Terry Ulm, Shepherd
Terry has the gift of teaching and encourages us each week, around Thursday, with gleanings from his study and time with the Word.
Another Helper
March 28, 2019
In view of “Warrior Angels” a friend asked what I thought the role of the Holy Spirit was in relation to what I had written about angels. I said that I had never thought of the Holy Spirit as a Warrior, and still don’t. However, He has a vital role in the lives of both believers and non-believers. I do not have all the answers concerning the ministry of the Holy Spirit, but will share some thoughts.
After Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead the plot to kill Him intensifies. In John 12 He reveals to His disciples that the time has come for “the Son of Man to be glorified” in death; and that He will not be with them much longer. In chapter 13 He washes their feet, and in 14 gives many words of comfort, including these:
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17 NIV).
A helper here literally means “called to one’s side” indicating one who is willing and capable of providing adequate aid. It is a legal term that describes an “advocate” who comes along-side an accused to plead his case giving evidence that stands up, in favor of the accused, in a court of law. The word is used in 1 John 2:1 of Jesus as our Advocate before the Father in relation to sin, who pleads our case, not only as our advocate, but as our atoning sacrifice, presenting us not guilty. Other words used to convey its meaning are comforter, counselor, and intercessor.
Jesus has been with His disciples for three years but soon they will find themselves without Him. “Do not let your hearts be troubled” are the words He opens with and “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (14:27) are His chosen words with which to close. In between it’s “You believe in God; believe also in me” (14:1). “He will give you another Helper to be with you forever, the Spirit of truth, who abides with you and will be in you” (14:16-17). “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (14:18). “He (the Helper) will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (14:26). “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives” (14:27).
Jesus offers comfort. Jesus gives them Peace. Help for this moment and in the “another Helper” who is to come. The word “another” is “another of the same kind,” not one who is different. The Father is sending an exact representation of Me in the Person of the Spirit of Truth. Me alive in You! They do not understand now, but they will, when the Spirit comes. They will not be orphaned, but Jesus will be with and live in them forever. They will have Peace in times of trouble, but their hearts will not be troubled. They will be reminded of everything He has said. They will not be afraid, even in death.
The Helper is not for them alone. He is for us, too. The presence of Jesus in our hearts. Our Advocate against the accuser; reminding us of the truth of grace and the reality of Righteousness in Christ. Our Peace beyond understanding in troubled times, so that our hearts will not be troubled. Our cause to not be afraid. The Helper who stands with us. “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” I am with you.
March 28, 2019
In view of “Warrior Angels” a friend asked what I thought the role of the Holy Spirit was in relation to what I had written about angels. I said that I had never thought of the Holy Spirit as a Warrior, and still don’t. However, He has a vital role in the lives of both believers and non-believers. I do not have all the answers concerning the ministry of the Holy Spirit, but will share some thoughts.
After Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead the plot to kill Him intensifies. In John 12 He reveals to His disciples that the time has come for “the Son of Man to be glorified” in death; and that He will not be with them much longer. In chapter 13 He washes their feet, and in 14 gives many words of comfort, including these:
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17 NIV).
A helper here literally means “called to one’s side” indicating one who is willing and capable of providing adequate aid. It is a legal term that describes an “advocate” who comes along-side an accused to plead his case giving evidence that stands up, in favor of the accused, in a court of law. The word is used in 1 John 2:1 of Jesus as our Advocate before the Father in relation to sin, who pleads our case, not only as our advocate, but as our atoning sacrifice, presenting us not guilty. Other words used to convey its meaning are comforter, counselor, and intercessor.
Jesus has been with His disciples for three years but soon they will find themselves without Him. “Do not let your hearts be troubled” are the words He opens with and “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (14:27) are His chosen words with which to close. In between it’s “You believe in God; believe also in me” (14:1). “He will give you another Helper to be with you forever, the Spirit of truth, who abides with you and will be in you” (14:16-17). “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (14:18). “He (the Helper) will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (14:26). “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives” (14:27).
Jesus offers comfort. Jesus gives them Peace. Help for this moment and in the “another Helper” who is to come. The word “another” is “another of the same kind,” not one who is different. The Father is sending an exact representation of Me in the Person of the Spirit of Truth. Me alive in You! They do not understand now, but they will, when the Spirit comes. They will not be orphaned, but Jesus will be with and live in them forever. They will have Peace in times of trouble, but their hearts will not be troubled. They will be reminded of everything He has said. They will not be afraid, even in death.
The Helper is not for them alone. He is for us, too. The presence of Jesus in our hearts. Our Advocate against the accuser; reminding us of the truth of grace and the reality of Righteousness in Christ. Our Peace beyond understanding in troubled times, so that our hearts will not be troubled. Our cause to not be afraid. The Helper who stands with us. “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” I am with you.
Warrior Angels
March 21, 2019
When Joram was king in Samaria, the king of Aram was at war with Israel. Aram’s king set several traps for Joram so as to capture him and virtually win the war. But each time Elisha the prophet of God would warn Joram and the plans would fail. At first Aram’s king thought he was being betrayed by one of his own men, but eventually he was told that Elisha was the one who was revealing his plans to Joram. “Go, find out where he is, so I can send men and capture him.” So he sent horses, chariots and a strong force to Dothan, where Elisha was, and set up a siege. We pick up the narrative there:
“When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:15-17 NIV).
The servant of the Man of God feared for his master’s life, but Elisha had no fear. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” All of his would be fears were swallowed up by his faith in the One who had called, sustained, delivered, and empowered him. Through the eyes of faith he could see clearly the delivery his God had fashioned at the hands of His warrior angels. The hills were filled with horses and chariots of fire! The mighty throng of God!
A couple of weeks ago my brother showed me a video of a scene at the tomb of Jesus on the morning of His resurrection. Night had not yet fully passed and several soldiers were in the field next to the tomb, when to the east they saw a very bright light in the sky. As it came closer the flashes of light and smoke that filled the early morning sky began to fill them with fear. When the light reached the top of the tomb the figure of a glowing mighty warrior appeared with a sword strapped to his waist. He looked toward the soldiers and drew his sword from its sheath. You could hear the sound of metal on metal in the silence that now surrounded the tomb as he drew it out and held it at his side. The soldiers stood paralyzed as another angel dressed in plain clothing rolled away the stone to the entrance of the tomb.
The vision of the mighty warrior angel at the tomb and of the hills surrounding Elisha filled with horses and chariots of fire struck a chord. I want a faith like that of Elisha. Like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Rahab, David and others, but find myself often falling short. I understand that living by faith is a journey that takes one’s whole life, and the road contains “pot holes” and “speed bumps” that slow and deter. Yet like Paul the desire is there to press on toward the prize. So now when those times come when my flesh is seeking to get the best of me, and Satan is encouraging me to be selfish, I will call on God’s mighty throng of warrior angels to surround me and draw their swords. And you know what? It works. For me. When I call. I’m still working on that one as I find myself at times still wanting to be selfish. But I won’t give up!
I do not know what you believe about angels. But I believe God has a multitude of mighty warrior angels ready and waiting when we are in need, surrounding with swords unsheathed, ready for battle!
March 21, 2019
When Joram was king in Samaria, the king of Aram was at war with Israel. Aram’s king set several traps for Joram so as to capture him and virtually win the war. But each time Elisha the prophet of God would warn Joram and the plans would fail. At first Aram’s king thought he was being betrayed by one of his own men, but eventually he was told that Elisha was the one who was revealing his plans to Joram. “Go, find out where he is, so I can send men and capture him.” So he sent horses, chariots and a strong force to Dothan, where Elisha was, and set up a siege. We pick up the narrative there:
“When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:15-17 NIV).
The servant of the Man of God feared for his master’s life, but Elisha had no fear. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” All of his would be fears were swallowed up by his faith in the One who had called, sustained, delivered, and empowered him. Through the eyes of faith he could see clearly the delivery his God had fashioned at the hands of His warrior angels. The hills were filled with horses and chariots of fire! The mighty throng of God!
A couple of weeks ago my brother showed me a video of a scene at the tomb of Jesus on the morning of His resurrection. Night had not yet fully passed and several soldiers were in the field next to the tomb, when to the east they saw a very bright light in the sky. As it came closer the flashes of light and smoke that filled the early morning sky began to fill them with fear. When the light reached the top of the tomb the figure of a glowing mighty warrior appeared with a sword strapped to his waist. He looked toward the soldiers and drew his sword from its sheath. You could hear the sound of metal on metal in the silence that now surrounded the tomb as he drew it out and held it at his side. The soldiers stood paralyzed as another angel dressed in plain clothing rolled away the stone to the entrance of the tomb.
The vision of the mighty warrior angel at the tomb and of the hills surrounding Elisha filled with horses and chariots of fire struck a chord. I want a faith like that of Elisha. Like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Rahab, David and others, but find myself often falling short. I understand that living by faith is a journey that takes one’s whole life, and the road contains “pot holes” and “speed bumps” that slow and deter. Yet like Paul the desire is there to press on toward the prize. So now when those times come when my flesh is seeking to get the best of me, and Satan is encouraging me to be selfish, I will call on God’s mighty throng of warrior angels to surround me and draw their swords. And you know what? It works. For me. When I call. I’m still working on that one as I find myself at times still wanting to be selfish. But I won’t give up!
I do not know what you believe about angels. But I believe God has a multitude of mighty warrior angels ready and waiting when we are in need, surrounding with swords unsheathed, ready for battle!
Fierce Intentionality
March 14, 2019
Last Friday’s “Restoration Year” reading from John Eldredge talked about the fierce intentionality of Jesus. He used word pictures of an African lion stalking it’s prey and a mother brown bear protecting her cubs. He talked of Him raising Lazarus, not asking or suggesting he come forth from the grave, but commanding he come to life. It set me thinking of Jesus intentionally entering into situations where he was provided the opportunity to confront Pharisees, cleanse Temple courts, and cast out demons, while with the same intentionality holding a child in His arms, healing the blind, crippled, the leprous, and inviting Zacchaeus to dine with Him. Despite the mob He intentionally pardons the woman taken in adultery, refusing to condemn and giving her new life. He intentionally sleeps during the storm allowing His disciples to fear before He calms the storm, and their fears. He intentionally asks His disciples to believe, trust, love, and be at peace. His peace.
I heard again the other day about sharing random acts of kindness. While doing kindness to those around us is what we should be about, random is not. Jesus targeted those He blessed, and He allowed Himself, intentionally, to be targeted so that He might bless even through the efforts of His enemies.
“A woman…who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner” (Luke 7:37-39 NIV).
Jesus intentionally places Himself in this position, where he can bless, and offer blessing. He continues on with Simon, and the woman,
“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (7:41-48, 50).
Intentional blessing. The intentional offer of blessing. One receives it, but Luke indicates that Simon was unresponsive to Jesus’ invitation. It did not change the fact that blessing was offered and available from the intentional act of the Anointed One. As followers of the Christ, we are to be about blessing. Intentional blessing. Pronouncing a blessing; being a blessing to those who need, and deeply desire blessing! And doing likewise to those who don’t want, and don’t think they need blessing. From Yahweh’s call to Abraham, “I will bless you, and in your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed,” to the Messiah’s call to Love…we are intentionally intended to bless. To give grace, as the Hebrew writer says, “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God…” (12:15).
The Fierce Intentionality of Jesus. It is our call to be so like-minded, and intentional.
March 14, 2019
Last Friday’s “Restoration Year” reading from John Eldredge talked about the fierce intentionality of Jesus. He used word pictures of an African lion stalking it’s prey and a mother brown bear protecting her cubs. He talked of Him raising Lazarus, not asking or suggesting he come forth from the grave, but commanding he come to life. It set me thinking of Jesus intentionally entering into situations where he was provided the opportunity to confront Pharisees, cleanse Temple courts, and cast out demons, while with the same intentionality holding a child in His arms, healing the blind, crippled, the leprous, and inviting Zacchaeus to dine with Him. Despite the mob He intentionally pardons the woman taken in adultery, refusing to condemn and giving her new life. He intentionally sleeps during the storm allowing His disciples to fear before He calms the storm, and their fears. He intentionally asks His disciples to believe, trust, love, and be at peace. His peace.
I heard again the other day about sharing random acts of kindness. While doing kindness to those around us is what we should be about, random is not. Jesus targeted those He blessed, and He allowed Himself, intentionally, to be targeted so that He might bless even through the efforts of His enemies.
“A woman…who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner” (Luke 7:37-39 NIV).
Jesus intentionally places Himself in this position, where he can bless, and offer blessing. He continues on with Simon, and the woman,
“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (7:41-48, 50).
Intentional blessing. The intentional offer of blessing. One receives it, but Luke indicates that Simon was unresponsive to Jesus’ invitation. It did not change the fact that blessing was offered and available from the intentional act of the Anointed One. As followers of the Christ, we are to be about blessing. Intentional blessing. Pronouncing a blessing; being a blessing to those who need, and deeply desire blessing! And doing likewise to those who don’t want, and don’t think they need blessing. From Yahweh’s call to Abraham, “I will bless you, and in your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed,” to the Messiah’s call to Love…we are intentionally intended to bless. To give grace, as the Hebrew writer says, “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God…” (12:15).
The Fierce Intentionality of Jesus. It is our call to be so like-minded, and intentional.
Old Guy Stuff
March 7, 2019
I turned 71 last November, and am aware that there are a lot of people who are older. But getting older has meant that I get teary-eyed much more often than I used to; at least I attribute it to that. Some of it comes, I suppose, from growing in Christ and developing a more acute sensitivity to the needs of others and to things that tug at the heart. Heart-warming movies, and NCIS’s and such that celebrate veterans or help others and have feel good endings. Tragedies faced by others have more pronounced effects than they ever used to. When Alex Trebek announced he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer tears welled up… The calm yet candor way with which he presented his situation and his request for faith and prayers was very moving. Perhaps I’m just getting soft.
Then again maybe, just maybe, we need to be more interested in the other fella. In feel good endings where people patch up their differences and get their relationships back to where they ought to be. We certainly could use a few less abortions, and killings, and tragedies via substance abuse. Less broken marriages and families, and a whole lot less unhappy endings. And we could use fewer divisions in the Body of Christ. His Body is worth engaging in the battle for unity. Worth taking up the banner of Loving God, Neighbor, and One Another, as Christ loves us. We could better fight for the necessity to forgive. After all, its source is precious blood. Jesus came so that we might have life, and it cannot happen apart from these things! God’s kingdom is not about our thoughts or feelings, agendas, doctrines or opinions. Hear these words from Paul in Romans 14:
“For the kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit…so then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual building up” (vss. 17 and 19).
Righteousness, peace and joy. Peace again and Body of Christ One Another ministry (mutual) that builds up rather than tears down! This is not about ignoring truth, for how can there be righteousness without truth? But often truth deteriorates into doctrines, dogmas or traditions that separate rather than unite. These things cannot become our central focus and be used as dividing walls. The central focus of the Body must be Christ and Him crucified! The person of Jesus the Christ! Paul declares “Christ in you the hope of glory!” Truth and doctrine can become legalistic walls that prevent the life giving grace of Jesus from reaching those who need a doctor, and separate believers rather than unite them. One of the saddest comments in all of the gospels is, “The day on which this took place was a Sabbath…” Truth becomes a doctrine, doctrine becomes a tradition, and grace is crushed under the weight.
The Roman passage presents another divisive enemy: that of freedom and opinion. Oh how many battles have been fought, often in the name of Christ, over opinions. Worship styles; Saturday night services; communion cups and such; some like the preacher…some don’t. There are multitudes of Body dividing opinions, insignificant and unimportant. The Kingdom of God is to be the pursuit of what makes for Peace, and the Building Up of the Body of Christ.
Satan is the Enemy! He hates Yahweh and everything He desires. He hates the Cross of Jesus. He hates His Body. He hates all who call on the Name of Jesus. He will not look out for our best interests! He will not seek to bring us together! He seeks to break us apart by any means, and his favorite tactic is to pit us against each other. Our rights. Our doctrines. Our agendas.
Let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual building up!
March 7, 2019
I turned 71 last November, and am aware that there are a lot of people who are older. But getting older has meant that I get teary-eyed much more often than I used to; at least I attribute it to that. Some of it comes, I suppose, from growing in Christ and developing a more acute sensitivity to the needs of others and to things that tug at the heart. Heart-warming movies, and NCIS’s and such that celebrate veterans or help others and have feel good endings. Tragedies faced by others have more pronounced effects than they ever used to. When Alex Trebek announced he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer tears welled up… The calm yet candor way with which he presented his situation and his request for faith and prayers was very moving. Perhaps I’m just getting soft.
Then again maybe, just maybe, we need to be more interested in the other fella. In feel good endings where people patch up their differences and get their relationships back to where they ought to be. We certainly could use a few less abortions, and killings, and tragedies via substance abuse. Less broken marriages and families, and a whole lot less unhappy endings. And we could use fewer divisions in the Body of Christ. His Body is worth engaging in the battle for unity. Worth taking up the banner of Loving God, Neighbor, and One Another, as Christ loves us. We could better fight for the necessity to forgive. After all, its source is precious blood. Jesus came so that we might have life, and it cannot happen apart from these things! God’s kingdom is not about our thoughts or feelings, agendas, doctrines or opinions. Hear these words from Paul in Romans 14:
“For the kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit…so then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual building up” (vss. 17 and 19).
Righteousness, peace and joy. Peace again and Body of Christ One Another ministry (mutual) that builds up rather than tears down! This is not about ignoring truth, for how can there be righteousness without truth? But often truth deteriorates into doctrines, dogmas or traditions that separate rather than unite. These things cannot become our central focus and be used as dividing walls. The central focus of the Body must be Christ and Him crucified! The person of Jesus the Christ! Paul declares “Christ in you the hope of glory!” Truth and doctrine can become legalistic walls that prevent the life giving grace of Jesus from reaching those who need a doctor, and separate believers rather than unite them. One of the saddest comments in all of the gospels is, “The day on which this took place was a Sabbath…” Truth becomes a doctrine, doctrine becomes a tradition, and grace is crushed under the weight.
The Roman passage presents another divisive enemy: that of freedom and opinion. Oh how many battles have been fought, often in the name of Christ, over opinions. Worship styles; Saturday night services; communion cups and such; some like the preacher…some don’t. There are multitudes of Body dividing opinions, insignificant and unimportant. The Kingdom of God is to be the pursuit of what makes for Peace, and the Building Up of the Body of Christ.
Satan is the Enemy! He hates Yahweh and everything He desires. He hates the Cross of Jesus. He hates His Body. He hates all who call on the Name of Jesus. He will not look out for our best interests! He will not seek to bring us together! He seeks to break us apart by any means, and his favorite tactic is to pit us against each other. Our rights. Our doctrines. Our agendas.
Let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual building up!
Heartbroken
February 28, 2019
There is no story in all of Scripture that touches me more than that of David’s sin with Bathsheba. His downfall is recorded in 2 Samuel 11, and begins with the words, “But David remained at Jerusalem.” He was not where he was supposed to be at that time, and it didn’t take long for him to be distracted by the “beautiful woman.” Isn’t that the way it usually happens for most of us? In those moments when we are not focused and our minds wander? It is in this place that it is easiest to get distracted. David’s distraction in this moment quickly led to adultery, and soon after, murder.
This isn’t about staying busy, for we need Sabbath rest. Sabbath rest is about rest for the body and refreshment for the soul, and as such, has purpose. This is about when we put our minds and our lives in neutral, without purpose, leaving ourselves open to wandering where we may. This is where we can most easily succumb to distractions. Distractions don’t have to be about Bathsheba’s. They can be about dollar signs, about corner offices, about power, about wanting something that doesn’t belong to us, or a hundred other things that take us away from our predestined purpose: created to reflect God’s image and remain in His presence. Satan’s primary goal is to distract us away from this purpose by any means possible. He seized an opportunity with David.
Chapter 12 of 2 Samuel tells of Nathan’s confrontation with David, culminating in his words, “You are the man!” David is mortified. Crushed. Heartbroken. His response to this? He seeks after Yahweh his God in the words recorded in Psalm 51: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your hesed.” The ESV renders hesed as “steadfast love,” the NIV “unfailing love.” Hesed is the central theme of Yahweh’s covenant with His people. He has “sworn” to love His own unconditionally and faithfully for eternity. Indeed, Scripture attests abundantly that His hesed endures forever. Without hesed, David would have been cast from God’s presence because of his sin (as would we all). So David pleads with Yahweh that by His hesed he not be cast out. It is important to understand that hesed is God’s statement that “sharing His presence” with his servant David, and with all who love Him, has been His deepest desire all along.
In this time of failure, and repentance, David realizes that what Yahweh desires from him, and us, is a “broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart.” Michael Card in his book A Sacred Sorrow describes it this way: “David finally sees that all he has left to give is all that God wants from him. Before Bathsheba, David might have offered his fame, his many victories, his wealth, or any one of a thousand other of his ‘strengths.’ All he has left is all God wants, his spirit that is broken and his heart that is contrite. He knows now, as he could have never known otherwise, that God accepts him, unclean and hopeless. The knowledge of this sets David and each of us forever free.”
There is freedom in brokenness. The freedom to come to Yahweh offering nothing from ourselves, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling; naked, come to thee for dress; helpless, look to thee for grace…” as the old hymn cries out. Placing no trust in ourselves; Trusting only the hesed of Yahweh. David in the aftermath of his sin fell at the mercy of His Father’s steadfast, unfailing and faithful love.
Heartbroken. Repentant. Forgiven. Restored. Living forever in the presence of His Father.
February 28, 2019
There is no story in all of Scripture that touches me more than that of David’s sin with Bathsheba. His downfall is recorded in 2 Samuel 11, and begins with the words, “But David remained at Jerusalem.” He was not where he was supposed to be at that time, and it didn’t take long for him to be distracted by the “beautiful woman.” Isn’t that the way it usually happens for most of us? In those moments when we are not focused and our minds wander? It is in this place that it is easiest to get distracted. David’s distraction in this moment quickly led to adultery, and soon after, murder.
This isn’t about staying busy, for we need Sabbath rest. Sabbath rest is about rest for the body and refreshment for the soul, and as such, has purpose. This is about when we put our minds and our lives in neutral, without purpose, leaving ourselves open to wandering where we may. This is where we can most easily succumb to distractions. Distractions don’t have to be about Bathsheba’s. They can be about dollar signs, about corner offices, about power, about wanting something that doesn’t belong to us, or a hundred other things that take us away from our predestined purpose: created to reflect God’s image and remain in His presence. Satan’s primary goal is to distract us away from this purpose by any means possible. He seized an opportunity with David.
Chapter 12 of 2 Samuel tells of Nathan’s confrontation with David, culminating in his words, “You are the man!” David is mortified. Crushed. Heartbroken. His response to this? He seeks after Yahweh his God in the words recorded in Psalm 51: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your hesed.” The ESV renders hesed as “steadfast love,” the NIV “unfailing love.” Hesed is the central theme of Yahweh’s covenant with His people. He has “sworn” to love His own unconditionally and faithfully for eternity. Indeed, Scripture attests abundantly that His hesed endures forever. Without hesed, David would have been cast from God’s presence because of his sin (as would we all). So David pleads with Yahweh that by His hesed he not be cast out. It is important to understand that hesed is God’s statement that “sharing His presence” with his servant David, and with all who love Him, has been His deepest desire all along.
In this time of failure, and repentance, David realizes that what Yahweh desires from him, and us, is a “broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart.” Michael Card in his book A Sacred Sorrow describes it this way: “David finally sees that all he has left to give is all that God wants from him. Before Bathsheba, David might have offered his fame, his many victories, his wealth, or any one of a thousand other of his ‘strengths.’ All he has left is all God wants, his spirit that is broken and his heart that is contrite. He knows now, as he could have never known otherwise, that God accepts him, unclean and hopeless. The knowledge of this sets David and each of us forever free.”
There is freedom in brokenness. The freedom to come to Yahweh offering nothing from ourselves, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling; naked, come to thee for dress; helpless, look to thee for grace…” as the old hymn cries out. Placing no trust in ourselves; Trusting only the hesed of Yahweh. David in the aftermath of his sin fell at the mercy of His Father’s steadfast, unfailing and faithful love.
Heartbroken. Repentant. Forgiven. Restored. Living forever in the presence of His Father.
Friends
February 21, 2019
“A friend in need is a friend indeed.” We have probably all heard this proverb, yet no one is absolutely sure of its origin. A version of it was known in the 3rd century BC in Latin, which translated was “a sure friend is known when in difficulty.” The Oxford Dictionary has it showing up in English some time in the 11th century. No matter what the origin or when it appeared it seems to carry the meaning that “A friend, (when you are) in need, is indeed a true friend ('indeed')” It would be difficult to argue with this meaning as nearly everyone would contend that a genuine friend sticks with us through thick and thin. The good times, and especially the bad times. Everyone needs a friend.
I had a friend visit with me this week. Let me tell you a little about this friend, and what makes him my friend. He took notice that I was “off my game” so to speak. He noticed my absence in an environment where I was typically present, and missed my not being there. He took time out of his busy schedule to ask how I was doing, and in this loving way provided an Ecclesiastes 4 strength of support, comfort, and encouragement. There is a no greater definition of “friend” than one who comes alongside to help in time of need, however great or seemingly insignificant.
“…and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’ — and he was called a friend of God.” (James 2:23 ESV) This statement is found in Genesis 15:6 when Abraham (then Abram) is promised a son and descendants in numbers beyond his ability to count (as in the number of stars). God said, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord. He believed the promise. He was called a friend. There is a high level of honesty with friendship. Abram was honest in his requests to the Lord about the future, and the Lord was honest in His response. There was no cover up. Abram wasn’t tentative or shy. And the Lord did not withhold what was to come. There is also a high level of trust. Trust that there is safety in the hands of a friend, and trust that the friend will look out for one’s best interests.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:12-14 ESV)
Perhaps the best description of “friends” is found here: “Greater love has no one than this…” Jesus commands that we love one another. Not with any old kind of love that we can come up with, but with the love with which He loves us. Can you define this kind of love? Can you set limits on this kind of love? Well, Jesus defined it, and He set its limits: lay your life down. It does not necessarily mean that we die for the sake of a friend, although it could. But in a practical way apart from death, it means the sacrifice of one’s time for the sake of a friend. It means placing one’s hand on a shoulder, or putting an arm around another in times of pain or grief. It means being there to encourage and support when things are and aren’t going well. It means loving when life is tough, hard and inconvenient.
Real friendship knows no limits. Real love can travel all the way to the cross, friends.
February 21, 2019
“A friend in need is a friend indeed.” We have probably all heard this proverb, yet no one is absolutely sure of its origin. A version of it was known in the 3rd century BC in Latin, which translated was “a sure friend is known when in difficulty.” The Oxford Dictionary has it showing up in English some time in the 11th century. No matter what the origin or when it appeared it seems to carry the meaning that “A friend, (when you are) in need, is indeed a true friend ('indeed')” It would be difficult to argue with this meaning as nearly everyone would contend that a genuine friend sticks with us through thick and thin. The good times, and especially the bad times. Everyone needs a friend.
I had a friend visit with me this week. Let me tell you a little about this friend, and what makes him my friend. He took notice that I was “off my game” so to speak. He noticed my absence in an environment where I was typically present, and missed my not being there. He took time out of his busy schedule to ask how I was doing, and in this loving way provided an Ecclesiastes 4 strength of support, comfort, and encouragement. There is a no greater definition of “friend” than one who comes alongside to help in time of need, however great or seemingly insignificant.
“…and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’ — and he was called a friend of God.” (James 2:23 ESV) This statement is found in Genesis 15:6 when Abraham (then Abram) is promised a son and descendants in numbers beyond his ability to count (as in the number of stars). God said, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord. He believed the promise. He was called a friend. There is a high level of honesty with friendship. Abram was honest in his requests to the Lord about the future, and the Lord was honest in His response. There was no cover up. Abram wasn’t tentative or shy. And the Lord did not withhold what was to come. There is also a high level of trust. Trust that there is safety in the hands of a friend, and trust that the friend will look out for one’s best interests.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:12-14 ESV)
Perhaps the best description of “friends” is found here: “Greater love has no one than this…” Jesus commands that we love one another. Not with any old kind of love that we can come up with, but with the love with which He loves us. Can you define this kind of love? Can you set limits on this kind of love? Well, Jesus defined it, and He set its limits: lay your life down. It does not necessarily mean that we die for the sake of a friend, although it could. But in a practical way apart from death, it means the sacrifice of one’s time for the sake of a friend. It means placing one’s hand on a shoulder, or putting an arm around another in times of pain or grief. It means being there to encourage and support when things are and aren’t going well. It means loving when life is tough, hard and inconvenient.
Real friendship knows no limits. Real love can travel all the way to the cross, friends.
Love Your Enemies
February 14, 2019
Scott touched on this last Sunday when he opened the Word to 1 Peter 2:17: “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” (ESV) Peter brings attention to the emperor two times in this passage; the other reference is in 2:13, where believers are called to submit to human authority, with the emperor mentioned first. The remarkable thing about this instruction from Peter is that the emperor was Nero, whose reign was marked with murders, including his own mother, assassinations of rivals, and persecution of Christians. History notes that Christians were arrested and brutally executed by means of crucifixion, slaughter at the hands of gladiators, being thrown to the lions and being burned alive. I imagine there were those who may have questioned his sanity.
Indeed, Peter did not always think this way. Consider this encounter with Jesus: “Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:21-22 ESV). Jesus establishes that for kingdom people harboring an unforgiving spirit or refusing to perpetually forgive is not an option. He does so by describing a master who forgives an unpayable debt and then requires the forgiven to forgive others in return. Jesus’ teaching is not presented as the “right thing to do.” It is presented as the expected response to being forgiven a debt the size of which we will never experience from those who offend us. There is no debt too big for God to forgive. There is no debt against us too big for us to withhold forgiveness.
In response to the question in Luke 10, “Who is my neighbor” Jesus uses a parable to explain that it is anyone who is in need. Jesus describes the hero of this story, the Good Neighbor, as a Samaritan. Are you kidding? Samaritan? The Jews hated Samaritans. They were first class enemies, for many, hated more that the Romans. “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” Jesus taught in His hillside sermon. This is difficult teaching. This is kingdom teaching.
Ok, so let’s get this straight; Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; Love your neighbor as yourself; Love one another as I have loved you. Not as easy as they sound, but we are all well and good with these. But, “Love your enemies?” We have all kinds of reasons, excuses really, as to why we have the right to hate our enemies. There are no exemptions for believers. There are no lines drawn separating us from those we are to love. Followers of Jesus are expected to be extraordinary in their love for others, and not just those in the body of Christ or those whom we get along with, but also those whom we can’t or don’t get along with, those who are not easy to love, and those who hate us.
So what brought Peter to the place where he could ask persecuted believers to honor Nero? The answer is simple. He had been with Jesus. He sat at His feet and soaked in the teaching of the kingdom. He was filled with His Spirit. He learned hard lessons, too often the hard way, but he learned them. He learned how to love. Learned how to forgive. Even those who are unlovely. Even his mortal enemies. Jesus had gotten hold of his heart, and he did unimaginable things. We can too.
February 14, 2019
Scott touched on this last Sunday when he opened the Word to 1 Peter 2:17: “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” (ESV) Peter brings attention to the emperor two times in this passage; the other reference is in 2:13, where believers are called to submit to human authority, with the emperor mentioned first. The remarkable thing about this instruction from Peter is that the emperor was Nero, whose reign was marked with murders, including his own mother, assassinations of rivals, and persecution of Christians. History notes that Christians were arrested and brutally executed by means of crucifixion, slaughter at the hands of gladiators, being thrown to the lions and being burned alive. I imagine there were those who may have questioned his sanity.
Indeed, Peter did not always think this way. Consider this encounter with Jesus: “Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:21-22 ESV). Jesus establishes that for kingdom people harboring an unforgiving spirit or refusing to perpetually forgive is not an option. He does so by describing a master who forgives an unpayable debt and then requires the forgiven to forgive others in return. Jesus’ teaching is not presented as the “right thing to do.” It is presented as the expected response to being forgiven a debt the size of which we will never experience from those who offend us. There is no debt too big for God to forgive. There is no debt against us too big for us to withhold forgiveness.
In response to the question in Luke 10, “Who is my neighbor” Jesus uses a parable to explain that it is anyone who is in need. Jesus describes the hero of this story, the Good Neighbor, as a Samaritan. Are you kidding? Samaritan? The Jews hated Samaritans. They were first class enemies, for many, hated more that the Romans. “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” Jesus taught in His hillside sermon. This is difficult teaching. This is kingdom teaching.
Ok, so let’s get this straight; Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; Love your neighbor as yourself; Love one another as I have loved you. Not as easy as they sound, but we are all well and good with these. But, “Love your enemies?” We have all kinds of reasons, excuses really, as to why we have the right to hate our enemies. There are no exemptions for believers. There are no lines drawn separating us from those we are to love. Followers of Jesus are expected to be extraordinary in their love for others, and not just those in the body of Christ or those whom we get along with, but also those whom we can’t or don’t get along with, those who are not easy to love, and those who hate us.
So what brought Peter to the place where he could ask persecuted believers to honor Nero? The answer is simple. He had been with Jesus. He sat at His feet and soaked in the teaching of the kingdom. He was filled with His Spirit. He learned hard lessons, too often the hard way, but he learned them. He learned how to love. Learned how to forgive. Even those who are unlovely. Even his mortal enemies. Jesus had gotten hold of his heart, and he did unimaginable things. We can too.
Burdens
February 7, 2019
This past Tuesday President Trump delivered his State of the Union Address. I did not listen to it nor the Democratic responses. Frankly, I am tired of the political unrest and the partisan approach to the problems we face in our nation. Why can’t we get back to the “one nation under God” principle upon which America laid its foundation? “Of the people, by the people, and for the people? Our leaders have forgotten so much. Abandoned so much. What God desires is no longer what our nation pursues.
The lack of the sanctity of life is burdensome to me. I saw a cartoon posted on Facebook of a dog and a cat talking with a little baby. The caption read, “You mean you don’t have a Humane Shelter to protect you?” In our nation a woman has been given the right to choose to abort an unwanted child. What about the right to life for the unborn child? Now the debate is raging to allow full term babies to be aborted! New York (at least) has granted the that “right.” Some states are working to tighten the conditions allowing for, or even eliminating abortion all together. The debate rages. Perhaps we will soon decide to terminate the elderly at a certain age because they are no longer useful. Then the younger population would have more resources to share among themselves. Far-fetched?
A few weeks ago there was an attack on a Florida bank where 5 people were killed. It was reported that the gunman went in wanting “to kill everyone.” There was no particular reason for it as I remember, just the desire to kill. Mass shootings are becoming common place. History has always included killing, even Jewish and Christian history. Terrorists. Serial Killers. Stalins and Hitlers. Ordinary and not so ordinary people gone mad. Killing has been a part of life since we lost Eden. Or should I say, traded Eden in so that we could make better choices?
LGBTQ and OK2BME. Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, and Questioning (I suppose questioning of sexual identity or tendency, I really don’t know). In the good ole USA it has become “ok to be me,” to be who I am, no matter what anybody else thinks. It has also become wrong for anyone to take a stand against the freedom to be who I am, sexually or otherwise. In most political, societal, and “opinions that count” senses, God and good are considered to be intolerable positions in a free society.
Burdens.
“But this I call to mind.” Solomon wrote that there is “nothing new under the sun.” It’s all happened before, and it will continue to happen over and over again until Jesus returns to make all things new. All Things New! In this I place my hope! I know I have sin that needs to die, so I will not stand in judgement of others. I know that a loving Father gave His only Son to Redeem from the Fall. It does not matter who we are or what we’ve done, for He is just. He is the one who justifies. Justice will prevail. “I will accomplish what I have purposed” Isaiah proclaims of Yahweh. In this I place my hope! We have been called to love as Jesus loved: unconditionally. As difficult as it is, this is what we must do, and let Him change lives, as He changes ours. Only Jesus can change lives! And as difficult as it is to love me, Jesus does so willingly. Oh how He loves! In this I place my hope!
Jesus invited us to give Him our burdens (Matthew 11:28-30). He promises Rest. Rest from our labors concerning our own sin. Rest form the troubles that surface because of our love for others. Rest from life’s circumstances that cause us grief. We must lay them all to rest at the feet of The Redeemer. The one who judges justly. In this I place my hope!
February 7, 2019
This past Tuesday President Trump delivered his State of the Union Address. I did not listen to it nor the Democratic responses. Frankly, I am tired of the political unrest and the partisan approach to the problems we face in our nation. Why can’t we get back to the “one nation under God” principle upon which America laid its foundation? “Of the people, by the people, and for the people? Our leaders have forgotten so much. Abandoned so much. What God desires is no longer what our nation pursues.
The lack of the sanctity of life is burdensome to me. I saw a cartoon posted on Facebook of a dog and a cat talking with a little baby. The caption read, “You mean you don’t have a Humane Shelter to protect you?” In our nation a woman has been given the right to choose to abort an unwanted child. What about the right to life for the unborn child? Now the debate is raging to allow full term babies to be aborted! New York (at least) has granted the that “right.” Some states are working to tighten the conditions allowing for, or even eliminating abortion all together. The debate rages. Perhaps we will soon decide to terminate the elderly at a certain age because they are no longer useful. Then the younger population would have more resources to share among themselves. Far-fetched?
A few weeks ago there was an attack on a Florida bank where 5 people were killed. It was reported that the gunman went in wanting “to kill everyone.” There was no particular reason for it as I remember, just the desire to kill. Mass shootings are becoming common place. History has always included killing, even Jewish and Christian history. Terrorists. Serial Killers. Stalins and Hitlers. Ordinary and not so ordinary people gone mad. Killing has been a part of life since we lost Eden. Or should I say, traded Eden in so that we could make better choices?
LGBTQ and OK2BME. Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, and Questioning (I suppose questioning of sexual identity or tendency, I really don’t know). In the good ole USA it has become “ok to be me,” to be who I am, no matter what anybody else thinks. It has also become wrong for anyone to take a stand against the freedom to be who I am, sexually or otherwise. In most political, societal, and “opinions that count” senses, God and good are considered to be intolerable positions in a free society.
Burdens.
“But this I call to mind.” Solomon wrote that there is “nothing new under the sun.” It’s all happened before, and it will continue to happen over and over again until Jesus returns to make all things new. All Things New! In this I place my hope! I know I have sin that needs to die, so I will not stand in judgement of others. I know that a loving Father gave His only Son to Redeem from the Fall. It does not matter who we are or what we’ve done, for He is just. He is the one who justifies. Justice will prevail. “I will accomplish what I have purposed” Isaiah proclaims of Yahweh. In this I place my hope! We have been called to love as Jesus loved: unconditionally. As difficult as it is, this is what we must do, and let Him change lives, as He changes ours. Only Jesus can change lives! And as difficult as it is to love me, Jesus does so willingly. Oh how He loves! In this I place my hope!
Jesus invited us to give Him our burdens (Matthew 11:28-30). He promises Rest. Rest from our labors concerning our own sin. Rest form the troubles that surface because of our love for others. Rest from life’s circumstances that cause us grief. We must lay them all to rest at the feet of The Redeemer. The one who judges justly. In this I place my hope!
The Cross of the Disciple
January 31, 2019
I wonder what happened to cross when it comes to Christians. We often speak of the Cross of Christ. We have them adorning our church steeples, and hanging prominently in our meeting places. But we seldom think or talk about how the cross relates to us as believers. There seems to be a large segment of the Christian population that believes being a Disciple is an option. That there are different levels of Faith in Christ, disciple being the top level. This is not so from what Jesus has to say. Sold out to Him is presented as the only option. Consider Matthew 16:24:
“If anyone wants to be My disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”
There are only two options presented in His words. Either be a disciple, or not. And it is not discipleship on our own terms. One cannot choose to follow Him at a distance, or by just going to church every Sunday, or following Him according to your own rules. Disciple has its cost. Remember that Jesus said it’s a Narrow Road. A life that will have its share of suffering and persecution. It’s a disciplined life, not an anything goes free for all. It is also an abundant life filled with all that the Father and the Son have planned for His disciples. But it comes at a cost. Blood…at the Cross of Jesus the Christ. His Cross opened the way for us to have the opportunity to disciple after Him. We were and are unable to do so without the Grace of God, and by that same Grace we are called…to be in His likeness. Disciples. Like our Master and Teacher.
I would be amiss to try and make anyone think that I have made it, for that would be far from the truth. But I will not give in or give up the pursuit of knowing Christ and becoming like Him. This is the only pursuit that really matters, and all else pales in comparison. All that we are to become and do flows from our relationship with Jesus. It determines the path that we take in how we do life in our homes, our families, our jobs, our marketplaces, our communities, et al.
We are to first deny ourselves. This is to choose the path of humility. The disciple chooses the agenda of Jesus over his own. It doesn’t necessarily mean that one cannot choose what he or she does for a living, but it does determinehow we do what we choose. It’s the choice to look out for the interests of others…to make choices that will benefit them and not merely ourselves. To live in humility is to Love God, Love neighbor, and Love one another as Jesus loves us. Love and humility are the keys that enable us to build strong and lasting relationships from the Top down.
Cross. That’s a hard word. Take up your cross. An even harder word. The Cross of Christ is where we lay our burdens down. Our hurts, our concerns, our struggles, our sufferings, and our successes. They are perhaps the most difficult to lay down: our trophies. Everything must be surrendered at the cross.
Sin is, of course, the first thing we most often think of, and it must be dealt with. But, pride and envy, prejudice and discrimination, lust and pleasure-seeking, and any other enemies of the Spirit; all must be nailed to the Cross.
Follow Me. Jesus explains “Follow Me” in Matthew 28: wherever you go and whatever you do, Make Disciples! This is how you make them: baptize them, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. This is My Cross for you.
January 31, 2019
I wonder what happened to cross when it comes to Christians. We often speak of the Cross of Christ. We have them adorning our church steeples, and hanging prominently in our meeting places. But we seldom think or talk about how the cross relates to us as believers. There seems to be a large segment of the Christian population that believes being a Disciple is an option. That there are different levels of Faith in Christ, disciple being the top level. This is not so from what Jesus has to say. Sold out to Him is presented as the only option. Consider Matthew 16:24:
“If anyone wants to be My disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”
There are only two options presented in His words. Either be a disciple, or not. And it is not discipleship on our own terms. One cannot choose to follow Him at a distance, or by just going to church every Sunday, or following Him according to your own rules. Disciple has its cost. Remember that Jesus said it’s a Narrow Road. A life that will have its share of suffering and persecution. It’s a disciplined life, not an anything goes free for all. It is also an abundant life filled with all that the Father and the Son have planned for His disciples. But it comes at a cost. Blood…at the Cross of Jesus the Christ. His Cross opened the way for us to have the opportunity to disciple after Him. We were and are unable to do so without the Grace of God, and by that same Grace we are called…to be in His likeness. Disciples. Like our Master and Teacher.
I would be amiss to try and make anyone think that I have made it, for that would be far from the truth. But I will not give in or give up the pursuit of knowing Christ and becoming like Him. This is the only pursuit that really matters, and all else pales in comparison. All that we are to become and do flows from our relationship with Jesus. It determines the path that we take in how we do life in our homes, our families, our jobs, our marketplaces, our communities, et al.
We are to first deny ourselves. This is to choose the path of humility. The disciple chooses the agenda of Jesus over his own. It doesn’t necessarily mean that one cannot choose what he or she does for a living, but it does determinehow we do what we choose. It’s the choice to look out for the interests of others…to make choices that will benefit them and not merely ourselves. To live in humility is to Love God, Love neighbor, and Love one another as Jesus loves us. Love and humility are the keys that enable us to build strong and lasting relationships from the Top down.
Cross. That’s a hard word. Take up your cross. An even harder word. The Cross of Christ is where we lay our burdens down. Our hurts, our concerns, our struggles, our sufferings, and our successes. They are perhaps the most difficult to lay down: our trophies. Everything must be surrendered at the cross.
Sin is, of course, the first thing we most often think of, and it must be dealt with. But, pride and envy, prejudice and discrimination, lust and pleasure-seeking, and any other enemies of the Spirit; all must be nailed to the Cross.
Follow Me. Jesus explains “Follow Me” in Matthew 28: wherever you go and whatever you do, Make Disciples! This is how you make them: baptize them, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. This is My Cross for you.
If Anyone…
January 3, 2019
It’s not a very attractive invitation. Deny yourself. It’s not intended to be. It’s a “be like your teacher” bidding. A “Narrow Road” challenge. A life “acquainted with sufferings” appeal. Not very attractive at all. Yet His invitation offered in the first century A. D. is still fresh, relevant and active today. He still has a passion for anyone who would aspire to come after Him. Refresh these words in your mind anew:
Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24 NIV)
If anyone. The invitation is open to all. Sinners and saints. To Adolph Hitler types and Mother Teresa types. The Jeffrey Dahmer’s of this world and the Martin Luther King’s. Haters and lovers. Weak and strong. Rich and poor. To those of all walks of life no matter what the past or present. After all, He called tax collectors and zealots. The impetuous and “sons of thunder.” Betrayers and deniers. He invited Pharisees and women caught “in the very act.” No one was excluded. If anyone, to everyone. WOW!
How could He want to bring together people who are so very far apart? Why would He want to try? Love. He loved. He created. He came to live among. He died to redeem. He rose to justify. Anyone. Everyone. Then we could all be together in fellowship and unity with Him, His Father, and each other. How could He ever hope to pull this off? The answer is in the simplicity of the call.
If anyone. There are no prejudices in His call. Man or woman. Slave or free. As the Jews would later come to understand: Jew and Gentile. People from every color, tongue, tribe and nation. From every walk of life, with all of their accumulated baggage. Come after Me. All you have to bring is “I want to come after you.”
Deny yourself. Ouch! It is the beginning and only way to come after Jesus. We cannot hold on to our agendas as we now must take hold of His. It’s a “take My yoke upon you and learn from Me” come after call. It doesn’t mean we have to take up what we have called “full time Christian Ministry.” To answer this call is to be a disciple/servant every day, everywhere, around the clock. Business men and women, doctors, lawyers, factory workers, farmers, housewives, stay-at-home dads, waitresses, janitors, school teachers, coaches, et al! Disciples. Ministers. Self-deniers. Anyone.
Take up your cross. This certainly means deal with the sin that must die, for sin is the source of all broken relationships, starting with the Holy One and flowing down to all others. If we are going to be brought by invitation into fellowship with others we must also put our prejudices to death. We nail to the cross our lists of acceptable and unacceptable people. Our deference toward others that we may consider unworthy or that cause us to shun because they are of another race, color, faith, economic status, or nationality. We must crucify the prejudices of the flesh and be non-discriminatory as is the Father who justifies (Romans 3:21-26). He justifies anyone who believes in Jesus. Sin and prejudice must be nailed to our crosses.
Follow Me. FOLLOW ME! We have the tendency to follow after what we love. Jesus invites us to love Him more than anything or anyone else. To pursue Him more than anything or anyone else. Will ours be pursuits after the old nature? Our nature? Follow Me. The new nature. Servant. Last to be first. Give to receive. Die to live. Not very attractive.
If anyone…
January 3, 2019
It’s not a very attractive invitation. Deny yourself. It’s not intended to be. It’s a “be like your teacher” bidding. A “Narrow Road” challenge. A life “acquainted with sufferings” appeal. Not very attractive at all. Yet His invitation offered in the first century A. D. is still fresh, relevant and active today. He still has a passion for anyone who would aspire to come after Him. Refresh these words in your mind anew:
Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24 NIV)
If anyone. The invitation is open to all. Sinners and saints. To Adolph Hitler types and Mother Teresa types. The Jeffrey Dahmer’s of this world and the Martin Luther King’s. Haters and lovers. Weak and strong. Rich and poor. To those of all walks of life no matter what the past or present. After all, He called tax collectors and zealots. The impetuous and “sons of thunder.” Betrayers and deniers. He invited Pharisees and women caught “in the very act.” No one was excluded. If anyone, to everyone. WOW!
How could He want to bring together people who are so very far apart? Why would He want to try? Love. He loved. He created. He came to live among. He died to redeem. He rose to justify. Anyone. Everyone. Then we could all be together in fellowship and unity with Him, His Father, and each other. How could He ever hope to pull this off? The answer is in the simplicity of the call.
If anyone. There are no prejudices in His call. Man or woman. Slave or free. As the Jews would later come to understand: Jew and Gentile. People from every color, tongue, tribe and nation. From every walk of life, with all of their accumulated baggage. Come after Me. All you have to bring is “I want to come after you.”
Deny yourself. Ouch! It is the beginning and only way to come after Jesus. We cannot hold on to our agendas as we now must take hold of His. It’s a “take My yoke upon you and learn from Me” come after call. It doesn’t mean we have to take up what we have called “full time Christian Ministry.” To answer this call is to be a disciple/servant every day, everywhere, around the clock. Business men and women, doctors, lawyers, factory workers, farmers, housewives, stay-at-home dads, waitresses, janitors, school teachers, coaches, et al! Disciples. Ministers. Self-deniers. Anyone.
Take up your cross. This certainly means deal with the sin that must die, for sin is the source of all broken relationships, starting with the Holy One and flowing down to all others. If we are going to be brought by invitation into fellowship with others we must also put our prejudices to death. We nail to the cross our lists of acceptable and unacceptable people. Our deference toward others that we may consider unworthy or that cause us to shun because they are of another race, color, faith, economic status, or nationality. We must crucify the prejudices of the flesh and be non-discriminatory as is the Father who justifies (Romans 3:21-26). He justifies anyone who believes in Jesus. Sin and prejudice must be nailed to our crosses.
Follow Me. FOLLOW ME! We have the tendency to follow after what we love. Jesus invites us to love Him more than anything or anyone else. To pursue Him more than anything or anyone else. Will ours be pursuits after the old nature? Our nature? Follow Me. The new nature. Servant. Last to be first. Give to receive. Die to live. Not very attractive.
If anyone…
Cross Power
December 27, 2018
It has been said that the cross was Rome’s symbol of power. Yes, Rome believed it was in power. Satan believed he had things under control, but deep down I think he realized he was about to receive the head crushing death blow of the seed of the woman. (Genesis 3:15) The cross was God’s expression of sorrow and lament over the cost of the sin of those He created and loved. Sin cost Him His beloved Son. A grief-stricken overwhelming cost. It was His Cross. It was His choice. The choice did not reside with Rome, nor within the scope of the Sanhedrin’s power or of Caiaphas the High Priest (John 11:45-52).
“But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those under the Law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5 NIV).
The cross was God’s emphasis of His power. Evidence of His power. Yahweh chose the time and the place for revealing the death blow of the seed, the ugliness of sin, the overwhelming cost of sin, and the remedy for sin: the Redemptive blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God. Rome was the right nation. Jerusalem the right place. The 39 lashes were gruesome and bloody, cutting the flesh and sapping the strength of the strongest of men. The right punishment for sin. The Cross was the most cruel way to die. The crucified carried his own cross and hung on it until exhaustion took its toll and he suffocated to death. The crucified were stripped naked and put on public display in order to humiliate and shame. The right penalty for sin. Ponder this for a season.
And ponder this…
“Yet it was the Lord’s (Yahweh’s) will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer…” (Isaiah 53). Rome was the Lord’s plan. The Cross the Lord’s choice. Rome was His puppet. There is more…
“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53).
“We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53).
“…He has poured out His life unto death, and He was numbered among the transgressors. Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53).
The ugliness of sin. The cruelty of Rome. The Grace of God. Redemption. Forgiveness. Justification. The Righteousness of Christ, ours, by Yahweh’s power. There is no question as to Who’s power was displayed on that Day of Jesus’ Death. It wasn’t Rome. It wasn’t an unbelieving, Barabbas freeing, unfaithful Jewish leadership. It wasn’t the “Crucify Him!” shouts of the crowd. It was His Father. Yahweh. For us.
“Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” (Galatians 1:22-25)
The Cross is God’s wisdom. God’s strength. God’s power. By His Promise to Abraham. By His Anointing of the Messiah/Christ. By His Grace, His Love expressed for the world. By His Redemption in the atoning blood of Christ that brings us healing. That is Cross Power! It is His choice and His cross.
December 27, 2018
It has been said that the cross was Rome’s symbol of power. Yes, Rome believed it was in power. Satan believed he had things under control, but deep down I think he realized he was about to receive the head crushing death blow of the seed of the woman. (Genesis 3:15) The cross was God’s expression of sorrow and lament over the cost of the sin of those He created and loved. Sin cost Him His beloved Son. A grief-stricken overwhelming cost. It was His Cross. It was His choice. The choice did not reside with Rome, nor within the scope of the Sanhedrin’s power or of Caiaphas the High Priest (John 11:45-52).
“But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those under the Law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5 NIV).
The cross was God’s emphasis of His power. Evidence of His power. Yahweh chose the time and the place for revealing the death blow of the seed, the ugliness of sin, the overwhelming cost of sin, and the remedy for sin: the Redemptive blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God. Rome was the right nation. Jerusalem the right place. The 39 lashes were gruesome and bloody, cutting the flesh and sapping the strength of the strongest of men. The right punishment for sin. The Cross was the most cruel way to die. The crucified carried his own cross and hung on it until exhaustion took its toll and he suffocated to death. The crucified were stripped naked and put on public display in order to humiliate and shame. The right penalty for sin. Ponder this for a season.
And ponder this…
“Yet it was the Lord’s (Yahweh’s) will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer…” (Isaiah 53). Rome was the Lord’s plan. The Cross the Lord’s choice. Rome was His puppet. There is more…
“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53).
“We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53).
“…He has poured out His life unto death, and He was numbered among the transgressors. Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53).
The ugliness of sin. The cruelty of Rome. The Grace of God. Redemption. Forgiveness. Justification. The Righteousness of Christ, ours, by Yahweh’s power. There is no question as to Who’s power was displayed on that Day of Jesus’ Death. It wasn’t Rome. It wasn’t an unbelieving, Barabbas freeing, unfaithful Jewish leadership. It wasn’t the “Crucify Him!” shouts of the crowd. It was His Father. Yahweh. For us.
“Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” (Galatians 1:22-25)
The Cross is God’s wisdom. God’s strength. God’s power. By His Promise to Abraham. By His Anointing of the Messiah/Christ. By His Grace, His Love expressed for the world. By His Redemption in the atoning blood of Christ that brings us healing. That is Cross Power! It is His choice and His cross.
Waiting For A Son
12.20.18
“Then the word of the LORD came to Abram saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” (Genesis 15:4 NIV).
Abram and Sarai were without a son, for she was barren. (Their names will be changed to our more familiar Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 17). Since the promise of God recorded in Genesis 12 that he would become a great nation, this Father of the Faithful had waited for a son. But a son was not coming and he was getting on in years. So Sarah gave him her maidservant Hagar, and he had his son Ishmael at 86 years of age. But Ishmael was not the son of God’s promise. Even before he was born Ishmael became a problem for Abraham and Sarah that has remained an issue even to this present time.
Now at age 99 Abraham still waits. “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac” (Genesis 17:19). The record goes on to say that “God did for Sarah what He had promised” and gave her a son. At the age of 100 Abraham had the son of God’s promise, and he named him Isaac just as the Lord had said. But a greater test of his faith was yet to come. The Lord would ask for the son of the long awaited promise. “Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will show you.” (Genesis 22:2). Sounds a bit like the call to lose all in Genesis 12…go to the mountain I will show you, and sacrifice your son, “your only son Isaac, whom you love” to Me.
Scripture doesn’t tell us of any conversation between the Lord and Abraham.
But I’ll venture to say there probably was one. A long one. The Hebrew writer tells us that Abraham, by faith, “reasoned that the Lord could raise the dead” (11:19). And the Lord spared Isaac. “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the Angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me.” (Genesis 22:12).
For centuries Israel waited for the son promised in Isaiah.
“This is how God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son...” We are all so familiar with these words of Jesus concerning Himself. The promise of a long-awaited Son has been fulfilled…in Me. I can’t help but see the similarities between Isaac and Jesus. Both were long-awaited, and long in coming. Both were one, and only sons of the promise. Now that you have not withheld your “only son” from Me, the Lord said to Abraham, I will not withhold my “only Son” from the world.
I do not believe that the Father would have withheld His Son had Abraham refused to offer Isaac. But I do believe He would have searched until He found a man so strong in his faith that he would be willing to do so. But Abraham was that man. Abraham was the type of all who would believe that the Father could defeat death…and has defeated it! Abraham’s offering of his “one and only son” was the foreshadowing of the Father’s love expressed in the offering of His “one and only Son,” and we are blessed, in Him, according to the Promise.
“…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus…” (Matthew 1:20-21). After Mary gave birth, Joseph named Him Jesus, just as the angel had said.
Jesus.
The world waited for a Son. The Lord delivered. He kept His promise. We wait no longer!
The Garden
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own; and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known. (In The Garden, Charles A. Miles, 1913).
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.
(Genesis 2:8 NIV).
Gardens. What comes to mind when you think of gardens? As I was growing up we always had a garden. We planted green beans and peas, muskmelon and watermelon, carrots and potatoes, cucumbers and strawberries. Oh, and we planted tomatoes. Scads of them. We planted for food. Mom always had flowers. Lots of flowers. Snapdragons and tulips were my favorites. Flowers in the kitchen and on the table were ours to enjoy all summer long. They were also in vases throughout the house. We planted for beauty and pleasure. Gardens are hard work for sure, but well worth the effort for the many benefits that were ours to enjoy. They will never be forgotten.
There was a garden in Eden. In it God put the man He had formed. In it He put some of everything He had created. In it He formed the woman from the flesh and bone of the man. In it God walked in the cool of the day in perfect fellowship with Adam and Eve and their offspring. Eden was overflowing with harmony, beauty, and pleasure. Everything Man needed for the good life was present between the flowing waters of the four rivers that formed its borders. For 130 years (see Genesis 5:3) Man enjoyed that perfect fellowship, that perfect garden. The good life of Eden. Until he, and she, wanted more. Believing the serpent’s lie that God was holding out on them they reached for more. They reached for what they thought was everything, and eating, they lost everything. We lost everything. But most importantly we lost the presence of the Father walking with us in the cool of the day. What a tragedy!
Two things are very true. We long to walk together and talk together in the Garden, as is evidenced by the hymn above. We want to know we belong to Him and to share joy that cannot be known apart from the Father. The other truth is that He who created longs for those walks and talks with His created ones. His plan before the foundation of the world. His plan in the choice of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His plan in the anointing of the Shepherd King. His plan in the coming of Messiah, the Only Son, Jesus. His plan in the tearing of the Veil of the Temple. In the Cross. In the Resurrection. In the Called-out Ones. The Father planned all along to restore Eden fellowship on earth in Christ Jesus.
We can choose to walk in the Garden with Him. Or not. It’s up to you. It’s up to me. It’s up to us. We have been given the opportunity to spend the cool of the day in the Father’s presence, through Jesus the Messiah, and His Spirit who lives within us. The Father has done all the work. His grace is ours through Jesus who paved the way for us. The invitation has been pronounced. Come to the Garden. Walk with Me. Talk with Me. Hear My gentle words of belonging. Share in My Joy.
“While the dew is still on the roses…”
Yahweh My Shepherd
Psalm 23. A favorite of many believers and non-believers alike. Its popularity is perhaps due to the comforting messages contained within. We find the promise of a full life. Of nourishment, rest, and truth. The promise of His presence when life is dark and death may be at the door. The promise to give strength when facing our enemies. His promise to be faithful and present with us each and every day. Ponder these words for a season:
Yahweh the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything that I need.
He makes me lie down in green pastures of nourishment, he leads me to drink beside quiet waters of rest, he provides time for my soul to catch a refreshing breath. He guides me along the right paths of truth so that his name is praised.
Even though I walk through the darkest of times, perhaps even facing death, I will have no fear of anything, for you are with me at all times; your strength and protection and authority comfort me.
You prepare a table before me that is not isolated from the world or my enemies. You anoint my head with oil to prepare me; an over-abundant supply.
You chase after me with only goodness and your steadfast covenant love every day of my life, and I will return to live in your presence for the length of my days.” (Psalm 23 NIV, ESV, The Message).
Comforting words. Yet there is infinitely more here than comfort. Psalm 23 is the description of a life-style commitment. The choice to make Yahweh God our Shepherd. The Shepherd. The Good Shepherd. A covenant commitment to follow His lead, not an “I’ll seek Him when I need Him” default setting. We go where He leads. We do what he says. We drink from His well. We rest in His presence. We are refreshed and strengthened to go at life again, empowered to live for His praise smack-dab in the middle of a world set in opposition to us. We face trouble, suffering, dark times, even death without fear, because He is ever-present. The Lord is good. His goodness is ours. His steadfast covenant love is ours. He grants the privilege and blessing of living in His presence “for the length of days” when we chose to make Him our Shepherd.
We can choose to make Him our Shepherd, like David. Or not. Life choices made according to our own wills may come with many earthly rewards. But life will be faced alone. Trouble, suffering, dark times and death will be faced alone. Earth’s pleasures carry no lasting value and are passing. There will be no presence of God to heal, comfort, or sustain. Self-choice is the choice to live life alone.
When we choose the Shepherd, we choose life. Real life. Abundant life. Life in His presence. Life that is not lived in a vacuum however, nor without trouble or difficulty, as the Psalm so obviously points out. Life with the Shepherd is having all that we need. Nourishment, rest, and refreshing for our souls. Strength, protection, and His presence through dark times. Preparation for life in a hostile world. Living inside the Shepherds care is Him looking out for our best interests each and every day. When we look at it from David’s perspective it’s foolish to make any other choice. Yet, we struggle with the choice. It is a challenge each day to make Him the Shepherd. But choose we must. Choose this day, each day who will be served.
There can be only one Shepherd, not two. There is only one Lord.
Grace and Truth
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:14ff ESV).
It would be amiss to speak of Truth and not of Grace. For Christ-followers Jesus balances perfectly in His “dwelt among us body” Grace and Truth. John says that the law came through Moses, but Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ. Not that the law isn’t truth, for Jesus said, “Your word is Truth.” The law takes its form in commandments. Grace and Truth as embodied through Jesus is life lived out in the flesh. Life as it was intended to be from the beginning.
“Charis” is the Greek word translated “Grace.” Its primary meaning conveys good-will, loving-kindness, and favor; it is often translated as grace or gift. Loving-kindness pictures the Old Covenant term HESED, the Covenant term through which Yahweh God promises to perpetually love and care for His people. By this promise He gives His Grace anew through Jesus Christ in a New Covenant. A Covenant established by the blood sacrifice of His Only Son Jesus. This Covenant reveals the Righteousness of God, apart from the law, given through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. In other words, HIS Righteousness, to all who believe! Through it we are justified freely by His Grace (See Romans 3:21ff). By Grace we are saved. By Grace we are redeemed. By Grace we are justified. By Grace we are free. In Christ we are surrounded by Grace (grace upon grace). That’s God’s good-will. God’s loving-kindness. God’s favor. God’s Covenant in Christ Jesus.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8 NIV).
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:5-10 NIV).
There are two key words in these passages…live and walk. Truth is a way of life, not a list of do’s and don’ts. There is absolute Truth. But absolute Truth is not measured by a check-list. We do not live before God through our own efforts. In fact, we are incapable of living life without sin; save through the medium of Grace. We live by Grace through Faith. Truth is how we walk through life. Life-changing Truth. Truth is living as Jesus did. To act justly…to love mercy…and to walk humbly with our God. Obedient? Absolutely! Continuing to fall short? Without a doubt! Justified freely? By Grace. We do not walk in the Truth to earn a place at the Lord’s Table. This place is ours only through Grace. We walk increasingly in the Truth as we are daily learning to love Him, love our neighbor, and love one another as Jesus loved. This is the absolute Truth. This is absolute, amazing Grace.
Living by Faith. Surrounded by Grace. Walking in Truth, as Jesus walked.
Windshields and Rearview Mirrors
I have never given it much thought. The difference in size between the windshield and the rearview mirror. The rearview gives a good view of what lies behind, and is very important for driving safely. We must look there from time to time to make sure that changes we are about to make will be without unwanted mishaps, or that something isn’t coming up behind us which could put us in danger. The windshield, though, gives us a complete view of the world in front of us. It is the more important of the two for it gives us the view of the road on which we have chosen to travel.
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could . . . Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Taken from the poem by Robert Frost.
Life is a journey that all humankind must take. It cannot be avoided. We cannot stay at home on the back porch and refuse to participate. The journey is unavoidable. It is the natural, God-created, course of life. We will be involved in it. We will face the decision to choose our path. Right or left? There are only two. And, as one traveler, we can only choose one. We will grow in accordance with the road that we choose. Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14 NIV).
“I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” This is the choice of Christ-followers. It is narrow. It is the one less traveled by. It is the difficult road. It is the road that leads to life. The only road to life. Few find it. It is the road of losing self and gaining life in Christ. The apostle PauI says it like this, “…I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 2:8). Losing everything about himself so that he might be free to know Christ, and travel on the path to life. It is a daily process of growth often filled with failures, which must be placed in the past as we journey forward.
“There is a reason the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror. Your future matters more than your past. God’s grace is greater than your sin. What you did was not good. But your God is good.”
Taken from “Anxious for Nothing” by Max Lucado, page 45.
God is good! God is at work in us through Jesus the Christ. God is growing us up in Him. The road less traveled is about what lies ahead, not behind. It is about the windshield view of life, not the life we see in the rearview mirror. The Philippian writer puts it this way, “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal…” God’s grace is greater than our sin and He can handle the stuff in the rearview mirror. All of it! Beyond adequately!
Let us keep choosing the road less traveled. Let us keep forgetting what lies behind by trusting a good God. Let us keep pressing on toward the goal of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us continue to give God the freedom to grow us up. Let us see His world through the windshield view! It will make all the difference!
June 28, 2018
Everything We Need
Packing for an extended trip can be difficult. Like three weeks in Florida. The right apparel for the beach. Proper attire for going out to eat, attending an event, or meeting with friends. The comfortable stuff for lounging around in the evening. Clothes fitting for warm and chilly weather. It is January after all! Tooth paste, tooth brush, shampoo, shaving stuff, and deodorant. Don’t forget to stuff a bag with movies that you don’t get time to watch at home. Pack snacks and drinks for the long drive. Credit card for gas and unexpected expenses. Oh, and cash! Plenty of cash! When all is packed and in the car, there is one last, “Did we forget anything?” and, “Do we have everything we need?”
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” (2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV, underline mine)
Perhaps packing for an extended trip is not the most important “everything we need” question we should ask ourselves. The central focus of life is not an extended trip, to Florida or anywhere else. It is not what we do for a living. It is not our families, immediate or extended. It is not the church. The most important item for my agenda today is not mowing the lawn. The central focus, the most important agenda item for today, is a godly life. It is the central focus for every day. From this central focus life takes root and all else flows from it.
Peter tells us that the God of Grace and Peace has given us everything we need for a godly life. Everything we need to participate in the divine nature (think on that for a season). Everything we need to escape the corruption in the world. This central focus empowers us to be godly men and women in the midst of a corrupt world. To be a strong family when families all around us are falling apart. To be a person of Christ-like integrity in the workplace, giving honor and respect to our superiors, and treating peers and subordinates in the way we want to be treated. Being the presence of Christ in the world instead of the church enclosed behind stained-glass windows. Being those who love God, neighbor, and one another as Christ loved us. Being those who “take care of widows and orphans in their distress and keep ourselves unspotted from the world.” Peter adds:
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8)
Everything we need for a godly life. But we don’t get there without participation. We must set out on a life-long journey. An extended trip of growing, of “making every effort to add” in “increasing measure” to our faith. From goodness to love, and everything in between. Then we will be effective and productive in the knowledge of our Lord. In our families. In our marketplaces and workplaces. As the “presence of Christ” in the world. We will have everything we need.
June 7, 2018
12.20.18
“Then the word of the LORD came to Abram saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” (Genesis 15:4 NIV).
Abram and Sarai were without a son, for she was barren. (Their names will be changed to our more familiar Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 17). Since the promise of God recorded in Genesis 12 that he would become a great nation, this Father of the Faithful had waited for a son. But a son was not coming and he was getting on in years. So Sarah gave him her maidservant Hagar, and he had his son Ishmael at 86 years of age. But Ishmael was not the son of God’s promise. Even before he was born Ishmael became a problem for Abraham and Sarah that has remained an issue even to this present time.
Now at age 99 Abraham still waits. “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac” (Genesis 17:19). The record goes on to say that “God did for Sarah what He had promised” and gave her a son. At the age of 100 Abraham had the son of God’s promise, and he named him Isaac just as the Lord had said. But a greater test of his faith was yet to come. The Lord would ask for the son of the long awaited promise. “Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will show you.” (Genesis 22:2). Sounds a bit like the call to lose all in Genesis 12…go to the mountain I will show you, and sacrifice your son, “your only son Isaac, whom you love” to Me.
Scripture doesn’t tell us of any conversation between the Lord and Abraham.
But I’ll venture to say there probably was one. A long one. The Hebrew writer tells us that Abraham, by faith, “reasoned that the Lord could raise the dead” (11:19). And the Lord spared Isaac. “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the Angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me.” (Genesis 22:12).
For centuries Israel waited for the son promised in Isaiah.
“This is how God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son...” We are all so familiar with these words of Jesus concerning Himself. The promise of a long-awaited Son has been fulfilled…in Me. I can’t help but see the similarities between Isaac and Jesus. Both were long-awaited, and long in coming. Both were one, and only sons of the promise. Now that you have not withheld your “only son” from Me, the Lord said to Abraham, I will not withhold my “only Son” from the world.
I do not believe that the Father would have withheld His Son had Abraham refused to offer Isaac. But I do believe He would have searched until He found a man so strong in his faith that he would be willing to do so. But Abraham was that man. Abraham was the type of all who would believe that the Father could defeat death…and has defeated it! Abraham’s offering of his “one and only son” was the foreshadowing of the Father’s love expressed in the offering of His “one and only Son,” and we are blessed, in Him, according to the Promise.
“…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus…” (Matthew 1:20-21). After Mary gave birth, Joseph named Him Jesus, just as the angel had said.
Jesus.
The world waited for a Son. The Lord delivered. He kept His promise. We wait no longer!
The Garden
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own; and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known. (In The Garden, Charles A. Miles, 1913).
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.
(Genesis 2:8 NIV).
Gardens. What comes to mind when you think of gardens? As I was growing up we always had a garden. We planted green beans and peas, muskmelon and watermelon, carrots and potatoes, cucumbers and strawberries. Oh, and we planted tomatoes. Scads of them. We planted for food. Mom always had flowers. Lots of flowers. Snapdragons and tulips were my favorites. Flowers in the kitchen and on the table were ours to enjoy all summer long. They were also in vases throughout the house. We planted for beauty and pleasure. Gardens are hard work for sure, but well worth the effort for the many benefits that were ours to enjoy. They will never be forgotten.
There was a garden in Eden. In it God put the man He had formed. In it He put some of everything He had created. In it He formed the woman from the flesh and bone of the man. In it God walked in the cool of the day in perfect fellowship with Adam and Eve and their offspring. Eden was overflowing with harmony, beauty, and pleasure. Everything Man needed for the good life was present between the flowing waters of the four rivers that formed its borders. For 130 years (see Genesis 5:3) Man enjoyed that perfect fellowship, that perfect garden. The good life of Eden. Until he, and she, wanted more. Believing the serpent’s lie that God was holding out on them they reached for more. They reached for what they thought was everything, and eating, they lost everything. We lost everything. But most importantly we lost the presence of the Father walking with us in the cool of the day. What a tragedy!
Two things are very true. We long to walk together and talk together in the Garden, as is evidenced by the hymn above. We want to know we belong to Him and to share joy that cannot be known apart from the Father. The other truth is that He who created longs for those walks and talks with His created ones. His plan before the foundation of the world. His plan in the choice of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His plan in the anointing of the Shepherd King. His plan in the coming of Messiah, the Only Son, Jesus. His plan in the tearing of the Veil of the Temple. In the Cross. In the Resurrection. In the Called-out Ones. The Father planned all along to restore Eden fellowship on earth in Christ Jesus.
We can choose to walk in the Garden with Him. Or not. It’s up to you. It’s up to me. It’s up to us. We have been given the opportunity to spend the cool of the day in the Father’s presence, through Jesus the Messiah, and His Spirit who lives within us. The Father has done all the work. His grace is ours through Jesus who paved the way for us. The invitation has been pronounced. Come to the Garden. Walk with Me. Talk with Me. Hear My gentle words of belonging. Share in My Joy.
“While the dew is still on the roses…”
Yahweh My Shepherd
Psalm 23. A favorite of many believers and non-believers alike. Its popularity is perhaps due to the comforting messages contained within. We find the promise of a full life. Of nourishment, rest, and truth. The promise of His presence when life is dark and death may be at the door. The promise to give strength when facing our enemies. His promise to be faithful and present with us each and every day. Ponder these words for a season:
Yahweh the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything that I need.
He makes me lie down in green pastures of nourishment, he leads me to drink beside quiet waters of rest, he provides time for my soul to catch a refreshing breath. He guides me along the right paths of truth so that his name is praised.
Even though I walk through the darkest of times, perhaps even facing death, I will have no fear of anything, for you are with me at all times; your strength and protection and authority comfort me.
You prepare a table before me that is not isolated from the world or my enemies. You anoint my head with oil to prepare me; an over-abundant supply.
You chase after me with only goodness and your steadfast covenant love every day of my life, and I will return to live in your presence for the length of my days.” (Psalm 23 NIV, ESV, The Message).
Comforting words. Yet there is infinitely more here than comfort. Psalm 23 is the description of a life-style commitment. The choice to make Yahweh God our Shepherd. The Shepherd. The Good Shepherd. A covenant commitment to follow His lead, not an “I’ll seek Him when I need Him” default setting. We go where He leads. We do what he says. We drink from His well. We rest in His presence. We are refreshed and strengthened to go at life again, empowered to live for His praise smack-dab in the middle of a world set in opposition to us. We face trouble, suffering, dark times, even death without fear, because He is ever-present. The Lord is good. His goodness is ours. His steadfast covenant love is ours. He grants the privilege and blessing of living in His presence “for the length of days” when we chose to make Him our Shepherd.
We can choose to make Him our Shepherd, like David. Or not. Life choices made according to our own wills may come with many earthly rewards. But life will be faced alone. Trouble, suffering, dark times and death will be faced alone. Earth’s pleasures carry no lasting value and are passing. There will be no presence of God to heal, comfort, or sustain. Self-choice is the choice to live life alone.
When we choose the Shepherd, we choose life. Real life. Abundant life. Life in His presence. Life that is not lived in a vacuum however, nor without trouble or difficulty, as the Psalm so obviously points out. Life with the Shepherd is having all that we need. Nourishment, rest, and refreshing for our souls. Strength, protection, and His presence through dark times. Preparation for life in a hostile world. Living inside the Shepherds care is Him looking out for our best interests each and every day. When we look at it from David’s perspective it’s foolish to make any other choice. Yet, we struggle with the choice. It is a challenge each day to make Him the Shepherd. But choose we must. Choose this day, each day who will be served.
There can be only one Shepherd, not two. There is only one Lord.
Grace and Truth
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:14ff ESV).
It would be amiss to speak of Truth and not of Grace. For Christ-followers Jesus balances perfectly in His “dwelt among us body” Grace and Truth. John says that the law came through Moses, but Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ. Not that the law isn’t truth, for Jesus said, “Your word is Truth.” The law takes its form in commandments. Grace and Truth as embodied through Jesus is life lived out in the flesh. Life as it was intended to be from the beginning.
“Charis” is the Greek word translated “Grace.” Its primary meaning conveys good-will, loving-kindness, and favor; it is often translated as grace or gift. Loving-kindness pictures the Old Covenant term HESED, the Covenant term through which Yahweh God promises to perpetually love and care for His people. By this promise He gives His Grace anew through Jesus Christ in a New Covenant. A Covenant established by the blood sacrifice of His Only Son Jesus. This Covenant reveals the Righteousness of God, apart from the law, given through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. In other words, HIS Righteousness, to all who believe! Through it we are justified freely by His Grace (See Romans 3:21ff). By Grace we are saved. By Grace we are redeemed. By Grace we are justified. By Grace we are free. In Christ we are surrounded by Grace (grace upon grace). That’s God’s good-will. God’s loving-kindness. God’s favor. God’s Covenant in Christ Jesus.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8 NIV).
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:5-10 NIV).
There are two key words in these passages…live and walk. Truth is a way of life, not a list of do’s and don’ts. There is absolute Truth. But absolute Truth is not measured by a check-list. We do not live before God through our own efforts. In fact, we are incapable of living life without sin; save through the medium of Grace. We live by Grace through Faith. Truth is how we walk through life. Life-changing Truth. Truth is living as Jesus did. To act justly…to love mercy…and to walk humbly with our God. Obedient? Absolutely! Continuing to fall short? Without a doubt! Justified freely? By Grace. We do not walk in the Truth to earn a place at the Lord’s Table. This place is ours only through Grace. We walk increasingly in the Truth as we are daily learning to love Him, love our neighbor, and love one another as Jesus loved. This is the absolute Truth. This is absolute, amazing Grace.
Living by Faith. Surrounded by Grace. Walking in Truth, as Jesus walked.
Windshields and Rearview Mirrors
I have never given it much thought. The difference in size between the windshield and the rearview mirror. The rearview gives a good view of what lies behind, and is very important for driving safely. We must look there from time to time to make sure that changes we are about to make will be without unwanted mishaps, or that something isn’t coming up behind us which could put us in danger. The windshield, though, gives us a complete view of the world in front of us. It is the more important of the two for it gives us the view of the road on which we have chosen to travel.
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could . . . Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Taken from the poem by Robert Frost.
Life is a journey that all humankind must take. It cannot be avoided. We cannot stay at home on the back porch and refuse to participate. The journey is unavoidable. It is the natural, God-created, course of life. We will be involved in it. We will face the decision to choose our path. Right or left? There are only two. And, as one traveler, we can only choose one. We will grow in accordance with the road that we choose. Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14 NIV).
“I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” This is the choice of Christ-followers. It is narrow. It is the one less traveled by. It is the difficult road. It is the road that leads to life. The only road to life. Few find it. It is the road of losing self and gaining life in Christ. The apostle PauI says it like this, “…I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 2:8). Losing everything about himself so that he might be free to know Christ, and travel on the path to life. It is a daily process of growth often filled with failures, which must be placed in the past as we journey forward.
“There is a reason the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror. Your future matters more than your past. God’s grace is greater than your sin. What you did was not good. But your God is good.”
Taken from “Anxious for Nothing” by Max Lucado, page 45.
God is good! God is at work in us through Jesus the Christ. God is growing us up in Him. The road less traveled is about what lies ahead, not behind. It is about the windshield view of life, not the life we see in the rearview mirror. The Philippian writer puts it this way, “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal…” God’s grace is greater than our sin and He can handle the stuff in the rearview mirror. All of it! Beyond adequately!
Let us keep choosing the road less traveled. Let us keep forgetting what lies behind by trusting a good God. Let us keep pressing on toward the goal of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us continue to give God the freedom to grow us up. Let us see His world through the windshield view! It will make all the difference!
June 28, 2018
Everything We Need
Packing for an extended trip can be difficult. Like three weeks in Florida. The right apparel for the beach. Proper attire for going out to eat, attending an event, or meeting with friends. The comfortable stuff for lounging around in the evening. Clothes fitting for warm and chilly weather. It is January after all! Tooth paste, tooth brush, shampoo, shaving stuff, and deodorant. Don’t forget to stuff a bag with movies that you don’t get time to watch at home. Pack snacks and drinks for the long drive. Credit card for gas and unexpected expenses. Oh, and cash! Plenty of cash! When all is packed and in the car, there is one last, “Did we forget anything?” and, “Do we have everything we need?”
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” (2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV, underline mine)
Perhaps packing for an extended trip is not the most important “everything we need” question we should ask ourselves. The central focus of life is not an extended trip, to Florida or anywhere else. It is not what we do for a living. It is not our families, immediate or extended. It is not the church. The most important item for my agenda today is not mowing the lawn. The central focus, the most important agenda item for today, is a godly life. It is the central focus for every day. From this central focus life takes root and all else flows from it.
Peter tells us that the God of Grace and Peace has given us everything we need for a godly life. Everything we need to participate in the divine nature (think on that for a season). Everything we need to escape the corruption in the world. This central focus empowers us to be godly men and women in the midst of a corrupt world. To be a strong family when families all around us are falling apart. To be a person of Christ-like integrity in the workplace, giving honor and respect to our superiors, and treating peers and subordinates in the way we want to be treated. Being the presence of Christ in the world instead of the church enclosed behind stained-glass windows. Being those who love God, neighbor, and one another as Christ loved us. Being those who “take care of widows and orphans in their distress and keep ourselves unspotted from the world.” Peter adds:
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8)
Everything we need for a godly life. But we don’t get there without participation. We must set out on a life-long journey. An extended trip of growing, of “making every effort to add” in “increasing measure” to our faith. From goodness to love, and everything in between. Then we will be effective and productive in the knowledge of our Lord. In our families. In our marketplaces and workplaces. As the “presence of Christ” in the world. We will have everything we need.
June 7, 2018
