Scripture Text: Ephesians 4:1-16
Paul begins this chapter with the words “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”
The phrases “as a prisoner” and “live a life worthy of the calling” don’t seem to fit well. Most of the prisoners that I have known over the years didn’t see much worth in their lives behind bars, and they were hardly called to prison, they were taken against their will. But an exceptional few have expressed the thought that their time behind bars did make their lives worthy, that the months and years did improve their lot, as well as that of others, and that, as much as they would never say that they enjoyed their sentence, they did see it as a form of God’s calling them out of their former life.
The second verse in this passage is also interesting, in that it tells us to be totally humble in every way, to be gentle, patient, and bearing each other up with love.
These are hardly the ways of the world – there are no words that even suggest that we seek authority, power, wealth or strength, and as a matter of fact, our “calling” is to let all of those things go! Why? Because the “increases” of earth can never become the blessings of eternity!
A story is told of the time that the devil visited a lawyer’s office and made him an offer. “I can arrange some things for you,” the devil said. “I’ll increase your income five hundred percent. Your partners will love you; your clients will respect you; you’ll have four months of vacation each year and live to be a hundred. All I require in return is that your wife’s soul, your children’s souls and their children’s souls become mine for eternity.”
The lawyer thought for a moment, then replied. “So what’s the catch?”
The catch, of course, is that his gain will only last 100 years, but the sentence that his wife and family would have to endure will be forever. But isn’t a 100 years a long time? By this life’s standards, yes it is, but by that of eternity, it is a mere pittance!
All too often, people, and even many Christians, think that God’s blessings mean glory right here on earth. They strive for the best job, the perfect marriage, personal recognition, wealth, authority, envy of the masses, a successful and easy life. And while some do manage to attain those things, even some Christians, they aren’t lasting, even by earth’s standards. The wealthy and powerful are always looking over their shoulders, watching for that “ladder climber” who just might step on them and knock them down a few rungs.
No matter how good the job, it never seems to be quite good enough. No matter how perfect the marriage, there will always be those difficult times, as there is in every relationship. No matter how great the wealth and authority and power, there is always the desire to get “just a little more:”! No matter much we may be envied for the life we have attained, there is always someone else whose life we envy. No matter how blessed we may be here, there will always be flaws and failures and faults.
In the book “Let the Little Children Come” by Lois Dick and Amy Carmichael, they write:
God works with souls like a jeweler works with gems. Once he finds and brings them to the light, they are cut, polished and placed in a setting of his choice.
In the natural state, diamonds appear as hard, irregular lumps that shine only with a greasy luster and not at all with their finished brilliance. Their beauty is given them by the skill of the stonecutter, who grinds and polishes their surfaces so that they sparkle.
It’s not the size of a diamond, but the light reflected that gives the stone its value. The Tiffany diamond, now valued at $2,000,000, was cut from 287.42 carats down to 128.51 carats, with 90 facets, making it into a [gem type of] sun. When displayed in the Fifth Avenue store window, it could be seen all the way across the street.
The only way the value of a diamond can be increased is by cutting. Experts in Paris studied the Tiffany diamond for one year before a single blow was struck in the cutting ....
Diamond is, of course, crystallized carbon, the hardest substance in existence. It has been through the fire. The diamonds that reflect the most light have received the roughest treatment. Yet the greatest care is taken by the jeweler not to damage the stone in any way. Every flaw must be cut out, even a microscopic flaw. -Lois Hoadley Dick, Amy Carmichael, Let the Little Children Come (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), 149.
My friends, we are those rough, unpolished, unattractive lumps of crystallized carbon, with our precious value hidden away until the Master Craftsman cuts our flaws away and polishes us to perfection. It will take violence, pressure, heat, and loss before that bit of carbon can move from worthlessness to lasting worthiness. And that definitive worth will never be achieved in this world – this life is the time of violence, pressure, heat and loss.
But the choice is still up to us – do we look to the temporary pleasures and accomplishments of earth, or to the ultimate glory of eternity with Christ? For just a moment, think about all that the early church went through in their “polishing”. The disciples left lives of relative certainty to follow one of absolute hardship. 1st century believers were subject to extreme persecution by family and friends, as well as the government and established religion. They were subject to the words of false teachers who did more to lead them away from Christ than they did to bring them closer. And at times, the church was its own worse enemy – consider our sinful failures in efforts like the Crusades and the Inquisition!
And the polishing and cutting of our faults and flaws continue to continue to reveal more and more, even today. When our lives are subjected to ridicule and oppression through the misunderstanding, and even hatred, of others, will we hold up in faith, or cave in to the overwhelming pressure? When we experience the sinfulness of the world, will we respond as Christ in the world, or as the world alone?
Some misguided Christians come to believe that the best way to preserve life in the “yet to be born” is to end the lives of those who perform abortions. Hardly the way of Christ!
We judge the lives and hearts of those who believe differently than we do, and pronounce a sentence of condemnation on them. Not exactly our job!
We take pride in our “polishing”, and decide that others still have a long ways to go before they even begin to shine as brightly as we do.
We envy the gifts that others have, and even think that we could do those things far better, if only we were given a chance.
But as we read our passage for today, we discover in verse 11 that each of us has been given great gifts for use in this world, and that each of us is to apply those gifts “12to prepare God’s people for works of service”. That is how God increases our value – not by giving us more worth and prestige and possessions, but by preparing us and enabling us to be servants. It isn’t that we are the grand leader, the head of the church – we are the humble body parts, lead by our glorious Head, Jesus Christ Himself.
All too many folks think that our increase is given by the surface luster of Jabez’s prayer (1 Chronicles 4:9-10) – that our influence and possessions will increase, that nothing bad will ever happen to us, that our worth will be based on the world’s criteria. But nothing could be farther from the truth! We must see that prayer in the depth that it is offered - that the increase in territory is really the extent of our service, not the weight of our gold; that the harm that we wish to avoid is, in truth, the divine polishing and cutting of God; that freedom from pain doesn’t mean an absence from discomfort – it is the freedom from worldly fears that hold us back and hold us down.
God’s increase comes to us in our surrender, not in our success.
It comes when we submit to His Will and when we set our own will aside.
It comes in the heat and polishing and cutting that removes our filth and worthlessness, and reveals our God given worthiness.
Our glory comes, not from our being raised up in admiration, but in the strengthening of the whole in Christ.
“From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
Any increase that may come from the work of the Church and her people is never for us – it is for Christ and the Church as a whole. While the world looks for individual glory and reward, Christians look forward to simply basking in the glory and reward that is Christ, and allowing the light of Christ to shine through them, to be obvious to the most casual observer, even at great distances.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
And They Keep on Coming
July 19, 2009
Scripture Text: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, we see people who are either trying to get to Jesus, or trying to make Him go away. And each of these groups were very persistent in their own right. Those who wanted to see Jesus did everything that they could to get closer – even to the point that He felt the crush of the pressing crowd nearly continuously. Those who saw Him as a troublemaker were also very focused in their efforts – to the point that they would do anything, including lying in court, to see that He was defeated. And while those who opposed Christ eventually thought that they had won, it was only those who persisted in seeking Him who truly gained the prize.
They never gave up:
- The blind beggar Bartimaeus wouldn’t stop calling out to the Son of David for healing, even though his neighbors tried to silence him. (Mark 10:46-52)
- The woman with the hemorrhage wouldn’t give up, because she knew that even if she could but touch the hem of His cloak that her healing would be complete. (Matthew 9:19-22)
- Jairus, the local leader of the synagogue whose daughter had fallen gravely ill, never gave up on his hope for life, even when word reached him that the girl had died before Jesus could reach her side. (Matthew 9:18, 23-26)
- The Canaanite woman whose daughter had been possessed by a demon never gave up, even when Jesus began an apparently insulting dialogue with her, equating her to the dogs that gathered around the table of “good Jews”. (Matthew 15:21-28)
- The Samaritan woman who met Jesus at Jacob’s well in Sychar never ran away from the stranger who told her all about her life, and who loved her in spite of her indiscretions. (John 4:4-42)
And the list goes on and on. Hordes of people thronged to His side to hear the teaching and to feel His touch and experience the joy of His presence. I find it nearly inconceivable that the Pharisees and Sadducees could have missed out on those “Christ moments”. They came close to Him, they talked to Him, they heard His words, they saw the things that He did. They, above all, should have come to the realization of His truth much sooner than anyone else, but, as a whole, they didn’t, and their fear of this new approach to walking with God overwhelmed them.
The problem is that the Jewish leaders of that day, as well as many leaders throughout the centuries, have come to believe that it was all about what we do for others in this life that’s important. The laws of Israel attempted to legislate morality and faithfulness. Everything was spelled out - the types of sacrifice that was required for each specific sin, the offering that was required for each blessing, the attitudes and actions that were demanded for proper relationships, both those in human instances and in those with God, ritual and morality, life and death, birth to burial – everything was spelled out.
But that’s the trouble with law – it can only specify what is expected in terms of our actions – it can’t even begin to exercise control over what we think and feel and believe. In Matthew 5 (:21-26), Jesus is preaching His Sermon on the Mount, and is teaching about attitudes. He mentions the law regarding murder and the judgment that is placed on those who are found guilty, but He then goes on to say that even the anger that you may hold toward another will bring you to the same guilty verdict! He tells us that if we come to the sanctuary in faith to honor God for a blessing, and then remember that we have wronged another, we need to stop in our tracks and correct the relationship with the person before we even try to approach God to give Him honor!
The “things” we do are no more important than our attitudes and thoughts, and actually, the “right” actions of our hands may be rendered ineffective by our hateful and hurtful hearts!
And that is why, I believe, that secular and governmental leaders of every age have had trouble with being truly effective in the administration of their social programs. They try to justify and quantify the “what’s” of their efforts, while never even considering the “why’s” of God! The church of today is in this same dilemma – our efforts in social justice matters, while commendable per se, is beginning to shape our faith, while it is our faith that should be the guiding influence in our outreach. The Pharisees had it backwards in Jesus’ day, and after 2,000 years, we are still trying to get it right.
But the people who rush to Jesus for change in their lives are at least on the right track. While their purpose and intent may have been self centered, and at times even selfish, they at least were putting faith in the prominent position.
Let me read an article by a Syndicated columnist named William Raspberry:
I know this must seem a strange message from a not particularly religious writer in an utterly secular newspaper, but I am increasingly struck by two phenomena. The first is the growing sense that America's major failings are not political or economic, but moral. The second is the discovery that most successful social programs are those that are driven -- even if only tacitly -- by moral or religious values .... Marvin Olasky, the University of Texas journalism professor, relates an experience when he spent a few nights as a homeless person on Washington streets. Every shelter he visited plied him with as many sandwiches and soft drinks as he wanted. But nobody -- even at a church-run shelter -- asked him a single question about how he became homeless or what he thought might help him toward independent living.
[They were using their hands, but not their hearts!]
Doesn't this neglect of the spiritual at least help explain the persistence not just of homelessness, but also teen pregnancy, substance abuse, school failure and the whole range of problems that we tend to see as stemming primarily from bad economics or racism? Shouldn't organized religion take the lead in doing what the rest of us fear to try?
[There’s a challenge for us all!]
Robert L. Woodson, Sr., head of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise .. writes, “We have been looking for cures in all the wrong places. We don't have a crisis in recreation, or social services, or consumer capacity. Certainly, our children need these things and need jobs, too. But these things have no redemptive quality, and what our young people need above all is to be redeemed.”--Syndicated columnist William Raspberry, Churches Ought to Be Doing What Government Can't, Tampa Tribune, 14 February 1995, Nation/World-7.
Mr. Raspberry wrote these words over 14 years ago, but they are even more important for us today. Why aren’t we rushing to Jesus’ side for “redemption”, instead of holding out our hands to government for whatever their “offering of the day” may be? Why does society think that “goodness of action” will always trump “purity of heart”? What do the crowds who followed Jesus thousands of years ago have to teach us today?
Simply this – if you have a vital need in your life, put your faith in Christ to work first, and let the actions that satisfy those needs become an extension of faith. How many times in the gospels do we read of Jesus telling a person who has just been healed that it is their faith that has made them whole? And how many times do we read that those who would not believe in Him also could not receive His healing?
And even while some of the powerful of that day tried every means available to defeat Jesus, others throughout Israel and neighboring lands continued to turn to Him for their needs. That is what the people of the United States need to learn – that no matter how hard secular authority in our nation, and throughout the world, tries to outlaw and defeat and threaten the people of faith, more and more will continue to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Our nation, and more importantly our community, is ripe for revival. There are dire problems in our economy, wars that continue to threaten our security and even our very existence, secularism that masquerades as faith, overt opposition to faith and faith based efforts, and attempts to silence the private, as well as the public voice of Christians.
While some may think that these issues are good reasons to avoid contact with the world – that we need to hunker down and protect our flanks –the truth is that these are the very reasons that we must once again begin to carry the Gospel message out to our neighbors - the message that Hope is in Christ, not in the world, that the Good News of Salvation will begin as soon as you start to walk in faith, that the” truth of faith” is the beginning of recovery, and that true recovery doesn’t come from governmental action!
We sometimes lament the fact that some churches are growing by leaps and bounds, while others appear to be stagnant, at best. The difference between these churches is that while one may be welcoming, the other is inviting. Welcoming is a reactive response. Invitation is a proactive one. How do you think the word about Jesus spread so quickly in first century Israel? It was totally by word of mouth.
My friends, it is time we began to put our faith into practice if we want to see the rush to Jesus Christ continue. It’s happening in far away places, and it’s beginning to happen in much nearer places. Do we become part of that movement, or do we just sit on the side line? It’s time to put the faith of our hearts into the actions of our hands and feet.
I want to challenge you to do that very thing in the coming week.
- Invite a friend or neighbor to join you at worship.
- Invite someone to come to one of our Bible studies.
- Show your love to someone who is struggling.
- Care about the circumstances that others are in, and don’t just give them “self fixes”.
- Be a 1st century Christian and open your heart as well as your mouth and arms.
- Walk your talk as obviously as you possibly can, and pray that others, who seem content to just sit on the sidelines, will begin their own journey toward the glory of our LORD Jesus Christ!
Will you give your faith in Christ a try? It just might cause a stampede!
Scripture Text: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, we see people who are either trying to get to Jesus, or trying to make Him go away. And each of these groups were very persistent in their own right. Those who wanted to see Jesus did everything that they could to get closer – even to the point that He felt the crush of the pressing crowd nearly continuously. Those who saw Him as a troublemaker were also very focused in their efforts – to the point that they would do anything, including lying in court, to see that He was defeated. And while those who opposed Christ eventually thought that they had won, it was only those who persisted in seeking Him who truly gained the prize.
They never gave up:
- The blind beggar Bartimaeus wouldn’t stop calling out to the Son of David for healing, even though his neighbors tried to silence him. (Mark 10:46-52)
- The woman with the hemorrhage wouldn’t give up, because she knew that even if she could but touch the hem of His cloak that her healing would be complete. (Matthew 9:19-22)
- Jairus, the local leader of the synagogue whose daughter had fallen gravely ill, never gave up on his hope for life, even when word reached him that the girl had died before Jesus could reach her side. (Matthew 9:18, 23-26)
- The Canaanite woman whose daughter had been possessed by a demon never gave up, even when Jesus began an apparently insulting dialogue with her, equating her to the dogs that gathered around the table of “good Jews”. (Matthew 15:21-28)
- The Samaritan woman who met Jesus at Jacob’s well in Sychar never ran away from the stranger who told her all about her life, and who loved her in spite of her indiscretions. (John 4:4-42)
And the list goes on and on. Hordes of people thronged to His side to hear the teaching and to feel His touch and experience the joy of His presence. I find it nearly inconceivable that the Pharisees and Sadducees could have missed out on those “Christ moments”. They came close to Him, they talked to Him, they heard His words, they saw the things that He did. They, above all, should have come to the realization of His truth much sooner than anyone else, but, as a whole, they didn’t, and their fear of this new approach to walking with God overwhelmed them.
The problem is that the Jewish leaders of that day, as well as many leaders throughout the centuries, have come to believe that it was all about what we do for others in this life that’s important. The laws of Israel attempted to legislate morality and faithfulness. Everything was spelled out - the types of sacrifice that was required for each specific sin, the offering that was required for each blessing, the attitudes and actions that were demanded for proper relationships, both those in human instances and in those with God, ritual and morality, life and death, birth to burial – everything was spelled out.
But that’s the trouble with law – it can only specify what is expected in terms of our actions – it can’t even begin to exercise control over what we think and feel and believe. In Matthew 5 (:21-26), Jesus is preaching His Sermon on the Mount, and is teaching about attitudes. He mentions the law regarding murder and the judgment that is placed on those who are found guilty, but He then goes on to say that even the anger that you may hold toward another will bring you to the same guilty verdict! He tells us that if we come to the sanctuary in faith to honor God for a blessing, and then remember that we have wronged another, we need to stop in our tracks and correct the relationship with the person before we even try to approach God to give Him honor!
The “things” we do are no more important than our attitudes and thoughts, and actually, the “right” actions of our hands may be rendered ineffective by our hateful and hurtful hearts!
And that is why, I believe, that secular and governmental leaders of every age have had trouble with being truly effective in the administration of their social programs. They try to justify and quantify the “what’s” of their efforts, while never even considering the “why’s” of God! The church of today is in this same dilemma – our efforts in social justice matters, while commendable per se, is beginning to shape our faith, while it is our faith that should be the guiding influence in our outreach. The Pharisees had it backwards in Jesus’ day, and after 2,000 years, we are still trying to get it right.
But the people who rush to Jesus for change in their lives are at least on the right track. While their purpose and intent may have been self centered, and at times even selfish, they at least were putting faith in the prominent position.
Let me read an article by a Syndicated columnist named William Raspberry:
I know this must seem a strange message from a not particularly religious writer in an utterly secular newspaper, but I am increasingly struck by two phenomena. The first is the growing sense that America's major failings are not political or economic, but moral. The second is the discovery that most successful social programs are those that are driven -- even if only tacitly -- by moral or religious values .... Marvin Olasky, the University of Texas journalism professor, relates an experience when he spent a few nights as a homeless person on Washington streets. Every shelter he visited plied him with as many sandwiches and soft drinks as he wanted. But nobody -- even at a church-run shelter -- asked him a single question about how he became homeless or what he thought might help him toward independent living.
[They were using their hands, but not their hearts!]
Doesn't this neglect of the spiritual at least help explain the persistence not just of homelessness, but also teen pregnancy, substance abuse, school failure and the whole range of problems that we tend to see as stemming primarily from bad economics or racism? Shouldn't organized religion take the lead in doing what the rest of us fear to try?
[There’s a challenge for us all!]
Robert L. Woodson, Sr., head of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise .. writes, “We have been looking for cures in all the wrong places. We don't have a crisis in recreation, or social services, or consumer capacity. Certainly, our children need these things and need jobs, too. But these things have no redemptive quality, and what our young people need above all is to be redeemed.”--Syndicated columnist William Raspberry, Churches Ought to Be Doing What Government Can't, Tampa Tribune, 14 February 1995, Nation/World-7.
Mr. Raspberry wrote these words over 14 years ago, but they are even more important for us today. Why aren’t we rushing to Jesus’ side for “redemption”, instead of holding out our hands to government for whatever their “offering of the day” may be? Why does society think that “goodness of action” will always trump “purity of heart”? What do the crowds who followed Jesus thousands of years ago have to teach us today?
Simply this – if you have a vital need in your life, put your faith in Christ to work first, and let the actions that satisfy those needs become an extension of faith. How many times in the gospels do we read of Jesus telling a person who has just been healed that it is their faith that has made them whole? And how many times do we read that those who would not believe in Him also could not receive His healing?
And even while some of the powerful of that day tried every means available to defeat Jesus, others throughout Israel and neighboring lands continued to turn to Him for their needs. That is what the people of the United States need to learn – that no matter how hard secular authority in our nation, and throughout the world, tries to outlaw and defeat and threaten the people of faith, more and more will continue to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Our nation, and more importantly our community, is ripe for revival. There are dire problems in our economy, wars that continue to threaten our security and even our very existence, secularism that masquerades as faith, overt opposition to faith and faith based efforts, and attempts to silence the private, as well as the public voice of Christians.
While some may think that these issues are good reasons to avoid contact with the world – that we need to hunker down and protect our flanks –the truth is that these are the very reasons that we must once again begin to carry the Gospel message out to our neighbors - the message that Hope is in Christ, not in the world, that the Good News of Salvation will begin as soon as you start to walk in faith, that the” truth of faith” is the beginning of recovery, and that true recovery doesn’t come from governmental action!
We sometimes lament the fact that some churches are growing by leaps and bounds, while others appear to be stagnant, at best. The difference between these churches is that while one may be welcoming, the other is inviting. Welcoming is a reactive response. Invitation is a proactive one. How do you think the word about Jesus spread so quickly in first century Israel? It was totally by word of mouth.
My friends, it is time we began to put our faith into practice if we want to see the rush to Jesus Christ continue. It’s happening in far away places, and it’s beginning to happen in much nearer places. Do we become part of that movement, or do we just sit on the side line? It’s time to put the faith of our hearts into the actions of our hands and feet.
I want to challenge you to do that very thing in the coming week.
- Invite a friend or neighbor to join you at worship.
- Invite someone to come to one of our Bible studies.
- Show your love to someone who is struggling.
- Care about the circumstances that others are in, and don’t just give them “self fixes”.
- Be a 1st century Christian and open your heart as well as your mouth and arms.
- Walk your talk as obviously as you possibly can, and pray that others, who seem content to just sit on the sidelines, will begin their own journey toward the glory of our LORD Jesus Christ!
Will you give your faith in Christ a try? It just might cause a stampede!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Resurrection of Memories
Scripture Text: Mark 6:14-29
There was once an elderly gentleman who loved playing golf. But he was getting on in years, and his vision was not very good anymore. He always had partners with him when he went out to play so they could watch his ball and tell him where it went.
One day his buddies did not show up. It was a beautiful day for golf, and as he waited at the clubhouse he got more and more upset that he wasn’t going to get to play his round. Another elderly man in the clubhouse saw him and asked, “What’s wrong?” The man explained his predicament: “I was really looking forward to playing golf today. But I don’t see very well anymore, so I need someone to watch the ball after I hit.” The second man was even older than he was, but he said, “That’s no problem. I’ll be glad to ride around with you. My legs aren’t too good and I can’t stand, but I’ve got 20/20 vision. I can see like a hawk. You just hit the ball, and I’ll watch it fly right down the fairway.”
So they went out on the first tee, and the old man hit the ball right down the center. He turned to his spotter. “Did you see it?” The man replied, “I saw it all the way until it stopped rolling.”
“Well, where did it go?”
The older man paused for a moment and then said, “I forget.”
Having a vision is wonderful. It can give us hope and purpose and direction, but if our vision isn’t based in truth, and if it isn’t followed, and if it isn’t foremost in our minds, any vision, no matter how marvelous, becomes meaningless.
Herod lived in a predicament of visions. His eyes had settled on his brother’s wife some time before, and his vision, clouded with lustful desires, took him to a worldly place that could not accommodate his faith.
But then, the Baptist comes on the scene, and begins to spoil Herod and Herodias’ fun! John reminds, not only the king and his wife but anyone who happens to be within earshot, that they have broken the law of God (Leviticus 18:16),! It’s bad enough that John is accusing the king and queen of a sin, but he has made it a matter of public record. And we all know that it is never a wise move to make your opposition of leadership a public issue! And both Herod and Herodias hate John for what he has said.
But Herod has another dilemma before him – he knows down deep in his heart that John is a Godly man and that the charges that he brings are, indeed, true. And even though he orders John’s arrest and imprisonment, he is unsure of what his next move must be. Herodias, on the other hand, has no such hesitation and has a clear vision of how she will deal with the situation. And by her deception, John’s life is taken from him.
The memories of that day must have been working overtime in Herod’s heart and mind. He knew that he had ordered the death of one of God’s prophets, and it haunted him. Our failures have a way of doing just that, too, don’t they! We may agonize over the pain that we have inflicted on others, no matter how long ago it happened, or it may be over those wonderful opportunities that we, knowingly or unknowingly, have chased away. We struggle with those relationships that we have foolishly destroyed, including the times when we have turned our back on God’s ways.
And these memories are resurrected in the strangest times – some times at the mention of a similar issue, and sometimes at the mention of the other person’s name. For Herod, it was when others were speculating on who this Jesus was – that he just might be the risen Baptist! Without knowing it, Herod may be confirming the prophecies of old, that the coming of Messiah will be heralded by a great and Godly messenger, that by proclaiming that Jesus is the risen Baptist, he also implies that Jesus is the culmination of John’s message - that the message of salvation has been fulfilled.
Sometimes the dredging up of old hurts is good, and sometimes they only serve to bring more misery. We have fond memories of vacations and parties and honors that we have received. But consider some of the memories that people in scripture have had to live with:
- When Nathan told David the story of the poor man’s lamb being taken away by a rich man, David soon knows that he is that man, and repents of his sin against Uriah and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:7-13).
- When the prophets of Baal came up against the power of God through Elijah, their memories of the true God soon filled them, and they went to their deaths in fear (1 Kings 18).
- When Peter ate that breakfast with the risen Christ on the beach by the lake, his anxious memories of his failure to stand for Christ in the temple courtyard were revealed to have a new significance – he had been forgiven (John 21)!
The resurrection of our memories can bring the same kinds of revelation to our lives – maybe fear, perhaps repentance, and sometimes the understanding of forgiveness.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of those memories that we desperately need in our lives, and it may very well bring different thoughts to each of us.
There was once an elderly gentleman who loved playing golf. But he was getting on in years, and his vision was not very good anymore. He always had partners with him when he went out to play so they could watch his ball and tell him where it went.
One day his buddies did not show up. It was a beautiful day for golf, and as he waited at the clubhouse he got more and more upset that he wasn’t going to get to play his round. Another elderly man in the clubhouse saw him and asked, “What’s wrong?” The man explained his predicament: “I was really looking forward to playing golf today. But I don’t see very well anymore, so I need someone to watch the ball after I hit.” The second man was even older than he was, but he said, “That’s no problem. I’ll be glad to ride around with you. My legs aren’t too good and I can’t stand, but I’ve got 20/20 vision. I can see like a hawk. You just hit the ball, and I’ll watch it fly right down the fairway.”
So they went out on the first tee, and the old man hit the ball right down the center. He turned to his spotter. “Did you see it?” The man replied, “I saw it all the way until it stopped rolling.”
“Well, where did it go?”
The older man paused for a moment and then said, “I forget.”
Having a vision is wonderful. It can give us hope and purpose and direction, but if our vision isn’t based in truth, and if it isn’t followed, and if it isn’t foremost in our minds, any vision, no matter how marvelous, becomes meaningless.
Herod lived in a predicament of visions. His eyes had settled on his brother’s wife some time before, and his vision, clouded with lustful desires, took him to a worldly place that could not accommodate his faith.
But then, the Baptist comes on the scene, and begins to spoil Herod and Herodias’ fun! John reminds, not only the king and his wife but anyone who happens to be within earshot, that they have broken the law of God (Leviticus 18:16),! It’s bad enough that John is accusing the king and queen of a sin, but he has made it a matter of public record. And we all know that it is never a wise move to make your opposition of leadership a public issue! And both Herod and Herodias hate John for what he has said.
But Herod has another dilemma before him – he knows down deep in his heart that John is a Godly man and that the charges that he brings are, indeed, true. And even though he orders John’s arrest and imprisonment, he is unsure of what his next move must be. Herodias, on the other hand, has no such hesitation and has a clear vision of how she will deal with the situation. And by her deception, John’s life is taken from him.
The memories of that day must have been working overtime in Herod’s heart and mind. He knew that he had ordered the death of one of God’s prophets, and it haunted him. Our failures have a way of doing just that, too, don’t they! We may agonize over the pain that we have inflicted on others, no matter how long ago it happened, or it may be over those wonderful opportunities that we, knowingly or unknowingly, have chased away. We struggle with those relationships that we have foolishly destroyed, including the times when we have turned our back on God’s ways.
And these memories are resurrected in the strangest times – some times at the mention of a similar issue, and sometimes at the mention of the other person’s name. For Herod, it was when others were speculating on who this Jesus was – that he just might be the risen Baptist! Without knowing it, Herod may be confirming the prophecies of old, that the coming of Messiah will be heralded by a great and Godly messenger, that by proclaiming that Jesus is the risen Baptist, he also implies that Jesus is the culmination of John’s message - that the message of salvation has been fulfilled.
Sometimes the dredging up of old hurts is good, and sometimes they only serve to bring more misery. We have fond memories of vacations and parties and honors that we have received. But consider some of the memories that people in scripture have had to live with:
- When Nathan told David the story of the poor man’s lamb being taken away by a rich man, David soon knows that he is that man, and repents of his sin against Uriah and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:7-13).
- When the prophets of Baal came up against the power of God through Elijah, their memories of the true God soon filled them, and they went to their deaths in fear (1 Kings 18).
- When Peter ate that breakfast with the risen Christ on the beach by the lake, his anxious memories of his failure to stand for Christ in the temple courtyard were revealed to have a new significance – he had been forgiven (John 21)!
The resurrection of our memories can bring the same kinds of revelation to our lives – maybe fear, perhaps repentance, and sometimes the understanding of forgiveness.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of those memories that we desperately need in our lives, and it may very well bring different thoughts to each of us.
- It could remind us of those terrifying events that lead up to His being placed in that cold dark tomb, and the fact that it was our sin that required that sacrifice from God in the first place.
- It could remind us of the day when Jesus brought His friend Lazarus out of the darkness of death and into the light of a new day, and that now He has done the same for himself.
- It could remind us that Jesus promised that those who follow Him would be with Him in eternity, and that even the thief on the cross received that absolute assurance!
And this memory could also serve to remind us that the message of salvation is not only a reason for us to celebrate, but that it’s an opportunity to carry that resurrection promise out into the world!
Resurrection, whether of memories in life or in Christ, can never be an end in itself – it is given to infuse a new vision into our lives. When we remember a failure of the past, we should claim it as a means to avoid failing again in the future. When we remember the pain that we brought into the life of a loved one, we use that memory to be sure that we never cause those closest to us pain again. Our resurrected memories can take us back to the day of these events, but we can never go back to get a "do over". Resurrection is, certainly, about our memories of past decisions, but more importantly, they are about the opportunity for a new way in the future. We can’t change what is, but we can most assuredly make better use of what is to be.
Herod didn’t use his memories of John the Baptist very well. Instead of letting his memories of life and prophecies lead him to acknowledging the fulfillment of God’s truth, he let his fear and arrogance guide him in bringing about the death of the ultimate Messenger of Hope. Resurrection, for Herod, ended with memory.
Peter’s memories of his 3 denials, I’m sure, tormented him throughout his life, but I’m equally sure that they spurred him on in ministry. He refused to return to those old days, and continued to look forward to the next place that his Risen Christ would lead him. For Peter, resurrection began with memory, and has never ended!
How about each of us?
Will our “resurrections” be limited to memories of the things of this world – our failures, our victories, and our earthly responses to those life events - in fear or pride or self-centeredness or ambition?
Or will those memories be blended with our love of God and His Word for our lives? Will our resurrection be more than the things of “then and now” – will we dare to venture beyond this life and into the call of Christ?
Will we allow the resurrection of sinful days defeat us, or will we look to God in Christ as the one who will lead us to heights and glories that we can’t even imagine?
Will we allow His Resurrection to become our resurrection throughout eternity?
It’s our choice – it’s our decision. Make a decision today for the resurrection that can only come from faith in Jesus Christ.
- It could remind us of the day when Jesus brought His friend Lazarus out of the darkness of death and into the light of a new day, and that now He has done the same for himself.
- It could remind us that Jesus promised that those who follow Him would be with Him in eternity, and that even the thief on the cross received that absolute assurance!
And this memory could also serve to remind us that the message of salvation is not only a reason for us to celebrate, but that it’s an opportunity to carry that resurrection promise out into the world!
Resurrection, whether of memories in life or in Christ, can never be an end in itself – it is given to infuse a new vision into our lives. When we remember a failure of the past, we should claim it as a means to avoid failing again in the future. When we remember the pain that we brought into the life of a loved one, we use that memory to be sure that we never cause those closest to us pain again. Our resurrected memories can take us back to the day of these events, but we can never go back to get a "do over". Resurrection is, certainly, about our memories of past decisions, but more importantly, they are about the opportunity for a new way in the future. We can’t change what is, but we can most assuredly make better use of what is to be.
Herod didn’t use his memories of John the Baptist very well. Instead of letting his memories of life and prophecies lead him to acknowledging the fulfillment of God’s truth, he let his fear and arrogance guide him in bringing about the death of the ultimate Messenger of Hope. Resurrection, for Herod, ended with memory.
Peter’s memories of his 3 denials, I’m sure, tormented him throughout his life, but I’m equally sure that they spurred him on in ministry. He refused to return to those old days, and continued to look forward to the next place that his Risen Christ would lead him. For Peter, resurrection began with memory, and has never ended!
How about each of us?
Will our “resurrections” be limited to memories of the things of this world – our failures, our victories, and our earthly responses to those life events - in fear or pride or self-centeredness or ambition?
Or will those memories be blended with our love of God and His Word for our lives? Will our resurrection be more than the things of “then and now” – will we dare to venture beyond this life and into the call of Christ?
Will we allow the resurrection of sinful days defeat us, or will we look to God in Christ as the one who will lead us to heights and glories that we can’t even imagine?
Will we allow His Resurrection to become our resurrection throughout eternity?
It’s our choice – it’s our decision. Make a decision today for the resurrection that can only come from faith in Jesus Christ.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The Godly Nation
Scripture Text: Deuteronomy 10:12-22
“Do not be stiff-necked any longer!” These words could just as well read “Relax and enjoy the glory of your God!” I think that one of the greatest stumbling blocks to being able to rejoice spontaneously in God’s glory is our inability to lighten up when it comes to walking with the Lord. We’re afraid that we might do something wrong or that we might forget to do something that is “required”. We think that we don't pray well enough and that we never offer the “right” passages of scripture. And possibly our greatest fear is that we just might fall short in glorifying God to the degree that He deserves.
The truth is that every single one of these things will occur, but that’s no reason not to do it anyway! And as many ways that there are to immerse ourselves in His glory, there is no one “good” way to praise the Creator of the heavens and the planets and the atoms. But we need to know there is one bad way, and that is to avoid praising Him altogether!
We may envy the abilities of others to choose just the right words or to speak with just the right emphasis. We admire their ability to cause goose bumps to quickly spread across everyone's bodies, and we wish we could be that eloquent. But if we could take a look inside of God’s psyche for just a moment, we would quickly discover that He doesn’t want to hear us mimic the praises of someone else – He wants to hear the original praise that comes from deep within our own hearts and souls. The “perfect” praise, if there is such a thing, is the one that comes honestly and directly from within us.
We also think that our best praise comes during those times when we are blessed beyond all measure, and that we could never adequately experience His glory without joy in our hearts. A 13th century poet by the name of Angelico wrote:
"The gloom of the world is but a shadow behind it. Yet within reach is joy. There is radiance and glory in the darkness could we but see. And to see, we have only to look. I beseech you to look. Life is so generous a giver: Welcome it, grasp it, and you touch the angel's hand that brings it to you. Everything we call a trial, a sorrow or a duty, the angel's hand is there, the gift is there, and the wonder of an overshadowing presence. Our joys, too, be not content with them as joys. They too conceal diviner gifts."
“There is radiance and glory in the darkness could we but see [it]!” In Psalm 73, we read the words of a person who is living deep within a self made darkness, and yet we also read in the Psalm (v.25) these words of praise – “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
We need to offer praises to our King even when we don’t feel like it, because there is no one else, not in heaven or on earth, who desires our praise and deserves our praise as much as our Lord!
A story is told of a pagan who once asked a rabbi, “Why did God speak to Moses from that bush?” The pagan thought that a truly powerful and glorious God should have spoken instead in a peal of thunder on the peak of some majestic mountain.
The rabbi answered, “To teach you that there is no place on Earth where God's glory is not, not even in a humble bush.”-- Ken Gire,Windows of the Soul(Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 44.
Do we really believe that there is no time, no place, no event so earthly that God cannot be there, that He can not speak through those times and places and happenings? These moments where Earth is overwhelmed with heaven, these Bethlehem moments where something divine is given, not through heavenly ways but through very human ways, will go unnoticed unless we realize the meek and unassuming way that God usually comes.
We need to be prepared to see Him in every moment, every movement, every event, and every
- place, and we need to relax and be ready to praise Him in every possible way. Praise Him with music and dance and embrace. Praise Him with up stretched hands and bowed heads. Praise Him with committed lives and dedicated hearts, and sometimes, even praise Him with human words!
Christians can no longer afford to be sedate and quiet in their praise of glory – we’ve been that for far too long! We’ve shrunk from the glare of secular society, because their recriminating words make us uncomfortable. We’ve turned our faces away from sinfulness, because others tell us to mind our own business. We’ve lowered the volume of our radios when we approach a stop light, because we don’t want to offend the person who is blaring their acid rock music at us. We’ve stopped praying during lunch time at work, because others won’t give us even a moment of quiet from their vile banter.
We have, by default, sacrificed the glory of God to the demands of the world! We choose to live in the darkness instead the light, expecting that God will, somehow, understand. But the truth is that “there is no place on earth where God’s glory is not, not in the humble [not in the challenging, and not in our every day world.]”
Praise Him! All the time and in all your ways!
When we read the praises of Psalm 150, we discover that there are no limits to the ways we praise God. Praise Him in every way possible!
With every breath that you take.
With every ounce of your being.
With every means at your disposal.
With every moment of your time.
In every circumstance you are in.
With every thought that you have and every word that you utter.
Praise the Lord!
“Do not be stiff-necked any longer!” These words could just as well read “Relax and enjoy the glory of your God!” I think that one of the greatest stumbling blocks to being able to rejoice spontaneously in God’s glory is our inability to lighten up when it comes to walking with the Lord. We’re afraid that we might do something wrong or that we might forget to do something that is “required”. We think that we don't pray well enough and that we never offer the “right” passages of scripture. And possibly our greatest fear is that we just might fall short in glorifying God to the degree that He deserves.
The truth is that every single one of these things will occur, but that’s no reason not to do it anyway! And as many ways that there are to immerse ourselves in His glory, there is no one “good” way to praise the Creator of the heavens and the planets and the atoms. But we need to know there is one bad way, and that is to avoid praising Him altogether!
We may envy the abilities of others to choose just the right words or to speak with just the right emphasis. We admire their ability to cause goose bumps to quickly spread across everyone's bodies, and we wish we could be that eloquent. But if we could take a look inside of God’s psyche for just a moment, we would quickly discover that He doesn’t want to hear us mimic the praises of someone else – He wants to hear the original praise that comes from deep within our own hearts and souls. The “perfect” praise, if there is such a thing, is the one that comes honestly and directly from within us.
We also think that our best praise comes during those times when we are blessed beyond all measure, and that we could never adequately experience His glory without joy in our hearts. A 13th century poet by the name of Angelico wrote:
"The gloom of the world is but a shadow behind it. Yet within reach is joy. There is radiance and glory in the darkness could we but see. And to see, we have only to look. I beseech you to look. Life is so generous a giver: Welcome it, grasp it, and you touch the angel's hand that brings it to you. Everything we call a trial, a sorrow or a duty, the angel's hand is there, the gift is there, and the wonder of an overshadowing presence. Our joys, too, be not content with them as joys. They too conceal diviner gifts."
“There is radiance and glory in the darkness could we but see [it]!” In Psalm 73, we read the words of a person who is living deep within a self made darkness, and yet we also read in the Psalm (v.25) these words of praise – “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
We need to offer praises to our King even when we don’t feel like it, because there is no one else, not in heaven or on earth, who desires our praise and deserves our praise as much as our Lord!
A story is told of a pagan who once asked a rabbi, “Why did God speak to Moses from that bush?” The pagan thought that a truly powerful and glorious God should have spoken instead in a peal of thunder on the peak of some majestic mountain.
The rabbi answered, “To teach you that there is no place on Earth where God's glory is not, not even in a humble bush.”-- Ken Gire,Windows of the Soul(Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 44.
Do we really believe that there is no time, no place, no event so earthly that God cannot be there, that He can not speak through those times and places and happenings? These moments where Earth is overwhelmed with heaven, these Bethlehem moments where something divine is given, not through heavenly ways but through very human ways, will go unnoticed unless we realize the meek and unassuming way that God usually comes.
We need to be prepared to see Him in every moment, every movement, every event, and every
- place, and we need to relax and be ready to praise Him in every possible way. Praise Him with music and dance and embrace. Praise Him with up stretched hands and bowed heads. Praise Him with committed lives and dedicated hearts, and sometimes, even praise Him with human words!
Christians can no longer afford to be sedate and quiet in their praise of glory – we’ve been that for far too long! We’ve shrunk from the glare of secular society, because their recriminating words make us uncomfortable. We’ve turned our faces away from sinfulness, because others tell us to mind our own business. We’ve lowered the volume of our radios when we approach a stop light, because we don’t want to offend the person who is blaring their acid rock music at us. We’ve stopped praying during lunch time at work, because others won’t give us even a moment of quiet from their vile banter.
We have, by default, sacrificed the glory of God to the demands of the world! We choose to live in the darkness instead the light, expecting that God will, somehow, understand. But the truth is that “there is no place on earth where God’s glory is not, not in the humble [not in the challenging, and not in our every day world.]”
Praise Him! All the time and in all your ways!
When we read the praises of Psalm 150, we discover that there are no limits to the ways we praise God. Praise Him in every way possible!
With every breath that you take.
With every ounce of your being.
With every means at your disposal.
With every moment of your time.
In every circumstance you are in.
With every thought that you have and every word that you utter.
Praise the Lord!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
