Faith – Page 2 – Dr. Kirk Lewis

When Suffering Comes

Background Passages: Revelation 2:8-11, Isaiah 43:2, John 16:33, I Peter 1:6-7

I leaned against the hoe at the end of a quarter-mile row of young cotton, fighting back a fit of anger. My Mom was already 30 feet down the four rows she was hoeing, doing what had to be done.

Dad was on the tractor, plowing a different section of the farm. My older brother stayed in the house that morning “suffering” from his convenient hay fever. My younger sister was given different, and by that I mean easier, chores that didn’t involve the tedium of the hoe.

I begged to stay home that morning using the strongest debate point I could muster, “It’s not fair.”

Rather than the customary sympathy I expected from my Mom, she chopped those weeds as she walked away and said with a shake of her head, “Get used to it.”

“It’s not fair.”

I smile inwardly now when I hear those words from my grandchildren. It’s a truth they must learn the hard way. As much as our culture would like it to be, life isn’t always fair. We should never stop trying to make it more so, but it will never be fair in all aspects.

Adults are not immune to the feeling. Our personal world caves in for one reason or another. A loved one gets sick or injured. A disheartening diagnosis comes our way. A promotion is handed to someone else. Your neighbor seems to live a charmed life where everything works out perfectly.

We may not voice it the same way we did as children, but we feel it. When the hard times come as they inevitably do and will—when we suffer–it’s difficult not to fall back on the pained and plaintive cry, “It’s not fair!”

Being Christian does not immunize us against difficult times. All of us face those deep trials eventually. Isaiah recognized the certainty of hardship and suffering. He also knew suffering could not defeat the faithful child of God if for no other reason than we will not make that journey alone.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” (Isaiah 43:2)

Understanding that promise is what keeps the Christian from becoming a victim to the “life is not fair” culture. We can overcome life’s hardships because the one we trust also overcame.

“I have told you these things,” Jesus said, “so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But, take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Long time pastor and author Ray Pritchard recalled preparing for a radio broadcast with Jim Warren on Moody Radio for Primetime America. As they discussed some recent heartbreak, Warren shared this thought. “When hard times come,” he said, “be a student, not a victim.”

Pritchard called it one of the most profound statements he ever heard. He said, “Some people go through life as professional victims, always talking about how they have been mistreated. But perpetual victimhood dooms you to a life of self-centered misery because you learn nothing from your trials.

“A victim says, ‘Why did this happen to me?’ A student says, ‘What can I learn from this?’

“A victim looks at everyone else and cries out, ‘Life isn’t fair.’ A student looks at life and says, ‘What happened to me could have happened to anyone.’

“A victim believes his hard times have come because God is trying to punish him. A student understands that God allows hard times to help him grow.”

I think the church at Smyrna would have understood this. Prior to Easter, my last Bible study focused on the word of God to the church at Ephesus. I mentioned at the time, that I would pick up with the messages to six other churches as found in the book of Revelation. We will focus this week on the Christian church in Smyrna. Though these seven churches are historic congregations, the message Jesus delivered to them through John remains relevant to Christians today.

Smyrna, located about 35 miles north of Ephesus on the Aegean Sea. shared a long and storied history that began as a successful Greek colony 1,000 years before Christ. Raided and razed by the Lydeans around 600 BC, Smyrna ceased to exist for the next 400 years, a pile of ruin and rubble. The city rose from its ashes around 200 BC, rebuilt as a planned community with beautifully paved streets and a perfectly protected harbor.

By the time John writes Revelation, Smyrna is a free city, committed with absolute fidelity to Rome. Cicero called it “one of our most faithful and most ancient allies.” It was the first city in the world to erect a temple to the spirit of Rome and the goddess, Roma. The Roman citizens within the city worshipped the emperor as a god and made worshipping any other deity a serious crime.

Jews earned an exception to the rule primarily by placating the Roman authorities and paying large tribute to the emperor to fund public works. The Jewish population grew increasingly hostile toward the Christians, fearing that they would lose their protected status and privileges.

Christians living in Smyrna suffered severe hardship because of their faith. Having none of the legal protections and refusing to call the emperor a god placed them at odds with Rome and with the Jews. The Christians in Smyrna chose not to bow down to the emperor despite the laws of the land. Rome typically ignored their insubordination in a sort of “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach.

In other words, they didn’t look for Christians to persecute, but would investigate if someone complained. Fearing for their favored status among the Romans, the Jews complained often. And, if they had nothing concrete to go on, they made things up.

When Rome was forced to investigate, Christians who refused to kneel before the emperor would be stripped of their possessions, banned from employment and, in some cases, put to death.

Yet, through their growing difficulties, they remained faithful disciples (students) of Jesus rather than victims to the mounting persecution and problems.

Read Jesus’ words to the “angels of the church in Smyrna:”

“These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

“Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful even to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life. (Revelation 2:8-10)

What an encouragement these words must have been to a faithful church oppressed!

Jesus describes himself as the First and Last, as the one who died and is alive again. It is upon the foundation of Christ that the church is built. He was the First. Their cornerstone. Their foundation. He was the Last. The Judge. The one before whom all men must stand in judgment of their actions.

Surely, the church in Smyrna found courage and strength in knowing that, regardless of the pressure put upon them by Rome or the Jews, Jesus was their unshakable foundation. As the one who died and is alive again, Jesus proclaimed his powerful presence among them. He would judge those who persecuted them.

Despite their “afflictions and poverty,” Jesus considers them rich! Impoverished by the world’s standards, they lived in the abundance of God’s grace. As his children, they shared in the riches and glory of God’s kingdom.

Despite the dire circumstances, the church in Smyrna refused to give in. Despite their suffering, they persevered. While God found a flaw among most of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation, he could only commend Smyrna for their strength, courage and perseverance amid their troubles.

Jesus told them the suffering would continue. Persecution was inevitable. He told them they would be tried and tested for their faith. He reassured them that the trials and troubles would last only a little while compared to the eternity that awaited them.

So, in the face of hardship and difficulty, Jesus gave them two commands. “Do not be afraid,” he said, “Be faithful, even unto death.” In other words. Don’t worry about what’s happening in your life. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Remain faithful, even if it kills you.

To anyone of us who has experienced the tragedies of life, that’s a difficult pill to swallow. While we might adopt the “one day at a time” attitude just to get through the struggle, it seldom makes sense. I doubt the people in Smyrna understood any better than we do.

How could they not be afraid? Jesus told them early in this passage. “I too was persecuted. I was put to death. Yet, I am alive again.” In essence he told them whatever your suffering may be, remember I overcame death. If you persevere to the end, you will overcome all things. You will overcome death as well. The worst problems and afflictions in this life pale in comparison to the eternal glory which God shares with his people.

My life has been blessed by God. Most of the difficulties I have experienced have been self-imposed. My mistakes. My decisions. My fault. The sorrow and sadness I’ve felt, the pain and suffering that comes as an inevitable part of life has been temporary and intensely overshadowed by God’s blessings.

I also know difficult times are ahead. It is inevitable. I can either declare life unfair and call myself a victim or I can be a student of a persecuted Lord and Savior who endured the worst the world could offer on my behalf. I suspect you feel the same.

Jesus is our unshakable cornerstone and foundation. As a victor over persecution and death, he lives today. His presence in our lives through his Holy Spirit is real and powerful. His comfort flows freely to those who are frightened and hurting.

In the face of all that is unnerving and painful, he tells us the same thing he told the brothers and sisters in Smyrna. Do not be afraid. Don’t let the troubles of this world keep you from living a life of committed service to the one to whom you owe everything. Do not be afraid. Feel the presence of a risen Lord. Cling to the hope he brings.

Be faithful. Focus on that promise of eternal victory and not on the hardships ahead. Though the troubles may seem difficult and long-lasting, their duration is but a vanishing mist when compared to all eternity. Suffering is temporary. Faith is forever.

Jesus told the persecuted people of the church in Smyrna that those who overcome “will not be hurt at all by the second death.” (Revelation 2:11)

The second death. That’s what Jesus called spiritual separation from the father. God’s victory is final. That’s what I know. When the day of judgment comes and God separates the sheep from the goats, his sheep will not be hurt and will not suffer. Those who never trusted in his name will face a spiritual death that separates them from the goodness and grace of God forever.

Pritchard said, “A victim begs God to remove the problems of life so that he might be happy. A student (a disciple of Christ) has learned through the problems of life that God alone is the source of all true happiness.

That’s the true Christian outlook. We believe so much in the sovereignty of God that when hard times come, we know that God is at work for our good and his glory.

One final point, hardships don’t come because God needs to figure out who his true believers are using some spiritual obstacle course. Rather, our ability to endure and persevere because of our faith shines a light on God for the rest of the world to see. Through our pain we prove the true nature of our faith. Those on the outside looking in witness the power, the presence, the goodness and grace of our father in heaven.

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith…may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus is revealed.” (I Peter 1:6-7)

I read a quote this week from Caleb Suko, a pastor serving in Ukraine. I think he sums up well the message Jesus shared with the believers in Smyrna. It’s the same message we need to hear today.

Suko said, “If you have Christ then all your pain is temporary. If you don’t, then all your pleasure is temporary.”

As the song goes, “I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.”

Who Are You Looking For?

Background Passages: Matthew 16:13-23; John 18:3-8, John 20:11-16

It is an essential question for Resurrection Sunday. One that demands an answer.

Jesus had been crucified and buried. The heavy slab of granite rolled into the dugout trench, locked his body inside. From Friday until early Sunday morning, those who followed Jesus lived in a state of shock, numb with fear.

Not knowing anything else to do, the women who were closest to him, returned to his tomb to finish preparing the body for burial. Something Sabbath laws had not allowed them to do when he died. When they arrived, they found the stone rolled away, the burial cloth neatly folded and the body of their teacher nowhere to be seen. In a panic, they ran back to tell Jesus’ disciples.

As the sun burned away the morning dew, Mary Magdalene, compelled by grief and overcome with sadness, returned to the empty tomb. She failed to recognize the supernatural aura of the day. Two angels sat inside the tomb their identity lost in her confusion. Still clutching the burial ointments she had brought with her that morning, they asked her…

“Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

Mary heard the rustle of robes behind her. Jesus stood before her, but again in her misery, she failed to recognize the one she loved. Echoing the angels, Jesus asked…

“Woman, why are your crying?”

Then, he got to the heart of the matter.

“Who is it you are looking for?” (John 20:11-15)

There it is. Jesus cuts the soul of everyone who would believe in him as savior and Lord. The fundamental question of Easter. “Who is it you are looking for?”

Easter is the most revered of all Christian Holidays. According to the Pew Research Center, 45 percent of Christians worldwide say they attend worship services on a monthly basis. That number typically increases to about 70 percent on Resurrection Sunday. So, if your church averages about 500 people in attendance every Sunday, you might expect 675-700 people in attendance for Easter services.

Whether you attend church every Sunday or whether your church experience is limited to Christmas and Easter, this is the critical question of we need to ask ourselves. When you walk through the doors of the church, for whom are you searching? Who do you seek?

Just for a moment cast yourself in this story as the thirteenth disciple. Where they go, you go. What they see and hear, you see and hear. What they feel, you feel.

I’m not sure if Peter and the other disciples could have answered that critical question with 100 percent certainty on that first Easter morning so long ago. They had just seen their teacher, their Lord crucified. Their worlds turned inside out and upside down. Little made sense that day. Things had certainly not turned out the way they expected.

It was just a few weeks earlier that Jesus walked his disciples north out of Galilee and into heartbeat of Roman worship. Caesarea Philippi, a Roman city north of the Sea of Galilee, served as the home of a temple to the Roman god Pan.

Needing to get away from the crowds to teach his disciples what would be an unsettling truth, Jesus ventured into a place most Jews would never go.

Can you see them? Jesus and his disciples sat on the side of a hill overlooking Caesarea Philippi, cooking a few fish over the glowing embers of their campfire. Looming below them were pagan temples carved out of the solid sandstone cliff. Torches cast tall, eerie shadows upon the cliffside as the pagan priests scurried to deliver their burnt offerings to the gods.

The muted but friendly conversation of companions fell silent when Jesus, staring down at the temples, asked a simple question.

“Who do men say that the Son of Man is?”

“They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’”

They waited for Jesus to react, the moment growing more uncomfortable for them as Jesus stared into the distance. Then, Jesus turned to face his dearest friends and in a quiet voice and with eyes that bore into their souls, he asked,

“But what about you? Who do you say I am?”

(Do you recognize it? It’s that Easter question in another form. “Who is it you are looking for?”)

The Jewish crowds considered Jesus a new prophet, perhaps John the Baptist, Elijah or Jeremiah returning to set their people free. Jesus needed to know that his disciples understood the truth. “Who am I to you? Who are you looking for?”

With all the pride he could muster, Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”

Jesus offered a word of measured praise and a prophecy.

“Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it.“ (Matthew 16:13-18)

To his credit Peter knew who Jesus was. He was the Messiah. God’s anointed one. God’s son. To his shame, he still didn’t fully understand.

Scripture tells us in the next passage that Jesus, in the quietness of that evening, began to tell the disciples that he would travel to Jerusalem and suffer a great deal at the hands of the religious elite. He told them he would be killed and raised again on the third day.

Slightly horrified, Peter, the one who just declared Jesus the Messiah, tugged on his master’s sleeve, pulled him to the side to rebuke him. This was not a casual “tsk-tsk.” This was a strongly worded criticism, expressing Peter’s sharp disapproval of the content of Jesus’ lesson.

“Never, Lord! This shall never happen!”

Jesus narrowed his gaze into Peter’s eyes raised his voice so all the disciples could hear, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Matthew 16:22-23)

The Jews desperately pined for the Messiah to come as a conquering king to drive the occupying Romans from their lands. Peter and the others had a hard time getting past the old narrative. He recognized that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah, but fail to understand the nature of God’s redeeming work. He viewed Jesus in political and personal terms. He got the identity right, but not the intent.

Who are you looking for? Jesus asked. Peter was looking for someone different. The wrong kind of Messiah. Looking for the wrong kind of savior.

“Who is it you are looking for?”

Travel now to the Garden of Gethsemane. The hour is late. The disciples are bone tired and weary. Not just from the tiring journey from Caesarea Philippi to Jerusalem, but from the troubling events of the night. The supper shared in the upper room went from celebratory to somber. Jesus’ actions unsettled everyone. Washing the feet. Calling out a betrayer. Launching into a heavy conversation about death at the hands of the civil and religious authorities.

Amid the olive trees, the disciples struggled to stay awake. Jesus knelt farther up the hillside, in fervent prayer. The disciples faded in and out of a sleep induced haze, until they heard the stomp of marching feet. The clatter of sword against shield cutting through the midnight hour. Wide awake now, the disciples form a protective ring around Jesus as a band of soldiers being led by no other but Judas surrounds them, swords drawn.

Jesus gently pushes his way to the front and stands face to face with Judas and the Roman centurion.

“Who is it you want?”

(There it is again. The same probing question. “Who is it you are looking for?”)

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.

Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go…Then, the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people. (John 18:3-8)

Other passages of scripture tell us that Judas greeted his master with a kiss. Judas joined the disciples, attracted by the message of inclusion and freedom. He heard the words, but never quite got the message. Growing increasingly disillusioned by Jesus’ passive approach, he felt compelled to act. Still believing that Jesus was the man who would start the revolution, Judas tried to force his hand.

The kiss. Perhaps a wink and a slight nod of his head. A lift of the eyebrows. Judas had just created the opportunity to light the fire of rebellion if only Jesus would comply with his wishes.

“Who is it you want?” Judas recognize Jesus’ power. He had seen it in action. He knew Jesus, but he didn’t know his heart. Judas wanted a savior he could manipulate to do his bidding. He wanted to unleash that miraculous power to meet his own desires. Judas didn’t want a savior. He wanted someone he could control.

“Who is it you are looking for?”

Now, let’s go back to the tomb. Hours later in the timeline of Jesus’ life on earth. In the garden outside the tomb, a distraught Mary mistook Jesus for the gardener. Unable to recognize the one she loved so dearly, she heard him ask,

“Who are you looking for?”

In the brief conversation that ensued, Mary’s grieving heart took her the only place her distress could go. With a heart burdened and disoriented, she cried out to him,

“Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him.”

At some point in this conversation, Jesus sought to reassure her. He called her name,

“Mary.”

Something in the sound of his voice broke through the despair and the heartbreak. In that moment of clarity, Mary found the one for whom she was looking.

She fell at his feet and cried.

“Rabboni.”

This Hebrew form of the word is personal, informal and intimate.

“My Teacher.” (John 20:15-16)

Mary understands who he is and acknowledges him as her risen Lord.

You see, when Mary Magdalene ran to tell the disciples that the tomb was empty, she had all the facts right, but she jumped to the wrong conclusion. Peter had done the same in Caesarea Philippi. Judas the same at Gethsemane. Her facts were right. The tomb was empty. She just drew to the wrong conclusion.

We often do the same thing. When faced with troubles and unexplainable tragedy, we mourn. If we understood who we were looking for, we wouldn’t weep at all. Consider this. If Mary had gotten her wish and she found a body in the tomb, we would have no reason to celebrate. There would be no Easter.

The truth of Easter demands an answer from each of us.

“Who is it you are looking for?”

Maybe you’re one of those believers like Peter who initially put your faith and trust in Jesus at an early age. When you think of Jesus, you think of him as savior. You have his identity right, but not his intent. Being saved is more than a point in time reality. Salvation is so much more than that moment in time decision to follow Christ. It’s more than that initial decision you made to trust him. Being saved is knowing Christ daily. Growing in him daily. Making every effort to live a more Christ-like life every day. Letting him be the boss of your life today and always.

Who is it you are looking for? Look for Jesus and make him Lord of your life. Every day.

Maybe your understanding is similar to Judas’ “genie in a lantern” concept of God. Rub the lantern and get three wishes. God is there to answer my prayer. Give me what I want when I want it. There are those who try to mold God into their own image rather than letting God mold them into his. When we try to make God into our own image, he will always disappoint us. Why would we trust a God who is no more perfect than us?

God’s plan for your life is far better than anything you can dream on your own. He wants the best for us. Thank God for the unanswered prayers because he knows what’s best. Thank God when God makes us wait on him because his timing is best.

Who is it you are looking for? Look for Jesus and trust him to meet your needs. Every day.

Maybe this Easter celebration will be meaningful because you get it. Jesus died on a cross as a willing sacrifice for your sins. He rose again. A living Lord. In difficult times, he is your strength. When you don’t know which way to turn, he is your guide. You’ve embraced his presence in your life and recognize that he is still your Rabboni. Personal and Intimate. Your Teacher. Those closest to Christ know that he is still teaching you daily how to live like him.

Who is it you are looking for? Look for Jesus, your strength. Your companion. Your teacher.

Statistics tell us Easter Sunday will draw many to worship. That is my hope and prayer. Every person who walks in the door should be blessed.

I pray that everyone who walks through the sanctuary doors will look for Jesus in all his fullness. It is a choice each of us can make, but it won’t happen unless we come with that question on our hearts.

It won’t happen, unless I am willing to ask the question as I enter to his presence in worship.

“Who is it I am looking for?”

By Our Love

Background Passages: John 13:31-35; I Corinthians 13:4-8, 13

As Christianity entered its second century, the faith was spreading throughout the Roman Empire, especially in some of the largest cities like Rome and Carthage in North Africa. Though spreading rapidly, Christians were still held in suspicion by neighbors and ruling officials because they had abandoned behaviors associated with the prior pagan lifestyles.

Confusion about Christian teachings and political rumors designed to discredit this new faith caused Tertullian, a church leader in Carthage, to write a document explaining Christian practices and debunking the rumors against them. Tertullian wrote that the Roman government was so unnerved by the growth of the Christian movement that they sent spies into Christian meetings.

The spies, according to Tertullian, reported the following:

“These Christians are very strange. They meet together in an empty room to worship. They do not have an image. They speak of one by the name of Jesus, who is absent, but whom they seem to be expecting at any time. And my, how they love Him and how they love one another.”

After reading this historical footnote this week, I found myself wondering what spies from our government would say about the church today? Would they make the same declaration?

“My, how they love him and how they love one another.”

*****

Jesus had just stunned his disciples by confirming a close betrayal. He then dismissed Judas from the upper room near the end of the Passover feast.

“What you are about to do, do quickly.”

As the door closed, a somber silence filled the room. Seeing the confusion and anxiety on the faces of those he hand-picked to carry on his work, Jesus began to teach his most important lesson.

“Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the son in himself, and will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now. Where I am going, you cannot come.

“A new command I give you. Love one another. As I have loved you so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, If you love one another.” (John 13:31-35)

What a defining moment! It’s as if Jesus took out his copy of the 10 Commandments and scratched a new word at the bottom of Moses’ list.

“A new command I give you.”

This was no subtle suggestion. No vague hint of something they might try. It was a God-given command written as indelibly on their hearts as the God-etched words inscribed on stone tablets.

“Love one another.”

The idea of loving others was not a new concept or even a new command. Recall the Pharisee who came to Jesus and asked him to identify the greatest and most important of Moses’ commandments.

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)

Jesus had taught his disciples to love God and to love others. In the hours before his death and his going to a place they “could not come,” Jesus knew they would need each other. He knew that in order to survive the persecution and scattering to come, his disciples and followers would need to love each other. Holding on to their fellow believers for support and aid.

“As I have loved you, love one another.”

How, then, did Jesus love them? How was he asking them to love each other?

Jesus’ love is sacrificial.

Just minutes prior to his declaration, Jesus demonstrated the kind of love they would need. As he took off his tunic, grabbed a bowl of water and a towel, Jesus took on the role of a servant to minister to their needs.

Christ washed the disciple’s feet, as a clear example of Christ’s humble, self-sacrificing love for them.

Then, just hours later, Jesus paid the ultimate price for his disciples and all humankind by dying on the cross for our sins. Jesus’ love for his disciples and for us was born of his humility and self-sacrifice.

What greater love can we learn than by following his example, as Paul proclaimed in Ephesians 5:2.

“Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us, and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Jesus’ love is forgiving.

The sacrificial love of Christ brought forgiveness of sin to all who would repent and receive his mercy and grace. Unmerited. Undeserved. Freely given.

If we love like Christ, we can forgive anything that anyone does to us. Nothing someone does to us is so heinous that we cannot forgive if we are acting with the same love with which Christ loved us.

I love this illustration from Baptist pastor and Christian author Wendell C. Hawley on forgiveness. He wrote about a group of Moravian missionaries who spent time among the Inuit tribes in Alaska. In attempting to explain the gospel, the missionaries found no word in the Inuit language for forgiveness. So, they invented one by combining words into “Issumagijoujungnainermik.”

This string of Inuit words strung together shares a beautiful expression of forgiveness that is roughly translated, “not-being-able-to-think-about-it-anymore.”

To love each other as Christ loves us means that the hurt and emotional pain caused by others must be set aside as meaningless. Forgive and forget. Love means not being able to think about it anymore.

“By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Jesus’ love is evident to all.

This is exactly the distinguishing love that Tertullian spoke about. “My, how they love him and love one another.” Such real, self-sacrificing, and forgiving love ought to be the mark or brand of a Christian. So evident in our expression of love to one another that others cannot help but note the difference in our behavior and those of the world around us. Because of what God has done for each of us, his love ought to overflow our hearts, naturally expressed to one another. It must be a love deeply felt and plainly seen.

This love is an overflow of what God has done in our hearts. This is to be the distinguishing mark of Christ’s followers. All people will know those who follow Christ if true love is always displayed by Christians. You must be known by your Christ-like love for others.

If loving one another is a command, listen to how Paul says such love is best expressed.

“Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It does not dishonor others. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…And now, these three things remain: faith, hope and love. but the greatest of these is love.” (I Corinthians 13:4-8, 13)

One wonders what the world around us thinks when the church does not reflect those things even to other believers. What does the world think when we lose our patience with one another? When we get easily angered by our brothers and sisters? When the world sees us ticking off all the wrongs that have been done against us by a fellow church member?

What must the world think when love fails?

My church is studying a book by Russell Moore entitled Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the Gospel. He begins with the premise that the United States is no longer a Christian nation to and think otherwise is burying our heads in the baptistry. Though we may have once lived in a world that believed the culture should conform to the church, we now live in a world that believes the church should conform to culture.

It makes me wonder if our culture looked at how we treat each other within the faith and decided it could do better without us? If believers in Christ chose to love each other every day as Christ loves us, would our witness in the world be stronger? Could we then engage our culture without compromising or losing the heart of the gospel?

I suspect it took only a few moments after Jesus’ death on the cross for his disciples to realize the truth of his words. Their ability to carry on his ministry and their hope for the days to come depended on their love for one another.

I don’t think it is much different today. Our ability to carry on his ministry today and our hope for the days to come depends on our willingness to love one another as Christ loves us.

“A new command I give you. Love one another. As I have loved you so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Let’s let the world know to whom we belong.

Let them say about us, “My, how they love him and how they love one another!”

Encounter with a Prayer Warrior

Background Passages: I Samuel 1:10, Daniel 9:3-4, and James 5:13-16

I’m almost a week late with this Bible study. I sat down several times last week to study and prepare. My heart wasn’t in it. The words wouldn’t come.

I wish I could attribute my delay to writer’s block, but the reason was far more personal. My oldest son was in St. Luke’s dealing with the aftermath of a stroke. The tension of those early, uncertain days hit with full force every time I sat still for any length of time. Clearing my mind sufficiently to write a coherent sentence bordered on the impossible.

Before I go further, I’ll share a praise to God and the doctors and physical therapists he placed in Adam’s life. Our son is home now with his family, his condition and situation vastly improved over this time a week ago. Physical therapy will continue, but the prognosis is incredibly positive for full recovery.

Adam and Jordan dealt with the immediate impact of his situation while we could only stand at a distance, help take care of our grandchildren and pray. As those not directly and immediately impacted by the crisis, we discovered again what we knew to be true, but chose to forget from the last family crisis we experienced. Life goes on. It doesn’t respect our need to process the situation. It keeps coming. That’s not always a bad thing when God is at work.

As a part of my volunteer work in the community, I chair the Steering Committee of the McDonald’s Texas Invitational Basketball Tournament. The role carries with it a responsibility to be present and engaged with sponsors, coaches, officials and volunteers during the three-day event. Unable to go to the hospital due to Covid restrictions, Robin and I attended the games with our hearts troubled and our brains in a deep fog.

The two of us grabbed dinner and sat at an empty table in one of the hospitality rooms. Neither of us said much. Lost in our own thoughts. A woman entered, picked up her dinner and sat at an empty table next to us. Robin invited her to sit with us. She picked up her tray and sat next to me. We began to visit, my mind doing its best to focus on the conversation.

Nzinga Rideaux told us she was a board member for the Houston area Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She was helping man the organization’s booth at Phillips Fieldhouse. The conversation turned to family and I shared with her about Adam and his condition.

In a room filled with 35-40 volunteers, coaches and referees, she pushed her plate aside, grabbed my hand and said, “Let’s pray right now.” The words she spoke for the next two minutes were both heaven sent and heaven directed. The power in her spirit flowed as eloquently as her words. With that final “Amen,” I recall thinking, there is no way God could ignore that petition. So powerful were her words, it seemed God now had little choice but to make Adam well. How could he refuse that woman?

Chinese pastor Watchman Nee might have had a woman like Nzinga in mind when he said, “Our prayers lay the track down on which God’s power can come. Like a mighty locomotive, his power is irresistible, but it cannot reach us without the rails.” In my life last week, Nzinga drove the Golden Spike into God’s trans-spiritual railroad. She lifted my heart from its despair and renewed my hope.

I know Robin and I had prayed fervently for God’s hand upon Adam. I know God heard our prayers. Nzinga, however, is the pure definition of a “prayer warrior.” I’m pretty sure he sped up the process when Nzinga prayed.

A prayer warrior is someone known for regularly interceding before God on behalf of others. Someone who stands between you and the trouble afflicting your life, calling down the presence and power of the Lord. A prayer warrior is someone who knows God’s blessings and knows without doubt those blessings are ours to claim.

Think Hannah.

Barren for years, she prayed for a child. Though years passed, she continued to pray, despite her aching heart. She continued to pray even when she reached the end of her rope.

“And she was in bitterness of soul and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.” (I Samuel 1:10)

Hannah prayed intently and purposefully with tears of frustration and sorrow. She prayed persistently and passionately until Samuel was born. It’s nice to know God is not offended by our questioning, our frustrations and our confusion.

Think Daniel.

When God revealed to Daniel as a young man that Israel would be taken into captivity and exiled from their land, Daniel interceded on behalf of his people.

“I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant and mercy with those who love him, and with those who keep his commandments. (Daniel 9:3-4)

This was the prayer of a man who recognize the path he was on and claimed the blessings promised by a faithful father. Daniel’s path would not be easy. Neither will Adam’s path be without challenge. Still, Daniel knew the path would be paved with the promises of God. Adam knows that as well.

Nzinga’s prayer that night was Hannah and Daniel personified in the presence of an African-American woman with a deep, abiding faith. Intense. Purposeful. Persistent. Passionate. Confident in the promises of God.

It’s Thanksgiving.

We have much for which to sing praises of gratitude to our God.

When we gathered today as an extended family around our table for our non-traditional Thanksgiving meal of beef and chicken fajitas, Adam sat among us. How could you not be thankful in such a moment?

In the moment of our Thanksgiving prayer, I silently thanked God that we were all together. I thanked him for Adam’s life and his prospects for a full recovery. I thanked God for Adam’s wife, Jordan, who was and is his rock throughout their crisis. She reminds me so much of my Mom. I thanked God for Robin who was my anchor in the storm.

I thanked God for the doctors, physical therapists and caregivers who tended to my son. I thanked God for every word of encouragement and hope they offered.

I thanked God for our church staff and congregation who lifted our family in prayer, interceding on our behalf. I expressed my gratitude for friends at work and at church who wrapped their arms around Adam and his family. I thank him for those individuals in my life whose words and touch sustained Robin and me during our days.

I thanked God for my new friend Nzinga. I know he put her at our table with heavenly intent. I also thanked him for the other prayer warriors I know who stood in the gap between our family and the troubles we faced as they called down the power and presence of God.

This journey for Adam and his family is not over. The extended outpatient therapy will hopefully lead to full recovery in a matter of weeks or short months. I continue to covet your prayers for the days ahead…for stamina, endurance, patience, hope and end result that will give God all the glory.

James spoke about the prayers of the faithful.

“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord…The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:13-14,16b)

I still don’t know if I strung together a cogent sentence today. Forgive a father for his incoherent ramblings and let God share with you what I’m trying to say.

I do, however, know this one thing. I know today how powerful and effective the prayers of a righteous person can be. And, I know without a doubt that God is good.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Be Still and Know

Background Passages: Psalm 46:1-10; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Luke 40:35-41

You hear it all the time when a rookie quarterback is starting his first game. The defense will mix up their coverages, blitz from different angles and players, rush, drop back in coverage. They will do anything to confuse the unfortunate rookie.

At some point the announcer, armed with dozens of sports cliches, will invariably say that the game is moving too fast for the quarterback.

The reason it is a cliché is that it’s true. Time, familiarity with the playbook and game experience will make things easier. It will eventually slow the game down.

There sure have been times in my life when I felt like a rookie quarterback. It is a frenetic and noisy world. No day passes without strident debates and diatribes over issues critical to our culture and country. We see natural disasters taking their toll on our safety and security. When the news cycle hits, I find myself covering my eyes, ears and mouth like the proverbial monkey, hoping to see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. The game moves too fast.

It is not a lot different in our personal lives. Even when trying to do what we feel God needs us to do, we find ourselves being pulled in a thousand different directions. It feels like the more we try to live a life of service to God, the more obstacles get thrown in our path. The game moves too fast.

It has been my privilege to serve as a member of our church’s Pastor Search Team charged to find a new pastor for the first time in 40 years. As we met as a team last week, we talked about how many things have come up in our lives as individuals that pull us from the task at hand. We talked about how easy it would be to feel overwhelmed and over our heads were God not a calming presence. The game moves too fast.

Amid the noise I hear in the world and in our lives, I also hear a quieter word from scripture.

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

There will come a day when God will quiet the noise of the world, but until then he reminds us to “be still.”

Isaiah tells us “in repentance and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength.”

I don’t think that’s the exact message of the Psalmist. We are not to close our eyes, ears and mouth to the clamor and discord. To be still is not a call to silence. It is a reminder that we will find God in the noise.

We find this verse embedded in a section that speaks to the power and security of God. God smothers our fear, declares the psalmist, because he is our strength and fortress in times of constant trouble.

“Be still.”

I’m certainly no Hebrew scholar, but the commentaries tell me not to interpret the word as “silence.” To be quiet or reverential in God’s presence. While there is always a place for quiet reflection of the nature and presence of God, the Hebrew word speaks more to “cease,” “to slacken” to “stop the frantic activity.”

I find that to be a good word for me. When I am pressed and feeling overwhelmed, I always tend to try to do more. To work harder to try and dig out from under my circumstance.

I think of the serene image of the duck on the pond who seems to swim effortlessly but is paddling furiously under water. That’s how I feel sometimes.

Be still is God’s great reminder to quit fighting battles I can’t win on my own. Being still means to chill out enough so you can see God at work and his “ever-present help in trouble.” (vs. 1)

Think of it another way. To be still is to surrender…surrender control of all that is going on in your world to the Almighty. We must lay down our weapons, drop our shields, give up our desire to lead and surrender to the will of the one who is already victorious. On a personal level, it means giving up my belief that I know better or that I can work my way through anything in my own power or force of will.

Being still, you see, is not a passive act where we sit back and do nothing. Rather, to be still we must stop what we’re doing. Back off. Yield control. Surrender. Give up all efforts at personal control and self-preservation.

Lest you feel that makes you feel weak and less of a Christian, remember that Paul rejoiced in his weakness.

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Therein lies the reason to surrender our control. “Be still and know that I am God.”

The word “know” suggests we discover by sight. Stopping our well-intentioned efforts allows us to see God at work in the world and in our lives. If we’re so focused on doing things on our own, we’ll miss God’s work. Worse, we may well mistake his results for our own, taking credit where no credit is due.

When we stop all our frantic activity, we suddenly rediscover God is God. We come to know him as our refuge. Our strength. Our help. Our protector. Our comfort. Our warrior. Our exalted one.

The disciples were sailing from one side of the Sea of Galilee to the other when a strong storm interrupted their travel. Weary from a long day’s work, Jesus rested in the stern of the boat. The waves grew higher and the disciples struggled to keep the boat afloat. I suspect it was one of the non-fishermen who crawled to the back of the boat to wake Jesus up.

“Don’t you care if we drown?”

Jesus woke up. Rubbed his eyes. Stood up in the boat and commanded the wind.

“Quiet. Be still.”

The same basic word shared by the psalmist. Cease your frantic efforts.

As the gale turned to gust and to a gentle breeze, Jesus turned to his disciples. “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Surrendering control to God is the ultimate act of faith. It replaces fear with trust.

In the stillness of that hour, the disciples marveled. “Who is this that even the wind and waves obey him?” It is as if Jesus was saying, “Be still and know that I am God.”

The world is chaotic enough without our feeble efforts adding to it. Our circumstances always rest in the hands of God and when we yield our will to his, he will calm the raging soul within us.

“Do not be anxious about anything (stop trying so hard), but in every situation (when life gets frantic), by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God (our ability to be quit fighting it), which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 with the Lewis translation thrown in)

“Be still and know that I am God.”

We’re not promised a world without chaos. In fact, it sure seems to be getting noisier. The good news of the gospel is that we don’t have to calm the storm around us. When we quit fighting against the current and surrender our lives without reservation to God, when we are still, we see God for who he is.

It’s funny, isn’t it? When I quit fighting it, the game slows down. When I cease doing things in my own ability, the game slows down. When I surrender my will to God’s will, the game slows down. Only then, can I see and know that God is God.

I say it again if only to remind me of its magnificent truth.

“Be still and know that I am God.”

One Thing

Background Passages: Philippians 1:20-21; Philippians 3:7-14, Psalm 27:4 and John 14:1-6

It’s a dark place in which to find oneself. A dark place I do not understand. I am amazed at those who prefer to dwell in a darkness where life has no real meaning or purpose.

Christian apologist John Blanchard wrote about the meaning of life in his book Does God Believe in Atheists. He explored the bleak thinking of some of the world’s modern philosophers.

In the book, Blanchard quotes Welsh scholar Rheinallt Williams. “There is nothing which arises more spontaneously from man’s nature than the question about life’s meaning. But if to be shoveled underground or scattered on its surface is the end of the journey, then life in the last analysis is a mere passing show without meaning, which no amount of dedication or sacrifice can redeem.”

It was a sentiment echoed by British journalist and novelist Rebecca West later in the book. “I do not believe that any facts exist, or, rather, are accessible to me, which give any assurance that my life has served an eternal purpose.”

I read these quotes and immediately my thoughts go to an image of Curly, that weather-beaten cowboy in that 1991 movie City Slickers. When Mitch, the cowboy wannabe from Manhattan, questioned the grizzled rancher about the meaning of life, Curly pointed his index finger straight in the air and said, “One thing.”

“One thing? What one thing?” Mitch inquired.

Ever cryptic, Curly replied, “That’s what you have to find,”

By the movie’s end, Mitch found his meaning of life in his family.

As much as I liked that movie and as much as my family brings meaning to my life, I would ask Mitch…and those who believe as Rheinallt Williams and Rebecca West…to look a little deeper than that.

People talk about wanting to leave a legacy. It is a noble thought. We want our lives to mean something. Leaving a legacy tells us that this life meant something. However, a legacy is left not in what you did, but what it meant. When you live your life for Christ, your life means something.

Paul, in prison and uncertain what the future held for him, told the Philippian church…

“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:20-21)

Later in the letter, Paul said if he looked for meaning in this world all he would find is rubbish, especially compared to his relationship with Jesus Christ. He knew nothing else in this world mattered.

“But whatever were gains to me, I consider everything a loss for the sake of Christ. What is more I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him,” (Philippians 3:7-9a)

It is easy to make other things a priority in life. Work. Family. Friends. Good works. Every worthy thing we’ve accomplished pales in comparison to the relationship we have with God. It is that relationship that is indeed the meaning of life.

Scripture tells us that salvation, our relationship with Christ, is a point-in-time moment when we give our lives to him. It also is a process…a becoming. The joy of life is in the becoming. Growing in that relationship with Christ brings meaning to life.

Paul knew that better than anyone.

“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings…Not that I have already obtained all of this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:10-14)

Paul loved the process of becoming all God called him to be. But, did you see it? Did you see Paul turn to us with one finger pointed to the sky?

“But one thing I do…”

The good news of this passage is that we don’t have to figure it out like Mitch did. Paul tells us plainly.

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which god has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Paul says the meaning of life is in the pursuit of God’s will for our lives and the promise of eternity with him.

David, too, tells us about the meaning of life. The king of Israel with all his fame and fortune recognized that one thing that made all the difference in the world. What was David’s one thing? What was the meaning of his life? He left us a clue in Psalm 27:4.

“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”

David holds his index finger in the air, pointing toward heaven telling us that the meaning of life is found in one thing and one thing only. It was for him being in the presence of the Lord.

You can see it one more time in that upper room in Jerusalem. Jesus is telling his disciples that the reality of the cross is just hours away. That the next few days will be difficult for them. That he is going away. Look at John 14:1-6.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me…My father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.

“Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’

Can you see it? Jesus hold up his index finger, but this time he points it to his heart.

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

After the Dallas Cowboys won their first Super Bowl, Tom Landry, their former coach, made this observation. “The overwhelming emotion—in a few days, among the players on the Dallas Cowboy football team—was how empty that goal was. There must be something more.”

As a devote Christian, Landry knew there is a thirst inside us that only God can fill. One thing. When we try to fill it with anything else, it will not satisfy. It will only reveal how empty life can be without Christ.

That passage in John tells us without pause. Jesus is the answer. He is more than the meaning of life. He is life.

With respect to folks like Rheinallt Williams and Rebecca West, they missed the point. Any search for meaning apart from Jesus Christ will always be fruitless.

We see it time and time again in the Bible. We point our finger to the heavens. Let’s embrace the one thing.

In God We Trust

Background Passages: Mark 12:13-17; Romans 7:18-21; Isaiah 26:4; Matthew 6:25-26, John 14:1, John 8:41-42 and Proverbs 3:5-6

I will never look at a penny the same way.

A wealthy businessman walked briskly down the street with his young apprentice a step behind, trying hard to keep up. The businessman stopped suddenly, looking down at his feet. All she saw that could have attracted the man’s attention were three nasty cigarette butts and a tarnished penny.

The businessman smiled as he bent down to pick up the coin. He turned the coin in his hand and put it in his pocket without a word, resuming his purposeful stride.

Sitting in the meeting, the apprentice’s mind kept wandering back to the penny. The man had everything…a highly successful business, a beautiful mansion on the lake, cars that cost more than the apprentice’s house and a beautiful, devoted family. Why would such a man bother to pick up a dirty penny?

The two finished their meeting and went to lunch at an exclusive restaurant. Throughout the meal, the scene on the street continue to nag at the young woman. Her curiosity finally got the better of her. She told the man about a coin collection she had as a little girl, wondering if the penny her boss found on the street had some value.

The businessman smiled as he dug the coin from his pocket and wiped the grime from its surface with his linen napkin. He placed the coin in the young woman’s hand.

“Look at it,” he said. “Read what it says.”

She read the words, “United States of America.”

“Go on,” said the businessman.

“One cent,” she answered.

“And?

“In God We Trust,” read the young woman.

The businessman took the penny and placed it again in his pocket. “I see that inscription every time I find a coin. It’s written on every single coin in our currency, but we rarely notice it. When I find a coin, I figure God dropped the message at my feet for a purpose…a reminder to trust him. Who am I to pass that up?

He continued, “I use that moment to pray. Stopping for a second to make sure my trust is truly in God at that moment. For that moment, it’s value is more than gold. Lucky for me, sidewalk pennies are plentiful.”

What a powerful reminder! What a beautiful object lesson reminding me of the need to trust the Creator of all things with every aspect of my life!

The story of the penny-finding businessman reminded me of one of those incidents where the Pharisees tried again to trap Jesus in a comment they could use to implicate and discredit him. They asked him a question about paying taxes to Rome which they felt was guaranteed to get him in trouble with either the Jewish people or the Roman authorities.

“But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. ‘Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.’ They brought the coin to him and he asked them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?’

“‘Caesar’s,’ they replied.”

(Can’t you see Jesus flipping the coin back into their hands before he answered.)

“Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Give to God what is God.” (Mark 12:13-17)

Jesus tells them that life in society carries a lot of responsibilities to the world around us. In the end, though, God desires what is due him…our trust.

As Shakespeare said, “Ahhh, there’s the rub!”

Giving ourselves completely over to God in trust isn’t easy. Our own experiences tell us that we are less than trustworthy. Paul knew it.

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil that I do not want is what I keep doing. If I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who does it, but sin that dwells in me.” (Romans 7:18-20)

Then, he shares Murphy’s Law of sin.

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.” (Romans 7:21)

Isn’t that the truth? We want to trust God. We want to be obedient, but the temptation to go it alone is always lurking in the shadow. Here is the truth of the Bible, though. God is trustworthy even if we are not. Isaiah called him a rock. Immovable and eternal.

“Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” (Isaiah 26:4)

Jesus issued a challenge to his disciples to quit worrying about life and trust in God’s unfailing love.

“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:25-26)

Later as they struggled with their understanding of his impending sacrifice on the cross, he encouraged them.

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me.” (John 14:1)

That’s all well and good, but how do we do that?

Once we trust enough to accept the salvation that comes from our belief in Jesus Christ, we must make the conscious decision to trust him enough to turn our lives over to him completely. Making him Lord, or boss, of our lives. We must put our full confidence in him and his word.

He said, “…If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

To abide in his word is to live it, breathe it, every day. To make his word real in the way we live. As a result, the more we put our trust in him, the more we will follow his lead. The more we see him at work in our lives, the greater our confidence and trust.

We are often our own worst enemy. To give ourselves over completely to God demands that we get out of our own way. Our natural tendency is to handle our own issues…to try to emotionally or rationally work our way through every problem we face. We think we can figure it out on our own.

When I trust in my own abilities alone, it almost always leads to failure. I eventually reach a point where I don’t know where to turn. The writer of Proverbs says it’s God who can make the path clear to us.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your path.” Proverbs 3:5-6

It would be so much easier if I just did that from the beginning. They are at times difficult lessons. Depend on God. Lean not on your own understanding. Get out of your own way.

Perhaps another way of looking at that is that God calls us to rest in him. His promise is that the “weary and burdened” can find rest in him. That only works if we’re willing to get out of our way or let go of our own egos.

Resting in God’s hands is another way of expressing our trust in him. when we rest on the Lord, we are leaning on his strength, learning from him. He willingly carries the load for us as we walk through life. If we grow tired or stressed, we can draw close to Jesus and find comfort and rest because we trust completely in him.

When you get right down to it, we grow in our trust in God by getting to know him.

God reveals himself through the scripture I read. The Bible studies I attend. The sermons I hear. If I’m not availing myself of those opportunities, God has a difficult time breaking through the noise of my life. Those are the places where I learn about God’s faithfulness. His consistent, unchanging nature. The more I understand him, the more I look back on my life and see his work and his presence, the more I trust him.

I wrote most of this study last night. While walking for exercise this morning, I found a penny on the street. I stopped long enough to pick it up. There is was, embossed in the copper alloy right above Abe Lincoln’s head. “In God We Trust.”

I smiled, put it in my pocket and said a prayer of gratitude to God. Like that wealthy businessman, I figure God dropped that message at my feet for a purpose…a reminder to trust him. Who am I to pass that up?

Lucky us. Sidewalk pennies are plentiful.

Go ahead. Pick it up.

Freedom and Responsibility

Background Passages: John 8:31-36, Romans 8:3-4, I Peter 2:16, Galatians 5:13-23, James 2:14-18 and James 1:25

Early in my public relations career, I attended my first out of state business trip. How novel to travel half way across the country on someone else’s dime.

Robin and I drop the boys off with my parents in Ropesville, Texas, and boarded a plane for Pennsylvania. I wasn’t that excited about the conference, but I jumped at the chance to go to Philadelphia over the July 4th holiday.

I attended the obligatory meetings, but as soon as I could shake free, Robin and I walked the historic parts of the city. The Liberty Bell. Independence Hall. Parades. Fireworks. All the trappings of the Fourth of July in an historic city.

Standing behind the rope and staring at the 56 desks in that sweltering room in Independence Hall, I could almost see and hear those men debating their grievances against England and its king.

Samuel and John Adams. Benjamin Franklin. Thomas Jefferson. John Hancock.

Hancock, the president of the Second Continental Congress and governor of Massachusetts, is remembered more for his large and flamboyant signature than his role in leading the Congress.

Though the story is anecdotal, Hancock signed the document with a flourish and remarked, “The British ministry can read that name without spectacles. Let them double their reward.”

He probably didn’t really utter that line, but as they said at the end of the 1962 film, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”

Though the 56 men representing the 13 colonies agreed in principle to the words of the Declaration on July 4, they didn’t actually sign it until August 2. Still, the significance of the declaration is a call for freedom that we celebrate as a nation today.

I love the words first learned in school.

“…We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…”

I sit here today knowing we as a nation have not always lived up to that standard of those words. I sit here knowing that we too often fail to grasp the full weight of the responsibilities that go with freedom and liberty.

I sit here today knowing they may be the most significant words of freedom ever written in a secular, political context. They represent ideals worth celebrating. Ideals worth pursuing with vigor. Ideals worth our best efforts to achieve for all people.

Freedom. Liberty. Rich blessings far too many on earth do not have. Blessings far too easily taken for granted by those who enjoy them.

In the middle of the family and community celebrations this week, let’s remember the true significance of those words.

We ought also to remember God-inspired words which speak to our spiritual liberty and freedom so central to our faith as Christians.

Martin Luther penned a treatise in 1520 called On the Freedom of a Christian. I remember reading parts of his paper in my one year of seminary. He declared in his work that “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant, subject to all.”

The statements seemed contradictory, but not to Luther. Our faith and trust in Jesus frees us from being slaves to a salvation doctrine that requires good works.

Luther taught that salvation cannot be earned by doing good things. It is a grace gift, freely given by a loving God to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ. Therefore, Luther says, Christians are completely free, not bound by any law, rule or commandment that we must keep in order to earn salvation.

But, Luther also said there is a flip side to the coin. Though set free in this way from salvation dependent upon good works, we are not set free from doing good works.

With the freedom that exists under Christ, there is great responsibility. Let’s think quickly about both of these ideas.

Jesus sat down with a group of Jews who had believed in him. He began to teach them what it means to be one of his followers. As he taught, he uttered what may be the most significant words of freedom ever written in a spiritual context.

“To the Jews who believed in him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples. Then, you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

The Jewish believers struggled with the concept, proud of their national identity and proud of the fact that though they were subjected to foreign occupation throughout their history, they refused to call themselves slaves. Freedom, you see, was trapped within their political reality. It took but a moment for Jesus to drive home his point.

“Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.” (John 8:34-36)

Jesus is talking about a reality of life. If we were required to be 100 percent obedient to God’s law in order to obtain salvation, none of us would gain an entry pass to heaven. Paul said it clearly, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

In the good news of the gospel God made provision for our weakness. We are freed from both the eternal consequences and control of sin.

You see, the truth Jesus spoke about to all who would listen, the truth that sets us free from the burden of perfect compliance, is the grace gift of salvation in Jesus Christ.

“You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” is our spiritual declaration of independence.

Paul told the believers in Rome, “What the law of Moses could not do, God did by sending his own son as an offering for sin, bearing man’s punishment for him so he could be set free from sin and enjoy the fellowship of God.” (Romans 8:3-4)

God through Jesus Christ and our faith in him, bore the consequences of our failure to live up to the standard he set before us. Because of that, we should live differently, trying harder each day to avoid the control of sin in our lives.

Peter encouraged those early Christians with these words.

“Act as free men and do not use your freedom as a covering to do evil, but use it as bondslaves to God. (I Peter 2:16)

In her book, You Learn By Living: Eleven Keys to a More Fulfilling Life,” Eleanor Roosevelt wrote that freedom places its own requirements on all who live under its blanket.

“With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.”

The liberty we enjoy as a nation sets us free to live pretty much as we choose, but it carries the great responsibility of citizenship. We bear the responsibility protecting our freedoms, respecting the rights of others and ensuring those freedoms extend to all of us. For freedom to work well in society, those who enjoy the freedom must live well. Do right. Care for one another.

Paul said something similar applies to Christ followers. He told a group of struggling Christians in Galatia,

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in this one command, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you bite and devour one another, watch out or you will be destroyed by one another.” (Galatians 5:13-15)

Paul urges his fellow believers to “walk in the spirit,” calling them to produce fruit, or evidence of their faith in their daily lives. Things such as “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Unlike Ms. Roosevelt’s political context, the Bible teaches that with spiritual freedom comes even greater responsibility. To the person unwilling to grow spiritually, the person who does not carry the cross of his testimony in Christ, this is a frightening prospect.

For spiritual freedom to work well, those who enjoy the freedom in Christ must live well. Do right. Care for one another. We must feel compelled by conscience and conviction to do good works.

Jesus taught us all we need to know about living well. His life was the open textbook. Building relationships. Healing the hurting. Feeding the hungry. Caring for the helpless. Opening the doors for an eternal relationship with God to all with eyes to see and ears to hear. His life, full to the brim with faith in his father, was a life spent doing good works.

My Mom was a woman of practical faith. Her faith was not a “Sunday go to meeting with white gloves on” kind of faith where one professed a trust in Christ yet whose deeds showed little evidence of it. She got her hands dirty in God’s good work caring for the elderly in the Lubbock community.

In my favorite passage from James, the writer refutes the idea that faith frees us to do what we please; that we are under no obligation to do good to others.

“What good is it my brothers if someone claims they have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, it is dead.

“But someone will say, ‘You have faith. I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” (James 2:14-18)

Every good deed, every act of mercy, every act of love extended to another ought to be a natural outgrowth of the freedom we have in Christ. It is within the living of a Christ-like life of love that we find our blessings.

“But anyone who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it, not forgetting what they heard, but doing it, they will be blessed in what they do.” (James 1:25)

Though I am far from perfect, I am keenly aware of the responsibility my faith carries to live well and do good.

I am grateful today for the freedom I have as an American. I do not take it lightly. I recognize the responsibility that comes with it.

I am, however, far more grateful today for the freedom granted me by the grace of God through my belief in Jesus as my savior.

It is a self-evident truth. “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

On this July 4th weekend, that is my spiritual declaration of independence.

The Race Marked Out for Us

Background Passage: Hebrews 12:1-2; Matthew 13:1-23

The passage below falls easily into my list of 10 favorite Bible verses. Born with an athlete’s mind, if not an athlete’s talent, I find I can relate to the imagery suggested by the writer of Hebrews. Hebrews was written to a group of Christian believers who faced the temptation to abandon their faith in the face of fierce opposition and outright persecution.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by
so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles,
and let us run with perseverance
the race marked out for us.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of our faith…”

The astute writer drew upon the life testimonies of men and women we might place in our Hall of Honor for the faith they demonstrated when God called them to serve. He wanted these struggling brothers and sisters to think of these great people as spectators in the crowd, encouraging them in their Christian walk.

Each of us can come up with a list of our personal heroes of faith whose lives inspire, encourage and strengthen our own. When life gets tough, thinking about those who lived through their own share of disappointments, despair and defeat can keep us pressing forward in our own spiritual journey.

To get to where I want to go with this devotional thought, let’s first hit a couple of quick points.

First, we must cast off all that slows us down or trips us up. The language of the passage talks about being weighed down, burdened, or carrying a bulging, heavy load. Using the writer’s imagery, we think about it in terms of a race or athletic contest.

There is a reason why runners take off their warm-up suits before the start their race. There is a reason their track shoes are all sole and little substance. Everything they wear is lightweight. To gain a runner’s edge, they wish to get rid of anything that would slow them down.

I remember my high school football coach putting lead weights around my ankles during practice and making me run the drills. Every move felt like I was slogging through mud. I don’t know if I actually moved faster when the weight was removed, but it sure felt like it.

That is the mental picture the writer of Hebrews is painting. Get rid of what might keep you from running the race God calls us to run. It is easy to see times in my Christian life when I carried weight I didn’t need to carry. Bad habits. Bitterness. Irritation. Regret. Poor choices. Lost focus. Selfishness. Arrogance. It is sin that wraps itself around our hearts and our feet until it causes us to stumble. Sin that trips us up.

Living the kind of life God desires for us requires us to be agile and quick in our response to his call and his will. We simply can’t do that when we carry around our burdens or try to walk with weights on our feet. We can’t move when our feet are trapped in a tangle of sin.

Scripture tells us to throw it off, untangle our feet, and get back in the race.

Secondly, we must be in spiritual shape to stay in the race. It’s easy to stay committed to Christ for a time. It’s much hard to have staying power. The writer of Hebrews says,

“…run with perseverance…”

Depending on your Bible translation, this admonition may read, “…run with patience…” or “run with endurance.”

Those early Christians lived during a time when calling oneself a Christian was dangerous. When faced with economic sanctions and life or death choices, many turned away from the faith to which they were called. Before we get too high on our horse and claim superior faith, we need to think about those times when we set aside our own faith for the convenience of the day. A commitment made to God that we failed to keep. A promise made that we broke. A holy fire within that we let smolder.

Jesus talked about those moments in life when he shared the parable of the sower. He spoke of the farmer’s seed that fell on the thin soil. It sprouted quickly and withered just as fast. He told his disciples later that the plant is like a person who receives God’s word gladly and sets it aside when life gets tough. The faith which grew so promisingly, withered in the heat of the day.

When we give our lives to God and accept his gift of grace, it is not a commitment of convenience that allows us to walk away when challenges come. Salvation does not vaccinate us against a pandemic of problems. Sometimes the best lessons we learn come when we look back on our spiritual walk and see how God worked in our lives during times we struggled most to see him and sense his will.

The writer of Hebrews encourages us, “be patient.” “Persevere.” “Endure.” “Finish what we started.”

Here’s the third point…the idea that caught my attention when reading this passage this time. The writer of Hebrews talked about the “race marked out for us.”

“…the race marked out for us…”

In one sense, we are all running the same race…our spiritual journey is all about following God’s call. Being obedient to his will for our lives. In another sense, we each have our own race to run. You can’t run mine and I can’t run yours. It is my unique call. God, in his wisdom, laid out the track that he asked me to run.

There are some believers in the world who must run a race of real persecution, living out their faith beset by those who would punish them for believing in Jesus. Their race is more difficult than the race I run.

There are some believers who daily face abuse, rejection, poverty, sickness, loneliness. There are Christians who face heartbreak, unimaginable loss and financial ruin. It is not the race they wished for, but it is the race they must run.

God has given me a race to run. He asks me to stay in my lane because that’s where the things I need to learn and his best blessings will be found.

When we were all younger, three of us would meet each evening after our kids were put to bed for a nightly jog. After several months of running three miles a night, one of us, I don’t remember who, had the brilliant idea to run a half-marathon…13 miles and change. That meant some nights we were running five miles and some Saturdays much longer in preparation.

Though all of us were a bit more slender in those days, I didn’t have the runner’s mindset nor the runner’s body. I was forever falling behind. When we began to stretch out those nightly runs, I usually fell behind quite a bit.

At some point, I found a shortcut. About midway through our routine route, we entered a neighborhood that circled around and found the same road on which we had been running. I discovered if I took a left when they went straight, I would meet them coming back, knocking several blocks off my run.

It seemed to be a brilliant strategy as long as I could withstand their less than gentle ribbing. It seemed a good idea until we began our official half-marathon race in the hills of Huntsville, Texas. All those days taking a shortcut took their toll. By they time I finished the race that day, exhausted and spent, they were sipping lemonade and eating bananas in the shade with their feet up. I just wasn’t in as good a physical condition as my friends because I took months of shortcuts.

God, in his infinite will and wisdom, has our life’s course laid out. Every shortcut, every detour we take because it’s easier, erodes our spiritual condition. In “…the race marked out for us” there are no shortcuts that honor God’s purpose and play for our lives.

The good news is that whatever race we have been given to run, and whatever shortcuts we took that put us on the wrong path, the writer of Hebrews gives us the key to finishing well.

“Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus…”

The best runners in the world leave the starting blocks with their eyes on the tape at the finish line. They don’t look at the other runners. They don’t glance into the stands. They run with their eyes on the tape.

The world dangles a lot of attractive philosophies and practices in front of our eyes. We hear the cheers of those who would encourage us to run a different race. The only counter to the siren call of others is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

He is faithful. He is trustworthy. He will never forsake you. This is exactly what the writer of Hebrews is telling his persecuted brothers and sisters. It is the message they needed to hear.

Run the race you’ve been given. Throw off anything that keeps you from running well. Run with patience and endurance. Stay in your lane. Take no shortcuts. Keep your eyes on Jesus.

It is the message I needed to hear.

In the Potter’s Hands

Background Passages: Jeremiah 18:1-6; 2 Chronicles 1:7,10; Luke 22:42 Ephesians 2:10

A confluence of disconnected spiritual thoughts joined into one idea this week…rivulets of scripture and song flowing from different places to form one lesson, one powerful reminder of what it means to live a life obedient to God’s will. See if you can follow the path of my warped mind.

……….

Sunday’s Random Thought…

It came to mind again this week when I was lost in thought while exercising. Out of nowhere, I thought of the song, Have Thine Own Way, by Adelaide Pollard. The lines that kept repeating in my head were:

“Have Thine own way, Lord.
Have Thine own way.
Thou art the potter,
I am the clay.
Mold me and make me,
after thy will,
while I am waiting,
yielded and still.”

It seems that after graduating from college in Boston, Pollard moved to Chicago to teach in a girl’s school there. In frail health, she was drawn to first a faith healer and then to an evangelist who preached only about the end times and the second coming of Christ.

She moved back to New England feeling called to be a missionary in Africa. A series of health setbacks, detours and roadblocks derailed her plans. Despondent, she attended a prayer meeting one evening and heard an elderly woman pray: “It doesn’t matter what you bring into our lives, Lord, just have your own way with us.”

Before the evening was over, Pollard penned the words to the song that kept repeating in my brain.

“Have Thine own way…mold me and make me…Thou art the potter. I am the clay.”

It is a metaphor not uncommon in scripture. Jeremiah used it to make a point. Paul hinted at it several times in his letters.

Let that tickle the corners of your heart for a bit. We’ll come back to it.

……….

Tuesday’s Random Thought…

They had been a rebellious people. Having grown indifferent to the covenant they made with God, the people of Israel grew obstinate and defiant toward the word of the Lord. Shedding the commands of God like a dirty cloak, they held God’s law in contempt, comfortable doing their own thing.

God called them “stiff-necked.” Stubborn. Intractable. Hard to lead.

I find the term descriptively appropriate to my life at times. “Stiff-necked” was a term intimately familiar to the Jewish people. Most farmed small plots to feed their families and livestock. With oxen to pull the plow, they used an ox-goad, a pointed stick or metal rod to poke the ox to direct its path. The stubborn or stiff-necked ox would ignore the prod and go where it wanted to go.

The Hebrew people lived a roller coaster life of obedience and stubbornness. This was one of those moments at the bottom of the ride. God called Jeremiah to give a word of warning to his stiff-necked people.
Weary of their rebelliousness, God told Jeremiah to “go to the potter’s house” and wait for his word. Jeremiah sat down beside the potter and watched him work the wheel.

“But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as it seemed best to him.” Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does? Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.” (Jeremiah 18:1-6)

I like that idea. When I am misshapen, God can form me into another pot as it seems best to him.

Let that germinate in your fertile soil for a little while.

……….

Thursday’s Random Thought…

The day had been a glorious day. Jesus’ entry into the City of David found him surrounding by an adoring multitude, waving palm branches and singing praises. They wanted nothing more than to be near the one who had done so many miraculous things. Jesus spent the day preaching and teaching all who would listen.

After an evening meal that left his closest followers bewildered and perplexed, Jesus took them back out of the city into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. Settling his weary band of disciples onto the rocky hillside, Jesus took a handful of his closest friends a little farther up the hill. “Come, pray with me,” he implored them.

Jesus walked a few steps away before falling on his knees. Leaning against a boulder with his head searching the heavens, Jesus prayed for a way out of the horror that awaited him.

“Father, if you are willing,” he prayed, “let this cup pass from me.”

I can only imagine Jesus recalling Abraham, hovering over his son, Isaac, with a knife prepped and ready to take his life in sacrifice to God. As Jesus recalled how God stayed the hand of Abraham, telling him to find the ram trapped in the thicket as a substitute for his son, I can see Jesus hoping that God would find a ram to take his place.

No new word came from above. No ram in the garden. Jesus, ever obedient to his father, prayed, what Bill Wilson, with the Center for Healthy Churches, calls the “prayer of holy indifference.”

“Yet, not my will, by thine be done.” (Luke 22:42)

Such sweet surrender. A sobering thought for any day. Take a moment. Consider its implications.

……….

Friday’s Random Thought…

In a recent study of Solomon’s life, we find him taking the reins of leadership from his father David. The task ahead must have seemed daunting. His first official act was to bring the people together to worship. A thousand sacrifices were made. Prayers voiced. Songs played and sung in adoration of their Creator God. Deliverer. Lord Almighty.

God honored Solomon’s worship. That evening he spoke to the new king and offered him a blank check of God’s promise.

“Ask me whatever you want me to give you.” Solomon answered God, “…Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I might lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours.” (2 Chronicles 1:7,10)

God delivered in a significant way. Through his life, Solomon was noted for his wisdom. Scripture tells us kings and queens from all over the known world journeyed to Jerusalem to sit in counsel with the man. To pick his brain.

“All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put on his heart.” (2 Chronicles 9:23)

Solomon allowed God to teach him. To reveal truth to him. To apply that truth to everyday life. Solomon looked at the world around him and understood how much he did not know about governing…about life…about how to be who God needed him to be. His prayer for wisdom and knowledge reveals his humility before God. In praying for God’s help, he made himself clay in the potter’s hands, a person to be molded and shaped.

Hang on to that bit of wisdom just a moment longer.

……….

There you go. Four seemingly random thoughts entering my brain at different times and for very different reasons. Let me share with you, if I can, where these streams of thought came together.

If I’m honest, I suspect my life is not that different from the lives of those who frustrated God and Jeremiah. One minute faithful. The next minute faithless. One moment seeking God. The next moment scorning God. While I want to believe I live my life more in those faithful, seeking moments, those times when I am faithless and scorning haunt me profoundly. Create more turmoil than necessary.

That’s why I the words of Have Thine Own Way resonate so deeply. Adelaide Pollard nailed it. Despite the turmoil in her life, despite every obstacle that kept her from going where she wanted to go, she penned words that speak to me every time I hear them.

“Thou art the potter. I am the clay.
Mold me. Make me.
After thy will.”

That’s the prayer of one hoping to let go of the arrogance and ignorance that tends to walk it’s own road, unwilling to listen to either the still, small voice or the clap of thunder.

The sweetest times of life come when I make myself pliable enough for God to begin again to shape me into the man he desires me to be. I see myself sitting next to Jeremiah, learning a valuable lesson from the potter. When my life is marred in God’s hands, I am glad he reshapes it as a “another pot,” remolding me in ways that seem “best to him.”

That only happens when let go of my stubborn pride and my stiff-necked attitude.

That’s where I draw inspiration from Solomon. God offered Solomon anything…everything. Yet, Solomon did not ask for riches. He did not ask for possessions or honor. He did not ask for the death of his enemies. He did not ask for a long life.

Solomon asked for God’s wisdom. I shudder to think of my response if I were allowed to rub God’s genie lamp and claim my wish. Seeking God’s will for our lives is the ultimate act of wisdom. Understanding that God’s skill at the potter’s wheel outshines our clumsy attempts to shape our own lives. Think about Pollard’s fervent prayer of submission. Solomon’s humble request for wisdom.

Then, we find ourselves in the Garden of Gethsemane. Listening to Jesus plead for God to find another way that would not take him to the cross. Spending hours agonizing over that which he was called to do.

As he prayed and listened for his Father’s word, he got to a decision point where he could walk on or walk away. His prayer was perfect. A prayer indifferent to his own will and wish. “Not my will, but yours be done.”

In the silence immediately after that prayer, I believe a calm settled in Jesus’ heart. A peace in knowing that if he remained obedient, all would be well. That God’s purpose and plan for his life and for the world, would be satisfied.

So, recognizing my tendency to be stiff-necked when it comes to what God desires of me, I lean upon a song that asks God to mold me, like a potter, after his will, not mine. I seek his wisdom, knowing his understanding far exceeds my limited abilities. When submission and humility united, the prayer of holy indifference is so much easier to pray.

Nevertheless, Father, not my will, but yours be done. weet surrender of one completely in God’s will.

Today’s Last Random Thought…

As I finished this meandering idea, hoping it would make sense, one more verse came to mind. One more random…God-inspired…thought.

Paul, writing to the church in Ephesus, reminded them that the grace gift of salvation that God provided gave them divine purpose. He said,

“We are God’s workmanship, created in Jesus Christ, to do good works, which he determined in advance for us to do.’” (Ephesians 2:10)

The word Paul uses for “workmanship” can be translated “work or art” or “masterpiece.” I like that idea, particularly in light of my other random thoughts.

The potter is also an artist. As capable with a cup as with a sculpture. As the works of God’s hand, carefully shaped and molded into a masterpiece of his will and way, we are called then to do the good work he has planned for us to do. Capable of doing it well. Capable of doing it right. Capable of doing it consistently.

All it required is submission, humility, surrender and the willingness to let the potter work.

Now, you catch a glimpse of how my mind works. I just hope there is a clear message buried in the meandering madness.