Monthly Archives: August 2018

LOSING SIGHT OF THE CROSS

“He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.” (Colossians 1:20)

Rumors had abounded for years that a natural cross of snow lay hidden high in the rugged mountains of Colorado. Many claimed to have seen the cross, but others were unable to find it. Therefore it became known as Colorado’s elusive Mount of the Holy Cross. William Henry Jackson, an experienced wilderness photographer who had accompanied wagon trains to California, set out in 1873 to provide reliable proof of its existence. In the pre-dawn hours of August 24, Jackson prepared the heavy camera equipment he had carried up the mountain opposite the cross. He took his photos just as the first rays of the sun angled low across the crevassed face, emphasizing the lines of the cross. The best of the resulting photos became one of Jackson’s most famous images, and it ended any further doubts about its existence. Published in well-known mass-circulation magazines, his pictures became immensely popular and showed Americans a rugged western wilderness that most would never see firsthand.

It was discovered that there was nothing miraculous about the cause of the Mount of Holy Cross’ formation. After thousands of years of erosion, two deep ravines had formed in the steep rocky face of a mountain peak. Intersecting at a 90-degree angle, the ravines sheltered the winter snow from the sun well after the rest of the mountain snow had melted away. For a brief time, a nearly perfect cross of snow would appear on the rock face often melting away later in the summer. It prompted artists to paint and the poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to pen The Cross of Snow. Over time the land formation eroded and shifted the right arm of the cross to visibly fall off, and the image was lost forever. For certain hikers and climbers, the mountain is still a destination, but the feeling of any sort of sacred symbol has long departed with the collapse of the cross. All that remains are a series of photographs and a few artistic remnants from a few long dead landscape painters. It stands only in myth, in art, and in an elusive, secluded mountain summit waiting to be climbed by those willing to make the trek.

On one occasion when Jesus was twelve years old, His parents had lost sight of Him while they had been in Jerusalem for the Passover. “After the festival was over, and his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it” (Luke 2:43). Mary and Joseph had to search for three days to find Him again. But the interesting part of the story is that they, along with others, traveled an entire day before they missed Him. It isn’t that they lost their love for Him or their faith. They just lost Him. If Jesus’ parents can lose sight of Him, then it is certainly possible for us to do the same. When we first come to Christ, the cross is at the center of our faith. When we are busy with life around us – we become distracted, and often our spiritual lives are the first things to go. We don’t have time to read God’s Word. We don’t make time to pray, even to offer a brief thanks. We can’t afford to give anything to God, because we have allowed ourselves to become so preoccupied. When we permit the perks to take the place of essentials, we can easily lose sight of the cross. One wonders if the hymnwriter Isaac Watts was in the position when he wrote the lyrics of his well-known hymn:

“When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of glory died.
My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride.”

The Apostle Paul said – “As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died” (Galatians 6:14). Just as the photographer went to prove the mountain cross in Colorado existed, we too need to ‘survey’ the Cross! It is important for us to refocus and appreciate its value in our lives when it begins to dim or gets lost completely. Whenever we lose something, we may retrace our steps and ask where we had it last. If we go back to that place, we often find it again. If you’ve found that you’ve lost the sight of the cross in the busyness of life, then you need to find your way back to where you were before. The good news is that even if we lose sight of Jesus, He never loses sight of us.

REFLECTION: Is your view of the Cross of Jesus clear today?  What are those things in your life that sometimes cause you to lose sight of it?  How might you refocus your routine to maintain a clear view?

A NEW LOOKUP  DEVOTION IS UPLOADED EACH WEEK. THE NEXT WEEKLY POSTING WILL BE ON SAT. SEPTEMBER 1, 2018.  COMMENTS ARE WELCOMED.

SHOPPING FOR ANSWERS

                          “Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD.                                                     Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” (Psalm 5:3)

Through buying goods and then reselling them as a traveling salesman, Aaron Montgomery Ward of Chicago removed the middlemen at the general store. He strategically purchased large quantities of merchandise directly from the manufacturer and in turn resold the items at a lower price to his customers with a “satisfaction or your money back” guarantee.  His revolutionary idea led to the concept of a mail order catalog meant for the general public. The very first, published on August 18, 1872, consisted of a one-page sheet boasting 163 items.  In 1883, the company’s catalog, which became popularly known as the “Wish Book”, had grown to 240 pages and 10,000 items. In 1946, a book-lovers society included a Montgomery Ward catalog on its list of the 100 American books that had most affected American life, noting “no idea ever mushroomed so far from so small a beginning, or had so profound an influence on the economics of a continent, as the concept, original to America, of direct selling by mail, for cash.”

Eventually the extensive use of catalogs was complemented with retail outlets where perspective customers could touch and see items first-hand. At its peak, Montgomery Ward was one of the largest retailers in the United States. With increased competition from other large venders and the expansion of indoor malls, the company ceased its catalog in 1985 eventually closing all of its stores by the turn of the century.  Today what was once one of the most popular ways of shopping is remembered each year on August 18th as National Mail Order Catalog Day. One of the downfalls of the growing catalog business was the ability to sometimes meet demand. At times, customers would be notified that their shipment was out of stock, on delay, or perhaps no longer available.  When this occurs, even today – our lack of patience and desire for immediate gratification forces us to simply move on and look elsewhere. Unfortunately, that is true in most aspects of our existence not the least of which is our prayer life. Sometimes we petition God with our concerns, and when it seems like He isn’t going to answer – we become impatient and decide to shop for answers elsewhere.

Jesus said: “For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. You parents–if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:8-11). God always wants what is best for His children, and that is often different than our desire. Then there’s a disconnect when He doesn’t always give us what we want. Some prayers that seem to go unanswered are simply instances in which God has lovingly overruled our wishes. He knows that what we have asked for is not best for us or perhaps others who are involved. It may be that our timing is not His timing, or He has some far greater purpose in mind. When we pray, we are engaging in the most precious and God-given act of communication with the One to whom we are accountable in all our affairs. God may often seem silent to us, but He never sends us away empty-handed.

We live in a consumer society and have become accustomed to getting what we want when we want it. Unlike ordering from a catalog that involves our will only, prayer involves God’s will also. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (1 John 5:14). Even if prayer has not been answered, we must be faithful to continue to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18). Then we will truly be living in the will of God. With regard to God’s answers to prayer – expect the unexpected. Some of the greatest gifts and deepest joys that God gives us often come wrapped in packages that are nowhere to be found in our wish book. Prayer is a bit different than the mail-order business. God doesn’t give us what we want; He gives us what we truly need.

REFLECTION: How often do you treat your prayer time with God like a ‘wish book’ mail order catalog? How do you react when your order is not filled or you get something different than what you wanted? Jesus prayed to His heavenly Father, “Nevertheless not My will, but Yours” (Luke 22:42). Are you able to follow His example and do the same?

A NEW LOOKUP  DEVOTION IS UPLOADED EACH WEEK. THE NEXT WEEKLY POSTING WILL BE ON SAT. AUGUST 25, 2018.  COMMENTS ARE WELCOMED.

NO GREATER LEGACY

“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care” (1 Corinthians 3:10).

When I was young, my parents would allow me to provide input into where the family would go for vacation. For a period of several years, I would often reply – “Washington, D.C.”  Of course, one of the places you must visit on a trip to the nation’s capital is The Smithsonian Institute.  In our naivety we did not realize that The Smithsonian was not just a building, but actually many. Collectively called the Smithsonian Institution, this world-renowned museum and research complex in the District consists of numerous museums, galleries and a zoo. The Smithsonian came about as a result of a bequest provided by a British scientist who never visited the United States and therefore aroused significant attention on both sides of the Atlantic. James Smithson died in Italy in 1829, leaving behind a will with a peculiar footnote. In the event that his only nephew died without any heirs, Smithson decreed that the whole of his estate would go to “the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” Six years after his death, his nephew, Henry James Hungerford, indeed died without children. In 1836, the U.S. Congress authorized acceptance of Smithson’s gift, amounting to a fortune in excess of a half-million dollars. After a decade of debate about how best to spend this bequest left to America from an obscure English scientist, President James K. Polk signed the Smithsonian Institution Act into law on August 10, 1846.

These days, boundless opportunities exist for those who have the means to establish a bequest. Most organizations to which one belongs would be blessed to have a portion or all of your estate deeded in their direction at the time of your passing.  Many such organizations have well established ‘legacy societies’ and planned giving staffers who will offer various funding opportunities in exchange for your donation.  Truth of the matter is that everyone leaves a legacy whether they plan to or not. Everything we say or do leaves the imprint of our lives on those around us. As long as there is breath in our body, there’s an opportunity to leave a negative legacy of despair or a rich legacy of hope. Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). Jesus sets the challenge for us to leave a legacy not of material possessions but of spiritual hope.  While there is nothing wrong with leaving our remaining estate to causes which would benefit God’s people, like Jesus – David realized the importance of passing on a spiritual legacy as well. When he was on his deathbed, he called on his son Solomon who would carry on his reign as king, saying: “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever” (1 Chronicles 28:9).

If you had godly parents, you were no doubt deeply affected by their faith. Parents have an awesome opportunity to bestow a spiritual legacy to their children. Proverbs 13:22 says that “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.”  An inheritance is not limited to money. It also includes character qualities like integrity, trustworthiness, and holiness. This spiritual wisdom can be passed from generation to generation and enables you to stake your claim on your descendants similar to the great apostle: “I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth” (3 John 1:4). What a shame it would be to focus on an earthly bequest and not leave behind what you have learned on your faith journey in this lifetime. While carrying out a successful financial strategy to leave something behind for those you care about may be important – the most important thing we can pass on to others is the riches available to those who love God through the sacrificial gift of His Son, Jesus. It would seem that without a doubt there is in fact no greater legacy.

REFLECTION: Take stock of where you are right now. Do you want to leave a legacy for the Kingdom of God but feel hindered or inadequate? Are you waiting for something to fall neatly into place, thinking only then God can use you? Consider the words of Paul to his faithful student in 2 Timothy 2:2 – “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”  Do this, and the spiritual legacy you leave behind will be rich indeed.

A NEW LOOKUP  DEVOTION IS UPLOADED EACH WEEK. THE NEXT WEEKLY POSTING WILL BE ON SAT. AUGUST 18, 2018.  COMMENTS ARE WELCOMED.

DEAR DIARY

“Princes persecute me without cause, But my heart stands in awe of Your words.” (Psalm 119:161)

With the rise of Adolph Hitler in 1933, Otto Frank and Edith Frank-Hollander, both of German-Jewish heritage moved their family to Amsterdam to escape the escalating Nazi persecution of Jews. In Holland, Otto ran a successful spice and jam business. In 1942, he began arranging a hiding place in an annex of his warehouse in Amsterdam where his family took shelter out of fear of deportation to a Nazi concentration camp. They occupied a small space where they lived in rooms with blacked-out windows with another Jewish family and a single Jewish man. The entrance to the secret annex was hidden by a hinged bookcase where former employees of Otto and other Dutch Christian friends delivered food and supplies obtained at high risk. On her thirteenth birthday, Anne, the second daughter of the Franks, began writing a diary relating her everyday experiences and observations about the increasingly dangerous world around her.  In June 1944, Anne’s spirits were raised by the Allied landing at Normandy, and she was hopeful that the long-awaited liberation of Holland would soon begin. She wrote inspirational words once remarking that, “”We’re all alive, but we don’t know why or what for; we’re all searching for happiness; we’re all leading lives that are different and yet the same.”

For two years, Anne Frank kept a diary about her life in hiding that is marked with tenderness, humor, and insight. She made her last entry on August 1, 1944. Three days later, on August 4, their seclusion ended after twenty-five months with the arrival of the Nazi Gestapo. Anne and the others had been given away by an unknown informer, and they were arrested along with two of the Christians who had helped shelter them. They were sent to a concentration camp in Holland, and in September Anne and most of the others were shipped to the Auschwitz death camp in Poland.  Otto Frank was the only one of the ten to survive the Nazi death camps. After the war, he returned to Amsterdam and was reunited with one of his former employees who had provided covert support to his family. She handed him Anne’s diary, which she had found undisturbed after the Nazi raid. In 1947, her writings were published by Otto in its original Dutch as Diary of a Young Girl. An instant best-seller and eventually translated into more than 50 languages, The Diary of Anne Frank, as it later came to be known, has served as a literary testament to the nearly six million Jews who were silenced in the Holocaust.

The history of persecution is as old as human life on this earth. Certainly, there were many examples of persecution in the early Christian church. Jesus said that, if they persecuted Him, they would do the same to His followers: “they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name” (Luke 21:12). The Apostle Paul stated that Christian persecution is to be expected, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…” (2 Timothy 3:12). Today, millions of Christians are being judged, tortured and even killed for their love of God.   It makes praying, reading the Bible, and worshiping with fellow believers perilous to do. It is easy to turn a blind eye when the atrocities of persecution do not happen under our nose, but there may come a time when persecution will be a stark reality for all who choose to live the Christian life. In those situations, it will be difficult to look at the oppression as a blessing as we personally face fear and feel lost. However, Jesus reminds us – “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). Even in the times when we face it, we can press on and not become disheartened. In the midst of her own persecution, Anne Frank penned these words: “As long as you can look up fearlessly into the heavens, as long as you know that you are pure within…you will still find happiness.” Finding happiness in the midst of persecution requires a strong faith in a loving Creator. Recently I heard about a parent trying to educate their child about the gifts of God. They said that bottom-line He provides us with three things: a body, a spirit, and a soul. We should begin each day by doing the following – stretch for your body, put a smile on your face for your spirit, and remember to thank God for your soul.  That’s pretty good advice. Consider it as you begin today’s journey by echoing the words . . . ‘Dear Diary’.

REFLECTION: Why is it important for us to affirm that God is sovereign, even in times when we witness persecution? How can we find “the secret of being content in any and every situation” (Philippians 4:12)?  In what ways can you serve as an example to others by demonstrating happiness during persecution?

A NEW LOOKUP  DEVOTION IS UPLOADED EACH WEEK. THE NEXT WEEKLY POSTING WILL BE ON SAT. AUGUST 11, 2018.  COMMENTS ARE WELCOMED.