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In Everything . . . Give Thanks

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by Brian Waple

“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NLT)

Driving home from a meeting this morning, I passed a church with this message on their sign: “In Everything Give Thanks.” After reading that, it made me think about what it meant. I mean, during this time of Thanksgiving, I know we all get caught up in the trappings of Thanksgiving dinners and football games and visiting relatives, and we often need to be reminded to actually be thankful. And certainly in the good times, I am very thankful—thankful for my family, thankful for a job, thankful for good health, thankful for a community in which to worship God. I thank God always for these things.

But I think Paul means more than that in this first letter to the Thessalonians. He had taught them that in spite of any persecution they may be suffering, or worldly temptations they might be facing, they should be thankful God loves them so much that He is constantly working among them to accomplish His will. Throughout much of what is now Turkey, Paul had been preaching the Good News. And what was that Good News? That God Himself had come to Earth in the form of a Jewish baby named Jesus; that He had lived a sinless life; that He had preached the true God and ministered to the masses; that because of Pharisaical prejudice and fear, He was taken captive, tried, convicted, and put to death on a cross; and that He was buried and three days later rose from the dead to mediate on our behalf. Thankful for the crucifixion? Absolutely, especially when you consider that through that heinous act, the free gift of salvation and eternal life was made available to those who believe.

So does that mean I should be thankful for the bad things that happen, as well as the good? Bad things happen. But one thing I’m continuing to learn about God is that regardless of what’s happening to me or those around me, God is present. And God is good. Even when I sense that prayers are not being answered or I don’t understand what’s happening, I believe that God knows and God acts. And in that, I can truly be thankful.

So, as we celebrate the season, may we be reminded of everything we have to be thankful for—the good and the not so good. Because God is in all of it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Entertaining Angels

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by Brian Waple

“Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” (Hebrews 13:2, NLT)

Listening to Pastor Steve speak about this passage on Sunday brought back a memory I have from my childhood, around January 1966. I was in the fifth grade and had driven down from Virginia with my grandparents to visit relatives in Florida. Driving back to Virginia on I-95, we hit a freak snowstorm and had to stop at a gas station in North Carolina. My grandfather went into the station to ask about the conditions heading north. He was told that traffic was stopped on the highway and they couldn’t get through.

In the station, my grandfather met Mr. Royster (I’ll never forget his name), a farmer who lived nearby. He told my grandfather that he would be happy to put us up until the road cleared (maybe a day or two). So, we followed Mr. Royster back to his farmhouse and settled in with him and his wife to wait out the storm.

Now, from my viewpoint, we were no angels, and this was long before I had any cognitive understanding of Christian morality. But I guess Mr. Royster knew a thing or two about showing hospitality to strangers. After we left, I don’t know if there was ever any follow-up with Mr. Royster and his wife. But, that act of kindness left an impression. Even as a naïve 10-year-old boy, I understood that caring for others in their time of need is important.

When Pastor Steve spoke on this, it brought up several questions in my mind: How do I show hospitality to strangers? Or more importantly, do I show hospitality to strangers? And if I don’t, why not? It mattered to Mr. Royster and it certainly matters to God, so shouldn’t it matter to me? I think it’s easier at times to think other people will step up and care for those in need . . . I have more pressing issues. But really, as a Christian, what could be more important than showing kindness to strangers? It goes hand in hand with the second part of Jesus’s Great Commandment: You must love others as you love yourself. I know that for myself, I need to reflect more on the passage from Matthew 25 (“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” [Matthew 25:40, NLT]) and ask God to show me how I can be more responsive to His invitation to join in where He is working.

As we go through our everyday lives, we have the possibility of “entertaining angels.” How do you sense God is calling you to respond?

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Pursuing Spiritual Purity

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Pursuing Spiritual Purity

by Brian Waple

We’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest for almost 18 years, and during that time I’ve noticed how popular tattoos have become among both Christians and non-Christians. Now, I don’t have any tattoos, nor do I hold any views against people who do. My dad did, but being a gunner’s mate in the Coast Guard in the late 1940s, I guess it was considered kind of a rite of passage. For me, I’ve never felt the need for a tattoo.

So, what does all of this tattoo talk have to do with pursuing spiritual purity? Well, there was a brief moment when I flirted with the idea of getting a tattoo. And it’s what I wanted to get (and why) that is more to the point of this blog post. More about that later.

Listening to Pastor Steve talk about pursuing spiritual purity this past Sunday made me realize just how much my mind gets drawn away from reflecting on God and is instead frequently mired in the mundane, the less lofty, things that are more worldly. I’m not necessarily talking about impure thoughts—just thoughts that don’t include God and distract me from being present to Him and what He’s doing. I notice it primarily during my quiet time, but I struggle with it often at other times. I find I become captive to whatever is drawing me in that moment.

I just finished re-reading Brennan Manning’s book The Furious Longing of God. In it, he describes a scene with Jesus and the apostles (Luke 11:1-4), which characterized Jesus’s remarkable, ongoing connection with His Father . . . His Abba . . . our Abba. Manning goes on to talk about how reflecting daily on Abba has been so crucial in his own walk and how that connection has been beneficial to those with whom he’s come in contact, of which there have been many. At the end of this particular section, he shares a practice that helps him stay focused on his Abba:

“Prayerfully consider taking a few moments every day . . . closing your eyes, upturning your palms, and praying, ‘Abba, I belong to You.’” (page 58)

I have tried using this prayer during my quiet times, especially when I’ve felt my mind wandering, and I’ve found that it keeps me focused and present to God.

So, how do we stay focused? How do we remain attentive to our Abba so as to be pursuing spiritual purity in our Christian walk? Sometimes we need a daily practice like the Abba prayer above. Or we may need a visual to remind us of what we should be reflecting on to keep our eyes focused on Jesus. I am more of a visual person.

Back to the tattoo. The tattoo I was considering would have been simply “Phil 4:8-9.” Those verses are a reminder to me of one way I can go about staying focused:

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

What about you? How are you pursuing spiritual purity? Perhaps asking the Holy Spirit to help you stay connected to God and remember this verse (or others) is a good option for you—and a lot less painful than a tattoo!

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A Different Perspective

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by Brian Waple

Many of you know I work from home. I have a small office that looks out into the backyard and a little bit beyond into our development. It’s a pleasant, unchanging view, but it’s a small perspective, and I’m limited in what I can see. For the next couple of days, we are in Newberg, Oregon. My “office” is an upstairs dining room with large picture windows. My view is the vast expanse of sky and the land that makes up a good portion of the Willamette Valley. I can see for miles in all directions. It provides a much larger perspective than what I normally have, and it makes me aware of how God sees things. Big . . . unfathomably big, and much larger than mine.

Our transition at Elim is an opportunity for all of us to see from a different perspective. I really appreciated what Pastor Martin shared last Sunday about “us being the final message.” To me, that means we can continue to maintain a perspective of what Elim has been and try to keep it that way—or, we can choose to embrace God’s perspective and see what He may be calling us into as a church.

Our natural bent (certainly my natural bent) is to go with the former, keeping things the way they are and resisting change as best we can. That perspective is safe, but it can be limiting, and it may keep us from seeing where God is moving. In Matthew, Jesus speaks to the multitude and provides them with a different perspective for how God sees things:

One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them.

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.

God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.

God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad!” (Matthew 5:1-12, NLT)

Because of the transition, things will be changing around Elim. And we all will have questions. In seeking answers, rather than holding onto a safe, limiting perspective, how can we all be open to embracing a perspective that helps us see how God sees things? How can we all seek to find where God may be leading Elim today and in the years to come?

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Joy in the Midst of Uncertainty

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by Brian Waple

(NOTE: This Last Word would not have been possible without the help of my wife, Cindy Waple!)

The past few days have been a real blessing in that we’ve had some warm weather, which helps me anticipate the coming of spring and the relief from a harsh winter. I can imagine it’s not unlike the joy the early disciples felt in Jesus’s presence and in being partakers in His ministry, seeing Him as the One who would free them from the oppressive Roman occupation. However, I have witnessed enough springs in my lifetime to know that today’s warmth and sunshine can easily change to clouds and rain tomorrow, maybe even snow. And in a few weeks we will remember how the disciples’ joy turned to despair and uncertainty as they watched the One they had placed their hope in die on a cross.

Anticipating their uncertainty, Jesus went out of His way to tell His disciples what was coming. He prayed on their behalf (John 17). Knowing what was coming and knowing how they would react, He told them several times what would happen to him (Matthew 16:21; Mark 10:32–34; Luke 9:21–22; John 12:23–33). As I’m sure it was hard for them to understand and believe, I have my moments in which uncertainly leads to unbelief. But during times of uncertainty, I know it is only the truth of Jesus’s words that keep me focused on Him and give me a measure of joy.

In addition, Jesus cast a vision for the disciples that through Him, they would be accepted into a new kingdom. This new kingdom would be a place of eternal joy in His presence. As I sit in my uncertainty, I recall the words of John as he describes this new kingdom in Revelation:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.” (Revelation 21:1–7)

Reflecting on that, I can look at my uncertainty with new eyes, knowing that my present reality is not God’s reality.

What uncertainty are you facing today? What is causing you feelings of anxiousness and worry? Where do you see your belief slipping into unbelief? How do Jesus’s words of hope comfort you in your uncertainty? In Christ, we have reason to experience joy, even though we are not completely certain what is coming. In the not knowing, we can accept through faith His promise to us.

May we all enjoy the sun and warmth of today and trust that tomorrow’s rain and clouds can never take away the joy of Jesus’s eternal promises of hope, healing, and renewed life.

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What Hinders

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by Brian Waple

Growing up, I was never really good at playing basketball. Watching others play, the game seemed so easy and straightforward: dribble the ball down to one end of the court while making your way past the opposing players, then find someone open to pass to or shoot for the basket. It wasn’t the dribbling or the passing or even the opposing team that was hard for me. I just couldn’t shoot straight. Regardless of how many times I practiced (with other guys or alone), I wasn’t able to throw a straight shot. I still can’t. As much as I wanted to, something kept hindering me.

When we talk about the things that hinder us, sometimes (as in my case) it simply boils down to the lack of physical ability (as it turned out, I was much better at tennis). But sometimes it’s things that we struggle with every day in our lives and for whatever reason we can’t seem to overcome. Paul addresses this in his letter to the Romans, when he says, “And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it” (Romans 7:18-20, NLT).

Pastor Brian’s message on Sunday really struck me. When he was talking about what hinders us from sharing the message that God has given us, there were a number of hindrances he spoke about, but one really poked me in the eye: busyness. I am always letting busyness (busy with work, busy with home, busy with family, busy with church) get in the way of spending time with God and others, building relationships, and living the life God has created me for. I allow the busyness to control me.

As I said earlier, sometimes we struggle with things that we just can’t seem to overcome. Many times, this is the sin nature Paul speaks about living through us and controlling us. But, God is calling us to give those burdens over to Him, and He will provide a means for us to see past the hindrances and live the life he has called us to. If we are willing to engage with God and acknowledge those hindrances, He will show us the way to let go of what holds us back. Then, we are free to share the message that God wants the world to hear.

So, I ask that you join me in naming those things that hinder you. Give them over to God. And discover the freedom that awaits you.

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