Matthew tells us that in a rare moment of righteous anger, Jesus began to condemn whole cities of people who had seen Him perform numerous great miracles, yet refused to see Him for who He was.....God incarnate. Savior. Messiah.
What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. (Matthew 11:21)
The miracles Jesus performed in Korazin and Bethsaida would have astounded less hard-hearted men and women, turning their hearts towards Him, and opening their eyes to the truth of their need for Him.
But the people of Korazin and Bethsaida were blind to the truth.....it was hidden from them.
A few verses later we see Jesus praying O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. (Matthew 11:25).
The people of Korazin and Bethsaida couldn't see their desperate need for Jesus, because of their own pride and self-proclaimed wisdom. They thought they knew God. They thought they had Him all figured out, wrapped up nicely in a box of dos and don'ts....sacrifices and rituals.
Jesus revealed Himself to them over and over, in every one of the multitude of miracles that He performed in their midst. Yet, they couldn't see Him. They couldn't see His glory. They couldn't see God's glory. Because they couldn't see past their own pride.
Pride blinds us. It blocks our ability to see God at work. It blocks our ability to see our desperate need for Jesus. It is a spiritual burden that keeps us wandering in darkness rather than walking in the light of truth.
In His prayer Jesus continued, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
God wants to replace our pride with humility. He wants to replace our burden with a light load. He wants to teach us who He is, and who He desires us to be.
But we have to come to Him willing to learn. We have to be willing to see God for who He is, not for who we think He is. We have to be open to the truth that He doesn't fit into our box.
Try as we may, we'll never have God all figured out. But He will reveal Himself to us over and over. He will show us truth, if we seek it with open hearts and minds. He will teach us His wisdom if we come to Him in humility.
There's no end to what God will do in our lives if we are willing to lay aside our pride and kneel at His feet in humility like the sinful woman who followed Jesus to the home of the Pharisee in Luke's gospel.
Scripture tells us that this woman knelt behind Jesus at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them (Luke 7:38).
This beautiful act of humility was embodied in a woman that scripture called sinful, and the prideful Pharisee, Simon, who witnessed it failed to see the beauty of the scene.
Jesus, in an effort to open the spiritually blind man's eyes told the story of a wealthy man who loaned to two people, 500 pieces of silver to one and 50 to the other, then forgave them both their debt. He asked the question, Who loved the wealthy man more after that?
Simon answered, I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt (Luke 7:43).
Jesus pointed out that the sinful woman loved Him more. She had washed His feet, when Simon refused the courtesy. She had kissed His feet repeatedly when Simon failed to greet Him with a kiss. She had anointed Him with perfume when Simon had failed to anoint His head with olive oil.
The self-righteous Simon loved himself. He loved his good clean life. He love the relative scarcity of his sins compared to hers. But he failed to show Jesus the love that the sinful woman so willingly poured over Him in tears.
Because he saw himself as only committing 50 sins next to the sinful woman's 500, Simon couldn't see his own desperate need for forgiveness. He couldn't see His own need for a savior.
The prideful count the number of sins committed and find comfort in the knowledge that others have sinned more than they have, but the humble are overwhelmed by the flood of mercy and grace flowing from God and find a peace that the prideful will never know.
And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:50).
I have a feeling that Simon pondered, and reasoned, and justified, and remained content to carry his burden of pride and the few sins that went with it, while the sinful woman did indeed, go in peace, with the weight of the world, and all her numerous sins, lifted from her shoulders.
Because that is the gift of faith.
(Journey: Matthew 11:20-30; Luke 7:36-50)
Monday, September 9, 2013
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Feeding Faith
When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. (Luke 7:9)
When Jesus returned to Capernaum, He encountered a Roman soldier. A friend to the Jews. A good man by all accounts. But it wasn't his goodness that stopped Jesus dead in his tracks....it was his faith.
As Jesus made His way to the Roman soldier's home to heal his servant's frail body, the soldier stopped Him mid-journey saying Lord, don't trouble yourself by coming to my home....Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed (Luke 7:6-7).
Not can, but will....great faith.
Scripture says When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, He said, "I tell you I haven't seen faith like this in all Israel! (Luke 7:9)
He was amazed. Jesus. God incarnate. Creator of the sun and moon and all the stars....and everything else. Stopped in His tracks. Amazed. By His gift, at work in His creation.
Amazed by faith.
We know that God loves humanity...But I've often wondered why exactly God fell in love with us in the first place. I think this portion of scripture gives a little insight into the relationship between Creator and creation.
Humanity was given the capacity to amaze God. Call it free will if you want, but we have the ability to fight against everything we've ever been taught -- everything we know to be true -- and believe that the impossible is, actually, possible. Humanity has the capacity to have great faith.
Faith begins to stir within us when we first stand in awe of God. Maybe faith reaches some measure of maturity in us, when the tables are turned...when God stands in awe of His precious gift shining through our humanity....in spite of our humanity.
Oh, to cultivate a faith that would amaze God, Himself. Faith that the impossible would become reality in a split second. Faith that with a single word, God would change the course of a life. Faith that with a single breath, a life would be saved.
That's exactly what happened when Jesus entered the city of Nain and encountered a funeral procession. A widow burying her son. Scripture says When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. "Don't cry!" He said (Luke 7:13).
God, moved by His creation, intervened. Jesus breathed a breath, spoke a word, and saved a life. "Young man," he said, "I tell you, get up." Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! (Luke 7:14-15)
My father-in-law had a near death experience during surgery, and, let me tell you, he woke up with a story to tell. This boy didn't nearly die. He died, likely for a few days. Can you imagine the story he told? Scripture says he woke up talking. I wish it told what he said, but, I think we get a hint a couple of verses later when scripture tells us that the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside (Luke 7:17).
I imagine that boy told everyone he met about his encounter with Jesus....and the word spread. Faith caught fire from an amazing miracle and overflowed throughout the countryside.
There are times in our lives when faith comes easily, almost naturally. When circumstances seem to be turning in our favor, and we can clearly see the hand of God working for our good, faith is ignited within us.
But there are other times in our lives, when the darkness of our circumstances and the confines of our own personal prisons, make us doubt even the things that we know, that we know, that we know.
Times when faith seems a distant memory and doubt is whispered in our ear constantly by our circumstances, our contemporaries, and our enemy in this world.
Even the strongest Christian is not immune to periods of famished faith. It seems, even John the Baptist struggled in his faith as he sat in Herod's prison.
Scripture tells us that the man who repeatedly proclaimed Jesus Messiah, from his prison cell sent his disciples to ask Jesus "Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else? (Matthew 11:3 & Luke 7:19).
Oh, how my heart aches for John the Baptist, even today....because I know how he must have felt. I imagine John began to wonder, how Jesus could really be the Messiah and not be riding in on a white horse to rescue him....and all of Israel.
I can so relate to his struggle. He sat in the darkness of his prison cell and he questioned his faith. I have done the same thing more times than I can count. I have sat in circumstances that I believed could, in no way, be good, and questioned God's goodness...His faithfulness.....His love for me.
I have felt like I have, all but, let my faith die within me, but, the beauty of faith is that it cannot die. Faith is eternal. No matter how dark the thoughts that swirl in our own minds, our faith still burns within us. It may not be an awe inspiring, amazing faith, in our darkest days, but it's still there.
Sometimes faith just needs to be fed.
That's what Jesus did for John the Baptist in his struggle. Jesus didn't answer him directly. That would have taken away His need for faith. Instead Jesus gave him an answer that John could use to feed his faith if he chose to.
Jesus referred to Old Testament scriptures -- the Word of God -- that John likely knew by heart. One of the scriptures referenced says He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed (Isaiah 61:1).
What a personal word of faith to give a prisoner.
God will do the same for us. If we ask Him the tough questions that fill our minds from time to time. If we turn to Him for nourishment in our own dark moments of doubt, when our faith is famished. He will feed our faith with words from His Word that are personal to our own situation.
Faith like that of the Roman soldier, doesn't usually come naturally, except maybe on the heels of a great miracle, but it can be grown...nourished....fed....in each of us....in every circumstance.
That is the gift of faith.
(Journey: Matthew 8:5-13 & 11:1-19; Luke 7:1-35)
When Jesus returned to Capernaum, He encountered a Roman soldier. A friend to the Jews. A good man by all accounts. But it wasn't his goodness that stopped Jesus dead in his tracks....it was his faith.
As Jesus made His way to the Roman soldier's home to heal his servant's frail body, the soldier stopped Him mid-journey saying Lord, don't trouble yourself by coming to my home....Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed (Luke 7:6-7).
Not can, but will....great faith.
Scripture says When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, He said, "I tell you I haven't seen faith like this in all Israel! (Luke 7:9)
He was amazed. Jesus. God incarnate. Creator of the sun and moon and all the stars....and everything else. Stopped in His tracks. Amazed. By His gift, at work in His creation.
Amazed by faith.
We know that God loves humanity...But I've often wondered why exactly God fell in love with us in the first place. I think this portion of scripture gives a little insight into the relationship between Creator and creation.
Humanity was given the capacity to amaze God. Call it free will if you want, but we have the ability to fight against everything we've ever been taught -- everything we know to be true -- and believe that the impossible is, actually, possible. Humanity has the capacity to have great faith.
Faith begins to stir within us when we first stand in awe of God. Maybe faith reaches some measure of maturity in us, when the tables are turned...when God stands in awe of His precious gift shining through our humanity....in spite of our humanity.
Oh, to cultivate a faith that would amaze God, Himself. Faith that the impossible would become reality in a split second. Faith that with a single word, God would change the course of a life. Faith that with a single breath, a life would be saved.
That's exactly what happened when Jesus entered the city of Nain and encountered a funeral procession. A widow burying her son. Scripture says When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. "Don't cry!" He said (Luke 7:13).
God, moved by His creation, intervened. Jesus breathed a breath, spoke a word, and saved a life. "Young man," he said, "I tell you, get up." Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! (Luke 7:14-15)
My father-in-law had a near death experience during surgery, and, let me tell you, he woke up with a story to tell. This boy didn't nearly die. He died, likely for a few days. Can you imagine the story he told? Scripture says he woke up talking. I wish it told what he said, but, I think we get a hint a couple of verses later when scripture tells us that the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside (Luke 7:17).
I imagine that boy told everyone he met about his encounter with Jesus....and the word spread. Faith caught fire from an amazing miracle and overflowed throughout the countryside.
There are times in our lives when faith comes easily, almost naturally. When circumstances seem to be turning in our favor, and we can clearly see the hand of God working for our good, faith is ignited within us.
But there are other times in our lives, when the darkness of our circumstances and the confines of our own personal prisons, make us doubt even the things that we know, that we know, that we know.
Times when faith seems a distant memory and doubt is whispered in our ear constantly by our circumstances, our contemporaries, and our enemy in this world.
Even the strongest Christian is not immune to periods of famished faith. It seems, even John the Baptist struggled in his faith as he sat in Herod's prison.
Scripture tells us that the man who repeatedly proclaimed Jesus Messiah, from his prison cell sent his disciples to ask Jesus "Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else? (Matthew 11:3 & Luke 7:19).
Oh, how my heart aches for John the Baptist, even today....because I know how he must have felt. I imagine John began to wonder, how Jesus could really be the Messiah and not be riding in on a white horse to rescue him....and all of Israel.
I can so relate to his struggle. He sat in the darkness of his prison cell and he questioned his faith. I have done the same thing more times than I can count. I have sat in circumstances that I believed could, in no way, be good, and questioned God's goodness...His faithfulness.....His love for me.
I have felt like I have, all but, let my faith die within me, but, the beauty of faith is that it cannot die. Faith is eternal. No matter how dark the thoughts that swirl in our own minds, our faith still burns within us. It may not be an awe inspiring, amazing faith, in our darkest days, but it's still there.
Sometimes faith just needs to be fed.
That's what Jesus did for John the Baptist in his struggle. Jesus didn't answer him directly. That would have taken away His need for faith. Instead Jesus gave him an answer that John could use to feed his faith if he chose to.
Jesus referred to Old Testament scriptures -- the Word of God -- that John likely knew by heart. One of the scriptures referenced says He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed (Isaiah 61:1).
What a personal word of faith to give a prisoner.
God will do the same for us. If we ask Him the tough questions that fill our minds from time to time. If we turn to Him for nourishment in our own dark moments of doubt, when our faith is famished. He will feed our faith with words from His Word that are personal to our own situation.
Faith like that of the Roman soldier, doesn't usually come naturally, except maybe on the heels of a great miracle, but it can be grown...nourished....fed....in each of us....in every circumstance.
That is the gift of faith.
(Journey: Matthew 8:5-13 & 11:1-19; Luke 7:1-35)
Monday, June 10, 2013
In the Meantime
A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.(Luke 6:45)
Yesterday was a perfect day for a rainbow. Dark clouds and sunshine colored the sky with every shade of blue imaginable. All day long, I found myself peeking out the windows on the back of my house, peering towards the eastern sky searching for a bow of colors.
Finally, just before sunset, my hopeful glances were rewarded with a faint rainbow. A beautiful reminder of God's faithfulness. A shot of faith straight to my heart.
I take rainbows personally. I believe, when I catch a glimpse of one, that my Father in heaven, has placed it over my head just for me. To feed my faith. To remind me of His promises to me.
A simple reward for looking to Him in expectation of something beautiful in the midst of everyday life.
Isn't that what faith is all about. Looking toward heaven in hope. Seeking God in expectation of finding Him. Asking for something beautiful in anticipation of receiving it.
I believe God desires for us to continually look to Him in expectation, anticipation and hope.
Jesus encouraged this when He told his disciples Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7).
In a relationship where we allow God to lead and we follow, we will find ourselves naturally looking to Him because He will continually promise us a more beautiful future. He will continually encourage us to keep moving forward toward Him, walking in His will.
Often, however, the wait proves more than our feeble faith can handle. The wait becomes a burden that leaves us feeling hopeless and discouraged. The promised beauty seems hidden by dark clouds and falling rain.
That's why God gives us the gift of promises to rely on in our journey. Words of truth that we can repeat to ourselves when we're feeling less than faithful. Less than hopeful. Less than expectant.
Statements full of faith that become like a gas station -- a 7/11, if you will -- where we can rest for a while and fill-up our faith. Like the one Jesus gave His disciples in Matthew 7:11. So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him.
Jesus promises good gifts that may not be exactly what we asked for, but will prove to be exactly what we need when we struggle in our faith. A rainbow shining through the clouds. The perfect song on the radio at just the right time. Words of encouragement from a trusted friend.
Gifts that feed our faith in the meantime. While we're waiting. Because sometimes it seems that most of our lives are lived in the limbo of waiting. Looking forward to more beautiful things.
It's what we do in that waiting, that speaks to who we are in God and the beauty that He will eventually reveal in our lives.
And that has a lot to do with what we spend our prayers asking for...
Earlier in Matthew, Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Here, He told His disciples that the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets is to do to others whatever you would like them to do to you (Matthew 7:12).
The essence of scripture is to turn our own desires into gifts to others.
To give what we want.
If what we ask God for, if what we seek in this life, if what we want, has only to do with our own selfish desires, then we are missing the point of our faith entirely. Our desires are meant to become our gifts. Good gifts. Good fruit. Poured out on others.
Our desires are meant to be less tangible, and more spiritual.
I think it's clear in scripture that the thing that God wants us to want, to ask for, and to seek the most is to be more like Him....More like Christ.....Fulfilling the essence of all that is taught in the law.
Loving. Joyful. Peacemaking. Patient. Kind. Good. Faithful. Gentle. Self-controlled (Galatians 5:22-23).
Our desire should be to produce good gifts -- good spiritual fruit.
In fact, our heart's desire should be for a good heart, because that's where every thing else flows from.
Jesus said, A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit (Matthew 7:17).
In the same teaching in Luke, He said, A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.(Luke 6:45)
Our greatest desire should be for God to change our heart from evil to good.
So that what we do to others, while we're waiting for God to fulfill His promises to us, is good.
So that who we are, when we're not quite who we want to be, is a good person.
So that we can stand firm in our faith even when we find ourselves knee-deep in rising floodwaters.....waiting for our own beautiful future.
Jesus said, I will show you what it's like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built (Luke 6:47-48).
We are a house in progress. A good tree in the making. A promise being fulfilled.
In the meantime, if we listen to God's teaching and follow it, we will give good gifts to others.
That is the gift of faith in us.
(Journey: Matthew 7:7-29; Luke 6:43-49)
Yesterday was a perfect day for a rainbow. Dark clouds and sunshine colored the sky with every shade of blue imaginable. All day long, I found myself peeking out the windows on the back of my house, peering towards the eastern sky searching for a bow of colors.
Finally, just before sunset, my hopeful glances were rewarded with a faint rainbow. A beautiful reminder of God's faithfulness. A shot of faith straight to my heart.
I take rainbows personally. I believe, when I catch a glimpse of one, that my Father in heaven, has placed it over my head just for me. To feed my faith. To remind me of His promises to me.
A simple reward for looking to Him in expectation of something beautiful in the midst of everyday life.
Isn't that what faith is all about. Looking toward heaven in hope. Seeking God in expectation of finding Him. Asking for something beautiful in anticipation of receiving it.
I believe God desires for us to continually look to Him in expectation, anticipation and hope.
Jesus encouraged this when He told his disciples Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7).
In a relationship where we allow God to lead and we follow, we will find ourselves naturally looking to Him because He will continually promise us a more beautiful future. He will continually encourage us to keep moving forward toward Him, walking in His will.
Often, however, the wait proves more than our feeble faith can handle. The wait becomes a burden that leaves us feeling hopeless and discouraged. The promised beauty seems hidden by dark clouds and falling rain.
That's why God gives us the gift of promises to rely on in our journey. Words of truth that we can repeat to ourselves when we're feeling less than faithful. Less than hopeful. Less than expectant.
Statements full of faith that become like a gas station -- a 7/11, if you will -- where we can rest for a while and fill-up our faith. Like the one Jesus gave His disciples in Matthew 7:11. So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him.
Jesus promises good gifts that may not be exactly what we asked for, but will prove to be exactly what we need when we struggle in our faith. A rainbow shining through the clouds. The perfect song on the radio at just the right time. Words of encouragement from a trusted friend.
Gifts that feed our faith in the meantime. While we're waiting. Because sometimes it seems that most of our lives are lived in the limbo of waiting. Looking forward to more beautiful things.
It's what we do in that waiting, that speaks to who we are in God and the beauty that He will eventually reveal in our lives.
And that has a lot to do with what we spend our prayers asking for...
Earlier in Matthew, Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Here, He told His disciples that the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets is to do to others whatever you would like them to do to you (Matthew 7:12).
The essence of scripture is to turn our own desires into gifts to others.
To give what we want.
If what we ask God for, if what we seek in this life, if what we want, has only to do with our own selfish desires, then we are missing the point of our faith entirely. Our desires are meant to become our gifts. Good gifts. Good fruit. Poured out on others.
Our desires are meant to be less tangible, and more spiritual.
I think it's clear in scripture that the thing that God wants us to want, to ask for, and to seek the most is to be more like Him....More like Christ.....Fulfilling the essence of all that is taught in the law.
Loving. Joyful. Peacemaking. Patient. Kind. Good. Faithful. Gentle. Self-controlled (Galatians 5:22-23).
Our desire should be to produce good gifts -- good spiritual fruit.
In fact, our heart's desire should be for a good heart, because that's where every thing else flows from.
Jesus said, A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit (Matthew 7:17).
In the same teaching in Luke, He said, A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.(Luke 6:45)
Our greatest desire should be for God to change our heart from evil to good.
So that what we do to others, while we're waiting for God to fulfill His promises to us, is good.
So that who we are, when we're not quite who we want to be, is a good person.
So that we can stand firm in our faith even when we find ourselves knee-deep in rising floodwaters.....waiting for our own beautiful future.
Jesus said, I will show you what it's like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built (Luke 6:47-48).
We are a house in progress. A good tree in the making. A promise being fulfilled.
In the meantime, if we listen to God's teaching and follow it, we will give good gifts to others.
That is the gift of faith in us.
(Journey: Matthew 7:7-29; Luke 6:43-49)
Monday, June 3, 2013
Giving and Forgiving
...Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full -- pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back....(Luke 6:37-38)
When you are anywhere in the vicinity of a toddler it's difficult not to interact with them. They naturally try to capture the attention of everyone who looks their way. Smiling. Giggling. Waving. They desire attention. And if you'll give it to them, you'll quickly have a new friend.
If you try to take anything away from them, however, you're likely to get a demonstration of the reason the toddler years are often called the terrible twos.
Most toddlers are a bit selfish. Giving is not their strong suit.
Because of this, people often ask toddlers if they can have things that they are clinging to. Cups. Pacifiers. Food. Like a game every adult knows the answer to. Most kids answer with a resounding no. Clinging tighter to whatever they have.
My son, Toby Jo, however, shocked more adults than I could begin to count because he would freely give anything, anyone asked of him. He has a naturally generous spirit. A rare quality.
Truth be told, the selfish attitude of toddlerhood often carries into adulthood.
We don't really like to give freely.
We measure our giving. We give if we think we might get something in return. Recognition. Praise. Glory.
Jesus touched on this human tendency when he taught His disciples to give to the poor and needy in private instead of publicly (Matthew 6:1-4). He warned them not to seek public admiration, but private rewards from God, Himself.
Every gift that we have the ability to give comes from God (James 1:17) so when we seek admiration for our gifts from those around us we are, in effect, stealing the glory from God.
Everything we give to those less fortunate than us should be given as though we were handing it directly back to God. A sacrifice from the heart. Because that is indeed what we are doing. Scripture says, Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his deed (Proverbs 19:17).
Jesus went on to teach about gifts of worship to God. Admonishing His disciples to pray and fast without drawing attention to themselves for the praise and admiration of others. Talk about stealing glory from God (Matthew 6:5-18).
The thought of turning worship into selfish gain brings tears to my eyes.....of shame and conviction....
With social media and the abundance of communication available to us, the trumpets we can blow in the streets to call attention to ourselves have been multiplied infinitely more than the disciples could ever have imagined.
Instead of giving our hearts and minds in prayer and our bodies in sacrifice, we steal the glory from God and live our lives on pedestals crafted by our own hands.
Prayer becomes a means of praise for ourselves. Fasting becomes a fashion statement for the elite followers of Christ.
We babble empty words like people of other religions. Those who don't recognize the sacrifice Christ made for us. Those who don't understand the gift we've been given so freely. The gift that should leave us speechless in our closet before God daily.
The gift of forgiveness.
Redemption for every good gift given for the wrong reasons. Grace for every prayer prayed for the benefit of those around us. Mercy for every fast fulfilled for the glory of living a Godly life in a fallen world.
In the midst of His commentary on giving gifts to the poor and needy, and to God in worship, Jesus touched on forgiving, and extending grace and mercy, to those who need forgiveness just as much as we do -- our fellow man. The lost world around us...And other Christians, who make the same mistakes we do.
Not only are we called to forgive the lost who we expect to sin regularly and fall short of living a Godly life, we are called to forgive other Christians. Those we often hold to a higher standard. Those we place on a pedestal that they can't stand on any more easily than we can.
Christians who blow their own trumpets in the street when they give to the poor and needy. Christians who pray to be seen by others. Christians who fast to be admired by others.
Christians who fail just as often as we do.
I can almost hear Jesus whispering to my heart....Forgive my beloved children who are so insecure in my love for them that they seek approval, applause and glory from anyone and everyone. Forgive the Christians who toot their own horns when they've done something right and, yet, toot their car horns in anger when they're having a bad day.
I imagine that few things sadden God's heart more than watching one of His children beat up on another of His children for failing to live up to their proclaimed Christianity.
Forgive the ones who fall short.....because don't we all fall short (Romans 3:23).
Don't we ALL wallow in sin from time to time?
Jesus said Don't throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you (Matthew 7:6).
All Christians are washed clean and pure and made ready for eternity by the blood of Christ. But while we're living in this filthy, sin-filled world, we're all wallowing in a giant pig sty.....And sometimes we forget we're not pigs anymore.
Whether we're giving money to the poor and needy, worship to God, or forgiveness to those around us, all our gifts -- all our pearls -- should be given AS IF to God, not the pigs wallowing in the mud of this Earth.
Our gifts should be returned to the Giver of all gifts.
After all, He's the only one who guarantees a full return -- pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap.....(Luke 6:38)
That is the gift of faith.
(Journey: Matthew 6:1-34, 7:1-6; Luke 6:37-42)
When you are anywhere in the vicinity of a toddler it's difficult not to interact with them. They naturally try to capture the attention of everyone who looks their way. Smiling. Giggling. Waving. They desire attention. And if you'll give it to them, you'll quickly have a new friend.
If you try to take anything away from them, however, you're likely to get a demonstration of the reason the toddler years are often called the terrible twos.
Most toddlers are a bit selfish. Giving is not their strong suit.
Because of this, people often ask toddlers if they can have things that they are clinging to. Cups. Pacifiers. Food. Like a game every adult knows the answer to. Most kids answer with a resounding no. Clinging tighter to whatever they have.
My son, Toby Jo, however, shocked more adults than I could begin to count because he would freely give anything, anyone asked of him. He has a naturally generous spirit. A rare quality.
Truth be told, the selfish attitude of toddlerhood often carries into adulthood.
We don't really like to give freely.
We measure our giving. We give if we think we might get something in return. Recognition. Praise. Glory.
Jesus touched on this human tendency when he taught His disciples to give to the poor and needy in private instead of publicly (Matthew 6:1-4). He warned them not to seek public admiration, but private rewards from God, Himself.
Every gift that we have the ability to give comes from God (James 1:17) so when we seek admiration for our gifts from those around us we are, in effect, stealing the glory from God.
Everything we give to those less fortunate than us should be given as though we were handing it directly back to God. A sacrifice from the heart. Because that is indeed what we are doing. Scripture says, Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his deed (Proverbs 19:17).
Jesus went on to teach about gifts of worship to God. Admonishing His disciples to pray and fast without drawing attention to themselves for the praise and admiration of others. Talk about stealing glory from God (Matthew 6:5-18).
The thought of turning worship into selfish gain brings tears to my eyes.....of shame and conviction....
With social media and the abundance of communication available to us, the trumpets we can blow in the streets to call attention to ourselves have been multiplied infinitely more than the disciples could ever have imagined.
Instead of giving our hearts and minds in prayer and our bodies in sacrifice, we steal the glory from God and live our lives on pedestals crafted by our own hands.
Prayer becomes a means of praise for ourselves. Fasting becomes a fashion statement for the elite followers of Christ.
We babble empty words like people of other religions. Those who don't recognize the sacrifice Christ made for us. Those who don't understand the gift we've been given so freely. The gift that should leave us speechless in our closet before God daily.
The gift of forgiveness.
Redemption for every good gift given for the wrong reasons. Grace for every prayer prayed for the benefit of those around us. Mercy for every fast fulfilled for the glory of living a Godly life in a fallen world.
In the midst of His commentary on giving gifts to the poor and needy, and to God in worship, Jesus touched on forgiving, and extending grace and mercy, to those who need forgiveness just as much as we do -- our fellow man. The lost world around us...And other Christians, who make the same mistakes we do.
Not only are we called to forgive the lost who we expect to sin regularly and fall short of living a Godly life, we are called to forgive other Christians. Those we often hold to a higher standard. Those we place on a pedestal that they can't stand on any more easily than we can.
Christians who blow their own trumpets in the street when they give to the poor and needy. Christians who pray to be seen by others. Christians who fast to be admired by others.
Christians who fail just as often as we do.
I can almost hear Jesus whispering to my heart....Forgive my beloved children who are so insecure in my love for them that they seek approval, applause and glory from anyone and everyone. Forgive the Christians who toot their own horns when they've done something right and, yet, toot their car horns in anger when they're having a bad day.
I imagine that few things sadden God's heart more than watching one of His children beat up on another of His children for failing to live up to their proclaimed Christianity.
Forgive the ones who fall short.....because don't we all fall short (Romans 3:23).
Don't we ALL wallow in sin from time to time?
Jesus said Don't throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you (Matthew 7:6).
All Christians are washed clean and pure and made ready for eternity by the blood of Christ. But while we're living in this filthy, sin-filled world, we're all wallowing in a giant pig sty.....And sometimes we forget we're not pigs anymore.
Whether we're giving money to the poor and needy, worship to God, or forgiveness to those around us, all our gifts -- all our pearls -- should be given AS IF to God, not the pigs wallowing in the mud of this Earth.
Our gifts should be returned to the Giver of all gifts.
After all, He's the only one who guarantees a full return -- pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap.....(Luke 6:38)
That is the gift of faith.
(Journey: Matthew 6:1-34, 7:1-6; Luke 6:37-42)
Monday, May 27, 2013
Perfectly Compassionate
You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate....Luke 6:36
Though He introduced the Age of Grace, in reading through the New Testament we find that Jesus had a lot to say about the Law of Moses.
In the fifth chapter of the book of Matthew, Jesus taught His disciples His seemingly extreme views of what it meant to truly live up to the Law.
He started out by clarifying that He did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets, but to accomplish their purpose.
The purpose of the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets is to make us aware of our sin and our desperate need of Christ -- our sinless sacrifice.
Jesus taught His disciples that if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God's laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:19).
God made us aware of our sinful nature for a reason. So that we would know to avoid sin as much as possible. So that we could live as clean and pure a life possible. So that we could share with others the wisdom and blessings of obedience to our Father.
As children of God, we are called to obey God and teach obedience to those within our sphere of influence.
The most effective teaching is accomplished by example. Jesus became our perfect example, and Christians are still learning from His teaching and His life today. It is our privilege as Christians to teach others in the same way. By becoming a living example of Christ.
No matter how clean a life we live, we could never live up to the Law of Moses. And just in case we ever think we could, Jesus, using examples from the Law, demonstrated His own awareness of sin.
The Law condemned murder. But Jesus said, if you are even angry with someone you are subject to judgement! (Matthew 5:22).
The Law condemned adultery. But Jesus said, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28).
The Law, bent to the desires of the people, allowed divorce. But Jesus said, that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery (Matthew 5:32).
The Law condemned breaking vows. But Jesus said, do not even make any vows! (Matthew 5:34). Only God is truly capable of fulfilling every vow or promise He makes.
I don't believe that Jesus was trying to give an impossible standard that no one could possibly live up to. The Law had already done that.
I'm sure that scholars could probably point to a much deeper spiritual purpose for His teaching here. But I believe His purpose was, at least in part, to shock those who might think that they are living up to the Law.
My husband can hear this portion of scripture, particularly the verse about lust, read a million times in church and every time he will shake his head in conviction and say, Man, I'm in trouble. It hits home. He comes face to face with his own sin and his own need for Christ's redemptive blood.
He doesn't wallow in his guilt or beat himself up with shame. He is simply reminded of his sinful nature and his need for Christ.
The passage about anger does the same thing to me. Never would I consider murder, but if we're calling anger a sin, then I'm guilty as sin.
I don't believe for one moment that these scriptures are meant to weigh down believers who are walking hand in hand with God. They are meant instead to wake us up when we think we've got it all figured out. They are meant to remind us that living a good life does not equate to living a sinless life.
If we don't come face to face with our own sin and our own need for Christ every once in a while, it's easy for us to become half-hearted in our Christianity and complacent in our faith.
Furthermore, a continual awareness of our own sin and our own need for Christ keeps us from throwing stones at others. Christ demonstrated this truth in John 8 when the scribes and Pharisees brought Him an adulterous woman and asked whether they should follow the Law of Moses and stone her.
Jesus answered them, Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her (John 8:7). With their own sins before their eyes, they found it impossible to throw a stone at her.
Just as Jesus demonstrated compassion and mercy for the adulterous woman, His teaching to His disciples regarding the Law of Moses, encouraged compassion and mercy as well.
The Law instituted punishment equal to the crime. But Jesus said, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also (Matthew 5:39).
We are to grant mercy instead of punishing those who commit wrongs, even when the wrongs they commit are against us, personally. Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do...
The Law taught the Israelites to love their fellow countrymen and, at times, to completely wipe out their enemies. But Jesus said, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven...(Matthew 5:44-45).
Jesus is the true child, but we have been made true children through His sacrifice and our subsequent adoption. We are to strive to act as much like true children -- like Christ -- as possible.
Jesus said, But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48). In Luke's telling of this same portion of scripture Jesus says, You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate (Luke 6:36).
We won't ever live up to the Law of Moses or the perfect example of Christ, but compassion for our fellow man is entirely possible. And I think it's a good place to start because if you put Matthew's telling with Luke's telling it seems that perfection in the Kingdom of Heaven translates to compassion for our fellow man on Earth.
I think that's what Jesus' teachings here all boiled down to -- compassion for those around us brought about by our own awareness of sin, and dependence on Him.
One day we will be perfect, but, for today, we can be compassionate.
That is the gift of faith in us.
(Journey: Matthew 5:17-48; Luke 6:27-36)
Though He introduced the Age of Grace, in reading through the New Testament we find that Jesus had a lot to say about the Law of Moses.
In the fifth chapter of the book of Matthew, Jesus taught His disciples His seemingly extreme views of what it meant to truly live up to the Law.
He started out by clarifying that He did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets, but to accomplish their purpose.
The purpose of the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets is to make us aware of our sin and our desperate need of Christ -- our sinless sacrifice.
Jesus taught His disciples that if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God's laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:19).
God made us aware of our sinful nature for a reason. So that we would know to avoid sin as much as possible. So that we could live as clean and pure a life possible. So that we could share with others the wisdom and blessings of obedience to our Father.
As children of God, we are called to obey God and teach obedience to those within our sphere of influence.
The most effective teaching is accomplished by example. Jesus became our perfect example, and Christians are still learning from His teaching and His life today. It is our privilege as Christians to teach others in the same way. By becoming a living example of Christ.
No matter how clean a life we live, we could never live up to the Law of Moses. And just in case we ever think we could, Jesus, using examples from the Law, demonstrated His own awareness of sin.
The Law condemned murder. But Jesus said, if you are even angry with someone you are subject to judgement! (Matthew 5:22).
The Law condemned adultery. But Jesus said, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28).
The Law, bent to the desires of the people, allowed divorce. But Jesus said, that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery (Matthew 5:32).
The Law condemned breaking vows. But Jesus said, do not even make any vows! (Matthew 5:34). Only God is truly capable of fulfilling every vow or promise He makes.
I don't believe that Jesus was trying to give an impossible standard that no one could possibly live up to. The Law had already done that.
I'm sure that scholars could probably point to a much deeper spiritual purpose for His teaching here. But I believe His purpose was, at least in part, to shock those who might think that they are living up to the Law.
My husband can hear this portion of scripture, particularly the verse about lust, read a million times in church and every time he will shake his head in conviction and say, Man, I'm in trouble. It hits home. He comes face to face with his own sin and his own need for Christ's redemptive blood.
He doesn't wallow in his guilt or beat himself up with shame. He is simply reminded of his sinful nature and his need for Christ.
The passage about anger does the same thing to me. Never would I consider murder, but if we're calling anger a sin, then I'm guilty as sin.
I don't believe for one moment that these scriptures are meant to weigh down believers who are walking hand in hand with God. They are meant instead to wake us up when we think we've got it all figured out. They are meant to remind us that living a good life does not equate to living a sinless life.
If we don't come face to face with our own sin and our own need for Christ every once in a while, it's easy for us to become half-hearted in our Christianity and complacent in our faith.
Furthermore, a continual awareness of our own sin and our own need for Christ keeps us from throwing stones at others. Christ demonstrated this truth in John 8 when the scribes and Pharisees brought Him an adulterous woman and asked whether they should follow the Law of Moses and stone her.
Jesus answered them, Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her (John 8:7). With their own sins before their eyes, they found it impossible to throw a stone at her.
Just as Jesus demonstrated compassion and mercy for the adulterous woman, His teaching to His disciples regarding the Law of Moses, encouraged compassion and mercy as well.
The Law instituted punishment equal to the crime. But Jesus said, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also (Matthew 5:39).
We are to grant mercy instead of punishing those who commit wrongs, even when the wrongs they commit are against us, personally. Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do...
The Law taught the Israelites to love their fellow countrymen and, at times, to completely wipe out their enemies. But Jesus said, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven...(Matthew 5:44-45).
Jesus is the true child, but we have been made true children through His sacrifice and our subsequent adoption. We are to strive to act as much like true children -- like Christ -- as possible.
Jesus said, But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48). In Luke's telling of this same portion of scripture Jesus says, You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate (Luke 6:36).
We won't ever live up to the Law of Moses or the perfect example of Christ, but compassion for our fellow man is entirely possible. And I think it's a good place to start because if you put Matthew's telling with Luke's telling it seems that perfection in the Kingdom of Heaven translates to compassion for our fellow man on Earth.
I think that's what Jesus' teachings here all boiled down to -- compassion for those around us brought about by our own awareness of sin, and dependence on Him.
One day we will be perfect, but, for today, we can be compassionate.
That is the gift of faith in us.
(Journey: Matthew 5:17-48; Luke 6:27-36)
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Chosen
God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4).
There is a song, currently playing on Christian radio stations, in which artist Jason Gray, pleads with God to remind him who he is.
The lyrics say: Remind me who I am. If I'm your beloved can you help me believe it. Tell me, once again, who I am to you, who I am to you. Tell me, lest I forget, who I am to you, that I belong to you. (Jason Gray, Remind Me Who I Am)
I can so deeply relate to the internal struggle the musical prayer brings to light. The spiritual battle to remember, continually, through good times and bad, through sorrows and sins, that I am God's chosen, adopted children -- His beloved.
It's so easy to wonder, when life doesn't go the way we expect it to, whether we really are beloved by God.
It's so difficult to remember, when the weight of our own sins pile up on our hearts, that we still belong to God.
It's easy to forget that we have each been chosen by God to play a specific role in His vast, magnificent plan for humanity.
But we are chosen. When we enter into relationship with God we become His chosen. Regardless of the mistakes we have made in our past. Regardless of the sins we will commit in our future. We belong to God. We are His beloved.
We are part of a Church family that began with twelve men -- apostles -- who were chosen by Jesus.
Scriptures tells us that, as the crowds around Him grew dramatically, Jesus chose twelve men, from his many disciples, to become His apostles. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles...Luke 6:13.
Twelve men were chosen to become the first members of the Church family. They were chosen to become great in the Kingdom of God.
But, as we all learn as we draw ever nearer to God, greatness in the Kingdom of God doesn't necessarily equate to greatness in the world around us.
The chosen of God quickly became targets of men. Of the twelve, ten are believed to have died a martyr's death. One narrowly escaped the same fate. And the final one, lost in overwhelming darkness, took his own life.
We know they were chosen for greatness. But, as they walked the difficult journeys that lay ahead of them, I imagine that they too prayed for God to remind them who they were to Him.
As the world, very literally, beat them down, I imagine there were moments when they prayed for God to help them believe they were, indeed, His beloved children.
As they lay in prison cells, and met in hidden rooms, I imagine that they pleaded with God to remind them that they belonged to Him.
As soon as Jesus chose these men to become part of God's plan, He began to prepare them for the hazards of the road ahead and the upside-down nature of His kingdom. He foresaw their struggle....and ours as well.
The well-known teaching of the Beatitudes, follows Jesus' selection of apostles.
Jesus began the sermon, addressed specifically to His disciples, with the declaration that God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs (Matthew 5:3).
If the chosen twelve imagined that greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven equated to riches, and self-sufficiency, Jesus laid those thoughts to rest rather quickly pointing towards humility as a means of rising to greatness in God's Kingdom.
Jesus continued, God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4).
We've done a lot of mourning in our house in recent years with the untimely loss of several loved ones. Through every tear we've cried, however, we've been comforted by God and His promise that we will be reunited with our loved ones again one day.
On the night of the crucifixion, I imagine the chosen twelve mourned in like fashion, but I don't believe that is the only type of mourning that Jesus referred to in His teaching.
Two of the twelve apostles, near the time of the crucifixion, mourned, not only their loss of Jesus, but their own betrayal of Him.
Scripture tells us that the Apostle Peter wept bitterly, after denying Jesus three times (Luke 22:62). On the night that Jesus was taken away from him, Peter clearly saw the weakness of his own humanity. He experienced the sting of his own betrayal. He felt the weight of his own sin.
And he mourned because of it.
Peter became poor in Spirit. He realized His own personal need for God, and His forgiveness. He mourned his own sin. And, we know, because of his continued role in the foundation of the church, that he was comforted.
I imagine that as Peter mourned, God reminded him of who he was to Him. I imagine that God helped Peter to believe that, in spite of his sin, he remained His beloved. I imagine that God reminded Peter that he belonged to Him, and had yet to fulfill his complete role in the Kingdom of Heaven.
I imagine that in his sorrow, God reminded Peter, that he was chosen.
Another one of the chosen twelve mourned his own betrayal of Jesus. Scripture tells us that Judas too felt the sting of his own betrayal, and that in his sorrow, he ended his own life (Matthew 27:5). Comfortless.
The saddest thing about Judas' death is that comfort was available to him as well. Forgiveness was available, even to him. But, he died without experiencing it. He died in the darkness of the pit he crawled into when he chose to betray Jesus.
Peter, on the other hand, went on to become what Jesus chose him to become -- a rock that He could build His Church upon.
Peter's letters to the early church, and to us, seem to spring forth from the Beatitudes and the teachings that follow them. Encouraging the church. Calling for endurance and rejoicing in the face of life's difficulties, and, above all else, humility.
Peter wrote to remind each member of the Church that we are chosen by God.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (I Peter 2:9).
Not only did God call us into His marvelous light, but He has called us to be His marvelous light.
In the next passage of scripture, following the Beatitudes, Jesus said, You are the light of the world -- like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14).
Each time we fall into the darkness of sin, we can choose to react like Peter did, by mourning our sins and turning to God for comfort, or we can choose to react like Judas did, by drowning in darkness and sorrow. Even as a chosen child of God we can become so overwhelmed by sin and darkness that our light is all but extinguished.
We can choose to live our lives as a beacon of light, pointing others toward the hope and comfort we have in God, even in the midst of our sinful human existence, or we can allow ourselves to swallowed up by the darkness around us.
Peter's light shone because, not because he was perfect, but because, when he lost his way, and darkness threatened to overwhelm him, he took his mourning heart to God for comfort.
And God reminded him who he was.
Peter remembered that he was God's beloved child. He remembered that he belonged to God.
He remembered that he was chosen.
We must do the same. We must remember who we are. And when we can't remember on our own, we can always ask God to remind us who we are. He will comfort us. He will help us to remember...
We belong to Him....even when we sin.
We are beloved....even when we fail.
We are chosen....even when we betray our Savior.
That is the gift of faith in us.
(Journey: Mark 3:7-19; Luke 6:12-26; Matthew 5:1-16)
There is a song, currently playing on Christian radio stations, in which artist Jason Gray, pleads with God to remind him who he is.
The lyrics say: Remind me who I am. If I'm your beloved can you help me believe it. Tell me, once again, who I am to you, who I am to you. Tell me, lest I forget, who I am to you, that I belong to you. (Jason Gray, Remind Me Who I Am)
I can so deeply relate to the internal struggle the musical prayer brings to light. The spiritual battle to remember, continually, through good times and bad, through sorrows and sins, that I am God's chosen, adopted children -- His beloved.
It's so easy to wonder, when life doesn't go the way we expect it to, whether we really are beloved by God.
It's so difficult to remember, when the weight of our own sins pile up on our hearts, that we still belong to God.
It's easy to forget that we have each been chosen by God to play a specific role in His vast, magnificent plan for humanity.
But we are chosen. When we enter into relationship with God we become His chosen. Regardless of the mistakes we have made in our past. Regardless of the sins we will commit in our future. We belong to God. We are His beloved.
We are part of a Church family that began with twelve men -- apostles -- who were chosen by Jesus.
Scriptures tells us that, as the crowds around Him grew dramatically, Jesus chose twelve men, from his many disciples, to become His apostles. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles...Luke 6:13.
Twelve men were chosen to become the first members of the Church family. They were chosen to become great in the Kingdom of God.
But, as we all learn as we draw ever nearer to God, greatness in the Kingdom of God doesn't necessarily equate to greatness in the world around us.
The chosen of God quickly became targets of men. Of the twelve, ten are believed to have died a martyr's death. One narrowly escaped the same fate. And the final one, lost in overwhelming darkness, took his own life.
We know they were chosen for greatness. But, as they walked the difficult journeys that lay ahead of them, I imagine that they too prayed for God to remind them who they were to Him.
As the world, very literally, beat them down, I imagine there were moments when they prayed for God to help them believe they were, indeed, His beloved children.
As they lay in prison cells, and met in hidden rooms, I imagine that they pleaded with God to remind them that they belonged to Him.
As soon as Jesus chose these men to become part of God's plan, He began to prepare them for the hazards of the road ahead and the upside-down nature of His kingdom. He foresaw their struggle....and ours as well.
The well-known teaching of the Beatitudes, follows Jesus' selection of apostles.
Jesus began the sermon, addressed specifically to His disciples, with the declaration that God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs (Matthew 5:3).
If the chosen twelve imagined that greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven equated to riches, and self-sufficiency, Jesus laid those thoughts to rest rather quickly pointing towards humility as a means of rising to greatness in God's Kingdom.
Jesus continued, God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4).
We've done a lot of mourning in our house in recent years with the untimely loss of several loved ones. Through every tear we've cried, however, we've been comforted by God and His promise that we will be reunited with our loved ones again one day.
On the night of the crucifixion, I imagine the chosen twelve mourned in like fashion, but I don't believe that is the only type of mourning that Jesus referred to in His teaching.
Two of the twelve apostles, near the time of the crucifixion, mourned, not only their loss of Jesus, but their own betrayal of Him.
Scripture tells us that the Apostle Peter wept bitterly, after denying Jesus three times (Luke 22:62). On the night that Jesus was taken away from him, Peter clearly saw the weakness of his own humanity. He experienced the sting of his own betrayal. He felt the weight of his own sin.
And he mourned because of it.
Peter became poor in Spirit. He realized His own personal need for God, and His forgiveness. He mourned his own sin. And, we know, because of his continued role in the foundation of the church, that he was comforted.
I imagine that as Peter mourned, God reminded him of who he was to Him. I imagine that God helped Peter to believe that, in spite of his sin, he remained His beloved. I imagine that God reminded Peter that he belonged to Him, and had yet to fulfill his complete role in the Kingdom of Heaven.
I imagine that in his sorrow, God reminded Peter, that he was chosen.
Another one of the chosen twelve mourned his own betrayal of Jesus. Scripture tells us that Judas too felt the sting of his own betrayal, and that in his sorrow, he ended his own life (Matthew 27:5). Comfortless.
The saddest thing about Judas' death is that comfort was available to him as well. Forgiveness was available, even to him. But, he died without experiencing it. He died in the darkness of the pit he crawled into when he chose to betray Jesus.
Peter, on the other hand, went on to become what Jesus chose him to become -- a rock that He could build His Church upon.
Peter's letters to the early church, and to us, seem to spring forth from the Beatitudes and the teachings that follow them. Encouraging the church. Calling for endurance and rejoicing in the face of life's difficulties, and, above all else, humility.
Peter wrote to remind each member of the Church that we are chosen by God.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (I Peter 2:9).
Not only did God call us into His marvelous light, but He has called us to be His marvelous light.
In the next passage of scripture, following the Beatitudes, Jesus said, You are the light of the world -- like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14).
Each time we fall into the darkness of sin, we can choose to react like Peter did, by mourning our sins and turning to God for comfort, or we can choose to react like Judas did, by drowning in darkness and sorrow. Even as a chosen child of God we can become so overwhelmed by sin and darkness that our light is all but extinguished.
We can choose to live our lives as a beacon of light, pointing others toward the hope and comfort we have in God, even in the midst of our sinful human existence, or we can allow ourselves to swallowed up by the darkness around us.
Peter's light shone because, not because he was perfect, but because, when he lost his way, and darkness threatened to overwhelm him, he took his mourning heart to God for comfort.
And God reminded him who he was.
Peter remembered that he was God's beloved child. He remembered that he belonged to God.
He remembered that he was chosen.
We must do the same. We must remember who we are. And when we can't remember on our own, we can always ask God to remind us who we are. He will comfort us. He will help us to remember...
We belong to Him....even when we sin.
We are beloved....even when we fail.
We are chosen....even when we betray our Savior.
That is the gift of faith in us.
(Journey: Mark 3:7-19; Luke 6:12-26; Matthew 5:1-16)
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
It's all about Relationship
Then Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath..."Mark 2:27
In dealing with the religious leaders of His day, it seems Jesus was constantly trying to explain the difference between rigid religion and a disciplined relationship with God.
The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke share two such encounters between Jesus and the Pharisees that took place on two different Sabbaths.
In the first, Jesus' disciples, in hunger, broke off heads of grain to eat. The Pharisees accused them of breaking the Law.
Jesus, proclaiming them innocent, said The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).
The weekly day of rest was instituted by God to meet the needs of His children, by refreshing them, renewing their spirits and reminding them to connect with God. It was meant to draw God's children closer to Him -- to encourage relationship.
The Pharisees and other religious leaders had turned the Sabbath into something it was never meant to be. They had made the day of rest all about man's ability to follow rules rather than God's desire for man to honor Him with their hearts, minds, and souls -- their whole being.
They had made the Sabbath about religion rather than relationship.
The Pharisees had become so wrapped up in their own religious ideals that they had completely failed to foster a true relationship with God. In fact, they were so distant from God that they didn't even recognize Him standing in their midst.
They had failed to allow the Sabbath to meet their own need of a relationship with God.
They pointed condemning fingers at Jesus' innocent disciples, but they, themselves, were truly guilty of breaking the Sabbath.
They had completely missed the purpose behind the command of God....to meet the needs of the people...to draw them into a closer relationship with God.
Scripture is full of commands reminiscent of the institution of the Sabbath. Instructions and guidelines that are applicable to the New Testament church. Words of wisdom that are intended to meet our physical and spiritual needs and to help us draw closer to God.
The commands of God laid out in scripture, if we discipline ourselves to follow them, help us live a more clean and holy life despite our sinful nature. They help us to become more like Christ. They help us to build a relationship with God....if we are careful not to allow them to become a rigid religion instead.
When we seek to live a pure, righteous, holy life, we benefit from that discipline.
We enjoy a closer walk with God -- a true relationship.
Relationship, not religion, has always been the purpose behind God's commands to His children whether Old Testament children of Israel or New Testament believers.
When we forget that purpose -- to meet our need of relationship with our Creator -- we become like the Pharisees -- religious zealots, devoid of relationship.
And, without relationship, we can't hear God, even when He's standing right beside us. We can't follow Him even if He's walking right in front of us.
That's exactly what happened to the Pharisees. They were so entrenched in religious practices, and their hearts had become so hardened by pride in their own ability to keep the rules that Jesus' words were unable to penetrate deep within the core of their being where lessons of faith are learned by each individual believer in relationship.
They followed the rules. They even followed Jesus...from one town to another. But scripture portrays these religious leaders following from a distance, holding tight to their religion, and missing the magnificent opportunity to walk side-by-side with their own Messiah. They missed the relationship that they desperately needed.
We don't have to imagine how Christ's compassionate heart bled for those faux followers, scripture tells us that when He healed a lame man in their presence on another Sabbath, and their only concern was His perceived sin, in the midst of His anger, He was deeply saddened by their hard hearts (Mark 3:5).
He was angry at the Pharisees' true sin, but His heart was grieved for their unmet need of relationship.
Meanwhile, scripture says that the Pharisees left the scene wild with rage and plotting how to kill Jesus.
When religion is more dear to us than relationship, anger rages untempered by love and compassion and we become like the Pharisees, wild with rage...at the sin...at the sinner...at the lost and dying world around us.
On the other hand, when we develop a true relationship with God, His love for the world (John 3:16), spreads into our hearts as well. The grief that Jesus felt for the Pharisees, the grief that God feels over the hard hearts of every lost sinner, grieves us as well. Our anger is tempered by love.
When we come face to face with the sins of those around us, whether they are lost sinners or fellow Christians, do we feel anger mixed with a healthy dose of sorrow like Jesus did....or wild rage like the Pharisees? I believe the answer to that simple question says a great deal about our relationship with God.
Jesus asked a question of His own to the Pharisees that day: Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it? (Luke 6:9).
The Pharisees sought to destroy Jesus and His disciples, and all the while, He was trying to save them.
When our anger at sin is mixed with grief for the sinner, we, like Jesus, seek to save life. But when our anger at sin becomes a wild rage we destroy ourselves and everyone around us.
It's okay to be angry at the sinful state of the world around us, but if that anger doesn't stir up some sorrow in us for their lack of hope then it's a safe bet that there is something missing in our relationship with God....something missing in our religion....
Matthew capped off the telling of these two Sabbath stories by quoting the prophecy of Isaiah saying He (Jesus) will not fight or shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally he will cause justice to be victorious. And his name will be the hope of all the world (Matthew 12:19-21).
Even in His anger, Jesus showed compassion and mercy to the righteous, the self-righteous and the lost alike.
He would not crush the weakest -- least disciplined Christian. He would not put out the flickering candle -- the dimmest light of one saved soul struggling in their faith.
He offered hope to all the world.
He offered Himself.
And that's what God has always done.
He has offered Himself to us....in relationship.
That is the gift of faith.
(Journey: Mark 2:23-28, 3:1-6; Luke 6:1-11; Matthew 12:1-21)
In dealing with the religious leaders of His day, it seems Jesus was constantly trying to explain the difference between rigid religion and a disciplined relationship with God.
The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke share two such encounters between Jesus and the Pharisees that took place on two different Sabbaths.
In the first, Jesus' disciples, in hunger, broke off heads of grain to eat. The Pharisees accused them of breaking the Law.
Jesus, proclaiming them innocent, said The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).
The weekly day of rest was instituted by God to meet the needs of His children, by refreshing them, renewing their spirits and reminding them to connect with God. It was meant to draw God's children closer to Him -- to encourage relationship.
The Pharisees and other religious leaders had turned the Sabbath into something it was never meant to be. They had made the day of rest all about man's ability to follow rules rather than God's desire for man to honor Him with their hearts, minds, and souls -- their whole being.
They had made the Sabbath about religion rather than relationship.
The Pharisees had become so wrapped up in their own religious ideals that they had completely failed to foster a true relationship with God. In fact, they were so distant from God that they didn't even recognize Him standing in their midst.
They had failed to allow the Sabbath to meet their own need of a relationship with God.
They pointed condemning fingers at Jesus' innocent disciples, but they, themselves, were truly guilty of breaking the Sabbath.
They had completely missed the purpose behind the command of God....to meet the needs of the people...to draw them into a closer relationship with God.
Scripture is full of commands reminiscent of the institution of the Sabbath. Instructions and guidelines that are applicable to the New Testament church. Words of wisdom that are intended to meet our physical and spiritual needs and to help us draw closer to God.
The commands of God laid out in scripture, if we discipline ourselves to follow them, help us live a more clean and holy life despite our sinful nature. They help us to become more like Christ. They help us to build a relationship with God....if we are careful not to allow them to become a rigid religion instead.
When we seek to live a pure, righteous, holy life, we benefit from that discipline.
We enjoy a closer walk with God -- a true relationship.
Relationship, not religion, has always been the purpose behind God's commands to His children whether Old Testament children of Israel or New Testament believers.
When we forget that purpose -- to meet our need of relationship with our Creator -- we become like the Pharisees -- religious zealots, devoid of relationship.
And, without relationship, we can't hear God, even when He's standing right beside us. We can't follow Him even if He's walking right in front of us.
That's exactly what happened to the Pharisees. They were so entrenched in religious practices, and their hearts had become so hardened by pride in their own ability to keep the rules that Jesus' words were unable to penetrate deep within the core of their being where lessons of faith are learned by each individual believer in relationship.
They followed the rules. They even followed Jesus...from one town to another. But scripture portrays these religious leaders following from a distance, holding tight to their religion, and missing the magnificent opportunity to walk side-by-side with their own Messiah. They missed the relationship that they desperately needed.
We don't have to imagine how Christ's compassionate heart bled for those faux followers, scripture tells us that when He healed a lame man in their presence on another Sabbath, and their only concern was His perceived sin, in the midst of His anger, He was deeply saddened by their hard hearts (Mark 3:5).
He was angry at the Pharisees' true sin, but His heart was grieved for their unmet need of relationship.
Meanwhile, scripture says that the Pharisees left the scene wild with rage and plotting how to kill Jesus.
When religion is more dear to us than relationship, anger rages untempered by love and compassion and we become like the Pharisees, wild with rage...at the sin...at the sinner...at the lost and dying world around us.
On the other hand, when we develop a true relationship with God, His love for the world (John 3:16), spreads into our hearts as well. The grief that Jesus felt for the Pharisees, the grief that God feels over the hard hearts of every lost sinner, grieves us as well. Our anger is tempered by love.
When we come face to face with the sins of those around us, whether they are lost sinners or fellow Christians, do we feel anger mixed with a healthy dose of sorrow like Jesus did....or wild rage like the Pharisees? I believe the answer to that simple question says a great deal about our relationship with God.
Jesus asked a question of His own to the Pharisees that day: Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it? (Luke 6:9).
The Pharisees sought to destroy Jesus and His disciples, and all the while, He was trying to save them.
When our anger at sin is mixed with grief for the sinner, we, like Jesus, seek to save life. But when our anger at sin becomes a wild rage we destroy ourselves and everyone around us.
It's okay to be angry at the sinful state of the world around us, but if that anger doesn't stir up some sorrow in us for their lack of hope then it's a safe bet that there is something missing in our relationship with God....something missing in our religion....
Matthew capped off the telling of these two Sabbath stories by quoting the prophecy of Isaiah saying He (Jesus) will not fight or shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally he will cause justice to be victorious. And his name will be the hope of all the world (Matthew 12:19-21).
Even in His anger, Jesus showed compassion and mercy to the righteous, the self-righteous and the lost alike.
He would not crush the weakest -- least disciplined Christian. He would not put out the flickering candle -- the dimmest light of one saved soul struggling in their faith.
He offered hope to all the world.
He offered Himself.
And that's what God has always done.
He has offered Himself to us....in relationship.
That is the gift of faith.
(Journey: Mark 2:23-28, 3:1-6; Luke 6:1-11; Matthew 12:1-21)
Monday, April 29, 2013
Claiming Victory
No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn't even match the old garment (Luke 5:36).
One morning this week in prayer I experienced a brief moment of clarity. In a second I became vividly aware of, not one or two, but several strongholds that I have allowed the enemy to occupy in my heart and in my mind.
As if a light switch had been suddenly turned on in my spirit, I saw areas of weakness where spiritual attacks are daily mounted by Satan...and won.
Throughout that day, as I went about my normal routine, my thoughts kept returning to these spiritual strongholds. I kept running them over in my mind. And each time I did, I could see how I had given my victory away day after day after day. I could clearly see how defeat had become a normal part of my everyday life.
By evening I was mad...at Satan....and at myself. And I began to wonder which stronghold I should concentrate on overcoming first. There was no clear answer, so I did what any Christian does when we realize that we can't figure something out on our own....I asked God.
I heard Him whisper, All of them.
I went to bed that night feeling more than a little overwhelmed, but as I read through scripture the next morning, I found something that put my experience in a little different perspective.
Jesus, when asked why His disciples weren't fasting though the Pharisees and John's disciples were, replied that the time would come when His disciples would fast.
Jesus went on to illustrate the difference between the Law and the new age of Grace that He was establishing saying, No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn't even match the old garment (Luke 5:36).
The picture Jesus painted in scripture made me think of my situation. In the brilliant light of truth, I saw the old shining through my life, and my first instinct was to reach for a single new patch.
But Jesus said that a patch would only make the problem worse. He continued by saying And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins (Mark 2:22).
All this time, I've been trying to put new wine into an old, patched up wineskin.I've been doing the same thing that the Pharisees tried to do. They tried to make Jesus fit into their understanding of the Law.
I try to make Him fit into my own understanding of spiritual warfare. I try to make Him fit into my idea of how victory should be accomplished.
But God doesn't fit into my box any more than He fit into the Pharisee's box.
In the next story in my reading this week the lame man did the same thing. He desired healing but he didn't think he could be healed because he knew that he couldn't, in his own power, make it to the bubbling waters of the pool of Bethesda in time for a miracle.
In the very presence of the Master Physician, the lame man was focused on what he knew and understood about his own situation. He didn't see how he could become victorious that day.
Jesus proved that the healing waters were not the only path to victory available to the lame man when he told him to stand up, pick up your mat, and walk.
I wonder how often I close my eyes to the possibilities of what God can do in my life because I can't see past what I know and understand about my own situation. I can't see how I can become victorious.
I can't see how I can overcome several spiritual strongholds together....but scripture says that the victory is already mine (I John 5:4).
I can't see how I can become a new creation overnight...but Paul wrote that I already am. The old has passed away and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).
I can't see....but the truth is right in front of my eyes....in the words of God that I claim to believe with all my heart.
The miracle of healing the lame man led to yet another discussion between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders.
Jesus attempted to explain to them that their own unbelief kept them from experiencing not only eternal life, but an abundance of life in their temporal lives. Their unbelief kept them from experiencing victory over death...and in life.
Jesus challenged those who most loudly proclaimed belief with their own lack of belief. He boldly told them that if they really believed what they claimed to believe, they would be able to hear the truth in the words He spoke and see the evidence of that truth in the miracles He performed.
I wonder how much the spiritual strongholds that the enemy occupies in my life have to do with my own belief....or lack thereof.
If I really believed that all things are possible, would I balk at God's instruction to overcome all of the spiritual strongholds He showed me this week?
I believe it's time for a new kind of normal in my life. It's time for a new day to dawn in my journey.
It's time for me quit trying to patch up my old struggles and begin today a new creation.
I cannot allow yesterday's defeats, or tomorrow's worries to shape who I am in Christ today. I can claim victory today over every spiritual stronghold of the enemy. And I can claim victory tomorrow. And the next day. One day at a time. If I will rely on God's ability and simply believe in the victory He's already given me.
I believe that every spiritual stronghold that Satan has occupied in my life is crumbling now under the weight of my belief.
I believe I am a new creation.
I believe I am victorious today.
That is the gift of faith in me.
(Journey: Mark 2:18-22; Matthew 9:14-17; Luke 5:33-39; John 5:1-47)
One morning this week in prayer I experienced a brief moment of clarity. In a second I became vividly aware of, not one or two, but several strongholds that I have allowed the enemy to occupy in my heart and in my mind.
As if a light switch had been suddenly turned on in my spirit, I saw areas of weakness where spiritual attacks are daily mounted by Satan...and won.
Throughout that day, as I went about my normal routine, my thoughts kept returning to these spiritual strongholds. I kept running them over in my mind. And each time I did, I could see how I had given my victory away day after day after day. I could clearly see how defeat had become a normal part of my everyday life.
By evening I was mad...at Satan....and at myself. And I began to wonder which stronghold I should concentrate on overcoming first. There was no clear answer, so I did what any Christian does when we realize that we can't figure something out on our own....I asked God.
I heard Him whisper, All of them.
I went to bed that night feeling more than a little overwhelmed, but as I read through scripture the next morning, I found something that put my experience in a little different perspective.
Jesus, when asked why His disciples weren't fasting though the Pharisees and John's disciples were, replied that the time would come when His disciples would fast.
Jesus went on to illustrate the difference between the Law and the new age of Grace that He was establishing saying, No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn't even match the old garment (Luke 5:36).
The picture Jesus painted in scripture made me think of my situation. In the brilliant light of truth, I saw the old shining through my life, and my first instinct was to reach for a single new patch.
But Jesus said that a patch would only make the problem worse. He continued by saying And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins (Mark 2:22).
All this time, I've been trying to put new wine into an old, patched up wineskin.I've been doing the same thing that the Pharisees tried to do. They tried to make Jesus fit into their understanding of the Law.
I try to make Him fit into my own understanding of spiritual warfare. I try to make Him fit into my idea of how victory should be accomplished.
But God doesn't fit into my box any more than He fit into the Pharisee's box.
In the next story in my reading this week the lame man did the same thing. He desired healing but he didn't think he could be healed because he knew that he couldn't, in his own power, make it to the bubbling waters of the pool of Bethesda in time for a miracle.
In the very presence of the Master Physician, the lame man was focused on what he knew and understood about his own situation. He didn't see how he could become victorious that day.
Jesus proved that the healing waters were not the only path to victory available to the lame man when he told him to stand up, pick up your mat, and walk.
I wonder how often I close my eyes to the possibilities of what God can do in my life because I can't see past what I know and understand about my own situation. I can't see how I can become victorious.
I can't see how I can overcome several spiritual strongholds together....but scripture says that the victory is already mine (I John 5:4).
I can't see how I can become a new creation overnight...but Paul wrote that I already am. The old has passed away and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).
I can't see....but the truth is right in front of my eyes....in the words of God that I claim to believe with all my heart.
The miracle of healing the lame man led to yet another discussion between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders.
Jesus attempted to explain to them that their own unbelief kept them from experiencing not only eternal life, but an abundance of life in their temporal lives. Their unbelief kept them from experiencing victory over death...and in life.
Jesus challenged those who most loudly proclaimed belief with their own lack of belief. He boldly told them that if they really believed what they claimed to believe, they would be able to hear the truth in the words He spoke and see the evidence of that truth in the miracles He performed.
I wonder how much the spiritual strongholds that the enemy occupies in my life have to do with my own belief....or lack thereof.
If I really believed that all things are possible, would I balk at God's instruction to overcome all of the spiritual strongholds He showed me this week?
I believe it's time for a new kind of normal in my life. It's time for a new day to dawn in my journey.
It's time for me quit trying to patch up my old struggles and begin today a new creation.
I cannot allow yesterday's defeats, or tomorrow's worries to shape who I am in Christ today. I can claim victory today over every spiritual stronghold of the enemy. And I can claim victory tomorrow. And the next day. One day at a time. If I will rely on God's ability and simply believe in the victory He's already given me.
I believe that every spiritual stronghold that Satan has occupied in my life is crumbling now under the weight of my belief.
I believe I am a new creation.
I believe I am victorious today.
That is the gift of faith in me.
(Journey: Mark 2:18-22; Matthew 9:14-17; Luke 5:33-39; John 5:1-47)
Monday, April 22, 2013
Willing Hearts
Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him, "I am willing," he said. "Be Healed!" (Mark 1:41)
When a leprous man knelt in front of Jesus and said Lord, if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean, Jesus answered, I am willing. Be healed!
There have been so many times in my life when I have knelt before God with seemingly impossible requests and have heard Him answer me in the same way. He has shown me over and over that He is not only able, but willing to work in my life in ways I never could have imagined.
But there have been other times....times when I have faced the realization that God was not willing to answer my request the way I desired.
I have a condition with my heart that causes it to beat too fast at times. There are medical procedures that could possibly heal it, if I would be willing to undergo them. But, so far, I have been unwilling.
Call me crazy, but I don't really want any doctor playing with my heart unless it's absolutely necessary.
On the other hand, however, I have asked God, at times to heal my heart to no avail. He is unwilling it seems to heal my heart physically.
I reason that it is because my heart issue has kept me tied closely to Him in a deeply personal way. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my heart is in His hands. I realize, perhaps more readily than those whose hearts are not slightly broken, that every precious beat is a gift from Him.
And when my heart gets a little out of rhythm, I turn to Him for comfort and peace.
I figure God isn't nearly as concerned with the physical condition of my heart as He is with the spiritual condition of it anyway. After all, we both know that if He was willing, He could heal it physically at any time.
But for God to heal my heart spiritually, I must be willing as well.
And that is what He truly wants of me. A willingness to allow Him access to the spiritual brokenness in my heart as readily as I do the physical brokenness there. He wants me to allow Him access to the spiritual part that needs a healing touch from Him the most.
I can almost hear Him whisper to me, If you are willing, I can heal your heart, and make it clean.... I can almost picture Jesus holding out His hand, waiting only for me to answer, I am willing. Heal my heart!
Though God may not offer us physical healing in every aspect of our lives, He offers us something so much better. He offers a spiritual healing that helps us to become more like Christ. And that is His desire for each of us in this life.
Shortly after Jesus healed the leprous man, scripture tells us the story of a paralyzed man whose friends tore through the roof of the house Jesus was teaching in to allow him access to the Master physician.
Jesus took one look at his broken heart and said to him, My child, your sins are forgiven.
He will say the same to us, if we are willing to bring our inherently wicked human hearts (Jeremiah 17:9) to Him for cleansing. But in order for us to be willing, we must recognize our need for cleansing...our need for repentance.
We must be willing to take our heart to Him no matter the obstacles that stand in our way.
We must be willing to tear through our pride and forget about what others may think of us.
We must be willing to tear through our shame and understand that He loves us anyway.
We must be willing to tear through our guilt and realize that He is calling us in spite of it.
We must be willing to kneel at the feet of Jesus with broken spirits and open hearts.
The paralyzed man was willing to do just that, but there were those in the crowd who weren't so willing. The religious leaders of the day were unwilling to see their own need for spiritual healing. They were unwilling to see Christ for who He was. And they remained as they were.
In the next story in scripture, we see those same religious leaders, unchanged, and still unwilling, as they question Jesus' decision to call the tax collector Matthew to follow Him in spite of His guilt.
Unable to see the brokenness of their own unclean hearts, they questioned Jesus' association with those they considered to be unclean sinners.
And Jesus answered them, I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.
And I pray, if my physically broken heart helps me to always remember my need for Christ, then Lord, let it remain broken.
Let it remain spiritually broken as well. As often as it needs to be to remind me of my desperate need for Christ's cleansing touch.
I don't want to be like the unchanged religious leaders. Broken. But unwilling to see their own brokenness.
I want to be one who knows my need of the Master physician. One who glimpses the brokenness of my own heart every day. Every moment if that's what it takes to keep me close to God.
I want to be one who see the brokenness of those around me so I'm not quick to judge them, but, rather, to show mercy and grace.
Jesus told the religious leaders to go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.
The sacrifice that God has always desired from His children is broken and repentant hearts brought to Him for a healing that only He can give. A spiritual healing that makes us more like Christ.
When we truly recognize our own need for His mercy, we will share that mercy with others.
We will become like the friends of the paralyzed men who tore through the ceiling to allow one sinner access to the Master physician.
We will bring others to Christ by the example of our own broken hearts.
We will be able to share with others the truth that we will undoubtedly learn for ourselves along the way -- The Lord is so very near to the brokenhearted (Psalms 34:18).
That is the gift of faith.
(Journey: Mark 1:40-45, 2:1-17; Matthew 8:1-4, 9:1-13; Luke 5:12-32)
When a leprous man knelt in front of Jesus and said Lord, if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean, Jesus answered, I am willing. Be healed!
There have been so many times in my life when I have knelt before God with seemingly impossible requests and have heard Him answer me in the same way. He has shown me over and over that He is not only able, but willing to work in my life in ways I never could have imagined.
But there have been other times....times when I have faced the realization that God was not willing to answer my request the way I desired.
I have a condition with my heart that causes it to beat too fast at times. There are medical procedures that could possibly heal it, if I would be willing to undergo them. But, so far, I have been unwilling.
Call me crazy, but I don't really want any doctor playing with my heart unless it's absolutely necessary.
On the other hand, however, I have asked God, at times to heal my heart to no avail. He is unwilling it seems to heal my heart physically.
I reason that it is because my heart issue has kept me tied closely to Him in a deeply personal way. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my heart is in His hands. I realize, perhaps more readily than those whose hearts are not slightly broken, that every precious beat is a gift from Him.
And when my heart gets a little out of rhythm, I turn to Him for comfort and peace.
I figure God isn't nearly as concerned with the physical condition of my heart as He is with the spiritual condition of it anyway. After all, we both know that if He was willing, He could heal it physically at any time.
But for God to heal my heart spiritually, I must be willing as well.
And that is what He truly wants of me. A willingness to allow Him access to the spiritual brokenness in my heart as readily as I do the physical brokenness there. He wants me to allow Him access to the spiritual part that needs a healing touch from Him the most.
I can almost hear Him whisper to me, If you are willing, I can heal your heart, and make it clean.... I can almost picture Jesus holding out His hand, waiting only for me to answer, I am willing. Heal my heart!
Though God may not offer us physical healing in every aspect of our lives, He offers us something so much better. He offers a spiritual healing that helps us to become more like Christ. And that is His desire for each of us in this life.
Shortly after Jesus healed the leprous man, scripture tells us the story of a paralyzed man whose friends tore through the roof of the house Jesus was teaching in to allow him access to the Master physician.
Jesus took one look at his broken heart and said to him, My child, your sins are forgiven.
He will say the same to us, if we are willing to bring our inherently wicked human hearts (Jeremiah 17:9) to Him for cleansing. But in order for us to be willing, we must recognize our need for cleansing...our need for repentance.
We must be willing to take our heart to Him no matter the obstacles that stand in our way.
We must be willing to tear through our pride and forget about what others may think of us.
We must be willing to tear through our shame and understand that He loves us anyway.
We must be willing to tear through our guilt and realize that He is calling us in spite of it.
We must be willing to kneel at the feet of Jesus with broken spirits and open hearts.
The paralyzed man was willing to do just that, but there were those in the crowd who weren't so willing. The religious leaders of the day were unwilling to see their own need for spiritual healing. They were unwilling to see Christ for who He was. And they remained as they were.
In the next story in scripture, we see those same religious leaders, unchanged, and still unwilling, as they question Jesus' decision to call the tax collector Matthew to follow Him in spite of His guilt.
Unable to see the brokenness of their own unclean hearts, they questioned Jesus' association with those they considered to be unclean sinners.
And Jesus answered them, I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.
And I pray, if my physically broken heart helps me to always remember my need for Christ, then Lord, let it remain broken.
Let it remain spiritually broken as well. As often as it needs to be to remind me of my desperate need for Christ's cleansing touch.
I don't want to be like the unchanged religious leaders. Broken. But unwilling to see their own brokenness.
I want to be one who knows my need of the Master physician. One who glimpses the brokenness of my own heart every day. Every moment if that's what it takes to keep me close to God.
I want to be one who see the brokenness of those around me so I'm not quick to judge them, but, rather, to show mercy and grace.
Jesus told the religious leaders to go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.
The sacrifice that God has always desired from His children is broken and repentant hearts brought to Him for a healing that only He can give. A spiritual healing that makes us more like Christ.
When we truly recognize our own need for His mercy, we will share that mercy with others.
We will become like the friends of the paralyzed men who tore through the ceiling to allow one sinner access to the Master physician.
We will bring others to Christ by the example of our own broken hearts.
We will be able to share with others the truth that we will undoubtedly learn for ourselves along the way -- The Lord is so very near to the brokenhearted (Psalms 34:18).
That is the gift of faith.
(Journey: Mark 1:40-45, 2:1-17; Matthew 8:1-4, 9:1-13; Luke 5:12-32)
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Walking through
...He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free...Luke 4:18
When I picked up my son this week from his second ever basketball practice, he was practically bubbling with excitement as he shared how much he had enjoyed the session.
A moment later, however, he added in a little less enthusiastic tone, that he had overheard another young man making fun of him for allowing the ball to get away from him.
As I encouraged TJ to let the negative comments of others roll off of his back, my thoughts turned to the scripture I had been reading only moments before as I sat waiting for him to come out of the gym. The story of Christ's trip to Nazareth where he was rejected by those who refused to see past His humble beginnings as the carpenter's son to the Son He had become.
The lesson I'm trying to teach my son, is a lesson I feel like I've learned anew lately. As I have struggled between a desire to please those around me and a desire to please God I have heard Him whisper to me over and over to let the negative comments of others roll off my back. He has urged me to define myself by what He says about me and to strive to please Him alone.
He illustrated this lesson for me in a new way, as I read about Jesus' short trip to Nazareth and his journey through Capernaum.
When Jesus taught in the synagogue at Nazareth, He spoke with an authority that was awe-inspiring even to those who would reject Him a few moments later.
Jesus exuded a confidence that is found when we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we are following the will of God in our lives. It is a confidence that I have had at times, but, one that has alluded me far more often than I would like.
It is a confidence, however, that I believe can be gained if we follow the example Christ set in the next few passages of scripture.
Shortly after Jesus proclaimed that He had been sent to fulfill Isaiah's prophecy that captives would be released, that the blind would see, and that the oppressed would be set free, He told the people of Nazareth that they would not experience the fulfillment of that prophecy as other areas had -- with miracles and a demonstration of His power and authority.
The revelation incited the people of Nazareth to hatred for Him. Scripture says that they mobbed Him and forced Him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push Him over the cliff, but He passed right through the crowd and went on His way.
It seems that the people of Nazareth very literally rolled off the back of the Messiah. Their hatred could not deter Him. Their words could not harm Him. Their hands could not touch Him. Jesus walked through them to where God was leading Him next.
When we live lives of bold faith, rejection will come. Often, unfortunately, it comes from those we expect it from the least. Those who know us best. Those we love the most. And those we most long to please.
We cannot allow the hatred of others to deter us from the path that God has called us to walk. We cannot allow the words of others to slice through our faith in God and His love for us. We cannot allow the sharp tongues of those who would harm us to come anywhere near our hearts and minds.
We must walk through them to get to where God is leading us next, but we do not have to allow them to push us into a pit of despair.
Jesus came to release us from the captivity that our desire to please man will bind us with. He came to open our eyes to the truth of His love for us, so that we can hold onto that in the moments when it seems as though no one else does. He came to set us free from the oppression of negative, hateful, discouraging words -- even when they fall from the lips of those He has called us to serve.
When Jesus left Nazareth, He traveled to Capernaum where he performed countless miracles including healing Simon Peter's mother-in-law, and casting a demon out of a man in the synagogue there.
Scripture tells us that in His time at Capernaum, Jesus cast out many demons. It also says that He refused to allow them to speak. Scripture indicates that the demons were attempting to tell the people that Jesus was the Messiah, which seems reasonable enough, but, still, Jesus would not allow them to speak at all.
Jesus would not allow the demons to define Him, as Messiah, or as anything or anyone else. We could learn a lesson from His approach to the enemy.
Satan might start out with a nugget of truth to get us to listen to him, but it doesn't take long for him to begin to twist that truth. To lie. To deceive us into allowing him to define us as hopeless sinners, irredeemable failures or miserable outcasts.
When we allow the enemy to speak at all in our lives, we run the risk of allowing him to define us as something we are not, in Christ.
We must do as Jesus did. Refuse to listen to the first words out of the enemy's mouth. Cut him off before he ever says a word. Refuse to allow him to speak into our lives, hearts, or minds.
When I notice my boys portraying a negative image of themselves, I remind them to tell Satan to Get Back! We don't have to listen to the voice of the enemy in our lives. The second he begins to whisper doubt or fear, we can command him to Get Back! by the same authority Jesus commanded the demons in scripture.
We must not allow the enemy to define us in any way.
Ironically, sometimes those who approve of us, can be just as detrimental to our walk of faith, as those who reject us.
Jesus had an amazing few days in Capernaum, but when it was time to leave, He had to walk through another group of people. But they weren't trying to kill Him. On the contrary, they were begging Him to stay.
I imagine that it hurt Jesus worse to leave those who loved Him, than to endure the rejection of those who didn't.
In fact, those who know me best, know that this example hits very close to home. When Toby and I realized that God was leading us from one church to another, the journey became one of the most difficult we have endured in our walk of faith.
Walking through those who love us, into the unknown, and following God somewhere new, is not an easy task.
But, Jesus did it.
Jesus walked through those who rejected him, and He refused to listen to an enemy that wanted to define Him, so that He could follow God where ever He led.
And, if we will keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), we can do the same.
(Journey: Luke 4:16-44; Mark 1:21-39; Matthew 8:14-17, 23-25)
When I picked up my son this week from his second ever basketball practice, he was practically bubbling with excitement as he shared how much he had enjoyed the session.
A moment later, however, he added in a little less enthusiastic tone, that he had overheard another young man making fun of him for allowing the ball to get away from him.
As I encouraged TJ to let the negative comments of others roll off of his back, my thoughts turned to the scripture I had been reading only moments before as I sat waiting for him to come out of the gym. The story of Christ's trip to Nazareth where he was rejected by those who refused to see past His humble beginnings as the carpenter's son to the Son He had become.
The lesson I'm trying to teach my son, is a lesson I feel like I've learned anew lately. As I have struggled between a desire to please those around me and a desire to please God I have heard Him whisper to me over and over to let the negative comments of others roll off my back. He has urged me to define myself by what He says about me and to strive to please Him alone.
He illustrated this lesson for me in a new way, as I read about Jesus' short trip to Nazareth and his journey through Capernaum.
When Jesus taught in the synagogue at Nazareth, He spoke with an authority that was awe-inspiring even to those who would reject Him a few moments later.
Jesus exuded a confidence that is found when we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we are following the will of God in our lives. It is a confidence that I have had at times, but, one that has alluded me far more often than I would like.
It is a confidence, however, that I believe can be gained if we follow the example Christ set in the next few passages of scripture.
Shortly after Jesus proclaimed that He had been sent to fulfill Isaiah's prophecy that captives would be released, that the blind would see, and that the oppressed would be set free, He told the people of Nazareth that they would not experience the fulfillment of that prophecy as other areas had -- with miracles and a demonstration of His power and authority.
The revelation incited the people of Nazareth to hatred for Him. Scripture says that they mobbed Him and forced Him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push Him over the cliff, but He passed right through the crowd and went on His way.
It seems that the people of Nazareth very literally rolled off the back of the Messiah. Their hatred could not deter Him. Their words could not harm Him. Their hands could not touch Him. Jesus walked through them to where God was leading Him next.
When we live lives of bold faith, rejection will come. Often, unfortunately, it comes from those we expect it from the least. Those who know us best. Those we love the most. And those we most long to please.
We cannot allow the hatred of others to deter us from the path that God has called us to walk. We cannot allow the words of others to slice through our faith in God and His love for us. We cannot allow the sharp tongues of those who would harm us to come anywhere near our hearts and minds.
We must walk through them to get to where God is leading us next, but we do not have to allow them to push us into a pit of despair.
Jesus came to release us from the captivity that our desire to please man will bind us with. He came to open our eyes to the truth of His love for us, so that we can hold onto that in the moments when it seems as though no one else does. He came to set us free from the oppression of negative, hateful, discouraging words -- even when they fall from the lips of those He has called us to serve.
When Jesus left Nazareth, He traveled to Capernaum where he performed countless miracles including healing Simon Peter's mother-in-law, and casting a demon out of a man in the synagogue there.
Scripture tells us that in His time at Capernaum, Jesus cast out many demons. It also says that He refused to allow them to speak. Scripture indicates that the demons were attempting to tell the people that Jesus was the Messiah, which seems reasonable enough, but, still, Jesus would not allow them to speak at all.
Jesus would not allow the demons to define Him, as Messiah, or as anything or anyone else. We could learn a lesson from His approach to the enemy.
Satan might start out with a nugget of truth to get us to listen to him, but it doesn't take long for him to begin to twist that truth. To lie. To deceive us into allowing him to define us as hopeless sinners, irredeemable failures or miserable outcasts.
When we allow the enemy to speak at all in our lives, we run the risk of allowing him to define us as something we are not, in Christ.
We must do as Jesus did. Refuse to listen to the first words out of the enemy's mouth. Cut him off before he ever says a word. Refuse to allow him to speak into our lives, hearts, or minds.
When I notice my boys portraying a negative image of themselves, I remind them to tell Satan to Get Back! We don't have to listen to the voice of the enemy in our lives. The second he begins to whisper doubt or fear, we can command him to Get Back! by the same authority Jesus commanded the demons in scripture.
We must not allow the enemy to define us in any way.
Ironically, sometimes those who approve of us, can be just as detrimental to our walk of faith, as those who reject us.
Jesus had an amazing few days in Capernaum, but when it was time to leave, He had to walk through another group of people. But they weren't trying to kill Him. On the contrary, they were begging Him to stay.
I imagine that it hurt Jesus worse to leave those who loved Him, than to endure the rejection of those who didn't.
In fact, those who know me best, know that this example hits very close to home. When Toby and I realized that God was leading us from one church to another, the journey became one of the most difficult we have endured in our walk of faith.
Walking through those who love us, into the unknown, and following God somewhere new, is not an easy task.
But, Jesus did it.
Jesus walked through those who rejected him, and He refused to listen to an enemy that wanted to define Him, so that He could follow God where ever He led.
And, if we will keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), we can do the same.
(Journey: Luke 4:16-44; Mark 1:21-39; Matthew 8:14-17, 23-25)
Friday, April 12, 2013
Moments
And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus....(Luke 5:11)
Last year my husband lost his cousin, best friend and mentor in a single moment. A split second of time took one life and changed countless others when two people tragically crossed paths.
In the days, weeks, and months that followed, we marveled over and over at how many different lives could be so dramatically impacted in a single moment of time.
So many lives were changed forever.
As I continued reading in the New Testament this week, I was struck by the different moments that left people changed.
John the Baptist became a prisoner of man in his service to God. The people of Zebulan and Naphtali saw a great light. The entire household of a government official believed in Jesus. And Peter, Andrew, James and John left everything they knew to follow Christ.
So many lives were changed in a series of brief moments.
When John the Baptist told his disciples that he must become less and Jesus must become more, I somehow doubt that prison was what he had in mind for his lesser journey.
When he was arrested, I wonder if he questioned God, as I have so often done in the difficult moments of my life. I wonder if his faith faltered just a little bit. Knowing that from his prison cell, he sent men to ask Christ if he truly was the Messiah, after he, himself, had earlier proclaimed it, makes me think it did....at least a little.
Circumstances that we just don't understand have a way of making us question things we already know and believe. Moments that bring sorrow, confusion, and pain have a way of making us question our faith.
But I've learned the same lesson I'm sure John the Baptist learned inside the confines of his cell. When our broken heart doesn't understand and we ask God WHY with a pure heart of faltering faith, that question is not a sign of disrespect or unbelief, but it is an open invitation for Him to speak personally to us -- to gift us with a more complete faith based on an intimate relationship with Him.
In the prison cells of our lives -- in the moments of darkness brought on by grief and pain that we cannot begin to understand -- faith is tested. And if we come out the other side with our faith intact, we are changed for it. We become more faithful and more faith-full.
We become more like Christ -- willing to follow where ever God leads us. Into darkness, into light, and, even into the sometimes obscure places where we become God's light.
Jesus followed into the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali after John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod. Scripture is lacking in details about His brief stroll beyond the Jordan River, but it was prophesied by Isaiah and recorded by Matthew for a reason.
Maybe a Bible scholar could explain why it was important for Jesus to travel into the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali and shine His light there for the people who sat in darkness. I can't. But what I do recognize in this portion of scripture is that there was significance in this seemingly insignificant stroll beyond the Jordan River.
It was meaningful to God. It was significant to His plan. I may not understand it, but God does.
There are so many moments in my life like this. Detours I don't expect or understand. Journeys that make little, or no, sense to me. Moments that seem insignificant.
But what I'm learning about God as I mature in years and faith is that every moment of my life has significance. Every breath has purpose. Every split second of my life is a part of His magnificent plan.
I can choose to make the monotonous moments of motherhood meaningful....or mundane. I can choose to make continual chores a time of self-pity....or a time of prayer and praise.
I can choose to shine in the seemingly insignificant moments of my life, or I can fade into the darkness around me unchanged by my faith.
Lord, help me to choose each moment to shine.
And then there are moments in our lives, where God shines brilliantly, and the glory of His presence brings an overwhelming faith to us.
Like the moment when Jesus told the government official that his son would live though he had been about to die only moments before. The miracle that inspired his entire household to believe happened the moment Jesus spoke to him -- the moment his son's life was changed.
Moments like these build our faith, so that we can walk through the rising tides in the difficult moments of life.
Moments when we hear God speak personally to us. When we see Him move in our lives in miraculous ways. When belief and faith come easily, because Jesus is so obviously present in the moment.
I've experienced plenty of these moments, but I'm always amazed at how quickly I seem to forget about them when trials come or when routine takes over my days.
Lord help me to remember the moments of Your glory in my life.
When Jesus taught the crowd on Simon Peter's boat and then performed a miracle -- calling an abundance of fish out of an empty sea -- Peter, Andrew, James and John were changed in a moment.
They were awestruck and amazed by God, and scripture says they left everything and followed Jesus.
It's easy to be awestruck by the miracles of God in the moments they occur. It's easy to be amazed when He shows up in an undeniable moment of glory.
But, in order to leave everything and follow Jesus, we must learn to carry these moments with us, in our hearts and in our minds, as life preservers of faith that we can hold onto when the tides of tragedy, the endless waves of routine, and all the other difficult moments of life threaten to overwhelm us.
Jesus promised that when we followed Him, there would be difficult moments, and I, for one, can testify to that fact.
But, looking back, over the difficult moments of my life, I can see that those are the ones that changed me the most, because those are the moments that I had to choose to grab onto my faith with both hands.
From this perspective I can see that God has used the difficult moments to draw me closer to Him in ways I would never have chosen, but can see by faith are for His glory and His plan.
These are the moments that have taught me to look toward heaven in a different kind of light.
These are the moments that have changed my heart and my life.
These are the moments that I have unwrapped the gift of faith for myself.
(Journey: Luke 3:19-23, 5:1-11; Matthew 4:12-22; Mark 1:14-20; John 4:46-54)
Last year my husband lost his cousin, best friend and mentor in a single moment. A split second of time took one life and changed countless others when two people tragically crossed paths.
In the days, weeks, and months that followed, we marveled over and over at how many different lives could be so dramatically impacted in a single moment of time.
So many lives were changed forever.
As I continued reading in the New Testament this week, I was struck by the different moments that left people changed.
John the Baptist became a prisoner of man in his service to God. The people of Zebulan and Naphtali saw a great light. The entire household of a government official believed in Jesus. And Peter, Andrew, James and John left everything they knew to follow Christ.
So many lives were changed in a series of brief moments.
When John the Baptist told his disciples that he must become less and Jesus must become more, I somehow doubt that prison was what he had in mind for his lesser journey.
When he was arrested, I wonder if he questioned God, as I have so often done in the difficult moments of my life. I wonder if his faith faltered just a little bit. Knowing that from his prison cell, he sent men to ask Christ if he truly was the Messiah, after he, himself, had earlier proclaimed it, makes me think it did....at least a little.
Circumstances that we just don't understand have a way of making us question things we already know and believe. Moments that bring sorrow, confusion, and pain have a way of making us question our faith.
But I've learned the same lesson I'm sure John the Baptist learned inside the confines of his cell. When our broken heart doesn't understand and we ask God WHY with a pure heart of faltering faith, that question is not a sign of disrespect or unbelief, but it is an open invitation for Him to speak personally to us -- to gift us with a more complete faith based on an intimate relationship with Him.
In the prison cells of our lives -- in the moments of darkness brought on by grief and pain that we cannot begin to understand -- faith is tested. And if we come out the other side with our faith intact, we are changed for it. We become more faithful and more faith-full.
We become more like Christ -- willing to follow where ever God leads us. Into darkness, into light, and, even into the sometimes obscure places where we become God's light.
Jesus followed into the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali after John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod. Scripture is lacking in details about His brief stroll beyond the Jordan River, but it was prophesied by Isaiah and recorded by Matthew for a reason.
Maybe a Bible scholar could explain why it was important for Jesus to travel into the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali and shine His light there for the people who sat in darkness. I can't. But what I do recognize in this portion of scripture is that there was significance in this seemingly insignificant stroll beyond the Jordan River.
It was meaningful to God. It was significant to His plan. I may not understand it, but God does.
There are so many moments in my life like this. Detours I don't expect or understand. Journeys that make little, or no, sense to me. Moments that seem insignificant.
But what I'm learning about God as I mature in years and faith is that every moment of my life has significance. Every breath has purpose. Every split second of my life is a part of His magnificent plan.
I can choose to make the monotonous moments of motherhood meaningful....or mundane. I can choose to make continual chores a time of self-pity....or a time of prayer and praise.
I can choose to shine in the seemingly insignificant moments of my life, or I can fade into the darkness around me unchanged by my faith.
Lord, help me to choose each moment to shine.
And then there are moments in our lives, where God shines brilliantly, and the glory of His presence brings an overwhelming faith to us.
Like the moment when Jesus told the government official that his son would live though he had been about to die only moments before. The miracle that inspired his entire household to believe happened the moment Jesus spoke to him -- the moment his son's life was changed.
Moments like these build our faith, so that we can walk through the rising tides in the difficult moments of life.
Moments when we hear God speak personally to us. When we see Him move in our lives in miraculous ways. When belief and faith come easily, because Jesus is so obviously present in the moment.
I've experienced plenty of these moments, but I'm always amazed at how quickly I seem to forget about them when trials come or when routine takes over my days.
Lord help me to remember the moments of Your glory in my life.
When Jesus taught the crowd on Simon Peter's boat and then performed a miracle -- calling an abundance of fish out of an empty sea -- Peter, Andrew, James and John were changed in a moment.
They were awestruck and amazed by God, and scripture says they left everything and followed Jesus.
It's easy to be awestruck by the miracles of God in the moments they occur. It's easy to be amazed when He shows up in an undeniable moment of glory.
But, in order to leave everything and follow Jesus, we must learn to carry these moments with us, in our hearts and in our minds, as life preservers of faith that we can hold onto when the tides of tragedy, the endless waves of routine, and all the other difficult moments of life threaten to overwhelm us.
Jesus promised that when we followed Him, there would be difficult moments, and I, for one, can testify to that fact.
But, looking back, over the difficult moments of my life, I can see that those are the ones that changed me the most, because those are the moments that I had to choose to grab onto my faith with both hands.
From this perspective I can see that God has used the difficult moments to draw me closer to Him in ways I would never have chosen, but can see by faith are for His glory and His plan.
These are the moments that have taught me to look toward heaven in a different kind of light.
These are the moments that have changed my heart and my life.
These are the moments that I have unwrapped the gift of faith for myself.
(Journey: Luke 3:19-23, 5:1-11; Matthew 4:12-22; Mark 1:14-20; John 4:46-54)
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Brave Enough
The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, "Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did!"... John 4:28-29
When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, He was weary. He was hungry. And He was thirsty. So was she...
She was weary of the judgement of others. She was hungry for acceptance. For someone to see her for who she really was and still consider her worthy. She was thirsty for more than the water she had come in search of. She was thirsty for truth in her life.
But she was also afraid.
She was afraid to endure the judgement from the other villagers during the daily gathering at the well. She was afraid to brush shoulders with those who saw her for who she really was and didn't accept her. She was afraid to face the people who knew the truth about her life.
So she went to the well alone, at noon, when no one else would be there.
But Jesus was there. And He actually spoke to her. Like she was a worthy person. He told her the truth about herself, like He had known her all her life. She didn't have to hide anything from Him. In fact, she quickly realized that she couldn't hide anything from Him. Yet, He spoke to her anyway. He accepted her anyway. He didn't judge her.
And she was changed.
By the truth that He was the Messiah. By the truth that He knew the truth about her, and considered her worthy in spite of it. By the truth that He refused to pass judgement on her, even though, by all accounts, she deserved it.
She was strengthened. She was spiritually nourished with acceptance and truth. And she became brave.
Brave enough to face the truth of her life. To see her own sins, and then to see past them, to what Jesus saw in her -- worth. Value that she had never seen before because she had never been brave enough to see past her own sins.
Sometimes I make faith all about myself. I spend so much time and effort trying to change into the person I think God wants me to be. Trying to make myself better -- worthy. I set noble goals, but I realize they have a self-centered focus.
Scripture doesn't tell us that the Samaritan women went home and moved her boyfriend out of her house and cleaned up her life. It doesn't say that she worked to change herself, or to make herself worthy. No. She saw her worth in Christ, and she went to work for Him. Not herself.
She spread the message of Christ. She shared Him with her entire village. Deeply entrenched in her sins, she shared the victory over them, because she realized that a living a cleaner life didn't make her more worthy to share Christ. She was worthy because of Christ -- not herself. Not anything she did, or didn't do.
Lord help me to see my worth in You, not in anything I've done....or haven't done.
The Samaritan woman was brave enough to believe that God was looking for someone like her. A sinner. A failure at marriage. A failure at relationships. A failure at life....But someone who was willing to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Someone who was willing to share Him with the world in spite of her own shortcomings. In spite of her own failures. In spite of her own sins.
God was looking for someone brave enough to endure judgement from those who would refuse to see past her sins. He was looking for someone brave enough to face exclusion from those who would refuse to see her worth in Christ.
He still is today. He is looking for people like the Samaritan woman who will run to the world and share Christ in spite of themselves.
The Samaritan woman ran back to the village. To the same people she had been avoiding only moments before, and shared Christ. Scripture says her message was that Jesus had told her everything she ever did. Every time she spoke those words, it must have reminded herself, and those she spoke to, of all her many sins -- everything she had ever done.
But she did it anyway, because she was no longer afraid of their judgement. She was no longer hungry for their acceptance. She had found all she needed in Christ, alone -- truth.
Truth of her sins. Truth of her worth. Truth of her Savior. Their Savior. The Savior of the world.
The change in her must have been evident to them, because scripture says they streamed towards Christ. Because they too were weary, and hungry, and thirsty. They needed to hear truth for themselves. They needed to hear Christ speak to them, personally. And they did.
Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world."....John 4:42
They heard Him for themselves, because she was brave enough to share Him with them. We don't have to think that we must convince anyone of Christ's existence. We don't have to prove to anyone that He is the Savior of the world. Our job is to share Christ. To introduce others to Him. He will do the rest. He will speak to them, as He speaks to us.
Lord, help me to share You in spite of my own sins and to face the judgement that will surely fall from the lips of those who judge.
After the Samaritan woman left, but before the villagers arrived at the well, Jesus, refreshed and nourished from doing the will of God, told his disciples to wake up and look around because the fields are ripe for harvest.
The fields are still ripe. Souls are still waiting to hear. Your story. My story. Christ's story.
We don't have to live a perfect life to be used of God.
We don't have to clean up our own sins before we can be a witness to others.
We just have to be brave enough to share Christ with those around us.
That is the gift of faith in us.
(Journey: John 4:1-45)
When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, He was weary. He was hungry. And He was thirsty. So was she...
She was weary of the judgement of others. She was hungry for acceptance. For someone to see her for who she really was and still consider her worthy. She was thirsty for more than the water she had come in search of. She was thirsty for truth in her life.
But she was also afraid.
She was afraid to endure the judgement from the other villagers during the daily gathering at the well. She was afraid to brush shoulders with those who saw her for who she really was and didn't accept her. She was afraid to face the people who knew the truth about her life.
So she went to the well alone, at noon, when no one else would be there.
But Jesus was there. And He actually spoke to her. Like she was a worthy person. He told her the truth about herself, like He had known her all her life. She didn't have to hide anything from Him. In fact, she quickly realized that she couldn't hide anything from Him. Yet, He spoke to her anyway. He accepted her anyway. He didn't judge her.
And she was changed.
By the truth that He was the Messiah. By the truth that He knew the truth about her, and considered her worthy in spite of it. By the truth that He refused to pass judgement on her, even though, by all accounts, she deserved it.
She was strengthened. She was spiritually nourished with acceptance and truth. And she became brave.
Brave enough to face the truth of her life. To see her own sins, and then to see past them, to what Jesus saw in her -- worth. Value that she had never seen before because she had never been brave enough to see past her own sins.
Sometimes I make faith all about myself. I spend so much time and effort trying to change into the person I think God wants me to be. Trying to make myself better -- worthy. I set noble goals, but I realize they have a self-centered focus.
Scripture doesn't tell us that the Samaritan women went home and moved her boyfriend out of her house and cleaned up her life. It doesn't say that she worked to change herself, or to make herself worthy. No. She saw her worth in Christ, and she went to work for Him. Not herself.
She spread the message of Christ. She shared Him with her entire village. Deeply entrenched in her sins, she shared the victory over them, because she realized that a living a cleaner life didn't make her more worthy to share Christ. She was worthy because of Christ -- not herself. Not anything she did, or didn't do.
Lord help me to see my worth in You, not in anything I've done....or haven't done.
The Samaritan woman was brave enough to believe that God was looking for someone like her. A sinner. A failure at marriage. A failure at relationships. A failure at life....But someone who was willing to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Someone who was willing to share Him with the world in spite of her own shortcomings. In spite of her own failures. In spite of her own sins.
God was looking for someone brave enough to endure judgement from those who would refuse to see past her sins. He was looking for someone brave enough to face exclusion from those who would refuse to see her worth in Christ.
He still is today. He is looking for people like the Samaritan woman who will run to the world and share Christ in spite of themselves.
The Samaritan woman ran back to the village. To the same people she had been avoiding only moments before, and shared Christ. Scripture says her message was that Jesus had told her everything she ever did. Every time she spoke those words, it must have reminded herself, and those she spoke to, of all her many sins -- everything she had ever done.
But she did it anyway, because she was no longer afraid of their judgement. She was no longer hungry for their acceptance. She had found all she needed in Christ, alone -- truth.
Truth of her sins. Truth of her worth. Truth of her Savior. Their Savior. The Savior of the world.
The change in her must have been evident to them, because scripture says they streamed towards Christ. Because they too were weary, and hungry, and thirsty. They needed to hear truth for themselves. They needed to hear Christ speak to them, personally. And they did.
Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world."....John 4:42
They heard Him for themselves, because she was brave enough to share Him with them. We don't have to think that we must convince anyone of Christ's existence. We don't have to prove to anyone that He is the Savior of the world. Our job is to share Christ. To introduce others to Him. He will do the rest. He will speak to them, as He speaks to us.
Lord, help me to share You in spite of my own sins and to face the judgement that will surely fall from the lips of those who judge.
After the Samaritan woman left, but before the villagers arrived at the well, Jesus, refreshed and nourished from doing the will of God, told his disciples to wake up and look around because the fields are ripe for harvest.
The fields are still ripe. Souls are still waiting to hear. Your story. My story. Christ's story.
We don't have to live a perfect life to be used of God.
We don't have to clean up our own sins before we can be a witness to others.
We just have to be brave enough to share Christ with those around us.
That is the gift of faith in us.
(Journey: John 4:1-45)
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Winds of Change
For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.....John 3:16
In the third chapter of the book of John, we find Jesus speaking with Nicodemus. A Pharisee. A religious leader who practiced and taught the Jewish Law.
In trying to explain the concept of grace to a man entrenched in religion, Jesus spoke words that would become the most well-known verse of scripture. For God so loved....
I read a few years ago that while John 3:16 had for a long time been the most quoted verse of scripture, it was quickly being replaced by Matthew 7:1. Judge not, that you be not judged.
It's funny how the winds of change blow through time, but the human struggle remains the same. The struggle to believe that God could really love people who don't deserve to be loved. To believe in grace and mercy. For ourselves, and for all the rest of the undeserving world.
Jesus told Nicodemus that the Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness to save the children of Israel.
The cross of Calvary must be lifted higher than than our pride. Higher than our heartache. Higher than our guilt. Higher than our sins.....and higher than the sins of others too.
So that when the world sees the Church lift the cross of Calvary, they see in us the words Christ spoke after John 3:16. The words of John 3:17. For God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
For God so loved so that we, the Church could concentrate on spreading the message of grace and mercy.....and change. So that we could lift the Cross high above our sins and their sins as well and make love, not sin, the focus of our testimony. The focus of our lives.
The winds of change blew in the New Testament, but the Old Testament still reigns in many of our hearts as we strive to deserve a salvation that is undeserved. A salvation that is built on grace, mercy, and love. A salvation that is freely offered to even the most undeserving among us.
Later in the same chapter of scripture, John the Baptist's disciples came to him with concerns that Jesus was becoming more important than he was. John replied, He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
Basically, John said, I was sent to help raise Him up. We are all called to do the same thing.
We must lift the cross higher and higher. So that all the world will see Him, not us. His power, not our discipline. His strength, not our weakness.
We must think less and less of ourselves. We must not think too highly of ourselves. When we think that we are deserving of anything that we've been given, we begin to judge those around us. We lower the cross and raise ourselves.
Lord help me to lift You up to the world around me. Help me to show them grace, mercy and love....not judgement
In his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus said, The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit.
The Spirit blows through humanity. It changes hearts in ways that cannot be explained to others. It inspires belief. It gives faith. It cannot be measured. It cannot be evaluated. It just is.....or isn't. But whether it is or isn't present in a heart is not for us to judge or attempt to explain.
The seasons of life change. Even with the power of the Spirit inside us, we are all still human. Even those who house the Spirit of God, can appear to us to be windblown sinners instead of Windblown saints.
We must never assume that anyone is lost, only God knows their heart. But we must act as though everyone around us is lost and needs to see Jesus lifted up like the bronze snake in the wilderness. High above their sins. High above their despair. High above their struggles.
So that they can be saved.
John, in speaking to his disciples, said, Anyone who accepts Jesus' testimony can affirm that God is true. God will open the eyes of all who look to Jesus. We must help others to see Him. To see Jesus on Calvary high above the world.
Lord help me to be quick to share the message of salvation, but oh so slow to judge the state of another's heart.
Jesus also said to Nicodemus, All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.
As we attempt to lift up Jesus in our lives, our closeness to Calvary will allow His light to shine on our lives. His truth will fall on our own sins. Our own shortcomings. Exposing them, for all the world to see.
In those moments of exposure by the light, we are faced with a choice.
We can lower the cross and keep our sins hidden, or we can become courageous Christians. Unafraid to allow the world around us to see our own unworthiness. Unafraid to allow others to see that God is still working in us. Through us. In spite of our sins.
We can be the same people we have always been, or we can be changed by our nearness to the cross as we lift it high above our own pride. Our own fear. Our own selves.
Nicodemus was changed.
We can be as well.
Lord help me to be changed. Help me to see my own sins in your light, and to be unafraid to allow others to see them as well. Help me to live by example. Help me to live by faith in your power to change me and everyone around me.
That is what God wants the world to see in my life.
That is my testimony.
That is the gift of faith in me.
(Journey: John 3:1-36)
In the third chapter of the book of John, we find Jesus speaking with Nicodemus. A Pharisee. A religious leader who practiced and taught the Jewish Law.
In trying to explain the concept of grace to a man entrenched in religion, Jesus spoke words that would become the most well-known verse of scripture. For God so loved....
I read a few years ago that while John 3:16 had for a long time been the most quoted verse of scripture, it was quickly being replaced by Matthew 7:1. Judge not, that you be not judged.
It's funny how the winds of change blow through time, but the human struggle remains the same. The struggle to believe that God could really love people who don't deserve to be loved. To believe in grace and mercy. For ourselves, and for all the rest of the undeserving world.
Jesus told Nicodemus that the Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness to save the children of Israel.
The cross of Calvary must be lifted higher than than our pride. Higher than our heartache. Higher than our guilt. Higher than our sins.....and higher than the sins of others too.
So that when the world sees the Church lift the cross of Calvary, they see in us the words Christ spoke after John 3:16. The words of John 3:17. For God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
For God so loved so that we, the Church could concentrate on spreading the message of grace and mercy.....and change. So that we could lift the Cross high above our sins and their sins as well and make love, not sin, the focus of our testimony. The focus of our lives.
The winds of change blew in the New Testament, but the Old Testament still reigns in many of our hearts as we strive to deserve a salvation that is undeserved. A salvation that is built on grace, mercy, and love. A salvation that is freely offered to even the most undeserving among us.
Later in the same chapter of scripture, John the Baptist's disciples came to him with concerns that Jesus was becoming more important than he was. John replied, He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
Basically, John said, I was sent to help raise Him up. We are all called to do the same thing.
We must lift the cross higher and higher. So that all the world will see Him, not us. His power, not our discipline. His strength, not our weakness.
We must think less and less of ourselves. We must not think too highly of ourselves. When we think that we are deserving of anything that we've been given, we begin to judge those around us. We lower the cross and raise ourselves.
Lord help me to lift You up to the world around me. Help me to show them grace, mercy and love....not judgement
In his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus said, The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit.
The Spirit blows through humanity. It changes hearts in ways that cannot be explained to others. It inspires belief. It gives faith. It cannot be measured. It cannot be evaluated. It just is.....or isn't. But whether it is or isn't present in a heart is not for us to judge or attempt to explain.
The seasons of life change. Even with the power of the Spirit inside us, we are all still human. Even those who house the Spirit of God, can appear to us to be windblown sinners instead of Windblown saints.
We must never assume that anyone is lost, only God knows their heart. But we must act as though everyone around us is lost and needs to see Jesus lifted up like the bronze snake in the wilderness. High above their sins. High above their despair. High above their struggles.
So that they can be saved.
John, in speaking to his disciples, said, Anyone who accepts Jesus' testimony can affirm that God is true. God will open the eyes of all who look to Jesus. We must help others to see Him. To see Jesus on Calvary high above the world.
Lord help me to be quick to share the message of salvation, but oh so slow to judge the state of another's heart.
Jesus also said to Nicodemus, All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.
As we attempt to lift up Jesus in our lives, our closeness to Calvary will allow His light to shine on our lives. His truth will fall on our own sins. Our own shortcomings. Exposing them, for all the world to see.
In those moments of exposure by the light, we are faced with a choice.
We can lower the cross and keep our sins hidden, or we can become courageous Christians. Unafraid to allow the world around us to see our own unworthiness. Unafraid to allow others to see that God is still working in us. Through us. In spite of our sins.
We can be the same people we have always been, or we can be changed by our nearness to the cross as we lift it high above our own pride. Our own fear. Our own selves.
Nicodemus was changed.
We can be as well.
Lord help me to be changed. Help me to see my own sins in your light, and to be unafraid to allow others to see them as well. Help me to live by example. Help me to live by faith in your power to change me and everyone around me.
That is what God wants the world to see in my life.
That is my testimony.
That is the gift of faith in me.
(Journey: John 3:1-36)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)