Monthly Archives: July 2011

"Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life." Isaiah 38:5

When Hezekiah was terminally ill, he prayed, and God responded by adding 15 years to his life. This prayer is natural and normal. We all would pray in this way and be grateful to God for any healing that He provides. However, we have a great advantage over Hezekiah. He feared "going down to the pit," (Isa. 38:18), or Sheol, the hopeless place where all the dead were consigned to a kind of shadowy half-life. He wanted to live because of the dread afterlife he faced.

Hezekiah knew in part, and so do we, but our part is far clearer. In the full revelation of Scripture, we understand that heaven awaits those who live by faith. The difference this makes in our lives is tremendous. If we are sick we still pray for healing. If our disease is terminal we still pray for life to be extended. We should pray like this.

However, we have a different and more complete hope. When Paul faced the possibility of death, he expressed an extraordinary hopefulness. "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain," (Phil. 1:21). Paul went on to confess that he was hard pressed to choose between the two. Life here offered him rich blessings. Life in heaven offered even richer blessings. Hezekiah would never have seen death as a gain. Paul did, and so can you.

This hope of heaven enriches every aspect of life by glorifying and dignifying every human being and equally glorifying and dignifying every task. You were created to serve God. Now I say this reverently and with great appreciation for my life here, but whether I serve God here on earth or in heaven is as incidental as whether I serve God in Mobile or Houma or Murray or Baton Rouge, etc. The point is, we continue to serve God eternally.

Surely part of the latent dread we all have of death is a basic misapprehension of what eternity will be like. Serving God sounds to some Christians dreadfully menial and, frankly, somewhat boring. We are like "The Littlest Angel," arriving in heaven and thinking there is no fun. I certainly do not have all the answers to this mystery, but I do know more than Hezekiah, and I do know that heaven is anything but boring.

How different heaven truly will be! The Westminster Shorter Catechism states that our chief aim is to glorify (or serve) God and to enjoy Him forever. God bless our English ancestors for this wonderful insight! You are created to enjoy God, literally to enter into His joy. Service, whether here or in heaven, is not drudgery but the fullest expression of your joyful purpose. Grace transforms your obedience into longing. So you serve not because you must, but because you long to. Heaven is the fullest answer to your deepest longing.

Hezekiah simply did not understand any of this, and could not with the revelation available to him. You have the revelation of a place prepared for you by the Savior! "What no eye has seen nor ear heard, nor the heart conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Cor. 2:9). Even in the brighter and clearer revelation of Christ you still know in part, but you do know what Hezekiah did not: you do not have to be a king in order to wear a crown.

Serving God is a joyful opportunity whatever your daily tasks might be, and wherever you might be doing them. When you face the dark valley, or when you watch a loved one depart, let any tears be tempered by the sure and certain knowledge that living and serving God will not be interrupted. Only the place of service will be changed.

So if God grants you another 15 or 50 years enjoy the service here, and look forward to an even brighter dawn. You can rest assured now and every day that you were created to serve God eternally.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis

July 31, 2011

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you." Isaiah 43:2-3

A friend of mine once told me he struggled with fear. I had never suspected that about him, and, what's more, I had never really thought about fear as a common, ongoing challenge. However, as I began to ask people if they struggled with fear I realized how prevalent the problem is. I also began to honestly assess some of my personal experiences, and realized some of my responses, many of my ongoing thoughts, were grounded in fear. I feared for my children, the churches I have pastored, the future in general, etc.

As I probed more, into other people's lives and my own, I began to discern a pattern I call "faith on the horizon and fear for the next step." Personally, I have never really struggled with an uncertainty about eternal matters. Some people do, but I know where I will end up. I trust very strongly in God's ultimate provision for me. The future is fine. The distant horizon is clear. Today, however, may not be so fine, and it may be quite stormy. That uncertainty about the next step, tomorrow's step, leads to fear.

So what I once failed to recognize I have now realized is one of the most common problems we face. Fear.

Not surprisingly, therefore, we find the words "fear not" sprinkled throughout the Bible. God understands our plight, and the Bible is a record of His provision for our problems. The passage for this week's GraceWaves reflects God's understanding and the grace He provides for our fear. Let's note carefully each provision.

First, notice the motion in this verse. The sources of fear are represented as waters, rivers, and fire. With each obstacle we find the preposition through. You will go through waters, rivers, and fire. Each one of you will face these obstacles, but you must keep moving in order to go through them.

FDR's famous quote from his first inaugural address is "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." The full quotation is even better: "So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." I underlined the last phrase because it is a focus of the Isaiah passage. We all have fear, whatever name it goes by in your life. You likely will never be fearless. The question is "will you move forward when faced with fear?" God's assurance that He will be with you helps remove the paralysis of fear. Retreat becomes advance. Like the dawning sun, faith on the horizon dispels fear for the next step. So, when you experience fear, keep moving forward.

Now notice three wonderful phrases in this verse that can help you move forward.

First, "I have redeemed you." Some wrestle with their salvation, wondering if their stumbles have so distanced them from the Lord that the relationship is irretrievably broken. Is this you? Listen! Of all the things you have to worry about, this is the most easily solved. God never releases anyone He has redeemed. Did you ask Jesus into your heart at one point? He came into your life, He has never left and never will. Part of the way forward for you is accepting as fact that God is your Father and that He loves you unconditionally. Face your fear as a child of the King.

Second, "You are mine." Say this phrase in the first person, "I am yours." Reaffirming this truth, that you belong to God, is a wonderful reminder that as God's son or daughter nothing can eternally harm you. Whatever you face today, and it may be very tough, you will not face it alone. Remember, you have not lived a day yet when God was not in the picture with you. You have lived many days when you have forgotten that supreme truth. Do let today be another such day. You belong to God.

Third, "They shall not overwhelm you . . . you shall not be burned . . . the flame shall not consume you." Again, I often say such verses in the first person. "They shall not overwhelm me . . . I shall not be burned . . . I shall not be consumed." At times you will feel drowned out and burned up, but you are neither. You actually have only been soaked and singed! The difference is important.

We almost always ascribe to trials a degree of difficulty beyond reason. Remember you have survived trials before through God's strength. Do you really believe this new trial is so unique, powerful, or unanticipated that you will not survive it? The trials you face will make you stronger and more reliant on your Father. You can choose this morning to accept that truth and live with grace and confidence.

"Fear not" is beyond most of us, but facing fear with faith is your calling, and, therefore, within your reach today.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis

July 24, 2011

"Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." Luke 6:28

Last week I wrote about the very real possibility that the people who have hurt you may be the ones through whom God brings healing. As Joseph was reconciled to his brothers, I have seen fractured relationships restored. Husband/wife, parent/child, friend/friend, etc. God has a remarkable way of bringing people around, working His grace into their lives, "softening" them, so that they come to a point where they ask for forgiveness or offer it where previously it was withheld.

Whenever I have written about this topic I receive multiple responses from people who are burdened in their lives with close relations who have hurt them and show no sign whatsoever of any interest in apology, a request for forgiveness, and certainly not reconciliation. Let me stress that these questions arise from conscientious Christians who (1) would do anything to facilitate reconciliation or (2) are uncertain of their ongoing responsibility in the face of continual spite or indifference from the person who originally hurt them.

Simply put, what do we do when the hurt keeps hurting? And especially when the source is from someone who should have been a blessing?

First, forgive, pronounce a blessing, and move on. This threefold piece of advice does reflect most of what I find in the NT concerning this challenge. The verse for this week's GraceWaves are words from Jesus Himself, and are repeated in so many forms throughout the NT that everyone of us knows that forgiveness is a non-negotiable Christian responsibility. If you are trying to retain hard feelings, and construct a case for withholding forgiveness, then frankly you have doomed yourself to a wrestling match with God you eventually will lose.

Forgiveness is not sometimes hard, it is always hard. Forgiveness is costly, particularly when the object of your forgiveness demonstrates no inclination to wanting it. I would not for a moment suggest that all forgiveness is of the same level of challenge. Some hurts are very deep, even unspeakably evil. Coming to a point of offering forgiveness for some acts takes a very long time, and if you are struggling to forgive you must not compound the problem with unnecessary guilt and self-recrimination. Make it a matter of prayer, and trust that God in His time, and in cooperation with your spirit, will enable you to offer genuine forgiveness.

Pronouncing a blessing, even on those who curse you, is also a familiar NT teaching. Jesus knew this step also would be hard, and that is why He reminds us in the Sermon on the Mount that God makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and the rain to fall on the just and unjust (Matt. 5:45). We bless not as a function of the other person's goodness, but simply because we all need blessing and none of us have earned it. To pronounce a blessing on difficult and even hostile people in some way acknowledges that you do not know what has made that person so difficult or hostile. You are not waiting for them to change or setting preconditions. You simply bless because this act is very God-like.

Now, to move on is where some fine Christians struggle mightily. They may wonder if moving on amounts to giving up on a person, which, of course, Jesus never did. But let's look at Jesus a little more closely. He did not chase after the Pharisees trying to "patch things up." Neither in the parable did the father chase after the prodigal son trying to talk him into returning. Yes, Jesus died on a cross for all these hard and evil people, but God did not give you either the ability or responsibility to give your life for someone who is uninterested in the grace you offer. If you struggle here you may need to face the reality that you are expecting a blessing from someone who is simply unable or unwilling to give it, and that is not your fault. You may also need to prayerfully consider why you maintain such a fundamentally unhealthy (for you!) expectation. Move on.

The second guidance I offer you from the scripture is to remember "you have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer you who live, but Christ who lives in you" (Gal. 2:20). Frankly, Paul's words here are beyond me, but they bring us to a realm so profoundly mysterious and infinitely important that we must make some effort to understand them.

The union of you with Christ is a thrilling teaching in the NT and has a special application in forgiving those who have intensely hurt you. Christ knows better than anyone what it is like to love those who do not return love. He knows the depth of rejection in ways you never can. Now I am not suggesting "you haven't had it nearly so bad as Jesus, so get over it." Not at all. I am simply pointing out the fact that your union with Christ enables and compels you to "share in His sufferings" (Rom. 8:17, Phil. 3:10).

God has a way, through the presence of Christ in you, of helping you endure a continual hurt. You certainly cannot change other people to make them more receptive to your offer of grace, but you can pray for God to continue His work in you to make you more receptive to His offer of grace. I believe this spiritual discipline is a key to your moving on. When you have trouble with hurtful people, remember the cross. I am sure that is at least part of what Paul meant.

People who should have blessed you often hurt you. In fact, the closer someone is to you, the deeper the cuts. But the story of grace is still being written, both in your life and the lives of all of us. Let the Author do His work. Continually hand to Him your thorniest problems, especially when the hurt keeps hurting.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis

July 17, 2011

"So Joseph said to his brothers, 'Come near to me, I pray you.' . . . And he kissed his brothers and wept upon them, and after that his brothers talked with him." Genesis 45:4, 15

These words come from one of the most moving scenes in all of scripture. Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery. He had endured terrifying threats but had ascended to the right hand of Pharaoh. All the while his brothers thought him gone forever and probably dead. During a famine in Canaan, the brothers journeyed to Egypt for grain and probably were baffled by having to meet with such a high official. After concealing his identity, Joseph revealed himself in a scene of tender forgiveness and reconciliation.

We can learn many lessons from Joseph's story.

First, much of the pain in your life will come from the people closest to you. Family and friends are on your inner circle, and you have to be close in order to reach out and strike someone else. You can forget about a rude stranger, but you will bear the scars of a harsh family member for a lifetime. Your heart will ache when you recall a friend that is no longer a friend. Close relationships offer great blessings, but also the potential for great pain. Vulnerability is a function of proximity.

Second, your healing often comes through relationships. I walk very carefully through this minefield and ask that you pay close attention. Some people have suffered tremendous damage at the hands of a parent or sibling, and as much as we might want it to be so, you cannot always repair a relationship. However, much of the time God will work on your heart and the heart of the estranged family member or friend, and provide an opportunity for reconciliation. God did that for Joseph and his brothers, and Joseph likely would never have been whole without the story in Genesis 45. The same relationship that caused the damage is often the same relationship that provides the restoration.

Third, because of the potential for reconciliation, cultivate a forgiving spirit. Joseph probably was not always open to this possibility, but God worked with him. Whether or not you ever get a chance for reconciliation, you still do not want to carry with you a burden of bitter disappointment and anger. Forgive, pray a blessing, and move forward, always open to the opportunity God may provide. As Paul wrote, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all" (Rom. 12:18).

Do not close any door. And do not be concerned to keep pounding on it. God will provide for your healing, and if the person who hurt you chooses to be part of that graces solution then the blessing will be for him or her also. You may occasionally knock, perhaps through a card or brief phone call, but do not make your peace contingent upon a person who historically demonstrates unreliability.

Grace is so infinitely pervasive, so wonderful ubiquitous that you never know where it might come from or from whom. Do not set your hopes on the estranged family member turning around and embracing you and asking for forgiveness. But do not be surprised if some day, many years in the future, that does occur. Just do not mandate that as the only way God can give you grace for your healing.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis

July 10, 2011

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27

As I was traveling alone a few years ago I stopped at a Cracker Barrel in Tennessee for an evening breakfast. To pass the time while waiting for food I like to watch other people and try to guess where they are from, or where they are going. I watched an elderly man full of smiles talking to a little girl about 10 at the table next to me. I guessed they were on a special outing together and the Cracker Barrel was her chosen meal to end the day. When she got up and left for a few minutes I decided to test my theory.

"Is she your granddaughter?" I asked. He said yes, and to my satisfaction said they had spent the day together, a habit he indulges once a year for each grandchild. I made a mental note for my future granddaddy days and asked what they had been up to. He told me a fascinating story.

His granddaughter loved horses, and he had heard about a special event in a county north of where we were that she would enjoy. In great and very interesting detail he explained that a horse trainer would come to a ranch. He would take six untrained, unbroken horses provided by local owners. I don't recall the exact timing, but in a very short time he would have these horses following his commands. They trusted him completely, lying down with him, allowing him to ride, and in the end, he walked away and they followed him. Again, they had never been trained, broken, or "gentled." The granddad explained the trainer did this all without a whip, or sugar cubes, or any form of reward or threat.

He had my attention. How did the trainer do it? Talking. Whispering actually. Horses are natural herd animals, and they look for a leader. The trainer, even though a stranger, first convinces the horses that he is one of them. They accept him. Then he convinces them he is the leader. Because of their trust they follow him and do whatever he asks.

What a perfect analogy for us. Realize it or not, people are pack animals. We tend to follow one another. The illusion of independence is like the illusion of control, both are illusions. We all follow something or somebody.

So we listen to a lot of voices today. Some are telling us that our financial situation is bad and getting worse. Others tell us that we are politically imperiled, and it's getting worse. Still others tell us that we should be very concerned and afraid for the present is shaky and the future appears to be doomed.

I do not know if any of these voices are right, though I suspect they are not completely so. What I do know without a doubt is that there is another voice that calls to us over the din of all the others. It is Jesus' voice. Do you hear Him? He convinces us that He knows what it is like to live as we live. He tries to convince us that we can trust Him.

Listen to Him. He tells you that He created you for joy. He says that you should not have a troubled or fearful heart. He reminds you that God has taken care of every bird in the air and provided for every flower in the field and so He will take care of you. He is saying that you are a citizen of His kingdom, and that though you are in the world, you are not to be of the world.

As I have read the scripture, especially for the last year or so, this is the message that keeps coming through to me. I need to listen more to God's voice than any other. I commend this strategy to you.

In very practical terms make sure that you are listening to Jesus, through His word throughout the Scripture, more than you are listening to Lou Dobbs or Neil Cavuto or Rush Limbaugh. May God bless and multiply each one of them, and they certainly have their place and function in our lives, but listen more intently to God through Isaiah and Jeremiah and Matthew and John and Paul, etc. Do you see the point? A great many Christians are so concerned to be "up on the issues of the day" that they forget to hear the eternal words that God speaks through His Word. This creates a dissonance and disruption in our lives, that leads to anxiety and perhaps worse.

So remember, Jesus is calling to you today. Take time to listen.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis

July 2, 2011