Helpful Humor

 “When Jeremiah entered the dungeon and the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days, then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, ‘Is there any word from the Lord?’ And Jeremiah said, ‘There is.’ Then he said, ‘You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!’”   ~Jer. 37:16-17

Brothers,

     Most mornings when I get up, it’s dark out still and my body tells me that my warm bed would be much nicer than sitting up in a cold chair. Even as I’m reading my Bible, I’m often distracted. As a result, I often read Scripture emotionlessly since it takes most of my effort simply to keep my mind on reading. Today, however, I was shocked by this passage. (Now you’re really beginning to wonder what the topic is going to be.) Totally and utterly shocked, I might add. Why, you ask? Because it was funny.  Here  is Jeremiah,  who, after over 35 years of speaking the same message and after numerous proclamations to Zedekiah, is now being taken out of prison to be questioned by Zedekiah. All those years, Jeremiah spoke what the Lord put in his mouth. Yet Zedekiah secretly (oohhh) takes him and says, “Is there any word from the Lord?” I can picture Jeremiah leaning over just as secretly and whispering, “There is.” Then I can see Zedekiah somewhat lightening up only to hear the same thing he’s been hearing for years. Now I suppose that just reading the passage above wouldn’t give you that same reaction, but for me, after just reading through chapters and chapters of judgments, it seemed quite humorous.

     You’ve probably thought of God’s humor before, but my guess is you’ve probably not really ever imagined Him as a God who gives great roars of laughter. Yet how He must laugh at us! There was one day when I was driving along through Turlock and I had to go through a lot of lights. Since I was due at an appointment in a few minutes and I was still a few minutes away, I prayed that the Lord would keep all the lights green. I drove up to the first one and it was red, but just as I started slowing down, it turned green. The same thing happened with the second, third, and fourth lights. Just as I arrived, the lights would turn green. Then I reached the fifth and I could see my destination. This time I was expecting the light to be green. Sure enough, I could see it had turned green up ahead. As I approached it I thought to myself, “Now it would be somewhat amusing if it turned red right now.” Sure enough, it turned red. Though I ended up being right on time, it still served as a lesson to me that yes, the Lord answers prayer, but He enjoys throwing in an unexpected twist to grow our faith.

     Seriousness is necessary in the Christian life, of course. After all, the message of the cross is not a joke to be told and laughed at. However, just as seriousness is needed, so is laughter. The Lord did not create us as perpetually solemn people. He created us each with our own unique sense of humor. In my opinion, humor is a great blessing from the Lord, especially for the Christian. In the midst of suffering, trials, and temptations, humor can help make the burden feel lighter and can help us get our minds off what the problem is in order to look to the solution. As a result, humor leads to a more cheerful spirit. Though, as with all things, humor should be used with wisdom (which means knowing when to stop telling jokes or making puns), it can be like a healing balm. So, go forth with a spirit of joyfulness and may your cheerful spirit be an example and encouragement to others.

Your brother in Christ,

Corey

“A merry heart does good, like medicine” ~Prov. 17:22

A Troubled Spirit

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God….By day the Lord commands His steadfast love, and at night His song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God, my rock: "Why have You forgotten me?”…Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.”     ~Ps 42 5,8-9,11

Brothers,

     This past month has been a rough month for me.  Between visiting the Adams, dealing with the results of my procrastination, and normal day to day struggles, I’ve been what David would have phrased as “weighed down in spirit.” Thoughts about what the future will hold, what the past has wrought, and what the present is requiring have made my emotions like a roller coaster. The way I typically deal with my emotions is by holding them in until a future time when I will be able to let them out. Yet this past week, as my spirit reached its full mark, I was talking with my parents and I was realizing that I wasn’t handling the situation right. In many cases, yes, holding in emotions can be beneficial. But look at what David does. He brings his worries and fears to the Lord and then in a sense encourages himself.

“Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also. For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.” (Ps 31:9-10)

I’m sure that at some point in your life, you, too, have struggled with a troubled spirit. I’m sure also that you will struggle again many times in your life. Yet I would caution you not to do a few things. Don’t throw all your troubles in a box at the back of your mind and try and forget about them. That doesn’t solve the problem and only makes it harder because when you’ve filled that box high enough, it will overflow and trouble you ten times more than at first. Also, don’t do the opposite and walk around telling everyone about your troubles.  We need to be wise about who we share our innermost thoughts with.  Some might be unprepared at that time to handle the extra burden and others might be simply untrustworthy. 

Here is what I would advise when you are feeling down, emotional, stressed, or otherwise troubled: First, cry out to the Lord. He is the only one who can give you joy and is your only true rest. Seek Him first above all things and live in obedience. Second, seek the support of one you trust. We are commanded in Scripture to bear one another’s burdens and the support of another can considerably lighten your load. Third, meditate on the Word. The Bible and prayer are two powerful weapons that cannot be over-used and should definitely not be under-used. Last, praise the Lord. When your mind is focused on the Lord, the cares of this world seem as light as a feather.

     One interesting thing I’ve noticed about Psalms, is that it begins with cries to the Lord for help and ends with songs of thanksgiving. What better example do we have than this?

“But I trust in You, O Lord; I say, "You are my God." My times are in Your hand;…Make Your face shine on Your servant; save me in Your steadfast love!…Love the Lord, all you His saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!” (Ps 31:14-15, 23-24)

“Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” (Ps 150)

Your brother in Christ,

Corey

Crucify the Flesh

“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”    ~Gal. 5:24-26

Brothers,

     To my surprise, I realized that I had written on the final fruit of the Spirit last week. I had thought I had kindness still left, but I realized I accidentally combined that with the letter on gentleness. But I have one more thing to say before we leave the fruit of the Spirit. Look at Paul’s words above. What do those words mean to you? In the past, I’ve read those words many times and my reaction is almost always the same. My first thought is that I’ve failed miserably at Paul’s opening comment. So I start thinking about how to improve. After those initial thoughts, however, my mind becomes occupied with other things and I cease to remember Paul’s admonitions. Yet think about what this means. Think about what comes before it. Paul spends an entire chapter rejecting sinful passions and lusts and upholding godly desires and traits. In some ways the final verses of chapter five may sound a little repetitive, but if we did not have this reminder we would quickly forget what came before. I’m sure that you, like me, have the fruit of the Spirit memorized (maybe in part due to the song a Family Camp a few year back :). But I’d guess that you, again like me, don’t have the preceding verses memorized. Why? Why do we choose to memorize only the godly traits without attempting to remember the evil ones? True, in some cases, memorizing sinful attributes can increase temptations, but leaving it out of memorization can also be destructive. Most mornings, after my Bible study, I try and see how I can apply the passage to my own life. Right now I’m working through Jeremiah, so this morning I asked myself how the proclamations against Israel apply to me. After a moment, I realized two things: 1) God keeps His word. All the way back in Deuteronomy, the Lord warned the Israelites what would happen if they didn’t obey and when the Israelites rebelled, sure enough, it happened. 2) It serves as a warning to me. Israel was punished because they were guilty of the sins listed by Paul in Gal. 5:16-21. So, returning back to today’s passage, look again at what Paul says. In three sentences he sums up the entire chapter. Belonging to Christ means crucifying the lusts of the flesh and clinging to the fruit of the Spirit. Yet even in obeying the Lord there is temptation. In our most humble moments we begin to feel pride at our humility. When others are blessed, we question why we weren’t. At times we even try to parade our good traits and in that way provoke others. So what should we do? How can we walk by the Spirit? How do we become loving and peaceful and joyful and patient and self-controlled? The answer: reject sin, crucify the flesh, and, like David, say “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.” (Psalm 4:1) Above all, fall on your face before an Almighty God, thanking Him for the work of Christ in your life and recognize that nothing will happen unless He brings it to pass.

Your brother in Christ,

Corey

Fruit of the Spirit: Patience

“But the fruit of the Spirit is…patience.”  ~Gal. 5:22

Brothers,

     In our modern-day world we have a major advantage, but also a disadvantage over the ancient world: stuff. Computers, bicycles, electricity, shaving cream, Starbucks (though in most cases that is a disadvantage), roller coasters, and plastic forks… we are incredibly blessed by the multitude of things that make our tasks easier and our fun more extravagant. However, we are at a major disadvantage because of this. People used to wait until they had a whole day to go shopping, or until they had some extra money or crops to trade for some treat. Nowadays, people can do their shopping on the Internet, their desire for a treat is satisfied by a dollar ice cream cone from McDonald's, and their cars allow them to travel hundreds of miles in a few hours. Yet (and especially for us as Californians) the speed at which we do things concerns us so much that we often forget to enjoy it.

     Why do I say this? Because our modern-day world lacks patience.  As I’ve said before, the fruit of the Spirit is not just a bunch of unrelated topics, but complementary traits. It is like a woven blanket, with each trait acting as a thread, all of which are interconnected into one covering. You show patience with those whom you love by overlooking some of their faults and by forgiving annoyances or minor offenses against you, and because of your patience, peace exists between you.  Patience brings joy by waiting for the precious gifts of the Lord, both physically and spiritually. In today’s environment of super speed, we’ve lost not only most of our ability to wait, but also our desire to wait. Think about Noah and how he spent almost one hundred years building the ark because he obeyed the word of the Lord and trusted that all those years’ labor would not be in vain. Or think about the patience of the prophets who endured all the threats, curses, and tortures of a generation who did not fear the Lord. Most importantly, remember the patience of Jesus. For over 30 years, He knew that He would die on the cross. Yet He did not run or flee, but steadfastly endured.

     So my encouragement for you is this: when you begin to worry, be patient. Wait on the Lord and He will not fail you. When you begin to be frustrated with a sibling, friend, or neighbor, be patient. Remove the plank from your own eye and be humble. When you are given the opportunity to buy some tool or toy, be patient. Look first and see if you can afford it and then look again to see if there is perhaps some better use to put your money towards. There is an old phrase that I’m sure you’ve heard many times before. It’s “good things come to those who wait.” As I’m sure you will find out, some of the greatest joys you will have in this life are ones you have had to wait a long time for. And I know that the greatest joy you will ever have will be one day being raised to eternal life with our Lord and Savior. To get to that day, you may very well have to endure a lot. Yet to endure takes patience and patience takes work. So start working!

Your brother in Christ,

Corey