Author: Jon Harris

Have you ever been hurt by someone associated with the church? Perhaps a member of the church staff or a person of faith, said or did something offensive or hurtful. Or maybe a church in general shared a message that while perhaps well-intended, left you feeling unloved or unfairly judged? One friend shared that the meanest people she knew as a young person were “workers in the faith”.

Another friend said, “the worst part about Christianity is Christians”. Initially this statement left me confused and even somewhat offended. After letting the idea soak in, it started to make more sense. The church, just like the rest of the world is filled with imperfect people (which includes preachers, teachers, and all other sorts such as myself). We mess it up quite often, we sin, too often we say dumb things on social media, and we are hypocrites. However, that’s why we go to church. We seek reconciliation, truth, love, forgiveness, and purpose.

Regardless of your experience: If you left the church (or never went) because you felt the church failed you, this is a request to give it another chance. Come back. Not because things have improved but because there’s something that often gets overlooked. The donuts? Nope. Good coffee? Maybe at some churches but from experience we’ve still not figured that out.

And I’ll even dare say, don’t go to church to seek happiness because it doesn’t promise it. Happiness is a byproduct or an outcome from something else. If we seek love and relationship, and seek to do things for others that’s when we find the true happiness. My wife is often considered a “happy person”. One reason for her happiness is because she’s constantly seeking to give to other people; her time and effort, kind words, and a contagious smile. That, dear readers, is relationship transformed into joy and happiness.

Back to what is often overlooked: While ministers and priests, etc. are imperfect, Jesus was and is perfect. He never failed and he never will. He lived on this planet as a man (and this is well documented), human yet still God. His words are true. We may not always like the things he says, but we can count on them because of who he was (and was not). When we seek our own truth or try to rely on someone else’s truth for our lives it can (and eventually will) get messed up.

Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. (Hebrews 7:27)

Today’s reading: Hebrews 7:15-28

Prior to boarding a flight on a warm sunny afternoon I spotted the pilot and crew outside the plane taking a deep breath and enjoying the sunshine. I wish I’d have taken their picture as it could have been an advertisement for the airline, greeting their passengers with smiling faces in the bright sunlight.

While on board, I witnessed something I’ve not seen in a long time: Smiling faces of passengers, unhindered by medical masks. One by one like a procession, nearly every person wore a smile. No grumpiness, no complaints, even as the queue was long and luggage compartments began to fill. I decided to relax and close my laptop to watch the remaining passengers board because their smiles brought joy to me.

The boarding experience felt for a moment, and maybe for the first time ever, “as it should be”. It made me hope in the future where there will be no more tears or bloodshed.

In a world full of destruction, sin, disease, and fear, there is still hope, there is still joy that comes from God. And while hoping for better days ahead is good, the great hope we have is that ancient prophecy has been fulfilled in Jesus.

Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1)

As a man, Jesus came to serve, doing God’s will to the point of death on a cross and then his resurrection. In the same way God delighted in him, he delights in us as we obey him and do his will. What is he calling you toward (and away from) today?

Today’s reading: Isaiah 42

We’ve recently signed a lease on a furnished apartment. The owners of the apartment are friends of ours so the lease agreement comes with greater expectations as to how we will care for the property. We have both a legal and friendship “covenant” (agreement). Being legally bound to an agreement is one thing, respecting a relationship is a matter of the heart.

For example: What if we break a drinking glass? The agreement has no language regarding our responsibility however in my mind without a doubt, as a friend, we know what is right.

To add a twist to the theme, what if the owner of the apartment was a billionaire and owned a factory that made this glassware? If their financial resources were seemingly infinite and the one broken glass could be replaced by the snap of their fingers, should we still care about the one glass? Absolutely! This isn’t about the glass itself, it is about friendship, respect, honor, and integrity.

“Gather to me this consecrated people,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” (Psalm 50:5)

In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:25)

Similar to the covenant and relationship with our landlords and friends, as children of God, we are part of an eternal covenant. We have the responsibility to give sacrificially of our resources (time and money) and to love others unconditionally in the way that Christ loves us.

for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know every bird in the mountains,
and the insects in the fields are mine.
If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it. (Psalm 50:10-12)

In giving we must acknowledge that God has literally infinite resources. Everything belongs to him therefore when we give to him, we are merely giving back what was his in the first place. We’re not doing him any favors. He doesn’t need our gifts, he wants our attention, he wants our hearts, he seeks a relationship with us.

In this relationship my main failure is around the tendency to “forget” God. Going about life on my own, doing it my way, and somehow taking credit for the good things that happen.

“Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you: (Psalm 50:22)

Since forgetting him is a sin (and I’m quite sure none of us want to be torn to pieces), let us remember him through continuous gratitude for all he has given and for what Jesus has done. Our thankfulness is a sacrifice, it is us humbling ourselves before him, putting him in his rightful place.

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who orders his way rightly
I will show the salvation of God!” (Psalm 50:23)

Have you ever experienced an earthquake? If not, ponder another natural disaster that you may have closely endured. Recently I felt my first earthquake, and even though I’d read and heard about them my whole life, no description really prepares one for such a phenomenon. Our entire house shook back and forth, there were strange sounds, and our glassware rattled and clanged. While only for a few moments, it was scary!

My mind raced during this brief episode as it was a completely new experience. The first thought was, “what is happening?”. Then after realizing it was an earthquake, I wondered if it would get worse, when it would end, how we should respond, if our house was going to collapse and if anyone might become injured. Fortunately, there were no severe impacts.

The earthquake was yet another reminder of the fragility of life and the sheer power of the natural forces on this planet.

In today’s reading (Isaiah 6:1-11), Isaiah shares a vision regarding his encounter with the Lord seated on a throne surrounded by angels calling out in worship. During this worship, the “doorposts and thresholds shook”.

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:4)

I believe the small magnitude earthquake that I felt was mere child’s play when compared to what we will someday witness in the presence of God’s throne. We’re talking about the creator of the universe, there is no higher power, mountains shake before him!

Consider Isaiah’s awe-filled response. His fear was directly correlated to the immediate understanding of the impact of his sin:

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5)

Someday each of us will literally experience a similar encounter as our time on Earth is only temporary. We won’t be able to stand before God with excuses, and our explanations of “how good we were” will be futile. On our own merit we would be held accountable for how we responded to his provisions and love, and guilty for all of our sins. It is a hopeless scenario unless we come before him washed clean. And if you claim Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can live on this earth with the hope that your experience at the throne results in an eternal “not guilty” verdict.

With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:7)

Thank you Jesus for loving us, for your sacrifice, for your forgiveness making us clean, for being who you said you were, for showing us the way, for the hope that you bring. May we humble ourselves today before you in awe. Amen.

“The most spiritual thing you can do today is to choose.” – Erwin Raphael McManus

My interpretation of that quote basically boils down to trusting in God or trusting in ourselves. It is so easy to fall into the trap of worry, to let our minds wander into a place that tries to control situations based on what we know of the past or what we fear of the future. This life is a journey with many opportunities to choose. God has a plan. Our choice: Trust and obey even when it doesn’t seem logical, or go at it on our own/disobey and therefore face the consequences.

In 1 Kings 17:8-24 we read about a widow who is starving. Widows in that time were generally poor and had to rely on others for daily sustenance. This widow was no exception. She had enough food for one last meal then after that, death. To make matters worse, while preparing for her last meal she is approached by Elijah who asks her for some food.

Verse 9 says that God instructed (NLT) or commanded (ESV) a woman to feed Elijah. The scriptures do not tell us how he instructed or commanded her, we just know that he did. Her response wasn’t “oh, you’re the guy God told me about”, it was simply something to the effect of “well I have almost nothing, and what I do have isn’t even enough for me”. That was her reality. Give it away and die now, or consume what she had and die a little later.

Elijah then encourages her saying not to worry and shares God’s promise:

For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” (1 Kings 8:14)

The most spiritual thing she did in that moment was to choose. Through God’s miraculous power, it was on her heart to make the decision to comply even though apparently she didn’t know Elijah, and her decision came with a cost.  Maybe you’re like me. If someone came up to me on the street and said to give them all I have because God said so, I’d dismiss them and keep moving (and a bit quicker).

She trusted. She obeyed. God honored her choice by delivering abundance.

The power that filled the container of oil is the same power in Jesus to feed thousands, turn water into wine, raise the dead, heal the sick, and ultimately to resurrect his dead body. This same power is ours as well if we choose to follow Jesus. As he forgives our sins, he resurrects us to a life with him, and as we live for him, he “fills our jars with oil” for eternity.

Jesus is calling. What is God calling you to trust and obey today and how will you respond? There is an abundance of joy and peace on the horizon that only comes from him.

May the Lord prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies. May he anoint your head with oil. May your cup overflow. Amen.

I love you.

How do you know if those three words are true when spoken to you? While words can be meaningful, it is truly only action that defines love. Love is a verb, it is not a feeling that comes and goes. Love is a choice and it is not always easy to love. If it were easy to love our neighbor there would be no war, no murder, no racism, no oppression, and so on.

In today’s reading (Hosea 3:1-4:10), God tells Hosea to love his wife Gomer even though she commits adultery. She was a prostitute, seemingly unlovable, amongst the lowest of low in any society.

Then the Lord said to me, “Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them.” (Hosea 3:1 NLT)

It is easy to judge Gomer for her choices. She continues to go back to the same sin, and even though she had a husband, she chose to turn to other men. Unfortunately this is the same for you and I as we choose to go back to our sin and disobey God over and over. We exchange God’s loving arms and his perfect ways for something quite the opposite. This verse from Proverbs keeps coming to mind:

Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly. (Proverbs 26:11)

Redeemed!

Think about how Hosea must have felt. Betrayed, embarrassed, and unloved by his wife. Even if he were to obey God and take her back, how much is he going to trust her after her history?

Hosea takes the step to be faithful and obey God, and he goes so far as to buy his wife back. He redeems her. He loves her unconditionally. While God told him to do it, he was the one to make the choice.

Jesus loves us unconditionally even though we are like prostitutes, exchanging something pure and good for something cheap and wrong. We worship our own idols (money, power, experiences, ourselves, things of this world) instead of wholehearted dedication to God. When Jesus experienced the cross he too was rejected and betrayed, even by his best friends. Yet, he redeemed us as he paid the price, voluntarily giving up his life to set us free.

Like Gomer, we did not earn this redemption. She didn’t earn her husband’s love. From a worldly perspective, she didn’t even deserve his love. And that’s the beauty of Jesus and his love for us. We can’t buy it, we don’t deserve it, we can’t earn it. All we need to do is accept it, follow him, and be redeemed, for eternity.

Recently a good friend of ours had a very serious medical condition which resulted in him being hospitalized in the intensive care unit. This friend was able to post on social media what was going on and asked for prayer.

I’m prone to what I believe are distractions from the enemy who does not want us to pray. How about you? Knowing my weakness, I decided to immediately take action and write a prayer and send it to my friend via text message. My prayer was deep to the point of me having tears while writing. I felt the Holy Spirit guiding my heart and words while lifting up our friend.

Upon receiving the text my friend later shared that he broke down crying while reading the prayer and said he needs to be taught how to pray. Praise God for this humble request. Praise God as our friend’s health has made great improvement.

Want to pray better? We can do this by learning from Jesus and from today’s reading.

Pray like Jesus

When asked by his disciples how to pray, Jesus responds:

“When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:2b-4‬ ‭ESV)

Habakkuk’s Prayer

Chapters one and two of Habakkuk contain conversations between Habakkuk and God. Those two chapters are more of a dialogue (Habakkuk complaining, God answering) and then chapter three (the final chapter) takes on a different tone as a direct prayer. We can learn from Habakkuk’s prayer as he:

• Prays with a humble posture, with a healthy fear
• Praises God
• Petitions God
• Remembers what God did in the past and trusts he will do it again
• Acknowledges God’s power over all the earth, that God is his source of joy and strength
• Asks questions to God
• Waits patiently and faithfully for God, trusting he will respond

A Challenge!

Today I challenge our readers to pray for someone via text message. The first person who comes to mind (even if the person seems to be just fine, encourage him or her, just pray). Don’t wait because I’m guessing I’m not alone in being distracted. Keep it simple or go deep; pray for the Holy Spirit to put something on your heart. Let’s change the world through prayer as it is our most powerful weapon!

Do you recall a time when you were a kid and got into big trouble and received punishment? To name just a couple of my mishaps from 1980s…

The BB gun and the window.

When I destroyed the neighbors very large and expensive window with a single shot from a BB gun. In today’s dollars this window would be approximately $2,000. It was more difficult to apologize to these people in person than it was to work countless hours to earn the funds to pay for the window to be fixed. Lessons learned: Don’t do dumb things. Don’t point guns at homes. While it wasn’t intentional to break the window (I was aiming at a different target), the whole idea was completely stupid.

Spite, a phone, deceit, and Cedar Point.

Out of spite for a lifeguard who was not very nice to me (probably because I was a jerk): While at the swimming pool I took the receiver of a very long corded telephone which was attached to a wall, then I extended the cord as far as it would go, then while looking the lifeguard in the eye I let the receiver fly and crash to the ground. As a result I was banned from the pool until my parents met with the pool leadership.

Only a couple days later I had plans to go to the greatest place on Earth for a 13 year old boy (Cedar Point amusement park) with a good friend. It was near the end of summer, and the pool would be closed soon, therefore this genius hoped that maybe next summer it would all be forgotten. Wrong. When I arrived home from Cedar Point it was like an angry mob was waiting for me.

Darkness follows.

My sins of anger, selfishness, deceit, and spitefulness (to name only a few) brought some serious wrath. Even to this day I could make several convincing arguments as to the circumstances around the crimes which might make them seem less bad or “not my fault”, but in the end, I was guilty. And those weren’t even the worst things I did.

Lament

Noun: a passionate expression of grief or sorrow. Complaint.

Verb: express passionate grief about. Express regret or disappointment about something. (Oxford Languages)

In today’s reading (Lamentations 3:1-33) Jeremiah laments over the afflictions of God’s wrath. The first 20 verses are tough to swallow. It is filled with words and themes such as darkness, broken bones, bitterness, hardship, dead, weighed down, cries for help, dragged from the path, mangled, left without help, pierced, mocked, broken teeth, trampled, without peace, hopelessness, and downcast soul.

Aren’t all of those words/themes some resemblance as to what it feels like when we sin? The Cedar Point trip wasn’t that fun because deep down I knew the consequences would be faced soon. Imagine those feelings for an eternity as a result of being separated from God. Our sins are our choices. God’s wrath is a result of our sin, therefore the result of our choices.

Do those afflictions remind you also of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus? And this man Jesus who committed no crime, voluntarily experienced all of those hardships so that ultimately we do not have to experience them for an eternity. He received the punishment so we didn’t have to.

The first twenty verses are dark, then comes the sun, the joy and hope of our loving savior. This joy in the morning comes from our loving God who goes through great lengths each day to reach us so that we may turn to him, to be grateful, to repent, to live life in the abundance of his love and mercy.

No Jesus, no peace. Know Jesus, know peace.

Today we have three questions related to three verses from Psalm 84 to help us understand how to experience the true joy that comes from God.

What do we long for most?

What we often long for here on earth is security, fun, vacations, relationships, health, etc. The trouble with earthly things is that they are temporary. While not inherently good or bad on their own, each of these longings are subject to becoming idols if we prioritize them over our longing for God.

⁴ What joy for those who can live in your house,
    always singing your praises.

A portion from Psalm 84:10-12 within The Message (MSG) really convicted me because of my own longing for the beaches of Greece. It reads “One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship, beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches.” I confess to have put more longing into this type of experience than I put into longing for dwelling in God’s house.

Where do we find strength?

As we read the unbelievably somber news headlines each day, what are our first thoughts? It’s scary out there, but we shouldn’t be surprised. We know the end game. We know our physical bodies were not meant to last.

⁵ What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,
    who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. (Psalm 84:5)

The more we fill ourselves God’s word and put our faith in him alone, the more we understand our purpose and live that purpose (God’s purpose), the less room there is for fear. We will most certainly experience failures, that is how we grow, and if we’re not failing, we’re probably not taking enough risks.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. (James 1:2-3)

Where do we place our trust?

How ironic that the US currency says “In God we trust”, yet what so many of us trust is currency itself! Another conviction for me this morning, yet joy as I repent, and am grateful for the instant forgiveness that Jesus offers.

O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in you. (Psalm 84:12)

May we all trust like Philip.

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” (John 14:8)

 

What is your favorite fruit?

My answers have changed in years past from grapefruit (my primary grievance with comedian Jim Gaffigan as he refers to this as the worst fruit) to avocado (we can all agree this is a fruit right?), or papaya (which my family despises). Those are all excellent fruits so it has been very difficult to choose. Until now.

There is a new fruit champion in my life. It is seasonal, and where I live it seems they suddenly appear on shelves then without notice after a couple months they are gone. The mystery of their elusive coming and going makes them even more desirable.

This fruit’s lovely aroma fills the air even before it is sliced. The color scheme is brilliant, providing yet one more reason to believe in intelligent design. And then of course the best part; eating them. They are incredibly juicy and the flavor is like a regular orange but turbo-charged as though injected with hints of sweet grapefruit, tangy raspberries, and cherries.

In case the picture didn’t give it away, I’m talking about blood oranges.

Whatever your favorite fruit is, think about it for a moment. The smell, the taste, a memorable time when you enjoyed it thinking in that particular moment you found the best most perfectly ripe specimen. Fruits are truly gifts from God.

In today’s reading (John 15:1-17) Jesus uses fruit as a metaphor for the outcome of our spiritual well-being. My beloved orange tree that produces no fruit is useless apart from being used as firewood. A stark reminder for us as Christ-followers. Our Christ-likeness on the outside reflects the Holy Spirit working within us.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

What would your friends and family say about those attributes in your life? Do they see the fruit? From experience I know of times when I was not abiding in Jesus that the exact opposite of the fruits were apparent in my life.

In short, we can abide in Jesus when we:

• Read and memorize his word, consistently, keeping his word in our hearts and minds at all times. Praying, asking, trusting he will respond. (reference to verse 7)
• Recognize the love that Jesus has for us; loving him back (love is a verb), turning to him (not the world) as the source for love. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  (John 15:9)
• Following the commandments of Jesus (reference to verses 10 & 14)
• Loving others (verses 12 & 17)

The world will tell us that to have a better life we need to try harder. The world is wrong. Life abundant comes from the source of abundant life, Jesus. May we seek him with all of our heart today and bear much fruit.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)