Faith Growing Can Be Painful

“And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.” (Joh 11:15 AV)

The context is Lazarus’ death and resurrection.  The suggestion is, had Jesus returned days earlier, Lazarus would not have died.  This was the observation of both the disciples, and later, the mourners.  Whatever took Lazarus’ life, it was assumed a Messiah who could open the eyes of the blind and cause the lame to walk could have healed Lazarus.  This suggests, then, that the death of Lazarus was part of the plan of God.  God allowed tragedy when tragedy could have been avoided.  At least momentarily.  Lazarus would eventually die one more time.  But he didn’t have to die that first time.  Jesus explicitly states His delay was for the furtherance and growth of the faith of His disciples.  Note also that it made Jesus glad.  As much as it hurt those who mourned Lazarus, God was pleased with the opportunity for faith-growing.  From our perspective, it may be uncomfortable.  It may even be painful.  But growing in faith is what our existence is all about.  Faith is the basis for a deeper relationship with the LORD.  If we do not learn to trust, then we cannot love.

Faith can only grow if it is tested.  One clip I find insane is bungee jumping.  I am quickly becoming addicted to short videos.  It is a whole lot better than what Hollywood can produce.  Real people doing real things or teach profitable subject matter that improves our lives.  No commercials that are offensive.  We can pick and choose our content as our interests vary.  I cannot remember what clip it was, but I watched this man bungee jump off a very high bridge.  It looked like he was having the time of his life.  He didn’t go off the edge with little zeal.  No!  He ran to the edge, jumped off, and did some spins and tumbles on the way down.  The reason this clip was popular was the bungee chord was not easily seen at first.  It appeared as though the fella was free-jumping off a bridge with no parachute.  The fact he ran made one think there was no chord attached to his feet.  Then I got to thinking about this.  First, I would never, ever, ever, base jump in any form!  However, if my life depended on it, I would want to see a weight equivalent to mine go first.  I need to see that the chord could handle the stress.  However, not until I jump off that bridge and come to a safe stop would I ever say I have complete faith in that chord.  My heart would be pounding.  My palms would be drenched.  I would almost throw-up!  The only way to learn to trust that chord is to subject oneself to a very stressful situation.

God is not cruel!  He isn’t.  What He is asking we do with our own children.  We put them is stressful situations that force them to learn to trust.  We might throw them in the air and catch them.  At first, they might be terrified.  But soon enough, they are laughing and asking for more.  We might start them off holding them up as they learn to walk.  But there has to come a time when we let go.  It is at these times, our children learn the depth of relationship they can have as they learn to trust.  As an adolescent looks up to his or her father’s eyes with that look that says, “I completely trust you and feel totally safe” is the moment you, as a parent, know that that child loves you.  Both child and parent are bound in love, honesty, mutual care, and respect.  This is what the LORD is accomplishing as He asks us to trust Him.  It is not cruel.  What He is doing is producing a much deeper relationship with Him that can come no other way.  No doubt, fewer tears would have been shed had Lazarus not died.  No doubt his sisters would not have felt pain.  But those things will return the second time Lazarus dies.  The difference is, the second time around, they will believe in the resurrection because of what Jesus did and the pain will be immensely less.  We may not appreciate the trials of faith as they happen, but in the long run, they increase our faith toward God and our love for God.

Living With It

“Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with [his] finger wrote on the ground, [as though he heard them not].” (Joh 8:5-6 AV)

This is an interesting passage.  I once had a church member use this passage to justify pre-marital intimacy, adultery, and remarriage after divorce.  His reasoning was if Jesus did not condemn the sin of adultery, neither should we.  The mistakes he made were in his understanding of ‘condemn’.  A group of men who were not qualified to bring charges against someone for adultery brought an adulteress to Jesus for a civil judgment.  There were two things wrong with their actions.  First, it must be the victim who brings the charges.  If this woman was married to another, her husband must bring the charges.  If she was not married, but her lover was, it required the spurned wife’s testimony.  Second, Jesus frequently declined acting as a magistrate.  He was the Son of God.  He still is.  But what He ministered in human flesh, He subjected Himself to human authority.  He obeyed Joseph and Mary.  He observed the law as required by the Pharisees.  He paid taxes.  In other words, even if the charges were brought correctly, He did not have the human authority to condemn.  So, when He says He does not condemn her, Jesus is referring to the civil authority to render judgment.  His divine judgment is shown when He tells her to go and sin no more.  Calling the act of adultery a sin is rendering condemnation.

There is another way in which I care to look at this.  With the Spirit’s leading, it occurred to me that Jesus ministered in a villainous culture and, as the son of Man, He could do little about it.  As God, if He so chose, He could have rendered judgment on this woman and would have been fully justified in doing so.  As the son of Man, Jesus had to live among some very horrible sin all the while, doing miracles and loving people hoping some would be converted.  Not that He approved of the sin of this woman.  It is that He had a greater vision of what the Father wanted Him to do.  There was a greater caused than correcting what was right in front of Him.  Again, not to be repetitive, but Jesus’ response was not toleration.  He was not excusing her sin.  Otherwise, He would not have called it a sin.  There will come a time when Jesus sits as King on this earth and things like this will be dealt with severely and quickly.  For now, Jesus must go to a cross and die for the sins of mankind.   He must serve wicked mankind and love on them so they will trust Him as Savior and Messiah.  As God, sin repulses Him.  As a man, He has compassion on the sinner so the sinner will be reconciled back to God.

When I look at the surrounding wickedness, mine included, heaven cannot come quick enough.  It is beyond sad.  It is beyond wicked.  Man, in his rebellion, as redefined God’s creation to fit their perverse desires.  Infanticide and sodomy are the greatest of all sins.  God calls them an abomination.  Yet, here we are.  We are still on this filthy planet for a reason.  It is not an excuse to become hardened against sin and cease to preach on it.  Quite the contrary.  Unless we preach on sin, the sinner will not understand his or her situation.  There must be accountability before there can be redemption.  The soul must be convicted before he or she can be converted.  The thought came to me by the Holy Spirit that if Jesus can live and walk in filthy Rome, then I am required to do the same.  God is not asking us to become hardened or cold.  He is not asking us to ignore the corruption and perverse.  The LORD is not asking us to cease fighting against it.  What we can to is look to the perfect Son of God who dwelt among the most perverse of all people so that He could preach the way of righteousness to those with no hope.  Why preach in a perfectly holy society?  Jesus came to seek the sick.  Jesus came to save the lost.  This means He lived and ministered among the worst, so they might become children of the most High!

The Marvels Never Cease

“For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.” (Joh 5:20 AV)

Why is it we limit the miracles of God to the gospels?  Or, at the very least, we think of the miracles of God are a very rare thing.  We have lost the marvel of what it means to be a believer.  God does not seem to work because we do not expect Him to work.  This promise was to the disciples.  Jesus promised them that if they believed and followed, then they would see things they would see no other way.  It is interesting that Jesus gave this promise a chapter before He lost most of His congregation.  In chapter six, Jesus preaches Himself as the bread of life.  He it speaking metaphorically.  Those asking the questions know this.  He states they must eat His flesh and drink His blood.  Taking that literally, anyone would have been confused and offended.  No wonder Jesus promised to show them marvels a chapter before He lost almost everyone.

To stand in amazement over who God is, and what God does should be the norm.  We should always be taken with amazement in all we see.  Just the other night, I was watching a short video on the mathematical precision of the observable universe.  The speaker was comparing the statistical realities of certain physical forces in our universe with something we could understand.  He explained the precision of the balance of gravity, the nuclear precision of all material things, and the balance of the universe in terms of mass and time.  Although I do not remember the exact characteristic he was explaining, but I remember the comparison.  He explained that, if the mathematical value of one of these forces was off by in infinitesimal amount, the material universe would not exist.  He compared it to a pile of dimes ascending from the earth, beyond the moon, to a point ten light years away.  If this value was off, even in the smallest of fractions, it would be like randomly picking one red dime from that pile on the first try.  Another comparison was a rifle target with a one-inch bullseye.  He asked if anyone could hit that target with a small caliber rifle in the auditorium in which he was presenting.  Many raised their hands.  Then he asked if anyone could hit that one-inch bullseye if the target was placed at the edge of the observable universe.  That would be the tolerance of a physical attribute of the universe which God created.  In other words, the existence of the material universe is a marvel in and of itself.

We allow the events of our lives to cloud our observation.  We cannot marvel at what God does because we are not looking.  Rather than see the mathematical precision of the known universe, we are overwhelmed by our current trials of faith.  We cannot see that food on the table and heat in the house are a marvel.  The fact God would have anything to do with us is a marvel.  That Jesus died and rose again that we might have eternal life is a marvel.  Miracles of God are all around us.  In our case, we see God doing one miracle after another.  Health issues are resolved beyond our expectations.  God is good.  All the time!  If we are not living in amazement, then our eyes are in the wrong place.  Jesus gave this promise.  He did not give it to some.  He gave it to all.  If we are not marveling at the work of God that occurs all around us, it is because we are blind to it.  If we are to live in amazement over the hand of God, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us His marvelous works to the children of men.

God the Servant?

“For whether [is] greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? [is] not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.” (Lu 22:27 AV)

What a thought!  The Son of God serving lowly man.  I cannot wrap my head around it.  However, I must.  For God to do anything for wicked mankind is astounding.  We have done so much evil.  We have gone the opposite direction from what He requires.  We have not gone another way.  We have gone the opposite way.  If God said to turn left, we would turn right.  If the LORD required us to sit, we would stand.  We wouldn’t do something different.  We would do the exact opposite.  Yet, God in the person of Jesus Christ the Son, came to earth as one of us.  He walked and experienced a human life.  He did so that He might empathize with our plight.  He suffered from hunger, pain, and thirst.  He experienced a limited existence in the manner that He chose to be in one place at a time.  He limited His knowledge in that He learned obedience.  He condescended to men of low estate to dwell among us and be one of us.  But the Son of God went one further.  He did something no one else could do.  He endured temptation, yet without sin.  Then, He suffered the entire wrath of the Father upon Himself at that cross of Calvary.  He was buried in terms of our punishment would demand.  He did all this to serve His creation that would not appreciate the depth of what He did.  He did this for you.  He did this for me.

As I sit here typing, I cannot help but compare a parent with a child.  As that child sits in his highchair and does what toddlers will do, that parent provides a meal, feeds him or her, bathes and changes him or her, and coddles that little one to sleep.  It matters not how that toddler behaves.  He or she could throw food on the floor.  That little bundle of joy could throw a temper tantrum over the type of food served.  He or she could fuss for no other reason that fatigue is the enemy.  That little one will express every discomfort in a way that could curdle milk!  Yet, faithfully and lovingly, that parent serves his or her child as though no transgression has ever occurred.  Mom or day picks the food up.  They wipe the floor. They try again.  They patiently play the airplane game to entice the tike to eat what is good for them.  Even though they hate bathes and scream as they are washed, patently Mom or day cleans baby from head to toe.  Junior is so tired he or she is miserable.  Yet that little one fights sleep.  Rocking back and forth, singing a lullaby, Mom or Dad works and works so their little one can finally have rest.  The thing is, when this love and charity is bestowed, the baby cannot even grasp the pure compassion of his or her parent.  They cannot, as yet, comprehend patience.   All they know is they are not happy and there is one that will make them so.  This parent is a humble servant for a young one who cannot even understand the sacrifice that is made on his or her behalf.

Then a funny thing happens.  That child grows up, gets married, and has children of their own.  For the first time, they understand the sacrifice his or her parent made.  They are moved by the humility their parent or parents exercised just to love on them.  The thing is, we will never be equal to God.  We will never experience what it is like to be the Son of God who humbly served and is serving His creation.  The correct response should be deep gratitude worked out in worship and service.  If we truly understood just how good God is to us and how much He must humble Himself to serve our needs, this truth should radically change our attitude toward Him and others.  What an astounding thought that an eternal and all-powerful God would bother with the likes of me.  WOW!  Then I contemplate just how much I have done or failed to do for Him and it is beyond embarrassing.  There is nothing I can do to undo all that.  Yet, He is still faithful.  May godly sorrow work toward our repentance and may this repentance produce a heart of gratitude!

Busy Until He Comes

“Let your loins be girded about, and [your] lights burning;” (Lu 12:35 AV)

The next verse speaks of a groom’s attendants waiting at the wedding chamber for the groom and his new bride.  The chamber has been prepared.  The servants await the arrival of the groom and his bride, that they might wait upon them.  The loins that are girded are the robes tied up and out of the way so that service would be unencumbered.  The lights burning are the source of illuminating revelation of that which remained to be done.  In other words, the verse above is not intended to encourage the servant to stay up late and be ready to flee to the LORD when He comes back the second time.  Rather, it is a statement of enthusiastic and ready service for the LORD in anticipation of His return.

This instruction is obviously meant for Israel.  When Christ returns with His new bride, the church, they are to be ready to receive us.  But the principle applies to all of God’s people.  We are not to wait and do nothing until Christ returns.  Many believe His return is very soon.  It may very well be.  We cannot imagine a world that is much worse than this present world.  Never since the time of Noah has the whole world spoken as one against the God of all creation.  Never before has the entire world come out as an enemy of God.  Never before has the whole world sought means by which the people of God are persecuted.  There is a concerted effort to eliminate God from His creation.  Wickedness prevails at every turn.  No doubt, the return of Christ is nearer than it has ever been.  This might entice the believer to sit idle and wait.  The times in which we live might bring about a spirit of discouragement, leading to unprofitableness.  The darkness that envelops the world may lead to most becoming hopeless, thinking further service to God is futile.  We are gazing at the wrong thing.  Rather than seeking the surrounding darkness, we need to focus on the arrival of the bridegroom!

My wife, bless her heart, has a near melt down prior to her parents or our children coming for a visit.  Suddenly, the house is a complete disaster.  From top to bottom, there isn’t a thing right.  It is all wrong.  Room by room she goes.  Cleaning, straightening, scrubbing, mopping, etc.  When said room is perfect, it is closed and sealed until the day of our company’s arrival.  It is guarded more securely than Fort Knox.  First her office.  Then the walk-in closet.  Then the spare bedroom.  The bathroom received a thorough going through.  Things that had not been cleaned in ages are like new.  Downstairs is next.  Livingroom, dining room, and kitchen all get the treatment.  No more eating until the guests arrive.  All meals are out.  No more shoes in the house, feet on the furniture, or anything left out.  Even the dog is on edge!  By the time she is finished, she is on her last nerve.  Everything has to be perfect.  This is the meaning of the verse above.  We are not to sit idly and wait for the coming of the LORD.  We are to be beside ourselves, making ready for the arrival of the greatest guest of honor there will ever be!  Our loins are to be girded and our lamps trimmed for the LORD could return at any moment.

He Who Cares, Cries

“And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” (Lu 8:8 AV)

I don’t know exactly why this struck me this morning.  It’s not like this is the first or only time the Bible tells us that God cries out.  The word here means to declare rather loudly and obviously as a signal or warning.  Like a rooster that can be heard for quite a distance declaring the rising of the sun, to cry out here means to call out at the top of one’s voice.  I don’t know if I expected a more measured action by the Son of God, or if it is the object of His calling that strikes me as odd.  They were deaf to the truth of the Messiah.  Perhaps that is why He cried out.  Like I wrote above, this is not the first time.  Proverbs chapter eight tells us the wisdom of God cries out.  Mostly to an obstinate crowd.  Ya think God does not care?  He shouts as loud as He can in a voice that can be heard by faith to repent of sin.  He calls out the souls of the human race to trust Jesus.  He cries out to the wayward saint in a voice of concern and passion.  God does care and His elevated voice is proof of that love.

For a King to raise His voice is quite extraordinary.  For the King to raise His voice, the circumstances must be quite severe.  It is not normal for a King to raise His voice.  The authority of His position should suffice.  So, for a King to cry out, He either feels He is in danger or someone else stands at the precipice of complete and horrible destruction.  The book of Proverbs tells us the individual who does not control their spirit and emotions is like a city without walls.  No protection, no significant direction, no real identity.  A city without walks is subject to whatever influences it.  The man who controls his spirit is a man who can determine the course of his life.  This is why a king remains in a state of self-control.  It is stately to remain temperate in all things.  A measured response is always the right response.  Many wars are lost because the leader could not control himself.  Many nations come to ruins because its leaders are self-indulgent or simply undisciplined.  To rule well, one must rule one’s self first.  So, to see the Son of God cry out can only mean one thing.  The emotional reaction to the parable He just spoke about is measured and appropriate.

What I see is a God who cannot, nor will, restrain His love and concern for the sinner.  Jesus could have simply spoken the word to the congregation and left it at that.  He could have instructed them in the prudence of applying the word of God and moved on.  Jesus could have expounded on their pending doom and simply traveled to His next speaking engagement.  But He loved those to whom He was sent to cry out.  He pled with the multitude.  He warned them with passion and conviction.  He cried out to hear the word of God because it is the whole point and end of life.  Their soul lies in jeopardy and if they do not heed the word of God, they will share eternal damnation with the devil and his angels.  No wonder Jesus cried out.  He put aside the decorum of a King and at that moment; he shared the vulnerable side of His love.  Will they not hear?  Will they not consider?  Their eternal soul lays in the balance.  Will they not believe?  The crying out of the Savior of the world is His heart heard from the mountain top.  This crying out is the Savior’s compassion coming through loud and clear.  This crying out is the deep sorrow over the loss of even one soul.  This crying out is not limited to the congregation assembled at the time.  This crying out is for you.  It is for me!

Expect Strange Things

“And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.” (Lu 5:26 AV)

Stick with Jesus, and you’ll see strange things every day!  The speakers are those who witnessed Jesus healing the lame man let down through the roof.  When Jesus was presented with the one lame at his feet, His initial response was to declare the man’s sin forgiven.  This stirred the self-righteous and unbelieving to their core.  Correctly assessing that only God could forgive sins, Jesus then stated the evidence of His right to forgive sins would be the healing of the lame man.  Jesus then instructed the ill to rise, take up his bed, and go home.  This he did, to the amazement of those assembled.  It was strange for two reasons.  Forgiveness of sins came from one who appeared wholly human.  Second, by the mere words of instruction, a man sick of lameness for a very long time was made as though he was never lame at all.  The point to be made is God does strange things for those who have faith that He can do strange things.

There was a time when preaching and looking for miracles from God was overdone.  Every event, no matter how significant or insignificant, was seen as a miracle from God.  They were taken as a sign of whatever comfort or choice was involved.  Pennies from heaven, a bird on a limb, a rainbow in the sky.  IT didn’t matter what it was.  Somehow, it was God doing something for someone, looking for anything that said God would do what was in their heart.  Every event was a sign of affirmation for whatever comfort the soul needed, even if the comfort they sought was misguided.  A penny from heaven was seen as a departed one safe in glory, regardless of their status with God.  It was so overblown we ceased to speak of God doing anything out of the ordinary.  We ceased to see the LORD in the rainbow, the bird, or the penny from heaven.  A few weeks ago, a Cooper’s Hawk was hunting a turtle dove right above my head.  This would not be strange if it was in a cornfield.  But it was in a downtown area of a city of 1.4 million people.  The wilderness came to me because I miss the outdoors.  God did that for me.  I saw a strange thing.

We are embarking on a radical change to our ministries and service schedule.  Times and organizational structures are changing.  Why?  Because God needs to do strange things.  God desires to do strange things.  God is waiting for those who will show faith in His name.  He is waiting for those who will believe that He can make a lame man walk.  He is waiting for those who will believe He can and will use a small little church in the heart of a large city to spread the word of salvation.  So much so that many will come to Christ.  God is looking for that individual, like David, who is crazy enough to believe that a giant can be slain by a simple stone from a sling.  He is looking for twelve men who truly believe the world will hear of the gospel of Jesus Christ because it started with them.  God is looking for those who still believe He is in the business of doing strange things.  May we be those people!

Oh, For First Century Christianity!

“And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with [them], and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.” (Mr 16:20 AV)

There are several things to point out here.  First, they went everywhere.  There may have been a barrier that made this difficult.  Language and culture being a few.  But there was no place off the table.  They went everywhere.  They didn’t pray about it.  They didn’t seek God’s will concerning it.  If there were human souls there, the gospel must go there as well.  We spend too much time trying to discern God’s will when it is as obvious as the nose on our faces.  I believe the church has lost its way.  We have ceased to be faithful to a methodical, soul-winning ministry.  We have gotten lazy.  We are trying to attract a client base rather than going forth everywhere!  The book of Acts tells us the 12 started in the epicenter of Jerusalem and went outward from there.  There was no strategy other than to go forth everywhere.  There was no strategic planning on the most productive of fields.  There were no fasting and prayer meeting to determine if the gospel should go to one field as opposed to others.  If a field lacked laborers, the prayer was for laborers, not whether the field should be worked or not.  The disciples of Christ go everywhere.  This means the community in which a church is found must also, by default, be the field the church works.  Everywhere.  Every door.  Every person.  No need to pray about it.  Just go forth!

Second, the LORD worked with them.  What a stress reliever!  Too much pressure is placed upon the soul-winner to make things happen.  Too much expectation lays at the feet of the witness.  He or she expects to say the right thing all the time.  He or she expects to have every answer to every question that may arise.  He or she places results on his or her own shoulders.  The soul-winner relies on their own intelligence, personal skills, and debate strategy to win the Lost to Christ.  We tend to be lone rangers.  We think it all falls in our lap.  We are the ones who have to show results.  The truth of the matter is, Christ works with us.  He is there.  So, too, is the Holy Spirit.  It is the ministry of the Spirit that brings conviction of sin.  It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit that testifies to the truth of the scriptures.  Christ, in us, goes with us and works with us.  If we only realized the power we have available, we wouldn’t rely so much on what we can do.  We would rely on what Christ will do.  The 12 went forth.  Christ working with them.  Even after Christ rose to heaven.  Jesus is there.  He always is.  Where two or three are gathered in His name, He is in the midst.  This is why we go two-by-two.  God is with us!  He is working with us!

Third, note the word is confirmed with signs that followed.  Generally, for the twelve, it meant immediately following the preaching.  It had to be that way.  The New Testament did not exist.  So signs verified the preaching of grace and faith.  However, now that the word of God is complete, there is no longer a need for signs to verify its truth.  This does not mean verification is absent.  In fact, what happens after the event of witnessing is just as important as witnessing itself.  We can take comfort knowing that even when we leave the presence of the Lost, God is still working.  Once the seed is planted and watered, God gives the increase.  Things we will never know about happen along the way.  The word we preach might be affirmed by another faithful witness.  The truth of eternity may come by way of a scare.  Guilt may surround the lost soul as they are convicted of their need for Christ.  Regardless, affirmation of the truth of God’s word will follow what we have done.  There is no need to be discouraged.  Just because there seemed to be no movement toward Christ for the time being does not mean it will stay that way.  God is always at work striving for the souls of lost people.

 

 

A Universal Question

“But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” (Mr 14:61 AV)

Every soul must ask the same question.  There are only two possible answers to this question.  This is either a yes or no question.  The High Priest asked this of Jesus at His rigged trial.  He affirmed that indeed He is so.  Yet that did not change the predisposed conclusion of the rebellious.  If you are going to ask a question, you must also accept the correct answer.  Is Jesus the Christ?  Is he the Son of God?  The answer is yes.  That is not in dispute.  What the soul does with the right answer is the issue at hand.  For the disciple, this means a restored relationship with the Father, a changed life, and a home in heaven.  For the rebellious, rejection and destruction was the response.  The response did not change who Christ is or was.  It did change the inquisitor’s state.  Affirming the truth change one’s life and eternal state.  So, too, does rejection.  The question cannot be avoided.  All people, of all times, and from all places, must ask the same question.  The answer will always be the same.  What the soul does with the truth is at play here.

We could limit the application to those who do not know Christ.  That would certainly be consistent with the passage.  But if we meditate on the question a bit more, this same question could be asked of the saints again and again.  The title ‘Christ’ means the anointed.  It is the Greek equivalent to ‘Messiah’.  When the Jesus is referred to as the ‘Christ’, the word of God is testifying to the office for which Jesus came.  He is the anointed messenger, king, and priest of all mankind.  The question above is more pointed than what one might think.  The question alludes to the right and responsibility of Jesus to reign as LORD and King.  This is not a question of the mere identity of Jesus, but goes to His purpose and calling.  When the child of God asks the question, he is affirming the right of Jesus to be King and LORD in his or her life.  We may accept such a ruler when things are going badly.  But if we are challenged by obedience and faith, the question becomes both necessary and difficult.  The second identifier speaks to the power of Jesus to fulfill His purpose and calling.  If Jesus is the Son of God, then He is also God.  If He is God, then He possesses all power to reign.  This question is a follow up to the previous one.  If Jesus is the Christ, and He possesses all power to rule and reign, our only choice is to come under the Lordship of the Son of God.  Theologically, we agree.  Pragmatically, not so much.

Every time we disobey or live in fear or anxiety, we may think Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, but our hearts are telling us something different.  This question is not a onetime deal.  It has to be asked almost daily.  Every time there is potential for fear, a temptation to the flesh, or an overwhelming situation, the same question must be asked.  Is Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?  Every time the future looks bleak, the present seems impossible, or the past too traumatic to forget, the same question must be asked.  Is Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?  Every time to world seems overbearing, the Devil harasses beyond our ability to resist, or the flesh is simply too big to fight, the question must be asked afresh.  Is Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?  When we must say goodbye to those dearest to us, when our calling seems herculean, or friends tend to be fickle, the question must be asked again and again.  Is Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?  This question isn’t reserved solely for the lost.  It is a question for every soul.  This question is not reserved for times when the soul is in jeopardy of eternal judgment.  It is a question that must be asked of those who know Christ more than we would admit.  So, the question is posed to you!  Is Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

Anger Deferred, Not Anger Forgotten

“The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and [it is] his glory to pass over a transgression.” (Pr 19:11 AV)

I’m particularly interested in two words; ‘…discretion…’ and ‘…deferreth…’.  Both words we know.  The definition is no different from the English.  Discretion is prudence.  It is practical wisdom.  It is knowing the appropriateness of a thing.  To defer is to put off or not do at all.  It means to place at a later time.  A few points here before we delve into these two words.  Because of the use of these two words, we can assume to one who is angry did suffer something worth being angry about.  Second, because anger is deferred, maybe anger has a proper place here and may indeed be warranted at some point in time.  Third, since anger is warranted, and it is better put off to another time, there is one more consideration.  The degree of anger may not be equal to the infraction and passing over a transgression may be wiser than the exercise of anger.  This is the wisdom of this verse.

Let us think about discretion.  Discretion considers profitability over justice.  Sometimes, what is right on one hand may not be prudent on the other.  Or, putting it another way, what may seem right may indeed be so.  But maybe there is something righter.  It might be right to correct a child in anger.  Immediately and decisively.  But it might be righter to understand why they behaved the way they did and handle it another way.  For instance, a child, after a long day with grandma and without a nap, acts out on the way home.  It is not ok.  It is wrong.  But the underlying cause was fatigue brought on by adults and the excitement of the moment.  Discretion and deferring here are deliberate actions by the one who is angry about slowing the ball down.  He or she allows reason to trump emotion.  Even though the emotion is real and justified, acting on it may not be.  What is the wisest thing to do here?  Sometime, immediacy is the most prudent of all choices.  Sometimes, there has to be a dramatic reaction to a wrong.  Like getting cut off in traffic.  Anger ensures and causes us to make a correction lest we suffer an accident.  Burning oneself on the stove causes us to hasten to the cold water faucet and run water to cool the burn.  There are times when exercising anger protects from more damage.  There are other times when exercising anger causes more damage.

Emotion is a powerful thing.  Emotions are given by God for a purpose.  Generally, they are given to illicit correct and timely response to a situation where reason does not have time.  Emotions can be corrupted.  Ambition can turn to envy.  Anger can turn to bitterness. Love can turn to lust.  There are right and wrong emotions.  Just like there are godly thoughts and perverse ones.  The wise person may have been offended and correctly feels the emotion of anger.  But unless he is in immediate danger, he is better off thinking about it.  What concludes the proverb gives us the wisdom of this principle.  If anger is immediately acted upon, then there is no opportunity to pass over a matter.  The matter has been handled.  However, if anger is deferred, then the victim can reason what response would be appropriate, if at all.  Maybe the infraction would be better forgiven than righted.  Maybe justice would be served, but the greater good would not.  Regardless, the wise individual will not act out of anger as a patter of life.  He or she will cool the situation down, get control of his or her heart, and think it all the way through.  The heart can be a very dangerous thing.  We do much damage because the heart is not disciplined.  The wise saint will take one on the chin and think about it.  He will react in a measured and appropriate manner.  He will not go off the handle at every wrong.  Rather, most of the time he will use the injustice productively.  He just might pass over the transgression because it is in the best interest of the offender.

 

Talk It Up

“Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Pr 18:21 AV)

The understanding of this verse is very simple.  The application is profound.  Language can accomplish many things.  Language can cause great harm.  Or language can heal in many ways.  It all depends on how we use it.  Those that love to communicate by words will see results.  Good or bad, using the tongue produces fruit.  This fruit comes back on the one who understands the value of the tongue.  It can return in many ways.  But return it will.  Rather than consider the consequences of words, let us meditate on the value of words.  Note that those who use language love it.  They love the use of the tongue.  Be it good, bad, or indifferent, those who realize the fruit of their lips understand words have an effect.  They value communication.  All of God’s creatures communicate in one form or another.  Communication is the means of social organization.  For mankind, communication is the means of mutual support, cooperative goals, and the means by which we can gain more knowledge of an individual above what can be easily observed.  Without communication, society could not function.

When I watch a movie or show that is more drama than it is comedic, I am always moved by the importance of words.  Dialogue takes up the vast majority of screen time.  An action flic has exploding buildings and car chases.  It has fights.  An action movie or show has strategy.  A mystery has clues.  Discover does not necessitate dialogue.  But when I watch a drama, dialogue is the main story builder.  In particular, it strikes me as interesting how much dialogue is needed to accomplish the task at hand.  It could be a simple obstacle to a better relationship.  It brings to mind holiday hallmark movies.  My wife loves them.  The patter is always the same.  A young lady is seeing or engaged to a shmuck.  She goes away for some odd reason and meets the love of her life.  Much of the dialogue establishes the progression of the romance.  Then, about fifteen minutes before the end of the movie, there is a falling out.  Some misunderstanding comes into play.  Usually around an overheard and incomplete conversation to which the young lady was privy to.  It gets all ironed out and in the end; they kiss for the first time.  They are officially in love and the shmuck is out of luck.  Whether it is a romance, a family or life issue, or a legal challenge, the amount of communication needed to realize one’s end is immense.

Which brings me to my point.  If we are to affect our world and help in the life of others, communication is absolutely necessary.  If our lives are to make a difference, we must love the tongue.  Talking with others must be a passion.  A recluse changes nothing but his own bedclothes.  He or she accomplishes very little because their world has a single occupant.  Communication is difficult for some.  It has to be learned.  Add the complications that can come from culture, generational differences, or personality; and communication becomes all the more challenging.  But talk we must.  Not at each other.  Rather, with each other.  We have a Revival going on.  Following each evening service, we have a time for fellowship.  I must admit, I am a bit of a recluse.  Visiting for a very long time is not easy.  However, it is necessary!  As we sit around and speak of life, interests, and especially the LORD, words may seem innocuous.  But they are accomplishing much.  Encouragement, challenge, and affirmation are all a product of words.  So, next time you are tempted to be the flower on the wall, remember with the use of wise words and the love for them, you can be an instrument that will forever change the lives of others.

 

Consider Not - Fear Much

“For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not [the miracle] of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.” (Mr 6:50-52 AV)

It struck me this morning how much fear is mentioned in chapters 4-6 of the book of Mark.  When the Spirit shows you a pattern, it is probably a good thing to take notice.  What struck me even more is the correlation between fear and the hardness of the heart, as mentioned above.  The twelve in the ship did not meditate on the miracle of the wilderness banquet.  When Jesus appeared in the middle of a storm, they were afraid.  They continued their bewilderment when the LORD calmed the seas.  All because their heart was hardened.  When we speak of a hard heart, it is often with an understanding of belligerent rebellion.  We think a hard heart is one that absolutely refused to submit.  This is certainly true.  But a hard heart can also be a heart that does not muse on what God did, does, or is doing.  A hardened heart could be a heart so overwhelmed by current events, it refuses to trust in what it has already experienced.  This was certainly the case of the twelve in the midst of a storm.  Lack of consideration is the definition of a hardened heart.  At least it is so in the above use of the term.  One does not need to reject.  All one needs to do is fail to consider.

We are apt to learn from our experiences.  However, based on our personalities, we may learn different truths.  For example, one can go down the road and get stuck in serious weather.  Along comes emergency providers and rescues you.  You are safe and on your way.  We may look at that and decide we will never travel in questionable weather again.  Or we may ignore the obvious danger signs, throw caution to the wind, and never consider the risk.  The third person can look at the event, know it was unforeseeable, and decide the next time to take every precaution but travel, anyway.  That third person has learned the principle of faith.  The first never sees deliverance.  All they see is the trauma caused be the event.  They never see that things turned out just fine, regardless of how much stress was caused.  They failed to see a sovereign God who does miracles regularly and no matter the situation, as long as he or she is in the will of God, all things will turn out well.  The second does not even consider God’s hand in the deliverance.  They never saw the need to be delivered.  They simply saw adversity and deliverance and one event.  God in not in their thoughts.  The third is the one who sees things correctly.  He or she learns that God can deliver.  If He can deliver in small things, He can deliver in big things.  If He has delivered in the past, He will do so in the present.  Fear comes because we do not consider what God has already done.  By extrapolating the faithfulness of God from the past to the present, we conquer fear.

The above struggle is real for all of us.  No one has so much faith that anxiety and fear is completely absent.  If they believe so, then they are in that first group.  Depending on the severity of the situation, the second person is first example is usually where most of us reside.  The stress and anxiety of the moment are stronger emotions than the memories of the past.  We cannot see deliverance because we are looking at the immediate.  We fail to see the LORD walking on the water because we have soon forgotten how he fed the multitude just a few hours ago.  We see the present as insurmountable because the heart is hardened against past deliverance.  We fail to consider God’s love and care in our recent past and can only see what we are facing today.  If we fear, it is our fault.  If we are filled with anxiety, the blame is placed at our feet.  Jesus was right to rebuke His disciples.  He would be right to rebuke us as well.

 

 

Productive and not Popular

“And when they had found him, they said unto him, All [men] seek for thee.” (Mr 1:37 AV)

Just because ministry is popular does mean is it productive.  In the first chapter of Mark, three times, the LORD avoids increased ministry.  In the case above, Jesus removes to the open sea.  In the second case, he removes to a mountain top.  In the third case, he tells a man made whole from disease not to tell anyone and because he ignored the LORD’s request, had to go out to the desert.  In today’s pragmatic churches, the more people who come, the more successful you are.  This is not necessarily true.  Had Jesus stayed where He was and catered to the needs of those who thronged Him, He could have conquered a nation.  If all Jesus wanted was to win a popularity contest, He could have waved his hand and solved everyone’s problems.  He could have fed them with manna from heaven.  He could have conquered Rome.  He could have healed everyone’s diseases, rose all the dead from the grave, repaired every broken home, and made sure no one went hungry.  If Jesus wanted to, He could have created a perfect world wherein peace and contentment reigns.  Oh, wait, He will do that for 1,000 years.  The vast majority of the world will reject Him, anyway.

Just because there appears to be ministry, the ministry that appears may not be the ministry that God desires.  Just because people are beating a path to your door does not mean your product is automatically good for them.  Popularity rarely means profitability.  What man wants may not be all that good for them.  When it comes to ministry, changed lives and hearts is what God seeks.  Hunger pains may cease.  The lame may walk and the blind may see.  Wars may cease.  But if man remains the same creature as he always has been, then nothing eternal has transpired.  This is the point of Christ’s pattern of rejecting ministry.  To what end?  Most ministry is geared to gathering the largest crowd possible.  Most ministry is in competition with others to be as outwardly successful as the last.  Changed lives may or may not be a byproduct, but it is not the goal.  Bigger buildings.  More people.  A larger staff.  A famous name.  These are the aspirations of most ministries today.  How do we know?

It is interesting that Mark shows us a side of Christ that is much needed today.  When studying the life of Christ, He stressed smaller ministry over bigger ministry.  He may have preached the sermon on the mount, fed the multitudes, and ministered to whole towns.  But the vast majority of his time was spent with individuals.  From the healing of the Centurions servant to raising a young lady from the dead, Jesus tended to spend His time with individuals.  This is the manner in which ministry is designed.  Ministry was not intended to be a group event.  Ministry is personal.  Ministry is specialized.  Jesus declined to reach the masses, at least in the first chapter of Mark, because to do so would limit His ministry to temporal, and not eternal, needs.  In today’s climate of ministry, we are failing.  Generally, if reaching the masses is our model, the ministry flames out.  It may be popular for the moment, but something else will take its place.  Rather, we need to learn how Jesus did ministry.  He reached Samaria by reaching an adulterous yet humble woman.  He reached the world was spending much time with twelve.  Perhaps if we turn down the popular and stress the individual, that in the long run, we will accomplish more for Christ.