Author: merittmusings

I've been in ministry in the Christian Churches/ Churches of Christ for 20+ years. Finished my doctorate in Biblical Studies in 2015. Serve today as a Hospital Chaplain.

Someday

www.bible.com/1713/zec.14.9.csb

What are you looking forward to? Are you looking forward to Friday? Does the prospect of another work week seem gloomy to you? With Monday once again at our doorstep, it’s hard to get into the Spirit with the anticipation of another week of work before us.

Maybe you are looking forward to retirement, carefully putting money away every paycheck so you will have money to finally do the things you want to do, to travel, to write that book, or something else you’ve been dreaming of.

It’s dreams like these that motivate us, give us hope for a better day tomorrow. Honestly the doom and gloom predictions about our economy and the climate aren’t in the same vein when I think about my own future. And maybe they ought to be. For on the one hand I get dire predictions about the power grid and terrorism and a great need to prepare for disaster. On the other hand I get advice about how to save money for the future so that I can retire in comfort. Last night I learned about Living Trusts, an alternative to the Will that I could form for my family to protect my assets when I die.

Well, there’s another thing I need to be ready for. Death is the most certain scenario of all. The Bible tells me how I need to live today to prepare for death tomorrow. It felt creepy writing that statement. I don’t like to think about my own death, even though I know it’s coming, and I know that it will be the most glorious part of my life. I don’t know that I have tomorrow, so I need to prepare today.

Well, all of that to say this. What gives me peace about the scary unknown future is the verse above. He will be. I know Him. And He is already my King. I have advance tickets to the greatest show in the universe. All of this other stuff is just set dressing. The main event is coming and I already know I have good seats. It is this motivation that moves me from Monday to Monday. Christ in you, the hope of glory.

God bless you on this Monday and every day.

Mercy!

www.bible.com/1713/mat.5.7.csb

I probably say this phrase 100 times a day. It’s my go-to for surprise and wonder, or just excitement. Yeah. I guess I’m old-fashioned. I probably use it so much it doesn’t have the same meaning. But for me it’s better than a lot of other words I could say. Mercy!

But what is being offered here? Mercy is being offered to those who share mercy with others. The preconditon is that you are merciful to other people, where they wrong you or offend you. Your reaction is to extend mercy. Maybe they didn’t understand you? Maybe they are having a bad day? Maybe they too are sinners and they need the love of Jesus? Mercy!

But how can someone have this quality of mercy? This depends on how you understand the Beatitudes. When I read them, I see a gradual progression, from “poor in spirit” which we all qualify for, to “persecution” which is what happens when you live authentically as a Christian. Each point along the way is a sign of maturity for the believer. “Mercy” occurs about halfway through this list. This mercy isn’t something you are expected to start off with, but something you will need to develop and mature. Mercy!

So when you are tempted to give someone the third degree, remember you are called to mercy. As we show mercy to others, God shows mercy to us. Something to think about on this Sunday.

God bless you today!

Private Whispers

www.bible.com/1713/luk.12.3.csb

Before you think that your thoughts will stay yours, and no one will know what you think about, remember this verse. Thoughts have a funny way of making their way out into the open. Thoughts manifest into behaviors. Behaviors give the lie to your words, especially if you are playing the hypocrite. The only way to prevent this is to act with integrity. Your life accords itself with your thoughts. Whatever a man thinks, so he is.

But I’m only human. I can’t always say what I think. But this too we are prepared for. Take every thought captive to the throne of Christ. Every thought must be measured according to how well it accords with our life in Christ. This too comes with practice.

I want to encourage you so that your walk and your talk both reflect a growing and mature faith in Christ Jesus. God bless you today!

Anxiety Nation

www.bible.com/1713/pro.12.25.csb

I’m not sure why we are so anxious, but we are. Easily half of the people I talk to, and that includes myself, feel some form of anxiety. It may be anxiety about work, about family, about health, or how that person over there is looking at me strangely. Anxiety doesn’t need a logical basis to exist. It can exist simply because we are not anxious, and probably ought to be. Anxiety is the reason for prescribed or over the counter medication, probably more than anything else, as many stomach and headache issues can be attributed to it.

The Scripture today acknowledges this reality. Anxiety is a real thing, and even the wisest Solomon understood it. He understood its effect on the human heart (or psyche), in that it is “weighed down”, which easily translates to “feeling down”. Anxiety robs our joy, steals our contentment, and makes foolish our faith. That’s right. If you worry, your faith isn’t operating as it should.

“I believe in God, but . . . ” Really? You believe in God’s providential care? You believe that God has prepared the way and the circumstances you are experiencing right now? You believe that God truly loves you and only wants what’s best for you? You truly believe there is nothing to fear because there is no fear in love? You believe that? “Perfect love casts out fear … and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” (1 John 4:18) And there it is. Anxiety is fear, sometimes paralyzing fear. We fear for the future. We fear that we won’t have enough money to make rent or groceries. We fear that our needs will not be met. Fear is a sign of immature faith. If our love is not perfect, or mature, then we will feel anxiety about God’s ability to care for us.

Now I won’t sit here on a high horse and tell you I’m perfect. Far from it. I still feel fear and anxiety. The Bible clearly says even believers still feel fear. But these two things, fear and faith, are at war in our heart, and are frequently tested. It is maturity to weather these tests and grow in our faith. Remember that to grow in our faith, the tests must be harder. But we have this confidence: the God who brought us through the last test will bring us through this one.

By the same token, we can offer and ought to offer encouragement to others who growing. A kind word, a helpful encouragement, a joy shared can all be helpful for those in anxiety. As believers, it is our responsibility to share the lessons we have learned. When God brought you through that horrible health problem, or financial burden, or relationship, you have the responsibility to share that with others going through the same thing now. Everyone’s pain is unique, but if you can share your trial overcome through faith in God’s provision, that can offer hope to someone lost in anxiety. I might say that this hope is the one sure antidote to anxiety. Anxiety says, “all is lost.” Hope says, “the best is yet to come.”

If you are going through anxiety, may I offer hope that God is not done with you? May your eyes be open today to others going through tough times, that you may offer them hope in the love of God who eagerly desires to provide for them and satisfy their needs, just as He does for you.

God bless you today.

Cleansed

www.bible.com/1713/1jn.1.7.csb

Are you worried that somehow the blood of Jesus hasn’t cleansed you? More often than not, I run into Christians that worry they are not cleansed, and still need to do some form of penance to be forgiven. This is an idea that is prominently Catholic, but you can find it in all forms of Christianity. It is the idea that somehow, God’s grace through Christ’s shed blood doesn’t extend beyond your baptism, all sins committed up to that point, and that in some way you must continue to beg for forgiveness after that point. I’ve even had someone ask me after the death of an individual if that person who died was forgiven their sins even if they forgot to confess some? Would that person now burn in Hell because he/she forget to confess a sin before they died?

Really? Is it that easy to lose your salvation? If so, then there’s no hope for any of us. What do you do with people who get dementia? What happens to the old, who sin just as much as anyone else, only slower? Trust me, I’m getting there. What happens when dementia sets in, and they forget? Does that mean Hell is yawning before them because they forgot to confess a sin they forgot about?

The real question is how powerful God’s grace is. Did Jesus die for all sin for all time? Yes. All sin. John also says in 1 John 3:20, “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” If you feel condemned before God, then ask for forgiveness, For Christ’s shed blood has already forgiven it. As an errant child, even though the Father loves us too much to condemn us, we still need to ask for His forgiveness for our own sake. But if we ask for His forgiveness, we also need to accept His grace freely given.

In chapter five, John says we know we are His children. There is no guesswork when it comes to grace. This passage in 1 John 1:7 is for our benefit. We can know we have forgiveness and cleansing from all our sin because we are children of God. He will not let us go easily.

Can a person lose their salvation? Yes. In the same way they received it. They ask for it. Well what person would ask to lose their salvation? A person who says that they no longer want Jesus to be their Savior. If they cast Him aside like dirty laundry and pursue sin with abandon, is there any hope for that person? Yes. If they put aside their sinfulness and once more pursue Christ. It is impossible for that person to be saved as long as they reject Jesus. But that is at the end of a very long road, where God has pleaded and begged for them to come back to Himself. God paid a high price for our salvation. He is highly invested in us. If we choose to follow Him, He does everything in His power to keep us, short of violating our free will.

God will put you through some tough times, both to strengthen your faith and to put you in a position where the only way out is with Him. Christians will suffer in this world, but that is because this world is where we are tested, for the Lord to know those who are truly His, and not merely paying lipservice. It took much labor to bring you into this world. It will take even more to prepare for the next. But take heart, this is the worst it will be. You will experience your worst suffering here, if you are His. If you are not, Hell makes your worst suffering feel like a stubbed toe by comparison.

You are cleansed from your sins, and if you are a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus, you have no fear to walk boldly into the throne room of grace. Ask for it, for it flows freely, but also accept it. Accept God’s forgiveness for even your worst sins, and work to stop sinning against Him. That is maturity. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you. Resist sin and you will grow in faith. Accept His grace and be at peace. You ought to feel anguish over sin, because you know the cost that saved you. You ought to ask for His forgiveness, but know that even if you forgot some, even if some forgotten sin has slipped your mind, He has still forgiven you. He loves you and wants you to be with Him.

God bless you today.

Praise in the Sanctuary

www.bible.com/1713/1ch.16.11.csb

Nestled in a much longer psalm, David extols the joy of this new commission of worship leaders in Asaph and his cohort. Above all, God is to be praised. His love endures forever.

So this strikes me as odd. Sunday is more the mountaintop of worship. Wednesday is the midweek hump. Today Is Tuesday. Maybe you have a tradition where Tuesday is a day of worship, but sadly I do not. Is there cause for praise on a Tuesday?

Do I hear a resounding ”YES!”?

If you can’t find a reason to praise Him on a Tuesday, you’re not paying attention. If you are in a funk please praise Him. Have you ever received good from His hand? Praise Him. Have we ever received good instead of judgment? Let us praise Him. Blessed be the name of the Lord, on a Tuesday. God bless you today.

Of you would, please pray for Kentucky today. The Election Day is today, and we have much to be in prayer for.

Accomplished Wonders

www.bible.com/1713/isa.25.1.csb

What has the Lord done for you lately? When faced with the stress of in pending medical procedures, and the possibility of death, many of my Christian patients lose hope. Why? Because they are Christians. They aren’t supposed to suffer. God is supposed to bless them as His dear children. Isn’t that what the Scriptures teach? God won’t give you more than you can handle?

What I often find is that the opposite is true. God gives you more than you are accustomed to because in that you grow. You are given more than you can handle so you can rise to the challenge. When you run, you don’t run only what you’re accustomed to, but you challenge yourself, to improve your time and extend your distance. You take on more to get better. This too in regards to our faith. God challenges you to grow.

But God doesn’t send you through this trial unprepared. He reminds you of all the times He has helped you before when you thought you couldn’t take anymore. He reminds you of all the times you trusted and depended on Him and He proved Himself faithful in His promises. If there is anything that proves you will be blessed during this trial, is that God has been faithful in accomplishing His wonders in your life. He saved you from your sins He saved you from the worst consequences imaginable. He saved you from Hell. Do you think He can manage heart palpitations? Or cancer?

And as a wise man once told me, either way, we win. Whether we live or die. Don’t allow the fear of death to so consume you you are afraid to live. Jesus has already conquered death. Though it is still our enemy, we don’t have to be afraid it.

Yes. God will give you more than you can handle. He will do this to test your faith. He tests your faith to help you grow. But He will not do so without first blessing you and proving to you just how much He loves you already. And if you have been saved, you have received the greatest blessing of all.

God bless you today!

Persecuted for the Faith

www.bible.com/1713/mat.5.10.csb

My Life of Christ Instructor at Johnson Bible College spoke to this subject when I was a student there that has always stuck with me. The late professor Bob Martin said of this passage, ”if you are not being persecuted, are you truly serving Christ?” now I pass this on to you.

His argument was that a servant of Christ ought to expect persecution, even in a Christian nation such as ours. If we can sail through this life without anyone calling us on our faith, was our faith really in evidence? Even working on hospital floors, you do get a little persecution, the scoffing and mocking of Christian values by those that believe they don’t need them. But there are places far worse to serve.

If you haven’t suffered persecution for your faith, are you making your faith the center of your life, or is your faith private? If you have suffered, then can I pray for you, and remember you, as Hebrews 13 directs? We are all on the same team. If you haven’t been persecuted, then you need to examine yourself to make sure Jesus is evident in your life. You also need to pray for those who are suffering, so that you may do the Lord’s will.

May we remember those who are persecuted. God bless them and you.