Eulogize and Evangelize

 

Recently at the funeral of our minister, several men who were loved and mentored by our dear pastor shared innumerable praises about his life. They formally and boldly proclaimed that his service on this earth was appreciated, his friendship would be remembered, his adoration for his wife and family should be imitated, and his love for the Lord was to be commended and emulated. In their discourses or eulogies, these grieving men spoke well of our dear shepherd, lauding him as a beloved husband, father, pastor, teacher, mentor, and friend.

Such a eulogy is the highest form of praise and commendation any human life can receive, and as I tearfully remember the memorial service, the word "evangelize" comes to my mind. When we evangelize or spread the Good News about Jesus, our Savior, are we not eulogizing Jesus' earthly life and His accomplishments? I think we are. I also think we are heralding His fulfilled plan and purpose as the incarnated perfect man and holy Sovereign Lord.

Our Lord has shown and continues to show us His greatness and His grace. His deeds and works are mighty and magnificent, and He is the One and Only God who is worthy of our attention, praise, worship and service.

"Sovereign LORD, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do?"  Deuteronomy 3:24

Our loud, simultaneous response should be, "Absolutely none!!"

"How great you are, Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears."  2 Samuel 7:22

With the new year of 2011 rapidly approaching, I think we must accept the following challenge:  In 2011, let each of us intentionally choose to formally and boldly preach, teach, and proclaim Jesus. We must be prepared to share the hope we have in Jesus. Such hope includes our confident assurance He will sustain us daily, and our assured expectation that He has provided our one and only gateway to eternal life with Him in heaven.

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

"But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." 1 Peter 3:14-16

Dear Precious Lord,


Your greatness, mercy, and majesty overwhelm me! Your mighty and completed work on the cross at Calvary reserved a place for me in your heavenly realm. Equip me in 2011 with a bolder spirit and an unprecedented eagerness to share your gracious gift with friends, family, and strangers. May I possess a passion for the lost. May I seek out the one who is fumbling and condemned to eternal torment, and may I bravely present your free gift of salvation as you have instructed. Fill my heart with a fervent desire to pray for and evangelize those who are wayward, so they might escape your holy wrath and experience the full import and impact of your love. Amen.

Foot Slippage

In the fall of 2006, my husband, daughter, and I visited my brother in Pittsburgh, PA.  Our visit was full of joy, laughter, fun, and exploring new places until..... I stepped off a curb.  My left foot twisted, and the next thing I knew I was on the ground, looking skyward, writhing in horrific pain.

Just last Sunday, a dear friend of ours walked out her front door, started down her front steps, slipped on an icy stair tread, and ended up falling down her steps. Fortunately nothing was broken or torn, but she was bruised from head to toe from her nasty spill.

In both of these instances, in a flash, our feet slipped and we fell abruptly and painfully. The speed with which the unexpected tumbles occurred was surprising and disconcerting.

Commission of daily sin occurs in a similar blink of an eye. One minute we are standing upright, and the next we are on our noses or our keisters, flabbergasted, dazed, and ashamed at our current state.  Before we are fully aware of what is happening, we become numb to what is right, to what is pleasing to the Lord.  Little by little, we inch ourselves into a trap because we have not stayed alert.

How, then, do we, as beloved children of God prevent foot slippage?

Today I see two clear paths to living an upright life.

First, we must know God's will and His precepts to avoid unnecessary sin.  If we are unfamiliar with His statutes and guidelines, how can we avoid pitfalls? The simple answer is, "We can't."

Psalm 143:10 tells us, "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. "

Not only does God give us a life manual, but He sent His Holy Spirit to lead us, equip us, and enable us to stand on solid ground every single day.

Second, when sin occurs in our lives, (and it will), we are to confess it to one another.  By honestly confessing these daily mishaps, we are aligning ourselves with God's commands, and we are asking our brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for us to help us avoid our personal hazards.

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."  James 5:16

With assurance, we can count on our precious Lord to aid us in our attempt to address, avoid, and conquer daily sin. Jesus was successful in conquering sin, once and for all, so if I am obedient to His leading, sin no longer has the slavish hold on me that it used to.  We may trust Him to empower us to avoid foot slippage.

"for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose." Philippians 2:13

In Max Lucado's daily email devotion on 12/14/10, he says, "As a result of being saved, what do we do? We obey God with deep reverence and shrink back from all that might displease Him. Practically put, we love our neighbor and refrain from gossip. We refuse to cheat on taxes and spouses and do our best to love people who are tough to love. Do we do this in order to be saved? No. These are the good things that result from being saved."

Dear Heavenly Father,


Thank you for teaching me to know you and your ways. Thank you for showing me the importance of repentance and confession, and thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to reside in me and your beloved children. You love us so much you not only gave us a manual for upright living, but you provided the perfect Enabler, so we could avoid daily foot slippage.

Preparing the Perfect House

Deciding what's for dinner, what clothes to wear, and even what vehicles to buy are breezy decisions for my husband and me! We make those determinations quickly, if not impulsively, but we mull over important decisions for a painfully long time.


We spent almost 4 years contemplating if we were going to place our house of 32 years on the market. I know that sounds like a terribly long time to reach any conclusion, but my husband literally built our home, one board and one nail at a time. His drops of perspiration probably christened every board. Consequently, he had a tough time actually putting a for- sale sign in our front yard.


I, on the other hand, have been eager to move. After a nasty fall in Pittsburgh in which I tore tendons and ligaments in my ankle, I discovered navigating our stairs on my rumpus to our bedroom was not a process I wanted to repeat... ever. That painful and almost impossible feat prompted me to think about moving to a house with a master bedroom on the main floor. Then, as my hips and knees started rebelling loudly each and every time I tackled the stairs, I became even more resolved to move.


Finally after great deliberation, we both felt at peace about selling. However, once the listing contract was signed, I became impatient. I kept thinking, "The decisions have all been made, let's get this show on the road!" I wanted our house to sell immediately, regardless of how unrealistic that was. I was especially anxious to find and purchase our next home because I yearn for our next chapter to begin.


Our house has not sold in its first month on the market (don't laugh too loudly; I know that was impractical). Realism has taken no part in my anxious moments. I have worried that when our house finally sells, none of the houses on our wish list will be available. I have had nightmares about being "homeless" or stuck in a house I absolutely do not want. If you can think of a worry or a concern relative to selling and buying a house, I have experienced it.


During this sinful state of not trusting God, a dear sweet young friend at my ladies' Bible study, gave me practical, biblical, encouragement. She shared she had experienced similar anxieties when her family initially moved to our town. She even experienced disappointment when the house she thought was perfect fell through. Then, came her punch line - "The house we ended up in was perfect for us, and we didn't have to do anything to move in. When you are anxious, think that God is preparing the perfect house for you, and it is not ready yet."


Hmmm, those words were wise beyond her years! The following nights when I began getting anxious, I remembered, "God is preparing the perfect house for you, but it is not ready yet."


During this same time, our dear precious pastor, who valiantly battled pancreatic cancer for over a year, came home from the hospital to await his move to his most perfect house. John 14:2 tells us, "My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?"


Many times I have thought about my loved ones residing in mansions Jesus prepared especially for them, and I am comforted. I feel an enormous sense of peace about the Lord's heavenly house because we Christians are guaranteed a reservation. There will be no homeless situations, and the abode will be absolutely and totally perfect.


The Lord, through my young friend, and through the testimony and witness of my pastor and his family, is teaching me invaluable lessons. The sale of my home will be in God's perfect timing, if it is His will. He will work out every single detail impeccably, so I must lay my cares, concerns, and anxieties at His feet (over and over again if that is necessary). My job is to wait patiently and peacefully, trusting Him completely.


Just as Jesus comforted His disciples, may His words in John 14:1-4 be a balm to me and to others in every-day relatively insignificant concerns and in serious situations.


“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.”


May we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that our prayers are heard and are answered exactly as they should be in God's flawless timing in His supreme plan.


"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." 1 John 5:13-15


"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal." Isaiah 26:3,4


Dear Heavenly Father,


I know you love us and want what is best for us. Living through life's small bumps is the beginning of our trust journey. May you teach us and strengthen us through these inconsequential decisions and worries, so we might be more prepared for the serious ones. May you be gracious enough to equip us to move forward in blind trust because you are worthy of our confidence. Doing so is certainly the definition of living a life of faith and peace. In Jesus' most precious name I pray. Amen.

Teaching of the Younger Ones

In Titus 2:3-5 Paul tells us: “Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”

Since I turned 55 years of age, these verses, addressed to the older women of the church, seem critical to me. My portion is changing, and the gravity and urgency of my charge from God strikes my heart with force.

Every time I facilitate a Bible study, my interjections and actions should reflect God’s love, His will, and His truth. In advance, I should know the text thoroughly enough NOT to make ignorant remarks or inappropriate observations. Everything I say, and every word the study’s author writes should fall in line with God‘s word. Every uttered and written word should glorify God!

Each time God places me in a teaching situation, I purposefully set out to be a biblical encourager, not a worldly one. In no way do I want to malign or depreciate God’s testimony. I do not want to hinder my witness for Him, and those responsibilities make me pause, and pause again. Since I am human, I know daily sin will surface, but my heart’s desire is to honor God.

Actually, these verses in Titus apply to all aged women professing faith, and they call us to a respectful, dignified, and reverent way of life. That command should make us pause. It is sobering. “The adjective ‘reverent’ basically means ‘suitable to a sacred office’ and conveys the image of a good priestess carrying out the duties of her office. The conduct of the older women must reveal that they regard life as sacred in all of its aspects.” (Hiebert)

Women, as well as men, should strive to possess the virtues of: sobriety, seriousness, temperance, soundness in the faith, kindness, helpfulness, and patience. Women, as well as men, are to hear, learn, and apply God’s word. We must be especially careful not to apply a worldly author's view in place of God's instructions. We are to patiently endure, which is the definition of perseverance, and such perseverance leads to victorious living. We older women (and older men) should heed our call to disciple younger ones.

Generally speaking, 1 Corinthians 10:31 covers our behavior or decorum:

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

And Philippians 4:8 provides an overall rule of conduct:

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

As aged Christians, backbiting and false accusations, which are all too prevalent in our society, have no place in our deportment. Such slander often erupts from malice, hatred, or envy, and we are to have no part of such behavior.

In his Commentary on the Whole Bible (Volume VI), Matthew Henry says, “A slanderer is one whose tongue is set on {the} fire of hell”.

In “Of a Malignant Tongue, ” Jean Baptiste Massillon says, “And behold what I would have applied to the tongue of the evil-speaker, had I undertaken to give you a just and natural idea of all the enormity of this vice: I would have said that the tongue of the slanderer is a devouring fire which tarnishes whatever it touches; which exercises its fury on the good grain, equally as on the chaff; on the profane, as on the sacred; which, wherever it passes, leaves only desolation and ruin; digs even into the bowels of the earth, and fixes itself on things the most hidden; turns into vile ashes what only a moment before had appeared to us so precious and brilliant; acts with more violence and danger than ever in the time when it was apparently smothered up and almost extinct; which blackens what it cannot consume, and sometimes sparkles and delights before it destroys.”1

1 Timothy 5:13 is clear:

“Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to.”

Guard against such behavior, regardless of how movies, TV, and magazines portray the friendly neighborhood gossip. We ought not to imitate saccharine-smiling Ethel, standing over the fence chatting with coffee-holding Mabel about poor young Fran. A slanderer's polar opposite is one who exhibits love, justice, and equity.

Not being addicted to wine denotes not being under its power and mastery, and not becoming immodest, shameful, corrupt, or impure while under the guise of its influence. “Being given to much wine” was a common failing of older women in Roman and Greek cultures. As older women, we should teach, encourage, and urge (exhort earnestly) younger women to be discreet, chaste, women of faith.

The word “train” is sometimes translated “urge” or “encourage”, but Strong’s shows us its true depth. It literally means “to restore one to his (or her) senses; to moderate, control, curb, disciple; to hold one to his (or her) duty; to admonish, to exhort earnestly.” We aged ones are to be teachers of God’s ways by precept and by example - not by fables, superstitions, or old wives’ tales! God intends us to impart wisdom and experience in positive ways to uplift younger women.

The subjection we emulate and teach is a loving subordination (necessary to prevent chaos or confusion within a family unit), but it is not an absolute, unlimited, slavish one. God has given us strategic positions of influence and assistance to our husbands and to our children.

John MacArthur accurately describes biblical submission as “voluntarily placing oneself under the authority of another.” A wife’s loving submission enhances the marital relationship. Voluntarily placing oneself under a husband’s leadership is not difficult to do when a godly husband would willingly die for his wife, just as Christ died for His church. A husband’s role to protect, to supply with all good, to provide comfortably and lovingly for his wife, according to his ability, sets the stage for a loving wife's voluntary deference. Love, springing from holy, sanctified (those set apart to God) hearts is not unkind or domineering, but is edifying and honoring to its participants and to God. As co-heirs in salvation, such subjection and sacrificial love toward one another honors God.

Scripture charges us older women (and men) with the teaching and discipling of younger ones. Do so with love and kindness. I know I have been amazed at just how much God has taught me through these youthful, beautiful, bright, tenderhearted, and God-seeking females. I have been particularly thankful for their insights, their openness, their willingness to learn and apply God’s principles, and their eagerness to help and love one another and me.

1. Bryan, William Jennings, ed. The World’s Famous Orations. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1906; New York: Bartleby.com, 2003. www.bartleby.com/268/. [December 9, 2010].