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The Crucifixion: ‘Behold Thy Mother’ - William Blake, Creative Commons
“When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.” – John 19:26-27
Jesus was living through the darkest moment of His life. Lesser men would have thought only of their pain. One of the men being crucified with Him could only curse and fix blame on others. Jesus could only love for love had taken Him to that cross.
He looked down from Him place of suffering and saw His mother. He remembered how she had exercised faith in welcoming the Holy Spirit’s work in her life as she had conceived Him. He remembered how she had traveled so many miles with Joseph to Bethlehem for His birth and how they had fled to Egypt, far away from home and family, to protect His life from Herod. He remembered how she and Joseph had despaired when they misplaced Him in the Temple when He was a boy. He remembered her sacrificial love and the warm home she had made for Him and His brothers. He reflected on her grace and humble service. She had cherished the memories of His birth and life in her heart all these years. She had raised her children, taught them the things of God. She had buried a husband and she had left all to follow Her son, the Son of God as one of His disciples.
She was His mother and He loved her from the cross. And so, in one of His last earthly human deeds, He presided over an adoption,
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple … - Luke 16:19
Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! – John 19:5
When I see purple I think of Lydia who, in the book of Acts, was known as the dealer of purple.
Purple was a precious commodity, the garment of royalty, the symbol of wealth.
Purple is a featured color in the Lenten season as we meditate on the road to the cross that Jesus trod.
It is also an element of two of Jesus’ teachings, one that he spoke and another that he lived. One was a parable and the other was a reality.
Jesus spoke of a rich man, clothed in purple, who died and discovered that all he had valued and cherished in life was worthless in light of a Godless eternity. This man begged for a drop of water and someone to warn his brothers. He was simply called, “a certain rich man.”
Later, Jesus would also ask for a sip of water, from the cross. Just prior to that pivotal event in salvation history, Jesus was paraded before Pilate clothed in purple. The soldiers were mocking His message of a spiritual kingdom that transcended all human kingdoms.
Jesus wore the purple unwillingly on His willing path to bear the shame of the world for our salvation.
The rich man wore it with a prideful heart proclaiming his superiority and gaining nothing.
The psalmist either had a short sighted view of God, an over-inflated sense of his own righteousness (and that f his people), a limited perspective, all of the above, some of the above mixed together, or an insight into how things are in the real world -- that both the righteous and the unrighteous suffer.
Some suffering comes inevitably as a natural consequence of making poor choices.
Some suffering comes because we make right choices. MLK called that redemptive.
Some suffering comes because we all breath common air or because other people make poor choices in a world where we breath common air, or because we wore purple on Friday or for some other random or intentional purpose.
Some suffering comes to shape, better, or enrich us.
In any event, we all suffer and no one theological, philosophical, biblical, moral, or scientific explanation can account for all of it.
Then, there was the ultimate suffering and it was willing, intentional, and purposeful. Against that, we measure all of ours.
" All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant. Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way; yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death. If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart. Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.” – I Corinthians 11:26
As we eat and drink earthy elements of simple substance, we proclaim an eternal truth that transcends all formality and exalts the lowliest of deeds to the loftiest meaning.
Every day, we take a little nourishment to feed our bodies and drink a little something to refresh us in our thirst. Without food, we have no energy and our cells cannot reproduce. We die. Without water, we quickly dehydrate and our bodies cannot sustain life.
Jesus said that when we eat the bread we are to think of His body and to do so in remembrance of Him, His life giving, life affirming, and yet lifeless body on the cross, given for us. Certainly we do so in anticipation of His resurrected body on the third day and His living body on earth beginning at Pentecost. But nothing erases the image of His broken body given for us.
We drink the cup and the sweetness of the grape does not cloud the memory of His poured out blood. We are to “drink ye all of it” as a reminder that He poured out all of His blood for us. Without the shedding of blood, sin remains. Without blood in our veins, we have no life. We drink willingly and reverently and remember Him with gratitude and love.
But Paul says that every time we do this, we are making a visible announcement to the world that He is coming again in His glorified body. He promised to come to us and He has in the Spirit and He will in person. He promised to never leave us and He never has. He promised to prepare a place for us and come again and receive us to Himself and that is what we show forth every time we celebrate His presence at His table.
Swanson, John August. Last Supper, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56552 [retrieved April 18, 2019]. Original source: www.JohnAugustSwanson.com - copyright 2009 by John August Swanson.
Maundy Thursday is the day of no turning back day.
All the laments and "precatory prayers" of the psalms are sucked in and absorbed into His own body and soul -- but not without promise or hope. It is like a reverse "big bang" where the energy of all that has gone wrong is concentrated into one event, one hour, one man and on Thursday, the decision to let it be is sealed with a sip of wine and a bite of bread followed by an agonizing prayer in a lonely garden of betrayal - but not without promise of hope!
Hope looms like a nagging word of encouragement, a persistent promise of purpose. Hope looms until it takes center stage.
Yes, it is Thursday. Tomorrow is Friday, Good/Bad Friday with an unmentioned Saturday of scattering, but Sunday is coming, the first day of the week and the eighth day of creation.
Tonight as we eat the bread and drink the cup, let us remember.
"Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD: that he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the LORD looked at the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die, that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD, and in Jerusalem his praise, when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the LORD."
Psalm 102:16-22 (ESV)
And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
“Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. “ – John 13:1
Jennifer was on the phone with her best friend, Lillian as her mother, Sue, decided to eavesdrop. The subject was the love lives of their friends and acquaintances. Amidst the giggles and gasps, hearing only one side of the conversation, a tapestry of love found and lost began to be painted. John was in love with Sally even though he was in love with Myrtle last week. She told him that she was no longer in love with him so he had to find someone new. Sue blushed and considered the “talk” she would be having with her daughter later that evening.
Jesus was no faint-hearted lover. He was not subject to likes, dislikes, and mood swings. He did not start things and leave them dangling. He understood that human love could be flighty and fleeting. But His love was eternal and unconditional. He wanted His disciples to understand that and internalize it. If there was one message He wanted to leave with them, it was the message of His love.
So, he took a towel and washed their feet. It was not only a menial task, but one that could be tedious and disgusting. In the moments that followed, He taught them more about how to receive and give His love than they could absorb in one sitting. They would reflect upon His words and deeds for the rest of their lives as we do today.
Whenever we come to the Lord’s Table, it is a table of love. It is a reminder that having loved us, Jesus love continued to the cross and, from the cross, through the resurrection and into eternity.
O love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, That in thine ocean depths its flow May richer, fuller be. (George Matheson, 1882)
What Was Jesus Doing?
“What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know thereafter.” – from John 13:7
The great wonder of the Christian life is that we can come to know what our Lord is doing. We don’t start out knowing; we come to know “thereafter.”
There is a bowl at Jesus’ feet and a towel in His hand and He is doing the unthinkable, taking on the role of a common house slave and scrubbing the filthy feet of His disciples. Peter is resistant. He cannot cope with the indignation to the Master. After all, there had been some terrible oversight that no servant had been scheduled for this task. He is offended for Jesus that this menial role had seemingly been thrust upon Him, but He was, as yet, unwilling to take it upon Himself.
He did not know then, that Jesus had thrust it upon Himself. He much less knew why. He could neither know nor imagine that He would take the bowel and towel himself in the days to come and embark upon the life of a servant.
None of it makes sense in the old way of thinking that says a person must assert himself or herself and claw a way to the top of the heap. None of it figures for the man or woman trapped in the faded notions of superiority, rank, caste, or position-endowed significance.
What was Jesus doing? He was teaching, leading, demonstrating, and modeling a new way of thinking and a fresh lifestyle that had to be caught more than taught. He was introducing His disciples to another way of looking at leadership and meaning for life. He was elevating the lowest to the highest, the last to the first, and the spirit of servanthood to the place of greatness.
It was a preamble to the cross and only by reflecting on the cross would Peter or any of us, ever begin to know at Jesus was and is doing.
“Now is the Son of man glorified and God is glorified in Him.” – from John 13:31
You have to take it all as a package or there is no glory. Jesus understood that these final days were one great redemptive event – from mingling with the crowds and teaching them, to provoking the Sanhedrin with His very presence, to the upper room, the washing of feet, the prayers in the garden, and on to the cross.
It was the process of God glorifying Himself in His Son. It was all part of the package: His life, death, and resurrection were one magnificent demonstration of the power of God.
Jesus had spoken similar words when some gentiles had come looking for Him. He responded that the coming of these men was an indication that He was soon to be lifted up from the earth and to draw all men unto Him. Lifting up could mean exaltation or crucifixion. In this case, it meant both. He moves from tragedy to triumph in a split second intersection of time and eternity.
This time he speaks of being glorified as He confronts the one who will betray Him. This is strange to our warped thinking. But this is Jesus who donned the apron and wiped His disciple’s feet. This is the one who taught that the path to greatness is servanthood. This is the Master of great reversals.
Our Lord never lost sight of the big picture.
He didn’t stop with cross in His panoramic view of His mission. He didn’t even end the story with rising from the dead. He taught His friends that He was going to the Father through this path of glory and that He would come to them in a new way to indwell them, that they might do even greater works. He promised further that He would come again visibly to introduce a grand new eternal day.
It was about glory.
It is still about glory.
Take a walk in the garden this morning where there is an empty hole in a rock, a barren place where death once dwelt. What do you notice but emptiness?
He is not there. He is risen!
The work of redemption is done. It was worth it all. The pain and the suffering have accomplished their ends. He is alive and we can live also.
What name do you give to your pain of the moment, your struggle of this hour?
Call it suffering or call it glory. It all depends upon whether you view it from the present or from the resurrection.
By Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-G00630 / Unknown / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, Link
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart." - Hebrews 12:1-3
We do not need any extra weight if we are in it to win it.
The stadium is full; the witnesses are cheering and sitting on the edges of their seats; the runners are ready to run.
None of the athletes is dragging a cart behind them, or carrying a backpack, or is even over-clothed. They are ready to travel light and fast.
They are not looking at the crowds or side to side. Their eyes are fixed on the finish life where the originator of the race awaits. They are focuses on the place where the man stands who will declare the race finished.
Sin weighs us down and besets us at every turn.
It is our enemy.
It lives in our flesh and will take every opportunity we give it to distract, sidetrack, and derail us from the way that God has set before us.
But sin is rendered impotent by the power of God and when we exercise focus on Jesus Christ by grace, we find the place of repentance and renewal.
We have not, will not, and will not be called upon to endure what Jesus endured. We cannot bear what He bore, but neither do we bear our own burdens and temptations alone.
It is His power within us that triumphs in the struggle with sin and it is His merciful and gracious love that forgives us when we fail and holds out the hope of a new start. Jesus, I trust in Your life through me to overcome the sin that so easily besets me.
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith …” Hebrews 12:2
We are reminded of who Jesus is and what our response to Him must be. He is the author of faith. Faith originates with Him in its content of our faith and in our capacity to embrace it and live it. Our response is to look unto Him.
This is an ideal time to look unto Jesus, to turn every distraction of the world into an attraction for our response to Him.
Looking to Jesus is not a passive, passing glance of recognition, but an act of wholehearted seeking whereby we exercise stillness and movement at the same time.
Looking unto Jesus involves every dimension of who we are: intellectually, physically, relationally, spiritually, emotionally, and socially.
We cannot seek Him from a position of indifference or from a heart of cynicism. It must be the primary activity of our life to look unto Jesus.
But you ask how, and it is a dangerous question to answer.
It is dangerous because any answer might be seen as a formula and this is not a matter of following a formula. Seeking Jesus is a state of mind and heart. It is a predisposition. It is an approach to everything we do, think, and feel.
Nevertheless, there are some pointers.
We encounter the written Word of God in the scriptures. So that is a place of seeking.
We commune with Him in prayer, so that is another.
We are called to see Him in others, so we might look unto Him in our relationships.
The same is true for opportunities to serve, songs of worship, the glories of creation, the arts, and every other thing we see, hear, or experience.
The call is to look unto Him in everything. As we look unto Him, He completes our faith.
So, we keep running and focusing and focusing and running, laying aside all of the distractions and pressing on.
There is a prize and the One who holds the prize is anxious to see us at the finished line.
Father, in the light of all that has happened and is happening, I am at loss. I want to say that I am shocked, dismayed, disgusted, indignant, sorrowful, grieving, broken, and horrified. What bothers me most is that I am not ... not the way I think is appropriate, not enough to keep me from going about my business or considering my own trivial concerns.
Oh, I am all those things, but not to the degree that I was at the first words of so many other tragedies, travesties, and unspeakable events. Why not? Lord, do not let me lose my capacity to be shocked. Lord, grant that I will not establish some new "norm:" in my heart where I begin to accept the unacceptable as normal.
We want to be unshakable people, Oh God who cannot be moved. We want to be a people, and may we be a people, God of Strength, who cannot be terrorized by terror and terrorists. That is your promise again and again.
But, oh God of Compassion, Justice, and Truth, whose heart can be broken, who chose to be vulnerable in Jesus, who offered Yourself and emptied Yourself to walk with us and wept over the city, may we not lose our ability to be there with our neighbors and be touched by their pain, outraged by atrocity, and stunned by violence.
Our neighbors around the world, Dear God, our neighbors all over the world, our neighbors, are suffering violence every day and we have been lulled to complacency. We pass by such news to the national news and, when that is too disturbing, we focus on the local and now, now, our local news is filled, daily with local violence.
And we come, Dear God, we come to a new equilibrium. God, don't let us settle into such a pattern.
Every place of injustice, tragedy, and violence is our back yard. It is just down the street. It is a short walk. Keep our emotions a bit fragile that we will have to cry out to You for peace. Keep us tender that we might always fall to our knees in prayer and hurt for those who are in pain and shock. Fill our hearts with love for our neighbors and love for our enemies so that we find it hard to imagine how a sweet little baby could be born into a world of wonder and grow into an instrument of violence.
We pray for those who might grow to accept such options as a means of redress of injustice perceived or real, or as a way of exorcising personal demons. We pray for divine and human intervention in their lives sufficient to turn around their thinking before it is too late. May we work to create just societies and peace on earth and may we never tolerate what is intolerable.
May we continue to reject violence in all forms and may we always hate, despise, and be adamantly opposed to the senseless taking of life.
Perplex us Oh God. Keep us perplexed because these things should not make sense and must not be accepted.
Why am I not more badly shaken and preoccupied? Why am I not desiring to be there in the thick of it bringing Your grace and love to the city?
Have I thrown up my hands in resignation?
No ... but I am still bothered ...
Why could I sleep so well? Well, maybe 2 hours is not so well. Maybe I am shaken but a bit calloused. Maybe I am preoccupied. Maybe this is just a new level of reception of such news the likes of which we keep hearing ... from schools and shopping centers and streets. Maybe we cannot live in a constant state of horror or indignation and maybe we are called to be present ... present to be, in whatever way we can be, part of the solution, part of the compassion, part of the intercession for our neighbors.
For our neighbors, I pray, Lord, God. Grant them shalom. Grant them shalom. Grant them shalom .... and healing and grace and mercy and perspective and courage and strength.
Thanks You for the helpers, for the brave and courageous helpers who arrived quickly and served when they did not know if the danger had passed.
Help folks to find some rest.
Shut us up when we start to pontificate and capitalize on these events, Father. Stop us from being "know-it-all"s. Dissolve our party lines. Fade our red-blue divides into obscurity. Fill us with Your love.
Let us be neither complacent nor terrorized.
Let us neither be settled nor disturbed.
Let us be neither indifferent nor obsessed.
Let us be neither detached nor co-dependent.
Let us neither be accepting of evil nor vengeful.
Let us not be tempted be consumed with anger nor overwhelmed by grief. We need the mind of Christ in these days. We need resolve and courage. We need wisdom. We need guidance.
We cannot fix everything or everybody and we cannot enact any policies or extract any justice that will make this right. Nothing can make this right, but You, Lord, can enter in and redirect the negative energies of those possessed by evil intentions to bring good and glory in some mysterious way, through some gentle touch, and with Your leading hand of grace.
I come to You, my Father, as a follower of Jesus, asking You for Your grace to follow Him into the dark places today with His mind in my mind, His heart in my heart, His Word on my lips, His love flowing through me, His tears in my eyes, His steadiness in my responses, His grace, Your grace, in everything I do or say. And I pray this for people everywhere who will meet hurting, broken, wounded, worried people and seek to bring them hope.
With much more on my heart to pray and continuing to pray, I pray these things in Jesus' Name. Amen.
"I want neither a terrorist spirituality that keeps me in a perpetual state of fright about being in right relationship with my heavenly Father nor a sappy spirituality that portrays God as such a benign teddy bear that there is no aberrant behavior or desire of mine that he will not condone. I want a relationship with the Abba of Jesus, who is infinitely compassionate with my brokenness and at the same time an awesome, incomprehensible, and unwieldy Mystery. " - Brennan Manning
It is always a good sign when the kind of anything we want is the kind of anything that it is - or anyone.
Manning expresses a desire for the kind of Jesus that I see in the gospels, the kind that I know from experience, and the kind I see reflected in the lives of people who know Him.
He is, at the same time, soft and rugged, kind and tough, non-judgmental and brutally honest. He is the incarnate one who can be known and wholly Other who is beyond our reach.
When Word becomes flesh, it is an entirely new ballgame with which there is no comparison to aid our understanding.
And that's the way I like it!
So, in His Name and Spirit, I pray to His Abba and mine:
Daddy, I come.
I am overwhelmed by You.
Your arms, Your hands, You shoulders are so broad and strong.
Your embrace is so warm.
Your Son, Jesus said I should not be afraid to come to You.
He said that He was my brother and You are my Dad.
So, here I am because I see You in Him and I trust Him and I trust You.
Teach me to trust You and love You more.
This Is Prayer: We move in the direction of God.
The movement itself is far more important that the words we use or the sentiments we experience. It is the movement that expresses the true intentions of our hearts.
The movement is the most honest and reliable indicator of our spiritual progress ... whether we know it or feel it or not.
Let us move toward God today.
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." - Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
What kind of Jesus is He?
He is the kind who lives us to His name, God-Saves.
He is generous and not jealous of all that is rightfully His and His alone.
He is the kind who invites us to come to His Father and share His Father's love.
He is tough and kind.
He is beyond me and approachable.
He is infinitely wise, but delightfully relatable.
He is dead serious and devastatingly funny.
He is strong yet vulnerable.
He is consistent in His expectations and compassionate in our failures.
“For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” – Psalm 36:9
One of the first lighthouses ever built, certainly one of the most famous, was the Lighthouse of Alexandria in 280 BC. Situated on the Egyptian island of Pharos, it was at one time thought to be the tallest structure on earth at 383 - 440 feet. Many lives were rescued because of its existence.
Its purpose was the same as that of all lighthouses: to warn ships away from dangerous shores and guide them in the night.
No ship’s captain ever complained about a lighthouse getting in his way or inconveniencing him in his journey. Many a lighthouse has saved many a life.
James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Man-made lighthouses point us to the reality of God’s gracious willingness to warn us and guide us because He loves us. He desires life for us and in His light we see light.
Philippians 2:15 says, “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”
Not only does God provide light for our journey, but He appoints us as His people to shine in a dark world where there are many unseen dangers and unmarked shores. By taking this stewardship of light seriously, the church and its people have helped to lead many a lost ship and crew into a harbor of safety.
What could be a greater blessing than to be in God’s light and, in that light, to see light. Surely, it is a fountain of life.
“For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” – Psalm 36:9
One of the first lighthouses ever built, certainly one of the most famous, was the Lighthouse of Alexandria in 280 BC. Situated on the Egyptian island of Pharos, it was at one time thought to be the tallest structure on earth at 383 - 440 feet. Many lives were rescued because of its existence.
Its purpose was the same as that of all lighthouses: to warn ships away from dangerous shores and guide them in the night.
No ship’s captain ever complained about a lighthouse getting in his way or inconveniencing him in his journey. Many a lighthouse has saved many a life.
James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Man-made lighthouses point us to the reality of God’s gracious willingness to warn us and guide us because He loves us. He desires life for us and in His light we see light.
Philippians 2:15 says, “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”
Not only does God provide light for our journey, but He appoints us as His people to shine in a dark world where there are many unseen dangers and unmarked shores. By taking this stewardship of light seriously, the church and its people have helped to lead many a lost ship and crew into a harbor of safety.
What could be a greater blessing than to be in God’s light and, in that light, to see light. Surely, it is a fountain of life.
“For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” – Psalm 36:9
One of the first lighthouses ever built, certainly one of the most famous, was the Lighthouse of Alexandria in 280 BC. Situated on the Egyptian island of Pharos, it was at one time thought to be the tallest structure on earth at 383 - 440 feet. Many lives were rescued because of its existence.
Its purpose was the same as that of all lighthouses: to warn ships away from dangerous shores and guide them in the night.
No ship’s captain ever complained about a lighthouse getting in his way or inconveniencing him in his journey. Many a lighthouse has saved many a life.
James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Man-made lighthouses point us to the reality of God’s gracious willingness to warn us and guide us because He loves us. He desires life for us and in His light we see light.
Philippians 2:15 says, “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”
Not only does God provide light for our journey, but He appoints us as His people to shine in a dark world where there are many unseen dangers and unmarked shores. By taking this stewardship of light seriously, the church and its people have helped to lead many a lost ship and crew into a harbor of safety.
What could be a greater blessing than to be in God’s light and, in that light, to see light. Surely, it is a fountain of life.
Only three times does the New Testament use the word "Christian," not that we should never use it.
Both times, it referred to other people calling the believers by that name - probably as an insult.
They embraced it . We must find ways to embrace the insults.
The first time was at Antioch. The diaspora followers of Jesus had become refugees there, scattered by persecution and violence in Jerusalem inflicted by warring political factions. They were called "little Christ people," and they accepted it.
The second time was when Peter twice referred to believers being persecuted under that same name and advises the people to rejoice in it.
Isn't it strange that we would adopt that name in our cries for our rights and privileges as some sort of "majority" with a legitimate claim of protected status?
We need to find ways to stand with the most maligned, marginalized, persecuted, scattered, insulted, misunderstood, oppressed, and scattered people we can find because that is what Jesus did and continues to do --- and that is what Jesus did for us and that is from whence we came.
And we should seldom speak of our rights and violation of our rights without two things being in place:
1. We have already spoken many times for the rights and against the suffering of others.
2. We have embraced the insults with joy knowing that we do so followers of Jesus, identifying with His suffering.
Then, we should continue to do good.
1 Peter 4:7-19: The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker. Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name. For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinners?" Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God's will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.
Setting out to articulate what instinct told me, I jotted down about nine policies about a year ago with regard to requests to forward information and other posts. I have more, but I got tired of writing. If I find any good ones, I may actually forward them!
FB Policy #1 - Never pass on a message that begins with, "Hi, I'm Mark Zuckerberg The Director of facebook.."
1. It is obviously not from him. 2. That is not his title. 3. The company's name should be begin with an upper case, "F."
FB Policy #2 - Never pass on any message that comes by way of "Messenger."
FB Policy #3 - Never pass on a message that requires cutting and pasting it as if it came from you rather than using a "share" function. It is always indicative of chain letter or scam.
FB Policy #4 - Never pass on any message that says that 9 out of 10 of you will not pass it on. Overcome your guilt and trust the wisdom of the crowd on this one. Stand with the 9.
FB Policy # 5 - Never pass on anything that you are prompted to pas on via guilt.
FB Policy #6 - Never pass on requests for money not attached to reputable non-profits with a professional website and the ability to process credit cards and generate receipts. Exception - "Go Fund Me" accounts and that sort of thing which have public/transparent accountability.
FB Policy #7 - If someone sends you a message saying that FB is censoring them, would one not ask why, if it were true, that the message making that claim was not censored and why we have access to so many messages that criticize them for that reason?????
FB Policy #8 - Get all of those pet peeves off your mind and then, move on
Final (for now) FB Policy (#9 or 10 - who knows?) . Don't take it personally when someone sends you this sort of spam. They've been tricked too.
Arrogance, indifference, self-sufficient pride and greed surround the singer of songs in Psalm 10. Injustice and oppression, unedited, unaccounted-for, but not unnoticed.
"Hurry up, God," he seems to cry.
"Things are getting bad. The big bad guys are strutting around unhindered!"
Yet, he knows as reality deeper than the moment ...
" Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted. Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”? But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none."
When we have a diet of manna we are tempted to think that we work for it.
We sink into the assumption that our efforts are indispensable
We cover our minds with forgetfulness that every day, manna is a gift.
We turn legitimate work ethic into work ego.
We need rest from that -- a day of utter dependence..
We need a day of emptying, releasing, and reflecting.
"See the LORD has GIVEN you the sabbath."
Yes, it was a specific gift to a specific people, but it was also a broad principle for humanity.
The story is a lesson for living and the law is a sign-post for eternal and temporal truth.
There was only one day, when day old manna was fit to eat. That was the sabbath.
When we live for a day off yesterday's manna, we are reminded that today's manna fell from heaven and all we did was gather it.
It expands our hearts of humility, generosity, and trust.
We can engage in futile arguments over calendar questions, definitions, and fine points of interpretation or we can embrace the gift and lesson of sabbath rest ... and enter in.
You will have a sabbath whether or not you observe one. You will either die early of stress or lose years to anxiety, and unproductive flailing in an effort to create manna that only God can give.
Exodus 16:22-36 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers apiece. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy sabbath to the LORD; bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.'"
So they put it aside until morning, as Moses commanded them; and it did not become foul, and there were no worms in it. Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is a sabbath, there will be none."
On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. The LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and instructions? See! The LORD has given you the sabbath, therefore on the sixth day he gives you food for two days; each of you stay where you are; do not leave your place on the seventh day."
So the people rested on the seventh day. The house of Israel called it manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, in order that they may see the food with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'"
And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD, to be kept throughout your generations."
As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the covenant, for safekeeping. The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a habitable land; they ate manna, until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. An omer is a tenth of an ephah.
The Lord of glory so identified with our suffering that He came to weep with us - and those tears led directly through Jerusalem and His triumphant entry on Palm Sunday to the Mount of Olives where He prayed through the agony of humanity, to the cross where He bore our sins.
There was a church hearing two prospective pastors or two consecutive Sundays. Neither had a great deal of time to prepare sermons, as they were farmers. So, without realizing it, both discovered the same old sermon by a pulpit master on the subject of hell.
They both figured that it was something that would work with this country church, the first because he knew he could preach it loud, long, and effectively with lots of "amen"s. The second did so because he sensed that there was a real need for this particular message in the community.
On the first Sunday, the farmer-pastor presented his message with great skill, fervor, fire, and delight. He was sure that the church would call him as pastor and he would be able to leave his plowing and preach the gospel full-time. However, to assess the “competition,” he showed up and sat semi-disguised in the balcony.
To his utter shock, the second preacher had “borrowed” the same sermon on hell and preached it adequately if not with all the smooth inflections of the first. In fact, he seemed a little hesitant and stumbled over the hard truths he presented.
The church met and called the second preacher who inquired as to why. “I happen to know that he preached the same sermon as I did and not as well.”
“That is true,” replied the pulpit committee chairman, “I have that book of sermons on my bookshelf, but the second man preached it with a tear in his eye.”
Our Savior weeps with us and for us. He knows our sorrows and cares.
And His heart is broken over every lost soul, wounded heart, severed relationship, death, sickness, and injustice.
His desire is to gather all people to himself forever.
I was reminded by life and my own frailties that I have not yet arrived at the level of faith, determination, and confidence that I preach as a possibility.
It was a minor thing, but it pointed to major implications.
The line that divides victory from defeat is sometimes thin. It can be as thin as a decision to take the next step, to try, or to try again.
It was a number of piles of brush from tree trimming. I did not think they would all fit in one load. That is something because I am always willing to squeeze another bit of something into a load.
I told my wife that I thought we had a full load. There was at least as much left in the yard.
Then I quit for the day.
Today, I decided to tackle it again and I got it all in.
I am ashamed. I should be father a long in the exercise of belief.
But the shame only goes slightly deep. I know that I still have some growing to do
The first step on the road to doing something may be passing through the gateway that it marked with a sign that says, "It can't be done."
To get to the place where that sign no longer grabs or attention will require passing through the gate again and again and doing, or at least attempting, what cannot be done.
Is it an exercise in utter futility to know the unknowable and comprehend the incomprehensible?
If you are looking for a beginning, here is one - The greatness of God - not a mere meme or a trite truism.
As in the "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," we become wiser as we learn that we cannot be wise enough to fathom God.
"Great"is a strong, but inadequate adjective for God.
All superlatives in our language dissolve into the glory of His presence. I cannot know all there is to know of Him and knowledge of lack of knowledge informs me that He is God and I am not.
I may not be able to fully know Him, but I can know Him because I am known of Him and He draws me closer daily.
" Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable."
(Psalm 145:3 ESV)
Our response, then, is "fear" and by that, we mean awe, reverence, and these two, expressed in worship.
From there, and through that, we seek and keep seeking and beholding.
One simply needs a loose jaw because it will surely drop.
This is a God who gathers masses of outcasts, who gets personally involved with individuals, and manages the universe at the same time.
This is a God of undivided attention.
The same attention God gives to atomic structures and cosmic operations is directed toward your hurts and broken heart, the same attention and the same care.
Behold your God!
" The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names."
He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. - John 9:25
“I see,” we say and we mean that we understand.
“I see,” we say, and indicate that something which was formerly behind a cloud has had the light of day shine upon it.
“I see,” we say, and breath a sigh of relief because the struggle to comprehend has ended and the fog of confusion has lifted.
“I see” we say, sometimes with slight embarrassment because it was so simple all along. That with which we wrestled is no longer an obstacle, but a friend. That which was such a barrier to truth has become the key to all mysteries.
“Now I see,” and we do not speak it, but sing the joyful news.
No longer need we wander. No longer must we be the slaves of those who lead us along, but who are also blind. No longer must we repose in darkness without the light of blessed hope.
Why do we crawl back into the darkness now that Christ has brought us light? Why do we sleep through the daylight hours? Why do we act as if we have no direction? Why do we keep bumping into the same obstructions on our path to truth? Why do we shut our eyes and flounder in a haze of existential ambiguity? Why are we attracted to dark things?
We have a choice. There is still within us the memory of blindness and sin and it holds some sort of nostalgic appeal to us. But we must remember that the misery of it all was always greater than its perverted pleasure. It was pleasurable for a season, but those seasons got shorter and shorter and less and less pleasurable.
We can see now and we can choose. We can say to Jesus, “Tell me who He is and I will believe in Him.” He will point to Himself and we can follow Him. He has opened our eyes and we are without excuse.
We fall; we rise. We are adjudicated and found guilty and then ... The Judge steps down from the bench to plead our case. It is as if we cannot lose; every loss becomes a win.
" Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication."
(Micah 7:8-9 ESV)
I've lived too long among those who hate peace!
Maybe you have felt this way before.
When the city erupts in violence, when the culture cries out for vengeance, when nations are quick to take up arms, when men love war more than peace, and when those who speak for peace are marginalized as soft, impractical, or disloyal, we cry out to God:
"Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!"
(Psalm 120:6-7 ESV)
We are on a mission of peace, but we do not always feel particularly successful. In fact it seems, sometimes, that our presence and words make no difference at all.
Even Moses doubted in the midst of the mission.
Even while performing signs and wonders, having seen what he had seen and having experienced what he had experienced, he doubted and questioned God.
But he dealt directly with God about the matter. He did not skirt the issue or complain to others. He took the matter to YHWH Himself and this was also a part of that later reflection that he would speak to God like no other had before, face to face.
When he brought the matter to the Almighty, he was heard and he was answered. Greater glory would come by letting the process play itself out.
"Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, 'O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.'"
"But the LORD said to Moses, 'Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.'"
(Exodus 5:22-6:1 ESV)
"But as for me ..."
It is my response to truth for which I am either culpable or commendable.
I am not in charge of anyone else's opinions or choices. I can care, but I cannot control.
I can converse, but I cannot coerce. I can seek to convince the mind, but I cannot convict the heart.
Neither need I be swayed by the resistance of another.
I need not the validation of peers in order to believe that which resonates truth in our hearts.
We can relax in this because trust is resting in God and waiting for Him.
" But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me."
(Micah 7:7 ESV)
The longer we live in and with faith, the less we feel compelled to justify, prove, or vindicate God for being God.
We come to rest, not only in God's goodness, but in the unshakable reality of the truth God embodies and exercises.
Truth shall been known and shall not be tilted nor shifted by our words or opinions.
Sometimes we just need to wait until it is made known and not be rattled by the rantings of nations or pseudo nations.
" Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases."
(Psalm 115:2-3 ESV)
There is so much more abiding I must learn and practice, so much more.
" Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."
God does not let us get by with our sins; He forgives them. That is two different things.
Being forgiven is not "getting by" with something.
It is a mystery that, for the follower of Jesus, makes sense in the drama and reality of the cross and which always leads to awe and worship.
And now, He is calling us home.
" O LORD our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings. Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the LORD our God is holy!"
There is more to do than can be done. A smorgasbord of fun. The race is longer than can be run. Face it; we are under the gun. So ... do what you can while you can.
"As long as it is day, I must do the work of Him Who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” - John 9:4
1 -I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit— 2 -I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 - For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, 4 - the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 - Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
Bias
The BIAS of every Christian is for the salvation of one’s community. That is the kind of heart that God wants us to have toward our neighbors. It is the sort of love that we see in Jesus Christ who actually did what Paul could not do – alienate Himself from God in order to bring many to God. Isn’t it amazing that only God could do that? Paul loves His brothers, the people of Israel.
It is impossible for me to understand how any Christian could ever be anti-Semitic. That is such a contradiction. In the movie, “The Hiding Place,” Corrie Ten Boom’s father makes this remark about the Nazi’s who would eventually imprison and murder him for hiding Jews in Holland during the Nazi occupation, “I pity them, for they have touched the apple of God’s eye.”
Israel has never stopped being the apple of God’s eye.
However, the principle here is the bias that we as Christians and as a church are to have in all of our programming and prioritizing for the salvations of our communities at home and around the world. Nothing in a balanced doctrine of election relieves us of the burden and responsibility for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the world – and using words when necessary as St. Francis said.
6 - It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 - Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." 8 - In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. 9 - For this was how the promise was stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son."
Beginning
The BEGINNING of election is the promise of God. As sacred history proceeded, God narrowed the scope of His promise and covenant. He did not nullify that which He made with those who were excluded from the next level because He has a purpose for every person – even the wicked for the day of destruction according to Proverbs. Rather, in narrowing His focus, He began to fashion a peculiar and elect people who would carry out that mission. I do not believe that this scripture or the rest of the Bible teaches a replacement theology where the church usurps Israel. However, Paul is saying that the church is included in the promises of Israel to the point where she becomes the focus of His mission to bring the good news of salvation to the rest of the world.
10 - Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. 11 - Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: 12 - not by works but by him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger."13 - Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
Bottom-Line
The BOTTOM-LINE of election is the purpose of God. Election is not primarily about who goes to Heaven and who goes to hell. It is about who God is using and in what way to accomplish His purposes. Careful Bible reading reveals that God’s purpose in electing Israel was a missionary purpose. That is the purpose of Christ being God’s elect and the church being elect in Him – to bring salvation to the world, not to hoard it to themselves.
The theology that seeks to understand election and predestination merely in terms of personal salvation – who is and who isn’t saved, is quite man-centered. The doctrine of election is 100% God-centered and focused on His purposes. In our system of government, not everyone can be elected to high office. Yet, every citizen has a purpose and a rkole.
14 - What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 - For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
Banter
The BANTER of the world is that God is somehow unjust in His exclusivity. Man’s reaction goes to fairness and lack thereof. It is a child’s reaction. No offense to our precious children, but one chant we hope that they all grow out of is the whine, “It’s not fair.”
They want some sort of justice that they deem just. Micah 6 says that we are to DO justice, but love mercy and walk humbly with our God.
The bottom line of fairness is that God is God and He can do as He pleases. When He determines to show mercy, that is a gigantic bonus. There is every inclination in scripture and in our experience that God is always inclined toward mercy to all and has historically relented in judgment and reversed judgment once it has served His redemptive purpose.
We must come to terms with the prerogatives of God do be God, but balance our understanding with the revelation and demonstration of God's character in the course of history and the person of Jesus.
16 - It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. 17 - For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18 - Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
Basis
So, the BASIS of salvation is the mercy of God. What if God’s mercy hardens someone’s heart? It can happen. Can’t it? You have seen it. Have you ever tried to make a wait-person nicer with a big tip? Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t. It depends on many factors. The overtures we make toward loving someone may harden them if they are so inclined.
This is not about God being manipulative. This is another application of the same principle we found in 8:28 – God causing everything to work together for the good of His people and His glory. God’s purposes will be fulfilled whether or not we receive His mercy.
19 - One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" 20 - But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' " 21 - Does not the potter have the right to make out of the samelump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use.
Beauty
The BEAUTY of election is in its rarity - not all receive it. It is precious. One illustration of this would be when I write devotionals for our people to take home and read. I write them with contradictory assumptions. In the forefront of my mind is the idea that everyone will read them and use them because God has given me a word for His people and everyone will be eager to receive it. The other assumption is that not everyone will take them and of those who take them, most will not read them. That is a reality I know – yet I always write with the idea that everyone needs this and the knowledge that it may only be received by a few.
It is for mass distribution in terms of availability, but, in ultimate reality, it is written only for those who will choose to read it. The blessings contained in the scriptures to which I point will only be received by the “elect” who elect to receive and apply them. That is election.
God has chosen to save mankind though His Son. He offers that gift to all, but not all will receive it. He knows that, but proceeds as if all will.
It is like a mother cooking a meal for her large family. Somewhere inside of her, she knows that not everyone will show up for dinner, but she prepares plenty of food and sets the table with every member in mind. I think that is how it is with God. Some will want to make their own plans and will show up an hour late or the next day, but the meal is served when it is served and God has the right to determine the conditions.
22 - What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 - What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24 - even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 - As he says in Hosea: "I will call them 'my people' who are not my people; and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one," 26 - and, "It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.' "
Bounty
The BOUNTY of election is that some unlikely souls do receive it. The God who is ready to judge the unrighteous is reluctant to do so – yes for their sake, but also for ours who will ultimately come to Him. He bears with people because unlikely people, the kind Brennan Manning calls ragamuffins, will, come.
God is a bountiful God in His mercy and generosity. He is unwilling for any to perish. He calls people into inclusion who have been excluded. He uses folks that the world discards. He is an amazing God, who, through the mystery of election, calls the unlovely, unlikely, and unimpressive to be more than they ever imagined they could be.
Unfortunately, some who have felt entitled on false premises miss the boat. God has chosen Jesus Christ as His elect and the church as the Body of Christ. In future weeks, we will show how Israel continues to be part of God’s plan for the earth, but for now, we focus on this narrowing of the call upon the church to broadcast, as unlikely messengers, the Word of salvation to the world.
27 - Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. 28 - For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality."
29 - It is just as Isaiah said previously: "Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah."
Bad News
The BAD-NEWS is that many miss out. Just like the remnant who read my stuff, there is only a remnant who are saved.
We ask, “WHY?” And the answer is shrouded in MYSTERY. Let’s spell it and see if we can understand it:
M – MERCY is God’s mysterious way of plucking brands from the burning.
Y – YESTERDAY is all we have to help us understand the mysteries of tomorrow. So, we are given examples from the past to illustrate election. These are helpful, but inadequate by themselves.
S – SALVATION is really not the main issue here. The main thing is our place in God’s plan. We always gravitate toward a man-centered understanding. That is inadequate. Nevertheless, our willingness to receive the gospel determines our salvation.
T – THANK God for the mystery of your inclusion. We have a debt to Israel according to verse 5.
E –EYES have not seen what God has in store for those who love Him. (I Corinthians 2:9)
R – REALITY and REVELATION teach us that greatness is a RARE commodity, but everything and everyone has a purpose.(V. 21 and Proverbs).
Y – YEARNING for the salvation of others is a God thing and, therefore, a good thing. (I Timothy 2:1-6)
This is the beginning of a long train of thought where Paul struggles with the seeming displacement of Israel’s place in God’s plan through the inclusion of the Gentiles.
It culminates with 10:13 (as well as 10:9-10) and continues from there.
It begins with yearning for the salvation of all Israel.
It ends with the hope of salvation for all.
It places a choice in our laps. Will we follow the many to destruction or will we choose the narrow road which is Christ?
30 - What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 - but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32 - Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." 33 - As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
What is your choice? Next we will consider, “The Stumbling Stone” and examine why Jesus is such a stumbling block for so many.
For now, it will suffice to say that we can choose between faith and works. When we choose faith, we come into the glorious election of God not only for service, but for salvation. We choose between Jesus Christ being our cornerstone or the stone we trip over.
Stop now and behold the stone that God has laid in Zion. You must deal with Him now or later. How about now.
30 - What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 - but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32 - Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." 33 - As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
What shall we say to what?
The answers regard what we are to say to this whole question of God’s election through unmerited grace and sovereign mercy, narrowing the focus of His choice of who will bring His message to the world and receive His salvation to those who will come through Jesus Christ.
Uncle Hinky’s fabled and not-so-bright cousin, Lem got himself a quarter section south of Skunkville back in 1946. Someone had already started to build a house there and old Lem wanted to finish it up and live in it himself. One day Hinky dropped by the see how things were going. The house was sort of lopsided and leaning with a frame stuck in the dirt and a big pad of cement next to it.
“What’s going on, Lem?”
“Ah Hinky, it’s going OK considering that big piece of cement in the way there. We’ze always trippin’ on it. As soon as we get the house built the way we want it, we’re going to break it up and slide the house over there.”
Those numbskulls were tripping over the foundation that the previous owners had left.
And we trip over Jesus to our ultimate detriment.
Paul says that unlikely people have been called and have received righteousness from God and have been enveloped into His purpose and calling. He says that some who thought they had it together on false premises have been left out in the cold. It is not God’s plan to make people stumble, but it is inevitable that those who do not come by faith will do so.
In other words, the Christmas message is intended to be good news for the whole world, but for some, it is very bad news. It is confounding and confrontational. What it is to you is your choice.
These verses tell us how we stumble over Jesus:
We stumble over Jesus when we pursue what is in our power alone according to verses 30-31. That is called “works” and our works are untrustworthy and inadequate to save us. What does a “works” salvation mean? It can be spelled out: W-O-R-K-S.
W - It is WEAK. (8:3 reminds us that God in Jesus Christ did what the law could not do because it was weak in the flesh.) Works are powerless to save us. We need to give that message to the world that so easily misunderstands ‘self-righteousness” and confuses it with Christianity. When we rely on works to save us, we stumble over Christ because we don’t have any strength left. We wear ourselves out trying to please God with our own efforts.
O – It is OBSTINATE. That means prideful and pride just does not please God. Remember the story Jesus told of the two men who went up to the Temple to pray. One was a religious man and was proud of his religious accomplishments. He thanked God that he was not like other men – like the scoundrel next to him for example. The scoundrel prayed a simple prayer, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Some translate that, “THE sinner.” Jesus said that man went away justified. Pride causes us to stumble over Christ.
R – It is RETRO-RIGHTEOUS as an out-of date concept of righteousness which REJECTS God’s way of salvation. Have you ever tried to play an 8-track video in a DVD player? It doesn’t work. You are mixing an out-of-date technology with a current technology. There is no relationship. God has sent a memo that says, “The old system is obsolete. From now on, it is the grace-faith connection, pure and simple – no other c odes to learn.” We reject that and we reject Him and stumble over Christ.
K – It KILLS – (II Corinthians 3:6 says – The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.). The letter of the law is designed to convict us of sin. It does that very well. We, on the other hand, according to II Corinthians 3:6, have been made ministers of a new covenant of grace. Christ is at the center of it. He is God’s elect and faith in Him is God’s way of bringing us life through the Spirit. To turn away from Him is to stumble over Him.
S – And so, we can write a great big S across the manual of works salvation. It is an S for STUMBLE. It STUMBLES over everything Jesus is, did, and said. We decide not to stand on the Rock, but to butt against it – HIM!
According to verse 32, we stumble over Christ when we fail to pursue faith. Hebrews 11 tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God. Romans 9:32 implies that faith is the pursuit of righteousness. For some time, I have been teaching a dual definition of righteousness from the scriptures:
First, it is a right relationship with God. It is through Jesus’ sacrifice and victory that righteousness is “imputed” to us by faith. That means that God puts it on our account by grace, freely given and undeserved. We pursue righteousness as a right relationship with God when we come to Him through Jesus Christ. You can come today? It is not complicated? It doesn’t take a lot of time. It does not require you to prepare a resume or go through a big ritual. You can simply, where you are, as you are, decide to trust Christ as your Savior and Lord and commit your life to him. You can start openly declaring Him as the King of your life. In less than a noon-second, you will cross over from the old to the new. That is the pursuit. It begins with one simple step of faith.
Second, it is a lifestyle of repentance whereby we are moving in the right direction. Repentance is a simple word that means turning around – a 180 degree turn from the pursuit of self-interests to the pursuit of God’s interests. It does not mean we are yet perfect, but that we have changed our course and are heading the right way – also by grace, also through faith. We pursue ongoing and ever deepening righteousness in our lives as we continue to walk by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. We sometime stray; we sometimes falter; but we get up and continue to course of the pursuit of right belief and right living by faith. Our compasses are set God-ward and we continue on course. When we start veering away, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are adequate to correct us and set us in the right direction as long as we are committed to walk by faith.
Finally, we stumble over Christ when we do not trust Him to be the cornerstone according to verse 33. Paul has quoted from two passages in Isaiah, 8:14 and 28:16-17. In these passages, we are given four different insights into who the coming Messiah will be as compared to a great stone.
He is a Sanctuary Stone in 8:14. A sanctuary is a place of refuge and safety and so Jesus is our Rock of safety and refuge. In the old westerns, the cowboys would take shelter behind big boulders in the high desert when they were in a shootout. Bullets would bounce off the rocks and they would be safe. It was a wonder anyone ever got shot. The other wonder I have about those old movies is why more of the horses didn’t trip over those monstrosities and their riders rode them recklessly through the hills. The answer was that they were paying attention and they knew the terrain. If you ignore the Sanctuary Stone, but Isaiah and Paul are here to inform you that you will stumble over Him and the fall could be very, very hard. Nevertheless, He is your sanctuary from the storms and bullets of life.
He is a Tested Stone according to 28:16. He is tested as a precious stone of great value – like gold for instance. Trusting in Him will, according to both Paul and Isaiah, preclude shame. No one who trusts in Him will ever be put to shame. That means that He will not let you down. There is a saying among credible people in the sales industry that goes like this: Under-sell and over-deliver. That way, you never have to apologize for your product. People are delighted when they discover that what you have put in their hands has more uses, is over better quality, and is more valuable than you ever told them. Jesus is such a tested and precious stone. He is of infinite value. It is amazing that people would trip over such a treasure.
He is the Cornerstone. Lem refused to see that the obstacle in the way of his “works” was actually the foundation that would have kept the house from being lopsided and tilted. We must recognize that Jesus Christ is the foundation upon which we can build a strong and productive life. It works because He works. In this month of mission emphasis and Advent, we can be confident that the Christ we preach to the nations is a strong, sturdy, and precious foundation for every people, nation, and culture. Let us never be ashamed to proclaim Jesus. We have no responsibility for quality control over the life He brings to people. It doesn’t matter how badly a person’s house of life is toppling over, he can and will rebuild it. We can be confident as we trust Him, the Cornerstone.
And so, He is a trustworthy stone. And what do you do with that which is trustworthy? You place your trust dead center in Him. You do not waver. You do not hold back.
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. - John 9:1
They asked a silly question as they looked down on the blind beggar, “Who sinned?”
Was it his parents? Or was it him?
They had read parts of the scriptures, but not all. They had left out vast portions that spoke of the mercy of God who, while having the right to inflict pain and suffering upon disobedient people, had so often, in mercy, relented.
And they had not read the book of Job or so many passages that revealed the suffering of the righteous.
But Jesus knew that this blindness, unlike the blindness of those who were critical, was so that the glory of God might be revealed in a poor beggar man. Other eyes, spiritual eyes could also be opened, but it would require a miracle from God and the willingness of the recipient.
That man had his eyes opened, but other eyes remained closed. There is a blindness that is, without a doubted, rooted by sin, perpetuated by sin, and symptomatic of sin. That is the blindness that obscures the vision of grace, that clouds our view of God’s nature, and causes us to stumble through life without direction or purpose.
It is that blindness that Jesus is ever ready to heal.
He does so regardless of our theological sophistication or worthiness. Of course the man was a sinner, but that fact was not relevant that day, because Jesus was viewing him through the eyes of mercy and grace. His new sight would bring glory to the Father even as yours will evoke the praise of men and women for Him.
“I don’t know,” was the answer the man gave to the question of Jesus’ authenticity. “I just know I was blind and now I see.”
Later, with new eyes, a willing heart, and deep gratitude, he would joyfully believe and follow. Like this man, you did not become a believer because of your wisdom or theological sophistication. All that you are today comes from a time when a gracious Lord opened your eyes.
If honesty is the best poetry, imagine how powerful it makes our prayers.
The psalms teach us to pray deeply and honestly without pretense or presumption. They just let it out and then let God sort it all our.
What if we did not judge or measure our prayers before we prayed them? What if we just let all of our negative junk out and laid it on the table before One who is wise, good, patient, loving, holy, and true and then .... well, then, we let that One deal with it.
"This stays; this goes; deal with this; I can handle this; don't worry about this; you might want to rethink this; I hear you. I understand I love you."
What if?
That is how the psalms sound to me. All the vengeful, angry feelings are brought before God before anyone else. All of the despondency we experience is brought to the front so that it can be addressed. All of our hopelessness and fear is exposed and God meets us where we are.
We see all of those heavy bricks of guilt and bitterness hanging on a cross and being demolished.
He knows we harbor hate in our hearts that is weighing us down. He knows that we struggle with temptation. He knows that we feel persecuted and alone. He knows and wants us to bring it to Him.
When we do, we are transformed as we are released from the power of those feelings. They only rule us when we cherish them in our hearts and guard them with all our might.
We may be afraid for people to know we are human, but it is useless to to try and hide that reality from God. He knows.
"Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also. For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away."
They have engrossed their hearts, minds, and eyes in the intense delight of sheer observation.
The reverence of a John Muir, the childlike joy of a St. Francis, the eager eye of an artist studying the works of the LORD humble me. More delight and less compulsion to be right may be the path to insight.
Today, LORD, may I bask for a few moments in the light of Your revealed glory and simply worship.
" Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them." (Psalm 111:2 ESV)
The heart of guidance is in these reassuring words, "This is the way, walk ye in it."
" For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left."
(Isaiah 30:19-21 ESV)
At some point, what we have received conceptually, pondered intellectually, and considered devotionally must be applied experientially, lived intentionally, and multiplied exponentially.
In encountering Moses and drawing him into the experience of The One Who IS, Yahweh was not just trying to enhance Moses' spiritual life or give him a warm memory.
"Hey Moses, the bottom line is ... I'm not asking, I"m sending and I know what you can and cannot do and have already taken that into consideration and made provision for it. You will do and be much more than you think you are and can do. Just get up off your hind parts and get going!" (Sims Un-standard Version/Paraphrase)
Now the ESV:
"But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”" -(Exodus 4:10-17 ESV)
So often, maybe always, after a moment of encounter, there is something that must be done.
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (Romans 8:15)
Little Sarah was only three years old. All day long, she had been home doing what little girls do. But as the sun began to go down and the smell of hot rolls filled the house, her tiny heart began to sing with anticipation. She knew that evening meant one thing. He daddy would soon walk through the door.
The love of her life would come home from a hard day at work and she would run to meet him, jump in his arms, and be embraced with joy and love.
"Daddy, I missed you," she would exclaim. "You’re finally home! I'm so glad you are here."
At that, her father's heart would melt.
The Spirit of God invites us to pray as Jesus prayed, Abba, or Daddy.
We are drawn into a relationship of warmth, acceptance, and love with our Heavenly Father. Those of us who have enjoyed such relationships with our earthly fathers have a glimpse of what our relationship with God can be.
Those who have not had such relationships can take comfort in the knowledge of His absolute love and unbridled joy when we call out to Him and jump into His arms.
Thank God for dads who provide such glimpses.
And may we be those kinds of dads as well, even if we are not fathers.
There is no hope intrinsic in our political system or in any system of human power.
There will be seasons of righteousness, but they cannot command our ultimate trust and confidence.
Good people come and go and represent various political philosophies, but they are and shall remain, human.
We are admonished not to put our trust in princes.
This is from the Psalms. The founder and first sponsor of the Psalmist Institution was, himself, a prince. So, he ought to know the limitations of power as well as the responsibilities of power.
His successors would also know that, for they would live to see princes who, unlike God and those who do have a heart for God see every plan of their lives perish with them. They do not create something out of nothing.
Evil, earthly princes, who lust for power, have no power to save.
Nor do they keep faith forever. Human powers are always beset with integrity issues. Even David struggled with serious character flaws.
They do not execute justice for the oppressed.
They do not give food to the hungry.
They do not set prisoners free.
They have no concern for opening the eyes of the blind.
They do not lift those who are bowed down.
Ungodly, human princes have no bias toward the righteous, but expediently align with those who can help them achieve their own ends.
God is a true independent. He is not swayed. He loves righteousness and aligns with the righteous because the righteous align with righteousness.
Evil, earthly princes have no regard for sojourners (AKA: foreigners/aliens).
They do not uphold the fatherless (AKA: those without a guardian/spokesman/protector - the powerless).
They do not thwart the ways of the wicked.
God, on the other hand, can be trusted to do the right thing and to win!
Hear the Word of the LORD and let us model our leadership after His example.
"Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.''
''Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.''
''Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.''
''The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.''
''The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!''
We get numb to the news and tragedy overload overwhelms us into dullness.
It is complicated.
We cannot blame this group or that group for this manifestation of evil or desperation or delusion or all of those things wrapped into a moment of very bad choices ... yet many courses are now altered by one man's issues whose issues intersect and overlap with the issues of others and of all of us.
It is not easy stuff to handle, but that is why we are up right now ... in fellowship with one another, some of us in prayer and in fellowship with The Other.
All of us are here in common compassion and concern.
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” – Romans 7:18
As I struggled with my humanity recently, I was confronted with some important truths.
There is no way that my flesh will ever improve to the place where God can use it or be pleased by it. In the flesh I am selfish, irritable, weak, un-spiritual, spiritually lazy, hungry for flesh-satisfying stimulation, unreasonable, stubborn, and emotionally volatile -just to name a few of my “charming” characteristics
(They certainly “charm” me into deception).
My flesh is not getting better and shows no prospects of getting better.
Read Romans 7-8 to get the picture.
We all face Paul’s dilemma and we are all disappointed when we discover that we cannot become what God wants us to be by doing what we think God wants us to do.
So, what’s the point? The point is that, through grace, as God makes us what He wants us to be, we will desire to do, also by grace, the things that God wants to do through us. And, as we trust Him and turn our dials toward the Spirit and begin to walk in the Spirit that will all happen.
We’ve all been disappointed by people who we thought were strong Christians but let us down.
Those disappointments have been shocking at times and have caused us to question ourselves. That is not a bad thing.
What is dangerous is if we ever start feeling so proud of our “efforts” and “successes” that we forget we are vulnerable and weak and that we are capable, in the flesh of the same falls that we have witnessed in others.
We are totally and absolutely dependent upon God for the Christian life and God is totally and absolutely dependable to accomplish His purposes in and through us. He will never let us down. Trust Him and commit your moments and days to His care.
Spiritual foolishness is about the heart, not the intellect.
Jeremiah describes the fool that says in his hear there is no God, not as a person who has trouble believing, but as one who knows there is a God, but ignores that fact. That is also what the psalmist described - one who makes no room in his or her heart for God, for righteousness, for justice, or for truth.
In other words, stubborn and self-centered.
Spiritual foolishness is about the heart, not the intellect.
Jeremiah 16:10-21:
And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you ...
"Why has the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us?"
"What is our iniquity?"
"What is the sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?"
... then you shall say to them:
It is because your ancestors have forsaken me, says the LORD, and have gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law; and because you have behaved worse than your ancestors, for here you are, every one of you, following your stubborn evil will, refusing to listen to me.
Therefore I will hurl you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.
Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, "As the LORD lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt," but "As the LORD lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven them."
For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their ancestors.
I am now sending for many fishermen, says the LORD, and they shall catch them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.
For my eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from my presence, nor is their iniquity concealed from my sight.
And I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations.
O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: Our ancestors have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.
Can mortals make for themselves gods?
Such are no gods!
"Therefore I am surely going to teach them, this time I am going to teach them my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the LORD."
There is no message more self-contradictory to human logic, No act so paradoxical in its demonstration, No sacrifice more irrational and No statement more counter-intuitive ... and None so true.
Happy April 1 National Misfits for Jesus Day! Face it and embrace it!
Jeremiah describes a religious establishment that seeks to serve the establishment of rich, powerful, privileged, and decadent rather than God and people.
The rich and powerful are people too, but must be stripped of the false presumptions of privilege and right-to-rule in order to stand with the poor in the feeding line of mercy and grace.
Religion does not exist to reinforce the decadence of society or keep the boat of oppressive wealth from rocking.
God appoints prophets to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
Jeremiah was such a prophet, contrasting with the ethos of the court prophets of his day who told rulers what they wanted to hear.
Jeremiah 23:9-15: Concerning the prophets: My heart is crushed within me, all my bones shake; I have become like a drunkard, like one overcome by wine, because of the LORD and because of his holy words. For the land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land mourns, and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up. Their course has been evil, and their might is not right. Both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in my house I have found their wickedness, says the LORD. Therefore their way shall be to them like slippery paths in the darkness, into which they shall be driven and fall; for I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment, says the LORD. In the prophets of Samaria I saw a disgusting thing: they prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray. But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a more shocking thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from wickedness; all of them have become like Sodom to me, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah. Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: "I am going to make them eat wormwood, and give them poisoned water to drink; for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land."
We walk among "perpetual ruins," reminded of what once was.
Were we born at the wrong time?
There once was glory.
All we see is decay.
Where is God?
Is it all yesterday's story for yesterday's people?
In the lament, there is a hope-trigger.
" Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. You split open springs and brooks; you dried up ever-flowing streams. Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun. You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter."
(Psalm 74:12-17 ESV)
The noise of the enemy can be very distracting.
Their grudges are all we hear.
Drop these and all burdens off at the nearest prayer station and get on with your life.
"Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy! Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan, because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me."
Incarnational embodiment of the missional cross-call of Jesus requires a movement through the laments of Saturday and a daily dying to again take up the cross of the burdens of suffering humanity.
There is no room for an ethic of self-preservation and self-satisfaction at the cost of the marginalized, the wounded, the sinner, or those who most represent that ugliness from which we most desperately hide our eyes.
It demands that we seek to hear the voices of those whose attitudes and arguments we believe we have processed and refuted.
It is a call to stand beside the discredited, the disenfranchised, the disinherited, and yes, the disrespectful as well as the disrespected.
It requires of those who would follow Jesus, something more.
We cannot be satisfied to be right.
We cannot be comfortable that we are justified, sanctified, verified, certified, or codified in the validity of our positional righteousness.
We must step into the sorrow of another and go beyond what is expected.
We must become vulnerable enough to stand beside those whose presence may place us in danger of being misunderstood and maligned.
Our chief identification on this earth must be with whom Jesus sympathized, empathized, and called to be brothers and sisters. We must stand with compassion before the Syro-Phoenician, the leper, the tax collector, the adulterer, the demoniac, the Samaritan, the woman of questionable standing, the enemy centurion, and unclean woman with an issue of blood - the hungry, imprisoned, poor, and naked - the company of beloved souls, the lost and found of the Kingdom of God.
It is a bias of the highest order and the most radical sort.
It is the demand of discipleship, the cost paid by one crucified between two thieves to enter into the dark realms of death and lead captivity captive.
Despised, rejected, and defiled and we ask to be excused in favor of a more respectable, dignified, and comfortable religion.
And what of truth telling?
I have nothing to say to my neighbor from afar that is worth saying or hearing.
But if I stand with him or her and can look into that one's eye, soul to soul, there is no truth I cannot speak in love. And if I weep over my neighbor, my neighbor can hear and perhaps, receive.
We are called to have the mind of Christ, the compassion of Christ in these closing hours of Dark Saturday as we lament and sit and wait through the Requiem of supreme sacrifice.
There were two brothers. Both had the wrong idea about what it meant to be sons of a father who loved them in ways they did not understand.
We journey to Luke 15 to refresh our recollection.
The elder brother, an heir, knew his responsibilities, stayed home and worked like one who saw himself as a slave. The younger brother knew his rights, took his inheritance, and partied like a man who thought he was free.
The elder brothers life went on day to day with order, predictability, and success. The younger brother lived lavishly until the money was all gone and fell into sewer, stuck.
The younger brother left the father's house; the older brother would not enter because he disapproved of the party that was going on to honor the returning younger brother.
The younger brother returned, as a pleading slave.
The older brother returned from the work day, strutting with pride.
Both had a surprise waiting. The younger brother was greeted with a welcome he could not have imagined. The elder brother was revolted and repulsed by the extravagant and inappropriate celebration in his father's house. He refused to enter.
In both cases, the father went out of the house to meet his sons.
The elder brother said, "YOUR son;" the father replied, "YOUR brother."
The elder brother said, "I have been your servant;" the father said, "You have always been my son."
The elder brother wanted a party with his friends; the younger brother was enveloped into a party with his father and his father's friends.
In the case of both brothers, the father embraced them as sons.
It is about relationship, one where the father takes most of the initiative and pays all the costs.
We must celebrate; we must party; we must rejoice. Your brother was dead. Your brother is now alive.
We are invited to a celebration, both as guests of honor and as fellow celebrants of those who have returned.
The way we can most please our Father, is by coming.
Poets seldom finish a thought. That is a good thing. They rarely wrap up an idea, tie a ribbon on it, and send it off in a package. They hand you unfinished projects and open-ended musings. They trust you. They do not purport to be wise, only observant. They are not purveyors of information or agents of answers, but inquirers of questions who "talk about trees." When a poet falls, she leaves many unfinished poems for us ... to add our own verses and muse our own musings.
Operating in the name of Jesus cannot be defined by or limited to saying, "Jesus," "Yeshua," יֵשׁוּעַ , Joshua, or any of his name's forms of spelling or pronunciation.
Nor does it require a tag line on the end of a prayer.
It is about identification at the soul level and in open, public acknowledgement of one's loyalty and affiliation with Him.
The rest is about reminders.
Having established that bias, I set out to see what prerogatives and instructions Jesus actually laid out in the gospels regarding the invocation of His name.
Here they are:
We May/Must Welcome Children in His Name in Order to Welcome Him!
Matthew 18:5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
Mark 9:37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me.
Luke 9:48 Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”
We May Expect His Presence When We Gather in His Name.
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.
Do note, that for these and for all of these admonitions, promises, and teachings, the presupposition is that those who are doing these things in His name are His disciples. To be His disciple is to live life in Jesus' name. There is no expectation of or on the masses.
We Can Expect that MANY Will Come, Falsely, Disingenuously, and Manipulatively Using His Name to Deceive People.
Matthew 24:5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.
Mark 13:6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many.
Luke 21:8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.
We Are Not to Be Alarmed or Offended if Others Do Good in Jesus' Name Even if They Are Not Part of Our Band.
Mark 9:39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me,
We Can Expect God to Reward People Who Bless Us Because of Our Identification with Jesus' Name/Mission.
Mark 9:41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.
We Can Expect Mighty Support for Our Mission.
Though it may not be in the most ancient manuscripts, the addendum to Mark's gospel quotes Jesus as indicating that those who live in Jesus' name will proclaim liberation from bondage and break down the barriers of language and culture:
Mark 16:17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
We Can Expect a Lot of Trouble.
Jesus says that people who take His name should plan on being persecuted for it, not for being obnoxious, not for being anything except followers of Jesus. In other words, be;ievers should expect no special privileges from the world and should not whine when they think they are getting raw deals.
Luke 21:12 “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.
We Can Expect to Have God's Ear When We Pray.
Here is how we know it is more than a tag-line in prayer, to pray in Jesus' name is to pray as He prays and to ask for what He requests of the Father. It is to be aligned with Him. Whenever we come into that sort of alignment with the heart, desires, and will of God, and to the extent that we do, our prayers are answered. It is not magic. It is not a formula. It is a process of coming into that tuning.
John 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.John 14:14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
John 16:23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
John 16:24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
John 16:26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf.
Finally, we venture into one verse of Acts. Paul sums up what it means for him to live in Jesus' name.
We Can Expect that To Lay Down Our Lives.
Acts 21:13 Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
There is nothing here about any of our rights, privileges, or protections from society.
There is much to be said of God's promises and our own responsibility to be willing to be identified with Jesus and to live out our lives consistently with the Great Commandment to love God and our neighbor.
There is much implied and taught about living in such a way that people can see an authentic vision of Jesus reflected in who we are, what we do, and what we say.
The prophet laments in Jeremiah 8:18-9:6. Sometimes it is in his own voice, sometimes it is in the voice of God. But God is in each of the tears and cries of despair over stubborn, broken, wounded, and precarious hearts. God is in the frustration of one speaking to the ears that do not hear. God is in the mourning over those who are oppressed and those who oppress.
My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick. Hark, the cry of my poor people from far and wide in the land:
"Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King not in her?" ("Why have they provoked me to anger with their images, with their foreign idols?")
"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."
The voice and heart of God beat through the voice and heart of the prophet who observes the times and speaks to the people of the times. This God chooses prophets who weep. This God appoints messengers who love the unlovely and care for the careless. This God chooses spokespeople who both identify with and stand apart from the masses who go astray.
Our times are broken times. We confuse and cloud the issues. We defend our traditions for the wrong reasons. We compare our rights to those of others in order to assert our own. We hold our preferences in high esteem and our loyalties up as ultimate treasures.
We display our discomforts and inconveniences to discount the historical and immediate pain of those who are other than us in some way.
We learn with precision and repetition to speak the words, "but what about me?"
"But what about us?"
And still ... and yet ... and as a result, summer comes, harvest passes, and we miss the salvific moment that God, in God's mercy declares. We allow the Year of Jubilee to pass unnoticed until it is gone and then, we grieve.
And God grieves with us, for us, and with and for those we have wounded and forgotten along the way.
We and God are sick at heart.
If we are not weeping prophets in these days of greed, hate, vitriol, and injustice, we are no prophets at all.
If we are not confused, conflicted, and torn, we have not deeply touched nor been touched by the heart of God.
For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.
Who are these who are "my poor people?"
They are the oppressed.
They are the oppressors.
They are those who think they are one, for all think they are oppressed and yet, are also oppressors.
They are those who know that they oppress, do not care, but may not be aware that they are also in bondage and jeopardy .
Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?
Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?
Why indeed?
Indeed, why not?
There is balm. There is a physician.
What, then is missing?
Is it us?
Is it our failure to receive the balm or our unwillingness to apply it to the wound of the other? Or are we arguing over whose wound is worse? Are we doing a triage dance over the severity of the suffering and who gets the attention?
What is our favorite injustice?
What is our pet sin to malign.
What is our finger of choice to point at our chose people to blame for all that is wrong?
And thus, we are not healed.
O that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, so that I might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people!
Weep! Weep! Weep!
Weep until you are weary and cry out to God who weeps along with you.
For in weeping we discover the love and in love we have our only hope of joy and the joy of hope.
Perhaps we shall find it in our hearts to carry the balm in our satchels and apply it freely to the open sores of the world without judgment or bitterness.
Perhaps the weeping will move us to be to one another, physicians of mercy, grace, and peace.
Perhaps we will temper our words, soften our hearts, and strengthen our spines for the work of righteousness and reconciliation.
Perhaps we will be willing to be the lone and lonely Jeremiahs of the world.
O that I had in the desert a traveler's lodging place, that I might leave my people and go away from them! For they are all adulterers, a band of traitors. They bend their tongues like bows; they have grown strong in the land for falsehood, and not for truth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, says the LORD.
No one is saying that this call to weep has a gravitational pull of pleasure and happiness.
It is a wearying weeping that evokes revulsion and feelings of flight over fight. Yet, we must flow.
And that is just how God must feel.
Thus it is for the prophet and the prophetic community.
This community of weeping prophets cannot settle down in ultimate comfort in this world. We are not at odds with the people, but the systems and processes that are active around us are at odds with the light we bear and the love we share.
Beware of your neighbors, and put no trust in any of your kin; for all your kin are supplanters, and every neighbor goes around like a slanderer. They all deceive their neighbors, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongues to speak lies; they commit iniquity and are too weary to repent.
It is not that we think ill of our neighbors. We see them as we see ourselves, through the enlightened eyes of realism and truth. Our theology of sin and its deceitful implications and outcomes is heart and raw. We know that of which people are capable because we know that in ourselves.
We may also know what it is to be too weary, worn, and discouraged to repent.
That is why the call to repentance is always, always, always good news.
With the call comes the explicit implication of possibility. God says and the prophet says, "Here is a place, a moment, an opportunity, a grace, a forgiveness, and a hopeful empowerment for you and for me to change our minds and change our direction!"
Otherwise, how could they?
Otherwise, how could we?
In the valley of weeping is the place where the very, very, very good gospel of very, very, very good news takes on a melodious and welcome tone.
Oppression upon oppression, deceit upon deceit!
To say less, to cover-up, to call one thing something else, to deny, to negate, and to defend indefensible is to perpetrate oppression through deceit. Generational lies do not become truth because they are often repeated. Uncomfortable revelations about injustice are no less true because they disturb us or because we feel harassed by them. History does not change to suit us no matter how we dress it up. Just because we have always thought it was one way because it was our way, does not make it so.
These things compile and in the compilation, they compress, and to decompress and de-compile is an excruciating process. But it is the home of righteous, peace, joy, love, grace, and purpose.
They refuse to know me, says the LORD.
It is, of course, the bottom line. YHWH, the LORD, reaches out and reveals to be known and mankind only fails to see through refusal.
Thus the prophets weep and the LORD weeps.
But like the God of Jeremiah commanded him, that God commands us that even when it may be useless to pray for a magic turn-around or avoidance of the pain, keep proclaiming, keep prophesying, keep hoping.
The encouraging words in Jeremiah are few and far between, but they are enough.
They are enough to know, that at the end of the matter, there is good news and weeping is for but a moment..
The great themes of our days startle us into wakefulness.
We gravitate toward them as if there is a magnet drawing the little specks of scattered metal dust into a meaningful center of thinking where a message might emerge if there is anyone to hear, discern, and apply it.
God comes ... into the scattered dust of our existence and there is something metallic in us and magnetic in Truth that draws us from randomness to reality and purpose.
Sometimes, it is an angel voice that calls and sometimes our own random seeking that draws, but always, always, always, there is an invasion of divinity into our little conclaves of humanity that speaks with clarity ....
Free flowing, fresh, thirst quenching, life altering, mind bending, countenance lifting, laughter evoking, heart wrenching, heart mending, sweet, precious grace to you.
Grace to you that is greater than sin, disappointment, and fear.
Grace to you that is so flavored with giddy God joy that no bitter words can shatter its confidence and all swords of disparagement pass through it like knives through Jello.
Grace, grace, grace to you.
Grace to you that lifts you and challenges you.
May grace that cannot be contained in you, be in you and flow through you to others today.
If you do not believe as I do, that grace can come in a person and dwell within you, may grace still surround you and may people of grace be gracious unto you. sing grace; dance grace; live grace.
Grace to you.
March 24, 2019
" I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me."
(Psalm 101:2-3 ESV)
I could, can, and do echo this prayer of commitment today:
1. Regulate my thoughts. Rejecting that which is unworthy, focusing on the real longing of my heart for God to show up in my life in a fresh way.
2. Walking in my own house with integrity - in the place of my most intimate relationships and relaxed behaviors among those who know me best and must put up with me most.
3. Watching what I watch and how I feed my brain when I am alone and unaccountable to anyone but God. Worthless things pay no dividends but destruction and decay.
4. Hating that which is the fruit of unfruitful labor. In other words, I am called to reject the products of rebellion against truth and the God of truth. They appear attractive and they lure us with the promise that they are shortcuts to success, but they are not worthy of our efforts.
"Watch, O Lord, with those who wake, or watch or weep tonight, and give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend your sick ones, O Lord Jesus Christ; rest your weary ones; bless your dying ones; soothe your suffering ones; pity your afflicted ones; shield your joyous ones; and all for your love's sake. Amen."
"Be not silent, O God of my praise! For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues. They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause. In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer."
(Psalm 109:1-4 ESV)
"...but I give myself to prayer."
Whatever the mess, the tension, the stress, and the opposition, we had better be on that page.
There are challenges we cannot face alone. There are perplexities we cannot unravel. There are doubts we cannot calm. There are attacks we cannot fend off.
We must give ourselves to prayer.
When I come to the end of myself, I come to the continuing beginning of God's grace in my life.
Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know You, and desire nothing save only You. Let me hate myself and love You. Let me do everything for the sake of You. Let me humble myself and exalt You. Let me think of nothing except You. Let me die to myself and live in You. Let me accept whatever happens as from You. Let me banish self and follow You, and ever desire to follow You. Let me fly from myself and take refuge in You, That I may deserve to be defended by You. Let me fear for myself. Let me fear You, and let me be among those who are chosen by You. Let me distrust myself and put my trust in You. Let me be willing to obey for the sake of You. Let me cling to nothing save only to You, And let me be poor because of You. Look upon me, that I may love You. Call me that I may see You, and for ever enjoy You. Amen.
Beloved, you do not ultimately answer to me for who you are. I am not your judge and if I try to be, I stand the chance of being wrong. I cannot even judge my judges. I cannot know your motives. I cannot know theirs.
We have all been victims of unfair judgment and we have all dished it out.
If you ask me about you, you are giving me more information and seeking my accountability. We need to be accountable. It is healthy. I will prayerfully and tentatively give you a reflection of what I see.
When I must comment of social behaviors, trends, evils, and corporate sin, I surely will, but I know little of the heart state of the individual sinner. I am not gifted with that sort of prophetic gift.
Are we speaking truth to power or just about power?
To "know them by their fruits" does not give me license to go beyond necessity in this task. Even church discipline is highly regulated by scripture. If I am indignant about someone's exercise of power over the powerless in the public square, I must leave open the possibility that I do not know everything about it.
With that in mind, David tells us what it feels like to be the brunt of unfair criticism,
"More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore?" (Psalm 69:4 ESV)
The higher your profile, the more likely it is to happen.
But here is the deal: If you are being criticized unfairly, that is bad, but there is probably something for which criticism is due .... by God.
" O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you." (Psalm 69:5 ESV)
The psalmist is transparent before God and willing for God to scrutinize his heart.
He is a leader, but he knows he must be led.
He has already prayed:
"Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God." (Psalm 69:1-3 ESV)
This is personal and he pours it out before God. The song is one any can sing.
This man in leadership knows that in high profile leadership, we can lose friends and family, disappoint followers, discourage others, and dishonor God.
" Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel. For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons." (Psalm 69:6-8 ESV)
He does not want that to happen, so he prays against his mortal enemies in subsequent verses. He is praying for protection and vindication.
He knows his own motives and they seem right to him. Yet, he is unfairly maligned for doing what he thinks is right.
" For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me." (Psalm 69:9-12 ESV)
He is skewered on late night TV, lampooned in comedy and raked over the coals by both Fox and CNN.
He prays.
He knows that he cannot vindicate himself in the eyes of his detractors. He knows that he cannot make them ashamed of their behavior. Only God can put them down and lift him up.
But he also knows that God can help and he is in the position of having to deal with the only wise judge who is also our advocate.
" Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me. Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me." (Psalm 69:14-16 ESV)
There are multiple lessons here and one is that I do not know which one applies to you. I am seeking what applies to me and the grace to apply it.
Just some nuggets rolling off my devotional plate this morning.
Scene from Nashville Civil Rights protests, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54244 [retrieved March 23, 2019]. Original source: Vanderbilt University Special Collections.
Is there an intersection of peace and justice? Are they concentric? Are they parallel? What is their relationship to each other and where do they fit into the gospel of the Kingdom of God in Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ?
The thirst thought I have is to eliminate the "and" because an adequate definition of "shalom" includes "well-being" of all and that includes justice. Furthermore, an adequate definition of justice implies well-being and the righting of wrongs.
Peace is not the absence of conflict. That is an inadequate definition of peace. There is plenty of conflict on the road to and in the quest for peace. It is how we manage conflict that shows whether or not we are at or in peace.
Peace is not at odds with truth and justice. It is a byproduct of both and a means to both.
We cannot let detractors define what peace is. Real peace is a spiritual reality first, but it is also a social reality and both dimensions are the concerns of God and God's people.
Peace is hard, complex work. The easy road does not lead there. The militaristic road does insure it. The political process does not fully facilitate it. I am not denying the place of simple thinkers, politicians, or military powers in the process or at the table. They are just not the ones who will get the hard work done of sorting out the complexities.
It is hard work because, usually, everyone is right and everyone is wrong. All interests are valid and some interests can be laid aside. All parties are human and all are endowed with dignity as a gift from their Creator. It is complicated and it is simple.
Peace is a goal because peace is just and comprehensive. Peace protects all people's rights to life and liberty as well as the pursuit of happiness as long as peace is properly understood and defined.
Peacemaking is a calling for followers of Jesus and cannot be denied. It is a primary calling that we have in the ethical realm. When we speak the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of peace is part of the package. We speak of and offer peace with God through Jesus, we declare a Kingdom message as well.
Did I mention that peace is hard work? It is, but it is also a grace-gift. The capacity for peace is available to all individuals and peoples.
Peace and peacemaking align us with a cause greater than ourselves and place us in the realm of the miraculous where all things are possible, even those things that are un-imagined and unimaginable. When we actually follow Jesus and obey His lifestyle demands in our relationships, things happen that defy logic.
Of course, we could get beaten up or we could die ....
... but our survival (I speak now only in the context of following Jesus) is not an ultimate value for our lives and choices. We have died already and the life we now live is by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. So, if our bodies are sacrificed along the way, we have gained.
That is not to say we invite abuse.
It is to say that we shall not abuse in order not to be abused.
Peace and Justice are not two sides of the same coin. They are both on the same side of the same coin.
"This debate of justice and peace, which sometimes becomes so acrimonious, is a false debate in the sense that you need both. Justice reinforces the long-term peace that one is looking for." Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General
We are here today, standing on a rolling ball, trying to maintain our balance yet balanced by an unseen hand.
We are suspended between the ground beneath and the sky above and somehow unimpressed.
We are ever bumping into one another and looking the other way with muttered apologies for living.
We see through and around and over and under with the illusion of our own invisibility.
We are witnesses to what we are and what we know and who we know and choose to live in anonymity.
And we live on, day after day, moment after moment in the drudgery of routine and the ritual of sameness moving steadily toward some undefined goal we call "retirement."
Retirement from what?
Indeed we are tired, but not from engagement, not from work. Work never wearied a soul engaged in purposeful pursuit. Work invigorates, regenerates, and illuminates our lives for what they are and are to be ....
We ...
We are called, chosen, and unfrozen to be instruments of peace, God's peace, to sow seeds of love, kindness, joy, and healing.
And if we ever get caught up with that, we can talk about retirement.
So get up, get connected, feed your face, wash your teeth, and move out.
That being said, here are some random observations from an imperfect interpreter of scripture and life:
My take-away lesson from Jeremiah is that some suffering is necessary. Jesus taught this too and embodied it and, when encouraged to avoid the suffering, He put the "plan" ahead of His own interests and well-being.
But ... nevertheless ... and more of the most .... the words"rise again" were there all along.
"And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”"
(Mark 8:31-33 ESV)
And then, there is this:
" For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings."
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."
(1 Corinthians 9:19-27 ESV)
Strategic living and speaking.
This is the take-away I get from this epistle lesson today - that we are to consider the consequences of our words and deeds in terms of their impact on others.
There is not law that says we cannot be relatable and truthful at the same time. We can be authentic and not be intentionally offensive. If truth offends, that is one thing; if I offend, that is a matter of false pride and a deficit of love.
How I live and what I speak are strategic opportunities for doing good and advancing God's kingdom of love and grace.
It takes discipline and sometimes I do not do all that well at it.
But , beyond the easy stuff, here are the really hard words on thinking we have all the answers for every situation:
" Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”"
"For who among them has stood in the council of the LORD to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened? Behold, the storm of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his heart. In the latter days you will understand it clearly."
"“I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds."
"“Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD. I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the LORD. Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who steal my words from one another. Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the LORD.’ Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the LORD."
(Jeremiah 23:16-32 ESV)
There is a stinging indictment here that I, and thousands of preachers can do well to heed today. Jeremiah conveys a sobering issue. Prophets who declare their own dreams and interpretations infallible and speak words of false assurance that do no profit the people. Those who speak to us and say that suffering is bad on the surface and that we can be completely rid of it if we speak the right words or have the right faith, may be short-circuiting the faith process in someone's life.
Those who tell us that no matter what we think, do, or speak, everything will be OK, and are not talking about ultimate, but temporal outcomes, are setting people up for disaster.
Those who assure us that our choices do not matter because there are no consequences, are not being loving in their declarations.
What we do matters. The choices we make take us down paths that lead somewhere. Grace enters in. Mercy is ever-present, but laws of sowing and reaping are built into the very fabric of the universe to teach us how to live.
Syllogisms such as, "if A=B and B=C, then A=C" are divine principles that can only be defied by divine intervention and such intervention is most generally, not in our long-term best interest.
Anyone can make up anything. It can be made up in our subconscious and believed in our consciousness. Then, when communicated with "authority," it is believed by others.
The prophetic role is a dangerous role, not just for the prophet, but for the listener.
Vain hopes are harmful and unnecessary in the light of the solid hope we already have. We might have tough times ahead, but we will ultimately make it. Just don't despise the hard times or dismiss them as non-existent. They are also our teachers.
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