Stop, Look, and Listen

Nancy Claster, who will forever remain Miss Nancy in the hearts and minds of her loyal fans as television's original "Romper Room" teacher, died this past week of cancer. She was 82.

Do you remember Romper Room? Daily televisions were turned on to find a friendly woman who seemed to be able to see us while we were in our living rooms using her Romper Room Magic Mirror.

The Romper Room hostess finished each program by gazing through an empty mirror frame and reciting the names of the children whom she pretended to see watching the program (a different list of names each day). For example, “I see Tommy and Cathy and Joe and Vickie and Stan and all you boys and girls out there.”

 

During the show, simple life lessons were taught on things like manners, kindness, and waiting your turn. Sometimes other life lessons like Stop, Look, and Listen.

That particular message was pretty simple: When you come to a railroad track, you are supposed to stop, look, and listen until proceeding on. The goal was to prevent being run over by a train.

As I said, the lesson was simple; so simple that it was taught to elementary students; which is funny considering the application wouldn't be applied in their lives until ten years later when they were drivers!

Yes, the lesson was given specifically for when one comes to a train crossing. But; and hopefully you figured this out yourself, the lesson was taught so that it could be applied to other situations in our lives.

And yet, lately, I have been thinking that many adults seem to have forgotten that lesson when they got older. I observe too many adults who are doing way too much talking instead of listening.

I see way too many people in situations in which they are metaphorically about to be run over, and, they hit the gas instead of doing what they were instructed to do:

·  STOP when you are entering a dangerous situation.

·  LOOK at where you are about to enter

·  LISTEN (that means that you have to stop talking)

Too many people who fail to see they do not have to voice their opinions on everything they see posted by others.

Too many people who then pass on their opinions to all of their friends in the form of a post or video.

Too many people who simply need to stop posting, stop ranting, stop forwarding, stop insisting that their way is the only way!

Too many people who simply need to look at who might be reading their posts, look deeply with eyes of compassion and empathy at those with whom they have a differing point of view.

Too many people who simply need to listen. This, of course, implies that one needs to stop talking (including texting, tweeting, or posting) to do so!

You might be surprised just how much you have in common with someone you see as your opponent.

⁹ Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; ¹¹ not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; ¹² rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; ¹³ distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. ¹⁹ Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

All Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Does the Bible say to “Ask Jesus into your heart”?

There are sayings and expressions that people use without even thinking about what they are saying. Expressions such as; “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse”, or “I’m starving!”

If we are being honest, no, we are not starving and if we were, eating a horse is not what we are thinking of doing!

For many years, I have heard the expression that people need to “ask Jesus into their hearts”. The same expression is sometimes phrased, "Ask Jesus into your life", or "Invite Jesus into your heart".  

Personally, I can’t find this in the Bible. Instead, I find that the Bible says, "…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31)  

Romans 10:8-13 says nothing about 'inviting Jesus into your heart': “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”^{[c] 12} For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. ¹³ For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

So, where did we get the idea that people need to “ask Jesus into their heart”? I think that the idea comes from several religious tradition, that don’t come from the Bible, handed down through well-meaning teachers. Anglo-American Puritans and evangelicals in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries used the phrase “receive Christ into your heart,” or something like it, with some regularity.

Another one of these religious traditions taught that we have a ‘door to our heart’ that has a latch on the inside but not on the outside.  We are taught that Jesus Christ is knocking on the outside but cannot come in unless we unlatch the lock from the inside of the heart.  The Bible teaches no such thing.   

Where else does this idea come from? It also can be seen in stained glass set beautifully in church buildings. I personally think that some of this comes from people seeing either of the two allegorical paintings of Jesus Christ standing at the door knocking painted by William Holman Hunt or the one painted by Warner Sallman.

What about Revelation 3:20?  ”Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

“Doesn’t that refer to the ‘door of our heart’?” I say, “No”. Take time to read the context of Revelation 3:14-22. The door mentioned is the door of the church of Laodicea; not a reference to the door of the heart or the door of your life or about salvation. It means to dine, that is, take the principal (or evening) meal or fellowship with the Lord.  

Religious songs are another source of this wrong teaching; songs we sing simply because we like them. In other words we have theology totally based on the words of the song even if they are not scriptural.  

One of these songs is called; "Come Into My Heart, Lord Jesus" which says; "Into my heart, into my heart; Come into my heart, Lord Jesus." This song is sung as people are given the opportunity to "Invite Jesus into their hearts".  

Some scriptural references are misinterpreted because of tradition. Some people will quote passages like Ephesians 3:16-19 “ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

But it doesn't say ‘ask Him into your heart’; rather it is says; “that He would dwell in your heart by faith”.

Some will say; “But what about John 14:23; “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

It says, “We” will come and make “our” home with him. I would say this is speaking of the triune nature of God and it is the Holy Spirit who dwells in us when we surrender our lives to Jesus.

Referring to Jesus, Colossians 2:9-10 says “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; ¹⁰ and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power”

When we surrender our lives to Jesus, we are filled with the Holy Spirit; who is fully God as a member of the Trinity and a representative of the Father and the Son.

Acts 2: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Acts 4:31 “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness”

Acts 13:52 “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit”

Ephesians 5:18 “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit”

Acts 9:17 “And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus, after He completed His work here on the earth, went to be with the Father.

Romans 8:34 “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”

Hebrews 10:11-14 “And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. ¹⁴ For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

John 14:12-17 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. ¹³ And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.¹⁵ “If you love Me, keep My commandments. ¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:26  “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

John 16:7-15 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. ¹² “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”

The Bible simply says that we are to believe or trust the gospel message that Jesus paid for our sins by His death on the cross, and that He was buried, and that He was resurrected from the dead.  

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes...” (Romans 1:16a). 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

We Receive Christ Through Faith
"By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.

Receiving Christ involves turning our wills and lives to God and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. The Bible calls this "repentance". What that means is to "change the way you think"; in other words, go another direction- with our thoughts, words, actions; with how we live our lives.

God will only give eternal life to:

1.   Those who are sorry for their sins.

2.   Those who are willing to turn away from what the Bible calls sin.

3.   Those who put their complete trust (have faith) in Jesus Christ and what He accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection.

When We Receive Christ, we will experience a “New Birth”

So, how do you do you receive Christ?

1.   Stop trusting in your own efforts to please God and begin to trust in what Jesus Christ has already done.

2.   Ask God to forgive you for your sins.

3.   Ask Jesus to take His rightful place as Lord and Savior of your life.

4.   Turn away from whatever the Bible says is sin. NOTE: This is only possible after you have made Jesus the Lord of your life.

You can do this right now by praying (speaking to God) in your own words like this:

"LORD JESUS. I WANT TO STOP TRUSTING MYSELF AND WHAT I CAN DO AND START TRUSTING IN YOU AND WHAT YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE WHEN YOU DIED ON THE CROSS FOR ME. I KNOW THAT I AM A SINNER AND I AM SORRY FOR MY SINS. I ASK YOU TO FORGIVE ME. AND I INVITE YOU TO COME AND BE THE SAVIOR AND THE LORD OF MY LIFE. BY THAT I MEAN STARTING RIGHT NOW, YOU WILL BE #1 IN MY LIFE. I WANT TO TURN AWAY FROM EVERYTHING THAT YOU AND THE BIBLE CALL SIN. I TOTALLY COMMIT MYSELF TO OBEYING YOU; EVERYDAY OF MY LIFE. THANK YOU LORD JESUS"

This new life will continue to grow by:

·        Spending time each day; throughout the day praying and worshipping God.

·        Spending time reading the Bible which is His Word

·        Spending time with other Christians at church, Bible studies, and fellowships.

·        Spending time sharing with others who yet don’t know how they too can get right with God.

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved

I Think I Love You!

It was August 22, 1970 something and was listening to my transistor radio.  

I had been using some old bed mattresses that I had found as a trampoline at an apartment complex down the road from our house.

A new song came on the radio and I was at once moved to the words that came out of that mega two-inch speaker secured to the side of my head by my right hand as I jumped in the air.

This morning I woke up with this feeling
I didn't know how to deal with and so I just decided to myself
I'd hide it to myself and never talk about it
And did not go and shout it when you walked into the room
I think I love you (I think I love you)

The song was sappy and yet took its place among one of the greatest love songs of my day; or at least of this eleven-year-old boy.

The song went on:

I was sleeping and right in the middle of a good dream
Like all at once I wake up

From something that keeps knocking at my brain
Before I go insane I hold my pillow to my head
And spring up in my bed screaming out the words I dread
I think I love you (I think I love you)

I think I love you so what am I so afraid of
I'm afraid that I'm not sure of a love there is no cure for

The song was filled with intrigue and mystery; who was he afraid of?

Why was he reluctant to press into this relationship?

Why was he afraid to say that he loved someone?

Who was this group that sang words with such eloquence and perfection?

In a very short time I came to understand that this song; “I Think I Love You”, was written by Tony Romeo was being performed by “The Partridge Family”.

The lead singer was teenage heart throb David Cassidy.

Daily, hour-by-hour I would wait to listen for the song on my transistor radio and sing along with David as he spoke as only he could!

And I wanted to look like him, dress like him, have hair like him, and get the girls like he did.

He taught me about love and drew me into his school for lonely hearts who were trying to get love.

I think I love you isn't that what life is made of
Though it worries me to say I never felt this way

He knew when to say the “L-word” and when not to say it.

He was in love, but not all in.

Believe me you really don't have to worry
I only wanna make you happy and if you say "hey go away" I will

He was my new hero! At least for the time being….

That is until I met another.

He too taught me about love. He too became my Hero. I wanted to be like Him. His name is Jesus Christ.

Daily, hour-by-hour I would wait to listen for Him as He spoke through His Word as only He could!

And I wanted to look like Him, dress like Him, have hair like Him, and get the girls He wanted me to be with.

He taught me about love and drew me into His school for lonely hearts who were trying to get love.

However, I found out that I had some ideology taught to me by David Cassidy that I had to un-learn.

I was reluctant to open my heart up; I was afraid to be really loved.

I don't know what I'm up against
I don't know what it's all about
I got so much to think about

But He wanted me to use the “L-word” EVERYTIME that I was with Him.

He wanted me to be ALL the way in!

In fear, I called to Him:

Hey, I think I love You so what am I so afraid of
I'm afraid that I'm not sure of a love there is no cure for

I think I love you isn't that what life is made of
Though it worries me to say I never felt this way

I had never been loved so much by anyone and His love was unconditional.

His Word told me that He loved me while I was yet a sinner; BEFORE I even knew Him!

His Word told me that He would never leave or forsake me.

So, I cried out me ponderings to Him:

Do you think I have a case let me ask You to Your face
Do you think You love me?

And His answer to me was an overwhelming:

I think I love you
I think I love you
I think I love you
I think I love you
I think I love you
I think I love you

And my answer to Him was an overwhelming:

I think I love You

You Never Fail

I am in a time of transition as I seek the Lord as to what the next steps are that I need to take regarding my “employment” …

Actually, I think that it is safe to say that we are ALWAYS in a time of transition and the day we “arrive” is the day we leave this earth.

Although I am a pastor, the question has more do with how and where God wants to use me; secular or sacred? This applies to other gifts that I have such as my experience in construction as well as my gifts as an artist…

But during transition from one job to the next it can feel like God isn’t listening. It isn’t true but it can feel like He isn’t. This is true as we transition from city to city, relationship to relationship, school to school to school….

Sometimes during my time of transition it is possible to put unnecessary pressure on myself as though it is all MY responsibility to make something happen; NOW!

As a way to put the focus off my situation and onto God, I was listening to a worship song one day this week about God’s faithfulness.

        Walking around these walls

        I thought by now they’d fall

        But You have never failed me yet
        Waiting for change to come
        Knowing the battle's won
        For You have never failed me yet

        Your promise still stands
        Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness
         I'm still in Your hands
        This is my confidence, You've never failed me yet

And while I was listening to it, as the end was coming and the crescendo was building up:

        I've seen You move, come move the mountains
        And I believe, I'll see You do it again
        You made a way, where there was no way

I realized that this time of transition is not just about me. 

“Well said, Captain Obvious!”

 

I realized that this is also a test for all of those who are holding me up and praying for me concerning direction and what is the next assignment or appointment for me.

I realized that this is also for EACH ONE OF THEM to trust God to answer THEIR prayers and to be faithful one more time.

The question isn’t just whether or not I will trust Him, but will others’ trust God to answer their prayers on behalf of me? 

This isn’t just my struggle of faith and trust, it is also the struggle of faith and trust for my friends; that will God answer their prayers.

In other words; “Will God answer all those people’s prayers who were also asking God; not just mine?”

Oswald Chambers said;

         “We are not fundamentally free; external circumstances are not in our hands, they are in God’s hands, the one thing in which we are free is in our personal relationship to God. We are not responsible for the circumstances we are in, but we are responsible for the way we allow those circumstances to affect us; we can either allow them to get on top of us, or we can allow them to transform us into what God wants us to be.”

I’m so glad that He is personal even when we feel so far away from Him. And that He uses us in our weakness and occasionally when we have it all together; which is very rare day indeed.

That is always the encouragement I need, to remember that simple thing, He always is with me and personal in my circumstances!

And suddenly the pressure was lifted off me to go through this all by myself.

“Let my cry come right into Your presence, God;
    provide me with the insight that comes only from Your Word.
Give my request Your personal attention,
    rescue me on the terms of Your promise.
Let praise cascade off my lips;
    after all, You’ve taught me the truth about life!
And let Your promises ring from my tongue;
    every order You’ve given is right.
Put Your hand out and steady me
    since I’ve chosen to live by Your counsel.
I’m homesick, God, for Your salvation;
    I love it when You show Yourself!
Invigorate my soul so I can praise You well,
    use Your decrees to put iron in my soul.
And should I wander off like a lost sheep—seek me!
    I’ll recognize the sound of Your voice.”

             (Psalm 119:169-176 MSG)

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson