Super Hero

Yes, when I was little I sometimes wore a cape. Yes, I wanted to be a super hero. My hero of choice was Wonder Woman. She had those amazing bullet deflecting bracelets (maybe that is why I still love stacking lots of bracelets today.). She had that wonderful invisible airplane. And what little girl can resist wearing a crown that is also a Frisbee weapon?  I wish the truth telling lasso was real because I’d really like to use that with some people now. She didn't wear a cape but I improvised. The cape was the signature that you had special powers beyond what was normal for humans. It was all about the cape.

Although the cape is a modern concept for heroes I found it in Ephesians 1:19 – The cape of power.

“the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might” Ephesians 1:19

The “surpassing greatness of God’s power” comes from a word that means it is thrown over you. It is surrounding you. It goes beyond you as protection in all directions. It is your cape.

There are times unassuming Christians when confronted with adversity turn into super heroes with a power beyond themselves coming from God with the strength of His might.

WOW! BAM! LOOK OUT! Here comes Super Christian Woman!

In this one little verse we are given words from Paul like: uperballon (force field thrown over around us), megtheos (super/mega God’s strength), dunameos (dynamite power), energian (super energy and influence), kratos (mighty works of defeating the enemy), and ischus (force of domination that overcomes any resistance). All this in one little verse is Paul’s way of showing us just how much power we actually have through Christ. What kind of comic book hero can compete with this definition of Christian power?  None.

Sometimes we walk around in fear and defeat and never realize we’re wearing the cape. This is why we need so many reminders of the power that the Creator of the universe has given His children.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our
knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ... 2 Peter 1:3

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work within us ...  Ephesians 3:20

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for He
who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. ... 1 John 4:4

Use the power.

Wear the cape.

You are a super hero.

The Eyes of My Heart are Open

I’m a little dense sometimes. Well, maybe more than sometimes. Anyway, I love the Michael W. Smith’s song, “Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord” but I wasn't quite sure what it meant. The words “eyes of my heart” are clever and romantic but exactly what do they mean?

In my study of Ephesians I found out. And it was like striking gold! The “aha” light bulb came on and I danced around while I sang the song. It’s a good thing I have my Bible study at home. Nobody wants to see me dancing.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened and opened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, Ephesians 1:18

The word “eyes” in this verse is really the Greek word "ophthalmous." We get all kinds of eye words in English from this…Ophthalmology and such. So it means: eyes, sight, view, and insight.

The word “heart” is “kardis” in Greek. We get all kinds of heart words like cardiology from this. It means: heart, mind, character, inner self, and your center.

So the “eyes of my heart” is that understanding and insight that is revealed in my innermost self. And that definition doesn't make the best song lyrics. I like “eyes of my heart.”

Exactly what am I supposed to see with my open heart? I’m supposed to catch a glimpse of:

1.       The hope of His calling – the acceptance of the invitation of the gift of salvation and all the blessings that go with it

2.       The riches of His glory – the abundance of His character and majesty revealed to us and through us

3.       The inheritance of the saints – all the wonderful daily and future blessings given to us as children of God

We are to walk and worship as we go through this life with a heart expressing a clear understanding of just what we have been given; hope, riches, and an inheritance.

Eyes open

Heart open

Shining in the light and riches of His Glory

Securities, Stocks, and Bonds

I’m taking an on-line course in managing my financial future. Although no one can actually secure a future, because it’s unknown, the instructor has given “definitions and instructions for you to better understand how to go into your economic future with confidence” (His words, not mine.) Well, not really confidence but maybe a hedge against making a really, really big mistake that affects my future financial well-being. Before this course I might have ignorantly gone to the really, really big mistake area. Now I can confidently say that if I go into the really, really big mistake zone it won’t be out of complete ignorance. I’m not so sure this is advantageous but "knowledge is power" (they say.) The instructor has already commented in one of his lessons that, “A little knowledge is dangerous when it comes to investments.” So now I’m pretty confident that I’ll make a mistake, just maybe not a really, really big one.

 Anyway, here are some terms and definitions I've learned thus far:

Security – anything that belongs to you

Stock – investment in something

Bond – holding part of a debt

Yes, I know these are very simplistic definitions. But remember, I’m used to teaching first graders and always have to get down to the lowest level of understanding to be successful. In other words, I have to understand it before I can use it. It’s taken me 7 weeks to get this far. What can I say? I’m a slow financial learner.

I’m also taking an in-heart course in Ephesians (my Bible study currently) and it seems to be about managing my future too. This book also gives definitions and instructions to better understand how to go into my spiritual future with confidence. In fact, I can have and should have more certainty in my spiritual future than my financial future. And the way things are so unpredictable in in the NYSE and NASDAQ I’m better off having that ultimate security in Christ. Whew, that’s how to spell c-o-n-f-i-d-e-n-c-e.

Ephesians 1:11-14 states (I’ll make my notations as I go):

In Him (God our Creator) we have we have obtained an inheritance; (This is our security. It belongs to us, How’s that for being in the will? This is the ultimate insurance. We don’t have to worry about changes in the market affecting our spiritual retirement plan. We don’t have to make contributions to it. It is an established legacy. ) having been predestined (selected by God Himself) according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will; (This is part of our stock portfolio. God has a proven blue chip investment in us. It is a long term grade A stock that is guaranteed to increase in value as we go through life. Wall Street brokers can’t even compete with this!) In Him you also, when you heard the Word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit; (This is part of our bond holdings. Christ holds the debt we could never pay through His salvation of us. The Holy Spirit in us is the assurer that the debt has been and is being paid daily for our sin.) He is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, (Hey, I didn't make this up. God says He, the triune God, is the irrefutable warranty that our securities are secure now and in the future, past our retirement and into forever.) to the praise of His glory. (How’s this for the ultimate securities portfolio? The world has nothing better to offer as our present and future protection plan. And we can praise Him and glorify Him and rest confidently in Him.)

   

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ the solid rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, His covenant, His blood

Supports me in the whelming flood.

When all around my soul gives way,

He then is all my hope and stay.

On Christ the solid rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

                        (Edward Mote)    

While I might be a little unsure about my financial holdings

 I’m very confident in my spiritual holdings.

Jude, a Blast from the Past

Didn't it always just frustrate you when your father was correcting you and said, “This hurts me more than it hurts you”? And I would think “How is that possible? I’m getting the punishment.” It wasn't until we grew up that we got the full meaning of our dad’s saying. When you put your heart and soul into showing someone the right way to live and he/she rejects it and lives the opposite way it does hurt.

That’s how Jude in the Bible must have felt. He had to warn and reprimand people that were dear to him and that should have known better. Jude, the half-brother of Jesus Christ himself, did not even give this as his credential. He just said he was a servant of Christ. He submitted to Christ as his supreme authority. And he expected other Christians to be able to do the same. He prayed that the Christians to whom he was writing would have multiplied mercy, peace, and love. Then, verse 3, WHAM, he gets super serious.

 I used to wonder why I had to be exposed to all of his fussing to these unknown Christians until I studied it recently. It was like he was lecturing me.  I had to hang my head and wait until the preaching was over then say, “I’m sorry” and change my actions.

And what was all the fussing about? We have strayed from not only living like Christians but actually defending our faith. We let the ungodly that totally reject God’s truth into our churches, homes, and lives. And we just let them in without even putting up our Word of God shield and without even challenging what they say. Who are these “they” that Jude was talking about? They are some of our peers and by the pressure of society tell us what we are to accept, what is politically correct, and what is supposed to be morally acceptable now even when it is in opposition to the Word of God. And it’s getting harder and harder to spot them. They put some truth in with what they say so that when they actually profane scripture we don’t notice so much. Or they make us feel guilty for standing with scripture as our model. Jude said that we are letting them in and celebrating their immorality with them. It’s amazing that what was going on in the early church is still going on today. You’d think Satan would try something new but he doesn't have to when this is still working so well for him.

Now I’m not saying that “they” are all around us and we should make our own little hideaway cult. I’m saying we have to decide whether we actually believe scripture and are willing to contend for this belief in our culture. Jude brings you and me to this “line drawn in the sand” moment. He confronts and makes us decide if we are submitted to follow Christ even if it means discomfort or going against a new society norm.

                                           Keep Yourselves in the Love of God – Jude 17-25

    17But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,18that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.”19These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.20But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,21keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.22And have mercy on some, who are doubting;23save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. 24Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,25to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

 Whew, the lecture is over. I am chastised and convicted. I’m sorry for not always standing vocally for my faith. I’m sorry I have not taken the eternal lives of others more seriously.

I have been thoroughly blasted by Jude

and my Heavenly Father.

And it does hurt the name of Christ and all He died for more than it hurts me.

Our Nation’s Song

What does March 3, 1931 have to do with baseball, Fort McHenry, and President Herbert Hoover? It is the date that the congressional resolution was signed by the then president to make The Star Spangled Banner our national anthem. 

Oh, it was written as the poem, Defense of Fort McHenry, by Francis Scott Key in 1814 and put to music the same year. It was a popular song for Fourth of July events as early as 1889. It was officially played at baseball games in 1918. But it wasn't until 1931 that President Herbert Hoover made this our official national song.

It took us a long time of mulling it over to make this the authorized song to represent our country. We fought a lot of wars, even world wars, as we were deciding. And wouldn't you know it is one of the hardest songs to sing with a range of an octave and a half? You'd think the tune could have been changed to make it easier for the citizens. But then again the freedom we sing about has never come easily.

Famous Americans have been known to forget the words during performance and even make fun of the singing of the song. But still we stand, remove our hats, and some of us even put a hand over our hearts. It’s our song. All of us who call ourselves citizens of The United States of America have this as our defining melody.

O say does that star spangled banner yet wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Yes, it does.

Francis Scott Key’s fourth and final verse of his poem is hardly known or sung but it strikes a chord in the hearts of all Americans who truly know why we are who we are:

O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation.
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the Star - Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

We are who we are because of the established core values that make the roots of our United States. Whether we still hold to those core values or not, our nation was built by Americans who trusted in God. No matter how far we stray away from our roots, they still remain part of our unchangeable history.

Praise the Power that made and preserves our nation.

In God we still trust.

So we celebrate our trust in God as we sing our national anthem at ballgames, and special patriotic events, and on every Fourth of July..

We've been trusting in God from the beginning of the formation of our nation.

We've been known as singing about our national trust in God since 1814.

Sing it proudly Americans.

And sing it humbly for our future.