When Hardship Arrives

Austrian born Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is remembered as the father of psychoanalysis. At many levels Freud was a success, but he never enjoyed his success because he was so negative. Let me give you one example. In 1918, he wrote, “I have found very little good in human beings as a whole. In my experience most of them are trash.” Some say he was negative because he was in constant pain from jaw cancer caused by his cigar smoking. Some say his negativity was caused by his atheism. Perhaps it was a combination of the two. However, one point is clear. Hardships have a way of exposing our spiritual maturity. It is not just true of Freud; it is true of everyone. That takes us to our scripture reading, 1 Kings 17:18-24.

The story is a conversion between the prophet Elijah and a grieving woman. Elijah is considered the greatest prophet in the Old Testament, known for his many miracles. The woman was another faceless victim. Hardship seemed to be her best friend. She struggled with her son’s death, because she believed in the unwritten rule that children should outlive their parents. In her story, that simply did not happen. His death is painful for two reasons. First, the boy reminded her of the past and those were happier days. Perhaps, her son had his father’s smile or laugh. Perhaps, her son gave her the strength she needed to survive her husband’s death or an excuse to keep living. He was a reminder of happier times. The joy she felt at her son’s birth was now balanced out by the pain of his death. Second, the boy was her future security. She lived in sexist times; women were not permitted to own property. Without her son she would just become another beggar. His death filled her future with countless questions. It is safe to say, his death hit her hard.

She did what many faithless people do when hardship arrives. She lashed out at God. Verse 18 quotes the grieving widow, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” How many people do you know blame God when troubles come their way? However, this is a resurrection story. Elijah did what people of faith do during hardship – they turn to God. He takes the boy’s lifeless body and retreats to a quiet place. Elijah turned to God and in the end the boy is resurrected. According to the text, verse 20, he cried out to God and God heard him. The boy was resurrected and returned to his mother. The story of the grieving mother resonates with many because everyone faces problems.

During my time in the ministry, I made pastoral care a priority. Every afternoon I would visit someone who was facing hardship. Sometimes I would visit the hospitalized. Someone was always dealing with cancer, recovering from a stroke, or fighting an infection. Sometimes I would visit shut-ins. Television sets were their only link to the outside world. Sometimes I would visit the institutionalized. The nursing home staff would call them sweetie and honey, but they were just another resident. I feared no one really cared. Honestly, I fear I will spend my last days in this world in one of those places. In all my visits no one expected me to solve their problems. The only thing that mattered to them was that I cared, and that I would pray with them. I never disappointed them, because, like the grieving mother, they needed God. Every visit I made reminded me I had a good life. The problem is hardships are waiting for all of us. The only question is, how will we respond?

Years ago, Dr. Raymond Edman wrote a little book called In Quietness and Confidence. He says every time a Christian faces hardship we must do two things. First, we must face the problem head-on. Second, we must remember four clear statements. These are the statements:

I am here by God’s appointment. In other words, God wants you in that situation for some reason. That statement is important because it reminds us that God has not forgotten us. In our story, the widow’s son died so the power of God could be demonstrated. I cannot promise you a resurrection, but I can guarantee you that God has not forgotten you.

I am in God’s keeping. In other words, God will care for your needs. I didn’t say extravagant living; I said basic needs. In 1 Kings 17:4-6, Elijah drank from the brook and existed on sandwiches. During my time in the ministry, no church member ever died of starvation. God cares for our needs.

I am under God’s training. In other words, God has a plan for your life. Your troubles are molding your heart for something special. What sensitivities have you gained because of your hardships? How have your problems changed you? The lesson of humility is hard to accept.

God will show me the purpose in God’s time. I would like to say the purpose of your suffering will be revealed in this world, but I don’t want to lie to you. When I get to heaven, I have a great list of questions for God and so do you. In God’s time we will get our answers.

Don’t let your problems just be a problem. Accept the fact that your problems are an opportunity to witness your faith. Non-believers, like the widow, blame God and others. Believers turn to God. Let me end with this story.

In 1985, Bruce Goodrich (1967-1985) was training to be a cadet at Texas A&M University. One day, Bruce and the others were expected to run until they dropped. It seemed like an innocent hazing prank. The problem was, Bruce did, but he never got up. He died from heat stroke; he died before he went to his first class. Shortly after his funeral, Bruce’s father wrote a letter to the university. What kind of letter would you write if your child had just died in a senseless way? This is what Bruce’s father wrote:

I would like to thank the university for the kindness you showed my family during our time of need. I am pleased Bruce had a Christian witness on the campus. While we may not understand the events of the past few weeks, we know God does. God does not make mistakes. We know that Jesus is caring for Bruce now.

Can you question that father’s faith? Hardships have a way of stimulating our witness. They reveal our spiritual maturity. The faithless widow looked for someone to blame. The faithful prophet turned to God. What are you going to do next time hardship visits your house? Perhaps, Psalm 46:1 says it best, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

3 Simple Rules

Her name was Susanna Wesley (1669-1742), the mother of the founder of Methodism, John Wesley (1703-1791). She knew a thing or two about motherhood and she set the standard high. She was born in 1669, the youngest of twenty-five children. At the age of nineteen she married Samuel Wesley (1663-1735). They knew hardship. Constantly poor, they had nineteen children, nine of their children did not make it into adulthood. Their family home burned down twice. Yet, despite all of this, she is remembered as an outstanding mother. She prepared her children to survive in this world and to be prepared for eternity.

Each one of her children, both boys and girls, were home-schooled. Their education began on the day after their fifth birthday. Each one of them was required to know the complete alphabet after the first day. Once their education was complete, her children knew both Greek and Latin, along with the classics. All this was done within the framework of sixteen house rules. They still speak to our world today. These are her sixteen rules for parenting:

Eating between meals is not allowed.
Children are to be in bed by 8 p.m.
Children are required to take medicine without complaining.
Subdue self-will in a child to save the child’s soul.
Teach a child to pray as soon as he can speak.
Require all to be still during Family Worship.
Give them nothing that they cry for, and only that when asked for politely.
To prevent lying, punish no fault which is first confessed and repented of.
Never allow a sinful act to go unpunished.
Never punish a child twice for a single offense.
Reward good behavior.

12. Any attempt to please, even if poorly performed, should be commended.

Preserve property rights, even in smallest matters.

14. Strictly observe all promises.

15. Require no daughter to work before she can read well.

16. Teach children to fear the rod. 

Those rules demonstrate that Susanna Wesley knew something about raising children. However, this is the Good News for today: This blog does not have sixteen points. This blog only has three. They are found in our reading, John 2:1-11.

The scene is a wedding reception. Couples didn’t honeymoon in those days. No one traveled to Mexico or the Caribbean. However, they did hold receptions that lasted approximately a week. Jesus was invited to one such reception because he was a respected rabbi. Over the generations, certain general rules of hospitality have remained intact. Running out of food or drink has always been a serious matter. In verse three we discover that the wine had run out. Everyone looked for the guilty party, but Mary looked to Jesus.

She knew Jesus had the power to save the day. She believed in Jesus when Jesus didn’t believe in himself. In verse four, we find Jesus making an excuse for his inactivity, “My time has not yet come.” Mary does not listen. Instead, she instructs servants to bring him water. By the end of the scene, the party has resumed. Everyone had enough wine. Verse ten tells us it was the good wine. What does that mean? It means the wine that Jesus produced had a kick. What grabs our attention today is not the quality of the wine, it is the relationship between Mary and Jesus.

Time is important in this story. The nativity was decades earlier. Jesus is no longer a newborn, and Mary is no longer a young mother. In this story, Jesus is thirty years old man, and Mary is a veteran mother. Mary illustrates how our relationships with our children must change. You can’t treat your thirty-year-old child like a newborn, that will destroy any relationship. Your relationship with your children must evolve, as your child evolves. Mary illustrates for us three simple rules parents must follow when dealing with their adult children.

This is rule #1: Know your children! Mary knew Jesus. She was at the wedding reception with Jesus and this was not unusual. Mary spent most days with Jesus. Mary knew Jesus was different from the very beginning. She must have remembered many things. She must have recalled that visit from the angel years earlier, who told her that she had been chosen to be the mother of the Son of God. She must have remembered Jesus’ birth. She remembered the visitors, the shepherds and the Magi. She must have remembered how Jesus wandered off at the age of twelve and was found in the temple. Mary remembered it all because she was part of Jesus’ life for thirty years. She knew Jesus better than Jesus knew himself. How well do you know your children?

How much real time do you spend with your children? Perhaps, this is a better question: How well do your children know you? Can you name three of your children’s friends? If not, maybe you don’t know your children. Spending time with your children is important. Rule #1 says, know your children.

This is rule #2: encourage your children! History tells us that Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) carried an old newspaper article with him regularly. Those who were closest to him say he read it daily. He couldn’t believe the words. The article said Lincoln was a great leader. The article was correct, he is remembered as being a great leader, perhaps our greatest president. However, Lincoln didn’t see himself that way. He was crippled with self-doubt. Lincoln illustrates for us a simple point. It doesn’t really matter what others think of you. The only thing that matters is how you feel about yourself. How do you feel about yourself?

I love this Bible story because it shows the human side of Jesus. Jesus had an insecure side. Look at the story again. The Master is at a wedding reception when the wine ran out. Jesus had the power to solve the problem, but he didn’t try because he was too insecure. It is his mother who gives him the nudge to try. Verse 3 says, “When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’” In other words, Mary is telling Jesus to do something. She is encouraging him to do something. Have you ever needed an encouraging word? The world reminds us regularly of what we can’t do. We need people in our lives to remind us of what we can do. It is not just true of the young. It is true of the not-so-young. We are often blind to our own abilities. It is impossible to receive too much encouragement. Rule #2 says, encourage your children.

This is rule #3: Trust your children to God! Mary knew Jesus and she encouraged Jesus. However, the third rule must have been the hardest one for her to apply. She knew God had something special planned for him. She remembered how she and Joseph took Jesus to the temple when he was only eight days old. On that day, they met an old man by the name of Simeon. He knew Jesus was destined for greatness. Do you remember his words? Mary did. Simeon said, “This child is destined for the raising and the falling of many in Israel” (Luke 2:34). Mary didn’t know what that really meant, but she must have asked the question a million times: why does her son have to lead to the raising and the falling? Why not just the raising?

When she encouraged Jesus to change the water into wine, she was encouraging Jesus to get on with his life. She was encouraging Jesus to fulfill his divine destiny. Jesus’ future was out of Mary’s control. She had done the best she could do. Now, she had to trust God with him. We only have our children at home for a short time. Most of their lives they are on their own. How far do you trust God with your children? This is rule #3, trust your children to God.

Years ago, I watched Ken Burn’s (born 1953) documentary on World War II, The War. My father served during that war, so I felt some attachment. I found the interviews of the survivors interesting. That generation is dying quickly. In one episode, they interviewed a native-American soldier who was in the infantry. I will never forget it. I think about it every Mother’s Day. Years after the conflict, he cried about the day he took a German life with his own hands. Death did not come suddenly, the soldier died slowly. Before he died, he called out. According to the man interviewed, he didn’t call out for a medic. He didn’t call out for his friends. He called out for his mother, twice. The man was a solider, but the man was a son who needed his mother.

Don’t tell me motherhood isn’t important. It is important to love your children when they are young, but it is equally important to love them today. Regardless of age, they will always be your children, and you will always be their mother. The English poet and playwright Robert Browning (1812-1889) once said, “Love begins and ends with mothers.” I believe he was right!

3 Theories about Thomas

We find ourselves in the twentieth chapter of John, verses twenty-four through twenty-nine. Prior to our reading, the resurrected Jesus appeared to ten of the disciples. The two who were missing were Judas Iscariot, the one who had betrayed Jesus. By this time, he had committed suicide. The other absent disciple was Thomas. We do not know where Thomas was, but we know where he should have been. He should have been with the other disciples experiencing the resurrected Jesus. The other disciples told him about their experience, but their words were not enough. Thomas responds with these famous words, found in verse twenty-five, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” He must have regretted those words. For generations, people have judged Thomas for them.

Except for Judas Iscariot no other disciple has been judged more harshly by history than Thomas. It is unfair. His life was more than that a single sentence. Just think about it for a moment. Thomas was selected by Jesus, himself, to be one of the disciples. That means he traveled with Jesus for three years. He heard the lessons. He felt his authority. He saw his miracles. He was excited on Palm Sunday and devastated on Good Friday. Tradition tells us after Pentecost, he went to India to evangelize about Jesus. Even his death had meaning. Tradition tells us, he died in service to the Lord, martyred with a spear. He had an incredible life, but we remember him for one sentence, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” Why is it, we all remember those negative words? Could it be that we all point to that one moment of doubt because it was the one moment, we are the most like Thomas? You are not the first person to wrestle with doubt, and you will not be the last. However, this is the question of the day:

Why did Thomas doubt? Throughout the centuries, many have tried to answer that question. I have my theories. Maybe you have your theories? James W. Moore (1938-2019) was an author and the pastor of the St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas for many years and he had his theories. In this blog, I want to look at his theories – I believe they have some merit. They speak to me; I hope they speak to you too.

This is theory number one: Thomas doubted because he had dropped out. In other words, Thomas had some doubts because Thomas was not present, so he doubted. That is worth considering. We still see it today. How many people do you know question the resurrected Jesus, because they have dropped out of church? For that reason, many have a poor personal theology. They simple don’t understand God’s ways.

How many church dropouts do you know? I cannot blame them 100% of the time. The church is made up of imperfect people, so the church is not a perfect institution. Truth be told, there are times churches are downright ugly. We fight amongst ourselves. We gossip about one another. There are times when small groups like to run the whole show. There have been times when pastors do some horrible things. I know those things, but I also know this: there is no excuse for dropping out of church. Despite all our problems, church is still the best place to learn about God. If you do not go to church, then where do you learn about God? If you are not going to church, then you are self-taught. For a short time, Thomas dropped out. Church dropouts are missing the whole Christian experience. No wonder they have doubts and questions. They simply do not know God’s ways.

This is theory number two: Thomas doubted because he gave in. In other words, Thomas had some doubts because he let science become the final answer. You cannot really blame him, the resurrection of Jesus is hard to believe because it is a miracle! It cannot be explained by science. If you do not believe in miracles, then you cannot believe in the resurrection. Do you know anyone who says people who believe in miracles are foolish, uninformed or uneducated? Do you know anyone who has given in?

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), the chief writer of the Declaration of Independence and Third President of the United States, gave into science. He was a deist. In other words, he believed in God, but God never broke natural law. For this reason, he had his Bible re-written. He wanted everything that could not be scientifically explained eliminated. Just think about it for a moment. Just think of the things Jefferson rejected. He dismissed the virgin birth, the healing stories, and the resurrection. In my opinion, that dismissed him from the Christian faith. Your belief in the resurrection of Jesus is not optional, it is mandatory. I have seen copies of Jefferson’s Bible. It is approximately one-third the size of our Bible.

I hope you do not misunderstand me, I am not saying that science is bad. I believe it is one of the paths to truth and knowledge. However, I do not believe it is the only path to truth and knowledge. Some of the most powerful forces in our world today cannot be explained by science. Can you give me the scientific formula for love, honesty, courage, faith, goodness, or humility. There is not a scientific explanation for patience, self-control, or kindness. You cannot put mercy or grace into a test tube. Those things cannot be scientifically explained, but we see examples of those things every day. Perhaps Thomas doubted because he gave in to science? Science is good, but it is not the final answer. The final answer is always God. Perhaps Thomas doubted because he dropped out or gave in.

This is theory number three: Thomas doubted because he gave up. In other words, Thomas had some doubts because he let death be the final answer. The scripture does not tell us where Thomas was when Jesus appeared to the others. However, I have a good guess. I believe he was doing what many do when they are upset. They walk to get some fresh air, clear their minds, and think. If you use your sanctified imagination, you can see him walking down every back street of Jerusalem. He is trying to answer the question, “How did it go so wrong, so fast?” As he walked, he couldn’t believe it was over. He was devastated. He thought it was over when Jesus died! However, he was wrong. It was not over. It was just the beginning. Why? Because Jesus was not dead. He had been resurrected; he was alive! Do you know anyone who lets death have the final word? Do you know anyone who has given up?

The other day, we observed the 30^th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. You remember the ugly story. On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh (1968-2001) attacked the federal building in downtown Oklahoma City. I remember that day. The picture that caught my attention from that day was of a firefighter carrying a little girl away from the destruction. We found out later that the little girl was one year old. She celebrated her first and only birthday the day prior to the bombing. Reporters asked that little girl’s mother, “How can you go on?” She responded, “The only thing that keeps me going is the fact that my little girl is in heaven. Someday, I am going to see her again.” Can you relate to that mother? Your life would come to a grinding halt, if not for the belief that you will see your loved one again? Perhaps Thomas doubted because he was overcome with grief. Never forget! Death is not the final answer. The final answer is Jesus! I do not know why Thomas doubted, but he did. Do not be hard on him. We all have questions and doubts. Let me end with this story.

Years ago, I received a phone call from a young man by the name of Derrick. He was a student at Youngstown State University who was enrolled in a religion class. His assignment was to call a minister in the area and ask some questions. I was more than happy to answer his questions. However, before the first question was asked Derrick wanted to make a confession. He said, “Rev. Adams, I don’t want to scare you, but I have some questions and doubts about Christianity.” I said, “Derrick, the fact that you have questions and doubts doesn’t scare me. The only ones who frighten me are the people that say they have all the answers.” Voltaire (1694-1778) said, “Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.” So, accept your doubts and ask your questions. They are a sign of a growing faith.

Christianity’s Cornerstone

Billy Graham (1918-2018) was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He became famous for his evangelistic crusades. I heard him preach in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1990’s. Southern Baptist to the core, his message resonated with many Americans. He said it countless times: we are saved by grace and by grace alone. You must accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and live a life that is completely committed to him. When he died on February 22, 2018, those who were closest to him reported, he was prepared for his own death. He told his son, Franklin Graham (born 1952), “Someday you are going to hear I am dead. Don’t believe it. I will be more alive than ever before.” Billy Graham understood the importance of the resurrection of Jesus, and he knew why it was important. I hope you do too. Your belief in the resurrection is not just important, it is indispensable! That leads us to the Bible.

For the last ten years in my ministry, I went to a local cemetery to observe Good Friday. It was not a well-attended service, but it was the right thing to do. I wanted to drive home the point that Jesus died. How can you have a resurrection without a death? You know the story. Matthew 27:45-50 tells us Jesus died on a Friday at 3:00 in the afternoon. He died Roman style, crucified between two common criminals. In a certain way Jesus was lucky. It was not uncommon for the crucified to die slowly with their corpses thrown into a pile with other victims. Those lifeless bodies would be eaten by buzzards or wild dogs. That was not Jesus’s story. He died relatively quickly, his body was placed into a new tomb, purchased by Joseph of Arimathea. A large stone was rolled in front of the entrance to protect it from thieves and to trap the odor of his decaying body. The Roman government was persuaded by Jesus’s enemies to place guards in front of the tomb to eliminate any future problems. This was all done by dark on Friday, because the law prohibited any burials on the Sabbath. Saturday must have been a long day for those who loved Jesus. Disappointed, they were full of questions. After all, Jesus was dead.

That takes us to our primary reading, Matthew 28:1-10. According to the text, it is early on Sunday morning. Two women both named Mary visit Jesus’s tomb. According to Mark 16:1, they went to anoint Jesus’s body. According to Matthew, four unusual things happen during their visit. First, there was an earthquake. Only Matthew mentions the earthquake, it tells us God had done something special. Second, the giant stone had been rolled away. Third, an angel dressed in white, symbolizing purity, told the women Jesus had been resurrected. Forth, the women experienced the resurrected Jesus themselves. There is a world of difference between hearing about the resurrection of Jesus and experiencing the resurrected Jesus.

They tell me in the Greek Orthodox tradition, many people tell jokes on Easter because God played the greatest practical joke on Satan. It looked like Satan had won. Jesus was dead, and Satan must have celebrated all day on that Silent Saturday, but Sunday was coming. On Sunday, God resurrects his one and only son, Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus is Christianity’s cornerstone. I Corinthians 15:14 says, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” But Christ has been raised from the dead, so our preaching is useful and so is our faith. According to Campus Crusade for Christ, now Cru, the resurrection did four things.

1. The resurrection proved that Jesus was divine. His death did not prove anything. In time, everyone dies. Jesus died. However, Jesus’s bodily resurrection proved he was divine. Roman 1:4 says, “and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”

2. The resurrection proved Christ’s power to forgive sins. The resurrection broke the bond sin holds on us. Without the resurrection, we are bound to sin. With the resurrection, we are liberated from sin. 1 Corinthians 15:17 says, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”

3. The resurrection reveals Christ’s power over death. Jesus did not just live, die, and live again, just to die again. Jesus is alive still today. Romans 6:9 says, ^“For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.” Equally important, death has no hold on us. Through our faith in Jesus, we are going to live for eternity. Ephesians 2:6 says, “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”

4. The resurrection defeated God’s enemy. Until the day Jesus walked out of the tomb, Satan fought against God. However, when Jesus came back to life, Satan knew he had lost. Because of the resurrection, Christians should never fear Satan again.

For several years, my wife Kathryn and I went to Washington DC annually. For eighteen years, she was the Director of Protestant Campus Ministry at Youngstown State University. Part of her responsibility was to chaperone international students to our nation’s capital. We took them Arlington National Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the World War II Memorial, The Holocaust Museum, the White House and the Capital Building. I have fond memories of those trips.

Each trip ended the same way. We visited the National Cathedral. I believe it is the city’s best kept secret. Built by private funds, it is an impressive structure. It took 83 years to complete. The construction began in 1907; the cornerstone was set with President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) in attendance. The construction was completed in 1990, when President George H. W. Bush (1924-2018) was in office. It is a functioning Episcopal Church, full of Christian symbolism.

Our trips occurred during the month of March, so the cathedral was decorated for Lent. Many of the international students were not Christian, so they were curious about the symbolism. One year, I walked through the cathedral with a young woman from Taiwan. Did you know there are over twenty-three million people on that island nation? Approximately one-third are Buddhism. Less than 4% are Christian. Approximately 19% are irreligious, she was one of them. She asked me about the Christian symbolism. I did my best to explain Lent, and I told her about Holy Week, including Jesus’s death on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter. I said everyone who knows Jesus as their Lord and Savior is going to heaven. She responded by saying, “He must love you very much. He must offer you great comfort.” She could not have been more right. Jesus does love us, and he offers us great comfort. We are resurrection people! American businessman Joseph Wirthlin (1917-2008) said, “The resurrection is at the core of our beliefs as Christians. Without it, our faith is meaningless.” The resurrection is Christianity’s cornerstone.

Christ is King

Our reading is Matthew 21:1-11, the traditional scripture for Palm Sunday. To the regular worshipper, the story and background are familiar. According to the text, a great crowd had gathered in the city of Jerusalem. It was time for Passover, a time for people to do three things. First, they made their annual animal sacrifice at the temple. Second, they paid their annual taxes to the government. Third, it was time to reconnect with family and friends, like Thanksgiving or Christmas in America. It is for that reason everyone wanted to be in Jerusalem for the Passover. The law required people to attend, but no legislation was necessary. Everyone wanted to be in Jerusalem for the Passover. It has been estimated that the population of Jerusalem swelled to 2,500,000 and on the lips of everyone was the name Jesus.

Each one of the Gospel writers emphasizes the size of the crowd. Matthew calls it a very large crowd (Matthew 21:8). Mark says many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut palm branches from nearby fields. Some people followed Jesus; some people ran ahead of Jesus (Mark 11:8-9). Luke says the crowd was so great the religious leaders encouraged Jesus to rebuke them (Luke 19:39). John tells us a great crowd gathered for the festival (John 12:12). All the Gospel writers tell us the crowd cheered for Jesus when he entered Jerusalem. You can’t question the fact that the crowd was large. However, you can question the commitment of the crowd. The massive cheering crowd on Palm Sunday was replaced with the tears of the few on Good Friday.

The massive Palm Sunday crowd disappeared. They simply didn’t understand Jesus’s mission. Some in the crowd cheered for Jesus because he was popular. Everyone was talking about Jesus, and they didn’t want to be left out. Still today, many like being near a celebrity. Some cheered for Jesus for political reasons. They had grown tired of foreign domination and longed for Jesus to lead a revolution against the Romans. If Jesus would use his power and charisma for their cause, then independence was possible. Some cheered for Jesus for personal reasons. They were sick, or a loved one was sick, and they hope Jesus had a healing saved up for them. They cheered for Jesus to get his attention, so he would have pity on them. In the end, each group was disappointed, because they simply didn’t understand Jesus’s mission. They were more interested in their personal agenda than Jesus’s divine mission.

Palm Sunday reminds us “Christ is King.” Jesus came to usher in a new kingdom. Unlike political kingdoms that would come and go, unlike kings and presidents who will be replaced, Jesus’s kingdom will last forever, and he will sit on that throne forever. In the end, Jesus will hold everyone accountable. His kingdom exists beyond this world, because he defeated death itself. Like looking out an airplane window, you must look at the panoramic view of Palm Sunday to see the whole picture. Five times in the Palm Sunday story God tells us that Christ is king. Let me look at each one individually.

John 12:12-13 tells us the crowd cut palm branches, waved them in the air, laid them on the ground, and cheered for Jesus, “Hosanna!” as he rode into the city. The palm branch represented goodness and victory. It was symbolic of final victory. Jesus would soon defeat death. 1 Corinthians 15:55 says, “O Death, where is your victory? Where is your sting?”

According to Bible, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The donkey symbolized peace, so the one riding the donkey came with peaceful intentions. Jesus called himself the Prince of Peace. When Jesus rode the donkey, he fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
When the people cheered “Hosanna” they were hailing Christ as King. The word means “save now,” and though they wanted an earthly king, God offered them an eternal king. Psalm 118:26 says, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Luke 19:41-42 says, “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it, and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes.’” Jesus knew what would happen on Palm Sunday. The people who cheered for him on that day would soon reject him. That reality was more than Jesus could handle, so he wept.

Palm Sunday reminds us that the reign of Christ is greater than any man’s mind could conceive or plan. The crowd was preoccupied with the things of this world, but God was concerned with eternity. We are free of death because Christ was the ultimate sacrifice. In John 11:25, Jesus said of himself, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me will live even if he dies.”

The Palm Sunday story reminds us five times that Christ is King. It is repetitive because God wants us to learn that divine truth.

One of the things my wife Kathryn is doing in retirement is studying Russian. This is nothing new. She has been studying Russian on and off for decades. She finds mastering the Russian language vital in her work with her non-prophet, Project Orphan Outreach. She has a heart for orphans in the former Soviet Union. Russian is spoken in many countries in Eastern Europe. When we travel to Christian Camp Gideon in Estonia in Estonia this summer many will speak Russian.

There is nothing easy about the Russian language. She is working hard to master it. Nightly, as we watch television she studies her homemade Russian flash cards to improve her vocabulary. She can tell you the Russian word for “desk.” She can tell you the Russian word for “dark blue.” She can tell you the Russian word for “mirror, thirty-three and cat.” Under her breath, yet loud enough for me to hear, she repeats her Russian vocabulary words, time and time again. Some would find this practice annoying, but I don’t, because I can only say three Russian words, toast, roast beef and soup. I am proud of her. She tells me daily in perfect Russian, repetition is the mother of learning. When I was in school, I repeated the same information over and over to learn it.

God must believe repetition is the mother of learning too. Five times on Palm Sunday, he reminded us Christ is King. He did so when the crowd waved palm branches. He did so when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. He did so when the crowd cheered “Hosanna!” He did so when Jesus cried for the city of Jerusalem. He did so when Jesus told us, “he was the way, the truth and the life.” Pope Benedict XVI (1927-2022) once said, “But Palm Sunday tells us that… it is the cross that is the tree of life.” Don’t forget it. Christ is king!

Don’t Give Up Missions

There came a point in Jesus’s earthly ministry when he was no longer welcomed in the synagogues. With no other option, Jesus began to teach in the open air and began to tell parables. Parables are practical illustrations from daily living. Parables are not fables with a moral lesson. Parables are not analogies, where each character represents a contemporary character. Parables are different, because they illustrate a single divine truth.

Our reading, Matthew 25:31-46, the parable of the sheep and the goats, is a judgement parable. That generation saw the scene regularly. As a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, so God will separate the righteous from the unrighteous. The righteous will enter heaven, because they responded to human need. They provided food, drinks, companionship, clothing, and medicine to those in need. The unrighteous were sent to hell because they failed to respond to human need. They were preoccupied with their owns needs and desires. The point of the story is clear – Jesus expects us to respond to human need. In the life of the church, we call responding to human need missions. Christian missions is an excellent way of expressing your appreciation to God for saving your soul. My goal in this blog is to help you appreciate the mission work of the church. I will do that by making three statements about mission work. I hope these statements make you think.

This is statement number one. Missions involve interpersonal relationships. Once you learn the name of the person you are helping, everything changes. Once you get involved in their story, missions come to life. Missions is not charity, missions is deeper. There is nothing wrong with collecting food, paper products or warm clothing. There are many people who need them. The problem is, you never get to know the person who will eat that food, use those paper products or wear that scarf. Charity is fine, but the needy always remain at a distance. Missions involve interpersonal relationships. In my life, I cherish the relationships I have made while helping someone in need. They changed my life while I was helping them. I think and pray for them regularly. If you want to thank Jesus, get involved in someone else’s story. Missions involve interpersonal relationships.

This is statement number two. Missions expose a person’s spiritual maturity. Spiritual babies only think about themselves. The spiritually mature grow to understand that life is about others. No activity in the life of the church exposes spiritual maturity more than missions. If it is true of people, and it is true of churches. If you show me a church that is not involved in missions, then I will show you a church that is on the way to extinction.

On the day missions take a backseat to everything else, your church will begin to die. If you want your church to close, then frustrate every mission opportunity. It is easy to do. You can justify your opposition based on sound business principles. Others will support you because there are other spiritually immature people. The church was never meant to be a business. The church was meant to be an extension of Christ in the world. When the winds of Pentecost blew, the only thing that mattered to those charter members was Jesus. The only thing that should matter to you is Jesus. The spiritually mature understand when we care for the needy of this world we are really caring for Jesus. When we ignore the needy of this world, we are ignoring Jesus. That is what the Master said in the parable. Missions expose a person’s spiritual maturity.

This is statement number three. Missions involve a certain amount of risk. Can I state the obvious? There are many frightened people within the life of the church. Whenever I have gotten involved in a mission project, well-meaning people try to stop me. When I went to the Philippines, people told me, don’t go! Their government is unstable. When I went to Mexico people told me, don’t go! You could get a disease. When I went to Haiti people told me, don’t go! You could be held hostage. Every time I traveled to the former Soviet Union, some well-meaning person warned me that I could be arrested and interrogated. When I tried to help the poor in my nearby city, people asked me, “Aren’t you afraid to be in the city? Someone seems to be killed every day.”

Yes, missions involve a certain amount of risk. Yes, the government may be unstable. Yes, the food may be bad. Yes, the residents may not like Americans. Yes, you may fall in love with someone in need and get your heart broken. However, this is what experience has taught me: The reward of helping those in need is greater than the risk. There is a world of needy people out there whom God loves. How can you turn your back on them? If you don’t believe God is calling you to go, then don’t go. Stay home. But, if God has called someone else to do something, then don’t discourage them. Encourage and pray for them. Never forget, God is with the person he has called into missions. Missions involve risk.

Ernest Henry Shackelton (1874-1922) was born in Ireland on February 15, 1874. His father wanted him to be a doctor, but he wanted to be a sailor. At the age of sixteen, he joined the merchant marines and saw the world. His greatest desire was to travel to the South Pole. In December of 1914, he got that opportunity. He was the captain of a ship called Endurance, which had a crew of twenty-seven men. For years, I read about an advertisement he ran to recruit his crew. This is the fictitious ad:

Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success.

The story ends by saying Shackleton could not take all the men that responded to that ad. I was saddened to learn several years ago that story is not true. I wanted that story to be true, because I longed for an adventure. I didn’t just want to live and die. I wanted to make a difference. I am not alone. Many long for an adventure and to make a difference.

I believe you long for an adventure and want to make a difference in this world too. I believe you are desperate to find a way to thank God for saving your soul. The world is filled with people who are in need. How are you going to respond? Pastor of the Saddleback Church in California Rick Warren (born 1954) once said, “The only way to serve God is to serve other people.” Never give up on missions!

Don’t Give Up the Bible

Historically, Americans have always had an appreciation of the Bible. It is not just limited to one place or generation. Consider these quotes with me:

George Washington (1732-1799) once said, “It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.”

Patrick Henry (1736-1799) once said, “The Bible is worth all the other books that have ever been printed.”

U.S. Grant (1822-1885) once said, “Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet-anchor of your liberties. Write its precepts in your hearts and practice them in your lives.”

Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) once said, “In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light and strength.”

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) once said, “A thorough knowledge of the Bible is wort h more than a college education.”

Those quotes are impressive. Do you believe America still values the Bible? That question takes us to our scripture reading, Acts 8:26-31.

The main character in the story is the apostle, Philip. He is instructed by an angel to go to the road that runs between Gaza and Jerusalem. The distance between those two locations is fifty miles. Somewhere on that road he finds a unique traveler, an Ethiopian eunuch. We know two things about him. First, we know his nationality. He was from Ethiopia. In those days, Ethiopia was considered the upper Nile region. Second, we know his occupation. He was the treasurer of the queen of Ethiopia, Candace. He was a eunuch because he worked with the queen and fornication will not be tolerated. He has a wonderful job, but his personal life was lacking. Confused, he sat on the side of the road studying the Old Testament. His life is filled with questions, and he wants some answers.

This is where the text begins to speak to us. The Ethiopian is reading the scriptures, but he does not understand the scriptures. It is one thing to read the words. It is another thing to understand the words. When was the last time you played the part of the Ethiopian? When was the last time you read the Bible, but you didn’t completely understand the words?

I will be the first one to admit it: the Bible is complex. Only fools think the Bible is simple. Just think about it for a moment. There are sixty-six books in the Bible: thirty-nine in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New Testament. Have you ever read the Bible cover to cover? Have you ever stopped to consider how many kinds of literature are found in the Bible? Have you ever stopped to consider the age of the Bible? Have you ever studied the original languages of the Bible – Hebrew and Greek – to expose some hidden meaning? Have you ever considered how much time passed between the oldest words in the Bible and the newest words in the Bible? Have you ever stopped to consider how much time has passed since the Bible was completed? Everyone agrees the Bible is complex; no wonder the Ethiopian Eunuch needed some help. However, the complexity of the Bible is not an excuse for not reading it. Reading the Bible is vital to your spiritual maturity. Let me give you two reasons why.

First, the Bible is practical. Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) once said, “Within the covers of the Bible are all the answers for all the problems man faces.” The Bible addresses a wide variety of practical topics. How would your life improve if you applied these Biblical models to your daily life? How many of the problems would not exist if you would have followed the Biblical model from the very beginning? Are all your relationships healthy? Are your finances strong? Are you still worried about your salvation? The Bible covers these things because the Bible is practical. The Bible can help you with the biggest problems you are facing today! The Bible is practical!

Second, the Bible is eternal. The piece of scripture the Ethiopian is trying to understand is found in Isaiah 53, the suffering servant passage. Approximately 700 years before the birth of Christ, Isaiah talked about Jesus. The great reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546) once said, “The Bible is the cradle wherein Christ is laid.” Luther understood the real meaning of the Bible. The Bible is all about Jesus, our only hope of salvation. The Bible is eternal!

The whole situation is sad. Our national Biblical illiteracy rate is at an all-time high. The Lifeway Research Group reported in 2017, 85% of all Americans own a Bible. The average American home possesses 4.4 Bibles. The problem is not possession, the problem is practice. Few are reading them. Only 10% of Americans read their Bible daily, only 25% percent of Americans read their Bibles once a week. 40% of Americans have never read their Bible.

When Jay Leno (born 1950) hosted The Tonight Show, he had a segment called Jay Walking. He would walk through the streets of Hollywood and ask people simple questions. It is amazing what people don’t know. One night he asked three college-age men questions about the Bible. He asked the first young man to name one of the Ten Commandments. He answered, “Freedom of Speech”. Then, he asked the second young man to complete this sentence: “Let the one who is without sin…” He answered, “have the most fun”. Smugly, the third young man laughed at his friends. Leno asked that young man, who in the Bible was swallowed by a great fish? The young man smiled with confidence and answered, “I know this one. It was Pinocchio!” We laugh at those ridiculous answers, but it really isn’t funny. It isn’t just true of the unchurched. It is true of the church too.

In 1989, I was appointed to a United Methodist congregation in Garfield Hts., Ohio.

When I first arrived, I did my best to get to know everyone. I did my best to discover what kind of activities they would support. In the first few months, I took a survey to learn more about them. On the survey were a wide range of questions. One of the questions was: “Do you think this church have a regular Bible study?” 98% of the congregation said, “Yes!” So, I planned a weekly Bible study and decided to use the biggest room in the church. After all, 98% of the people said the church should have a weekly Bible study. On the night I held the first Bible study I learned two things. First, I didn’t need the biggest room in the church. Second, I found out that evening I asked the wrong question. I should have asked, “Would you attend a weekly Bible study?” The survey told me 98% of the congregation said there should be a weekly Bible study, but less than 2% of the congregation came. I didn’t need the biggest room in the church. I could have held my Bible study in a phone booth.

It has been a long time since my unsuccessful weekly Bible study. Do you know what happened to that congregation? It pains me to say it. The church is now closed. That church did not close because the people were bad. That church did not close because the people were lazy. That church did not close because the people were not devoted to their church. That church closed for spiritual reasons. I believe that church was closed, because it was spiritually immature. Having no interest in the Bible is a sign of spiritual immaturity. Why would God lead people to a church that was spiritually compromised? Are you spiritually compromised? Spiritually mature people read the Bible. How often do you read the Bible? Actor Denzel Washington (born 1954) once said, “I read my Bible every day.” How often do you read your Bible? Never give up the Bible!

Don’t Give Up Worship!

When I first retired, I worshipped in a small membership church. When I say small, I mean small. They averaged about twelve every Sunday. That figure is not really accurate because three of the twelve never attended worship. They escaped into the basement. They said they were preparing for the coffee hour after the benediction. I believe it was their time to visit with their adult daughter for their weekly visit. Can I state the obvious? When you only had twelve and three leave, the congregation grew a little thin. I suppose you could get mad at “the three.” I look at it differently. I felt sorry for “the three” because they are missing the best part of church. They illustrate a simple point. You can go to church and never worship. Have you ever gone to church and never worshipped? That takes us to our scripture, Isaiah 6:1-8.

Years ago, before our country was threatened by a civil war, before Columbus discovered a New World, or a man named Jesus was resurrected, there was a man who spoke on behalf of God. His name meant “The Lord Saves,” but we call him Isaiah. His ministry began about the year 740 B.C., which makes him a contemporary of Amos, Hosea and Micah. Isaiah lived in politically stormy times. The Assyrian Empire was expanding; Israel was declining. Perhaps, that is why Isaiah’s major themes are dark. He spoke about judgment and salvation. However, our reading is not about either. Instead, he talks about the importance of worship. He tells us we won’t experience three things if we don’t worship.

First, if you don’t attend worship, then you won’t experience God! In today’s scripture reading, Isaiah had a vision. In his vision, he experienced God. The first four verses of the text try to explain what he saw when he looked at God. The Lord is seated high and exalted. His robe fills the temple, and He is surrounded by divine creatures. Don’t get lost in the details of the text; look at the text in general terms. Isaiah is experiencing God, and I believe people who attend worship want to experience God too. The goal of every church is to get you to experience God. For once you experience God, everything in your life will change.

That is why Satan doesn’t want you to experience God. He likes you just the way you are. So, he promotes secondary things in the life of the church to a primary position. Have you ever been preoccupied during worship by some secondary thing in the life of the church? The temperature is too low. The sound system is too loud. The usher isn’t wearing a tie. The greeter didn’t know your name. The person next to you is annoying. The tables and chairs need to be set up for the next dinner or fundraiser. I could go on, but you get the point. Satan doesn’t want you to experience God, so he promotes secondary things. You can go to church and never worship. This is the sad truth. Most do not even go to church. According to Gallup Research, only 20% of Americans worship weekly, only 41% of Americans worship monthly. That leads us to our second point.

Second, if you don’t worship, then you won’t hear the truth. We go to church to learn about God. Look at the text with me one more time. In Isaiah’s vision, he compares himself to God. The experience is revealing. Isaiah identifies his own imperfections. Verse 5 says, “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.” Verses six and seven are key. They tell us something about the very nature of God. God does not strike him down because of his imperfections. God has a solution to his imperfection. A hot coal is placed on his lips and his guilt is taken away. Isaiah learns about God’s loving ways. If he had not experienced God, then his theology would have remained uncorrected. One of the reasons we have a poor national theology is that fewer Americans are worshipping all the time. In church, we learn the truth about God. If you don’t go to worship, then you will learn about God from other unreliable sources.

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) once said, “Our hearts are restless until we find our rest in God.” Augustine was saying within each person there is a spiritual hunger that must be satisfied. If people no longer go to church, then they will find their spiritual food in other places. Is your theology based on some creation from the entertainment industry, your craze for angels, your local fortune teller, your random acts of kindness, or your personal opinions? In worship you hear the truth. You learn about God and his plan of salvation for the world. How much do you know about God? How much of your personal theology is built on something you found outside of the church? Just because you have a thought or opinion about God does not make you wise or correct. In worship you learn the truth. That takes us to the third point.

Third, if you don’t worship, then you will never discover your purpose. You were born to be more than a consumer. You were created for a purpose. The scripture lesson ends with the famous words of verse 8, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, here am I. Send me!” Isaiah hears something in his vision that we often forget. Life is not about us; life is about others. The world tells us the key to happiness is to make yourself the star of your universe. Worship reminds us that the key to happiness is serving others. Researchers tell us people who serve others live longer, happier lives. Wouldn’t you like to live a longer, happier life? Our world is filled with problems. God expects you to make a positive difference in this world.

When I was young my best friend was named Jimmy. If you know me personally, then you know his last name. He lived five houses up from my family home. Being the same age, we were always in the same class at school. I cannot tell you how many hours we spent together. I never had a brother, but I had something better, Jimmy! He was always fun, and we shared our dreams with one another.

Don’t Give Up Fasting

Scottish evangelist Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) once said, “The Sermon on the Mount is a statement of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is getting his way with us.” Jesus is setting the standard high. The Sermon on the Mount is found in the sixth, seventh and eighth chapters of Matthew. There are rich teachings found in these chapters. The Semon on the Mount includes the Beatitudes, and Jesus’s teachings on murder, adultery, divorce, along with his teachings on love, prayer and judging. In these chapters, Jesus teaches us to care for the needy. Standing with these memorable teachings is our reading, Matthew 6:16-18, about fasting. Many have chosen to ignore these words. I am one.

I was an active member of the clergy for 40 years. I served as a youth director in Frankford, Indiana for a year. I was the pastor of a small membership church outside of Danville, Kentucky for three years. Then, I served three United Methodist congregations in the old St. Clairsville District of the East Ohio Annual Conference for two years. I served a church outside of Medina, Ohio for a single year. Then, I served a church in Garfield Heights, Ohio for five years. During my last 28 years I served a church in Canfield, Ohio. That all adds up to 40 years. Conservatively, I have written approximately 2,000 sermons. Do you know how many sermons I have written on fasting? Including today’s blog, one! There is just something wrong with that imbalance. Jesus taught us about fasting, but we have ignored the whole topic. It is not just me. It is true of other preachers too.

My favorite website for “canned” sermon illustrations is called sermonillustrations.com. All the illustrations are arranged alphabetically in order of topic. If you want an illustration about grace, then you look up grace. If you want a sermon illustration about love, then you look up love. If you want an illustration on pickles, then you look up pickles. I thought they had an illustration on every topic, but I was wrong! I looked up an illustration on fasting and I got this response, “No illustrations yet”. I went to the internet highway and “GOOGLED” the question, what percentage of Americans fast? I was given information on the number of Americans who eat fast food.

Do you know of any Christians who fast for spiritual reasons? Through the years, I have met some amazing Christian people. I have known people who haven’t missed worship in decades. They even worship when they are on vacation. I know people who value prayer. I call them prayer warriors. I have known people who have studied the Bible and can quote it by chapter and verse. Just give them a Bible verse, they will quote it. Can you quote Ezekiel 31:9 right now? I have known people who take Holy Communion at home daily and people who won’t take an infant outside until after its baptism. I have known people who have served on all the church committees three times. I have known many people, but I have never known a single Christian who fasts for spiritual reasons. Do you know of anyone who fasts for spiritual reasons? That leads me to another question.

Jesus assumed in our reading people would fast, so why don’t we? Why have so many decided to ignore the spiritual discipline of fasting? I believe there are a couple of reasons. Some don’t fast for medical reasons, and they shouldn’t. If you are pregnant, then you should not fast. If you are a diabetic, then you should not fast. If you have a physical condition that depends on a regular diet, then you should not fast. Some don’t fast because they don’t completely understand the concept of fasting. A fast is not a diet. The goal is not to lose weight so you can look good in your swimsuit this summer. A fast is not a hunger strike where you refuse to eat to get attention for your cause. Many don’t fast because they are preoccupied with food. This is it in a nutshell: Most of us are more infatuated with food than we are with God. I don’t want that to sound harsh or judgmental. I want it to sound observant. How many people do you know who talk easily about food, but they never talk about God? The whole situation is sad.

However, those Christians who do fast say there are spiritual benefits. This is the list:

Fasting will strengthen your prayer life

Fasting will help you find God’s guidance

Fasting will help you grieve

Fasting will help you find divine deliverance or protection

Fasting will help you truly repent

Fasting will humble you before God

Fasting will enhance your sincerity

Fasting will help you overcome temptation

Fasting is not for those who are just curious about God. Fasting is for those who are infatuated with God. Are you just curious about God, or are you infatuated with God? John Wesley (1703-1791) said, “Fasting and prayer make a powerful combination.” The topic of fasting always reminds me of an experience I had years ago.

I decided to try a new program at my church. During that season of Lent, I formed a group called “Lunch with the Pastor”. The idea was simple. We would meet at noon in the fellowship hall and discuss that day’s sermon. I wrote a list of hard-hitting questions to discuss and ordered a sandwich ring. It was a simple straight forward idea. I thought, what can go wrong?

On the first Sunday of Lent, the little group gathered. On paper plates, we ate our sandwiches and chips. We drank out of paper cups. I couldn’t have cared less about the food. I wanted to dig into my hard-hitting questions. Before I could ask my first question, someone asked me a question. It torpedoed the whole group. This was their question: “Russ, what did you pay for the sandwich ring?” I didn’t remember. It was somewhere between a dollar and a million dollars. It didn’t matter, because I paid for it. She said, “I’ll cook lunch next week. I can serve this group for a fraction of the cost.” That grabbed everyone’s attention because everyone knows the purpose of the church is to save money and eat. She went on to tell us in detail everything she could cook and save money. I don’t think we covered a single question that day. We spent the whole time talking about food. The next week, I thought, this week will be better. I was wrong! When the time came, she provided lunch, and the food was cheaper and better. Someone else in the group announced they would cook the next week and then we had another fascinating discussion about cooking. On the third week, I gave up. My sermon discussion group with my outstanding hard-hitting questions turned into a recipe exchange club. We never met again, and no one ever missed it. I never tried such a group again. I just can’t compete with food. Can I state the obvious? Food is a good thing! However, there is something better: God! It’s a fair question: Are you more infatuated with food, or with God?

In the Bible, Moses, King David, Elijah, Queen Esther, Daniel, Anna the prophetess, the Apostle Paul and Jesus Christ all fasted for one reason. Each one was infatuated with God. Are you infatuated with God? Or are you more interested in food? Fasting is giving up something good to experience something better. There is nothing better than God. Never give up fasting!

Don’t Give Up Prayer

We find ourselves in the eleventh chapter of Luke. The story begins with Jesus praying. This is not surprising because Jesus prayed often. The scriptures tell us he prayed when he was alone and he prayed in public. He prayed before meals. He prayed before, and after healing. He prayed before making an important decision. He prayed to do God’s will, and he prayed before he taught about the importance of prayer. I feel comfortable saying, no one has ever prayed more than Jesus. This story begins with Jesus praying.

Once he had finished praying, the disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, like the followers of John. The disciples are not looking for instructions on how to hold their hands or close their eyes. The disciples are looking for exact words. Every rabbi, every teacher, taught their students, or disciples, scripted prayers. If you heard the prayer, then you could identify the individual’s rabbi. John had taught his disciples a certain prayer that was unique from all other rabbis. Jesus’s disciples wanted him to teach them a unique prayer so they can be like everyone else in their uniqueness. Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer has five different petitions. Matthew’s longer verse of the Lord’s Prayer, Matthew 6:9-13, has seven petitions. The disciples asked Jesus about prayer years ago, but the topic is still relevant.

Many people in our time do not understand prayer. As I have mentioned in recent blogs, prayer is not about getting what you desire. Prayer is about cultivating a friendship with God. During this season of Lent, I would encourage you to examine the attitudes you bring into your prayer life. Never forget, you are speaking to the God of the universe, not your next-door neighbor. Let me ask you three questions.

When you pray, do you pray with a grateful spirit? In Jesus’s prayer, he was thankful for his daily bread. Jesus doesn’t just want us to be thankful for life’s extras. He wants us to be thankful for life’s basics: your home, your food, your loved ones and your health. This is a fair question. Do you see what you have, or do you only see what you want? When you pray, do you pray with a grateful heart?

When you pray, do you pray with a forgiving spirit? In Jesus’s prayer, he tells us to forgive others, as God has forgiven us. Do you need to be liberated from your unforgiving heart? The event may have happened years ago, or it could have happened recently. In the end, your unforgiving heart is damaging you. Who do you need to forgive today? Is it possible you need to forgive yourself? How can you talk with God, who forgave you of so much, and not forgive someone else? When you pray, do you pray with a forgiving spirit?

When you pray, do you pray with a trusting spirit? In Jesus’s prayer, we are to trust God. “Lead us not into temptation.” The key word in that line is lead. There is a world of difference between being led and being an adviser. Many want to advise God. How far do you trust God? When you pray, do you pray with a trusting spirit? Let me end with this story.

Years ago, I was visiting someone at a local hospital. I parked in the parking deck, crossed the street and entered the hospital. After getting my person’s room number at the information desk, I headed for the elevators. I punched the up button and waited for the elevator to arrive. As I waited a young man joined me. He was wearing a knit cap and a red, green and black leather jacket. We stood side by side waiting for our elevator, but it was clear we came from different worlds.

I couldn’t help but notice he was holding a six-pack of Colt 45 under his arm. Don’t be so pious – you know what Colt 45 is. At one time, Billy Dee Williams (born 1937) was Colt 45’s spokesperson. It’s a malt liquor. I will be honest with you, I have never drunk a single Colt 45 because I am afraid. I am sure it tastes horrible, and someone told me when I was young, it could cause blindness. This is where the story gets interesting. I couldn’t resist. I looked at the young man and asked him if he bought the six-pack at the hospital gift shop. He laughed and smiled, revealing his gold tooth. He said, “No sir, I bought it at the gas station across the street.” I was afraid to enter that gas station too. He continued, “I’m taking them to my sick friend here in hospital and we are going to split them.” He asked me if I was visiting a sick friend. I said, “Yes,” and told him I was a minister. He put down his Colt 45 and stuck out his hand. As we shook hands, he said, “My name is Rodney. Why don’t you come with me to my friend’s room? You can say a short pray for him and the three of us can share some Colt 45.” I thanked him for the invitation but refused. My mom raised no fools. I just couldn’t see how it could end well. Can I ask you a question? Do you think Rodney had the right attitude about prayer? Maybe this is a better question.

Do you have the right attitude about prayer? Prayer is not just a way to get what you want. Prayer is cultivating a friendship with the God. The next time you pray ask yourself three questions: Do you pray with a grateful spirit? Do you pray with a forgiving spirit? Do you pray with a trusting spirit? Did you know 55% of all Americans pray daily? How many of those people pray with the right attitude? The great reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546) once said, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Never give up prayer!