Welcome to the Dream Factory, the blog of Tom Sims. Make sure to visit some of our other sites including An Elegant Yard Sale and 4141 Ministries and don't forget to subscribe to this blog. Check out the upper right hand corner of the page!
"Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him."
Jesus is angry and grieved here, because otherwise good people with sound doctrine are adding burdens to people that stand between them and their healing and redemption. Jesus' heart does not allow him to pass a man with a withered hand and not do all he can to help and restore. He can no less pass an opportunity to make a teaching point in his own indignation - even if it creates hostility against him.
There are many lessons here, but one strikes me today. These Pharisees,by all accounts, reformers who sought to bring the faith of Israel back to its authentic roots, had gotten familiar with power and honor and were threatened when something different came along. They had also fallen for the mistaken belief that if everyone just followed the rules as they interpreted them, they would all be "cool" with God.
They were so convinced of their calling to control the Sabbath that God had given to man and made the Son of Man in charge of, that they were willing to align with the money-grabbing, religiously antagonistic, power brokers of the day whose Herodian inclinations were secular, unjust, oppressive, and basically evil. They had something in common - common economic and political interests that they were willing to justify with religious language.
So great was there lust for order, power, and social/religious favor and equilibrium that they made plans to destroy the voice that would upset their tentative and fragile apple cart of Roman-Jewish coexistence.
Jesus' response was to feel the indignation, grief, and compassion, recognize the risk, and do what he would do anyway.
Jacob was not the last character in the Bible to wrestle with God. David often struggled in prayer in that place where emotions are raw, fears exposed, and bitterness laid bare. He was shaped by these encounters because they were honest and real.
“And in despair, I bowed my head …”
Psalm 12:1 - Help, Lord, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.
Do you feel alone in your spiritual journey? Do you imagine that you are the only person in your school, workplace, or neighborhood that desires the things of God or seeks after His will? Do you wonder if there is even one other person who will stand with you for truth and righteousness? Are you overwhelmed by the loneliness of solitary seeking? Do you even wonder if the psalmist was somehow transported out of his time to speak of ours? Things have not changed that much have they? We all look back on better times when we were sure that there were more righteous and earnest people living among us and compare those times with our “todays.” We conclude that we are alone and that no one else is godly or faithful. While that is not true in every sense, it is in one. “There is none that is righteous, no not one.” We are indicted by that statement and must include ourselves among the number of the “no more” who have “vanished from the earth.” From God’s perspective and standard of perfect holiness, no one measures up. Then Jesus Christ enters the picture and He alone stands for truth. Our only hope is in Him and in Him we are not alone. Consciously align yourself with Him today and allow God to flush away that sense of “aloneness.”
When You Can’t Trust a Compliment
“ They speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is Lord over us?.” - Psalm 12:-2-4
If you can’t trust a compliment, what can you trust? The psalmist has had it with flattery. He is discouraged over the tendency of his neighbors to use speech only to manipulate and deceive. We ought to develop that same level of disgust with untruth because all lying and falsehood are at odds with a God who is truth. Pretty lies are no better than ugly lies. Lies are lies and they are dark and dismal. Ask God to fill your heart with truth today and with a love for that truth so that whenever you would tell yourself a lie, you would immediately appeal to the God of truth and be rescued. Whatever urge you may have to be hard on your neighbors, start first with yourself and let God’s grace fill you and change you.
Consider this: praise and flattery met Jesus upon His entry into the Holy City. “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord,” they cried and most likely meant what they said. Is it possible that some of those who praised Him on Sunday cursed Him on Thursday evening when He was arrested and brought to trial? Could it be that some who praised Him were seeking to manipulate Him for their own ends and to triumph with their tongues, even to co-opt Him for their own causes? Is it even possible that some that welcomed Him with their lips retained no sense of responsibility for their words beyond themselves? We see ourselves as masters of our words whenever we refuse to submit ourselves, body, soul, and spirit, to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Jesus went to the upper room and took the role of a servant. With His words and deeds, He offered His body and blood for the redemption of lost men and women. He emptied Himself and held nothing back. His words are truth and love. Let us bring ourselves and our words to Him in that same spirit.
God and the Oppressed
For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him..” - Psalm 12:5
What is the Word of God to a man or woman unjustly imprisoned for his or her faith in a land of persecution? What message from the Lord soothes the heart of a child who has been victimized by the people, charged with his protection or the young woman beaten and battered on the streets in a senseless act of violence? What does God have to say to the oppressed of the world and to those who labor under the weight of spiritual oppression?
God saw the oppression of the weak and heard the groaning of the needy, bound in the chains of sin and wickedness. Thus, He came to us as a man among men. He arose and took upon Himself of a lowly servant, He emptied Himself and became obedient unto the death of the cross (Philippians 2). That is His Word, alive and viable! He identified with us completely, yet without sin and became our protector and deliverer from sin.
God has always been the champion of the weak and needy. The Christ-event and the passion of the cross make it clear that every man, woman, and child is in need of a savior. We are all oppressed – even if we are oppressors. We each writhe in agony for someone to intervene in our darkness and bring us into the light. Friend, the cross, was, is, and always will be for you. Spend some time today meditating on it. Seek out other believers with whom you can worship in wake of Calvary. Get alone with God and thank Him for remembering you on the cross. Do not let this day pass as any other.
Precious Words
“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” - Psalm 12:6-7
Oh precious words, flawless, pure, beautiful in their refined glory. God’s words stir the soul, comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable, and pierce the heart with divine truth and brilliant light. On that dark Saturday between the cross and the resurrection, the disciples had only the remembrance of His words. What would they have meant to you in such an hour? What have they meant to you in your darkest hours. After the resurrection, Jesus would meet men on the road to Emmaus and remind them of His words and those that the Father had spoken over the centuries through the scriptures. He would bring them new meaning and their hearts would burn within them. Let Jesus apply all of God’s words to your heart in the darkness of death from the place of resurrection. We can never fully visit the despair of that bleak Saturday, but we can enter into our own darkness with the flawless Word of God to comfort our souls.
What a pointless prayer this would be divorced from resurrection truth! Without the resurrection we are exposed, vulnerable, and unprotected. If Christ were not raised we would be as Paul said, “still in our sins (I Cor. 15).” We could not expect help in the onslaughts of wicked and violent people or non-human forces from a dead and powerless God. Prayers would be futile attempts to feel better about our miserable circumstances. Compliance with ethics would be fruitless acts of legalistic compulsion if not overwhelmed by a dynamic conviction that God can raise the dead and thus, protect, deliver, and save. God raised Jesus from the dead and pronounced the death sentence on death. He is alive and brings to life all who trust in Him. Celebrate! The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!
Psalm 12:7 - O lord, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever.
What a pointless prayer this would be divorced from resurrection truth! Without the resurrection we are exposed, vulnerable, and unprotected. If Christ were not raised we would be as Paul said, “still in our sins (I Cor. 15).” We could not expect help in the onslaughts of wicked and violent people or non-human forces from a dead and powerless God. Prayers would be futile attempts to feel better about our miserable circumstances. Compliance with ethics would be fruitless acts of legalistic compulsion if not overwhelmed by a dynamic conviction that God can raise the dead and thus, protect, deliver, and save. God raised Jesus from the dead and pronounced the death sentence on death. He is alive and brings to life all who trust in Him. Celebrate! The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!
Vilest Men Exalted
“The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.” - Psalm 12:8
This must grieve the heart of the psalmist. David loved God so much that he could not understand the motivations of people who warred against Him. Nor could he understand their apparent triumph. Why do these things happen? How can such men be exalted? Why do the wicked prosper? These were nagging questions for the man after God’s own heart.
One might think that the psalmist had stepped out of his time and looked upon ours to offer his commentary. The repulsive sight of the wicked strutting about in impunity is and always will be a source of grief to those who love God and His truth. The deeper indignity and affront to God is that what is vile is honored among men as noble, good, true, artistic, or benevolent. Little has changed. The values of society, left to its own devices, have always been at odds with God. We must carefully examine all that we place upon our cultural pedestals and pay homage to. God’s standards are different than the world’s. We value what may contain a grain of truth, but it is so often distorted and ignoble.
The numerology of apocalyptic literature takes the number 6 and repeats it three times in contrast to the holiness of the complete Trinity. Thus, 666 represents the fullness of evil. The curious thing is that the number 6 is only one whole number shy of 7 – the number of perfection. The lesson is almost hidden, but clear: That which is repugnant may be something that is very close to the truth (for instance, the devil quotes scripture and believes in God), but veers off the path of truth in a small way that is significant enough to altar everything. It should be easy for the Christian to detect the blatant and flagrant abuses of truth, but be cautious that you are not caught up in the frenzy of honoring that which is popular just because it has an outer veneer of righteousness.
How Long?
“How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; “ - Psalm 13:1-3
In the first place, we must note that he is wrong about being abandoned and forgotten by God. That is how he feels, but not the truth of the situation – and he most likely knows it in the depths of his being. In the second place, it is OK for him to express this feeling to God because it is about emotional disclosure – not about theological accuracy. Don’t allow your desire to be theologically sound inhibit your honest prayers to God in the secrecy of your heart before Him. Trust Him to correct any misconceptions you have. He can do that as you address Him. You are not praying before an audience – not even an audience comprised of yourself and God. Get out of the way of your prayers and pour out your soul before God. He can hear you whenever you earnestly seek Him. He knows your heart, your frailties, and your strengths. He loves you and has not left you alone. If you feel He has hidden His face from you – tell Him. He loves the fact that you long for Him and desire to know Him, see Him, and experience Him at a deeper level. Get real in your prayers and God will transform your life through them.
Unfortunately, we have to wrestle with our thoughts sometimes and we are not exempt from sorrow of heart. Sometimes, for the moment, our enemies triumph over us and the pain of it seems open-ended. “God,” we pray,” how long will this go on? I have nearly reached the end of my rope.” And God either gives us more rope or extends our patience, or, in some cases, gives us a glimpse of an end in sight. Our defeats are temporal and transient. Our victory is eternal. Our wrestling thoughts and deep sorrows do not overwhelm us for we have rest in Jesus. He is our comfort. The psalmist is not lecturing us about how to deal with eternal pain, doubt, and conflict; he is modeling it. He shows us the way out by living it out. He prays – honestly and frankly to a God He trusts and knows. The author or sponsor is identified as David, so we know that these are his sentiments and this is his prayer. He was called a man after God’s own heart. Imagine that - God loves to hear from His children even when they are bringing Him their deepest conflicts. Pray.
This is the desperate plea of a man who knows that His only hope is in God. It may be true that our prayers will never be very effective until we come to terms with this reality in our lives. The submission to God’s will is present in the mode of address, “O Lord, my God.” The relationship is personal and vital. The prayer is for light. Eyes never see without light. David goes further – no light, no life. “I cannot live without you,” he implies. “If I cannot see from your perspective, I will simply die.” He longs deeply for truth and for God. We cannot learn to pray like that from outside instruction; we begin with that part of our soul that knows it is weak and desperate and begin – and God teaches us to dig in and cry out to Him. Ask Him to be your teacher: “Lord, I don’t know where to begin with You, so begin with me where I am. Teach me to pray, O Lord, my God. Teach me to pray.”
Who Is Rejoicing Now?
“Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. “ - Psalm 13:4-5
We need to get used to the fact that our enemy does not have our best interest at heart. Satan knows that we do not always believe this and capitalizes on our naiveté. He suggests thoughts and deeds that seem pleasant and alluring and, when we fall for the temptation, shouts with glee, “Ha! I’ve got him (or her)” And then he throws a party to rejoice in our fall. Enemies cannot be trusted. Evil cannot be trusted. If we flirt with sin, we will find ourselves entrapped. People may look at us and watch for an opportunity to ridicule us in our weakness because our stand for righteousness is so strong and open. Don’t be afraid of their laughter for our defeat is not final and their approval is not necessary. Only God is necessary for our lives. Affirm that in prayer today and notice with indifference the scorn of the wicked.
Yes! This is the resolution. Whatever the trouble, doubt, or scorn of enemies, God’s love does not fail and His salvation is sure. From the same lips that cry out with impatient agony before God, the psalmist reaffirms his joyful faith in God. As a response to this joy, we are reminded to REJOICE. Philippians 4:4 calls us to “Rejoice in the Lord always.” And then, Paul emphatically repeats himself, “I will say it again: Rejoice!” God, all that He is and all that He does, is enough for us. His salvation lifts us out of the doldrums of defeat and translates us into the kingdom of His dear Son. There is not enough we can say about the wonder of this level of comfort and assurance. To rejoice in the midst of persecution is the greatest statement of defiance we can make in the face of evil. It declare, “You have no power over me!” Take some time to rejoice today.
Psalm 13:6 - I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.
Go ahead and sing. So, you think you have no voice. Very few people – whose larynxes have been removed for instance – have no voice. You most likely do – and the voice was made for singing. Everyone can sing. Everyone is called upon to sing to the Lord. Worship through singing is not an optional exercise for trained soloists; it is a mandate for every believer. If you feel that your singing is offensive, learn to sing naturally without offense, but don’t withhold your praise from God. This business is intrinsic. God’s goodness brings a song to our hearts. If you have a song in your heart, simply release it. Do it without fanfare or expectation of praise. Do it without a motive to be accepted or admired – sing unto the Lord and unto Him only. Begin in your devotional time alone with Him. He has been good to you. Sing to Him.
I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me. - Psalm 13:6
The fool says in his heart, “There is no god.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. - Psalm 14:1
There are many reasons why this statement is so obviously true.
Denial is not a river in Egypt. Denying God will not make God go away.
Whether or not you believe in God or confess Him as God will not change who He is and that He is the sole determiner of what is wrong or right, corrupt or authentic, pure or vile.
The fool, according to the psalmist, is not a theoretical atheist or philosophical agnostic. It is not someone who is struggling with the existence of God on the intellectual level, but the man or woman who has, in his or her heart, determined to be a practical atheist – to live as if there were no God or as if His existence did not matter.
He is concerned with how this statement of the heart manifests itself in our lives.
Now the question: Is there some area of your own life, where in your heart, you are declaring, “There is no God?”
Have you pushed Him to the side in your deliberations and decision-making? Have you excluded His influence in areas where there is conflict with your own desires and lusts?
God calls that foolishness and identifies the results as corrupt and vile- rotten and degraded to the core.
Do business with God today in this area of your life and allow Him to scrutinize you and bring you healing grace.
The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand any who seek God. - Psalm 14:2
Well, what does He find in me? That is the question I must answer.
That is the question you must ask yourself. When he looks down upon me does He find understanding and seeking? Some don’t understand and don’t know that they don’t understand. Some understand and have locked their understanding into a formula and have stopped seeking.
Others know that they don’t understand but have acquiesced to a position of irrational hopelessness and have given up seeking.
None of these responses pleases God when He looks down upon the sons of men. There are others who both understand and seek. They understand enough to know that there is much that they do not understand and so they seek in those areas.
When God gives some understanding, they don’t stop seeking and become self-satisfied with their limited knowledge, but they keep seeking – even more earnestly. That pleases God so very much. Examine your heart today using this criterion and keep seeking God – more and more.
All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. - Psalm 14:3
It is the universality of the fall and of sin that the psalmist is struggling with here. We were not designed to be corrupt. We were created in the image of God. But sin corrupts us to the very core.
The rottenness of perverted intentions stains our lives beyond repair. We cannot fix ourselves. Our attempts at doing good to win some favor with God are also corrupt and drive us deeper into separation from God. Not even one person does good.
That is amazing. But it is the reason why Jesus came and died, rose again and returned to the Father to send His Spirit to indwell us. We need the righteousness of Christ to be imparted and imputed to us. And we need His presence within us to work His goodness out through us. These words are a reminder to long-term believers not to become proud, boastful, or self-righteous.
If our salvation and acceptance by God depended upon our own goodness, we would be hopeless. But God sees us not looking down from above. He looks upon us directly through the face of His Son. Thank God today, as you pray, for His mercy.
Will evildoers never learn - those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the Lord? - Psalm 14:4
We are flabbergasted at the inability of some to learn the futility of their ways. We are surrounded by masses who do not call upon the Lord and who devour believers in many ways The temptation is to bulge out our chests and lift our noses in pride proclaiming, “I’m glad I’m not like that”
That’s the wrong approach. The response of faith would be to look within with the searchlight of God’s truth and pray, “Lord, is there an area of coldness and rebellion in my heart where I am refusing to learn? Am I devouring the person you made me to be?”
What distinguishes and delivers the believer is that he or she calls upon the Lord.
There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. - Psalm 14:5
Sooner or later, even the wicked come to their senses, sometimes too late, and realize that God is present in the company of the righteous. That realization brings dread unless the message of God’s love and forgiveness intervenes.
Some will fight it.
Others will flee from it. But there will be some who, out of the fear and dread of judgment, will come into the flow of grace through repentance and faith. The plight of the oppressor is far worse than that of the oppressed. Therefore, we must pray for sinners to come to a knowledge of truth and live out the credibility of the gospel so that we never bring discredit to Name of Jesus.
Pray today for someone who is overwhelmed with dread and examine your own life as well.
You evil doers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge. - Psalm 14:6
The complaint of the poor man is often that, as hard as he tries, he just can’t get ahead. Something or someone is always thwarting and frustrating his efforts. So it is with anyone who tries to “get ahead” spiritually on the clout of his or her own spiritual reserves.
Our plans come to naught because they are wrought in the flesh and human effort. God is our refuge. That is a constant. In Him we have hope and a future. In Him, we are rich beyond our dreams. His resources cannot be depleted. Jesus said, “blessed are the poor.”
The poor in Christ know where the riches lie and rely upon God’s storehouse to supply all that they need. They trust all their plans to Him and rely on Him for every breath.
Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad! - Psalm 14:7
The psalmist prays for His people and, perhaps unwittingly, all who will be blessed by them. Indeed, the salvation of Israel and all people has come out of Zion and David’s longing prayer is answered in Jesus Christ.
Today is a day of worship and praise. We pray for the day when Jesus comes again to set all things right. May the words of this psalm evoke deep praise and anticipatory joy in our hearts and we lay ourselves bare before God. What fortunes of spiritual treasure would you have Him restore for you today?
What is the longing for His presence in you that is most personal for you as you pray?
Devaluation of life is a cancer wherever it emerges, whether it it unborn life, lives of people living among us, or the lives of future generations who will inhabit this planet.
We must create a climate and community that values, nurtures, protects, and supports life and affirms its dignity.
How that is accomplished is often a matter of hot debate.
However, I believe that such a climate would take much of this out of the political arena and return it to a realm free of posturing and slogan-wielding.
Personally, I cringe whenever I overhear my grandson playing video games where players cheer whenever there is a "kill."
That is a systemic, societal, attitudinal problem that no policies can address because so many of us have adopted it.
I have been having that problem with television and movies for years.
This weekend, there will be two commemorative events. one will be the celebration of MLK Jr.'s life and another will be Sanctity of Life Sunday.
Many sincere Christians are torn between what they feel are competing convictions and commitments. For them, I am offering information on an alternative that embraces all life.
The Consistent Life Network - I became aware of this through looking into the life of actor, Martin Sheen, a committed Catholic.
I have put money and energy in to my small piece of this, encouraging those who choose life with the knowledge of safe and loving homes for children they feel they cannot raise.
Consistent Life Ethic offers a third way that embraces a kingdom ethic for all issues where life is in the balance: http://www.consistentlifenetwork.org/
What is so often lacking in an atmosphere of debate are the qualities of compassion and respect. Perhaps that is because of the sectioning off of people based upon positions and labels and the rarity of actual conversation over sensitive and potentially explosive topics.
It is also because of the importance of the issues and the passions that surround them.
Also, there is a problem with overlapping ideologies. For instance, the eugenics movement, often embraced by a racist right, but also embraced by some on the left, began to advocate for population control based upon intelligence, viability, race, ethnicity, and likelihood of disability.
Those who opposed this fell to the right and to the left.
A surprising number of people find it describes their views:
"The non-profit organization Consistent Life Network, founded in 1987 as the Seamless Garment Network, promotes adherence to the ethic through education and non-violent action. Individual endorsers belonging to the Consistent Life Network organization include Father Daniel Berrigan, theologian Harvey Cox, Village Voice columnist Nat Hentoff, Father Theodore Hesburgh, actress Patricia Heaton, L'Arche founder Jean Vanier, death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean, pro-life activist Abby Johnson, author Ken Kesey, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Nobel Peace Prize laureates Mairead Corrigan Maguire and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel.Rachel MacNair, for ten years (1994–2004) President of Feminists for Life, a pro-life organization, is the director of the Institute for Integrated Social Analysis, the research arm of Consistent Life Network."
"In the US, several groups have promoted the "consistent ethic of life" approach, including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Democrats for Life of America, and the American Solidarity Party, a Christian Democratic political organization. Groups without a religious orientation that support the ideology include Democrats for Life of America, the Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians (PLAGAL), and All Our Lives (a pro-contraception feminist group), all of which are members of the Consistent Life Network. Other secular groups supporting a consistent ethic of life position include Rehumanize International (formerly known as Life Matters Journal) and New Wave Feminists. Other prominent authors who have written in support of the consistent life ethic include Frank Pavone,James Martin, John Dear, Ron Sider, Tony Campolo, Joel Hunter, Wendell Berry,and Shane Claiborne."
There is no tug of war between the deep life of the Spirit and the outward life of service, peace, and justice.
For many, these are troubling times, times of blindness, distortion, and spiritual atrophy. Hearts are hardened. Ears are plugged. Minds are closed. Eyes are dim.
We point fingers of blame and speak taunting words of accusation or dismissal. Battle lines are drawn and one area of the battle seems blatant.
The call to repentance from the multi-generational sin of racism cannot be focused on one man or government. We must all enter into a season of prayer, fasting, and repentance.
It is true in every area of injustice, historical or otherwise
Followers of Jesus must remain diligent about issues, policies, and deeds, viewing them from a kingdom/gospel lens rather than just focusing on a few people. It is far too easy to divert blame for what we help propagate than to confront it in ourselves and in our communities.
What them can and shall we do?
This call to activism in the arena is not divorced to the call draw near to God and inward to the meeting place where we are transformed by encounter with God, where we catch of vision of holiness.
Satisfied with His likeness, Beholding His face in righteousness, Fully awakened from dullness of mind, Fully engaged, embracing this day, We move on in the spirit of Psalm 17.
Yet, we say, we are unqualified. We are weak. We are ill-equipped. And the answer is, "Yes ... and so?"
"In a very real sense not one of us is qualified, but it seems that God continually chooses the most unqualified to do God's work, to bear God's glory."
"If we are qualified, we tend to think that we have done the job ourselves."
"If we are forced to accept our evident lack of qualification, then there's no danger that we will confuse God's work with our own, or God's glory with our own."
― Madeleine L'Engle, "Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art"
We are brought near, set free from hostility, welcomed, built together to "house God," given complete access to God, granted peace, incorporated into a family, and made into something new for which we were intended. We are reconciled with God through Jesus Christ.
In this, we find a third reality. We have our outward mission, our inward sanctum, and our community of partners in mission.
"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."
- Ephesians 2:13-22 (ESV)
Together, let us move inward and let us move forward.
I was reflecting on an act of gun violence four years ago. It was high profile. There have been many incidents since then.
These are the notes I made at the time:
I am struggling with this because it represents something larger ... not political, although it can be ... something holistic about violence and something inside the best of us that must be bridled, processed, understood, and harnessed for its purpose.
Two nice guys go into a movie theater and a disagreement arises. Both lose their tempers. Something boils up inside of one of them probably unrelated to the incident. One has a bag of popcorn; the other a gun. One throws the popcorn in frustration; other other fires his gun in some sort of misguided compulsion for self-defense. His life is ruined; the other man's life is gone. Two families are deprived of fathers and grandfathers and are devastated. All the witnesses are traumatized. Something is dreadfully wrong with this picture ...
It only took a second and a split second decision to change so many lives.
And because it happened in a nice middle class place with nice middle class people, we all know about it and react ...
We all have opinions.
But I can tell you that it happens all the time. Every day, someone loses a loved one over something stupid. I see it and I shake my head.
Personally --- only personally .... I do not trust myself with a weapon ... and I am a nice non-violent guy .... but so were those two guys as far as I can tell. I do not want to be violent to harm another human, even in self defense. I would rather be harmed ....
But that is one part of me. The other knows that the chemicals in my body and my old selfish nature will react rather than respond if left to their own devices in certain situations. I have the capacity to lash out with words or weapons or willfulness.
I need spiritual centering in the Ultimate, the One, the core of my life or I do not trust myself even with my own words.
I need grace .... and so do those families who have suffered tragedy .... and so do the people I meet this week who will never make the news and will hardly be noticed by the system ... victims and perpetrators who will quickly, almost anonymously, be processed and forgotten.
Not me? I'd never do that?
None of us has finished our lives yet who is reading this or living among us. We cannot know what stupid thing we might do that would bring disrepute upon all that we have been up until that point.
We need to be tidying our own houses on a daily basis, keeping our emotional lives up-to-date along with our spiritual lives. We cannot point a finger without 4 pointing back at us. "Let each man examine himself," the scripture reminds us.
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer." - Psalm 19:14
It is a daily prayer along with others ...
"May I not bring harm to another human being ..."
"Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace ..."
Every time I am tempted to be smug or self-confident, I try to remember what I am capable of at my worst and to trust the One who can prevent me from traveling that path. This One can make me more than I can be as the contemporary song goes.
There will be some positive outcomes to this public tragedy. There always are. Some will take time. Some will go unnoticed. People will pontificate. Others will meditate. I just shake my head.
And I am still trying to decide whether or not to hit the "post" button.
Oh ... why not ... ? ----------------------------------------
Before and since, there have been so many "incidents." Thoughts and prayers are not dismissed. Neither are they sufficient. As my Sunday School teacher said, "We must put legs on our prayers" and allow God to move us to action.
We must divest ourselves of our self-interests long enough to hear voices that contradict ours.
“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” - Rob Siltanen
Today, your assignment it to see the spark in someone in whom you do not expect a spark. Find the spark and do or say what you can to keep it going to the next step of intensity. Protect it from the torrential rain of criticism or the inertial force of negativity. Encourage someone. Help them to discover their own genius. Affirm them in being themselves. Introduce them to others. Find some way to be a friend if only for a few seconds. Make a difference in one life today and you might just ... will just, change the world. See the genius and you might just discover that the glass through which you view this friend ... is a mirror and .... the genius is ... YOU!
Sydney Smith/Quotes
(The Originator of the square peg in the round hole idea)
It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little - do what you can.
A great deal of talent is lost to the world for the want of a little courage.Life is to be fortified by many friendships. To love and to be loved is the greatest happiness of existence.
Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea?—how did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea.
No furniture is so charming as books.
It resembles a pair of shears, so joined that they cannot be separated, often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing anyone who comes between them.
What you don’t know would make a great book.
Have the courage to be ignorant of a great number of things, in order to avoid the calamity of being ignorant of everything.
A comfortable house is a great source of happiness. It ranks immediately after health and a good conscience.
It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. -Lamentations 3:22
Evil lurks in the world around us, and yet, the world is not consumed.
Evil emerges in our own motives and actions and neither are we consumed.
We are grieved by the suffering of humanity, but we know not what to do and we do not trust our capacity to do anything.
Is God waiting for us to feel the way He feels about the world and to make a difference?
Sometimes, the problems of the world seem like insurmountable mountains to climb. We are consumed by the pain we sense around us and our own inability to energize our personal resources to affect change. We grow discouraged and we cry out for mercy lest we are consumed with our own despair.
Compassion combines the concept of deep feeling with the idea of sharing (com=with).
God feels with us, deeply and profoundly. That means that He shares our passion, pain, and emotion. Yet, He is patient and He does not lose heart.
How do we tap into that?
Passion if the at the root of our energy for ministry. It is that God-given quality that enthuses us with clarity of vision and depth of conviction.
It moves us when we see the suffering of other people. It drives us when we understand what is to be done about it. Without passion, we whither.
With a vibrant passion we can overcome obstacles and rise above our moods.
Passion reminds us of our essential purpose and drives us forward. Some characteristics of passionate people are:
P—Positive Priorities—Instead of avoidance behavior, people with passion move toward their commitments aligning themselves with those activities that support the causes for which they are passionate.
A—Active Attitude Adjustments –Passionate people are constantly adjusting their own attitudes and actively tuning their minds in the direction of their goals and objectives.
S—Sincerity— There is no faking real passion. It bubbles up from within and is nurtured by our committed actions.
S – Simplicity—Passionate people can explain their mission to you in a few short sentences. Since it is clear to them, they can make it clear for you.
I—Inspiration—People with true God-given passion for ministry know the reality of God breathing His purpose through His Spirit into their lives. The calling is His and they are driven by that knowledge.
O—Open “Outwardness”— Not necessarily extroverts, passionate people love to talk about their mission and cause. It splashed out of their lives and is contagious.
N—Non-Negotiable— People with passion are not easily deterred from a mission. It becomes one of the non-negotiable values of their lives.
If we can combine our passion with our empathy so that we are touched deeply by the world's pain and driven to do something about it, we can find others that share our compassion and passion. When that happens, we can work together to make a big difference.
Our passion will drive us. Our compassion will not fail us. We will neither be consumed nor desire to consume, but we will serve.
The fact that we have not heard something does not prove that it has not been said and said often. It simply means that
it has not been said to you, in your presence, or when you were listening,
it has been said on a "channel" you are not tuned to,
it has been drowned out by other voices including those who say it has not been said, or
it has not been considered sensational enough to report and be re-tweeted.
So, in case any of those are the case:
Peaceful, orderly, non-violent protests are as American as apple pie and peanut butter, acceptable, commendable, and often necessary for maintaining our freedoms.
Violence and destruction are never acceptable and not in the tradition of the great leaders of the American civil rights movements or of Dr. Martin Luther King and others who took beatings but never gave beating.
That being said, let us act as conscience and truth dictate and stand for what it right, while loving and respecting each other as people made in the image of God.
And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. - Luke 3:13-14
There were men of influence and power who came to John to be baptized, men who wielded authority over common people, who carried the sword and were authorized to use it to subdue, torment, and enforce.
These men also had the capacity to abuse their power, to punish their enemies, to extract unfair compensation, to be bribed, to extort, and to oppress. No one would challenge them. They had free reign to inflict violence and abuse people.
John tells these soldiers to be very careful how they used their power. They would need to humble themselves and realize that they were called to live by a higher power than that of their captains or their swords.
Having power would no longer be a license for them to misuse it to their own selfish ends.
It is an awesome responsibility to have authority. It takes more grace to carry greater power. To be a covenant man or woman in a position of great influence requires fruits of repentance reflected in a servant’s attitude.
One’s coworkers and fellow soldiers/officers may not be willing or able to reinforce such life change. Only God can and he will.
We all have arenas of temptation that are unique to our stations in life.
Unlike most of us, God never turns His head to avoid looking at the unpleasantness of the poor, the ugliness of the broken, or the raw pain of the oppressed.
He gazes into the eyes of the disenfranchised and hears the cry that they utter.
Perhaps our greatest opportunity to reflect God's presence to the poor today begins with looking people in the eye and hearing their voices.
"Praise the LORD, you that fear him; stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob's line, give glory. For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; but when they cry to him he hears them. " - Psalm 22:22-23, (NRSV)
Mighty God lifts humble humanity. All knowing and poly-focused Sovereign lifts the lowly. God of all sufficiency and no need cares to rectify injustice. LORD of creation, whose thoughts are beyond our thoughts .... Knows and enters into our thinking to reveal as much of Himself as ... As we can handle.
"He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground."
Life goes on. The seasons of life proceed in progression. The secular envelopes the sacred in the culture.
Seasonal and holiday decorations come down; Plants and flowers start turning brown; songs of the season decrescendo; greetings change.
We suddenly no longer hear, “Merry Christmas,” but “Happy New Year.” “Hi!” replaces “Happy Easter.”
Life goes on. Time passes. Seasons change.
It is a let-down.
For some, it is a time of depression and disappointment.
For others, it is a time of embrace. With open hearts and wide eyed anticipation they look back on the year past and reflect. Then they look forward to the new year and dream.
And somehow in the midst of the secular movements and worldly wisdom that is flung about they see God. They realize that there is no secular time or season, that God is always moving in history, that new years, new months, new days, and new seasons are all a part of His plan.
He changes the times and seasons and makes Himself known. At the head of the year or at any time of the year, He is calling us to know Him, worship Him, and commit our times and seasons to Him.
I have read the biblical book of Proverbs many times. The sayings contained within remain fresh, penetrating, and practical. If I am discussing them in a business context, they are the best advice on productivity in all of literature.
In terms of relationships, moral and ethical decisions, work ethic, academic pursuit, spirituality, and every area of life, they are always pertinent and insightful.
In fact, the impact with which these teachings penetrate the hard veneer of human frailty is as timely as today's news.
No ancient book is as telling about the human condition. It speaks equally to those who struggle to overcome destructive behaviors and to those who aim for excellence in pursuit of their dreams.
That is why I keep coming back to them and present them as the wisdom they are to both people of faith and those who may not yet embrace the faith of the Bible. Their appeal is universal.
In them, I find God speaking. Others may just see them as helpful advice and a window in our common soul. Whatever the case, their value is such that I write about them frequently here and will continue to do so.
Proverbs 1:1 introduces the sponsor, collector, and author, Solomon with these words, "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;"
Solomon inherited his post as king. And yet, history demonstrates that many kings have come to their thrones by chance, only to lose them by negligence, abuse, and incompetence.
Solomon solidified his leadership through the exercise of practical wisdom. It was all he asked for from God, to have a discerning heart and mind. He was sought out for advice. As I have said in other articles, he was one of the earliest leadership consultants and personal coaches.
People came to hear him and ask questions. Then they paid him.
Some observations on Solomon's attitudes and effectiveness are tentative, but obvious to me.
He received an abundance of wisdom because he wanted it badly enough to ask for it and abandon other concerns to attain it. We are not going to become wise through chance or passive indifference. We must hunt it down and invest our time and resources in its acquisition. The attainment of wisdom requires sacrifice.
His wisdom grew as it was exercised practically and in the service of his people. He made himself available to help even the lowliest of the land solve their problems. He was generous with this gift he had received and did not reserve it only for those who could advance his interests.
He understood and taught that wisdom is of no value unless you do what you know to do and ought to do. It is never the mere accumulation of knowledge. That activity is merely a game of trivia. For Solomon, wisdom was more about doing than knowing.
He understood that wisdom was about making the right moral choices, doing the right thing in our dealings with others. One could not be wise without being fair, compassionate, honest, just, and diligent.
He understood, taught, and practiced a vital relationship between wisdom and work. He correlated hard, steady work, balanced with sensible rest, with success. He correlated laziness with persistent failure. He worked hard and built a great legacy. He taught others to do the same.
He was humble enough to know that his great wisdom was a gift which he merely received and exercised. He was dependent on someone greater and wiser. Humility, he would say in so many ways, opens our minds to possibilities we have not yet considered. Those possibilities open doors of understanding that are unattainable by those who are self satisfied and proud.
He taught and practiced a lifestyle of lifelong learning and seeking. He knew that every great teacher remains a great student.
Solomon knew that all wise men seek advice before making great decisions that affect the lives of people and their own destinies. He knew that people, like ants needed to work together in cooperation for a great cause. He knew the value of people.
He also knew human nature and the flaws we all must contend with. He knew the kinds of temptations that trip people up are common and avoidable, but only if we recognize them and stay alert. Overconfidence, he realized, was a much a danger as lack of confidence. Solomon knew that sinful, broken people need a God of grace who is always available to help those who are prone to fall.
The Solomon factor is about how one man, thrust into a position of leadership, desperately sought the one thing he knew he needed most for the demands of his life and career, wisdom; it is about how he found it and passed it on to the rest of us.
It is a patient love, understanding, compassionate, forgiving, and gracious.
The love of God for His children moves Him to desire what is best for us, what brings us closer to Him, and what develops in us the character that is in Him.
God’s love for us as His children is consistent, persistent, and generous.
He never fails us. He is always present and always true.
Like any father, He wants His children to grow and mature. He wants us to make good and wise choices and honor our family name. He offers us His support, guidance, and correction to that end.
God’s love is real. For that reason, it is sometimes a tough love, a love that can say “no” and mean it, but a love that delights in every opportunity to say, “YES!”
God, our Father, rejoices with us, weeps with us, and loves us even when we are unlovable.
That is because we are never unlovable to Him.
Mostly, God, our tender, loving Father carries us on His shoulders and lifts us so that we might become more, through Him, than we could ever imagine on our own.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul … and all that is within me …” Psalms 103:1
Audacity and capacity are issues that are triggered by this prayer as it is suggested to us. It is audacious to think that we could somehow bless God. Yet, He has given us the capacity to be a blessing to His heart.
We bless God when we worship Him. He delights in our praises. He enjoys our singing and our words of adoration. He looks beyond the superficial and relishes our heart devotion as we come to Him.
He is blessed by our love response as we receive His love and return it to Him in obedience, faith, and love for our fellow human beings.
We can bless God with our words, deeds, and emotions, but God is most blessed when our lives are completely engaged in love for Him – loving Him with heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves. He is blessed when we remind ourselves to bless Him and when we follow through with everything that is within us.
What is within you today? Not all of it is positive, but when you offer it to God, He is blessed because He can take it and transform it for His own purposes. Nor is everything within you negative. You cannot be the judge of that. All you can do is commit everything within you to His glory and allow Him to sort it out. It is His holy Name that must be honored, and His holiness is all that can make our lives holy and acceptable as offerings of worship.
In the process, He is blessed. And that is what counts.
Brightest Brilliance, Breathtaking Vision, Expanding across a grey sky Dispelling darkness in a Festival of spectral colors.
Beams unfiltered Into these eyes dimmed and Heart quenched in the Calcifying hardness of my Stubborn stillness and Persistent self-interests.
Disturb me, God of Light. Trouble my soul from false and Superficial peace and Pastel imitations of Light Until I ... Desperately Earnestly Eagerly Seek and Find ...
Home! Home, sweet, home! That’s where we are going. That is where we belong. Anything short of home is still part of the journey. Anything that is part of the journey is subject to dangers, toils, and snares. But after the journey is complete, those things will have no power at all.
Jesus went away to prepare a place for us, a place with plenty of room and place where He Himself will be present.
He promised to come get us when He is ready for us to join Him. We don’t have to keep checking on our reservations and we don’t have to worry that we will miss the summons.
“Let not your hearts be troubled,” He said.
There is no room for fretting; just trusting. There is no way to become worthy; it’s all by grace.
I was lost once. I didn’t think I’d ever find my way home. I didn’t. Home found me. So it is with grace leading us home. So it is with Him coming for us. Wherever we are at the time, He will find us. We may feel we are buried under a mountain of ambiguity and complexity, but if we are His, He will find us. We may sense that we are not ready; our ducks are not neatly lined up in a row. Yet, if we are in the faith, it is not our preparation that counts, but His.
He prepares the place; we trust Him and follow Him wherever the journey leads, meandering through dangers, toils, and snares. We follow without certainty as to duration or difficulty. We follow and sometimes we get sidetracked, but He puts us back on the path.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:1-6 (NIV)
Picture the upper room and the somber mood of twelve friends hearing the ominous words from their Master that He will soon die and that they will soon fail Him.
“Not I,” protests Peter.
“You will,” declares Jesus, “But let not your heart be troubled …”
And then He offers hope, that He is going to prepare a place for them, that He will come again to receive them to Himself, that He will ever be with them and they with Him, and that they really do know where He is going.”
At that point, Thomas interrupts, “No we really don’t know where you are going. How can we know? Show us the way.”
Thomas felt that in order to follow Jesus, he must become more of an expert in navigational theology to traverse the diverse paths leading to God. It was a frightening prospect, “How can we know the way?”
Indeed, how can we?
Jesus simplified the answer. He would be their compass. He would be their guide. It was not necessary for them to know anything more that Him. If they would follow Him, He would provide the way, the truth, and the life within His own person.
The message of Jesus to us as we stumble in the darkness of uncertain ambiguity is, “Follow me.”
He will lead us through the darkness. He will lead us to our eternal home. We can trust Him and follow Him.
When you die, will folks celebrate your death or your life?
"But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel." - Matthew 2: 19-21
He had been on a downward trajectory for a long time and with increasing velocity. Evil had gained a foothold in his life and he, with all his brilliance, had become a hindrance to anything good in the world. Evil takes hold of us that way.
Herod did not understand this principle at all: Don’t entertain evil for a minute. It doesn’t want to visit. It wants to move in and take over.
So, the only cure for the evil in Herod’s life was the death of Herod.
No one was safe until Herod was dead. It is a sad commentary, but true. As long as Herod lived and carried out his rain of pain and reign of terror, the true King of Israel remained in Egypt. Good news was stifled by sound of hoof beats as soldiers scoured the land to snuff out the life of any baby that just might be the Messiah.
Something had to give; something had to die. Only when Herod was dead was it safe for Joseph to bring his family out of Egypt and into the land of Israel.
The truth is that we all die sooner or later. We do not know that Herod died sooner. We just know that he died and his death paved the way for the next thing that needed to happen.
We would like to think that our deaths would be mourned, but we suspect that Herod's brought sighs of relief for the common people.
It was not time for Jesus to die. He still had to grow up and live a redemptive life before He died a redemptive death It was time for evil to die and Herod had so immersed himself in evil that he had begun to personify it within himself.
There remained a window of opportunity for Herod as there remains such an opportunity for each of us.
We also must die. Evil knows no limits. It will not restrain itself. Therefore we must die to evil thoughts, evil deeds, and evil intentions. Furthermore, we must deem every action that restricts the reign of Jesus, every thought that keeps Him in Egypt, and every intention that wars against Him as evil that must die inside of us.
Because of the cross, we can choose to die that we might live. We can reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ. We will die to sin or we will die in sin.
Live in such a way that the only celebration at your death will be a celebration of your life.
Either way, The Son of God will not remain in Egypt. He shall reign.
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD." - Psalm 33:12a
We live under the rule of one kingdom, but we live in a nation of neighbors who have chosen their ultimate loyalties and come together be a neighborhood and live in harmony.
People who have chosen to live under the rule of the kingdom of God are a colony of Heaven, a nation within a nation. Those people are called to exercise power through influence. This happens at every level of society and is part of being salt and light in the world.
Israel’s God was the LORD, capitalized because the word, LORD is written and spoken as a substitute for God’s most holy personal name. It set them apart as a people to know Him by name. Yet His name was not something they would flaunt or toss around in vain.
For that reason, Israel was blessed, not because of their brilliant leadership, industrious people, vibrant economy, wise judiciary, or lovely landscapes, but because of their God and their relationship with Him.
There has been only one holy nation among the governments of men and there shall be no others. All other nations are, by definition, secular, but that does not make place under different obligations related to the Kingdom of God. Ultimately, all people and peoples are evaluated on the Law of love - love for God and love for neighbor.
In nations, we who follow Jesus are all resident aliens. Our citizenship is in Heaven, our highest loyalty, to God.
That being the case, a nation can honor God in its justice, compassion, integrity, and fairness with others. Its people can individually honor Him with their worship and love.
The nation itself can choose to stand among the blessed sheep in Matthew 25 who treat the poor and helpless with dignity and mercy and thus welcome Jesus.
That is what nations can do and how nations may be blessed.
America is blessed to the extent that those principles of human dignity, soul freedom, and justice upon which she was philosophically founded are observed and honored. In them, God is honored, the flag is dignified, and the people are blessed.
We have no rulers. The people are the authority in our system. Our leaders are invested with the authority we give them and that authority is within limits, accountability, and temporary.
"We the people" does more than give us power. It gives us responsibility to influence our governments to be just, compassionate, fair, and righteous in their dealings with other nations and people.
"Blessed is the nation" was a promise to Israel because she had an official relationship with the LORD. But even secular and pluralistic nations can benefit from the principle of the promise when they practice values consistent with the ethics of the kingdom of God.
We are a nation of neighbors and our role as disciples of Jesus is to be good neighbors and to influence the nation to be a good neighbor to others.
"And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way." - Matthew 2:12
If you have lived long enough and well enough, you’ve had some course corrections along the way. That is normal and good. It demonstrates an ability to be decisive in taking action while remaining sensitive to the still small voice of God.
The Magi had a set of directions in place that they meant to follow. As they laid their heads on their pillows that night, they fully believed that their course was set and that they would be heading back to Jerusalem to report their findings to Herod.
They just “knew” he would be as excited about the new King as they were. Not so.
If one man has a dream, he might discount it as indigestion or uncertainty. If several have the same dream,, as implied here it is impossible to deny the confirmation. The next morning they all awoke and compared notes. It was time for a course correction.
Being willing and able to hear voice of God in the midst of our determined movement is a necessary component of a God-directed life. The humility to admit that we have been misinformed, misdirected, or mistaken is a strength that can only be birthed by weakness. It is that same weakness through which God’s strength is made manifest as we learn to trust and obey.
Sometimes we just need to go home a different way than the one we planned. When that time comes, may we not be found stubborn and prideful, but steadfast yet pliable. We may have to eat our words and swallow some tears, but we will avoid some major pitfalls.
Let us be ready for the course corrections of life.
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." - 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
Here is the larger context and another translation:
"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ . . ." - 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (ESV)
Our minds are battlefields and we are in a battle.
I am in a battle.
I am starting this year with you and, in a couple of days, I start the next year of my life. This is where I need to work.
This is where I will succeed or fail.
This is where the lines are being drawn.
What do I think?
How do I think?
How shall I discipline my own wandering mind?
How do I squeeze out every moment and every thought for a higher purpose?
How do I come to center, day by day and moment by moment?
I am fairly skillful at argumentation, rationalization, and nullification of real truth. I am good at it and that is not so good. I need to get better at going for the "it of it" all the time and finding focus.
Time is finite.
Thoughts are also finite. We seldom exhaust them, but they have limits. Each one can be purposeful, useful, productive, edifying, and propelling.
May it be so -- not easily so .... but through the battle, may God win.
Oswald Chambers put it this way:
"Determinedly Discipline Other Things. This is another difficult aspect of the strenuous nature of sainthood. Paul said, according to the Moffatt translation of this verse, “…I take every project prisoner to make it obey Christ….” So much Christian work today has never been disciplined, but has simply come into being by impulse! In our Lord’s life every project was disciplined to the will of His Father. There was never the slightest tendency to follow the impulse of His own will as distinct from His Father’s will— “the Son can do nothing of Himself…” (John 5:19). Then compare this with what we do— we take “every thought” or project that comes to us by impulse and jump into action immediately, instead of imprisoning and disciplining ourselves to obey Christ."
Granted, I am lifting this scripture from the context of Paul's idea battle with false teachers in a particular place --- but I also have false teachers inside of me. Each of us does.
If we are going to change thinking around us, we must first change the thinking within us.
This shall be one of my areas of resolve going forward.
"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven." – Ecclesiastes 3:1
Our God breaths upon time and space and enters into our sphere, moving with rhythmic precision and thoughtful order, shaping events, turning tides, and weaving the seasons into a tapestry of purpose. We respond either by riding the waves of His wonderful will or resisting the seasons in habitual stubbornness and rigid rebellion.
The antithesis to a celebration of God’s gracious seasons would be a life of compulsive habit – where every day is the same and every reaction on our part is predictable. We so often live in contradiction to the way God’s Spirit moves. When we do, we swim against the tide and deplete our energy and other resource in frivolous pursuit of what we think is an orderly and well-planned life. In reality, we are resisting God and His ways.
There are places in the scheme of things where seasons seem to meld into a seamless web of sameness, but they are part of a greater design and even in such places there are divinely ordained fluctuations in what might be considered “norm.”
There are lives that seem dull and redundant, but when God is having His way in the hearts of His people, there is adventure and newness every day.
We need to embrace the seasons of our lives with relish and wonder. They are indications of God’s creative love and graceful presence. All that men define as chaos in the universe may be that way from their limited perspectives – but it takes an eternal perspective to see that there is glorious pattern beyond our comprehension that we shall some day see unfolded before enlightened eyes in glory.
Whatever season you are in, physically, chronologically, developmentally, relationally, occupationally, emotionally, or spiritually, God knows and He is present. He is moving in the midst of your circumstances. Discover the current of His grace and ride through the storms. For everything, there is a season.
Can you see him? Can you really see him? Can you see who he really is among you?
Can you?
He is your hope, your only hope for making America or any nation great - not just again - ever!
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. -Matthew 25:32
This is a dramatic and overwhelming scene that Jesus describes. As far as the eye can see, the nations are gathered before the throne. There are sheep and there are goats at a time when only sheep are truly welcome in the flock.
There has been considerable blending up until this point, but now the shepherd is dividing them.
And there is one criterion by which He judges the nations. How did you treat me when I was among you?
He is not talking about His incarnation here, but His presence among His people many of whom were the poor, the lowly, the imprisoned, the hungry, and so forth. He is identifying with the powerless that He described in Matthew 5 and, from their perspective, evaluating the powerful.
What did you do with all your influence to positively touch the people I love?
That is His question. It is the test of a nation's greatness and the test of greatness for every institution or individual that has been entrusted with power.
Were you just? Were you fair? Were you generous? Were you compassionate? Were you righteous?
Were you aware that I was there in the midst of my brethren?
This is one dimension of judgment in the heavenly kingdom and Jesus gives us a preview. It is but a glimpse. We could not understand more, but we can understand this much: We must always be aware of Jesus and receive others as if we were receiving Him.
The greatness of our nation or any nation has always been in her central idea: the dignity of every human being under God.
It is the basis for freedom, laws, and our system of government.
For the Christian, that means looking for the image of God in every person we meet and treating that person as we would treat Jesus.
There is a question for self-examination emerging from this passage. Such examination is painful, but the process is necessary for our growth.
Am I among the nation of sheep or the nation of goats? How do I align myself with what God values and those with whom Jesus identifies?
Leo Tolstoy spun a tale about a cobbler who was given to believe that Jesus would visit him on a particular day. He may simple but elegant preparations. One by one the poor came to his door and he served them, but he came to the end of the day without the visit for which he longed.
Then he realized what had happened and he heard the voice of Jesus with the words of this passage.
The real question is this: Am I seeing Jesus where Jesus is? That question separates the sheep from the goats.
“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.” – Matthew 2:11
The Magi seem to have come much later to Bethlehem, but they came joyfully and prepared to worship the Lord. The afterglow of Christmas had not worn off for them because they were seeing Jesus for the very first time. Every time we see Jesus is like the first time, so sweet is His countenance, so enveloping His presence.
As we prepare to put away the decorations and presents, finish off the leftovers, and throw out the tree, many of us experience a letdown. The celebration of the New Year seems anti-climactic. Friends we have not acknowledged during the preceding year will recede into the background of our lives for yet another year. There is no one to wish merry Christmas and no one to wish us happy holidays. The greenery and colors are gone and we recess into the bleak midwinter of January.
It was not so for the Magi. Their joy was not with a season or a holiday. No such attachments and traditions existed for them. Theirs was the joy of the discovery of a Savior-King. Take a page from their notebooks. Our joy is in Jesus! He is our cause for celebration every day. He is our hope for every New Year and every new day. He is reason for singing and our cause for living. For Him we would traverse the farthest desert or face the most difficult circumstances.
Post-Christmas blahs are a normal emotion phenomenon, but Christmas joy is for every day of the year. After Christmas can be as special as Christmas itself!
Good Christian men, rejoice
With heart and soul and voice.
Now ye hear of endless bliss:
Jesus Christ was born for this.
He hath opened heaven’s door,
And man is blest forevermore.
Christ was born for this, Christ was born for this.
(Medieval Latin Carol, Translated by John Mason Neale, 1853)
In Christ, all reconciled people are new creations with a mission and message of reconciliation to a world where people live in alienation and isolation from God, themselves, and each other.
As I wandered through today's readings, I had some thoughts on 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:2.
I was reminded of the labels we assign to people socially, racially, ethnically, nationally, politically. ideologically, and arbitrarily. For most purposes, these are antithetical to the gospel of reconciliation and the theology of the new creation.
New creation changes the way we view people, even the way we look at ourselves and the way we look at Jesus.
From now on, we look at all people through new lenses - the heart of God who loves, cherishes, and calls each person with purpose and promise.
"From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. "
One by one, we name our biases because they are being shaped by love. Black lives matter because, so often, they have not. Brown lives, European lives, blue lives, one by one, for so many different reasons of naming, we can name them, until we can realize what all lives really means. It means we can name the categories so we can be freed from their constraints and liberated to celebrate the uniqueness associated with them.
Even our own identities are given a fresh newness, a clean slate, and a restart. Everything about us and around us is new through the transforming grace of God.
"So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!"
God has done this thing.
This is a God thing.
It is God's idea and implementation.
It has happened through the miracle of reconciliation.
This reconciliation is personal, incarnational, and sacrificial. God does it, acting in the physical body of His Son. He does it by erasing the stain and demerits of our trespasses.It is supreme gesture of grace and mercy.
"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. "
Now, we, new people we are, are appointed with the good news message that this door is now open. It is God's message in our lives and on our lips. God is speaking through us as we hold out the word of reconciliation. We are whispering and shouting, "God loves, calls, and accepts you! Come! Be reconciled!"
If we all spent even the next year, devoted to this work of reconciliation and we announced it with passion and love, would it make a difference?
Would it change our biases, prejudices, bigotry, and dialogue?
Would it change the climate of the nation?
"So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."
Whether it gets the results or not, it is our identity and it is our call. It is the purpose for which we were born and for which we were saved. We, and I can only speak for the Ecclesia of God in Jesus, are ambassadors for Christ. We were chosen and we chose to represent Jesus. That is who we are. That is why we are here. In building bridges and tearing down walls, we are representatives of the Kingdom.
In an enormous and magnanimous act of identification with humanity, Jesus, the Christ saturated His identity with our sin, becoming sin on our behalf to demonstrate, appropriate, and activate the power of God to see us not as sinful, but as redeemed and righteous.
"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
We are not independent agents.
We are not mere recipients.
We are not alone.
God invites us into a partnership with the Trinity!
That implies partnership with each other.
We have not been drawn to faith and forgiveness to become part of an exclusive club, but to work with God in announcing God's Kingdom, inviting all people to participate and embracing humanity in the circle of reconciliation.
In all of this, God is helping us.
We are agents of reconciliation in the world!
"As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says, 'At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.'"
When do we start? Tomorrow for the New Year?
"See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!"
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” - John 1:1-3
God spoke. He has always spoken. There was never a time when God was not speaking. His very nature is revealed in His Word and His Word is inseparable from Who He Is.
God Is. God speaks.
These are two basic corollaries of any Christian theology.
When God speaks things come into existence. All that is was once spoken by God. Nothing has been made apart from His Word. His Word is living. His Word is a person. His Word is as real as He is.
Jesus is first of all, the Word of God, co-equal and absolutely reliable. He is the heartbeat of God’s will, the expression of God’s love, and the demonstration of God’s purity and holiness.
Christmastide is about celebrating the Word of God in Jesus Christ and is most appropriately celebrated with an open Bible and an open heart.
The season drives us back to the scriptures to seek understanding of the ways of God. It prompts us to yearn for deeper understanding in the pages of the Bible that we might ascertain God’s eternal purposes and His plan for the people of His world. We become like the Magi, seeking the wisdom of the ages.
This is bible time. Begin with the eternal pre-existent Word and orient your understanding around Him.
God has spoken. Let us listen.
The Lights on the Tree of Life
“In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” - John 1:4-5
Your community has been lighted with beautiful reminders of the Christmas season.
The colors shining in the night can be seen from afar and even from space. They are at the same time happy and holy, gaudy and dignified. They serve as reminders of joy and correctives to the harsh edges that so often dominate the landscape of our cities and our lives.
It is clearly, visibly, and festively Christmas and post-Christmas where we live and the light is shining in the darkness.
In fact, it is in the darkness of night that we most often venture forth from our homes to view these lights and celebrate the profound contrasts that they afford.
From simple candle lights in the windows of homes to magnificent displays in the public squares, we behold temporal illustrations of eternal reality: The evergreen trees which live long through Winter when planted in the soil of the earth are types of the tree of life which is planted in the fertile soil of God’s truth. In and from that life, which is Christ, flows the life and light of men.
And that light shines in the darkness beckoning men and women who live in darkness to come.
To those outside on the cold dark streets of our cities, shivering from the frosty darkness that envelopes them, the flickering lights from a Christmas tree in the window of a warm home serve as an invitation to come to something better. They softly hum the call of God to enter into His brightness and the warmth of His presence. They sway to the melody of each sweet carol, “O come, let us adore Him.”
The light is shining and it is, indeed, the light of men.
The Unknown Light
“That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: “- John 1:9-12
The lights on the trees are synthetic. Though lovely in their appearance, they are temporal and will fade away, burn out, or be immediately extinguished as they or their power source is broken. They are not true lights.
They do not shine universally, but only within the close proximity of those who light them. There are dark places where their ambiance is not known. There are pockets of despair in the world where the lights of Christmas have never been lit.
But the true light shines on every man while in pervasive blindness, there are many who do not and will not see. Hardness of heart and bitterness of spirit obscure the view of those for whom the light is intended.
We live in a land of shadows and distortions where every ray of light is filtered through our prejudicial thinking and blind ambition. We stumble in our assumptions and trip over our own dark thoughts oblivious to the Light that has come into the world and is already shining on us.
Many there are who do not recognize him when confronted by Him, who sing the songs of Christmas, hang the decorations on their trees, gasp at the beauty of the colors of the season, and greet one another with manufactured cheer. Yet they do not see him to whom all the signs and symbols point.
Those who do become the children of God, playfully unwrap their spiritual gifts around the tree of life.
SEEING THE WORLD THROUGH THE INCARNATION
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” - John 1:14
There is a vision without which, we are blind and lifeless.
It is the vision of one who sees us as we are and envisions our world from the inside out and the outside in.
The Incarnate Lord made His dwelling among us. Literally, He pitched His tent here.
I had read about California all my life, seen it on TV and in the movies, but I only truly experienced it when I moved here many years ago.
But the vision message of this verse is not that God learned to experience our life by becoming flesh, but that He made it possible for us to experience Him and to behold His glory.
We have a new vision of God because of Jesus and can now view the world through His eyes because He dwelt among us as one of us.
So, must we dwell among the people, indwelt by Christ that they may behold His glory as we see then through His eyes.
The Miracle of Christmas
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. “ - John 1:14
As God speaks, flesh is formed, holy flesh, incarnate divinity, whimpering wonder, tiny testimony to His love and presence. It is a miracle. God spoke in this little bundle of flesh and blood as helpless as He was with more profound clarity and unmistakable volume than in all of history. God performed the miracle of Christmas.
One night in Bethlehem, as the light shone in the darkness, the Word, eternal and perfect, became flesh and began to dwell among us.
He began as we begin. He grew as we grow. He struggled as we struggle. He was tempted as we are. He overcame as no man ever has before or since. In all ways, He was like us, yet without sin.
And we saw something in him we have never seen before in any man as we saw it in Him, the glory of God.
It had been reflected off the face of Moses, but it emanated from Jesus the Christ. The people could not look at Moses and live. We live by beholding Jesus.
It was the glory of the unique, only begotten of the Father, the eternal Word of God. It was real glory we saw, real light, and true life. It was glory that is full of grace and glory that is full of truth.
No where else in the drama of the cosmos have grace and truth been so compatible in one event. Truth lands on earth with the piecing weight of uncompromising reality and shouts, “Here I am.” This is it!” Grace creeps into our lives and settles our hearts. It injects truth into our souls without sting or invasion and speaks compassion to our hearts.
Truth may seem harsh, but grace and truth are as welcome as Christmas and are, in fact, what Christmas is all about. This is the miracle of Christmas is that the truthful, loving Word of God has become incarnate in human form and we can see Who God is in all of His glory and live.
December 29, 2018
Poor David had a bit of a blind side in his self assessment. Or did he?
If God forgets my sin and separates them from me as far as the east is from the west, why should I wallow in guilt of that which is forgiven.
God sees me through different eyes than I could ever see myself.
He see the future/present me ... perfected in Christ, made complete by grace.
Only that which is Christ in me, the hope of glory, comes to His attention. He looks a my little, pitiful efforts to follow Him and calls the angels over so that He can brag about His child.
Maybe I can sing these verses in faith after all!!!!
It is all about GRACE!
" For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me. I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt. So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight."
- Psalm 18:21-24 (ESV)
In distress we call ; In reverence we fall; In joy, in sorrow, all ..., We bring to Him and crawl To be lifted. Enthrall ... The nations. Install ... His glory. Each wall ... Collapse. Each hall ... Be filled with wonder and praise!
"I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies."
"The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me."
"In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears."
“John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” - Revelation 1:4-6
As a corrective to some bad teaching, we went through a societal emphasis on self-esteem and feeling good about ourselves.
Perhaps we went a little too far or made drew some conclusions that went beyond our healthy intentions. However, the effort to let children know they are valued is essential to them becoming all they can be.
Children with a distorted concept of themselves grow into troubled adults. Without a sense of value and worth, people disrespect themselves and tend to disrespect others. Sometimes this disrespect leads to crime or anti-social behaviors. It is self-destructive and manifests itself in unhealthy families. It is visited upon children and children’s children.
But the remedy is not found in superficial affirmations of our essential worth or in the denial of sin and darkness. It is to be found in God and His esteem for us. He loves us because of His amazing grace, tender mercy, and sovereign choice.
All of this was bestowed while we were yet sinners. He saw what we could be.
God, has called us out of darkness.
He has freed us from sin by the blood of His Son so that every impediment to who we were intended to be has been removed.
The outcome is that God’s vision of us as His people is an elevated vision. He does not look upon His children, who have received His grace, as miserable sinners.
God sees us as a kingdom of priests who serve and exalt Him. That is, in reality, who we are. All other visions of self are false and deceptive. We are kingdom people and we are priestly people with a high calling and a sanctified standing. It is by grace and it is complete.
God’s glory is manifest in His loving esteem for us.
"Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not." - Matthew 2:16-18
How far will evil go to carry out its evil ends?
Moved by humiliation and anger, Herod’s insult was matched only by his wicked lust for power.
Lashing out against the threat to his illegitimate monarchy, he flung his nation into a time of evil that was inconceivable in its sheer horror. Sanity questioned lunacy with the haunting cry, “Is there no limit to such evil?”
There is none.
Evil will not stop itself. It perpetuates its terrors. It knows no boundaries. It will progress and regress beyond any hint of decency as it grows immune to conscience and compassion.
That is the bad news. The good news is that there is, in fact a limit, but it is not pretty. Not until the death of Herod did the madness cease.
The good news is, furthermore, that God’s good is greater than man’s evil.
God is monitoring the progress of wickedness and restraining its instinctive intrusion into the affairs of human history.
A loving God allows us free will and its consequences because He does indeed love us, but He will only allow it to go on for so long. The length of its duration is a mystery to us.
Sometimes, He will allow suffering to accomplish His purposes and, when they are complete, He will stop it.
When evil, which is not of God, ceases to work toward God’s redemptive purposes, it reaches its limit. We don’t understand it, nor can we predict its course, but we can trust in a God who is working all things out for our good and His glory.
When evil prevails, God weeps along with Rachel, but in the end, righteousness prevails and God says, “Enough!”
Evil will not stop on its own. It is always brought to a stop by the intervention of God and, sometimes, God through God's people. This happens in history in one way or another.
From day one on this planet, Jesus was among us as vulnerable.
From the beginning, he was among the poor, the refuge, the oppressed, the hunted, the one unwelcome by powers, but longed for by the lowly.
This was day one.
It was day two as well, and later, expelled from his land, fleeing with His parents, in mortal danger, He was among us as one who could remind us that God sees us in our lowest estate and comes to us with good news.
How long did Mary and Joseph remain in the stable before they found a room or a shanty?
We do not know. They still had to stand in lines to register for their taxes. They had to remain in a place far from home. There are so many gaps, but all we need to know is here in the text. From the text, we know this: There was no room for Him.
“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” - Luke 2:7
Everyone knew what a manger was and it was no place for a king. Everyone knew what swaddling clothes were and that they were unfit garb for the Lord of glory.
Nor should he have been relegated to a barn.
They just didn’t understand and we are still having a hard time “getting it.”
“Away in a manger, no crib for a bed.”
This is His poverty, His willing emptying of Himself, His lowliness and love to identify with the least and the lost among us.
No crib - no bed – no amenities – no sanitized conditions – just a trough where the livestock were fed, just rough clothes to cover Him and keep Him somewhat warm. He became as the lowliest among us.
“The little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head.”
He was there, helpless and sweet, all God and all man, emptied of all the riches and prerogatives that were rightfully His, poor and needy like us. Who couldn’t love such a baby? Who wouldn’t?
“The stars in the sky looked down where He lay.”
No one standing by would have known how all of creation that night was subject to that little bundle of new life. Humanity has no capacity to notice when millions of angels bow and worship. And yet, it was happening all around them.
Humanity continues to turn a blind eye toward the presence of Jesus manifest in the least of His poor brethren. We do not see Him in the hungry, longing eyes of the children. We do not see Him in the faces of the displaced and disinherited. He is among us in the company of the poor and we look for Him elsewhere.
“The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.”
God grant that we not miss Him lying there or among us. May we not overlook Him, take Him for granted, or minimize His importance. He is so easily discarded and disregarded, but He cannot be ultimately ignored.
May your heart today become His manger, your flesh, His swaddling clothes, and your heart like the stars in the sky that bow before Him.
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" - Matthew 25:40
“And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord …” – Luke 1:46
The Magnificat remains one of the most glorious expressions of praise in all of musical literature.
Perhaps, someday, in Heaven, God will allow us to hear a replay of the day Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth or the day the angel visited Mary and announced God’s intentions to her. We would hear that conversation that altered history and sweet sound of her acceptance of God’s great gift of His Son to and through her.
The music of absolute surrender would call us to worship and we would join her in exclaiming,
“My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior!”
No less significant was the day your heart responded to God’s grace and declared, “be it unto me according to thy word.”
That God would regard the low estate of His handmaiden and plant the seed of redemption within her womb is a magnificent thing indeed. That God would regard our low estates that Christ might be conceived and born in our hearts by faith is astounding!
We cannot help but sing His praise. We cannot resist the call the worship. We cannot feign to exalt His Name and rejoice in the miracle of His coming. As Mary conceived without human agency, so, that which is born in us of God is without human effort.
Welcome Him to your life anew today and join in chorus:
Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. - Matthew 2:7-11
Isn’t it wonderful that the Magi observed Herod’s words and not his intentions?
Once launched in the direction of Bethlehem by the deceptive words and commands of an evil king, they were again at the mercy and beckon call of the King of Kings. They followed His star to the destination where they would meet Him. When they found Him, they worshiped Him.
In the middle of their diligent search for truth, they were sidetracked by a liar, but not for long. God will not allow those whose hearts are intent upon finding Him to be lost in the search without hope. He will again intervene and guide them to Himself.
“Seek and ye shall find,” the Master promised.
From Jerusalem, there was a false launch, but God intervened and provided a sure landing in Bethlehem.
There will be circumstances in your life that are not of God. There will be people of malicious intend who will try and launch you in directions that approximate truth, but miss the mark entirely. Be cautious, but not fearful. God is greater than our circumstances and the schemes of evil entities. His light is more powerful than darkness. Follow the star and bring what is in your hands to Jesus, worshiping Him with all of your heart and soul.
You may have any number of dubious launches in this life, but if you seek Him with all your heart, you will always land surely.
Correggio, 1489?-1534. Adoration of the Christ Child by the Three Wise Men, detail, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=47013 [retrieved December 22, 2018]. Original source: http://www.yorckproject.de.
Matthew 2:5-6 - And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Like young David, tending the fields of his father, Jesse, the City of David was often thought of as the least among the princes of Judah.
Greatness often takes us by surprise.
It took David by surprise. It certainly so took Jesse and his brothers.
Who me? We surmise by our surprise that our eyes have been playing games with our minds and our ears have distorted the garbled sound of, “Yes, you.”
It took a miracle of the manipulation of history for a Nazarene couple to fulfill prophecy and experience the birth of this son in Bethlehem. It took the hand of God guiding events that would seem much larger and more significant than this to bring it all to pass.
The Son of David would be born in David’s city. The unlikely King would provide a line of succession for an unlikely Savior born in an unlikely place.
Never underestimate the greatness of God’s plan for your life, your place, and your time. He is still guiding the course of events to His own ends.
Bethlehem, the House of Bread, figured into the redemption story in a way that might have seen disproportionate to its civic significance. God, on the other hand, measures importance by what He brings forth from our lives, places, times, and events.
Who me? Yes, you.
Picture - 1698 de Bruijin View of Bethlehem
December 20, 2018
As I reflect upon the friends who have lifted me in life, some lean right; some lean left ... and some lean so far in one direction or another that it is amazing that they could share the same circle of friendship and love, but they do. I am glad they do. In my circle are all sorts of folks. I sure do love you all and value your perspective. Your range of thought keeps me coming back to my center. Thank you for what you all mean in my life.
“And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.” - Matthew 2:4
You can’t accuse Herod of not being religiously curious and hungry for religious knowledge. He was desperate for information, but he had no intention of using that information for good. He had every intention of misappropriating it for his own evil ends.
For Herod the Great, it was how he was supplying his arsenal to hold onto power. He was willing to abuse his power and God's power to keep his power. It was his addiction.
Some of us, at times in our lives, are curious for information about God – for no particular reason other than to satisfy our curiosity. Such knowledge is benign. It does us no harm. It does us no good. You can go to Sunday School all of your life and come out no better or worse for it if what you learn never goes from your head to your heart.
Herod may not have attended Synagogue, but he was surrounded by scholars who did. When he needed factual knowledge, he drew upon their education, but Herod was not seeking out the scholars in a game of religious trivial pursuit. He had a sinister purpose for what he wanted to know.
Some of us, at least at points in our lives, gather religious information for malicious ends. We have no intention of being transformed by that knowledge. In fact, we collect it to use as a weapon against other people – friends, enemies, spouses, children, parents, and entire groups of people with whom we disagree and with whom we spar for power.
We want to learn enough to give us an edge. We are filling our arsenals with biblical darts so that we might pierce the armored resistance of our opponents. There is no holiness in such pursuits. There is no honor. There is no edification.
God provides us with truth that it might change us from within. He is fashioning us according to His image and forming us for time and for eternity. Don’t be like Herod in your pursuit of spiritual truth. Come to the Word of God prayerfully and openly.
Lord, speak to me and transform me as I receive what You wish to say to me. Amen.
“For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” – Matthew 3:3
Every prophetic function with its fulfillment has its counterpart in our lives and it is up to us to seek it. What does it mean for us, as the people of God, to prepare the way for the Lord? How have those who have gone before us prepared a straight path for Him in our lives? How have events and people shaped us so that we could be ready to receive His Word?
God’s ways always involve preparation. He does nothing haphazardly or without thought and planning. When He desires to speak, He prepares the message, the messenger, and the hearer. When He is about to act, He informs His servants the prophets. He is a God of precision and perfect order. He does all things well.
John the Baptist was God’s man in God’s timing. His life was his ministry and he learned to look beyond the obvious and to seek God deeply. He patiently awaited the coming of the messiah and faithfully proclaimed the message God had given him through the days of waiting.
God never wastes time or calls us to bide our time. Everything, all time, all preparation is meaningful and purposeful.
The psalms give voice to the deepest pain, anguish, fear, despair, and sometimes, anger of the human soul, direct that voice God-ward where God seems to say, "I understand. It's OK to feel this way. It's OK to tell me. I hear you. We are going to get through this together. Trust me. I love you."
Here, our tug-of-war between fight and flight are met with a new option: flow.
" My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.”"
“When Herod heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with Him.” - Matthew 2:3
Herod was troubled. We might say he was scared to death. You know that sinking feeling when the free ride is about to come to a screeching halt, when your charade is about to be revealed, and your scam is about to be uncovered.
Herod was a pretender. He knew he was a pretender. The notion that the authentic king might have been born was more of a threat than he could bear.
We are most threatened when we are least honest with God, with ourselves, and with others. We are terrified when we try to maintain our deception against all odds. We flail about, plot, and scheme when our straw houses begin to crumble around us – and we trouble all of those around us who have bought into our lies.
Are you like Herod, thoroughly invested in a false sense of who you are without which you would not know your own identity? Are you like those in Jerusalem who rode his coattails, riding the wave of someone else’s “power grab”? Or are you like the Magi, with no vested interest in protecting their positions or status, merely eager to embrace the reality of God’s presence in the world, anxious to find the King that they might worship Him?
Jesus invades our spheres of influence and our little kingdoms to establish His own rightful rule. There is no need to be troubled. The greatest honor and freedom in life is found when we step down from our thrones and let Him take His place of Lordship.
We are threatened when we compulsively protect what is not really ours. We are troubled when we see Him coming and convince ourselves that He is coming to rob us of our lives. We are terrified at the prospect of having to forge a new identity from the self we have deluded ourselves into believing was real.
In fact, He comes to reclaim what is His – the throne, our lives, and even our identities. We have been living in a delusion and only realizing the tiniest fraction of our potential. It is only through surrender that we gain victory. It is only by relinquishing the throne do we become truly great. It is only in denying ourselves do we find our true selves and begin to live.
What Herod rejected out of fear, we must embrace by faith.
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” - Matthew 2:1-2
When Jesus was born …
How common the words, how incidental they sound. Yet, they introduce an event of such significance that all of time is measured as before and after the coming of this one child into the world and the drama of His life, death, and resurrection.
When Jesus comes, it is a new day. Governments are in place imagining themselves all powerful and enduring and suddenly they sense that they are temporal and vulnerable. The truly wise recognize the waves of change in the cosmos and once again become seekers moving in the direction of the source of that change. They that move with the currents of change come to worship. New days and new years are best observed by recognizing God and worshiping Him.
We measure small blocks of time in seconds and move up the continuum, pausing to recognize the passing of years. In a year we circle the sun and pass through all of the seasons. We count them off and, as they pass, we find ourselves counting faster and faster.
We mark off the old and look with anticipation upon the new.
And while all of that is going on, something is being born, a new life, a novel opportunity, a fresh idea, a renewed hope, and occasionally, a burst of light. We follow that light and it leads us to a manger where, in unassuming splendor and simple elegance, we encounter the Son of God.
There we worship.
Because of that ever-present possibility of meeting God in the passages of time, we peek around the corner of every new day and every new year with anticipatory wonder.
We know, as did the wise men, why we have come to this time. We have come to worship Him.
"Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." - Matthew 1:22-23
How lonely Joseph must have felt, not to mention Mary’s loneliness. God chose two lonely young people to use as a vehicle for the end of loneliness.
To be a virgin and conceive is an unparalleled experience. Conception always involves ensemble and grows out of a deep partnership. Mary’s only partnership in this conception was with the invisible God and it led to more isolation from humanity – even her betrothed.
Joseph was also isolated by this event. Intimate trust had, in his mind, been betrayed. He could not receive counsel because there were none who could understand his mixed emotions.
Out of this loneliness would come a new partnership between God and this young couple and out of His work and their commitment would come a new reality – the persistent and consistent presence of God among people: Emmanuel.
(24)Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
At some point, prior to or during this encounter, Joseph has fallen asleep. God often speaks to us in the loneliness of slumber, but it is when we are awakened that we reveal the power of the encounter. Joseph believed and received the word and his solitude ended. He obeyed God.
(25) And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
Fulfillment involved restraint and rejection of superficial intimacy. The depths of what God was doing would require patient expectation. The honeymoon would wait because God had something marvelous in store for humanity through His Divine intervention in history and the commitment of two solitary youths, brought together by grace and empowered by the promise of the presence of God.
Are we as willing, as they were, to offer our lives to the purpose of Christmas, that the God of the Universe might be revealed to a lonely world? Are we willing to leave some of the gifts under the tree for a while that the Giver of all gifts might bestow the gift of His eternal presence in the temporal realm?
“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” – Matthew 1:21
The name, Jesus means Yahweh Saves. In a wonderful application of that meaning, the angel informs Joseph of the role of this boy who Mary carried in her womb. His life would be the very saving presence of God among His people.
Let us meditate upon the significance of this coming. The Son of Mary, who is the Son of God, would bear a name that others had borne before. But He would bear it with authority and purpose. Others wore that name as a prophetic reminder, He would be the authentic fulfillment of the promise incarnate.
This salvation that He brings is not just from the destructive power of armies or the oppressive arm of dictators. It is also from ourselves, our sins, our choices. It is the offering that He brings with His life, death, and resurrection.
Jesus comes to save His people. Joseph, no doubt, heard this as the household of Israel, but God sent His Son to save the whole world. His saving arms are long enough to embrace all people and gather them to Himself. And so, His arms are open to you this day to rescue you from whatever wars against you and to deliver you from your sins.
"...Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him." - Matthew 2:2
There is one flower that reminds us of a star and there was a star that pointed some people outside of Israel’s fold and covenant to the Savior of the world. God uses all sorts of means to draw people to Himself.
Christmas flowers are special gifts.
For one thing, we do not expect to have many flowers in the winter.
For another, they remind us that Christmas is a colorful season that touches the deepest beauty of our noblest aspirations and sentiments.
Poinsettias became associated with Christmas in 16th-century Mexico.
There was a legend of a girl named Pepita who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday. According to the story, an angel inspired her to gather weeds and place them in front of the church altar. The crimson blossoms that sprouted became poinsettias.
The bright red flowers were known as the “Flores de Noche Buena,” or “Flowers of the Holy Night.”
A former Ambassador to Mexico named, Joel Roberts Poinsett introduced them to America. Later planters and business opportunists built on the legend and cultivated the flowering plants we have today, named for
The star-shaped leaf on the Poinsettia is said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem. The red color represents the blood of Jesus shed on the cross for our sins.
Whether or not there is any truth in the legend, the story points to God’s provision for a gift of worship through a humble child and God’s gift to the world for our salvation through the coming of the Christ child.
We do not always know the story behind our traditions. We may not always know what they symbolize, but they usually mean something and knowing their meaning can add depth to our celebrations.
Father, may I never look at a flower or anything in Thy creation
"Adoration of the Child " Honthorst, Gerrit van, 1590-1656
"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." - Matthew 1:21
Call his name, “Jesus.”
It was the core of the angelic message that was delivered to Joseph. Mary would have a son. There were no ultrasound tests in those days that could have predicted gender. Only God could know.
Only God could know the meaning of that life. God knew and shared that knowledge with Joseph through His angel. You will call Him Jesus – not because it was a common name among the sons of Israel; such a designation was not unheard of, but neither was it common. Call Him Jesus – not because it was a family name or because it had a ring to it.
Call Him Jesus, because that name, like His life, like this great event of miraculous conception means something. Of all those who have ever borne the name, He would most embody it and fulfill its promise.
Call Him Jesus because it means that God is Savior and God saves. Call Him Jesus because it for the purpose of saving His people from their sins that He came. Call Him Jesus and never forget that you are part of something greater than your own self interests.
There is no evidence that the angel shouted these words or sang them, but never has there been a more dramatic proclamation in the annals or oratory or a grander crescendo in the history choral repertoire. Thus, whenever we recall them theatrically, homiletically, or musically, it is almost impossible to restrain the enthusiasm.
What God spoke to the disoriented and discouraged Joseph in the dark quiet of that moment has resounded through the ages as great exclamation mark in salvation history.
He shall save His people from their sins!
The experience of Joseph has become our experience and the culmination of its advent, we have come to call, “Christmas.” Our sins, so profound and so hideous with their dire consequences in our lives have met their match in the One we call Jesus.
"But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost." - Matthew 1:20
Sometimes it takes a messenger from God, human or angelic to interrupt our thinking and redirect our beliefs so that we can see that the seemingly negative events in our lives are nothing less than something conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Joseph was thinking as a natural man with the information he had and the beliefs that focused his thinking. He was filtering reality through a mindset that had not even considered the possibilities that were about to be revealed to him. As a result, he had come to certain conclusions, made certain decisions, and experienced a range of emotions including fear.
The angel’s message suggests that he might have toyed with the idea of marrying Mary in spite of everything, but fear prevented him. He needed a word from God to give him courage and assurance.
Joseph was thinking. Perhaps he was brooding. He may have been playing various scenarios in his mind, rehearsing his speech, considering and reconsidering his options. He must have been on an emotional roller coaster and had drifted into the oblivion of racing thoughts when waking or sleeping, he saw what he had never seen before – an angel.
Though startled at first, imagine how Joseph must have welcomed the message he received. He could never have thought of it himself. It was like a breath of fresh air, a reprieve from the nightmare of recent days. It was a word of hope. The angel gave him permission to love the girl of his dreams and take her as his wife because the one impossible scenario was actually the truth: God had done this thing. . It was all His doing and it was good.
Is that not what we need to hear in the midst of our despairing conundrums? We need to know that however convoluted the circumstances and what we believe about them, that the Spirit of the Living God is at work and is working out His eternal purposes. Embracing that word, we are set free from fear.
AN ELEGANT YARD SALE A Yard Sale that Never Ends --
Online thrift boutique --
Changes daily --
All profits help support 4141 Ministries and Build-a-Child
It is, at the core, all I ask today as I present myself to God.
Recent Comments