You Can't Eat Just One - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” 3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

I go by donut stores often, and I have to exercise discipline when I get breakfast because when I order a kolache, the owners will ask if I want two. If I order two kolaches, they will try to put donut holes in the bag without me asking, or if I order a donut, they will try to throw an additional donut for free. I am trying to be disciplined, so I ask myself, is this a blessing or a test? This situation reminds me of the tagline from the old potato chip commercial, "you can't eat just one."

There is a story about Sam, who decided he was going on a diet. He announced his plan to all his friends and co-workers to make sure he would succeed. Sam was like Oscar Wilde, who remarked, "I can resist anything — except temptation!" Sam's co-workers were pretty good about giving him moral support until the morning he walked into the office carrying a box of freshly baked donuts. "What's with the donuts, Sam?" one of them asked. "I thought you were on a diet." "I am," said Sam. "But I want you to know I wouldn't have gotten these donuts if it weren't for God." That remark begged for an explanation. Sam quickly supplied one. "You see, I was driving into work and knew I'd have to go right past the bakery. I just couldn't get those donuts out of my mind, so I decided to pray to God for help. 'God,' I said, 'if you want me to have a box of hot, delicious donuts, give me a parking place right in front of the bakery.' Sure enough, I found one on my eighth trip around the block."

Sam’s story of temptation and rationalization is not the first story of its kind, we find a similar story in Genesis. This book is part of the Pentateuch or the first five books. Genesis 1:1-2:3 is the first creation story in the book, and 2:4-24 is the second story. Scholars believe the second was written first. I don't know why the older version comes later in the text, but it happens. One scholar says "Genesis thereby invites the reader to see a fuller truth by holding different but complementary viewpoints together at the same time."  

Verses 15-17 God puts Adam in the Garden of Eden and tells them to till the land and keep it. God gives Adam a purpose; then God gives Adam permission and prohibition. God tells Adam you can eat from every tree in the Garden except this one tree; if you eat from this tree, you will die. God gives Adam a wife in verse 22. So, Adam had a job before Adam got a spouse. A serpent comes along in chapter 3 and tricks Eve and Adam into eating from the one tree they were not supposed to eat from; they are shamed by their actions and try to cover themselves with fig leaves to hide the shame and the sin. Fig leaves are not the most comfortable to put on your skin; they are prickly and rough, and I cannot imagine using them to cover your special parts. Adam and Eve broke a direct commandment of God. 

"When this commandment was broken, sin and death entered the world, warping humanity's original desires for God so that humans exalted the creature over the Creator, which is the present source of all human misery. Although tempted by the serpent, the point of origin for evil in the world was the human will itself, in particular the free decision to transgress God's will." 

The serpent never does lie to Eve. Did you ever consider that? Every word out of his mouth is the truth. But the serpent fails to tell the whole truth. He slices off a carefully selected segment of truth, one calculated to impugn God's motives and to puff his listeners up with self-destructive pride. I don't blame only Eve for eating the fruit; the text says that Adam was there when the serpent spoke to Eve. 

Eve was not around when God gave the command to Adam; she came later. God told Adam not to eat the fruit; Eve says that God says don't eat the fruit and don't touch the tree. So, we have gossip and misquotes contributing to the confusion. The serpent also tells Eve she will not die; Adam and Eve die, just not right then. The enemy will capitalize on confusion. If you don't know the word, they can use it against you. The enemy can capitalize off complacency; nothing terrible happens immediately, so we can keep doing what we have been doing.  The very same thing is true of our inner voices of temptation. We aren't tempted by the blatantly wrong things of this world; evil masquerading as good causes the most difficulty. Philip Dormer Stanhope, Fourth Earl of Chesterfield, wrote back in the 1700s: "Vice, in its true light, is so deformed, that it shocks us at first sight; and would hardly ever seduce us, if it did not at first wear the mask of some virtue."

In our minds, that process by which we turn vice into virtue is called "rationalization." It's the same process Eve goes through when she thinks about disobeying the Lord to eat the forbidden fruit. When Eve convinces herself that the tree is useful, beautiful, and a source of wisdom, she can do what would otherwise be unthinkable. Think about all those rationalizations and how easy they are to deploy in the service of sin:

"I'm not committing adultery; I'm just finding the love I need."

"I'm not living a greedy lifestyle of over-consumption; I'm just pursuing the American dream."

"I'm not hurting anybody when I cheat my customers; I'm just following the laws of the marketplace."

"I'm not abusing my child; I'm just enforcing discipline."

Rationalizations can be deadly.

But here's some good news. There's a way out. It's called grace. When we recognize temptation for what it is and acknowledge we can't beat it on our own, God enters and gives us what we need to prevail. It's all a matter of whom we trust. Trust ourselves alone, and we go down in flames. Trust God — the author of grace — and we find, more often than not, the strength we need to resist temptation and live a godly life.

This story of mission and distraction begins our journey through Lent. For the church, it is a time of repentance, of recognizing how we have let ourselves be distracted from the mission God intends for us. God's mission has not changed, and in the aftermath of our stumbling, God still calls us back to the right path. God calls us back every day and every Lent. 

Sin separates us from God, and humans can't bridge the gap between themselves and God through their own efforts. Just as Adam and Eve's fig leaves could not truly cover their sin, humanity's attempts to atone for their own sin are ultimately insufficient. However, Jesus is the ultimate solution to humanity's sin problem. Jesus took on the punishment for humanity's sin through his sacrificial death on the cross, and his resurrection offers the hope of eternal life and reconciliation with God. By accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, Christians can be forgiven of their sins and have access to eternal life. Adam and Eve's use of fig leaves can foreshadow Jesus' ultimate sacrifice to save humanity from sin. Just as fig leaves could not truly cover Adam and Eve's shame, human efforts to overcome sin are ultimately futile without the intervention of a savior.

Unclimbed Mountains - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Matthew 17:1-9

17 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Robert Frost wrote a poem called The Mountain, about two people conversing at the bottom of a mountain. One person wants to climb the mountain, and the other person keeps telling him why he should not climb the mountain, don't climb on this side, don't go that way, etc., a laundry list of reasons to hold off. The sad part of the poem is the person telling the man in the poem not to climb the mountain has never climbed the mountain himself. A significant line in the poem says, "It doesn't seem so much to climb a mountain you've worked around the foot of all your life." All that man knew about the mountain was secondhand information. 

We can chastise the man, but I would venture to say that is how many of us live our lives, especially when it comes to the knowledge of God. Does what we know of God depend on the hearsay of others, or does it find its grounding in what we've experienced firsthand? If someone were to stop any one of us and ask what it's like to have a "mountaintop experience," would we be able to share anything meaningful?

In this text, we see an extraordinary event on top of a mountain, where Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to witness Jesus' transfiguration, literally a metamorphosis, a start of a new era in the mission of Jesus. In previous chapters, Jesus would perform a miracle or teach in the synagogue, and people would ask, "who is this guy?" In Matthew chapter 17, we learn who he is when Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up the mountain. Watch the text here because Jesus does not take all 12 disciples up the mountain. Jesus did not take all 12 disciples everywhere, sometimes Jesus took all 12, sometimes more than 12, sometimes just Peter, James, and John, and sometimes Jesus was by himself. Everyone is not entitled to every part of your life. 

Conversation

As Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John's eyes, they saw Him talking with Moses and Elijah. This conversation was not an ordinary one, my brothers and sisters. It was a conversation about Jesus' departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Can you imagine being in the presence of Jesus, Moses, and Elijah and hearing them discuss such a profound topic? What a humbling and awe-inspiring experience that must have been for the disciples! I like what Peter says next after seeing Moses and Elijah talking to Jesus. Peter wants to put something at this spot to remember what happened here; Peter wants to worship. Peter, who will cuss a little, Peter who might be willing to fight faster than the average person, is still ok to worship in the presence of God. If there is a chance for Peter, there is a chance for me. 

We, too, must be willing to engage in conversations with God and those He sends to speak to us. We must be willing to listen and obey, just as Peter, James, and John did when they heard the voice of God from the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him" (Matthew 17:5). When we listen to God, He will guide us and give us the wisdom we need to accomplish the tasks He has set before us.

Confirmation

Second, we must talk about the confirmation from God, Moses, and Elijah being there. God sent Moses and Elijah to confirm Jesus' authority and divine nature. Moses represented the law, while Elijah represented the prophets, and both pointed to Jesus as fulfilling their prophecies. It was a confirmation that Jesus was not just a teacher or a prophet, but He was God's Son.

As we walk through life, we, too, need confirmation from God. We must know that we are on the right path, doing what God has called us to do. We can find confirmation in the Word of God and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. When we seek God with all our hearts, He will confirm His will for our lives.

Command

Third, we must talk about the commands from Jesus. As Jesus and the disciples descended the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone about what they had witnessed until He had risen from the dead. This command was given to protect Jesus' ministry and to ensure that the people would come to know Him on their own without being swayed by the miraculous events they had witnessed.

We, too, have commands from Jesus. We are called to go into the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19) We are called to love one another, to serve one another, and to follow Jesus' example of humility and obedience. When we obey these commands, we will see God's kingdom come to earth as it is in heaven.

My brothers and sisters, the transfiguration of Jesus marked the beginning of a new era. It was a moment that demonstrated Jesus' divine nature and confirmed His authority. But it was also a moment that required the disciples to be willing to do the work when they walked back down the mountain. They couldn't stay on the mountain forever; they had to come down and continue spreading the Gospel.

Likewise, when we have a mountaintop experience with God, we can't sit around doing nothing. After the worship, we need to start the work. When we come down the mountain, we can pray, read our Bibles, fast, invite people to church, and invite people back to church. We can climb our mountains; we don't need fancy equipment to do it either; we can take it one step at a time. All we need do is walk, slowly and steadily, up the side of the mountain looming over us all our lives. We don't need an athlete's lung-bursting strength and endurance to do it. All we need is persistence and the willingness to set aside the time necessary to make the ascent. Take as much time as you need; the mountain will still be there.

The choice is up to each one of us. "It may not seem so much to climb a mountain you've worked around the foot of all your life," as the poet says. But one thing's for sure: If you never begin to climb, you'll never know the glories of the summit.

Integrated Faith - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr,

58 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins. 2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. 4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? 6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them,  and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you,  and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. 12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

 

The pandemic was eye-opening in some ways; I paid attention to the influx of people who came out to help others in a time of need. The number of people helping others increased, and the number of people needing help increased as well. Some people were there for show, some to help for a little while, and others to help for a long time. It was still interesting to watch how people responded to others in need. Civilization as a whole is judged by how we operate as a community. We find Isaiah talking about community in the text 

The story starts in chapter 56. Isaiah is talking about the community and its responsibility to each other. This scripture passage takes place when the people are no longer in exile, but their home city and temple are not entirely rebuilt yet. They are almost back to normal, but not completely. Sort of like Dickinson, Hurricane Harvey was nearly five years ago, but every building is not restored; yes, the pandemic has become endemic, but people still can catch it and struggle to recover. Isaiah is speaking to people who are in between right now, not where they were, but also not where they need to be. Isaiah is concerned because even though the people are struggling, they find a way to take advantage of others. 

Faithless Fasting

The prophet was calling out the disconnect between worshiping God and doing the will of God. The prophet's audience was keeping the forms of religion but not the substance of it.

Isaiah is concerned that the obsession with proper worship distracts the people from what determines the community's future—its effort to fulfill the ethical obligations of justice. In Isaiah's imagination, the rejection of the practice of justice is the cause of exile. The community's future will be determined by its willingness to embrace justice and a new sense of community. Where is your heart when you worship, and where is your heart when you do good deeds?

There is a mismatch between the people's lives in society and their lives in the church. The people have started to act like they were before the exile, thinking things cannot get worse. Isaiah has to wonder, haven't you learned your lesson? How many times do you have to almost lose your church before you change your behavior? How many brushes with death do you have to avoid before you start living right? How many financial crises do you have to go through before you do something different? People are caught up in rituals and avoid genuine relationships. The text says that they are pointing the finger at others.

Mr. Beast cured 1000 people's blindness.

Jimmy Donaldson, also known as MrBeast online, is an American YouTube personality, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Mr. Beast has over 130 million subscribers on his main YouTube channel, 11 million subscribers on his philanthropy channel, 18 million on his backup channel, 31 million on his gaming channel, and 21 million on his reaction channel, where he watches videos and records his reaction to them. Safe to say Mr. Beast has made a substantial living by making videos hundreds of millions of dollars by making videos on YouTube. Mr. Beast has come under scrutiny recently for a video where he helps 1000 blind people regain their sight. Reports say that half of the people in the world who are blind can get their sight back with surgery, but they cannot afford it or don't live in areas where doctors can perform the surgery. 

Mr. Beast decided to pay for 1000 people to get the surgery; not only did he pay for the surgeries, but he also gave some of the people in the video an additional $10,000, and he gave a teenager a brand-new car. Mr. Beast gave one of the doctors who performed the surgery an additional $100,000 to continue doing surgeries later on. Mr. Beast did not show everyone getting the surgeries, just those who agreed to be filmed. Mr. Beast did a great thing, but some people still complained, called his actions demonic, called him the Anti-Christ, and badmouthed the man, who makes YouTube videos for a living, for making a video helping people all over the world. That is what is wrong with the church today. So many would rather point the finger at someone else to diminish their work than get out and do some work on their own. Mr. Beast is literally opening blinded eyes, and some church folk still found a way to complain about it. They value the ritual over the relationship. The Bible does tell us to work in secret, yet we also can "shout it out."

One year during Holy Week, a few Christians from well-endowed congregations in a major metropolitan area spent a night with homeless friends on the street. They were looking for the suffering Christ in the lives of those who spend their days and nights suffering from hunger, disease, and rejection. It was a chilly night, and rain rolled in close to midnight. Looking for shelter, the handful of travelers felt fortunate to come upon a church holding an all-night prayer vigil. The leader of the group was a pastor of one of the most respected churches in the city. As she stepped through the outer doors of the church, a security guard stopped her. She explained that she and the rest of their group were Christians. They had no place to stay, were wet and miserable, and would like to rest and pray. Enticed by the lighted warmth of the sanctuary, she had forgotten that her wet, matted hair and disheveled clothing left her looking like just another homeless person from the street. The security guard was friendly but explained in brutal honesty, "I was hired to keep homeless people like you out." As the dejected group made their way back into the misery of the night, they knew they had found their suffering Christ, locked out of the church.

I could go on, but the point is that we can spend so much time arguing about the church and what the church should be doing that we miss out on opportunities to be the church. 

Faithful fasting

I am not saying we should not be religious; I am saying we should not be fake. In psychiatry, the opposite of compartmentalization is "integration," which means pulling the various aspects of our lives together so that we are working from the whole picture. The word integration comes from the noun "integer," a mathematical term for whole numbers (as opposed to fractions). "Integrity" comes from the same word. The same words can apply to Christianity, too. Recall that Jesus said the great commandment is to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." In other words, don't compartmentalize God.

We generally don't set out to isolate our faith from other facets of our lives. Some of it happens because compartmentalization is a psychological defense mechanism that helps separate conflicting thoughts and feelings and spares us some emotional pain.

Integration is not nearly as comfortable as compartmentalization. There's always the chance that something won't pass muster when we run our behavior at work and play past our spiritual and moral values. That creates internal stress until we resolve the issue by letting Christ fully into the formerly walled-off places. People should be able to tell you are Christian in every setting, not because you browbeat others to constantly call out the bad things in them to make yourself look better. 

People fasted during biblical times as a sign of mourning, to avoid military invasions, to get political points, or to avoid economic crises. They fasted for personal and public gain. Isaiah says fast to improve your relationship with God. 

God will respond when the barrier of insincere worship has been removed. Evil can be set aside and replaced with kindness. God's people will share their food with the poor, understanding that not only do the hungry need our food, but also God's people need the hungry. We can fast for the Lord and feed the hungry. We can go to church and care for the homeless. We can praise God and hold our people accountable to help take care of the least, the last, and the lost. 

Real worship creates right relationship. Committing ourselves to Jesus means we don't divide ourselves into Christian and non-Christian parts. We operate in a culture that is not expressly Christian, and some of us work in jobs that require honoring the rules of church-state separation, but Christ belongs in each part of us.

Restoration will come, healing will come, and joy will come. 

The Search for Satisfaction - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Micah 6:1-8

6 Listen to what the Lord says: “Stand up, plead my case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say. 2 “Hear, you mountains, the Lord’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the Lord has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel. 3 “My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. 4 I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. 5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab plotted and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.” 6 With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Growing up, I hated getting punished; what I hated more than the punishment was when my mother would come into the room and talk to me after the whooping. Mom would tell me what I did to get in trouble, why that was the wrong decision, and what I should have done instead. I would be so mad that I was in trouble that I did not want to hear what she had to say. Another reason I would not like hearing what I was doing wrong is because I thought anyone asking me to do more than I was already doing was being unreasonable. There is no way I am going to satisfy them anyway. Mom wants me to do all my chores every night, complete my homework, and perform well at sports; nope, that is too hard. Mom is mad at me for getting a C or lower in a class. Well, that is as good as it is going to get; I can't do any better. I'm editing a video, and someone asks for some additional corrections. Nope, because once I make those changes, they will have a million more changes and will never be satisfied. It reminds me of the song lyrics, "I can't get no satisfaction" I could go on and on, but the point is, I felt like the expectations were unreasonable when they weren't that bad at all. 

Nobody likes being told they are wrong; no one wants to finish a job and see someone point out that they got something wrong. No one wants to hear that the problems they have right now are their fault. But the unfortunate truth is we need to listen to it sometimes. We need to be told what we did wrong, or we may not learn how to do better next time. God is having that kind of conversation with the people of God in the book of Micah. I read one scholar describing the book of Micah as "bad times ahead, and it's your fault."

The setting of the book of Micah is like a courtroom; some call this book the divine lawsuit. 

The text is a back-and-forth between two parties and reads like a liturgy.  God is making a case against Israel again, and God invites Israel to plead their case. One would expect God to be angry, but the text shows God is bewildered and confused even as to why the people are acting this way. 

One of the situations happening in Micah is that rich landowners are exploiting vulnerable people in the community.  Micah 2:2 says, "They covet fields and seize them," said Micah. "They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance." In Jerusalem, the rich were getting richer, and the poor were getting poorer. And this was happening on a playing field that was anything but level.

God brought the people out of slavery, gave them wise and powerful leaders (namely Moses, Aaron, and Miriam), and brought them into the promised land. Yet, no matter what they achieve or attain, they want more. Instead of enjoying the good life that God has given them, they resort to corruption and injustice to satisfy their wishes and expectations. God wants to know why they are acting this way. God says Answer me! Like a frustrated parent speaking to their child. 

"After they hear the accusation, the people, as usual, miss the point: "God, what more could you possibly want from us? Do you want more sacrifices, and more expensive livestock? How about a thousand sheep? Just how religious can we be?" (vv. 6–7) They are religious, but their idea of what religion means is far from God's hopes for them. They think that religion consists of worshiping "correctly" and staying away from those who do not. "

The people hear that God is mad and take it to the extreme; they bring up things that their God didn't even ask for, making it seem like they can never satisfy God. They go as far as mentioning human sacrifice in verse 7. I want you to watch the text because they are taking it to the extreme, even though God has not asked for any of that, including human sacrifice. The people worshiping other gods during that time are doing that, but not Yahweh. We also do that; we take our responses to situations to the extreme. Pastor makes a change, and people think the pastor doesn't love God anymore and wants to undo all the traditions. We get into arguments with our spouses and loved ones using terms like "you always do this" and "you never do that" we get caught up and say things that aren't true, just trying to make a point. We value the ritual over the relationship. 

God tells them what he really wants from the people. The answer has nothing to do with how much money they have in their pockets or what style of worship they prefer. God wants the people to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. 

Act Justly

The Lord calls us to rise up, speak up, and listen. He's calling us to take an active role in the world around us, to participate in the work of justice, to be loyal and loving, and to walk humbly before Him. When God says to do justice, that means offering more than thoughts and prayers.

Acting justly is more than just wishing well for someone; it's about actively participating in helping people. It's about standing up for what's right and speaking up for those who can't speak for themselves. To act justly means to work on behalf of people who are weak or powerless, or exploited by others. Acting justly is the opposite of what the rich landowners of Jerusalem were doing as they exploited vulnerable people in the community. How can you say you love God, who you haven't seen, and hate your neighbor, who you see every day? 

Love Mercy

Some translations say, "love mercy." Other translations say, “love kindness.” Either way the Hebrew word in the text is Hesed. That means a solemn promise, a covenant, a devotion, a willingness to not only feel someway but make a record about it.  When God says love kindness, this is about loyalty, love, and faithfulness. It's about being there for others, in good times and bad. It's about being a friend, a brother, a sister, a mother, and a father, to those in need. Love kindness means to hold on to the promise. 

Walk Humbly with God

We do not celebrate the humble; we like the brash, bold, and flamboyant; it gets our attention even if we don't like being brash ourselves; we want to see it in others. God says to walk humbly with him. Walking humbly with God means to walk carefully with God, circumspectly. It means taking care of the little things and doing the work consistently for Him. It means being mindful of His presence in our lives and seeking to honor Him in all that we do.

The promise is the gift of satisfaction. When we act justly, we tend to have good relationships with the people around us. When we love mercy, we feel like we are in step with Almighty God. True satisfaction does not come from property or power, or money.

Instead, it comes from being right with God and the people around us.

The Lord doesn't require these things of us because we can repay Him or earn our way into His favor. He asks these things of us because He loves us immensely and because we are saved by grace.

You cannot repay God for all he has done; you cannot earn your way in. God doesn't walk away from the table.

So let us rise up, let us speak up, and let us listen to the Lord. Let us do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before Him. And let us remember that we cannot repay God for all He has done for us, but by His grace, we are saved. And let us give him thanks and praise for all He has done for us. Amen.

Foxhole Faith - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Psalm 27:1-9

27 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. 3 Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident. 4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. 5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. 6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord. 7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 8 When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” 9 Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation.

I had a Masonic brother I used to talk to after meetings; he told me about a conversation he had with another person. Both were military veterans, and the brother I knew said, "I've never met an atheist in a foxhole." That phrase stuck with me for what had to have been between 10 and 13 years. The brother was convinced that when the bullets started flying during a battle, everyone was calling on God for help. People may pretend they don't need God, but when their backs are against the wall, they call on someone greater than themselves for help. Thus, the phrase, "I have never met an atheist in a foxhole." 

The term 'foxhole' refers to a small hole in the ground that soldiers would use for cover and protection during a battle; they named it after the entrance to a small animal's home, the fox. A foxhole is a place of refuge, a sanctuary when there is chaos and danger. This term is not just for war; we can want to hide or try to get a break from the pressures of day-to-day life. Trouble all around, and I just need a minute to breathe. Troubles and sorrows differ from day to day or person to person. When we're seeking shelter, any bunker, bomb shelter, safe harbor — or foxhole — will do. 

This psalm is for all who feel they're in a foxhole now, felt so in the past, or might find themselves in some kind of hole in the future. There is a phrase that says we are at one of three places in life, going into a storm, going through a storm, or coming out of a storm. Life is full of changes for us all; the only thing different about them is how we handle them. We see someone dealing with trouble here in Psalm 27. 

David, the presumptive author of this psalm, clearly values safety and doesn't like to be afraid. In verse 1 alone, he mentions fear twice! Perhaps this is why the psalm reads like a foxhole monologue. The text has images of "evildoers," "adversaries and foes," armies, enemies, and violence. David longs for security, cover, and "shelter in the day of trouble" (v. 5). His heart faints for fear, and all of his courage has vanished. 

David is in a foxhole, his enemies attacking from all sides, and as I said the phrase earlier, there are no atheists in foxholes; David is calling for air support — the Lord of the air, whom he calls his "light" and "salvation" (v. 1). Just like how a foxhole provides shelter for a soldier, our faith in God can be our shelter and refuge in times of trouble. The psalmist reminds us that "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)

Faith casts out fear. When we trust the Lord, we can find peace and security during any storm. We don't have to live in fear of our enemies because God is greater than any enemy we may face. As it says in verse 2: "When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall."

But it's not enough to hide in our foxhole of faith and hope for the best. We must be proactive in seeking out God. As it says in verse 8: "You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, Lord, do I seek." We must be intentional about putting our faith into action. We must seek the Lord's face and ask Him to help us in our time of need. And when we do, He will be our protection. As it says in verse 9: "Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!"

Some scholars don't think one person wrote the whole Psalm 27. The rationale for thinking that one person wrote the first half of the psalm and someone else wrote the last half is because verses 1-6 talk about what God has done, and verses 7-14 are the psalmist asking for God to do something in the future. Verses 1-6 are recalling, and 7-14 are requesting something. I say that anyone who does not understand how one person can do both needs to have a conversation with my daughter Elle. I will pick Elle up from school and pass a corner store gas station on the way home. Elle will say, Dad, do you remember when you took us to the gas station to get candy after school? Can we go again today? Other times Elle may say, Dad, you remember when we had a Daddy/Daughter Day, and you took me to the mall and out to eat? Can we do that again? Daddy, do you remember how much fun we had playing Minecraft together? Can we play again? Elle reminds her father what dad did in the past before she asks dad to do something else. 

God, I know you are a heart-fixer. You've done it before; can you do it again?

God, I know you can make a way out of no way. You've done it before. Can you do it again? 

God, I know you are a healer. You've done it before. Can you do it again?

Isaiah 55:11

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Numbers 23:19

"God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

The Bible says he is the same yesterday, today, and forever more.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. 

So, brothers and sisters, let us remember the times when God helped us in the past. Remember God's faithfulness and trust in Him. Seek God's face and ask Him to help us now, just as He's always been there for us before.

In the midst of the battles we face in life, let us have Foxhole Faith. Amen."

A Light to the Nations - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Isaiah 49:1-7

49 Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.

2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.

3 He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”

4 But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.”

5 And now the Lord says—he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am[a] honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength—

6 he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

7 This is what the Lord says— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: “Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

Lighthouses are fascinating; they're picturesque, standing tall against the elements, offering a beacon of hope in the darkest night to a lone ship seeking a safe harbor. A lighthouse is a symbol of hope against all odds. A light on a distant shore signals safety and salvation even in the hour of one's most desperate need. You look to the lighthouse in times of struggle or need. Sometimes I struggle with pastoring. I desire to be the absolute best at everything I try. When I take personality and psychological evaluations, they all have some sort of language that says I rate high on competition and am a competitive person. Before my first evaluation, I recall several other pastors telling me that the assessment would come back saying that I pay excessive attention to detail, would have a high need for affirmation, have trouble with authority, and would have high competition. 

The pastors told me this because they all had similar results and explained why those results made them good pastors. The problem with authority meant they were leaders and would hold other leaders accountable. Being detail-oriented meant working to ensure things were right in the church and having a high affirmation score meant that I cared for the people and wanted them to care for me. The challenge comes with competition. I want to see tangible results whenever I do something. If I want to be a video editor, I will compare myself to other video editors; if I want to be a singer, I will compare myself to other singers; I want to know where I stand compared to others doing the same thing even if it the results hurt my feelings. I want to be good at everything, and I want to be good at everything yesterday. 

I am not the only one; we are saturated with the image of the American dream to be greater than we currently are. We all have something to aspire to, and when we don't achieve that goal, we can feel down. Social media does not help the matter either. Activity on social media puts a carefully crafted image up for people to aspire to that is not accurate. Even before social media, people called this phenomenon "keeping up with the Joneses," people spending money they don't have to buy things they don't need to impress people they don't like. We have set our sights on the wrong lighthouse. Our priorities are in the wrong place. Some people get seriously depressed because they feel like a failure in their current situation. We come across a prophet feeling like a failure in scripture, according to Isaiah chapter 49. 

Isaiah chapter 49 is part of what scholars call the "Second Isaiah" we are transitioning into a new work. Isaiah 49:1-7 is one of the so-called "(Suffering) Servant Songs" in the book of Isaiah. The others are Isaiah 41:1-2; 50:4-9; and 52:13–53:12. Isaiah 61:1-3 is regarded by some scholars as a fifth servant song, although the word "servant" is not in that passage. The unifying element in these passages, first isolated by Bernhard Duhm in his 1892 commentary on Isaiah, is a description of the Lord's servant, who sometimes suffers significantly due to that divine calling.

Isaiah is talking to the crowd about a conversation he had with God. This crowd is suffering a disaster on two fronts, their homeland has been destroyed, and they are in exile, trying to make due in a foreign land. These people feel like God has abandoned them, and here is a man who has not been successful in trying to talk to them. 

Isaiah is worried that he may not be cut out for this work that God called him to. Isaiah has tried and failed to get the people of God to do what God wants and is beginning to think that he is not cut out for the prophet's life. I have said in other sermons that while the people of God were in captivity, prophets were telling them that the Babylonians would not keep them enslaved for long. Those prophets were popular; the prophets that told the people they were responsible for their problems were not popular. The people did not want to hear that it would take a long time and hard work to get out of this situation. 

Because the people initially did not want to hear Isaiah's message, Isaiah began to wonder if his labor was in vain. Isaiah said he had tried what God told him to do, and in Isaiah's mind, he failed. Where is God when the people are suffering? Where is God when the people are captured, exiled, or enslaved? 

"Even before birth, God knew this unborn Servant, and God named, called, and equipped this one so that the tasks of restoration and salvation may be accomplished."  God says that Isaiah's mouth will be like a sharp sword and that God made him like a polished arrow in God's quiver. A polished arrow goes through a process before it is useful, and God is taking us through a process so that we can be useful to him. We must be ready and willing to be used by God for his purpose. 

God told Isaiah I will restore you just like I restored Israel before. God is still concerned for Isaiah, and God is still concerned for you. No matter how insignificant we may feel, we are never insignificant to God. God says all nations will see his glory; when we serve God, our actions will reflect His glory and will be a testimony to His goodness and grace. God chose Isaiah to be a light to the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, and to free the captives. And just like Isaiah, we, too, have been called to share the light of the gospel and proclaim freedom to those in darkness and captivity.

A lighthouse has one function: to be a light in the darkness. If it can't do that, it's as useless as a flashlight without batteries. A lighthouse cannot do anything but shed light and has no emergency tools or equipment and no life vests. In fact, modern lighthouses generally aren't even inhabited by people.

You won't find many lighthouses 100 miles away from water or on soft and comfortable terrain surrounded by deep, calm water where a lighthouse is not needed. Instead, lighthouses are usually located in high-risk danger zones like rocky headlands or unstable beaches where every wave threatens to undermine the foundation. For that reason, a lighthouse is always a message to a ship's captain that the vessel is entering treacherous water.

The sole purpose of a lighthouse is to be an aid to navigation. Sailors need to "see the light" to avoid danger. A lighthouse exists to facilitate navigation by broadcasting light in a sweeping beam across a vast and restless sea. If one can safely navigate past or through the dangers revealed by the lighthouse, it can mean preserving life and property. 

While sailors need to see the light, Christians need to be the light. Jesus made this clear in his Sermon on the Mount: "You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16). "May we see our lives and the life of the world in the light of the glory of God, in which all our aspirations are lifted up and returned to us in forms we never would have imagined." 

See the light and know that God is still faithful; we can trust God because God loves us. 

From Bethlehem to Rosewood - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Matthew 2:13-23

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

I have a good memory, but not when it comes to dates. I can remember what someone said in a meeting a long time ago, and I can memorize paragraphs of information for speeches, plays, and even sermons. I struggle with keeping dates; if you ask me for someone's birthday or anniversary, I will have to close my eyes and think about it for a while. Even though I don't remember many dates, I am still interested in those historical dates. 

Precisely 100 years ago, on January 1, 1923, the Rosewood massacre began. John Singleton directed a movie based on what happened in that town. Rosewood reminds us of the devastating impact of violence, especially on the most vulnerable members of our communities. Rosewood was a quiet and predominantly African American town in Florida. According to the History website, it was initially settled by both black and white people, and the leading industry was the production of pencils. But when the cedar tree population declined, most of the white people moved to the nearby town of Sumner. By the 1920s, Rosewood's population was about 200 blacks, plus one white family that ran the general store.

On January 1, 1923, a young white woman in Sumner, Fannie Taylor, was found covered in bruises. She claimed that a black man had assaulted her. Her husband, a foreman at a local mill, gathered a mob of white citizens to hunt down the assailant. He also called for help from neighboring counties, including 500 members of the Ku Klux Klan. The white mobs searched the woods for any black man they could find. Law enforcement determined that a black prisoner named Jesse Hunter had escaped from a chain gang; law enforcement decided he was a suspect while the angry mobs went after black families that they believed were hiding him.

In Rosewood, one mob pulled a black man out of his house, tied him to a car, dragged him to Sumner, and beat him. Another mob tortured a blacksmith until he took them to the spot where Hunter was said to be hiding. They shot the blacksmith when Hunter was not found and hung him in a tree. On the night of January 4, a mob surrounded a house in which 25 people were hiding, primarily children. A black woman and her son were killed. The gun battle lasted overnight and ended when the mob broke down the door, and the children escaped into the woods.

Newspapers falsely reported that bands of armed black citizens were rampaging. White attackers burned down the churches of Rosewood and then went after people in houses. Dozens died, both blacks and whites. By January 7, most of the town was burned to the ground, and the fleeing black citizens never returned. As for Fannie Taylor, the young white woman? Some survivors believe that a white lover inflicted her bruises. Also, they never found Jesse Hunter, the escapee from the chain gang.

Massacres are not new; they happened thousands of years before Rosewood. Jesus himself faced deadly violence at the very beginning of his life. Right after the wise men left Bethlehem, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him" (v. 13). Joseph heard what the Lord said through his messenger and did it. Joseph did not respond, "I have never taken a family to Egypt before, so I don't see why I should do it now." Joseph didn't say I don't see the need to move right now; I'm safe; maybe we wait until Herod is at my door before I think about leaving. Joseph did what the messenger of God said and was blessed for it. How often has God told us to do something different, and we did not because what we were doing right now was comfortable? 

King Herod felt threatened by the birth of this baby, who had been identified as the king of the Jews. He didn't want any competition, even from a child who had no political or military power at his disposal. Feeling frightened and infuriated, Herod ordered a search and destroy mission to be carried out in Bethlehem.

The Reason

Matthew 2:13–23 is clear that God would act to protect the Messiah, God's Son, from the dangers of life in this world. Herod waited to hear from the magi, who had come from the East, following the star that announced the birth of the one born king of the Jews. He had instructed them that when they found the child, they should return and let him know so that he could also worship. In a dream, it was revealed to the magi that they should not go back to Herod but should return to their country by another route. When Herod realized that they had tricked him, he was angry, and in his jealous rage, he gave orders that all the boys in Bethlehem and the vicinity two years old and under would be killed. 

The Retaliation

There is no record of Herod ordering all children under two years old to be slaughtered, but that does not surprise me. To us, someone doing something horrible like that to innocent children is troubling, but Herod, that is just Tuesday. Herod holds the distinct privilege of being one of the few biblical historical figures that both Christians and Jewish people hate. Herod had to fight for several years (40–37 BCE) to take control of his kingdom, so he never felt secure. He killed descendants of the Hasmoneans so he would have no rival. When Herod suspected a takeover from his family, he killed his wife Mariamne and one of his sons (one at that time and the other sons later). Before Herod died, he commanded that at his death, political prisoners should be killed so that there would be mourning throughout the land. 

Herod had secret police to monitor what people said about him in public, over 2,000 bodyguards, and a fortress that he and his family (whom he liked) could hide in during an insurrection. Emperor Augustus remarked, 'It is better to be Herod's pig [Gr. hys] than his son' [Gr. hyios]". This quote referenced how Herod, as a Jew, would not kill pigs but had three of his sons, and many others, killed.  People called Herod "the evil genius of the Judean nation" and as one who would be "prepared to commit any crime in order to gratify his unbounded ambition. "

The Return

Joseph returned home after God told him to do so through his angelic messenger. Joseph again followed what God told him to do, and miracles happened. Joseph fulfilled a scriptural prophecy by going to Galilee because the Messiah was supposed to be born in Bethlehem and a Nazarene. 

As followers of Jesus, we are challenged to see our neighbors as gifts, not threats. Author and pastor John Pavlovitz said, "When you meet another person, you are coming face-to-face with a once-in-history, never-to-be-repeated reflection of the image of God. … each [is] made of God stuff. … Every single day you encounter thousands of breathing, animated thumbnails of the Divine." Every person you meet is God's stuff. It doesn't matter where they were born, whether old or young, red or blue; your neighbors are "thumbnails of the Divine." They are gifts, not threats. Worthy of respect, not hostility.

What a difference this makes from Bethlehem to Rosewood. Some of the heroes of Rosewood were John Wright, the white owner of the general store, who allowed blacks to hide in his home during the massacre. Two wealthy white brothers, John and William Bryce heard about the violence and sent a train to rescue black women and children. And, of course, many brave black women and men, including Sylvester Carrier, protected their children. A survivor of the massacre, a young girl at the time, says, "Cousin Sylvester snatched me and said, 'Come here, let me save you. …' I squeaked down between his legs."

Once we see our neighbors in this way, we are challenged to take action to protect the most vulnerable people around us. They could be special-needs adults, low-income neighbors, recent immigrants, political refugees, members of a minority group, or neighborhood children. Joseph decided to protect the vulnerable when he "took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod" (vv. 14-15). Joseph lived as an immigrant in that foreign land until an angel appeared and said it was safe to return to Israel. Then he returned but made a detour when he learned that the son of Herod was ruling over Judea. Instead of moving to Bethlehem of Judea, he headed north to Galilee, where "he went and lived in a town called Nazareth" (v. 23).

This story contains so many examples of vulnerability. Jesus and his family were political refugees, immigrants, members of a minority group in Egypt, and finally, Southerners who settled in the North. And just as Joseph cared for his vulnerable child and wife, we are challenged to care for the at-risk people around us. When we hear "weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children" (v. 18), our challenge is to respond with compassion and care. We cannot cover our eyes and ears, ignoring the violence around us. When Jesus grew up and saw vulnerable people around him, he "had compassion on them" (14:14). The word compassion comes from the Latin words passio and com, which literally mean "suffer" and "with." To have compassion is to "suffer with" people, to take their pain seriously, and do whatever we can to alleviate it.

God is active in preserving and protecting us and our future. We can have compassion for others because God has compassion for us. Through our struggles, grief, unstable economies, and political turmoil, God is with us through it all. Even when we cannot track him, we can still trust him. 

Through it all - Andrae Crouch. 

I've had many tears and sorrows, I've had questions for tomorrow,

there's been times I didn't know right from wrong. But in every situation,

God gave me blessed consolation, that my trials come to only make me strong.

Through it all, through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus, I've learned to trust in God

Through it all, through it all, I've learned to depend upon His Word.