I Will NOT Deny You!!

Thursday morning, March 6, 2008
This is what Jesus said to His disciples, just prior to Gethsemane, the place of crushing: “You will all fall away, because it is written, ‘I shall strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee” (Mark 14:27-28). This is what impetuous Peter said in response: “Even though all may fall away, yet I will not” (Mark 14:29). This is Jesus’ rebuke to Peter: “Truly I say to you, that you yourself this very night, before a cock crows twice, shall three times deny Me” (vs. 30). This is Peter’s reaction: “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You” (vs. 31a)! I think you know the rest of the story; however, this is the ending line: “And immediately a cock crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before a cock crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he began to weep (vs. 72).
Not too long ago, I was listening to an addiction counselor, as she spoke to a group of addicts, and in the listening, I heard her say something that has stuck with me: “Addicts do not know how to live life according to life’s terms.” She went on to explain the reason: the addict thinks he/she is “right” and everyone else is “wrong”. As you might imagine, my mind thought, “WOW”!
As you probably know by now, I tend to examine everything in light of the Scriptures (one of my quirks!) and this was no exception. My mental response was immediate: if this is true, then all Christians must be addicts because we certainly do not know how to live life according to life’s terms. To be sure, most of us are thoroughly convinced that we are “right” and everyone else is “wrong” and the evidence is plenteous!
As I continue to muse, I made a bit of a correction and concluded this: For the most part, Christians do not know how to live life according to God’s terms and we do not because we believe (far too often) that we are “right” and He is “wrong,” and the evidence of our stupidity is abundant. IF we could just learn that He is ALWAYS right and live life according to His terms, rather than our own, we wouldn’t have to listen to the crowing of nearly as many roosters.
Peter, as you can see from the text, was convinced that Jesus was wrong about his falling away; it simply would not happen. Notice, however, that Jesus was more than convinced that, when the heat was turned up, Peter was going to tuck his tail and run like a scalded dog. You know who won and you know it wasn’t Peter! I was about to tell you that I wonder how Peter felt when he heard the rooster crow, but the truth is I know and I do because I have been there and done that—not once but several times (it does seem that one such experience would have been enough for anyone, but we know better, don’t we!).
Anyway, I do want to remind each of us that He really does know what He is talking about, every time and all the time, and it would behoove us to listen to Him and to follow His lead, even when it seems so contrary to what we think is truth. I think Peter honestly believed that he would die with Jesus before he would deny Him, which is why it was so difficult for him to accept the warning that Jesus gave to them. Notice, too, that the “falling away” was really not the issue, as Jesus had that covered; instead, the issue was whether or not Peter would accept the fact that Jesus loved him enough to warn him that he was about to make a fool of himself, not because he would deny Jesus, but because he refused to humble himself and admit that he was wrong and Jesus was right.
I think this is the issue for you and for me, as well—

Whom then Shall I Fear?

Thursday morning, February 21, 2008
I read these very encouraging words this morning: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, my heart will not fear; though war arise against me, in spite of this I shall be confident. One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; and I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord” (Psalm 27:1-6; NASB).
Wow! When it comes to a morning boost, this ain’t too shabby! Obviously, I do not know what is going on in your life, but I am willing to bet that you will find this passage very encouraging and timely. Unless you are in a coma (if you are you aren’t reading this anyway!), you are well-aware that we live in a fallen world and the prince of darkness is having a field day. He really believes that he is winning (slow to learn, in my opinion!) but he is not; Jesus has already won and we have been made more than conquerors—not just conquerors but more than conquerors!
I really love these words from Psalm 139: “If I say, ’Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to Thee, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to Thee” (vs. 11-12). That revelation really does energize this truth: The Lord is my light and my salvation; consequently, I have no reason to be afraid, even when it seems that my enemies are waging a war against me, a war that is devouring my flesh, a war so intense that the darkness seems to be overwhelming me! You consider this: darkness is not dark to Him and the night is a bright as the day (the noon day!); in fact, darkness and light are alike to Him!
You see, regardless of what might be going on in your life, even if you are thinking the light around you is quickly becoming darkness, these are the facts: (1) Jesus is The Light of your life; (2) with Him, even the darkest of dark is as bright as the noon day; and (3) consequently, the darkness cannot overwhelm you, nor can your enemies destroy you. In other words, you have no reason to fear and every reason to be confident because He will conceal you, hide you, and lift your head above your enemies! Wow!
Notice the Psalmist’s use of the words “fear” and “dread”. It seems that he is relating “fear” with our dealings with darkness and “dread” with our dealings with enemies. In any case, most of us can readily identify with both terms. For example, I dread having to prep for a colonoscopy (a gallon of “go-lightly” is definitely an enemy!) but I am not afraid to prep. On the other hand, fear can come when you are sitting in your basement, watching the weather channel advise you of an impending tornado, and the last words you hear before the lights go out and you find yourself sitting in total darkness is that the monster is headed directly for your house!
And then we remember: the Lord is my light, the defense of my life, and my salvation; whom then shall I dread and whom shall I fear? Indeed, I will sing praises to the Lord for He is faithful and true; not to mention, darkness and light are alike to Him and He has made His enemies His footstool!
He really is Lord!

The Power of Darkness

Monday, February 18, 2008
In all probability my mind is too tired for me to attempt writing this but for some reason I feel compelled to do so; hopefully, it will be beneficial to someone. Of course, there is the possibility that I am doing it for my own well-being and catharsis; if so, please be patient with me (I am old, you know!).
Anyway, last night was quite interesting, to say the least, especially the part when the tornado was passing into River North and in very close proximity to our house. This is the second time this has occurred in the past couple of years, which is more than enough for me. Thankfully, we (Annis and I) escaped untouched, except for a few hours without electrical power, which was no big thing because it gave me an excuse to go to bed around 8:00! It was a bit eerie, I must admit, watching the TV and seeing the hook of the rotation moving in our direction, so much so that Annis insisted that we move into the basement. Of course, about the time we sat down to turn of the TV the power went off and there we sat in pitch darkness, as in the complete absence of light, or so it seemed.
To be honest, I really wasn’t afraid but I was thinking about how dark the darkness was, so much so, that for a moment I almost forgot why we were in the basement. In that darkness, I could picture the churning of the winds above our house, things completely out of our control, roofs being lifted off houses, trees being thrown around like toothpicks, people being covered over with debris—the utter devastation that one sees following most tornados (Thankfully, when the lights came back on, things didn’t look nearly that badly!).
As I told you earlier, we went to bed around 8:00, which was when my thinking changed, and I began thinking about the power of darkness, i.e. the power that Satan has, as he works in his dominion—the world of darkness. Sometimes I think we forget that we have an enemy, the prince of darkness, who does everything he can to destroy us, and always working in darkness. I thought about the many people he has deceived into believing his lies, lies that look so much like the truth, that distinguishing between the two is very difficult. The truth is his lies are often much more appealing than the truth, as they were with Adam & Eve; consequently, we are easily deceived. Sadly, when we are deceived, we do not know it; otherwise, we would no longer be deceived.
From what I have been able to observe, he is a master at enticing us to make foolish choices, choices that on the surface have all the appearances of being the correct ones, but whose consequences reveal that they were anything but the correct choices. I think Israel learned this lesson more than once. On one occasion they got tired of waiting for Moses to return from the mountain, so they decided to make their own God. At the time, it seemed like the correct choice; but trust me on this one, it didn’t take them long to discover the truth. On another occasion, they decided that they wanted meat to eat, instead of manna, and God gave them want they wanted; however, well you know the rest of that story!
Yes, I know that making wise decisions is not always an easy task, especially in light of the fact that none of us has a crystal ball; however, I also know that many of the decision we make are simply foolish choices, choices that no one in his/her right mind would make, choices that can only result in severe consequences. I mean, if you should jump in front of a speeding freight train, would you expect to walk out on the other side singing, “The Chattanooga Choo Choo”? If you should jump out of an airplane, without a parachute, at 30,000 feet would you expect to land on your feet and walk away singing, “Stay Off My Blue Suede Shoes”? I don’t think so!
I can only hope that you will believe this: you have an enemy who has the power to convince you that you can succeed in this life by doing your own thing, instead of submitting to your creator; in fact, he can make “doing your own thing” much more appealing that submitting to God’s will and way for your life. Of course, somewhere down the road, you will have to face that fact that the consequences of your choice give evidence to its foolishness.
And remember this: he loves darkness and he does so because he is evil!

Some Things I Have Learned Along the Way

In light of the fact that I not only just celebrated by 66th birthday, but also am approaching my 60th year, as a Christian, I thought it appropriate that I share with you some of the things that He has taught me along the pathway of my journey, truths that for the most part did not come easily because in order for me to accept them, I had to set aside what I was taught, as a young Christian, by well-meaning significant others—things that I held as being very sacred:

1. God’s purpose for His children is to drive us to that place in which we find more pleasure in Jesus than we find in anyone or anything else and He will do whatever He knows to be necessary in order to accomplish that purpose. Those who believe that God’s purpose for us is to give us health, wealth, and prosperity in order to make us happy are deceived, and very much so.

2. God never intended for His church to use the many and varied tactics it uses, such as Sunday schools, drama productions, children’s ministries, youth ministries, rock bands, orchestras, coffee shops, gymnasiums, et al, to attract people to Him. As strange as it might seem, He intended for the gospel to be the truth that attracted people to Him, and, I might add, He has never placed Himself in competition with any rock band, youth ministry, slick tongued preacher, or anything else, for that matter, and He never will.

3. God did not design the modern-day plan for evangelism; He has, certainly, allowed it but it is not His design. The fact is God would never design any plan that exalts man and attempts to make Him a victim, which is in fact what most of protestant evangelism is about today.

4. The teachings of Jesus were never designed to be goals for which we strive; instead, His teachings were designed to further confirm the Law’s purpose—to define sin for us, to show us its exceeding sinfulness, and to drive us (in desperation, I might add) to Jesus as our only Savior—and in so doing, to fulfill the Law’s purpose.

5. God intended for us to spend large amounts of time in solitude; consequently, He did not devise the popular and controlling plan that requires us to be so busy doing His work that we would have no time for solitude. His plan offers us the opportunity and the time to spend our lives resting in His finished work—the work of redemption, so that we would not be distracted from spending large amounts of time in solitude. The truth is most of the “work of the Lord” with which we busy ourselves should be terminated immediately. Of this you can be sure: there has yet to live the man or woman who knows God intimately, who does not spend large amounts of time in solitude.

6. God did not design prayer to be the tool we use to manipulate Him into changing His mind so He will give us what we want. Much to the contrary, God intended prayer to be the means by which we find our way into submission to His will, regardless of whether or not it is what we desire. The truth is this: most prayer is selfishness shrouded in religion, even fasting prayer.

7. God loves the Eucharist (the Lord’s Supper); consequently, He did not design it to be merely a memorial symbolized with saltine crackers and grape juice. Much to the contrary, He intended for the Eucharist to be just that—the giving of thanks by a believer. This Eucharist is expressed through the eating of unleavened bread (the body of Christ) and the drinking of wine (the blood of Christ), signs that become through the work of the Holy Spirit true food and true drink in the life of the believer—true, spiritual nourishment. The Eucharist is not about what man can do for God; instead, it is about what God has done for man.

8. The most difficult part of living the Christian life (other than I cannot live it) is maintaining the courage required to take the risk of living in intimate relationship with other believers. To be sure, the desire is ever-present; however, I have come to believe that it might be easier to live as a hermit (well, I don’t really believe that—yet!).

9. Every one of us is self-centered and, consequently, we do very little (if anything) out of pure motives. Virtually, everything we do, we do with some selfish purpose in mind, even though it is often very covert; consequently, it is very difficult to trust man—even those, who call themselves Christian.

10. God never intended for the church to be another arm of corporate America, whose purpose and mission (although disguised in so-called not-for-profit ministry) is to make money, at the expense of the very people to whom it claims to minister; instead, He intended the church to be the Body of His Son, Jesus, whose purpose is to die, in order that others might live.

11. God intended for the Scriptures from Genesis to the Revelation to be His revelation of Jesus, not a rule book for successful living and the sooner we realize this, the clearer our revelation of Him.

12. Worship is not something we do for God or for His children; instead, it is something we do because He is God and we are His children, and this tells me much about most of what the church calls worship.

In the Batter's Box!

Valentine’s Day, 2008 (Thursday),
Some things are just too good not to share with others and the following is one of them; it is one of the responses I received from a long-time and dear friend in regard to yesterday’s perspective (I am sharing it without her permission, so please pray that she doesn’t demand a royalty!):

Bless you, dearest Mac. I wish that I could tell you I have no idea what you are talking about, but alas, I do. I am also ready to concede that this curve ball batting practice is most assuredly the "normal" Christian life. At least it is if I accept that He is sovereign, and I do. It has been the tenor of my life for the past....oh, a lot of years. I suppose in my own life, it is His way of reminding me that I have absolutely NO control over what He deems necessary to bring into my life....the only thing over which I have absolute control is my willingness (or unwillingness, as the case may be) to surrender to whatever He has for me in this particular "at-bat." I want to also rush to assure you that I am not speaking to you from the spectator's stands....I am in the batting cage at the moment. The most consistent message I have been getting from Him of late is, "Don't be afraid, I'm here." My first reaction to that is, 'Well, why don't You DO something about this mess?" But he points me back to the first phrase above. I guess that’s when I realize that He's all I have, then, and ONLY then do I also realize that He's really all I need. God's kinda like that, ain't He?

Wow! This is what I call creative writing at its finest, not to mention, incredibly honest, the kind of honesty that makes most religious folk nervous! If she were my student, I would give her an A++ and that is for sure! To tell you the truth I am jealous; however, because it is “righteous jealousy,” I think God is OK with it, so don’t worry about my having to get right with Him. Now don’t turn your nose up at my notion of “righteous jealousy”; if He permitted “righteous indignation” then surely He permits “righteous jealousy”! Anyway—
After reading and listening to your responses to my recent perspectives, and now with the added perspective of “Foxy Roxy” (my friend’s alias), I am convinced that we could put together quite a baseball team, if we were of a mind to do so. Since most of us are already in the game, it shouldn’t be too difficult! Because I played first base for all of my baseball career, I will go ahead and claim that position and leave the others up for grabs. I do not think, however, the position we play really matters; what matters is whether or not we have the intestinal fortitude to stand in the batter’s box to face curve ball after curve ball from a Pitcher, who seems to have no control. Yes, I know that He has perfect control but when I am standing in the batter’s box, it seems that He is out of control, at least much of the time. My friend’s “Don’t be afraid, I’m here” sounds really good, when I am sitting in the bleachers watching the game from afar; however, when I am in the batter’s box, it sounds more like, “Duck, you fool; this is going to be a bean ball!”
Isn’t it your time to bat? I certainly hope so, and Lord knows I hope you are better at it than I (but I am old, you know, not-to-mention, nearsighted)!!

Walking on Water, Levitating Rocks, and Curve Balls

February 13, 2008
It seems like a month has passed (even though it has only been two days) since I wrote my previous perspective, the one in which I brought up the subject of anomalies. I ended it with these words: Today is another day and life will go on and The Creator is still The Creator, even though He sometimes throws us a curve ball by placing an anomaly in our paths, if for no other reason than to see how we will react to the abnormal (or is it the normal?)! Go figure!
Thankfully, I continue to believe that The Creator is still the Creator, even though He does throw us curveballs on occasion. Actually, when I ended that perspective, I really thought that life was about to calm down for me and things would quickly get back to “normal” (whatever that is!). Trust me, that thought was short-lived; I didn’t even have time to adjust. I went from an incredible (albeit, momentary), sense of relief to an almost overwhelming sense of “What? Another curve ball? So soon?”. As if that were not enough, in just a short while, I was asking the same question again! And then again! All in the same day!
Now please understand that I am neither asking for sympathy or for clarity; instead, I am simply trying to communicate to you that there are times in our lives, as believers, when trusting that God has your best interest at heart is about as easy as walking on water or levitating a rock or hitting a curve ball, for that matter! Just for the record: I cannot walk on water; I cannot levitate a rock; and at my age, I won’t even stand in the batter’s box to attempt to hit a curve ball. Now, if you still have questions, as to the ease with which I have been practicing Christianity over the past several months, and especially the past 48 hours, I cannot help you.
For most of my life, I have been able to handle adversity and handle it well; however, when it involves people I love and care about (which is most of the time) and it is coming at me like machine gun fire (as it has been doing of late), especially over an extended period of time, well, just let me say that I am not as good at it, as I once was.
Just for the record: practicing Christianity, at least for me, means that I wake up every day to die, in order that others can live; that I make it my ambition to treat others as being more important than myself; that I do not merely look out for my own interests, but also for the interests of others; that I spend my life serving others, rather than expecting to be served; that I trust Him to do exceeding, abundantly above all I could ever ask or think; that I never allow myself to be distracted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus; and, finally, that I do all of these, as I rest in His finished work.
As I think about what I just wrote, it is obvious to me that the most difficult part of my practicing Christianity lies in my purposing not to be distracted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Him; it seems that, over the past several months, distractions have been as plenteous as sand gnats, late in the afternoon on a south Florida beach. Most of the time, you cannot see the blasted creatures coming but, trust me, when they arrive, they do distract! What was intended as a pleasant afternoon of fishing one of the mangrove areas for snook, turns into a miserable, wretched fight against stinging, pesky, innumerable creatures, much like the demons of hell—a distraction for sure!
In the end, I do know in whom I have believed and I am persuaded (absolutely convinced) that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that Day! Although, it doesn’t always feel like it, I do know that He is good, always good, and I also know that He will only allow for that which He deems best to come into my life, even though it might appear, as anything but the best.
Yes, I do know that things could be much worse, and I do know that most people have it much worse than I; however, I must admit that I could use a break (at least that is my opinion) from some of the “stuff” of life that has tried so very desperately to distract me from the very thing I love most—the simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus.

An Anomaly!

Monday morning, February 11, 2008
As some of you know, I am, among other things, an embalmer (my license is almost as old as I am; well, not quite, but it is so old that I no longer have to do continuing education! I guess the lawmakers figure that embalmers as old as I am can make it to the finish line without having to learn something new!).
Having said that, I assume that each of you, especially if you are as old as I am, knows what an anatomical anomaly is but in case you do not, I will tell you: it is simply an abnormality, an irregularity in anatomy. For example, it is normal for your left foot to be on the end of your left leg; however, when your right foot shows up on the end of your left leg you have, well you have an anomaly, not to mention a limp (I guess you can tell from that that anomalies usually cause other problems).
Anyway, since my days at the University of Minnesota ( a lifetime ago!), I have loved the study of human anatomy; in fact, my pathology professor did his very best to get me to continue my studies at the U of M and earn my PhD in anatomy (sometimes I wish I had listened!). To say it succinctly: I marvel at the way God created our amazing earthsuits! To study human anatomy and not to believe in God is an oxymoron--at least! Listen to this embalmer: no one but God could have made these incredible bodies (yes, I know that some seem to look a bit better than others
Strangely, on occasion it seems that He forgot to tighten a screw or to drive a nail all the way in, like when your right foot shows up on your left leg, and these anomalies really do intrigue me! Inevitably, I wonder: "God, why did you do this?" Sometimes, I can figure out the reason but most often I am clueless. I mean, why in the wide-world would The Creator give someone three kidneys or forget to install both ovaries? I do not have a clue and since He is The Creator, I usually don't fuss much over it, not to mention that it is none of my business, nor did He consult me!
Occasionally, in the process of embalming a body, I run across an anomaly and when I do, I find myself wondering how surgeons deal with them; I mean, I am dealing with a dead body and they are dealing with live ones (hopefully!). Think about it: In the process of a surgical procedure, the surgeon makes an incision to open the belly, expecting to find the gall bladder but instead he sees the appendix; trust me, that is one thing for an embalmer but quite another for a surgeon!
Actually, not long ago I stumbled upon an anomaly that would have been a challenge, a real challenge for any surgeon (in light of the fact that their patients are still pumping blood!) and, to be honest, it created somewhat of a problem for me (even in light of the fact that my patient was no longer pumping blood!)—the right jugular vein was about 3 times the normal size and it presented with a bifurcation that I had never, as in NEVER, seen before. Why did God do this? Why did this life-threatening anomaly lie just below the surface of the skin, probably without anyone but God ever knowing of its existence? What kept this vessel from rupturing and bringing instant death? I am clueless.
Anyway, the longer I live the more I realize that there are as many anomalies in Christianity, probably even more, as there are in these earthsuits that God created. All-too-often we fully expect to see the “normal” only to be surprised by the abnormal. Actually, I think I have come to believe that the “abnormal” is actually the “normal” in Christianity. Let me put it this way: I have studied Christianity longer than I have studied anatomy and, consequently, should be able to recognize the “normal” but so often what presents is anything but what I believe is normal. Maybe I just have things upside down, downside up!
To be honest, at this point in my life, I am always looking for the anomaly because I just know that it will present itself—especially in Christianity but also in embalming—and I figure it is wise to be on the lookout for the inevitable. Yesterday, however, I guess I had let my guard down just a bit, and in a moment, what I thought was going to be a “normal” Sunday afternoon proved to be anything but—
Today is another day and life will go on and The Creator is still The Creator, even though He sometimes throws us a curve ball by placing an anomaly in our paths, if for no other reason than to see how we will react to the abnormal (or is it the normal?)! Go figure!

Not to Baptize or to Use a Slick Tongue!

Tuesday morning, February 5, 2008
This is what Paul (the apostle), had to say concerning God’s reason for his existence: “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void. For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:17-18). Incredible words, especially when read in light of the fact that they came from the man who loved the church more than any other person (except Jesus!) who has ever lived.
His “God did not send me to baptize” would not fit well in most protestant churches, especially the evangelical variety. From what I have been able to observe, getting people baptized (usually with no regard for the preaching of the gospel) is the single most important mission of most churches, and for this reason—churches are in competition with one another and the evidence of growth lies in the numbers of baptisms. Obviously, Paul would not qualify to be the pastor of most churches, and he certainly would not qualify to serve on a church growth committee. Go figure!
For Paul, the main thing was always the main thing—the preaching of the gospel! For him, nothing was more important, not even getting people baptized; His “Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel” make this unmistakable clear. Sadly, the church has veered off course, so much so that in many churches Jesus is never even mentioned, much less is the gospel preached; consequently, people by the thousands (literally) are weary, frustrated, and disappointed with church, and, as a result, they are leaving, looking for life in other places.
For me, Paul’s “. . .not in cleverness of speech” is very significant and it is for this reason: In most cases, the church would never consider someone, who did not have a “slick tongue”, i.e. the gift of eloquence; yet, Paul tells us that God did not send him to preach the gospel using a slick, clever, eloquent tongue. In other words, God sent Paul to impress the people with the gospel, not with his eloquence. Funny how God chose Moses, one who, by his own admission, did not have anything even close to the gift of eloquence, to be the one who would speak in His behalf to the Pharaoh. Surely, Paul’s point is evident: the gospel, not man’s clever speech, is the power of God for salvation! “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation. . .” (Romans 1:16a). The preacher probably should be ashamed of many things, especially his lack of eloquence, but NEVER of the gospel because it is God’s power for salvation (I am tempted to elaborate upon that but I will save it for another “perspective”).
Now, listen up: “that the cross of Christ should not be made void”! I love it! Paul is telling us that God did not send him to baptize, or to preach the gospel with a slick tongue, and He did not because He knew that the church, with man at its centerpiece, would become just what it has become. The fact is this: baptisms and slick tongues are two of the main reasons people are so disenchanted with church. You think about this—really! [For the record: I am not meaning to imply that baptizing believers should be avoided, but I am meaning to imply that “getting people baptized” has become more important than the preaching of the gospel!]
Why have church leaders allowed such foolishness to go on within the church and for so long? Paul has the answer: “For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness. . .” Any more questions? THE WORD OF THE CROSS IS FOOLISHNESS TO THOSE WHO ARE PERISHING and, consequently, the word of the cross will not be allowed in the “church of the perishing”.
There is more, however, and it is this: “. . .but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God”. Wow! I really like this: to those of us who are being saved, the word of the cross (the gospel) is the power of God (for salvation!). Can you see what this does for us? It eliminates all the stress of trying to get people baptized by using a slick tongue to persuade them to “walk the aisle”! In other words, the success of the church rests on God’s shoulders, not ours. Our privilege is to simply preach the gospel—the offensive word of the cross—both in season and out of season!
Now for the question of the day: Has it dawned upon you that the same Christ who sent Paul to preach the gospel has also called you to preach the same gospel and to do so without your becoming its centerpiece? If it hasn’t, I trust that it will—soon!

Just thought I would remind you of what you already know—

Maybe I Am Just Confused!

Saturday morning, February 2, 2008
The truth is I will probably never figure out why Jesus added the last part to the text I used in my last perspective (Luke 17:6-10), and I am certain that I do not know its relationship to faith (at least not in the present!), so I will move on to the next turn in the road, which is this: “Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you. [But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.]” (Matthew 17:19-21). Hmmm—what can I say?
This is the way I see it: The disciples have just returned from the Mount of Transfiguration, which to say the least was no shabby experience. The must have been on a spiritual high and ready to kill another Goliath, to walk on water, to raise someone from the dead, to handle snakes, to turn water into wine, and to see another burning bush; however, they were asked to cast a demon out of some father’s son and they failed to geterdone! To add to their embarrassment, the father quickly gave up on them and took his son to Jesus, telling him that His disciples were pretty much out of the loop, as far as casting out demons was concerned and, thus, begged Him to have mercy on his son and heal him of his dreaded misery.
You do not have to be very smart to realize that Jesus was just a tad frustrated not only with His disciples, but also with the boy’s father. Listen to how Jesus responded: “O unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me” (vs.17). A bit scathing, I would say! His “How long shall I put up with you” sounds exactly like something I heard my Mother say (more than once!) to both of my brothers in their earlier years, and trust me on this—she said it in such a way, as to make you wonder, if she wasn’t about to throw them out of the house (She never did it but I do remember thinking it would be in their best interest to keep a bag packed, just in case!).
I am of the opinion that these disciples wished they could have somehow dropped into a hole in the ground and disappeared—as in out of sight—but that was not to happen; instead, they would remain for the Grand Finale—one the probably never forgot (probably still remember it!). Notice how the show ended: “And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once” (vs. 18).
Then the debriefing: “Why could we not cast it out?” Jesus answer was clear, succinct, and easily understood, even by a moron: You couldn’t cast it out because you are too stupid! You will not pay attention; you will not listen to anything I tell you; you do not trust anything I tell you; you are full of pride; and, well, you are just plain stupid!
Well, that is not exactly what He said but it is close enough for hand grenades and horse shoes, which is closer than any of us should want to get to demons! This is actually what He said (just for the record): “Because of the littleness of your faith; . . .” (vs. 20a). Well, I cannot speak for them but I can tell you that I am well aware of the “littleness” of my faith, especially when it comes to doing things that I know I cannot do—walk on water, turn water into wine, move mountains, cast out demons, handle snakes!, raise the dead, heal the sick, dance, especially dance!
To tell you the truth I was of the opinion that my “little” faith was enough because regardless of how little it is, it is His, if I have any at all, and His is supposed to be enough for anything and everything—even dancing! Maybe I am just confused. Go figure!

If Only: Faith Like a Mustard Seed!

Thursday morning, January 31, 2008
This is what Jesus said to the apostles in response to their request for Him to increase their faith: “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you. But which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down and eat’? But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me until I have eaten and drunk; and afterward you will eat and drink’? He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’” Hmmm! I think I understand the apostles’ question and I also think I have some (not much, but some) insight into the first part of Jesus’ answer, but what in the wide-world does the second part of His answer have to do with faith, especially increasing faith?
In the first place, the context of this question is important: “Be on your guard! If you brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him” (vs.3-4). In light of this, I can easily see why they asked Jesus to increase their faith; otherwise, they would never live up to this requirement. If “faith” and “trust” are kin folk (relatives), then I have no problem understanding their request for more faith! I mean, this is a pretty tall order: if your brother sins against you seven time a day (with the implication being for several days in a row!) and comes to you each time, asking for your forgiveness, then forgive him (note that nothing is said about the gravity of any of the offenses!). What else could they have said but, “Lord, increase our faith (if you expect us to obey this!)”!
Jesus’ initial response (“If you had faith like a mustard seed . . “) is really not too difficult to understand. Notice that He did NOT say, “If you had faith as small as a mustard seed. . .”; instead, He said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed. . .”, which in my opinion is somewhat different. Yes, we know that a mustard seed is a very small seed (about 1mm in diameter) but the size of one’s faith is not Jesus’ point. His point is this: Even when our faith, like a mustard seed, is infinitesimally small (which is most of the time), even smaller than a mustard seed, we can expect these small seeds of faith to produce incredible results. In other words, the fact that you have faith is enough, more than enough to enable you to forgive your brother seven times a day for seventy days, or more, if need be.
You see, if we have any faith at all, it is His faith, not ours, and this means that we have all faith, the kind of faith that moves not only mulberry trees, but also mountains, the kind of faith that enables us to believe the absolutely unbelievable—Jesus died that we might live in perfect relationship with Him, glorify Him, and enjoy Him for ever! Just for the record, it is much easier to believe that a mulberry tree will respond to our command and uproot itself and replant itself in the sea, than it is to believe that life is in Jesus. Well, it is until—until He gives you the faith to believe and, then, you can do no other because His faith ALWAYS produces His desired results!
If you had faith like a mustard seed. . .! Listen up: YOU DO, if you are His!



(Because I am out of space, I will continue tomorrow, if He gives me something to say! If ONLY I had faith like a mustard seed!! (=:

Follow Me and I Will Make You Fishers of Men

Wednesday afternoon, January 30, 2008

This is what Jesus said to Peter and Andrew, as they were casting their net into the sea, fishing for sea bass or speckled trout or whatever might have been swimming, in the hopes of bringing in a huge haul to help feed their families: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Hmmm, say what now? Surely, this thought passed through their minds: “Do you mean that you want us to leave our vocation, to stop doing the ONLY thing we know how to do to earning a living, in order to follow you and begin doing something about which we know nothing?” Even if it didn’t, it should have! I mean, it is one thing go be bi-vocational (have something else to depend upon, in case this new venture fails!), but it something else to altogether leave a sure thing in order to pursue some pipe dream.

Regardless of my opinions and feelings, this was their response: “And they immediately left their nets, and followed Him” (vs. 20). There was none of that, “Let me first tell my family goodbye” or “Let me first bury my father” or “Let me first get my bills paid” or “Let me first put my boat in dry dock”—none of that; instead, they immediately left their nets and, obviously, their vocation and stepped in line to follow Him and to become fishers of men (I doubt that they had any idea, as to what that meant!), a journey that launch them into a career that would carry them much farther down the road of life, than they ever dreamed. Even so, to my knowledge, they never looked back, wishing they could return to “fishing for fish,” as Israel looked back, wishing they could return to the “garlics and leeks and onions” of Egypt. Yes, Peter was impetuous and he did color outside the lines a few times, but he was committed to the journey and to the leader of the journey. John was too clingy, and he, too, colored outside the lines on occasion, but he, too, was committed to the journey and to the leader of the journey.

You see, most of us struggle with this passage because it is so difficult for us to imagine how these men managed to leave everything and follow Jesus, especially with such haste; however, it is even more difficult for us to imagine how we would follow their example, should the call come. Well, just for the record—YOU AND I HAVE BEEN CALLED TO THE SAME CALLING!

Realizing the dangers of paraphrasing Scripture, please allow me to take the risk and suggest that Jesus could have said this (who knows, maybe He did!): Follow me because I have something better for you to do with your life—something much better—something that will profoundly affect your life and the lives of those that come after you, and that “something” is this: I will teach you how to be My witnesses not only at home, but also to the ends of the earth.

Regardless of your or my vocation, Jesus has something better for us to do with our lives than to spend them trying to earn a living! Hold on and don’t run away! Earning a living is a good and Godly thing—a necessary thing—however, there is more, so much more, but, unfortunately, most of us get so involved in and dependent upon “catching our own fish” that we never even realize that He has something better for us to do—something much better.

His call is simple, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men,” and there is no higher calling, and, I might add, you probably won’t even have to abandon your vocation in order to obey!

More of Corporate America?

Tuesday morning, January 29, 2008

This is THE ACCURATE MODEL of the early (very early, as in newborn) church: “And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostle’s teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles” (Acts 2:42-43; emphasis, mine). For some reason, we have been led to believe that there are better models than this one, as it evidenced by the popularity of today’s “church modeling syndrome.” Of course, this is understandable (albeit regrettable), especially in light of the competitive atmosphere that exists today among churches.

In my opinion, the Holy Spirit was well-aware of what He was doing when He gave birth to the church and established it as a living organism within our world, a living organism with a mission and a purpose—to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sadly, this mission and purpose has long-since been abandoned and replaced by something that looks so much like competitive corporate America, that one would be hard-put to distinguish between them.

The tragic end of this mindset is a “church” whose mission and purpose is no longer to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever, but to reach the masses in an effort to increase income and to, thereby, have enough money to finance the programs and staff that are necessary to succeed in such a competitive environment. Of course, this is never admitted; instead, the goal of reaching the masses is done under the disguise of evangelism, which just might be the worst of all sins.

There is no wonder that so many people are leaving “church” with no plans of ever returning! It is no surprise that so many Christians—very sincere Christians—are frustrated, aggravated, and disappointed with “church”! Look at the obvious: the people who work in corporate America (for the most part) are long-past burned out from the treadmill of performance, weary from trying to reach the just-out-of-reach goals, and exhausted from attempting to maintain balance between family and work, not to mention fearful of losing their jobs. It is my guess that the last thing the really want from their local church is more of corporate America.

Anyway, in my opinion, it is time (actually, past time) for the Church to return to its roots—fellowship, worship (that sense of awe!), teaching the Word, and the sacraments—to that place where HE is glorified (not man!) and the Bride enjoys HIM forever—the genuine work of the Holy Spirit and not the manipulative efforts of man!

The fact is the church should be a haven of rest for the weary, not another place of frustration, aggravation, and disappointment; after all, Jesus died to set us free not only from sin, but also from its power—the power that fuels the competitive spirit of what we call church today, the power that drives us away from that place of intimacy with Him, wherein we find rest for our weary souls—and that for this good reason—that He might empower us to rest in His finished work.

Simply, simple church, as I see it!

REJOICE: Your Name is Written in Heaven!

Saturday morning, January 26, 2008

This is what Jesus said to those He sent out as frontrunners (His disciples plus the “seventy others”), in response to their enthusiasm: “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightening. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven” (Luke 10:18a-20). Hmmm, it is my guess that when one has this kind of authority, it is terribly difficult to stay focused on what is really important, which is probably why He has not given most, if any, of us this kind of authority. Well, now that I think about it, maybe He did give us this kind of authority but we let it go to our heads, even before we used it, and, consequently, we lost it. In either case, I have NEVER seen this kind of authority used in ANY believer’s life, not yet anyway; however, I am continuing to wait and to watch!

As you can tell, these “frontrunners” (as I call them) were very excited and enthusiastic about this new-found authority (I, certainly, do not blame them!); listen to what they said to Jesus: “And the seventy returned with joy, saying, ’Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name’” (vs. 17). Interestingly, however, Jesus, Himself, was also excited—very excited; take a look at His response: “At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit. . .” (vs. 21a; I would love to have witnessed this!].

Now listen to the words He used to express His enthusiasm: “I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (vss. 21-22). And turning to His disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see” (vs. 23). The first part being enthusiastic praise (probably even dancing!) for any and everyone to see and to hear; the last part being a private, whispered comment to the twelve; albeit, an powerfully, explosive word of encouragement.

Again, with this kind of authority and with these kinds of words of encouragement, it would probably be very difficult to stay focused on what is really important, thus His—REJOICE, NOT IN THESE THINGS, BUT IN THE FACT THAT YOUR NAMES ARE WRITTEN IN HEAVEN!

You know, when all is said and done, only one thing really matters and that one thing is this: Jesus chose to reveal Himself to us and, thus, to write our names in Heaven, in the Lamb’s Book of Life. It is one thing to be chosen to receive such incredible authority, and it is another to be chosen to have eyes to see what most never see, but it is quite another to have been chosen to have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!

So, I would say this: do not rejoice that you have been given authority over the spirits, or that you can see what others miss; instead, rejoice in the fact that your name, that’s right—YOUR NAME—has been written in Heaven!

Wow!

No More Excuses!

Friday morning, January 25, 2008

This is what Jesus said (at the Pool of Bethesda) to the man who had been sick for 38 years: “Do you wish to get well” (John 5:6b). The sick man’s response, although ridiculous, was this: “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me” (vs. 7). This is how Jesus responded to his ridiculous statement: “Arise, take up your pallet, and walk” (vs. 8). This is how the man responded: “And immediately the man became well, and took up his pallet and began to walk” (vs. 9). There was this one “minor” problem: It was the Sabbath Day and it was unlawful for this man (or any other man, for that matter) to carry his pallet on the Sabbath Day, as doing so was considered work (talk about ridiculous!).

Sometimes (actually, most of the time) we are so busy judging others for their failure to maintain our standards, which we believe are also God’s standards, that we completely fail to see the miraculous, even though it is happening right before our eyes. It might be to our benefit to accept the fact that our standards are not always His standards, and it will surely be to our benefit to accept the fact that judging others is God’s business, nor ours; at the very least, we might see more of the miraculous.

In my opinion, Jesus’ question is more than intriguing; surely, He knew that this man wanted to get well, or was it the other way around and He knew that he was enjoying his sickness? Probably the latter; however, in either case, he was about to be healed—like it or not! Notice that this sick man did not say, “Yes, I want to be healed!”; instead, he responded with that all-too-familiar excuse—”Woe is me because nobody will help me!” In case you missed it, I will tell you: Jesus put an immediate end to his excuse! He could no longer say that his well-being depended upon others being more considerate of him.

I must say this: although the Pool of Bethesda was a very legitimate place of healing (at the right time), it was inadequate for this man and it was because he could not (or was unwilling to) get into the pool and, as we might imagine, none of the others were going to help him because they were more interested in getting themselves into the pool than they were in getting him into it. Fortunately, Jesus paid the pool a visit—the only person on the planet, who was more interested in others that He was in Himself!

Now, for the really difficult part: as far as we know, Jesus chose to heal this man and only this man, leaving the rest, as they had left the man Jesus healed—to fend for themselves. You remember the rules of the pool, I feel sure; only the first person to get into the pool, when the waters were troubled, was healed—the rest were left to deal with their malaise the best they could. Disappointing, to say the least! Interestingly, for the very first (and last) time, two people were healed at this annual “Pool of Bethesda” event. I say this is difficult because for the life of me, I cannot understand how Jesus managed to pull this off, without causing a riot, and I, certainly, do not know how He did it without leaving the rest feeling that He was unfair, disinterested, and without compassion.

Well, He almost caused a riot among the Pharisees, as they were not happy with His healing on the Sabbath and they made it quite clear—”For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus because He was doing these things on the Sabbath” (vs. 16). “For this cause, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him. . .” (vs. 18a).

I do have this question: Has Jesus intervened in your life and put an end to your excuses? If He hasn’t, He will, so be prepared with a not-so-ridiculous response.

Relationships

Wednesday morning, January 23, 2008

This is what Jesus said (out of His foreknowledge and resulting concern for you me!) in a prayer He prayed just prior to His betrayal and ultimate crucifixion, a prayer He prayed because it was very important to Him that we live together in healthy relationships not only with the Triune Godhead, but also with one another: “. . .that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me. And the glory which Thou has give Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me” (John 17:21-23). From what I have been able to observe and experience, it is a good thing—a very good thing—that Jesus prayed this prayer; otherwise, the witness the Body of Christ makes, concerning healthy relationships, would be much worse than it already is, and that would be a bad thing—really, bad!

Whether or not we like it, Jesus’ prayer makes it abundantly clear that Christianity is about relationships; namely, God’s relationship with us, our relationship with Him through Jesus, and our relationships with one another. Surely, there is no getting around the fact that we must become proactive in our quest to enter into the kinds of relationships that Jesus desires for us, both with Him and with one another. As you know, He paid a terribly high price to clear the way for both!

In our proactive quest to enter into these relationships certain “hurdles” always seem to present themselves, hurdles that appear much too high for us to hurdle. As a result, we tend to shy away from healthy relationships by hiding in the shadows of our own fears and the resulting insecurities. Again, I am very thankful that Jesus prayed this prayer and for obvious reasons!

As you know, these paralyzing, controlling fears tend to surface anytime we feel that someone is getting too close to us and, therefore, might find out our well-kept secret, the secret that has been controlling us for far too long—should you really get to know me, you would not like me, and if you did, something would be wrong with you!

Our hiding places are those places of emotional insulation that lie behind the facades of pretense, places that keep me inside and you outside, places that keep me just out of range of your snooping, eagle eye. These hiding place take many and varied shapes, such as anger, control, passivity, indifference, and, especially, denial.

Deep down inside, fear has convinced us that, if our facades are removed, the real truth about us will be revealed, leaving us naked and exposed before the very people from whom we are hiding—the people we least want to find out the truth—the end result being the very rejection that we so desperately want to avoid.

When a person lives and breathes to protect himself from the very thing for which his heart cries—to know and to be known—you can bet that he will (sooner, rather than later) finally give up in the aftermath of burnout and begin to look for “fantasy island” —the place far-removed from those who would threaten to exacerbate his already-intense fear of rejection. Sadly, this is where most Christians live—every moment of every day!

Remember this: Jesus prayed for us, specifically about this issue of relationships, so hold on for the ride and go ahead and give up the fight—He wins!

On the Subject of Humility

Saturday morning, January 19, 2008

This is what Jesus said to His disciples concerning their desire for Him to feed the hungry multitude: “You give them something to eat” (Luke 9:13a). This was there response: “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people” (vs. 13b).

As you remember this “multitude” consisted of 5,000 men, plus women and children, which by anyone’s standards, is quite a crowd to feed, especially when the nearest McDonalds is half-way around the world and not yet under construction! They did suggest that a trip to the local supermarket would be beneficial, but Jesus didn’t seem to be too impressed with their idea; in fact, from what I can see, He completely ignored it! Apparently, He had better, more exciting plans.

In my mind, this is one of those occasions, where Jesus wanted His disciples to get a first-hand look at just how dependent they were upon Him. The truth is by the time they made the trek to the local supermarket, bought the food, returned to the site, cooked it, and, well, you get the point! Even a casual look at the five puny loaves and two soggy fish convinced them of their helplessness. They knew and they knew very well that they could not feed this multitude—period.

You know, as I read this story and meditate upon it, for some reason, the word “humility” comes to my mind. To be sure, these disciples were about as humble as a proud peacock, at least most of the time, but this was not one of those times. The fact is, pride was not a part of this party, and that is for sure—Jesus saw to it. I mean, when you are facing the daunting task of feeding 5,000 hungry men, plus women and children, and all you have is five loaves and two fish, pride is out to lunch, maybe even to supper!

To complicate matters even more, these guys are with Jesus (you know, the creator of the universe) and He is the one who is telling them to get off their duffs and use whatever they have to feed the multitude, while He apparently wanders off to have a quiet time. Again, I can only imagine that these guys were practicing humility, the kind of humility that makes one well-aware of his lack of resources!

Now, you might be wondering why I (of all people) would be commenting on the subject of “humility” when humility is not one of the first things you would notice about me (probably, not even the second or third), and if you are, here is the answer: Although I might not project humility, I am well-aware of my dependence upon Him, specifically that I will not make it through the day, much less Home, without Him. You see, I do not equate humility with passivity or compliance or tameness, even meekness; instead, I believe humility is recognizing and accepting my absolute dependence upon Him, and doing so in the light of His holiness.

Whether or not I like it, this is where He has me living: I am well-aware that the meager resources I have can contribute nothing to His “you feed them” directive to me. Trust me on this: if He doesn’t come through for me, as He did for the twelve in our text, I will not make it, and I know it very well.

This is what God said: “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble of spirit, and who trembles at my Word” (Isaiah 66:2b).

At least, you cannot say that I did not tell you!

You are Freed from Your Sickness!

Thursday morning, January 17, 2008

This is what Jesus said to a certain woman, who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit—she was bent double and could not straighten up at all: “Woman, you are freed from your sickness” (Luke 13:12). This is what Jesus did after speaking words of healing to her: He laid the most precious, tender, loving, powerful hands God ever created—His hands—upon her. This is how she responded to His words and to His touch: IMMEDIATELY SHE WAS MADE ERECT AGAIN, AND SHE BEGAN GLORIFYING GOD!

There is something so incredible about this story that mere words are inadequate, even to attempt to address it. I almost feel that I am trying to dissect a butterfly in order to understand its inner workings, rather than simply enjoying the beauty of the butterfly; even so, I cannot resist making a few comments, so please bear with me.

First off, I really do not think she came to the synagogue expecting Jesus to heal her; instead, I think she was, merely, making her usual religious visit. The truth is, she like many of us, had probably long-since given up on Jesus (or anyone else, for that matter) ever restoring her to health. Maybe there was that flicker of hope but I have the feeling it was just that—a flicker of hope.

Admittedly, my ailment is nothing, compared to hers; however, I have asked God many times to heal my eyes (I have severe myopia and, therefore, have worn glasses for the past 55 years) but thus far, He has chosen not to do so. Truthfully, I have that “flicker of hope” but for the most part, I have long-since ceased to expect Him to heal them (yes, I know that some of you will think that that is why He hasn’t but I disagree).

Secondly, I really do not believe this woman was too concerned as to “how” or “why” Jesus managed to heal her; instead, I believe (and it is written) she was much more interested in glorifying God and enjoying her new life (and in that order!). After all, 18 years is a long time to live with any sickness, especially this one!

To be sure, if He should decide to heal my eyes, the last question on my mind would be “how” or “why”; instead, I would shout, “Hallelujah” and throw my spectacles into the river and, then, make a spectacle out of myself!

Thirdly, no one had to tell her that Jesus had healed her; no one, not even Jesus, had to tell her to stand erect; and, certainly, no one had to tell her to spend the rest of her days glorifying God by bragging on Jesus; and you can rest assured that no one had to tell her that her new condition was much better that her previous one! For this precious lady, it was time to stand erect and move on with life—real life!

Fourthly, and as you might imagine, the religious folk were not happy with her healing, not at all happy with it, nor were they happy with Jesus, and they were not (so they said!) because it was unlawful to work on the Sabbath Day! The truth, however, is this: they were unhappy because He healed her and they were still sick—really sick—but couldn’t (wouldn’t) admit it! This is the way religious folk always respond to Jesus and to those He has healed—always! Jealousy, I believe, is the word!

Finally, if Jesus has healed you from your infirmity (and you know it, if He has!), He did so not only to set you free from it, but also to usher you into a new and exciting life—the life He has dreamed for you, since the foundation of the world. Do not be afraid! Do not look to the left or to the right! Do not be distracted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus! Follow your heart and begin to live—really live!

Finally, finally, before you “set sail” stop just long enough to feel His precious, tender, loving, powerful hands, as they embrace you and send you on His way!

Sitting at Jesus' Feet, Clothed, and in One's Right Mind!

Sunday afternoon, January 13, 2008

This is what Jesus said to Legion after He had cast the “legion” of demons out of him: “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you” (Luke 8:39a). This is Legion’s response: “And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him” (vs. 39b). To be sure, this man was well-aware of the great things that God had done for him—very well-aware! He had been demon-possessed, had not worn clothing for a long time, lived in tombs, instead of a house, and most of the time he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard (see vs. 27 & 29); however, now he is sitting at the feet of Jesus—clothed and in his right mind (vs. 35b)! There is no wonder that he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city the great things that God had done for him!

I really do not mean to hurt your feelings (seriously) but the truth is this: before Jesus rescued you (and me!) and set us free, we were in the same fix as Legion—even worse! No, you might not have lived in tombs and you might have been fully clothed; however, you (and I!) were indeed bound with the chains and shackles of sin, hopelessly doomed to such a terrible existence. In other words, if Legion had something to tell, then you can bet your life that you and I have something to tell, something worth telling not only an entire city, but also the entire world!

There is something about this “sitting at Jesus feet, clothed, and in my right mind” that sets my feet to dancing! In my opinion, this is newsworthy—world-wide newsworthy! I mean, to go from living in tombs, shackled, and demon-possessed, to sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in my right mind is quite a leap!! The miracle of miracle, is my guess!

Anyway, when I read this tonight, I couldn’t help but think about the contrast between our response to the good news and Legion’s response; we spend so much time trying to dissect the Scriptures, debating whether “this” is truth or not, and trying to convince others that we have it right and they have it wrong, but Legion had only one thing on his mind—telling anyone who would listen about the good things that God had done for him.

I really do think there is a message in this for you and for me and it is probably past time for us to hear it: God did not call us to dissect and debate the Scriptures; instead, He called us to be His witnesses not only at home (Jerusalem), but also to the remotest parts of the world. In other words, He called us to go into all the world and tell everyone about the good things He has done for us.

You see, a credible witness can witness only to what he/she has seen; the debate is fine, as is being a student of the Scriptures, but in the end our task is to be His witnesses—to tell others what we have seen with our own eyes (the great things He has done in our lives!).

Please allow me to issue this challenge to you: be on the lookout for opportunities to tell others about the good things He has done for you, and tell them! Be His witness! Remember this, if you choose to take the challenge: most of those to whom Legion witnessed, were scared out of their wits (vs. vs. 35b)! You think about that—

Jesus' Final Instructions

Saturday morning, January 12, 2008

These are the final instructions Jesus gave to His apostles before His return to His Father: “And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:4-5). Hmmm, this has been a source of debate, even confusion and division, for longer than I can remember, which is a rather long time; however, that shouldn’t deter our brief look at His words this morning.

This is the context of our text: Jesus is preparing for His immediate departure from this earth—the Ascension, as theologians call it—and He is well-aware that He cannot leave these men without first empowering them for the task that is before them—being His witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth (vs. 8). As a result, He tells them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised—the coming of the Holy Spirit, who will baptize them with a baptism far greater than John’s, a baptism that will equip them to be powerful and effective witnesses to what they had both seen and heard, as they journeyed with Him over the past three years.

Sadly (in my opinion), many believers, rather than simply accepting Jesus’ words for what they are, have missed His real message by trying to figure out how to make this happen again not only in their lives, but also in the lives of other believers. As one might expect, trying to reproduce this event, begged this question: How will we be able to distinguish between the genuine and the false? I won’t attempt to enumerate all the options that resulted but I will say this: as a result of trying to answer this question, the church suffered much division and confusion and probably for this good reason—some things are better left to Him.

With that said, what are we to glean from this passage? Obviously, Jesus’ words were directed to His apostles, not to you and me, and for a particular time and purpose. Unmistakably, Jesus was preparing His apostles for His immediate departure, for His return to His Father. There is absolutely nothing said in this passage that would cause me to think that Jesus expected this experience to be replicated in our lives, some 2000 years later. So, what is in this text for us?

First, it is obvious that the future of the church depended upon the power of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of the early believers; without Him there would be no church, and in my opinion this holds true today. It is the Holy Spirit, who gives power and credibility to our lives, as we witness to what we have seen and heard.

Second, the evidence that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives is seen not in our speaking in tongues or in our handling snakes, but in the power and credibility of our witness, which (by the way) often goes unseen.

Third, we are to be His witnesses wherever we are and, as believers, we should expect our witness to be credible and powerful because the Holy Spirit DOES live in each of our lives—all day and everyday!

Finally, forget about trying to replicate the Pentecost experience and, simply, accept the fact that you are living in Pentecost; you are the Temple of the Holy Spirit! YOU ARE HIS POWERFUL, CREDIBLE WITNESS AND THIS WITNESS IS EVIDENCE ENOUGH!

The Scriptures and Eternal Life

Friday morning, January 11, 2008

This is what Jesus said to some Jews, probably Pharisees, about the Scriptures and their relationship to eternal life: “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life” (John 5:30-40). Hmmm—this is interesting, so let us look at the context of His words!

As you know, the Jews, especially the Pharisees, were very adamant about the importance of keeping the Ten Commandments, and they were because they believed not only that they were the “heart and essence” of the Scriptures, but also that obedience to them was necessary for pleasing God. Just for the record, Jesus knew this, too, even better than you and I know it, which makes this “context” so interesting.

As the centerpiece for this exchange, He healed a lame man at the Pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath Day, which was a definite violation of the fourth commandment—Remember the Sabbath Day to Keep it Holy—and, as you might imagine, the response He received from the Jews (Pharisees) was not exactly warm and fuzzy!

Anyway you cut this, on the one hand Jesus was pushing the envelope with these Jews about as far as it could be pushed, and for good reason; on the other hand they were reacting harshly, also for good reason—they sincerely believed that He was desecrating what they held as Holy—the Ten Commandments! However, we must remember this: Jesus was correct and they were incorrect, notwithstanding they were sincere.

To make matters worse, Jesus called God His Father (vs. 17-18), thereby, making Himself equal with God, which really infuriated these Jews, even to the point of seeking to kill Him! Then to make matters even worse, Jesus told them that He gives life to whomever He wishes (with the strong implication that they were not on His “wish list”!). We can only guess, as to their response to this!

Now back to the text and to the matter that REALLY infuriated these Jews (this is my paraphrase): “I will concede this much: you guys really are good students of the Scriptures—very good—but your reason for being such good students is incorrect, seriously incorrect; consequently, you have missed their message. You sincerely believe that you will find eternal life in the Scriptures (mainly by keeping the Ten Commandments); however, you are sincerely wrong and you are for this reason: the Scriptures bear witness of Me, clearly telling you that unless you come to Me, you are not on My “wish list” and the obvious fact is that you are unwilling to come to Me.”

To be honest, when I encounter people, who are so sincere that they are not teachable, I get the “willies,” especially, when it is obvious that they are sincerely wrong. Yes, in many instances there is room for debate and discussion; however, when it comes to eternal life, there is no room for either. There is but one way and that way is Jesus—period!

Now, let me infuriate you (well, some of you!): Unless He has placed you on His wish list, you cannot come to Him—period! Remember? “The Son gives life to whom He wishes” (vs. 21b). I might as well go ahead and add this: He doesn’t add you to His wish list simply because you want Him to, or because you walk an aisle, or because you pray the “sinner’s prayer”, or because you do something to attract Him (obedience, for example); instead, if you are on His wish list, you are “in order that His choice, according to His purpose might stand, not because of works, but because of Him who calls. . .” (Romans 9:11b).

If I succeeded in infuriating you, there is a good chance that you are on His wish list; otherwise, you wouldn’t and couldn’t give a damn (Now, take that to the context!)