Today is October 31^st.  It’s Halloween.  It’s also Reformation Day, the day in 1517 that a monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 theses (or proposals) to the door of the castle church located in Wittenberg, Germany.  The Protestant Reformation—that Luther’s actions brought about—included a return to the teachings of the Bible above and beyond the traditions that had long usurped a primary role in the lives of Christians in Europe.

Martin Luther was a vastly imperfect man, but one whose actions were completely suited for the times—needed for the spiritual transformation of people.  Sometimes things have been accepted for so long that we simply assume they’re true.  Luther’s theses challenged some long-held views and pointed to the Scriptures as the basis for all Truth.  It’s often referred to as Sola Scriptura, Latin for “Scripture alone.”

While Scripture alone is our basis for Truth, Martin Luther has also been credited with a return to the understanding that we are saved by God’s grace alone (sola gratia).  There is nothing we can do to bring about our own salvation by working hard, being “good people,” better than average on a scale of 0 to 10, or by accumulating enough random acts of kindness to tip the balance.

Our faith is a gift of God and should result in changes in how we approach life.  By God’s grace, a spiritual transformation occurs and becomes outwardly reflected in our lives, visible evidence of the inward event of being “born-again.”

Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith– and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The Church can be Reformed by going back to the Scriptures to find Truth.  Believers can be transformed by the Holy Spirit as the Truth contained in the Word of God find its outworking in our lives.  We are changed by the Truth…it’s an ongoing transformation!

Truth is hard to come by in our culture, particularly at the time of national elections in the US.  In America, in the year 2014, we’d be wise to return to Wittenberg in 1517 and hear the hammer ring:  The only place where we can find Truth is Sola Scriptura.

(For those of you who regularly read my writings, you’ll notice I am not posting full-length sermons this month.  I have been permitted time off to enjoy the upcoming birth of our first grandchild and therefore, my sermons will instead appear as a series of shorter devotionals for the month of November.)

Friends, I have been so grieved at what is going on in the world.  Christians are being persecuted around the globe in ways large and small.  I’m feeling the sadness of so few tangible ways of directly helping, but I believe in the power of prayer.  Here is a Scripture I’m praying and a prayer I’m praying, too.

Father God in heaven, we lift our eyes to You.  We feel helpless to address the many persecutions of your people around this world.  We are weak but You are powerful!  You are the God who cares deeply about the sufferings of those in your Church. You are the God who considers us your children by faith in Jesus Christ.  You are our Father and we come to You not on our own merit, but because of what your Son Jesus Christ has done for us.

We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.  We pray, LORD, for deliverance for your people in every area of this world, and specifically today our hearts are heavy for the Nazarenes in Iraq.  Father, we ask for You to spare their lives.  We ask that they would cling to your Word and would know they are rich in You.  Let them leave in peace to go to a place You will show them.  While they may be stripped of the things of this world, we ask LORD that You would mobilize your people to care for them on the other side of this danger.  We intercede for them and ask that You would repay the years the locusts are taking away and that they would be blessed for their perseverance in the face of times of great trial.  We pray that the Church would step forward in mercy and faith and to provide for their needs.

We are mindful that we do not pray enough.  We confess we pay too much attention to things that do not matter.  We ask for You to forgive us for not loving others as we should.  We confess the ways we have hated our enemies instead of loving them as You have taught us.

We ask for your protection for those suffering around the world, that they would not be ashamed of the Gospel, but would stand firm and that we would stand resolutely in solidarity with them and with You.  May your Church stand strong in these dark days!  May we join hands together and witness to You, the God of love and justice, the King of Kings and the LORD of Lords whom we proudly serve.

Be glorified in this moment.  Be glorified in the actions of your saints.  Be glorified in the way the Gospel goes forth.  Be glorified in the witness in this world that Christianity isn’t just “a religion, one among many.”  Be glorified as we proclaim that Jesus is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life!  Be glorified as we live it.  Be glorified as your people step out in faith and as You demonstrate the eternal power behind the Church.  Summon, LORD, your Holy Spirit to act, to protect and shield, to empower and encourage, to remind and to keep their faith strong.  Indeed for all of us who claim the Name of Christ, may we know your goodness, your love, and your powerful actions to save those who call upon your Name.  We praise You, LORD, for what You have already done.  We praise You, LORD, for Jesus and His sacrifice so we can be in your presence to offer prayers.  We praise You, LORD, for your mercy.  We praise You for being the God we are not ashamed to worship.  May we all proudly wear an N, circumscribed by the Holy Spirit on our hearts to testify to our belonging to You our Father and to Jesus the Nazarene.  It is in His powerful Name we pray.  Amen.

Yesterday we saw that we cannot offer compassion and comfort while simultaneously denying, enabling, or competing with someone else’s suffering.  None of those will allow us to enter into the pain of another person in order to offer hope.

Yet, without entering into another’s pain, we cannot adequately care.  It’s why Scripture admonishes us,

Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

Yesterday we saw that Scripture calls those of us who have suffered and been comforted to pass the comfort along to someone who needs it.

Additionally we are commanded this:

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

Did you catch the result? 

We fulfill the law of Christ (to truly love one another) when we enter into another person’s pain.

True, this verse in Galatians is referring to the burden of moral sin, but I will tell you from personal experience that the burdens of grief and depression are profoundly spiritual things.  To keep these burdens to ourselves, to wallow in them, to depend on our own resources all the while excluding the love of Christian family, to fail to have our eyes lifted to Christ who is our help in times of need, is to say that we are not looking to God for an answer to our situations.

Does a refusal to look to God cheat Him out of what help is rightfully His to give? 

Does rejecting God’s help look like rebellion to you?  It should. 

We need a broader view of the spiritual ramifications of suffering and greater willingness to carry another’s burden.

Entering someone else’s pain is an uncomfortable place.  Most of us have enough pain of our own that we don’t really want to take on more.  We stand there with the command to care and to love.  What should we do?  We follow Jesus when we love someone else the way Christ loved us, and Who, in fact, entered into our pain.

Just when we convince ourselves to love and comfort a brother or sister, IT happens.  What is IT?  IT is a pair of inevitable and inter-related questions:

(1)   Do I have any right to try to enter into another person’s pain and to bring them biblical hope?  I find myself thinking, for example,”So-and-so’s daughter died.  I have a daughter who died.  I can bring them comfort and hope by showing that God got me through the tough times and I can encourage them from personal experience that God knows their sorrow, feels their grief, hears their cries, and will carry them through the valley.  In time, they can emerge with a new hope.  God is faithful!  Just keep the faith, even in the tough times.  I’m praying for you!”  But then the other shoe drops regarding entering another person’s pain.

Our adversary hits me with the second question:

(2)   Does my suffering really match up enough to enter into that pain?  I find myself wondering if I’m Suffering by Comparison.  Then I start pondering, “So-and-so’s daughter was a teenager.  Mine was a newborn.  How can you really enter into another person’s pain when they had their daughter for 16+ years and all the memories and all the interactions and all the investment of love and time?”  My adversary chides, “Barbara, you never knew your daughter alive.  It’s not the same and therefore, you cannot possibly know the grief of a person like that.  You’re just being arrogant thinking that you can minister to someone who has suffered far more than you.”

If you’ve been reading my writings over the years, you’ve probably detected something: Satan hangs around me like he’s my designated traveling buddy.  I want to dump this traveling buddy, but he seems to want to stop me at every opportunity, hold my hand, and lead me away from doing the comfort ministry we’ve all been called to do.

So I read my Bible and I pray to send our adversary into a herd of pigs and down a cliff.  It takes an act of God to free me from all the worry about whether I’m arrogantly Suffering by Comparison; it takes the Holy Spirit to teach me step out in faith and obedience; and it takes my will to submit to the Word that God has already spoken and to simply do what Christians are supposed to do by offering comfort.

The number of reasons we can concoct to get out of entering someone else’s pain are legion.  But the command stands firm: to be the good neighbor and to offer comfort because in doing so, we fulfill the law of Christ to love others deeply.

What about you?  What do you do when someone is suffering?

Questions for reflection:

1. What are your top 3 reasons for not wanting to get involved in someone else’s suffering?

2.  What lies does the adversary tell you?  How do those relate to question #1 above?

3.  How would life be different for us if Jesus had never entered into our pain?

It happens to me a lot.  When people I know are struggling under the weight of discouragement or suffering, I want to do one thing:  Bring them comfort and hope. 

I always need to do a Holy Spirit gut check though and make sure my motives are right.  I want to help, but I also want to avoid these three pitfalls standing between suffering and comfort:

(1)   When someone is suffering, oftentimes the last thing they want is a gathered crowd of people who have no clue singing The Sun Will Come out Tomorrow, Put On a Happy Face, or Don’t Worry, Be Happy.   A bunch of people to buck you up with encouraging words that do nothing more than to make you feel rather guilty for finding yourself remaining in a quicksand funk.

(2)   But then again, who wants to be the Pied Piper of Commiseraters leading a throng of whiners through the valley of suffering while the professional mourners do their job of making you feel every bit as awful as you really do feel?

(3)   Probably the worst of things, though, would be the competitive sufferers.  You lose a job; they’ve lost three.  You total your car; they totaled theirs plus went bankrupt because some fly-by-night-shyster bilked them out of their insurance money.  No matter how bad your life is, there’s always someone on the road going faster and it’s them, not you.

Having suffered enough in ways small and not-so-small, I don’t want happy-talk singers or professional mourners or competitive sufferers.  I want to give and receive comfort.  I want to give and receive biblical encouragement.  I want a little hope.  And that’s why I want to offer comfort to others.

Perfectly biblical, right?

2 Corinthians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

A comfort ministry is perfectly biblical.  With the right motives, we can minister comfort because we have been comforted.  We can walk the journey of suffering alongside some who suffers without diminishing their suffering, without throwing a pity party, and without engaging in one-upsmanship.

Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

Questions for reflection:

1. When you’re suffering, what do you want?
2. In times of suffering, where do you turn?
3. Is it easier to rejoice with those rejoicing than it is to mourn with those who mourn?  Why or why not?
4. What are some of the dangers of comparing our suffering to that of another person?

The storm that caused people to run for shelter (and convinced their dogs to join them) eventually ended.  It was at that point that I realized how close the dog park is to the airport and I continued learning Spiritual Lessons from the Dog Park.

Planes, unable to land during the storm, began to line up for their landing.  It was a parade of various airlines: Southwest, United, Virgin, FedEx, etc.  Air traffic control scheduled them with a fairly regular distance apart.  But it was a constant stream.

Storms can keep planes from landing in the short term, but the holding pattern is not the same as being diverted to another airport.  Storms eventually end.  Planes do land when it’s safe and the landing strip is ready.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Holding patterns in the storms of life eventually yield to blessing.  I was thinking of blessings as lining up for landing once the storm is over.  Isn’t that a great picture to imagine that planes of blessing are flying around just waiting for the storm to pass as you persevere?

The people and the dogs at the dog park were so accustomed to having planes around that no one seemed to notice.   Sitting on the porch as a visitor, however, I had fresh eyes and a front row seat to see the parade lining up.  The regularity and reliability made me stop to think.  Do I need to pause and look at situations with fresh eyes?  Will I then notice the blessings lining up beyond the rain that can cloud what I see?  Blessings are out there.  In a Holding Pattern.

Are you persevering in the storm? 

The crown of life isn’t just a pipedream.  It’s a promise. 

Persevere, and this promise is yours to claim.

Daleth (Psalm 119)

²⁵ I am laid low in the dust;
    preserve my life according to your word.
²⁶ I gave an account of my ways and you answered me;  teach me your decrees.
²⁷ Cause me to understand the way of your precepts, that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds.
²⁸ My soul is weary with sorrow;
    strengthen me according to your word.
²⁹ Keep me from deceitful ways;
    be gracious to me and teach me your law.
³⁰ I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
    I have set my heart on your laws.
³¹ I hold fast to your statutes, Lord;
    do not let me be put to shame.
³² I run in the path of your commands,
    for you have broadened my understanding.

We’re working our way through Psalm 119 as I’ve been reflecting upon the activity at the dog park.  Perhaps now would be a good time to explain why Psalm 119 is an acrostic (arranged by letters of the Hebrew alphabet).  This was often done as a mnemonic device (something used to help people remember and memorize important things.)  It jogs the brain to remembering if the person speaking Hebrew knew which letter of the alphabet comes next and that the first word of the passage begins with that letter.

Today, we’re on Daleth, and the first word in Hebrew is dabaqah which means clings to.  Literally the first line of this is “My soul clings to the dust. Revive me according to your Word.”

Has your soul ever been weary with sorrow? 

Have you ever felt like your whole life collapsed and you’re just laying low, clinging to the dust because you’re that weary from the fight? 

It happens to the best of us. 

In fact, the more we’re trying to follow God, the more struggles seem to come our way.

The Psalmist has a remedy for that.  “Strengthen me according to your Word.”  The Master’s call can bring you to a place of shelter and safety.  A place to regain your energy and find a solid footing again.  A place of protection.

As I’ve been watching the dog park, a thunderstorm came out of nowhere.  It’s pouring.  A man and his daughter immediately sought shelter under the structure at the end of the dog park.  The rain didn’t seem to bother their dog that much until the thunder started.  Suddenly the dog came from running fancy free and drew very close to the master, deciding to lie down at his feet.  The calming influence of the master made it possible for both the dog and the daughter to cling to the man instead of being out in the elements and afraid.  The daughter climbed into his arms and the man held her close until the storm passed.

In life, storms happen.  They can be frightening and can rob us of our joy and peace in life if we let them.  Maybe there’s something I could learn about handling troubles from watching people and dogs at the dog park.  The Master is waiting and His Word can calm the storms of life, or in the midst of them, His Word and His nearness will calm His child.

The third letter of the Hebrew alphabet as we look at the acrostic Psalm 119 is Gimel.  It provides the background for the third lesson from the dog park: Open My Eyes to Blind Judgment.

Psalm 119:17 Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word. 18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. 19 I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. 20 My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times. 21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed and who stray from your commands. 22 Remove from me scorn and contempt, for I keep your statutes. 23 Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees. 24 Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.

I feel a little sheepish admitting this, but while the man struggling to open the gate (just like I did) walked his dogs—one running free and the other by his side, I noticed something that I hadn’t seen before.  In his hand there was something straight with a white end.  In embarrassment, it occurred to me that it was either a leash that looked like a blind man’s walking stick or I hadn’t noticed that he was blind.

I paused to consider how many ways I’m really a very judgmental person at heart.  Maybe part of that comes with the analytical territory of thinking about things, processing alternatives, and drawing conclusions.  You know what I concluded?  I was sitting on my porch passing time and passing judgment.

It turns out that it was just a leash—as I pondered the many ways in which this man didn’t act as though he was blind.  He looked at the sign, although he put his hand on it.  He looked at his dogs although he used his hands to unclasp the leashes.

But I learned something about God’s law.  Sometimes I need my eyes opened to see what’s there.  I had been the blind one.  When my eyes are opened to God’s law, I can see that oftentimes I’m the one who needs correction—the very instruction God’s word offers.

Just as a blind man is a stranger on earth and needs to find ways of interpreting his surroundings, Christians can be blind to ways in which we are strangers here on both sides of the judging equation.  Whether facing others’ judgments or being judges ourselves, we can find ourselves blind to the real Judge.

Therefore, like the Psalmist, we can take comfort in being a stranger, and find that “Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees.”  We know who the real Judge is and therefore find comfort in His word.

The next acrostic letter is Beth, the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet and provides the passage for Dog Park Lesson #2 as I’ve been watching the comings and goings at the Dog Park.

Psalm 119: 9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. 10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 12 Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. 13 With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. 14 I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. 15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. 16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

As I was watching the man who had struggled to get the gate open (just like me in Lesson #1), I noticed his dogs exhibited two totally different manners in experiencing the state of being unleashed.  One dog ran about doing whatever he wanted, full of the exhilaration of freedom.  The other stayed close by.  Both were under good voice command and obeyed.  One just delighted in being near the master.

How often do I treat God’s Word like it’s a voice command to bring me back so I don’t stray while I enjoy the thrill of being free?  Do I like to sniff the outer boundaries of approved behavior and then return, but only when I hear His voice calling me back since I’ve gone a little too far?

The other dog helped me to think about the book on prayer I’ve been reading on the porch.  I asked myself, “How often do I act as though I am simply delighted to be near my Master?”  Do I hang on every word He says?  Do I cherish the sound of His footsteps and walking right beside Him?  Do I rejoice in His Word as the Psalmist does, “as one rejoices in great riches?”  Both dogs obeyed.  One preferred the master to the freedom.

I’m on vacation of sorts, watching my daughter’s dog while she and her new husband take their honeymoon.  Being unaccustomed to really pleasant weather, I’m sitting on their back porch watching what their dog is intently watching: the dog park.

This morning, there was a man who did the exact same thing I did when I first encountered the interesting and intricate gated entry.  The series of latches on the series of gates ensures the dogs don’t get out on their own, no matter how clever they may be.

This man tried to figure out the gate, completely oblivious to the same sign clearly posted on the gate to which I had previously been blind.  I didn’t see the instructions and neither did he.  Until the gate wouldn’t open.  Suddenly he looked at the instructions and followed them, just as I looked and did.  The gate opened.

I am fond of analogies and find spiritual lessons in all kinds of stuff.  I thought about how when we’re spiritually blind, or plainly arrogant, we can fail to even know that the instructions (the Bible’s teachings) are right there all along.  There is something stubborn about humanity in our wanting to do everything without listening to instructions, or following them.  But the instructions are there so we will follow them and find success.  When we know them, we will be blessed if we do them.

Psalm 119 is an acrostic psalm, each letter of the Hebrew alphabet beginning a new section.  Today’s letter is aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  God doesn’t lay down precepts just because He’s bored and likes to write notes.  He laid down His precepts, His laws, His statutes so that we’d follow them and live.

Psalm 119:1-8  Psalm 119:1 Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. 2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. 3 They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways. 4 You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. 5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! 6 Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. 7 I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. 8 I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

For any of you who have been trying to access recent posts, my server has been down over the past 24 hours and some of my posts have been lost.  I always find it curious which posts don’t reappear.  I will recreate those which have been lost if needed.  Thanks for bearing with me.  It’s reassuring to know that we’re dealing with the Living and Enduring Word of God and while my posts may drop off the planet, His Word remains always.