purpose for human life. These spiritual blessings included freedom from the useless rituals of cleansing from sin and receiving real forgiveness through Jesus the Christ. And they included seeing death in a new light, no longer as the great abyss, but as a movement into the fullness of eternal life made clear and believable through the resurrection of Jesus.

A heart aware of spiritual blessing is grateful and ready to respond with material gifts. Are we willing now to express our gratitude and our commitment to God through giving? They received spiritually, they gave materially. That is the heart and the soul of gospel giving. Are we prepared to give in that manner and with that spirit?

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope November 18, 1990

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 100 - Always Pray And Not Give Up

Luke 18:1-7 (NIV) ¹Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ²He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. ³And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' ⁴"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, ⁵yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' " ⁶And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?

Romans 12:1-2 (NIV) ¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

We have two primary helps in the presence of crisis, and both are seen in the plight of the widow in Jesus’ parable. The first is to pray to have the mind of Christ. There are many ways of renewing the mind of Christ, and certainly prayer is a central and powerful way.

Our second help in the presence of crisis is literally to follow the example of the widow who came and kept on coming to a certain judge. No matter how powerful and impregnable our opposition may appear, there will always be an Achilles’ heel. In the case of this judge it was his love of “taking his ease,” which he could not take because of the wearisome pleading of the widow.

We have an important reason for confidence in the presence of crisis if our cause and case be just: “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?” When God wanted the Jews out of Egypt, God called Moses. When God wanted moral, compassionate living among the people, God called the prophets. When God wanted the Good News of the liberating power of Jesus made known and real to the world, God sent the disciples. In these examples, when God wanted something done He called forth people to His cause. He does so still.

In facing crisis, we cannot afford to watch passively. God can do more with complete failure than with complete apathy. We can pray for our enemies, and we can pray for ourselves, most especially for the perspective that comes from the renewal of our minds. Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope August 26, 1990

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 99 - The Real Energy Crisis

Zechariah 4:2-4, 6 (NIV) ² He asked me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights. ³ Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left." ⁴ I asked the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?" ⁶ So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.

Ephesians 3:16, 20-21 (NIV) ¹⁶I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ²⁰Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Energy of mind, body, and will are needed to meet the daily issues of home and work. But sometimes we run into issues that seem to run over us, and, try as we may, we face a real energy crisis. This is what Zechariah and the people of Israel were facing. They had returned from captivity in Babylon full of zest and zeal to rebuild Jerusalem. But they had run out of steam. The mission had fizzled. The task was too great for anyone to do alone, and no one was able to rejuvenate the people for the task. At that point God reveals to Zechariah what I am going to call the difference between energy and empowerment.

“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the LORD. Might and power are words for human energy. The word energy literally means “working within,” the source of energy that comes from within us. When facing a difficult obstacle we are often told we’ve just got to dig down deeper. But at some point we hit the bottom of the pit. Human energy is limited because it draws its might and power from a limited source.

'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.” The Spirit refers to empowerment that comes from God to accomplish those tasks that are ours from God that manifest the kingdom of God. Empowerment succeeds where energy fails for the simple reason of the source. Energy depends on a limited source. Empowerment draws on an unlimited source. This is the meaning of the Lampstand in Zechariah’s vision, continually being supplied with oil from the olive trees.

As the pressure builds in our life, from frustration, from fatigue, from a friend, or from experiencing life as simply going flat on us we are pushed to the wall. Then, by God’s grace, the light goes on. We admit we are powerless. We submit our life to God. We recognize our need and God’s willingness to work within us, empower us, and supply our need. Peace and power invade. Not by human energy but by Divine power the task will be accomplished. God’s purpose will be fulfilled.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope August 19, 1990

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 98 - Duty Calls

Luke 17:7-10 (NASB) ⁷"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? ⁸Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? ⁹Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "

Life is demanding, whether the demands come from our work, from being married or being single, dealing with money and time, or from that little voice in our head that constantly nags us with the next thing we have to do. Life isn’t easy. And what if that is the way God wants life to be for us, for our life to be difficult, demanding, even filled with dull drudgery? Listen to what Jesus says. "So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'"

As we hear these words of Jesus let us not miss the smile on His face, because in the background are the grim faced Pharisees who were always embroiled in arguments about what a person had to do for God and whether or not enough had been done, leaving those who felt they had done enough feeling smug, and those who felt they had not measured up feeling like mud or perhaps feeling rebellious against this all expectant God.

Jesus calls “slaves” those people He is setting free, and He does so still. In a world where we are captured by the demand for “my rights” and trapped by the disdain that says “that’s not my job,” the call to duty sets us free for a renewed commitment to the common task. In a world where we hear proclaimed “I’ve done my part,” the call to duty robs us of superficial self-satisfaction that we might be led into deeper levels of fulfillment. In a world where we are searching for maximum enjoyment in return for minimum effort, the call to duty lifts us from lives that are soft and flabby in mind, body, and spirit. In a time when we complain about being “caught in the rat race,” the call to duty gives direction to our life as we do the next thing God has given us to do. Duty, when done out of a sense of responsibility to God, is the drudgery that sets us free.

Is that not the truth we have seen with our own eyes? When we think of the lives of the finest people we have known are they not men and women who have simply lived their lives as best they know how, doing their duty without much fanfare and in a way that has made their lives deeply satisfying and literally carefree? Do you hear the freedom?

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope August 12, 1990

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 97 - Stormy Weather

Matthew 8:24-27 (RSV) ²⁴ And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. ²⁵ And they went and woke him, saying, "Save, Lord; we are perishing." ²⁶ And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. ²⁷ And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?"

Isn’t life great … especially when everything seems to be going our way? That is the way life had been for the disciples. As they set sail with Jesus the gentle breeze bathed their spirits in peace and serenity. But then things changed. The wind picked up. The waters grew choppy. The sails came down and the oars came out. The choppy sea turned into a raging storm. The winds and waves lifted the boat high into the air and then slammed it down beneath the waves. The disciples lost control. The fierce force of the storm was driving them under the waters. Most of us know how they felt even if we have never set foot in a boat. Stormy is a word we still use to describe difficulties of life, or of feeling swamped by daily responsibilities. What do we do when caught in one of life’s storms?

The first reaction of the disciples was to deal with the problem as best they knew how. Most of them were seasoned seamen. They had the knowledge, the skill, and the experience to deal with most of the difficulties the sea might throw at them. But not this one. This storm was proving to be too much for them. So they turn to Jesus in desperation, looking for help. And what do they see? Jesus is asleep, oblivious to the storm and to the danger they were in.

How many of us deal with the storms in much the same way? We do the best we can, not giving God much thought, but believing we have the knowledge, the skill, the determination to put an end to the storm or at least to survive. But sometimes the storm grows too great for us. We are in over our heads and we know it. In desperation we turn to God for help, and what do we find? Nothing? Or perhaps that God doesn’t seem to care about our plight as much as we do.

Jesus rebukes the disciples for their fear that has made their faith so small, but does not reject their plea. God respects even that small faith still left buried beneath the surface. Jesus arose and rebuked the winds and the sea. The winds ceased. The sea was calm. The air was still, and the disciples were silent. This is the way God usually deals with us. First, God calms the storm within us, and then deals with the circumstances surrounding us. But we can be assured that the calm within will always have an effect on the storm without.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope August 5, 1990

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles