Monday May 19, 2014

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Mark 4:7  Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled among the weeds and nothing came of it.

It’s amazing how many weeds have flowers.  I’m not talking about the ones that you see along roads or out in fields.  I’m talking about the ones that come up in your gardens along with the flowers that have been planted.  The garden in the middle of the yard here is loaded with both.  My problem is telling which is which.

Some flowers are easy to identify: roses, iris, tulips and daffodils.  Likewise dandelions are weeds.  Even though a field of blooming dandelions might be pretty, that beauty ceases to exist when they are in our yards and gardens.  The problem is all the other stuff that is coming up in the garden.

I have never been a gardener so when I look at this garden my thoughts are to get someone who knows this stuff and have them identify the flowers and the weeds.  When I look closely though, it’s apparent that some of the flower-bearing ‘growth’ is rapidly filling the garden and choking other plants out.  It’s almost like this ‘growth’ wants me to be distracted by its pretty little flowers while it takes over and chokes out the ‘opposition’ – the true flowers that are intended to grow.

Welcome to the spiritual garden of our lives where we have growing ‘cultural’ weeds and kingdom flowers – and each of us is responsible for what is found there.  The problem is that far too many who call themselves Christian have their spiritual gardens (read lives) filled with pretty little ‘flowers’ that are all weeds; and these weeds are choking out and obliterating the kingdom life that belongs there.

Jesus warned us about this in the Parable of the Sower from which today’s verse comes.  We must not underestimate the power of these ‘weeds’ in our lives when we allow them to become established instead of pulling them out.  Here is Jesus’ warning as given in The Message:

“The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.”              (Mark 4:17-18)

Pray that the Lord will help us identify the ‘weeds’ in our lives; and that He will enable us to see where we have allowed ourselves to become deceived into thinking they are genuine flowers that belong there

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Sunday May 18, 2014

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Psalm 42:5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God.

Have you noticed that difficult situations can have a strong impact upon us particularly if they drag on and on?  They can wear us down.   I think of being in a boat without power at sea that is drifting with the current towards a reef.  The sound of the waves pounding the reef are harbingers of the doom that is about to smash our boat and us to smithereens.  It’s just a matter of time…

Think of being overcome with distress and ‘downcast’ as the boat drifts nearer the reef. But then an unseen voice cries out to us, “You are in a sailboat!” We respond, “So?”  The voice speaks again, “Put up your sail!”  (Let’s assume we are really dense)  To which we reply, “What will that do?”

The voice answers, “The wind is blowing away from the reef – and it is stronger than the current!”  We obey the voice and put up the sail – and as we do, the wind catches it and moves us away.  The reef and pounding waves are still there but we are not at their mercy.

At this point, instead of thinking this is a dumb illustration, consider how often we succumb emotionally and spiritually to the stresses in our lives, instead of looking to Christ.  Through our hope and trust in Him, He provides the ‘sail’ and the ‘wind’ to take us to safety.  He frees us from being downcast.

We are not at the mercy of our circumstances!  In the midst of whatever we find ourselves in, Jesus is our hope, our joy and our strength.  Let us look to Him.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Saturday May 17, 2014

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Proverbs 17:9  He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

You’re driving down the road in wintery weather.  A truck goes by and suddenly your windshield is covered with slush and dirt.  Visibility has just decreased about 99% and you can’t see anything.  Even with your wipers on high it just becomes a brown blur.  At that moment isn’t it nice to push the button and have your windshield sprayed with washer fluid? In seconds you can see again.

One of the nice things about this illustration is that in real life the consequences of not having a functional windshield washing system are immediately apparent when the need arises.  For most of us, the one item that most likely could go wrong is to be out of fluid.  Driving and not being able to see just don’t go together.

We might not realize it but failing to overlook offenses in relationships is like driving in traffic without being able to see; accidents happen and damage occurs.  Such ‘mud’ on the windshield of life is normal.  Jesus followers have the ‘spiritual fluid’ and the practical ability to clear it away.  We cover over the offense.  We overlook it.  We forgive.

We do not allow offenses to become wedges in relationships.  That is exactly what the enemy of our souls wants to have happen.  The Message puts today’s verse this way:

 Overlook an offense and bond a friendship; fasten on to a slight and—good-bye, friend!

 The Amplified Bible spells out a bit more the actions involved in this:

 He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats or harps on a matter separates even close friends.   

 May we have the spiritual eyes to see the ‘mud’ on our windshield when offenses occur so that we will respond in a way that reflects the love we share.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Friday May 16, 2014

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Romans 12:14  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

What does it mean to be persecuted?  Can we think of a time or times where we believe we have been persecuted?  Do those experiences, if we had them, seem more like they fall in the categories of insult or disrespect?  Or, do they fall into the category of physical threat or intimidation?  Were our lives at risk?   Do we view persecution to be more of a general category where Christians as a group are ‘persecuted’ by being discriminated against?  Might the Supreme Court decision in 1963 banning organized prayer in public schools be an example of such ‘persecution’?

When it comes to persecution, here in the West, it is a different world than that which many Christians deal with particularly in the Middle East, parts of Africa or the Far East.  I think it is accurate to say we would prefer to be prohibited from publicly reading or displaying our Bible than to be arrested for having one. Likewise, we would rather be ridiculed for our faith than to be imprisoned and tortured.

Think of being forced to choose between Jesus and a son or daughter or spouse.  If you choose Jesus, the likelihood is that you will never see your family member again in this life.  This is happening today and has been happening for decades in other parts of the world.  Think of the 300 girls (nearly all are Christian) kidnapped by a terrorist group in Nigeria.  Hopefully they will be rescued.

Persecution runs the gamut from being picked on or discriminated against to martyrdom.    The amazing thing is that our response to those who do the persecuting is to be the same – we are to bless them.  Hating them or cursing them isn’t an option.  Not even cursing under our breath.  This means that annoyance, anger, disgust and other ‘fleshly’ responses are off limits too.

I cannot help but think of two different scriptures that speak to this topic.  Jesus’ statement in Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”  Then there is the wonderful attitude expressed by the Apostles in Acts 5:41 “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”

We must learn to bless those who persecute us.  We must learn to be the expressions of the Kingdom of God that He wants us to be in the face of opposition.  Our goal must be to do it His way – bless and not curse!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Thursday May 15, 2014

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Proverbs 16:22a  Understanding is a fountain of life to those who have it,

Mistakes – Errors – Goof-ups – Bad judgments – Blunders.  They sure are all part of life.  In sports they would be called fumbles, strikeouts, errors, interceptions, turnovers, holding, off-side, interference, wild pitches, yellow cards, red cards, etc…  A very important principle applies to both categories (life and sports): when these things happen, the ‘game’ goes on – it doesn’t stop.

Continuing the sports comparison, our error or wild pitch or yellow card might cost us the game but losses are part of sports as well.  In the major league sports I recall only once has a team gone undefeated throughout the entire season and won the championship (1972 Miami Dolphins).  Think about that: losing is normal – it’s a fact of life.

Losing is easier to take when we do our best and our efforts are error free.  Our opponent simply was better.  It’s harder when we believe we are the better team or the better player and we lose because of our mistakes.  The issue is learning do better – to improve – to make fewer mistakes – to learn from our mistakes.  Remember the adage “practice makes perfect”?  It has a much greater chance of being true if we recognize where we need to improve and practice doing it correctly.

I remember when  we went to see our 9 year old granddaughter Gabi’s soccer game.  The game ended in a 1-1 tie.  A few weeks earlier the opponent had beaten Gabi’s team 5-1.  On this day, Gabi’s team outplayed them except for the final score.  It was exciting to see how her team has improved. [Side point – I’m sitting here laughing because I just remembered the time when our oldest sons were little and playing soccer.  During one of their games we happened to look at our goal and there was no goal keeper!  Then we saw him behind the net picking dandelions!!!]

The Lord has given us His Spirit, Scripture, grace, mercy, forgiveness and a new life freed from the power of sin. They all are active ingredients in His provision for us to improve – become more Christ-like – live more error free lives.  He enables us to put our confidence in Him and participate wholeheartedly in life – to not get side-tracked by our failings.

Thankfully Jesus enables us to see our shortcomings and learn to from them.  We cannot stand around and mope about our mistakes, or when we fall short.  He enables us to get over it and stay focused on Him and stay involved.  Because of Him we are able to win even in life’s losses.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

Tuesday May 13, 2014 – About Israel

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Isaiah 66:8  Who has ever heard of such things? Who has ever seen things like this? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment?

Tomorrow, May 14th is the 66th anniversary of Israel becoming a nation again – in a single day, just as the prophet foretold.  What an amazing thing!  It’s even more stunning when we consider that the descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had been a people without a homeland since Bible times.

God had promised this land to the descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob forever: “The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:8)  I remember back in the early 70s seeing a marvelous movie titled His Land; put out by Billy Graham.  Golda Meir, the then Prime Minister of Israel said she had never seen her land look so beautiful.

While I don’t begin to understand everything God is doing today with Israel, there is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that He is the one who brought them back; that the current Israel is at the center of what He is doing in the Middle East.  Unfortunately, Israel is surrounded by those who want to see her destroyed.  To listen to the World’s media and her enemies in the Middle East and around the world, one could easily conclude that the world would be better off if only Israel were gone.

We must remember that the Jewish people are the people of the Patriarchs, the Prophets and our Lord Jesus. They are the people of the Bible and it behooves us to pray for them.  In Psalm 22:6 we are instructed to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure.”

We must pray that God will protect Israel and bring them to Himself.  Pray that He will undermine and thwart the plans of Israel’s enemies to do her harm.  Pray that those who have come to know their Messiah in Israel will have grace and favor to share this wonderful truth with their fellow citizens.  Israel belongs to the Lord and we want to see them come to recognize that Jesus (Yeshua) is their Messiah.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Monday May 12, 2014

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Matthew 13:16 But blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear.

Years ago a friend of ours named Paul bought a home that had been through a fire.  He was good at construction and was able to do most of the work himself.  The plumbing had to be redone for most of the house so he had a plumber friend come and handle all of that.  When the plumber was about finished he came to check out his work.  Paul was amazed by what happened.

As they were walking down the stairs into the large basement, the plumber stopped.  He asked Paul, “Do you hear that?”  They were both quiet and Paul didn’t hear anything.  The plumber said it’s over there and pointed toward a corner of the basement.  Paul asked him what was over there.  His friend said, “A leak” – as he motioned with his finger the timing of the drips.

Sure enough, when they got to the corner, behind a bunch of stuff, there was the leak.  Drops of water were falling to the floor at a frequency just like the plumber had indicated.  Paul asked him why he (the plumber) could hear them while Paul couldn’t.  The plumber responded, “This is my business.  I have my ears trained to hear such sounds.”

Typically, today’s verse is thought of in terms of recognizing or understanding God’s truth.  But today, let’s consider our lives to be the plumbing system of the house and the leak(s) to be the sinful behaviors that we allow to encroach into them.  (We can develop ‘leaks’!)

In difficult, stressful times it seems our blindness and deafness can increase regarding negative behaviors and responses in our lives.  We can get so overwhelmed by our circumstances that we lose sight of the stuff growing in our lives that is incompatible with our faith.  We have ‘leaks’ and don’t know it – and those leaks cause real problems for us and those around us.

No matter how overwhelmed we might feel, let’s stop to seek the Lord and ask Him to open our eyes and ears and enable us to see and hear the ‘leaks’ in our lives; and enable us to repent and repair them.  In difficult times, we can be ‘deaf’ to things in our lives that in quieter, less stressful times would not likely occur.  Remember, the more difficult the situation we find ourselves in, the greater is our opportunity to glorify Jesus with how we respond.

When the difficult times end, we will look back.  Hopefully it will not be with eyes of regret.  We have such opportunity to live righteously in the midst of difficulty.  I often think of Esther and Mordecai…”for such a time as this.”

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Sunday May 11, 2014 – Mother’s Day

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Ephesians 6:2-3  “Honor (esteem and value as precious) your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

I was thinking of the great value of mothers – and in that moment of sincere appreciation, with sort of a sigh I thought, “Where would we be without our mothers?”  Then in that warm, fuzzy moment, my grasp of the obvious kicked in and reality struck.  Duh! – We wouldn’t be here!!

There are all kinds of mothers: birth mothers, step-mothers, adoptive mothers, mothers in the faith.  Did you realize that a woman could be a mother without having children of her own?  I think of the women who have been like mothers to Donna and me through the years.  They encouraged us and loved us and treated us like their own.

If you find yourself today as one of those who has no physical children, think of those whom you’ve been able to bless or those you love as though they were your own.  Donna and I have joked about the “adopted” children we have.  We’re like a 2nd set of parents – except when it comes to college or wedding bills!

As we each honor our mother today, also think of those other women who have blessed us as though we were family to them as well. If there are women who come to mind, communicate your gratitude to them for the special role they have played in your life.

One of the most special memories that I have relates to Fabi who is married to our son John.  When she first came from Brazil for a 6 month visit, Donna was part of a liturgical dance team here at church.  When Donna worships through dance she absolutely radiates joy and love for Jesus.

Fabi later described what a blessing it was for her to watch Donna dance at church.  You see Donna bears a striking resemblance to Fabi’s mother who was killed in an accident years earlier – just hours after becoming a Christian.  Fabi had never seen her mother worship the Lord and seeing Donna dance, was like watching her mom worship the Lord.

Let us always honor all the special women that the Lord has given us and particularly remember them today.  Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Saturday May 10, 2014

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Galatians 5:22-24 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

Question:  Are we focusing more intently upon our Lord as we see the rampant lawlessness, anger and venom that are being exhibited throughout our society?  We must not develop a “hold the fort” mentality in the midst of this – (“Lock the doors and hang on until Jesus comes!”)  As the darkness grows, the light of Christ Jesus within us must shine brighter.  We are His – and are here for such a time as this!

Given Jesus’ warnings about the condition of the world – particularly as we approach the end times, we shouldn’t be surprised to see such behaviors becoming more and more abundant.  Here is the root of the problem as identified in Galatians 5:19-21a (The Message).  These are the actions of the sinful nature:

It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

That is what we as followers of Jesus have been freed from.  We have a new nature and the power of the Holy Spirit to live lives that produce righteousness.  Here are the “fruit of the Spirit” that must characterize our lives as described in The Message version of today’s verses:

5:22-23a But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

No matter what happens, we have the opportunity and privilege to have our life characterized by the fruit of His Spirit.  We also have the responsibility to live such lives.  Lord Jesus – help us to recognize that this isn’t optional for those following you!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Friday May 9, 2014

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Don Schmidt

2 Timothy 3:12 Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; there’s no getting around it.  (The Message)

Today’s verse is of the prosperity likely to come to those who want to live all out for Jesus – although it’s not the kind of thing we typically think of when the subject of prosperity comes up.  This talks about trouble, and lots of it.  Why on earth would godly, Christ-like people attract trouble?

We’re not talking about being obnoxious with our faith, or pushy or reflecting unrighteous behavior of any kind.  This is talking about doing it right!  To put it in terms we all can relate to, we are surrounded by people who will have an allergic reaction to our loving Jesus.  It’s not due to us doing anything wrong.

Jesus spoke to the disciples about this very point:

“If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me. If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you.” (John 15:9 The Message)

 Live on the world’s terms and it will love you.  Live on God’s terms and the world will hate you!

Think about how easy it can be to get upset with those who treat Christians as though they had the plague.  Of all the ills in this world, in their minds Christianity is a curse.  (It’s like Jesus is getting a little too close to them.)  Yet these attitudes and these people are to be expected – and the Lord has shown us what He expects of us, both in how we view these situations and how we are to respond:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)

When we live our lives sold out to Jesus, He prepares us for whatever we encounter.  May our responses always glorify Him.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment