Too deep for words

Romans 8:26

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words

My dad's health has taken a turn that make it very difficult for him to express himself in words. He is able, with great effort, to say a few words or an occasional phrase. One phrase that he is still able to say is, "I love you too."  These are words that I treasure.

My dad's inability to express himself in words is a frustration to him.  He so much wants to speak, but most of his vocalization is, like we read in Romans 8:26, groanings.

God hears our groanings. He himself groans with us. In those places where words fail, His Spirit groans on our behalf. He knows intimately the meaning of each cry of our heart. What love, what compassion, what identification and friendship, what understanding...he has taken our groanings upon himself.

Perfect Fear?

In 1 John 4:18 there is a familiar, frequently quoted verse:

"Perfect love casts out fear."

But have you ever turned the phrase around?

Perfect fear casts out love. This is also true.  Proverbs 8:13a says "To fear the Lord is to hate evil".

I am reminded of a Keith Green song: "You love the World and You're Avoiding Me".



God, teach us such a perfect fear that hates evil!

When a song crashes and burns

Today in church, as is my most normal practice, I chose the song for during the offering while listening to the sermon.  I do this to try to target most closely what I sense that God's Spirit is saying to us in our Sunday morning time together.  This morning I picked Keith Green's "How Can They Live Without Jesus".  I have done this song before, but not for a while.  I quickly wrote out the words during the sermon so that I wouldn't suffer from lyrical memory lapse in the middle of the song.

Then I got up to sing the song.  It started out OK until I got to the place where it goes into a different key...and I couldn't find what chord to use.  I kept singing and fumbling with trying to get the guitar back on track...without any success.  It was truly a crash and burn offering song.  I felt sorry for the people who had to listen.  It was painful. I felt sorry for those that I knew were visiting our church for the first time.  What kind of impression were they getting?  Ouch!

So what about when we crash and burn?  What about when our offering falls so far short of what we had intended to share?

Blessed.  Yes, blessed.

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons[a] of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Blessed are you when your song crashes and burns, for you will again see clearly your dependence on God. Blessed are you when your song crashes and burns, for you will pray that the message can still somehow reach the hearts of the hearers, despite your weakness (a great prayer to pray when the song goes right too, by the way). Yes, blessed are you when your song crashes and burns.  You are still held in the hands of a loving God whose love is not based on some level of performance, but purely on who He is.

Yes, blessed.

Not an ordinary carpenter

What does a carpenter know about water?  Wood?  Sure.  Hammers and saws? Of course.  But what does a carpenter know about water?  Not too much…except for this carpenter.  This carpenter is different.  I remember when we, my brother and I, first encountered this carpenter. We had been fishing all night, and we had caught nothing.  Then along came the carpenter.  “Push out into the deep water and let down your nets.” We were fishermen.  We knew the water.  Why take advice about fishing from a carpenter?  But this carpenter was different.  We let down our nets and caught more fish than our boat could hold…actually more than two boats could hold safely.  He is no ordinary carpenter.

Then there was the storm.  The carpenter had said that we should all go across the lake.  Then he fell asleep in the back of the boat.  Not too long and the storm hit out of nowhere.  Waves were crashing over the bow.  We all felt sure we were going down for good.  “Master, don’t you care that we are perishing?”  The carpenter woke up. We wanted him to help bail out the water.  But he stood and spoke to the storm.  The carpenter spoke with authority.  And the storm listened.  “Be still!”  And it was still.  He is no ordinary carpenter.

It seems this carpenter knows about water.  He knows more than us fishermen when it comes to water…well, when it comes to everything.  I remember that other time when he sent us off in the boat and said he would come later.  We were pulling on the oars as hard as we could, but the wind was against us.  It had gotten dark, and the wind had come up, and the waves with the wind.  That’s when the carpenter came.  He came on the water, but he wasn’t in a boat.  He was walking.  “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  His reply – one word:  “Come”.  So I stepped over the edge of the boat.  I stepped out onto the water, looking into his face.  Then the wind and waves caught my attention.  What am I doing out here?  I started to sink down.  I called out to him.  And he caught my arm, lifting me up.  “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”  He is no ordinary carpenter.

We saw the carpenter heal the sick.  We saw him give sight to the blind. And we saw him beaten, and we saw him die. But in three days, we saw him alive again.  Death was no match for this carpenter. 

Later Nathaniel, Thomas, James, John and two of the others and I were together.  I suggested that we go fishing, and they agreed.  So we went out in the boat, but we caught nothing.  “Children, do you have any fish?”  “No.” “Cast your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.”  Some?  There were so many we couldn’t pull the net in.  It was John who recognized him first.  “It is the Lord!”  He didn’t have to say it twice.  I was in the water and made for the shore. 

What does a carpenter know about water?  Well, this carpenter is not a regular carpenter.  He is not like any other carpenter you have ever met.  He is the Lord of the wind and waves. He is the Light in the storm. And He is the one who gives living water.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says.

Seven times in the book of Revelation we read the phrase, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."  This echos the Words of Jesus in Luke 8:8 and Mark 4:9 at the end of the parable of the sower:  “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

What would the church be like if we had hearing ears?  God's Word is powerful!  Look at John 11:43.  Two little words from Jesus: δεῦρο ἔξω - Come forth!  His word brings life!

As Morning Breaks

As morning breaks upon the tomb

Despair and sorrow flee and hide

For standing strong is Life himself,

The One who once was crucified.

The walls of Hell are broken down

And fallen before heaven’s Son

The halls of death lie crushed beneath

The King of kings, victorious One!

The blood stained shroud is laid aside

That held the sinless One who died

And running there to look inside

We see that death has been denied

And joy like sunrise starts to dawn

As hearts believe what angels know

And to the Savior we are drawn

To worship Jesus, bowing low

Amazing joy!  For Jesus lives

He’s conquered sin and death and hell

For us, and life eternal gives

And sends us with the news to tell

©2014 Willing Captive, Mark Stenson

Open Up the Doors

On the evening of that first day When they gathered there together
They locked the doors to try and shut out all their fears
But the doors and locks were useless
And the fears came crashing in
Into their place of secret sorrow
And their place of hidden fears

And it seems we’re not so different
Than the one who gathered there
We try to hide our broken hearts and broken dreams
And we shut out nagging questions
And pretend that we don’t care
We know that what is on the inside
Isn’t always what it seems

But the very doors we hide behind
Can hold us captive too
And the locks become a prison to our heart
‘Till the risen Jesus enters in
And His words bring peace
And we see the wounds He bore
So we would never be apart

And just like those first disciples
We are taken by surprise
As He sends us out into the world we dread
When He breaths on us His Spirit
And the joy begins to rise
As we celebrate the Living One
Who is no longer dead

So open up the doors and let them know
That Jesus is alive and He’s made you whole
Break the locks that used to chain your life
Come into the freedom of the light

And Jesus will be with you
As you walk along the way
And His words will be like fire in your heart
And then as your eyes are opened
And you see that it is He
Who has bought you back from darkness
Oh yes, let the music start

So open up the doors and let them know
That Jesus is alive and He’s made you whole
Break the locks that used to chain your life
Come into the freedom of the light

c 2010 Willing Captive Mark Stenson