Pastor Steve Richards

God loves me best! True or false? And if you believe God loves you more than God loves someone else, how do you behave and how do you talk about the someone else?

On Monday, I attended the Memorial Day observance in Eden Prairie and listened to a Vietnam war veteran who was being honored. He shared the words of wisdom that his grandfather gave him before he left for Vietnam: “Always treat prisoners of war with respect.” Little did he realize that his grandfather’s words of advice would save his life. (That’s a longer story for another time.) Then this veteran drew upon his Christian faith and said, “God loves my enemy as much as God loves me.” This was not the Memorial Day speech I expected.

I wonder what the recipients of the Paul’s letter expected. Would Paul, a Jew, announce God’s favoritism to the Jews? Would Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, announce God’s favoritism to the Gentiles? Read again verses 28-29: “As far as the gospel is concerned, [Jews] are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.”

God is God. There is a certain humility for me in saying that. God does what God does. God loves who God loves. God saves who God saves. It is not up to me to decide what God does. God’s promise to the Jews remains. Gentile Christians, your job is to act with humility. God will do what God will do. Grace happens.

“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” “Who has evver given to God, that God should repay them?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Do you ever find that some of the best things about life can also be our greatest downfalls? There are certain foods that I love to eat, but if I eat too much of them I soon regret it. And yet, I keep craving more of what is truly a gift.

There are two verses in Proverbs 9 that underscores the ambiguity of evil. Verse 6: “Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight.” Verse 16: “Let all who are simple come to my house!” It is simple, and yet, not so simple at all.

The line between wisdom and folly is not so clear. For instance, the gift of persuasive speaking is a good thing, but it can bring life or death. Evil can insert itself into that which on its surface is good. I keep reading the wisdom of Solomon and wonder where did a man with so much wisdom go wrong? When we are tempted, isn’t it usually by something God created for good? Our “love” of whatever it is gets distorted.

Christ, the Wisdom of God, came to set our love right.

[Wisdom] is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. (Proverbs 3:18)

After reading today’s scripture (Proverbs 1-3 and Romans 7), I looked out our window into the backyard while meditating on what I had read. And thats when I saw it – creeping charlie! With all the rain we have had, it is growing and thriving. The small lavender flowers are beautiful yet deceiving. It was introduced to this region as a ground cover and it is quite effective as that. Once it has taken hold, it spreads, and if I ignore it, it will easily take over the backyard, overwhelming the grass – and we have invested a lot in that grass.

In Romans 7, Paul describes the nature of sin and how easily it takes hold. He is writing to Jewish Christians who have embraced the Law found in scripture. The Law in and of itself is not sinful, but the insidious nature of sin finds its way into the Law. So that “I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing.”

Like looking out into the backyard this morning, grateful for all the raining and how lush and green the yard looks – only to realize I’ve ignored the creeping charlie and it has taken hold. I don’t need to describe what that looks like in my life or yours. We know. When sin takes hold. “Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it…. What a wretched man I am!” The lavender flowers are so pretty and all I wanted was a lush, green lawn!

Who will rescue me?”Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” I now know what needs to be done, and through Christ, I am set free to do it. Proverbs calls it Wisdom – God’s gift, God’s presence. Like a tree of life to those who take hold. I can suddenly look at my life and realize that is by the grace of God through Jesus Christ that I am saved. Then take hold of Wisdom and let the grace of God grow.

So, this morning, I am wondering what is growing in my life and what has taken hold of me.

…offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness, leading to holiness. (Romans 6:19)

Let me make an analogy. It’s not a perfect analogy, but hopefully it helps us understand Romans 6. Years ago, I joined a health club. I visited the club, tested out the equipment, completed the registration and received a membership card. It even required a financial commitment taken directly from my bank account every month. I joined the club because I am convinced of the life-giving value of physical fitness. I know that I am not physically fit. I know that on my own I will not be motivated to keep exercising. And, I find inspiration in going to the health club and seeing others who are becoming more physically fit. Am I physically fit just because I carry the membership card with me? Am I becoming more physically fit with occasional visits or even regular visits? No, because the health club is not the answer. I must live into a lifestyle that is healthier and encourages better eating, exercise and practices or the greatest health club in the world cannot help me.

Did you read what happened to Solomon? Just as God did with his father, David, God promised that an heir would remain on the throne forever. All Solomon had to do was what his father did. That was to trust God and whenever he messed up, confess and seek redemption. But Solomon, knowing what was expected and the consequence of not doing so, refused to admit any fault or failure (and to think he was the wisest man in the world). And as a result, we will read that the kingdom divided and eventually disappeared. It was not enough to be a card-carrying member of God’s family. It was not enough to be the wisest man. He failed to keep going and growing – and eventually he let others draw him into worshipping other gods.

Paul is saying that justification by faith is not the end-all. It does not prove anything other than we know what we didn’t know. God’s grace has rescued us, and embracing what God has done, believing that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, is the starting point. Will we grow from there? Paul reminds us that we will be the slave to something. I’ve lived long enough to know that. I’ve listened to enough people to know the great destruction when we become slaves to “impurity” and “wickedness”. Choose “righteousness” but keep going and keep growing. John Wesley called this sanctification – being made holy. Others call this becoming Christ-centered.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is etternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

After a week away totally devoted to scripture, prayer and reflection, it is a challenge to fit the rest of life into a day. The past two days the reading happened, but the reflection time did not. So, when I read today’s readings, one verse in particular called out to me.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

At the end of Solomon’s prayer, God answers. God answers prayer. There’s just one thing that God includes in the answer that makes me uncomfortable. God says, “if my people will humble themselves.” What’s that about?

If you asked God for direction and God provided that direction, would you take it? If God said, “Go”, would you Go.?If God said, “Go but I won’t tell you where until you get there” (which is what God said to Abraham), would you go? If God tells you what to do (God told Moses, a stutterer, to speak to Pharaoh), would you do it? Humble yourself. Give up control. God will answer, but expects us to go, to do, to accept the answer. How many answers have I received but I was not really listening for the answer because I was not ready – I was not humble enough to give up control so I could hear.

This weekend, we send a missionary to Africa. She has received an answer to a lifelong prayer. Many people have said that they admire her for her courage – something they could not imagine doing. But could we imagine being humble and giving up control so that when God gives us an answer we would, I would be ready to respond?

Humble, pray, seek, turn – that’s what God expects from me. Hear, forgive, heal – that’s what I can expect from God. I tend to lean more into the second half of this equation than the first. What if today, I focused on the first half – humble, pray, seek and turn. Give up the control and maybe that’s when real life begins.

I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to evveryone who believes (Romans 1:16)

For Paul, this verse contained the central message of his letter to the Roman Christians. Unlike the other letters that he wrote, Paul never met the recipients of this letter. Therefore he could not address specific issues related to the church in Rome. So, maybe this verse has extra significance for me, because Paul never met me either.

Am I ever ashamed of the gospel? To be ashamed is to have a feeling of shame, guilt, or disgrace. I’ve had those feelings. To be ashamed is to feel inferior or unworthy. I know what that feels like. But related to the gospel? The gospel is the message that Jesus is risen from the dead, then letting that message live within me and transform my life. I’m ashamed to admit that I have been ashamed. I have not lived up to what I know God is calling me to be and to do.

But in this verse from Paul, I also hear an invitation to move beyond being ashamed and claim the power of the gospel. There is power in finding and claiming. Later today, I will return home after a wonderful week of prayer, scripture and reflection. There is something especially renewing for me to be able to spend this time at the beach, walking and listening to constant sound of the waves. In this morning’s walk, I found a sand dollar that had washed ashore during the night. It was the first one that I saw this week. I felt like I had found a treasure. I claimed it. The experience of finding and claiming added something to my day.

Each morning, I begin with scripture. By reading and reflecting on these timeless truths and allowing God to bring these truths to life within me, that’s power. Each day, I am looking for a treasure. I plan to be faithful throughout the day, but I don’t know what the rest of today will bring. But in this moment, at the start of this new day, I am claiming this treasure: “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.”

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

For Paul, that’s the bottom line. It is also why I have remained a Methodist. Grace, according to John Wesley, is prevenient. That means, God’s grace is active in one’s life even before you know there is God, much less grace. It is like being born, dependent on air to breath without even knowing that it is air that we breath. But then, Wesley said there is a point in one’s life when grace is justifying. We recognize that God is. We welcome and accept the grace that God is pouring into our lives. It is like the song: “Grace like rain falls down on me, and hallelujah all my stains are washed away…they’re washed away.” God is suddenly personal. This is what is called the personal relationship with God. And it leads to sanctifying grace which is a lifelong process of transformation where we are being made holy.

Grace in the beginning. Grace in the end. God’s grace surrounding me throughout my life. And for Paul, that’s the bottom line. Twenty-five years before this letter was written to the Thessalonians, no one outside the small town of Nazareth had even heard the name of Jesus. And now people in a large city in Macedonia were hailing him as “Lord” and “Christ” and allowing the grace of “our Lord Jesus Christ” to transform their lives and their world.

This same grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is falling like rain into your life. Two days ago, I was walking on the beach when it began to rain. The rain was warm and refreshing in a way I don’t usually experience. It felt good. It felt right. It felt like grace. Welcome, accept, embrace this grace as the way to true life.

Why didn’t I think of that? If you could have anything, anything you could ever hope for, what would it be? God said to Solomon, “Ask me for whatever you want.” Isn’t that also what Jesus would teach? “Ask and it will be given to you.” Solomon was twenty years old and the king of Israel. When I was twenty, what I wanted more than anything else was a car, and I’m afraid that if God told me to ask for whatever you want, I would have asked for a car. In that moment it would have seemed the right thing, but then I wasn’t thinking big enough. Even wealth and power was not big enough. Solomon asked for “a discerning heart”. I’ve asked for that but not until I had experienced the consequences of acting without a discerning heart, without wisdom.

The very next story in 1 Kings provides proof that God delivered on God’s promise. Or, did Solomon already have wisdom to be able to ask for it (instead of a brand spanking new chariot).

What are you asking for? Is your ask big enough for God?

What have we to be thankful for? What gifts have we received at God’s generous hands?Each day as I read from the Bible, I am listening for some message. Today, I am drawn to one verse from 2 Thessalonians 1. We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. (vs 3)

We ought always to thank God – for you. One of the lessons I remember from childhood is the important of saying thanks. The day after Christmas, I was writing thank you notes. The day after my birthday, I was writing thank you notes. I still write thank you notes in response to gifts received. I’ve also learned the power of receiving a thank you note. I don’t give in order to receive a thank you, but receiving the thank you, especially when unexpected (or seemingly undeserved) has an impact.

Paul was writing to the Thessalonian Christian and describing to them how he was thanking God for a gift received. That gift was what Paul realized God was doing. Their faith was growing. Their love for one another was increasing. And not by accident. In fact, this was happening in the face of significant persecution. But they were allowing God to do what God could do in their lives. And Paul gave thanks – to God for what God was doing. And in describing this to the Thessalonians, Paul offered an important lesson.

Look and see what God is doing. What are the signs of God’s work in your day, your life, your church? And give thanks.

A lot of time, money and effort is devoted to determining what cannot ever be fully determined until we get there. It is called the future. Not that there is anything wrong in doing so, and in many areas it is necessary. However, there is the risk that we can become so concerned with tomorrow that we miss today.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess 5:15-17) How to be present. How to live in the moment. Do not miss the present moment and what God could do in and through you today.