Learning to Listen

"Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding" (Proverbs 2:2)

Picture this scene playing out, beloved, as I left the house this morning to run errands.  I had just said to my wife that I had to remind myself to take my meds before leaving.  I got into the car, backed down the driveway and into the street, and started on my merry way toward town.  I had only traveled about 100 feet, however, when I slammed on the brakes, put the car into reverse, and backed my way up the street and into the driveway.  To do what?  Take my meds!  When I went into the house my wife looked at me quizzically and I replied, "Forgot my pills."  She chuckled and said, "Apparently you don't even listen to yourself!"  (Pause for laughter at Ron's expense)

Have you ever had occasion to say to anyone in your life, especially your children, that "you never listen to me"?  I am quite sure that both my wife and I have said those words on many occasions.  And I'm equally sure that I gave my parents occasion to say them to me!  The truth is, beloved, that at times we all are guilty of failing to listen to someone in our life who is trying to speak wisdom into it.

Scripture here urges us to really listen to wisdom, specifically that wisdom which God introduces into our lives.  It is by such divine wisdom that we as Christians are to live, that truth by which we are to govern our lives and our relationships.  It is by such wisdom that we are to conduct business, educate our children, set our social interactions, and most certainly worship our Creator.  It is also, according to Scripture, the way in which we are to govern ourselves as a nation and it is sadly to our national detriment that the wisdom of God has been all but dismissed from such governing today.  All can see that we are headed in a downward spiral spiritually, morally, socially, economically and in every other way imaginable.  Even those who do not necessarily believe in God are noting such a trend in society.

So what is the key to recovery?  Is it to be yet another government program?  Choosing the right president to lead us?  Or do we just throw up our hands, tune out and then drop out?  None of the above!  What did the author of Proverbs 2 say that the answer is?  "Make your ear attentive to wisdom."  The road to recovery, then, begins with me...and with you...and with each one of us both individually and personally.  I must make God's wisdom and its implementation the priority of my life.  And you must do precisely the same.  There is no other road to recovery, beloved.  There is no other rescue.  This is one problem that raising taxes or the largest "bailout" in the world cannot resolve.  It is either the wisdom of God or it is a very unsavory destiny for us personally and as a nation.

May I remind you of something that Jesus said to those who followed Him about in His day?  In these words we find out just why God's wisdom is so vital to our survival and to our success as a people.

"You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life" (John 5:39-40)

The religious leaders of Jesus' day thought that they were above the need for God's wisdom. They thought that they were all already right with God and acceptable to Him in their own right.  They thought of themselves as God's people and so they had it made.  They searched the Scriptures religiously, and even paid lip-service to the Scriptures as a nation, but all to no avail.  They had failed to procure for themselves the wisdom of God!  And the wisdom of God, beloved, is found and fulfilled within the person of Jesus Christ.  If we would today "make our ears attentive" to God's wisdom, then we are going to have to do so as we come into a living relationship with Jesus Christ.  How tragic should one day any person stand before God and hear Him say, "You just wouldn't listen"!

Ron  

Politics or Praise?

"Praise the Lord!  Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty expanse.  Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness" (Psalm 150:1-2)

Now I will be the first to confess to you, beloved, that no one enjoys listening to conservative talk radio programs more than I do!  So much that goes on politically in this great nation is simply not covered by the mainstream media or, if it is covered, it is so biased and slanted that it is hardly worth one's attention.

But I have found recently that listening to such programs has a very decided effect on me physically.  Even if the person who is talking is in agreement with my own politically convictions, I find that my stomach begins to tighten into a knot and the muscles in my neck begin to tighten as well.  It is almost as if I can feel my blood pressure climbing!  Just the spoken description of what is happening governmentally within the U.S. definitely affects me even when I am not personally involved in the conversation.

Often when I find myself being affected in such a way, I will quickly punch the preset button for our local Christian radio station and immediately find myself flooded by a wave of praise and worship.  The effect is instantaneous and glorious!  I find my muscles loosening, my thoughts clearing, and my mind returning to the momentarily forgotten conviction that God is not only worthy of praise, but that He is sovereign over all the affairs of men.  That assurance both calms and blesses my spirit and returns my focus to the perspective and purpose that the Spirit of God has intended for each of us as Christians to maintain.  And with that renewed perspective and purpose comes forth naturally the praise that God deserves and even seeks from His children.

Does that mean, then, that I should forget about what is happening politically in this country that I love?  That I should adopt a passive "I shouldn't get involved" attitude toward the wrong that is forming all around us from those who want to take us away from our roots as a nation and turn us against the very God who made us?  Not at all!  What it does mean, though, is that I am to face that onslaught of wrong thinking and wrong actions with the unshakeable conviction that God reigns as the psalmist declared - "according to His excellent greatness."  Even as we take a clear stand for the truth of God, beloved, we ought to praise the God of all truth for His power and majesty and love for all mankind.  We have the victory already because we have the Victor!  Hallelujah!

Ron 

And That's the Truth!

"Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free'" (John 8:31-32)

An adorable t.v. character from several decades ago played wonderfully by actress Lily Tomlin was a little girl named "Edith Ann."  She was filled with all kinds of philosophical advice on everyday living, slanted from the point of view of a five year old, and always capped off with the exclamation: "And that's the truth!"

Today one of America's top radio hosts, arguably the one that liberals love most to hate, made a profound statement in the context of reporting upon a supposed "gaffe" by presidential candidate Mitt Romney while visiting recently in the United Kingdom.  His observation was that "the most politically incorrect thing you can speak today is the truth."

Have we fallen that far today as a people, beloved?  Is truth, whether political or cultural or social or moral or spiritual, so "for sale" that it can be bartered away for a few more votes or a higher rating?  If you have been following at all the chain of events being played out these past months on the world's stage, then you must conclude that we have indeed fallen that far!

Jesus not only stated that we need to "know the truth" but that it is only that truth that will set us free!  Now I know that someone could easily respond to that by saying, "Come on, Ron!  Jesus was talking about religious stuff and that has nothing to do with political events today."  Doesn't it?  How many different kinds of "truth" are there, beloved?  Does it not occur to you that truth is truth whether it falls into the realm of politics, culture, business, social relationships, or religious convictions?

I am convinced that this present generation is quickly becoming one that does not particularly like or want to deal with truth.  And it is that very attitude that leads to the deadliest of consequences for any person.  The "truth" about which Jesus spoke was certainly that every person is born into sin, confirms that condition by his actions, and cannot possibly redeem himself from that fallen situation wherein he stands condemned before God.  And Jesus' truth is also that because of God's love for mankind, because He is not willing that any should perish eternally, He came to us in the form of Jesus of Nazareth, sinless and pure, and sacrificed His life on the cross so that we might find forgiveness with God and the gift of eternal life.  That is the truth that can and does "set you free," beloved!  That is the truth, the only truth, without which we remain condemned and without hope.

But this "truth" not only sets us free eternally, beloved, it sets us free in our here and now.  To receive the truth of God by faith is to order your life in this present world according to that truth.  It is to see everything - politics, culture, social relationships, business, family - through God's eyes.  It is to have a biblical world view.  And only those who have such a world view really know what is going on in our world.  To cast aside this truth, then, is to have a skewered view of the world, a twisted understanding of what is going on.

Are you living by the "truth" today?  Has it set you free?  I encourage you to ask God to help you to see your world through His eyes.  It will be the most liberating move you've ever made.  And, as Edith Ann would surely say at this juncture: "And that's the truth!"

Ron 

A' demain to a Very Dear Friend

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself" (Philippians 3:20-21)

The French phrase a' demain is one that came tumbling out of my distant past recently, beloved, and for a very good reason.  I thought of it in response to the sad news that a very dear friend and sister in Christ went home to be with the Lord in the early hours of this morning.  This French expression, if my recollection from high school classes is reliable, can be simply translated "until tomorrow."  It is not the "goodbye" of those who seldom see each other or expect not to see each other again in this life, yet it is not the casual "see you later" of the good and close friend who will likely bump into you again tomorrow.

A' demain is a wonderful expression because it looks to a certain future, to a coming moment in time when you know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you are going to see your friend again.  Barbara has now joined in eternity her husband who preceded her by a number of years.  Now they are together enjoying the company of their blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  It was my distinct and great privilege to be both their pastor and their friend.  And that friendship has endured the separation of time and distance.

So why would I choose to simply say to Barbara and to Don a' demain?  Because I know, beloved, that "tomorrow" is coming!  Not man's uncertain tomorrow worked out on a human timetable and fraught with the frailty of human uncertainty, but rather in that certain "tomorrow" that is God's promise to each one who truly knows Him personally through faith in Jesus Christ.  Sadly I will not be able to make it to what will certainly be a glorious graveside celebration by family and friends of Barbara's home-going.  But this one thing I know - I will see her again as surely as I know that I will see my Savior face to face.

To her family, then, from someone whose life you blessed for many years in ways that I simply cannot measure, deepest condolences from both Bev and me as we are saddened by news of her passing.  And to Barbara, safe in the arms of Jesus, I say only a' demain.  God's "tomorrow" is on the way!

Ron 

Go and Tell Your Friends

"'Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.'  And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him" (Luke 8:39)

If you have ever visited a well-stocked Christian book store, beloved, then no doubt at some point you were impressed with the amazing selection of evangelistic tools available to churches and other outreach ministries.  I am not sure that I could personally list how many different programs I have taught to congregations over the years, all in their own right good and solid approaches to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those who do not know Him.

What is so very amazing to me by contrast, however, is what Jesus told the former demoniac whom He had delivered from his spiritual, mental, and physical bondage.  When that young man wanted more than anything else to travel with Jesus, to sit at His feet in worship and adoration, the Master refused his request and rather sent him on a very special mission of his own.  Basically, He sent that new believer "home" to be a personal missionary in his own hometown.

There is so much for us to learn today about personal evangelism, beloved!  The first lesson which comes immediately to the eye here is that evangelism is not primarily a program or an outreach tool.  It is rather a way of life that is to be carried out throughout the normal day to day routine of living.  Very simply, we are to "tell" as we "go."  That young man set free by Jesus did not first go to seminary and earn his degree. He did not even sign up for an outreach training seminar.  He simply went home and began to tell everyone who would listen all about what Jesus of Nazareth had done for him.

Then we also learn that the most natural place for personal evangelism to begin is within one's own family.  "Return to your house" is what Jesus told the young man.  And though none of the synoptic gospels records that he went home and began with the members of his own family, it seems obvious that such is precisely what he did.  In fact, he told his whole family and then began telling his neighbors until he had covered the entire town.

Finally, we note here that the focus of his sharing was not the precise doctrines of grace but rather what Jesus had personally done for him.  You see, beloved, that was the one thing about which this young man was already an absolute authority.  He knew what Jesus of Nazareth had done for him!  And, if you think about it, that is precisely what a "witness" (Greek martus) is, one who speaks authoritatively of what he knows firsthand to be true.

What has Jesus Christ done for you, beloved?  If He has transformed your life by grace, then He has also given to you the instruction to "go and tell" those who are a part of your life, those within your personal arena of influence.  Go and tell - now that is a winning approach to evangelism!

Ron