October 31 - Less Judging, More Loving

Less Judging, More Loving

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

Author Tim Storey, in Time For A Comeback,  tells a great story about how easy it is to rush to pass judgment on others. Tim pulled up in front of his neighborhood barber shop and parked. As he fished around for his wallet, he felt the sickening crunch of metal hitting metal. Somebody hit his car! What an idiot! But when he jumped out to look, Tim didn't see anyone. As he was muttering under his breath about stupid drivers, a little old lady came out of the barber shop and announced, "I saw the whole thing." Turns out, he was the stupid driver. Instead of putting his car in park, Tim had accidentally shifted it into reverse. No one had hit him; he had backed into the car behind him.

It's so easy to pass judgment without all the facts, isn't it? The other guy is the stupid driver. Jesus could have just as well been talking to us when he said, "Why do you worry about the speck that is in your neighbor's eye, but pay no attention to the 2" x 4" protruding from your own eye?" (Paraphrase) We all do it, don't we? We look for flaws in others and ignore our own. Actually, that is not too surprising.

Each of us is made up of certain unique experiences, ideas, prejudices, and expectations; these things make up a "filter" through which we see the world. Like a pair of faulty glasses, this "filter" allows us only limited vision. We think we can see ourselves clearly, but the further we get from ourselves, the fuzzier our vision is.

Like an acutely farsighted person, we are often blind to our own faults, but quick to notice the faults of others.

1.   THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT WHEN WE PASS JUDGMENT ON OTHERS, WE ARE TAKING THE PLACE OF GOD.

People Magazine once did a survey called "The Sindex: A Reader's Guide to Misbehavior." Readers were asked to rate how guilty they would feel, on a scale of one to ten, if they engaged in any of fifty-one activities. The results were averaged to give each behavior a Sin Coefficient and a ranking in the Reader's Morality Index. On a scale of Ten, the top ten sins, according to the magazine's readers were: Murder 9.84, Rape 9.77, Incest 9.68, Child Abuse 9.59, Spying against your country 8.98, Drug Dealing 8.83, Embezzlement 8.49, Pederasty 8.30, Spouse Swapping 8.09, and Adultery 7.63 (3)

We often assume that God has a "Sindex." Gossip, anger, lack of charity, and gluttony should be benign sins in our estimation, and should be covered by a quick prayer and perfect church attendance for one full month. Adultery, drug dealing, homosexuality, and murder are major sins, and God should be just as repulsed by these sins as we are. That's what we'd like to think. But it's a lie. A sin is anything . . . anything . . .anything that separates us from God. Romans 3: 23 says, "There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . . ." Anything that falls short of the glory and holiness of God is sin.

We are all sinners. It sounds like a cliche, but it is the hard Gospel truth. None of us has any bragging room as far as righteousness is concerned. We would like to believe that there is a hierarchy of sin. In our minds, there ought to be a grading scale for beginning sinners, intermediate level, and advanced-placement hypocrites.

2.   THE BIBLE TELLS US UNTIL WE CAN LOVE OTHERS AS GOD LOVES THEM, WE CANNOT JUDGE OTHERS AS GOD JUDGES THEM.

It is so easy to be critical of others--to put them down--to question their right to think for themselves. It is so easy to criticize, so easy to judge. But we don't know the other person's circumstances or expectations. We don't know the burdens that they carry. But God knows. He knows the road that each one of us has traveled. Also, God has two vitally important attributes that we don't have: perfect holiness and perfect love. All of God's judgments are filtered through His holiness and His love for us. Our judgments are stained by feelings of revenge, self-righteousness, anger, contempt, jealousy. God doesn't have that problem. No matter what we have done in life, God continues to love us. No sin can shock Him. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

3.   THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT OUR INWARD ATTITUDE JUST AS MUCH AS OUR OUTWARD ACTIONS.

God doesn't just judge us by our actions; our thoughts and attitudes are equally important in His sight. He is the perfect judge, both merciful and just. All of God's judgments are filtered through His perfect holiness and His perfect love. Why are we commanded not to judge one another? Because we're no good at playing God. Until we can love as God loves, then we cannot judge as God judges. But let us strive every day toward greater holiness and greater love, so that our own thoughts and actions will be acceptable in God's sight.

Terry Risser

Consider reading the Word today:

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser

October 30 - Genuine Christianity

Genuine Christianity

"The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Matthew 23:11,12

There was a study done by researchers at Yale University sometime back on what are often called "bad hair days." This study found that on those days when our hair just won't cooperate, we feel less smart, less capable, more embarrassed and less sociable. What was surprising to the researchers was that men, not women, were most likely to be affected by bad hair days. Of course, some of us men no longer have to worry about bad hair days. We all like to look good.

It's like the story of a man who married a woman who was unattractive. But she had a beautiful singing voice. He loved to hear her sing--and for that he married her. One morning, however, he woke up and saw her sleeping next to him, hair in curlers, cream on her face. Desperately he tapped her on the shoulder and whispered, "Sing, Molly, sing." Anyone who says that looking good is not important is deceiving himself.

A few years back there was a poll on the Internet that asked this question, "Which one member of your family is the best looking?" You want to guess how respondents answered? The top rated answer in the poll was, "Me." A majority of the respondents listed themselves as the best-looking member of their family. That corresponds with another public opinion poll which asked people which member of their family was the smartest. Once again, "Myself" or "Me" were the highest ranked answers. But when asked which family member was most likely to tell a lie, "Myself" or "Me" only ranked ninth out of ten possible answers. So most of us think that we are better-looking, smarter, and more honest than the rest of our family.

The Pharisees were a group of Jewish scholars who were experts in the Law of Moses. In some ways they were the best people in the land. Following God's commands was the focus of their lives. Nothing wrong with that. But somewhere along the way, the Pharisees seemed to miss the point. In their desperate desire to obey God's laws, they begin piling on more and more rules. Soon, the Pharisees had compiled more than fifty volumes of rules and laws that a Jew must follow to be considered righteous

And there were some significant differences between how the Pharisees viewed the life of faith and how Jesus viewed the life of faith.  We get our values right when:

1.   WE VALUE RELATIONSHIPS OVER RULES

Hundreds of years before Jesus' time, the Jewish prophet Jeremiah talked about it. He said that for the time being, the people had God's Laws carved into stone. But someday, the Lord would make a new covenant with His people.

Jeremiah 31:33-34 says, "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, "Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord. (NIV)

That's the promise of what happens when we are in a true relationship with God.

The Pharisees were caught up in following the rules. As we noted last week, Jesus was passionate about establishing relationships. Jesus has been teaching about loving God and loving one's neighbor. He's trying to say to the Pharisees and anyone else who will listen, "Faith's not about rules; it's about a relationship. It's about falling passionately in love with God. And once you know God and love God, then you will be inspired to live a pure and holy life. The rules will come naturally." (3)

2.  WE VALUE AUTHENCITY OVER APPEARANCES. In other words, looking good was more important than doing good.

We live in what is arguably the most appearance-conscious nation on earth. From a young age, we are bombarded by societal messages telling us that appearance is more important than substance. And many of us have fallen into this trap.Pride and position were more important than sacrifice and service. The most important thing for the Pharisees became what other people thought..

3.   WE VALUE RIGHTEOUSNESS OVER "RESPECTABILITY"

What makes the difference between a respectable Christian and a real one? Jesus makes that very distinction in verses 11 and 12: "The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Jesus never wore fancy robes with long tassels. He hung out with outcasts and sinners, not with the movers and shakers. Instead of expecting the place of honor at banquets, Jesus took the place of the lowest servant and washed his disciples' feet. "Respectable" members of society got nervous when Jesus entered the room. He didn't play by their rules.

The saddest secret in most churches is the number of people who sit in churches week after week, year after year, and never develop a true relationship with the living God. They keep all the rules. They look good. They are respectable. But they are spiritually dead. Don't be one of those people! There is an abundant life waiting for those who are willing to seek God's face and live in God's will.

Terry Risser

Consider reading the Word today:

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser

October 29 - Christ’s Hands, Our Hands

Christ’s Hands, Our Hands

“When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.”  Matthew 19:15

Bruce Jenneker, in "Christ's Prayer to Ours: A Way Into the Heart of God," tells the much-loved story of Christ's arrival in heaven after his Ascension from the earth. The devil, they said, still smarting from Christ's descent into hell, was furious that Christ had defeated him and robbed him of his power to shape the lives of men and women. So, masquerading as Jesus Christ himself, the devil rushed ahead of Jesus into God's presence and, holding his hands up high in a greeting of triumph, approached the Divine Grace, saying 'I am here, I have done the work you gave me to do, I have offered my life for the salvation of the world. Give me the seat of honor at the right hand of your majesty and let me share you power.'

Let me see your hands, your feet, and your side,' God answered, 'for those dreadful wounds suffered in love are the proof of your faithfulness, and they alone can gain for you access to my majesty and power.' Of course the devil had no such wounds to show, as all in heaven could see from his uplifted hands. At that very moment Christ appeared--See! He lifts his hands above! Alleluia! See! He shows the prints of love! Alleluia! Of course the devil was exposed for the fraud he is and once again cast into outer-darkness, while Christ was welcomed by the divine grace to sit at God's right hand, there forever to intercede for the world he loves for which he died a cruel and agonizing death." Look how Jesus used his hands . . . to wash his disciples feet, to break bread, to hold children, to go fishing, to climb to "high places," to lift in prayer, to pass out food, to gather in friends, to calm down, to rile up, to forgive.

Years ago, James C. Howell devotes a twelve-chapter book that examines some of Jesus' "hand-iwork." This book could be the basis of a wonderful ideas on "The Hands of Christ".  Here are the hands he showed.   He had Living hands,  Praying hands, Unfurling hands, Teaching hands, Touching hands, Healing hands, Feeding hands, Serving hands, Holy hands, Pierced hands, Sending hands, and Joining hands.

Gerald Coates, leader of the Pioneer movement in England, compared the fivefold ministry to the five fingers of the hand. The apostle is the thumb. He gives stability, holds the counterbalance, and can literally touch all the other fingers. The prophet is the index finger. He points at you and says: 'you are the man!' The evangelist is the middle finger, the longest of all and sticking furthest out into the world. The ring finger resembles the pastor/shepherd, caring for internal relationships. The little finger is the teacher: he can worm his way deep into any ear, and there share the truth of the gospel." -

Someone has been suggested that there are five possibilities for the use of our hands.

First, we can wring them.

Handwringers are forever moaning "how awful" this is, how awful that is, and never offer any course of action that might change the circumstances. Their energy and insight is completely wrapped up in being wrung-out.

Second, we can fold them.

Hand-folders do nothing. Immovable, immutable, impassive, hand-folders are unconcerned and uncommitted. By claiming that problems are "out of our hands" hand-folders insulate themselves from any involvement and injury.

Third, we can wash them.

Like Pilate, hand-washers think that with enough water they can dilute any responsibility they might have for themselves or others. Like Lady Macbeth, however, their hands are never clean, and their soul is never still.

Fourth, we can lift them.

A hand with nothing in it is not always empty. Open hands, lifted to God in prayer offer all that we have to God's service. Lifted hands are empty so they may be filled with power from on high.

Fifth, we can stretch them.

These are the most obviously active hands. Hands stretched out in peace and service, healing, hugging, holding, and helping hands. These are the hands of the woman in our story this morning.

The pierced hands of salvation are the sixth and most complete use of the hands ever devised by God. 

Press your thumb to your chest. Pray for those closest to you. Your kids, your family, your friends, etc.

Press your index finger to your chest. Pray for those who have mentored you, coached you, and instructed you. Your teachers.

Press your middle, longest finger to your chest. Pray for those over you: your bishop, your pastor, our president, your mother, etc.

Press your fourth finger to your chest. This is the least used finger in your hand. Pray for those aspects of your life that are least used in the cause of the kingdom, or least anointed. Ask God for a fresh anointing in your life and ministry.

Press your little finger to your chest. Pray for the week and the poor and those who are neglected by society -those who are most vulnerable.

Terry Risser

Consider reading the Word today:

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser

October 28 - God’s Line of Love

God’s Line of Love

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”  Ephesians 3:18

Country music is known for its colorful lyrics. We're told that Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas was a country music fan. He delighted in recounting the titles of his favorite songs. Among them were, "When the Phone Don't Ring, You'll Know It's Me," "Walk Out Backwards, So I'll Think You're Coming In," and "My Wife Ran Off with My Best Friend, and I Sure Do Miss Him." These gems were found in an album titled "Songs I Learned at My Mother's Knee, and at Other Joints."

One sentimental Country song popular a short time back was titled, "A Long Line of Love." It tells of a young man who is getting married. His sweetheart asks him if he thinks they can make it. His answer is "I come from a long line of love." Then he talks about his parents' marriage and his grandparents' and at the end of each refrain he sings, "Forever's in my heart and in my blood...I come from a long line of love."

A three-year-old girl became very ill. She was so critically ill that she had to stay in the hospital for many months. In all those months, her mother never once left her hospital bed. A petite woman, weighing little more than ninety pounds, this mother stayed right with her daughter day and night, displaying an amazing strength which inspired her family and friends.

Eventually the little girl recovered. Once she was home, everyone asked her mother how she had done it. How could anyone have the strength to do what she did? The young mother smiled warmly, and told her questioners, "She's my child. I love her more than breathing. She needed me. She needed me as never before. I had to do it. I had to be there for her!" That's love, isn't it? It's not, "I love you for what you can do for me." Or "I'll love you as long as it is convenient." No. It's, "I'll love you no matter what. I'll always be there."

One day a relative of Naomi's named Boaz noticed Ruth gathering grain. She was different from the other women, more graceful. Naomi played match-maker and fixed her daughter-in-law up with Boaz. After the wedding, Ruth bore a son in Bethlehem, named Obed, and Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of King David, and David was eventually an ancestor of another baby boy born in Bethlehem many years later named Jesus. Isn't it interesting that in the lineage of Jesus there is a Moabite woman named Ruth? She is there because of her loyalty to her mother-in-law. Do you see now why I say that Jesus came from a long line of love? And so do we.

That is the heart of our message of the gospel.  “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”  Ephesians 3:18 That is what the cross is all about. It is about a love that never quits, never gives up, never fails. It is agape love " love from the heart of God. It's not, "I love you for what you can do for me;" or "I'll love you as long as it is convenient." It's, "I'll love you no matter what. I'll always be there for you." And you and I are the recipients of that love. There is a red ribbon that extends from our lives all the way back to Calvary. Over the past two thousand years folks just like us have believed in that love, and they've passed that love on. Through plagues and famines, oftentimes under barbaric oppression, they did not let go of it. And we are the recipients of that love.

We come from a long line of love. It would be tragic if in our obsession with the satisfactions of the moment, we should allow that ribbon to become frayed and finally to break. We come from a long line of love. So was Jesus. So are you and I. Do you know about that kind of love? It is the Love that says, "I love you " not because I need you but because you are you. I will always be there no matter what."  Now that’s what I call true love.

Terry Risser

Consider reading the Word today:

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser

October 27 - A Revolution of Peace

A Revolution of Peace

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”  Matthew 10:34

The motto of the Apollo II flight was "We came in peace for all mankind." This phrase was upon the plaque deposited on the surface of the moon. The flight had landed on what is known as the "Sea of Tranquility." Armstrong and Aldrin found a tranquil and peaceful scene on the moon because there had never been any humans there prior to them. No one before them had had a chance to disturb the moon.

Ministers Research Service has concluded that since 1919, the nations of Europe have signed more than two hundred treaties of peace. Each treaty, simply another scrap of paper, was broken more easily than consummated. From the years 1500 B.C. to A.D. 1860 more than eight-thousand treaties of peace, meant to remain in force forever, were concluded. The average time that they remained in effect was two years.

In his address to the United States Senate in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson said, "The League of Nations is the only hope of mankind." How futile and tragic such hope has proved to be! At this very moment the United States Navy is providing military escort to Kuwait oil tankers. It is a vain attempt to stabilize an area torn by war. And if you notice movies on Vietnam are becoming popular. Our world knows much about war and little about peace.

Look at your own life. Do you find peace there? Maybe you thought it would be more peaceful when school was out for you and you got a job. Perhaps you were waiting to retire or for the kids to grow up and move out. Maybe you are looking forward to, or recently have had, a vacation. Do you now have peace?

People who take vacations to find peace, then drive hundreds of miles, spend thousands of dollars, and still have a miserable time. Or let us consider those who buy "hideaways" only to find that they now have to drive up to the lake each weekend if for no other reason than to cut the grass and check to see that no one has broken in. Is that peace?

And then there are some people, of course, who do obtain a level of peace in their lives only to find it boring; you see we do not like the same, old, peaceful thing day after day. Is peace really the aim of Christianity? Is it the main object of the Christian religion to give you and me an undisturbed and placid life? Is that actually our goal?

It is not an undisturbed life that we want. Rather we realize that to live means to endure and overcome, to aspire and to attain. We obtain satisfaction in life not from "doing nothing," but rather from accomplishing life goals and spiritual goals.

The person who settles back and thinks that his religion has ever done its work on him because he is at peace may not understand what life or religion is all about. This does not mean that there are not plateaus where the thrill of accomplishing something benefits our state of mind. But peace does not mean doing nothing, it means being content with what we do. In the middle of a storm the clouds can be pretty.


In one sense Jesus brought no peace at all. He was a revolutionary. He rocked the social order of the day while he ate with sinners and outcasts. He had a concern for the poor that the religious establishment lacked. Those who thought they knew that religion was about rules and such did not enjoy Jesus telling them that the spiritual life is involved not with rules, but a general outlook on life, a certain attitude. Jesus did not do it right for them because he did not teach what they in their closed minds thought was religion. As a result of this there was certainly no outward peace in the land.

Jesus said that he came not to bring peace, but a sword. He came to divide families. He came to ask people to take up a cross and to follow him even to the death if necessary. Jesus came to employ a spiritual judo by allowing weakness to overcome strength.

It is not too far from the mark to say that today some people want peace at any cost. We run from conflict. We want unanimous agreement in our committees even if it means letting an ego maniac run things. We seem, at times, to be more afraid of what people think than concerned with what God desires. Whatever happened to good, old-fashioned fear of God?

But there is a peace that passes all understanding that comes even to the Christian warrior. This peace comes by allowing Christ to give us, in his love and grace, a still center in the middle of the world's strife. This peace is reinforced as we turn to pursuing a life of service to our King. We can be at peace with God even if the world turns into shambles.  It’s a revolution that brings peace…and peace that brings a revolution.

Terry Risser

Consider reading the Word today:

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser

October 26 - Base Your Faith In God

Base Your Faith In God

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 3:23

With the World Series spectacular here, we are reminded of America’s Great Pastime. Baseball is fascinated with measuring things against impossible standards. Baseball is a game of numbers. Everything is counted and written down somewhere. You can open the Sport's Section in the Free Press, and you can read (with good glasses) an entire page of baseball numbers. You can read how your team did last night, Friday night, and the night before that. You can read how your team did over the last ten games. You can read how your team did over the course of an entire season. Those same numbers will tell you how every player in baseball is doing. RBI's. ERA's. Batting averages. Fielding percentages. Everything is measured.

The Apostle Paul talked a lot about what a burden it was to live with standards of perfection that were impossible to meet. To Paul, those standards were symbolized by what he called "the Law." And Paul said that sometimes the Law can be like a curse, forever reminding you of how poorly you're doing.

What's more, you can tell how each player stands in relationship to every other player ... those who play on the same team ... those who play on different teams ... those who play the same position. In fact, you can go to the bookstore and find an encyclopedia that will enable you to compare your favorite present-day player with every other player who ever donned a uniform. I don't think there is any other field of endeavor where an individual's contribution is so accurately calculated and recorded.

As if that weren't enough, that record is available for the entire world to see. Your batting average is printed every day, announced over the radio, and flashed in bright lights on the stadium scoreboard. It is even carried out to three decimal points. They don't say: "He hits pretty good." None of that vague, imprecise stuff. They say: "He hits .286." They even know if he hits right handers better than left handers, whether he hits better in May or September, whether he hits better on grass or astroturf, whether he hits better by day or by night, whether he performs better in the clutch or only when there is no one on base.

You can't fake it. It's all in the book. But do you know what is so amazing about this? Nobody's record is very good. Consider the hitters. The very best ones are lucky to get three hits out of ten tries. Measure that against your job. If you delivered three times out of ten, you'd be out on your ear. If I preached three good sermons out of ten, I'd be out on my ear. But if you go three for ten in baseball, they give you three or four million dollars. And if you do it several years in a row, they put you in the Hall of Fame.

Consider the late Mickey Mantle. I remember seeing Mantle play. In fact, I saw some of the longest balls Mantle ever hit. I was eleven years old when Mickey came up to the Yankees. And I was a married man with a child of my own when Mickey Mantle reached the seats off Denny McLain, late one September afternoon, and bid farewell (forever) to the people of Detroit. Now Mickey Mantle's dead, Denny McLain is jailed, and I (alone) am left to tell you what Bill Freehan once acknowledged to me, that Mantle knew what pitch was coming on the day of his final blast into the upper deck. Which was one of life's nicer gestures, don't you think, given that the Tigers had clinched the pennant against the Yankees, just the night before.

In his earlier days, Mickey Mantle never impressed me as being one of the great intellects of the world. But, as my German grandfather used to say: "He got late, smart." In fact, the mature Mantle was well worth listening to on a variety of subjects, ranging from baseball to life in general.

One day, Mickey Mantle was reminiscing about his career. He recalled that he had struck out 1,710 times. He also recalled that he had walked 1,734 times. That's 3,444 times up to bat without ever hitting the ball. Think about that for a minute. You figure that a healthy, full-time player goes to bat about 500 times a season. Divide 500 into 3,444. "And," says Mantle, "you can quickly see that I played seven years without ever hitting the ball."

Nobody's record is very good when measured against the absolute standard of 1.000. A good bowler can be 75 percent effective much of the time. But even a great baseball player can't come anywhere near that.

The first time I ever put any of these thoughts together, the Tigers were known for their woeful inability to hit left handers. They still can't hit left handers. But, in that year, they went out and hired themselves an antidote ... a lethal right-handed bat which came attached to a third baseman named Bill Madlock. Madlock supposedly feasted on left handers. But on the morning I first preached these sentiments, Madlock's average was .219. What's more, in the week just previous, he had gone 0 for 21. In baseball lingo, that's a week worth of failure. You can look it up.

What we've got here is one side of a predicament. A very tough side. You've got a very high and lofty standard. You've got a very measured game. And you've got the fact that when measured against the standard, nobody's very good. But you can also say that baseball has a tender side ... a softer side ... a si Which brings me to Bob Brenly. You probably never heard of Bob. But he's a recently retired ball player. His last team was the Giants. They're in San Francisco now (just in case you missed their move from New York, back in the 50s). Bob Brenly was a catcher. But, for some strange reason, the Giants occasionally played him at third base. He played third base ... like a catcher. One day he set a record with four errors in one game. Then, in his final time at bat ... in the ninth inning ... he hit a home run and the Giants won, 7-6.

That's grace. Grace means that you'll always have another chance. It doesn't mean that grace will erase your errors. Just as it doesn't mean that grace will erase your sins. But it does give you a chance to play over them. "It's not over 'til it's over." "There is always room for great surprises."

Terry Risser

Consider reading the Word today:

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser

October 25 - Clean Slates

Clean Slates

“…As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”  Psalm 103:12

In a Dennis the Menace cartoon, Dennis' wrongdoing, for which he is being punished, is made abundantly clear. You might say, "The handwriting is on the wall." With the evidence of his misdeed, spent Crayolas, scattered on the floor behind him, Dennis sits in the corner staring at the once pristine walls which are now decorated with his artwork""a dinosaur, a house, a cowboy, the sky with sun and clouds. Evidently, mom didn't much appreciate his drawing skills, so there he sits in his rocking chair snuggling his Teddy Bear, alone with his thoughts. Hank Ketcham allows us to overhear what he is thinking: "Boy, I wish life came with an eraser!"

Indeed! Don't we all? I suspect there are times in each of our lives when we, too, wish life came with an eraser, when we would relish the opportunity to turn back the clock to a time just before our latest mistake, so that we could have another go at it, another opportunity to make a better choice. Oh, if life would just offer us an eraser capable of doing that, capable of giving us a new and fresh start, free of our past sins""an eraser that could turn back the clock to a time before our mistakes had left us shaking our heads and wondering, "How could I have done that?"

That universal desire for life's eraser is what makes 2 Corinthians 5 such a loved chapter. Paul writes to the church at Corinth to say that in Christ we are recreated, made new, born again. If anyone is in Christ there is a new creation, everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

Is this not what David prayed for in that famous 51st Psalm, his repentance following his adultery with Bathsheba? The psalm is replete with David's pleadings for forgiveness. "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love . . . wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin . . . purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow."

Yes, he prayed out of a deep sense of shame and sorrow for personal cleansing. But he seems to have done more, praying that God would take an eraser and, in effect, turn back the hands of time by actually erasing his sin. "Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities."

He wanted nothing less than a fresh slate, to go back to a time before the transgression had occurred. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me."

When we hand our lives over to Him, He will make a clean slate of our hearts and past.   As the song says, “Oh Precious is the flow…that makes me white as snow.”

Terry Risser

Consider reading the Word today:

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser

October 24 - God, Golf and Grit

God, Golf and Grit

"I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do." Romans 7:19

Golf is a game that one cannot play well unless works at it. And one cannot play extremely well unless one commits to hard work. Bob Hope once said, "If you watch a game, it's fun. If you play it, it's recreation. If you work at it, it's golf." Gary Player once said that he has heard over and over from golfers how they would love to play as well as he does. But he says that not many are willing to put in the effort to get that good - up before dawn, beatin' balls and beatin' balls, hour after hour until your hands bleed. Then take a break, bandage your wounds, and back at it again. He is right. Golf takes work, and so does Christian discipleship.

My game is biblical - it is defined by a text in Romans, chapter 7, verse 19. Paul must have been a golfer because he describes my game to a tee ("to a tee," he repeated, grinning). He says, "I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do." That is Risser golf.

In the eighth grade, Calvin found it necessary to drop out of school and go into the fields to help his family earn a living. But, despite his daily labor, he always felt God intended more for him than picking vegetables. His dream of becoming a professional golfer would not die, and Calvin took up the game as an adult.

Calvin Peete is a name you golfers are familiar with. He grew up in the farm country of central Florida, where he and his family made a living picking vegetables. Like any other youth, Calvin had a dream. He wanted to be a professional golfer. His friends laughed at his dream, pointing out that poor blacks just did not become pro golfers.

Calvin not only had the disadvantage of beginning golf at a late age, but he had to play with a left arm that would not straighten out to full extension, the result of a broken elbow when he was a child. Golfers would say it is impossible to play the game without an extended left arm. But Calvin compensated for that disability, and within six months he was shooting below 80. Eighteen months later, he was shooting below par and joined the mini-tour in Florida in 1972. In 1975, he qualified for the PGA tour - the oldest rookie ever, at age 35. He won the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1979, and again in 1982, when he became the winningest golfer on the tour. Now he is a successful competitor on the PGA Senior tour. Calvin's persistent belief that God has a plan for his life enabled him to persevere without giving up.

"It's been a long road from the fields to the fairways," Calvin says. "One a lot of people said was impossible. But you see, I knew something maybe they didn't. That God had a plan for me -- but I HAD TO BE WILLING TO WORK AT IT. When you work hard and pray hard, you have a combination that can take you places you've never imagined. It's taken me from green beans to a putting green... and far, far beyond."(3)

"I had to be willing to work at it," says Calvin. What are you willing to work at to become the Christian disciple that the Lord expects you to be? Regular public worship - never miss? Regular seasons of prayer? Regular Bible study that is intellectually demanding? Regular invitations to un-churched friends and neighbors to join you? Regular service in the name of Jesus? There is LOTS to work at. And, just like golf, it will take time, dedication, discipline. The Christian equivalent of beatin' balls and beatin' balls.

Can you succeed? Absolutely. The wonderful thing about discipleship is that we are not all by ourselves in the effort. We can rely on the historic teaching of the church, the love support of brothers and sisters in the church, and we can rely on the love and support of the one who sticks even closer than a brother, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel... (I Cor. 9:20-23)

Now he gets into sports and this idea of discipline. Not a new idea, of course - the Psalmist in our Old Testament reading is utterly convinced that a disciplined approach to study of God's word will yield a rich harvest - "I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11). Move to the New Testament and find St. Paul saying, "Athletes exercise self-control in all things." Runners do not run with no sense of direction; boxers do not simply flail about in the air. If Paul knew anything about golf, he would have understood the concept of beatin' balls and beatin' balls. If someone wants to win, the effort is disciplined. The same it true with our relationship with Christ.  When we take it seriously, victory starts to come…but we never want to forget the joy that comes in following Christ.

Terry Risser

Reflections:

1)  How do you perceive your walk with God? 

2)  What correction does God want us to make to find success?

Consider reading the Word:

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser

October 23 - Hope In A Hurting World

Hope In A Hurting World

"Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God" (Psalm 43:5).

Hope, for many, is as futile as the philosophy in a "Peanuts" comic strip which showed Linus and Charlie Brown leaning on a fence, talking. Linus says, "I guess it's wrong to be worrying about tomorrow, maybe we should think only about today." Charlie Brown interrupts him to say, "No, that's giving up. I'm still hoping that yesterday will get better!" Once in a while you run into the exception. Presbyterian author and minister, David A. Redding, tells of their oldest Presbyterian elder who, at the age of 103, took out a three-year subscription to a magazine. And it turned out that his hope was not in vain, for the man lived to read the last issue of that subscription. Many people, instead of being hopeful, are victims of hopelessness.

Some of the world's most sensitive people have been susceptible to depression. People like Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Tolstoy, and Abraham Lincoln suffered from it. Two of the best preachers of this century, Harry Emerson Fosdick and J. Wallace Hamilton, fought depression. Winston Churchill waged a lifelong battle against depression, which he called "my black dog." Even the great reformer, Martin Luther, got depressed. Once he said, "For more than a week I was close to the gates of death and hell. I trembled in all my members. Christ was wholly lost to me. I was shaken by desperation and blasphemy of God!" The truth is, we all are depressed to some degree, at some time. Perhaps not to the extremes I have just mentioned, but we get to feeling low, useless, worthless, nervous, apathetic, no-account, worried, or just plain "blue." We call it having a "bad day."

Dear Abby, in her column, listed some portents of a bad day: "You know it's going to be a rotten day when you wake up face down on the pavement. You know it's going to be a bad day when your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles. You know it's not going to be a good day when you put both contact lenses in the same eye." Low days hit us all: even religious people, even Christians, even good, God-loving people, people like Elijah, the prophet of God in this scripture. God brought Elijah out of it, and by remembering the story we can learn how to be restored to health and the high spirits of hope. Elijah, you recall, had that famous contest on Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal. Each would build an altar for their god and then a sacrifice would be made. The god who answered by fire, consuming the sacrifice, would be declared "the God!" All day long the prophets of Baal prayed, without result, to their gods, but at eventide Elijah prayed his relatively short prayer and God answered by fire! What a high day it was for the prophet of God! His spirits were at an all-time high; he would never be "down" again! But it isn't many hours until Jezebel, the queen, is hard on his heels. She loved the prophets of Baal, and was angry at their defeat, and sent word to the prophet that she was out to get him, to kill him. Elijah reacted in fear and ran, ran a day's journey into the wilderness, sat down under a broom tree, and cried out to God in despair, "Let me die. I'm not better than my fathers, let me die." (You have felt that way, too. High and happy one day and the next low, blue, and strangely defeated.) This lesson of Elijah gives us a valuable clue as to why we become depressed.

1.  Reason For Depression

Dr. Paul Tournier recalls the remark his young son made one day. It was a rather philosophical comment. He said, "Everything's always okay, except for something." Life does seem to be that way sometimes. There always seems to be "something" we would like to have different. As an African proverb puts it, "The trouble with finding ivory is that there is always an elephant attached to it."One reason for our depression is that sometimes we expect too much of ourselves. Elijah thought he was all alone, and that he was after all, not so important anyway. He said, "Let me die. I'm not better than my fathers." We think we have failed God, or said the wrong thing, or that we don't matter to anyone. It is so easy to compare ourselves with others and then decide we are useless.

2.  Remedy For Depression

A dean at Princeton University said one of his boys found a record of a Beethoven sonata, bored a hole about a half-inch off-center, and played the record from the hole. It was the same record, but the music sounded like the cackling of a thousand Walt Disney witches. A life that is not God-centered, God-surrendered, and God-focused won't make music, only noise. The psalmist found that was his solution too. He cried out, "Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God" (Psalm 43:5). It is expectantly waiting for the things from God that faith has already promised. As you worship, as you read the Word, as you pray, you will begin to realize how much God cares about you. You'll know you are not alone in your problem, that you are not fighting this battle by yourself. The first thing to do with your problem is to go to God, run to him, and be assured that he loves you, and understands your pain. As you listen to him -- when you pray and read the Bible -- you will hear, as did Elijah, the still small voice of God. God has promised that "in quietness and confidence shall be your strength." God has said, "Be still and know."

3.  Restoration from Depression

Elijah started out so depressed he wanted to die, but when we last see him, the Record says, "And Elijah went by a whirlwind into heaven" (2 Kings 2:11). Instead of death, Elijah got a translation. Talk about an all-time high! Like Enoch, he never did die; he was taken to heaven alive. Such is the hope of the Christian. Jesus said, "He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die."  When we trust God, the ultimate answer will follow.  We can put our hope in Him.

Terry Risser

Consider reading the Word today:

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser

October 21 - God’s Word In Our Hearts

God’s Word In Our Hearts

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  Psalm 119:11

The more we know God's Word, the better equipped we are as believers to minister, teach and model Christ with our very lives. The whole Word of God is important, and no verse less valuable than any other. As we study and memorize the Bible, we do however find some verses that help us understand key truths. If you aren’t already developing your own list, these are just some suggestions to get you started. Commit the following 25 scriptures to memory (about one every-other week) and you’ll have them in your head and heart in just one year.

The Beginning: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

The End: Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Revelation 22:12-13

The Human Condition: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

God Provides: And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

God's Love: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Know God's Word: Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8

God's Adoptive Process: But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12

Trusting God:  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Our Priority: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33

The Believer's Body: I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Roman 12: 1-2

Security in Christ: For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

God's Eternal Provision: For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:40

The Great Commandment: Jesus replied:“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Matthew 22:37-39

Fruit of the Spirit: But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

One Way to God: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Serving Others: Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.  James 1:27

Jesus Foretold: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

The Great Commission: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20

The Nature of Love: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrong.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

True Disciples: If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:31-32

What We Should Value: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust 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

God Keeps His Promises: Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. Deuteronomy 7:9

God Hears Us: The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. Psalm 145:18-19

Temptation:  No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Reflections:

1)   Which verse have you memorized that means most to you?

2)   Why is God’s Word important to memorize?

Consider reading the Word today:

October 20 - Power In The Blood

Power In The Blood

"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)

The greatest evangelist of the Twentieth Century, without question, was Billy Graham. The greatest evangelist before him of the Nineteenth Century, undoubtedly was Dwight L. Moody. Both shared a common characteristic. They were criticized because of a particular subject they preached about.

When Billy Graham was getting started, a professor from Cornell University wrote him a letter and said, "Mr. Graham, you have great talent, and you have what it takes to be a successful minister. But if you want to continue to be successful, you are going to have to leave out the preaching on the blood. It is out of date and no enlightened man of the Twentieth Century will swallow it."

When Dwight L. Moody started preaching, a woman wrote him a letter and said, "Brother Moody, if you want to be effective, you are going to have to leave out that blood stuff." Dwight L. Moody said, like Dr. Graham after him, "I determined at that moment to preach more on the blood of Jesus Christ than ever before."

We are not only a people of the book…we are a people of the blood. The Bible is not only a blest book, it is a blood book. The word "blood" is found 415 times in the Bible. The Bible begins with blood in Genesis when Cain sheds the blood of his brother, Abel. It ends with blood in the book of the Revelation when the Lord Jesus returns wearing a robe "dipped in blood." (Rev. 19:13)

There is a scarlet thread that binds every page of this book. One author said, “You cut this book and it bleeds.” The reason for that is, all of the Bible can be summarized in a part of one sentence we are going to study today: "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:7) The only spiritual detergent that can remove the stain of sin from the human soul, is the blood of Jesus Christ. Whether you are a Christian or not, I want you to understand why this is true.

1. The Blood Comes From a Supernatural Person

This is not ordinary blood. There is no other blood like it. The blood that flowed in the veins of Jesus Christ was the pure, perfect, sinless blood of God the Son. One of the most incredible verses in the Bible is Acts 20:28. Here is what it says: "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." A blood that was shed on the cross was the blood of God. Now this is crucial to understand because if it was God's blood, then it must be innocent blood.

Peter said in his epistle, "You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold,  but with the precious blood of Christ." (1 Pet. 1:18-19) The word precious literally means "valuable." Now if Jesus had not been innocent He could not have taken my guilt, because He would have had to have dealt with His own. The reason He could die for my sin is because He did not have to die for His sin.

2. The Blood Cleanses With Supernatural Power

Now it is extremely important to see that the verse does not say that the blood of Jesus Christ "has cleansed us," or "will cleanse us." It says specifically it "cleanses us." What it literally says is, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us and keeps on cleansing us. It cleanses us now, it cleanses us today, it cleanses us tomorrow. Every day that you need to be cleansed, the blood is available to do the job. But now let me give you the good news. You get saved today and tomorrow you lose your temper, just remember "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us." If you get saved today and you let a bad word slip out tomorrow, just remember "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us." If you get saved today and you think an impure thought tomorrow, just remember "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us."

3. The Blood Completes a Supernatural Purpose

With God a person who is only partially clean is totally dirty. Would you let your dog into your house if only two of his paws were muddy? Absolutely not, and God will not let anyone into His heaven unless they have been cleansed from all of their sins.

The blood of Jesus is not something you add to your religion, or add to your ritual, or add to your righteousness, to cleanse you. His blood alone cleanses from all sin.

The highest holiday of the Jewish faith is Passover. It celebrates both the Exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt, but also that night when God's death angel passed through Egypt and slaughtered every firstborn of every household that did not have the blood of a lamb painted over the doorpost. God made a promise to His people. He said, "You paint the blood of a lamb over your doorpost and when I see the blood, I will pass over you."  It was a picture of what Christ would offer in the New Testament.

If there was any other way to be saved, any other way to be cleansed, any other way to be forgiven, any other way to be accepted, then Jesus would not have died nor shed one drop of His blood. But that He did die, and that He did shed His blood, tells us that only His blood can cleanse us from all sin. There really is power in the blood.

Terry Risser

Reflections:

1.    Why is the concept of blood hard for some of us to grasp?

Consider reading the Word:

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser