David Bahn – Reflections

It was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. Isaiah 45:12

In Christ all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. Colossians 1:16

Uncle Eugene was a renaissance man. He was a world traveler. He was the head of the Speech Department at Wayne State University. He was truly a favorite uncle – though I actually had several favorite uncles on both sides of my family. But Uncle Eugene was first among equals.

I recall one time when he was visiting our home town that he asked for a ride to the Southeast Missourian newspaper. I gladly obliged. I took him there in my bright red VW beetle. He was appreciative and somewhat self-conscious about the reason for the trip. He went to provide them with a press release about his recent and future accomplishments.

The were worthy of a newspaper article. He had finished a significant stint as a visiting professor in Japan. He had also signed up for another stint. Apparently he was quite well-respected, and well-liked. After delivering the news release about this, he returned to the car and remarked, “You have to toot your own horn once in a while.” I was surprised at this. It didn’t seem to me that he needed to do that at all.

While Jesus does make some major claims of himself. He says he is the Son of God. He said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). He proclaimed that “all authority” had been given to him (Matthew 28:18). But Jesus never asked to be honored. His whole life on earth was one of humble service. He created all things. To him everyone will give an account. At the name of Jesus every knee will bow.

Jesus’ example provides us with great hope and a great example. The hope is that those who call him Lord are “on the right side.” We will spend little time worrying about or working on getting God on our side. We recognize him as the one to whom all will give an account. We cannot manipulate God into giving us any kind of special privilege.

All things belong to Christ. All glory is his. May the name of Jesus ever be praised. It will be.

My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning. Psalm 130:6

Beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.   Jude 20-21 .

Easter is just around the corner. Confirmation Sunday will follow two weeks later. Then comes Mother’s Day. Then graduations, Vacation Bible School, and a host of anticipated events. There’s a cruise we’ve planned for more than a year. And a visit from family from Washington state and Germany. I’m looking forward to these next few weeks! 

What if I were that hopeful for God? What if I looked for, hoped and trusted in, and waited for God with that same level of anticipation and yearning as I do for a vacation, a family visit, or even our Easter celebration? 

Hopes for God’s presence, blessings, and love are often tied to the trouble, distress, anxiety, and frustrations of this present age. This is one of the problems with the current level of affluence we experience today in the United States. We have job reports that tell us that the economy is booming. We have interest rates that allow investors to achieve a return and those who borrow money for a home to do so each day. Hot? Turn up the air conditioner. Bored? Stream a movie or schedule a trip to Disney World. Hungry? Call DoorDash. We are all too easily unaware of our need for God. 

When we are in distress we can call on God and look with anticipation and hope for God. When we pause to look beyond the pleasures of this life – or when we are reminded of the fleeting nature of this world’s delights – we can look beyond these joys to a better blessing. 

We may need to be reminded on occasion that our truest blessings come from God. The limits of this world’s riches may sometimes need to be unmasked for us. But those who hope for God will not be disappointed. They who center their hearts in Jesus’ love and the mercy of God will not be disappointed. Doing so is one key way that we build ourselves us in this holy and precious faith to which the Holy Spirit has called us. 

My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. Psalm 84:2

Jesus said, “Abide in my love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” John 15:9,11

Diane and I have had a much-needed 5 day getaway/vacation. I actually slept until 7:30 on a Sunday morning. My alarm has usually gone off long before that – or not at all because I’ve awakened before 5. Not today. We had a leisurely breakfast. We set out for worship at the church that a former associate pastor of mine nowserves. The service was edifying and the message right on. The days have been spent seeing the Nimitz and Pacific War museum here.Then came the wildflower trek. The day before we toured four local vineyards. Relaxing. Refreshing.

There is a deep sense of joy in my heart. We’ve enjoyed good food, some excellent wine, some beautiful vistas, and some great experiences. Worship today was surely a building block of our joy. Diane and I talked over dinner about the message here. It was about how God keeps us from harm and danger. It was a great reminder of how God does that by keeping us from eternal harm. We will not be spared from every evil in this world. Not even God’s Son was spared the troubles of this world.

The Bible tells us that Jesus suffered, “for the joy set before him” (Hebrews 12:2). He endured the insults of sinful men. He made satisfaction for our sins. He endured the cross – all in anticipation of the joy that he would experience when he sat down at the right hand of God. He reigns there now. He welcomes all who look to him into his realm of perfect live, forgiveness, salvation, and joy.

This is a good reminder for those of us who want to make heaven on earth. There are moments of joy we can all glimpse. But they are all fleeting. As I write this – in the joy of having this wonderful time away – I have a headache. My cough has been so incessant that Diane has nearly lost her patience having to endure it. I’m tired of it as well.

There will, however, come a Day when all the troubles of the world will melt away. All the joys of the world will be fully experienced – without any condition or exceptions, delays or qualifications. Our joy will be completely complete. Total. Absolute. Full. Then we can say with the psalmist: “My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.” Amen.

They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” Therefore prophesy, and say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people.” Ezekiel 37:11-12

Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” John 5:25

Our son learned a difficult lesson one year in high school. He was late by a day in turning in required application materials, and as a result was preempted from being received into the National Honor Society. He had fulfilled all the other requirements. But when he turned in the actual final application, he was told, “too late.”

Perhaps you’ve missed a deadline as well. You didn’t get the sale. You were eliminated from a work group you wanted to join. You missed your flight. You lost your opportunity to meet an important socialite. Too late. Sorry. Better luck next time.

Some people have come to an end in the road financially. Others have had failed marriages. Some diagnoses are simply too grave. Abandon hope. Give up. It’s over.

That is not the message of God to you today. “Today, if you hear his voice,” writes the psalmist (Psalm 95). He goes on to warn God’s people not to harden their hearts, having been delivered from Egyptian slavery. For this reason, we must not only embrace the hope of God’s never-too-late deliverance promises, we must also live into that hope.

God is rich in mercy, powerful in deliverance, and patient in anticipation of our repentance and faith. He years to show us how he can and does redeem lost causes, hopeless situations, and impossible challenges. It’s never too late to call on him. It’s never too late to start over. It’s never too late to repent of your sin. It’s never too late to call on him to rescue and redeem. It’s never too late for God to bring life out of death, hope from despair. 

Think of Sarah – 90 years old when Isaac – the son of God’s promise – was born. Elizabeth was well past the age of childbearing when John the Baptist was born. Harlan Sanders was 62 when he franchised KFC. Anna Mary Robertson Moses (Grandma Moses) was 78 when she took up painting. 

God’s ability to bring hope to the worst possible situation was never more clearly shown than on the first Easter Sunday, when Jesus rose from the dead. The final enemy has been defeated. Even death is not our end. I’m looking forward to celebrating that this Easter!

Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders? Exodus 15:11

We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. 1 John 5:20,21

Unique. One of a Kind. Distinctive. Special. None of these words adequately describe the character and nature of God. A seminary professor is famously to have said, “We know precious little about God, but the little we know is precious.” We know so precious little about God because he is so unlike any other. Metaphors fail him. Comparisons don’t fully express his glory, his being, his character or his nature. We know God is good. We know he is loving. In fact he is love. He is also holy, righteous, just, mighty, glorious, merciful, omniscient, and omnipresent.

The sum of these attributes – together with any additional attributes of God we may list for that matter – never fully express the depth of who God is. We can have a clear sense of the precious nature of God, however, if we consider the attributes of God in light of the best expression of God: Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the fullest, best, most revealing and precious expression of God’s nature, character, and being. When we look at his life, his teaching, his miracles, his sacrifice, his promises, and his victory, we begin to see aspects of God’s nature ever more clearly. When we engage in the fullness of his teachings and ministry we will be challenged, encouraged, emboldened, confronted, invited, rebuked, exhorted, and deeply honored.

Want to know more about God? Read and learn more about Jesus! Jesus provides us with the preciously perfect perspective on who God is and how we are to relate to him.

When the Israelites cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer, who delivered them. Judges 3:9

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Revelation 1:5-6

Imagine being one of the fifty-two American diplomats and citizens being held hostage in Iran from November 1979 to January 1981. For 444 days a group of Iranian college students kept them prisoners in the American Embassy.  The Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became the face of evil for many Americans, and a symbol of our impotence to gain our own people’s release. Eight American servicemen and one Iranian civilian were killed in a failed attempt to rescue the hostages. The movie Argo portrays the successful effort to gain the freedom of six American diplomats who had managed to evade capture.

I’m not particularly aware of a need for deliverance – certainly not as urgent of a need as those Iranian hostages. I live a mostly-comfortable life. I have no debilitating problems that have me unable to function. Sometimes I even feel as though I’m nearly thriving. Nearly.

Although my need may not be pressingly obvious, it is no less real. A lack of urgency does not mitigate our true need for deliverance. We are hostage to our sin, to death, and – without God’s help – to the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh. We need a deliverer.

Sometimes the need is obvious. We’re facing a life-and-death battle with a fatal illness: we need a deliverer. We are stuck in a debilitating addiction: we need a deliverer. We are plagued with a guilty conscience – for good or bad reason: we need a deliverer. We are enslaved to things or people more powerful than we are: we need a deliverer.

This was Israel’s situation. They needed a deliverer. And God showed up. Through Moses he delivered the people of Israel from the hands of the Egyptians. The city of Jerusalem lay in ruins, the walls torn down. God showed up. He sent Nehemiah to rebuild the walls and gather the people back to Jerusalem. David, Ezra, Daniel, Elijah: All these were deliverers. They were God’s instruments to bring freedom and deliverance from evil.

Through the prophet Isaiah, he announced a coming deliverer who would bear our sins and carry our sorrows (Isaiah 53). Jesus is the fulfillment of all those Old Testament deliverers and the One who alone has redeemed us and delivered us from the gravest evil. Sin and Satan has been defeated. We’ve been set free from our sins.

We were once hostage to sin and death, satan and hell. But we’ve been exfiltrated: Delivered. For that we can say, “Thanks be to God!”

UO Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart. Psalm 10:17

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

I’ve never watched the movie Braveheart. I hear it’s really good. But I began watching it when it got to a particularly gruesome scene and I had to turn it off. I have no stomach for such intense portrayals of suffering and anguish. As I understand the movie, however, it is about men (and women?) who are strong of heart – even in the face of intense persecution and opposition.

The problem with life, however, is that there are a million ways that opposition and persecution comes our way, and not all of them are so obvious or direct. The devil seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants nothing more than to take us away from Jesus and the life and salvation he offers. The world also conspires against faithful people. Who hasn’t seen the success of the godless, their opulent and glamorous lifestyles, and wondered why they have all the fun?

Our flesh joins these two enemies of faith, life, and hope, forming an unholy trinity of deceit, despair, and doom. We lose heart. We fail to stay strong at heart. Too many times we are not even aware that we have given in. We miss seeing the places and opportunities that God provides for us to be strong in heart.

When we realize this, however, God’s mercy comes to us and lifts us to a new and higher awareness of the hope we have. We see more clearly his goodness toward us and all people, and the clarity of our calling to stay strong in the faith.

This is never something we do by ourselves. We cannot hike up our pants and enter the battle against sin, satan, and temptation in our own strength. Look at Acts 19:11-16 and the account of Sceva’s seven sons who try to take on one of Satan’s minions. They leave the encounter wounded and bleeding!

Perhaps you need to do a brave thing. It might be speaking a hard word of truth (in love) to someone near to your heart. It could be resisting temptation that has come calling so many times that it has worn a rut through your heart. You may really want to share the Gospel with someone but fear any number of things – from rejection, to the loss of the friendship, to being considered a fool.

When we face these moments in the power of the Holy Spirit, and the certainty of the resurrection of Jesus, God shows up. When we acknowledge our desperate need for God’s grace and mercy, help and boldness, we are most ready to see his glory shine through us. It may never be a Braveheart moment – in the sense of the movie. But it may be a brave heart moment of God’s strength, courage, and confidence for his glory and our good.

Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. Ecclesiastes 5:10 NIV

Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:33-34

“Can’t buy me love, Oh! Can’t be me love, Oh! Money can’t buy me love.” So sang the Beatles many years ago. Funny thing about that realization: it comes from a group who managed to amass a whole pile of money, only to discover that it didn’t really satisfy. They could have listened to Solomon who spoke not only about those who love money not having enough, but also about having amassed more worldly treasures than anyone in his time – but found them to be totally unsatisfying.

They say that people who are stranded at sea can kill themselves by trying to slake their thirst with seawater. It never truly satisfies. It does not provide true hydration. It provides false relief.

So too, money. But for many Christians money is not only a source of false-satisfaction, it is the chief rival god. The Bible does not say that money is evil. Money, however is a false god, and we cannot serve God and money. That’s why we are warned against the love of money. If it is our goal, it becomes our master. If it is our master, it is our god. Not only does money not buy love, it doesn’t save. Ever.

As a young boy I had trouble with this. My dad would say, “You can let your money be your master, or you can be the master of your money. You can control your money or your money will control you.” I believe I have finally learned this.

Jesus offers true riches – grace, love, mercy, truth, justice, forgiveness, righteousness, and salvation. He says these things will never be lost or stolen. They will not decay. They will not prove false. And they can be stored up in heaven. Purses that never wear out are made of faith, hope, and love. When we hold to our faith in Jesus Christ, fix our hearts on the hope of the resurrection, and love God first a most, we are storing up worthy treasure. Then our hearts will be fixed on God’s word and promises. And we will be eternally satisfied.

Those who run after other gods will never slake their thirst and will be eternally sad.

Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Deuteronomy 6:1

Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

It was a moment for a parental victory dance – or at least a high five with my wife. Our son was in a particularly rebellious mode. He was ready to do something he knew was wrong and in direct opposition to what I had told him. I wish I could remember the specifics. But I do remember the specifics of what I said to him. “Don’t take me on,” I said. “You will not win.” Or perhaps it was more like, “You. Will. Not. Win.”

It was a moment that I had to draw the line. I had to prevail. Not for my own good, but for his. In that moment I was like God…almost. I was at least partly bluffing. God never bluffs. I had some power over my son. God has all power over all of life of all of us. I love my son. But my love is a pale reflection of God’s love for us.

God says not to put him to the test. That means – somehow – there is a limit beyond which we must not go. That means that there is a breaking point at which something happens. That something is not good. There will be an end. There will be an accounting. There will be judgment.

Saul was brought up short on his way to Damascus. God asks, “Why do you persecute me. It is hard to kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14). He also said he would show Saul how much he would suffer for the Jesus’ name (Acts 9:16). Far worse was the deception of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11). When they sought to deceive the believers and lied to the Holy Spirit, they were struck dead. Jesus warns the lame man he had healed to be careful lest something worse happen to him (John 5:14).

The fear of the Lord is a secondary motivation for obedience. It is not primary. The primary motivation for obeying God’s commands is our love for him – engendered by his love for us. But once in a while it is good for us to remember to “fear and love God” Thanks, Martin Luther, for those words which begin his explanations to each of the Ten Commandments.

A friend of mine, served as a missionary in  Papua New Guinea. The treasurer of his nascent congregation was discovered to have embezzled money from church funds. When he was confronted, a fellow church member said, “What were you doing? Don’t you fear God!”

Sadly, we’ve all winked at sin. We’ve all failed to fear and love God as we should. Thankfully Jesus never failed in that. Furthermore, he offers forgiveness and his righteousness to us by faith. Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (Romans 5:20). But as Paul says, “Shall we sin more that grace may abound? By no means. We’ve died to sin. How can we live in it any longer?” (cf. Romans 6:1-4).

So we do pray, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Amen.