“The Guidebook for Crossing the Desert of Life” (Psalm 1)

"Follow a Compass, not a Map”

Steve Donahue is a professional speaker and consultant. In 1977, as a young man, Steve successfully crossed the Sahara Desert overland from north to south. Based on his desert adventure he wrote a book entitled Shifting Sands: A Guidebook for Crossing the Deserts of Change. He provides six guidelines how to cross a desert. The first rule he describes is this: “Follow a compass, not a map.” He had spent the night studying his map, but it was useless because he did not know his position. In the desert most of the time maps are useless. If you named a sand dune, the map would be out of date before the ink was dry because the sands constantly shift. And you may be lost. We often start crossing our deserts of life with maps. We read books, listen to advice, and we use benchmarking. They are beneficial, but the thing is they are too soon outdated. In the desert of life what we need is a compass, not a map. In the book the author reiterates that we must follow our inner compass. This morning I will show you how to find and follow your inner compass to cross the desert of life successfully.

The Path of Righteousness (v. 1)

Psalm 1 clearly says that an inner compass is the word of God. The Bible says there are two ways of life: one is the way of the righteous, and the other is the way of the wicked. The difference between the two is whether they have the word of God in their hearts. When we have a right inner compass, that is the word of God, it gives us at least three great benefits. First of all, the word of God guides us in the right direction. Verse 1 says, “Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers” (NRSV). In many cases, we commit a sin not because we don’t know it’s wrong, but because we love the sin. We know it is wrong to be addicted to pornography. We know it is wrong to evade taxes. We know it is wrong to steal. But we cannot help doing it, because sin is attractive, desirable, and powerful in appearance. But when we have the word of God in our hearts, then we are able to escape from the enemy’s trap and we come to hate the sin more and more. In Psalm 119:9-11, the psalmist says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word… I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” The word of God is our one and only true compass. This inner compass keeps us from following the way of the wicked and guides us in the path of righteousness.

Joy (v. 2)

Secondly, the word of God gives us joy. Verse 2 says, “But their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night” (NRSV). What kind of delight is this? What kind of pleasure is this? It is not pleasure from mere study or intellectual knowledge of the Scriptures. But it is pleasure from obeying the Word of God. So, New English Translation clarifies verse 2 as follows: “Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the LORD's commands.” In Ps 119:34-35, the psalmist says, “Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.” When we have the Word of God and follow it day and night, we will find great pleasures from above.  

George Muller was a pastor in England. At that time people were going through the Industrial Revolution. Many of them lived from hand to mouth, and even little children had to work. Many people left church to work on Sundays. Muller preached and exhorted the people with Exodus 16, “If you rest on Sunday by faith, you will gather twice as much on Saturday.” But the people answered, “Pastor, we know the word of God, but we live in the real world. We have to work on Sundays for a living.” And they left. Muller decided to put the word of God into practice in his own life. He had no money with him, but he set up and run an orphanage by the faith that “God is the Father of orphans. He will provide.” He made it a rule not to ask people for help, but to pray to the Lord. In his life he cared for 10,024 orphans, and his children never skipped a meal even a single day. Every morning he meditated on the word of God and applied it to his life, and he experienced tremendous joy. For instance, one day Muller and all the children had no food for breakfast. But he had the children sit at the table, and he gave thanks for breakfast, even though there was nothing to eat in the house. As they finished praying, the baker knocked on the door with sufficient fresh bread to feed everyone, and the milkman gave them plenty of fresh milk because his cart broke down in front of the orphanage. In his spiritual journal, he said, “Now I saw, that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it… How different when the soul is refreshed and made happy early in the morning, from what it is when, without spiritual preparation, the service, the trials, and the temptations of the day come upon one!” The word of God is our inner compass. It guides us in the right direction, and during the journey it gives us unspeakable joy when we obey it.

  

Prosperity (v. 3)

Thirdly, the word of God makes us prosperous. Verse 3 says, “They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.” But the word “prosperity” here should not be confused with worldly success, fame, wealth, good health or long life. Biblical prosperity is closely linked to intimacy with God. In Genesis 39 Joseph was taken to Egypt and became a slave, but the Bible says, “The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered…” And again, Joseph was falsely accused and put into prison, but the Bible says, “The Lord was with him and whatever he did, he prospered.”

After the death of Moses, Joshua was desperate. Now he had to lead the people of Israel. He had to cross the Jordan River and conquer the Promised Land. But he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know where to start. He was hard pressed on every side, so he wanted to have some kind of practical guidance from God. Do you know what God’s answer was? In Joshua 1:8, the Lord says to Joshua, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” When we are lost in the desert of life, the best solution to find the way is to go back to the word of God.

One Year Bible Reading Plan

In Psalm 119:105 the Psalmist says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” In today’s term the Word of God is our spiritual GPS. I don’t know about you, but I always use GPS even when I drive in Houlton. What I like about GPS is when I take the wrong way, immediately it recalculates the best way from where I am to my destination. In the same way, the word of God diagnoses our spiritual health today. It shows us truth, exposes our rebellion, corrects our mistakes, and trains us to live God’s way (2 Tim 3:16). Saint Augustine was an early Christian theologian, and he is an inspiration to many who struggle with a particular vice or habit they long to break. Before his conversion he used to wander spiritually for many years. He spent his life in wicked living and in false beliefs. His inner compass was pride and worldly pleasure. One day Augustine was full of bitter sorrow, he went out into the garden and cried out to God, "How long more, O Lord? Why does not this hour put an end to my sins?" Just then he heard a child singing, "Pick up and read! Pick up and read!” He picked up the Bible and read Romans 13:13-14, “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” That word of God changed his life. He wrote, “at once, with the last words of his sentence, it was as if a light of relief from all anxiety flooded into my heart. All the shadows of doubt were dispelled” (Confessions 8:12). The word of God is able to show us the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus and to change our hearts and lives. 

Starting on January 1, 2015, we as a church will start a Bible reading program. This year we will read the New Testament first and then the Old Testament. It may sound childish, but quarterly I am planning to reward those who would complete the assigned reading. From January to March we will read the entire New Testament. For me personally my New Year’s resolution No.1 is to write the entire Bible in a year. My prayer is that as we read, mark, study, recite the Bible together, we may turn around from our ways, walk in God’s way with joy, and live a victorious life. Pick up and read, and you will live! Amen. 

“Elizabeth’s Question” (Luke 1:39-45) - Hope Is on the Way III –

Pope Fransis

Christianity Today magazine from this month covered Pope Francis on the front page. From secular journalists to charismatic Christians so many people are taken with Pope Francis. If you ask 100 random people about the Roman Catholic Church, you will see a few thumbs up, and many will express their ambivalent feelings. Some will be hostile. But if you ask about Pope Francis, the responses will be overwhelming positive. Why so many people thrill to the new pope? It is because people see that he takes his faith beyond words to a life of action. His preaching is simple and straightforward. He lives out what he preaches. He pursues the joy of poverty. He is the first pope to have taken Francis of Assisi’s name, who chose the path of poverty. Pope Francis does care about the poor. He consistently offers himself as a servant. When he was an archbishop, he took the bus to work. Since his election, he has refused the papal crown, apartment and red leather shoes. Of course, these decisions are symbolic, but symbols matter. We find authenticity in his words and deeds. We find the joy of servanthood in his gestures of poverty.

The Joy of Elizabeth

In the Bible there are many people who found the joy of servanthood in their lives. Elizabeth was one of them. In today’s scripture she is filled with joy when Mary comes to see her. Elizabeth knows she plays just a supporting role, not a central role, in God’s plan, but she is full of joy not because of her own baby John but because of Mary and her baby Jesus. Elizabeth says to Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” (v. 42) Then, she asks herself, “Why am I so favored?” (v. 43) Elizabeth knows well who she is. She knows she is just a humble beneficiary of God’s grace. She knows she is called as a servant of God, she is content with her identity, and she rejoices in the Lord. This is the joy of servanthood!

The Joy of Servanthood

The enemy says to us, “Be the master of your life and captain of your soul!” This is not a new message. Satan has always said, “If you want, you can be like God” (Gen 3:5). But this is the great deception of Satan. And we know the result of this. When Adam and Eve tried to become like God, it immediately broke the relationship with God and took away the joy of fellowship with him. True joy abides with God, and it comes down from God. We have this joy only when we have a right relationship with God. We have this joy when God is our Master and we are his servants. We have this joy when God is our Shepherd and we are his sheep. The word “JOY” itself tells us the secret of true joy: “Jesus first, Others second, and You third.”

One time I heard a story from one pastor. A man came to the pastor and said, "I don't know what's wrong with my life, but that first Christian joy I knew has passed by. I still live a moral life. I go to church. But how can I recover the lost radiance of my faith?" His pastor said, "This is what you should do: go to the store and buy a big basketful of groceries and go to an address of a poor family I will give you. Then when you have given your gift, you sit down with them to find out what they need. Let them know that you are interested in them and that you are their friend. Then lead them in the Lord's Prayer before you leave, and the radiance will come back." 

We are called as servants of God and all people. In 2 Corinthians 4:5 Paul says, “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” Joy overflows when we know who we are and get back to our place in God’s plan. After Jesus begins his ministry, all the people are flocking to him. John’s disciples are not happy about this and one of them says to John the Baptist, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan – the one you testified about – well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.” Yes, from a human point of view, John the Baptist is in decline. He is brought into sudden prominence but in less than a year he is now fading into the mists of history. He must be confused whether he is on the right track or not. He must be confused about his own identity. But against all expectations he says to the disciples, “You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:29-30). At this crisis of his life he finds his identity in the word of God and puts God first in his life. Then, he experiences full of joy. This is the joy of servanthood.

The Joy of Servanthood in Suffering

An everlasting joy does not come from our circumstances. It comes down from God. It comes down from perfect submission to God. Jesus is our perfect example. Although he was God himself, he didn’t come to be served but to serve God and his people. He submitted to God in perfect obedience and rejoiced in him. And he said to his disciples to follow his example for them to experience his joy. He said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). Jesus said this on the night he was betrayed. When God is the Master of our lives and we are his servants, we can have joy in the midst of bad circumstances, in the midst of suffering, because that joy comes from something bigger than our circumstances. When Apostle Paul was in prison in Rome, he said to the Philippian Christians, “Rejoice and rejoice with me!” (Phil 2:18) How is it possible that the person in prison is able to say, “Rejoice” to those outside of it? It is possible because although Paul’s body was bound with fetters, his spirit was free in the Lord. He was able to rejoice in suffering because he was in the right place where he should be as a God’s servant.

One of the deep sources of inspiration that I found was a German pastor-theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I was taken with him not because of his preaching or theology, but because of his life. I found the joy of servanthood in his life. He was brilliant and courageous. When Hitler began to take power, Bonhoeffer saw the danger immediately and spoke out clearly. But eventually he was too threatening, so his international friends advised him to flee. He fled to the United Kingdom and the United States, but his conscience troubled him. On July 7, 1939 with war clouds gathering over Europe, he returned to Germany on the last scheduled steamer, and he wrote to his friend, Reinhold Niebuhr, “I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America. I must live through this difficult period in our national history with the people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people.” When he got back to Germany, he began an underground seminary. He was caught, arrested, and put in concentration camp. During that time he ministered to other prisoners and guards. During the Advent of 1942, just a few months before he was arrested, Bonhoeffer distributed his final letter to his friends. In the letter he talks about “the joy of God”: “A sort of joy exists that knows nothing at all of the heart’s pain, anguish, and dread; it does not last; it can only numb a person for the moment. The joy of God has gone through the poverty of the manger and the agony of the cross; that is why it is invincible, irrefutable. It does not deny the anguish, when it is there, but finds God in the midst of it, in fact precisely there; it does not deny grave sin but finds forgiveness precisely in this way; it looks death straight in the eye, but it finds life precisely within it.” Bonhoeffer clung to this joy after his arrest and during his 18 months in Nazi interrogation prison. He suffered from the loneliness of separation from his family. He suffered from illness. But this invincible joy from God preserved his life to the end.

The Joy of God

Christ's joy was made complete when he became a servant and redeemed us through his obedience even unto death. Joy does not come from getting stuff, but it is from giving up self. We are made to have joy when we put God first, others second and ourselves third. The greatest joys in life are in serving God and others. In this blessed season of Advent let us not just wait for Christ our joy; rather, let us go out to him, let us go out to the places where we are called to serve. And the joy of God, invincible joy will be ours, and our joy will be complete. Amen. 

“Mary’s Question” (Luke 1:26-38) - Hope Is on the Way II –

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

One time I had a chance to read about the traditional Native American’s coming-of-age celebration. When a boy turns to 13, his father teaches the son how to fish and hunt. On his 13^th birthday evening the boy is brought to the middle of the dense forest and left alone throughout the night. He ought to spend the whole night alone. Whenever the wind rises and makes noises, he gets overwrought. After a never-ending night passes, as morning dawns, the boy watches the sun come up. Now he begins to see trees and flowers around him one by one. And then he finds one man who stands with bow and arrow in hand only a few feet away. The man is the boy’s father. In fact, the father did spend the whole night with his son. The son was not alone. The father was there with him all night!

Sometimes we feel like God is silent. We feel like God has moved away. We even feel abandoned in our trial. But the truth is, no matter how we feel, God is here with us always. He watches over our lives from the beginning to the end. Advent is a time to remember this truth. Almighty and everlasting God broke into our lives by making himself nothing and becoming human. He came into our lives to live among us and to save us from our distress, ultimately from sin and death. God did come to us and become our hope. This is the Gospel: “Immanuel,” “God with us.” John Wesley’s final words were these: “The best of all is, God is with us!” This is an eternal truth. Our question is: How do we experience this Immanuel God in our lives, especially in our distress? Mary is a right person to answer this question.  

Humility: Mary’s Question

In today’s scripture, Mary says only two words. But those words reveal Mary’s noble character. Her first words are the question to the angel. When she hears the announcement, instead of doubting or mocking the impossible, she humbly asks in verse 34, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” She was ready to believe that she might give birth to the Christ, but that she might give birth as a virgin was beyond comprehension. But her attitude was humble and open. She knew that she came from humble and agrarian roots in Nazareth. She was asking herself, “Who am I to hear this great news?” The first thing that we need to experience the Immanuel God is humble of heart. St. Augustine said, “If you should ask me what are the ways of God. I would tell you that the first is humility, the second is humility, and the third is humility.” We cannot have faith without being humble first. We ought to ask the same question that Mary did, “What am I?” “Who am I?” The answer is that we are human beings who desire perfect happiness, but we cannot achieve it because of our limitations. We need someone who is above us to give us the power to achieve that goal. Lydia and Abe know they need a father to guide them to ride a bike, to bring them to school, to give them food to eat, and to survive. We must see ourselves as nothing without him. Humility is nothing more than seeing reality. Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Mary knows that she is honored by God not because of her own merit or because she has done anything, but simply because she is the chosen vessel only by God’s grace. In verse 47-48 she praises, “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.” Mary’s “humble” state here may refer to her social or financial status. But more fundamentally, it refers to her spiritual status. Mary did hunger and thirst for righteousness. She was poor in spirit. The gospel is for everyone. But there is one condition. We need to be humble. Jesus Christ came to the world as a Savior of all people. But, those who claimed themselves to be healthy and righteous rejected him, and only those who admitted they were sick and broke received Christ (cf. Mk 2:17). How is your soul today? The Bible says the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. God does not despise a broken and humble heart (Ps 51:17). In Isaiah 66:2 the Lord says, “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” Are you poor in spirit, you are blessed! Do you feel like your heart is cold and dry? Then, let us pray fervently: “Lord, I need you! Come, give me a broken and humble heart!” Without being humble we cannot experience God.

  

Faith: Mary’s Answer

Mary is not only the humble mother of Jesus, but also an example of faith. Her second words are the answer to the angel. In verse 38 she says, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” Here Mary is saying, “Lord, use me as you will. I will not refrain from serving because I do not feel qualified or it’s possible.” Faith is not feeling but willing. True faith rests upon the character of God and asks no further proof. It is enough that God said so. Peter was a professional fisher man. He was fishing for a living. All through the night he caught nothing. But Jesus said to Peter, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” And let us pay attention to Peter’s response. He said, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:5). This is true faith. And the Bible says when Peter did so, he caught such a large number of fish that his nets began to break. Without faith we cannot please God. Without faith we cannot experience God (Heb 11:6).

John Wesley is another good example of faith. In his early years of ministry he did not have saving faith. One day he seriously considered leaving off preaching. He asked his mentor, Peter Bohler whether he should leave it off or not. Peter said, “By no means!” Wesley asked, “But what can I preach?” Peter said, “Preach faith until you have it; and then, because you have it, you will preach faith!” Wesley was reluctant to do it, but he began to preach faith. He preached salvation by faith alone to a prisoner under sentence of death and many others. Later, one evening he encountered the living God. In his spiritual journal he said: “I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” Wesley now experienced God not simply intellectually, but also in terms of his tempers and affections. His heart as well as his mind now belonged to the Immanuel God. Pastor A.W. Tozer, in his book “Man: The Dwelling Place of God” points out that the complacency of Christians is the scandal of Christianity today. He exhorts us how to experience God in our lives. He says, “Strive to get beyond mere pensive longing. Set your face like a flint and begin to put your life in order… Begin to tithe; institute family prayer; pay up your debts as far as possible…; make restitution as far as you can; set aside time to pray and search the Scriptures; surrender wholly to the will of God. You will be surprised and delighted with the results.” Faith is a verb. When we do the word as well as hear the word, we will experience the Immanuel God.

Christ Reborn

Recently I read one poem about Christmas written by Germen Poet Angelus Silesius. I would like to share it with you:

“Though Christ a thousand times

In Bethlehem be born,

If He’s not born in thee

Thy soul is still forlorn

The Cross on Golgotha,

Will never save thy soul;

The Cross in thine own heart,

Alone can make thee whole!”

Yes, indeed! Even if such a wonderful and mighty Savior were born a thousand times in Bethlehem, unless He is born in us, our soul is still abandoned, desolate, lost, barren, and alone! The birth of Christ must become our personal experience. Mary helps us to learn how to experience this. So let us conclude where Mary does, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said!” With humility and by faith, let us say, “Lord, I am your servant; take me; use your almighty power to put me where you want me, when you want me there, doing what you want me to do!” And let us live what we say. Then, the Christ will be truly reborn in us and dwell within us, and we will experience God each and every day. Amen.