Lost and Found

Luke 15 has 3 of Jesus’ parables.  First, Jesus told of a sheep that was lost.  The shepherd goes and finds the lost sheep.  Then he calls his friends together and said,  “Let’s celebrate because my sheep was lost and now is found.”

Then Jesus told of a woman who lost a silver coin.  She searches high and low, and finally finds the lost coin.  Then she called her friends and said, “Let’s have a party because my coin was lost and now is found!”

Then Jesus told of a man who had 2 sons.  One son asked for his inheritance early, and went and wasted it in a foreign country.  When he came to his senses, he remembered his father and decided to return to his father.  When he got home, his father called his friends and said, “Let’s have a party because my son was lost and now is found!”

The older son was working in the back forty.  He came home and heard music and dancing.  He called a servant who said, “Oh your father is so glad because your brother was lost but now is found.”

The older brother became angry and refused to go into the party.  So his father came out and pleaded with him.  But he said, “All these years I’ve been slaving for you, and did you ever throw a party for me and my friends?  I’ll tell you the party we got; it’s called work!”  The father said, “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.  But we had to celebrate and be glad, because your brother was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

The Loving Father represents God’s love and forgiveness.  When we go to God humbly and admitting our sin, God, in his mercy and grace, treats us like the father who welcomed back the rebellious son.  Let us go and do likewise.

The older brother represents self-righteous individuals.   His attitude shows that his obedience to his father had been years of grim duty, not loving service.  If you’re struggling with grim duty, let your heart be found by the gracious Father.

Of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, only the son deliberately got lost, callously turning his back on his father.  But God’s love can defeat the deliberate rebellion of the heart.  Why not turn to the Loving Father today?  He is waiting and watching for you.  Go into his gracious presence today.

From Bitterness to Praise

Lamentations 3:22-23 is a familiar Scripture – “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”  In my experience, it’s common and easy to sing “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”

The thing is, Lamentations was written at a HORRIBLE time in Israel’s history.  Jeremiah wrote it after Jerusalem was destroyed by invading Babylonians.  Imagine the Oklahoma City bombing or 9-11 attacks on NYC.  Jerusalem’s homes and businesses were destroyed.  Their gold and valuables were taken by Babylonian soldiers.  Add this factor: The foreign invading army took many of Jerusalem’s residents as prisoners back to Babylon, to work as slaves.  Many Israelites felt deserted by God and bitter. 

If you read the rest of Lamentations 3, you’ll get a sense of Israel’s grief bitterness.  It’s amazing that Jeremiah was able to praise God for his love and faithfulness in the midst of such terrible destruction.  Would you be able praise God after your business and home were looted and burned, and some of your loved ones taken away as prisoners? 

How often do the people around us disappoint us?  How many people have made promises to you, that were not kept?  Almost all of us have been disappointed by someone we loved.  But God is completely faithful.  God is 100% trustworthy.   Yet there are times when some of us have felt neglected or abandoned by God.  Maybe an unexpected loss has left you feeling hopeless.  Do you still believe that you can count on God?  We live in a world of great uncertainty and huge changes.  So many promises and guarantees have been broken.  It’s no wonder that some become skeptical, bitter or hard-hearted. 

Lamentations 3:24-26 says,”The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.  The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.”  Can you wait for the Lord?   Can you wait for the One who is loving and faithful?  If you haven’t been trusting the Lord lately, remember, the Lord is GOOD to those whose HOPE is in Him, those who seek Him.  

In a disappointing, uncertain, changing world, let us trust the Lord of heaven and earth.

The Poison of Bitterness

Bitterness is a poison that destroys the physical and spiritual health of an individual.  

Someone said, “Bitterness is like the acid you have inside that you want to spew on others; but it may well eat you alive before you get the chance.”

In April, 1995, Bud Welch’s 23-year-old daughter, Julie, was killed in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Bldg in Oklahoma City.  Three days after the bombing, Bud watched Tim McVeigh being led out of the courthouse, & hoped someone would shoot him dead.  Bud wanted him to fry.  In fact, Bud said: I’d have killed him myself if I’d had the chance.

Unable to deal with the pain of Julie’s death, Bud started self-medicating with alcohol until eventually the hangovers were lasting all day.  Then, on a cold day in Jan., 1996, Bud came to the bombsite – as he did every day – & he looked across the wasteland where the Murrah Building once stood.  His head was splitting from drinking the night before & he thought, “I have to do something different, because what I’m doing isn’t working”.

For the next few weeks Bud started to reconcile things in his mind, & finally concluded that it was revenge & hate that had killed Julie & the 167 others.  Tim McVeigh & Terry Nichols had been against the US government for what happened in Waco, TX, in 1993 & seeing what they’d done with their vengeance, Bud knew he had to send his in a different direction.  Shortly afterwards Bud started speaking out against the death penalty.

  

In Dec 1998, after Tim McVeigh had been sentenced to death, Bud had a chance to meet Tim McVeigh’s father, Bill, at his home.  Bud wanted to show Bill that he did not blame him.   Bill's daughter also wanted to meet Bud; the 3 of them sat around the kitchen table.  Up on the wall were family snapshots, including Tim’s graduation picture.  Bud said, “What a good looking kid.”

Earlier Bill had asked Bud, “Bud, are u able to cry?”  Bud had told him, “I don’t usually have a problem crying”.  Bill said, “I can’t cry, even tho I’ve got a lot to cry about”.   But now, sitting in the kitchen looking at Tim’s photo, a big tear rolled down his face.  It was the love of a father for a son.

When Bud got ready to leave he shook Bill’s hand, then extended it to Bill's daughter, Jennifer, but she just grabbed Bud & threw her arms around him.  She was almost the age as Julie but felt taller to Bud.  Bud didn’t know which one of them started crying first.  Then Bud held her face in his hands & said, “Look, honey, the 3 of us are in this for the rest of our lives.  I don’t want your brother to die & I’ll do everything I can to prevent it.”  As Bud walked away he realized that until that moment he’d walked alone, but now a tremendous weight had lifted from his shoulders. 

About a year before the execution, Bud found it in his heart to forgive Tim McVeigh.  It was a release for Bud rather than for Tim McVeigh.

Revenge & bitterness are poisons that will eat you from the inside out.  Forgiveness is the key that releases bitterness.

Ephesians 4: 32 says, “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”  Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy" (Matthew 5:7).

Strategies For Stress

The word stress is usually used in a negative way, as though all stress was to be avoided.  However, stress can be positive and healthy.  Think of a stringed instrument such as a guitar or piano.  If the strings don’t have enough tension or stress, they don’t work properly.  Too much tension or stress causes the strings to break or play off pitch.  Just the right amount of tension or stress will produce beautiful music. 

Most of us need a certain amount of stress.  Without any deadlines or pressure, most of us wouldn’t get much if anything done.  Positive stress can motivate us to accomplish things.  On the other hand, too much stress will cause physical or mental health problems.  So the key is to find THE RIGHT AMOUNT of stress for yourself.  Here are some strategies for handling stress:

1. A relationship with God will help you to deal with the stress in your life.  Jesus can help you deal with anger, resentment, bitterness, guilt, and a life with Jesus will motivate you in healthy, positive ways.  Psalm 62: 1-2 says, “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.  Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”   Focus on building a personal relationship with Jesus through prayer and the Bible.   

2. Release your frustration and negative emotions to God in prayer.  Psalm 62:8 instructs us,  “Pour out your hearts to God, for God is our refuge.”  Every life has disappointments, frustrations, grief, irritations, etc.  Release your negative feelings to God in prayer. Also, release your negative feelings to a trusted friend or counselor or pastor.

3. At some point, everyone of us is mistreated or offended.  We’re all tempted to become bitter.  When we’re hurt, the temptation is to build a wall around yourself, so that you won’t get hurt again.  One antidote to bitterness is FORGIVENESS.  Even if the other person doesn’t deserve your forgiveness, forgiving him/her will improve your emotional health.  Another antidote to bitterness is GRATITUDE.  Make a list of 5-10 blessings in your life, everyday for 10-15 days; it can change how you perceive your life.  Resist becoming bitter.

4. Accept help from others.  We all want to become independent when we’re young, but some of us struggle to become interdependent as we mature.  Why do you believe you have to handle everything in your life on your own?  God provided Aaron for Moses, and Jesus had 12 disciples.  God created us to be in community, in relationships with others.  So if someone offers to help you, accept their help.  Who can you ask to help you?  If you have too much stress, take initiative to share part of it with another person(s).

Choose 1-2 of these strategies, to help you manage your stress.  I will offer more strategies next week.  May God’s Spirit strengthen you and guide you.