WHY is this Happening?

Things are tough. Unexpected stress. It is beyond my control. Why?

• Because we live in a world that is sin-spoiled. We live in the consequences not only of our most ancient ancestor, Adam, but also in the consequences of billions of sinners all the way to ourselves. God's word continues to be true..."in the day you eat of it, you shall surely die." Not only physical but also spiritual death is a way of life for us earthlings. Fractured without and within. You cannot escape the consequences. In spite of certain schools of teaching that tell us that to accept Jesus ushers us into an immediate exemption from sin's consequences, the reality of life in a world that is groaning is our common lot.
• Because God is Sovereign. No circumstance of life "just happens." Though sin's consequences are inevitable, they are filtered for each of us through the sovereign hand of God. Nothing can come my way unless it is chosen for me by my personal, good, loving Father (for those of us who are His). Romans 8:28a: " And we know that God CAUSES..."
• Because God determines this particular circumstance or consequence is for my GOOD. This is Romans 8:28b: God causes "...all things to work together for good for those who love God..." God does not primarily have COMFORT in mind, but CHARACTER in mind for His dearly loved ones. And this is not 21st century American character, but the very character of Jesus Christ Himself. This is Romans 8:29: "might be conformed to the image of His Son..." My culture is all about comfort. My Creator is all about character. And He is relentless. He WILL reach His goal for me. No circumstance is wasted. Like the intentional motions of the highly skilled surgeon, every tool has its purpose, every incision it goal...healing. Healing for us from the marred image of Adam is progress towards the perfect image of Christ. It IS happening for you and me...and the incisions often hurt. But they are purposeful.
• Because I am not alone in this world. God intended that man in plurality image the Trinity in his relationships and interdependence and love. But sin turned that into exploitation and manipulation and abuse and rejection and pain. We often live and hurt because of the sin of others. We will never escape that until there is a new heaven and a new earth on which righteousness dwells.
• Because your destiny is Heaven, not the cemetery. God is preparing you for life on a new heaven on a new earth. It is not Zap, you are now like Christ. Rather, God's method is methodical...He patiently, slowly, circumstance by circumstance changes us into the image of Christ as we respond in faith and depend on Him. HE is transforming us NOW for THEN. Always this end is in view.

How can I thrive in the pain and stress:

• Acknowledge God's soverign power and plan in every circumstance. Worship Him that this very stressful time is from His hand and is good and is customized for YOUR good.
• Acknowlege your need for this same God's gracious help via the Holy Spirit.
• Cooperate with God's working in you by responding and not reacting to the circumstance or the person. Choose patience and kindness and mercy in response to difficult periods and persons. This choice, if made in dependence on the Spirit, will be aided with His power who is the very source of the character of Jesus. He will fill you with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, etc.
• Don't shoulder it all alone. Cast your burden upon the Lord, YES, but we are to share one another's burdens, as well. As many BURDENS come because of others, so COMFORT and HELP with those burdens comes through others. The church, the church, the church.

Why is this Happening? God, Me, Jesus, Heaven.

Slip Slidin' Away

Deuteronomy 4:9, "Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them."

A constant challenge in this life, even when we have redeemed, new covenant hearts of flesh is SLIPPAGE! How quickly the wonder and majesty and desire and willingness and love for God and His Word slips from my heart. How quickly I feel cold and lost and unwilling. What can I do to stop the slippage?

1. BE CAREFUL and WATCH myself: Knowing that my heart is wander prone should make me ever diligent. I must watch compromise. I must remember where sin so easily besets me (Hebrews 12:1) and just refuse to go there. I must stay close to my Father and dependent on His Spirit knowing that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells NO good thing. I must remember there is an ever vigilant enemy who desires my damnation, and since he cannot accomplish that, will settle for my utter destruction and the shaming of Jesus Christ. I must remember my need for others who are also being careful and watching by the power of Christ. I must walk by faith and not by sight. I must remember that along with marvelous grace and the indwelling Spirit there is also insanity always at work in my heart. I must not listen to its whines and cries and poor me's and deals for compromise.
HEY! It is FIRST of all MY RESPONSIBILITY to watch myself, not someone's else's.

2. TEACH my children (and others): The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. Every time I teach others there is restorative grace that helps my slipping soul. Simply talking about God and His truth and His great deeds of salvation has a lasso-ing effect on the slipping heart. Teaching causes me to think and pulls me out of the general, vague, lazy kind of thinking that leads to slippage. Focusing on others, to share with them God's precious truths and deeds, helps to keep me from slipping on the banana peel of self-absorbtion. If I teach others these things, then one day they will remind me of what I taught them. It is a great challenge to self-disciplined living for Christ when I am responsible not only to give verbal witness of God's ways, but to demonstrate them in my daily life. Boy...the kids see the real me.

May there be no slip slidin' away any longer as we watch ourselves closely and pass on the truth of our God to those closest to us.

Thankful to be Alive!

In Ephesians 2:4-5, the Apostle Paul gives the big "before" and "now" of the Christian life.

Before (vv1-3) we were:

• DEAD in our trespasses and sins
• WALKING (dead) according to the course of this world
• FOLLOWING (death) the prince of the power of the air (Satan)
• LIVING (dead) in the passions of our flesh, and
• CHARACTERIZED as children of wrath (under the eternal death sentence of Almighty God)

BUT NOW, we are

• MADE ALIVE together with Christ.

HOW did this happen?

• Because God is RICH IN MERCY, v.4. JUSTICE is getting what I deserve. MERCY is not getting what I do deserve. GRACE is getting the opposite of what I deserve. God is RICH in mercy. Rich means abundant. God is a God of abundant, more than enough, overflowing mercy. His very nature pours over the edges with the mercy that does not give us the justice we deserve by instead brought down justice on Jesus' head!
• Because God has a GREAT LOVE, v.4. Great means multitudinous, of a great number. LOVE is agape, the self-sacrificing giving for the good of another despite their underservedness kind of love. God is not only love by infinite, eternal nature (1John 4:8), but the capacity of this love is GREAT, incalculable, immeasurable.
• Because of God's GRACE, v.5. We have been given, not just what we DON'T deserve, but the OPPOSITE of what we deserve. To not condemn us and destroy us eternally is not giving us what we deserve. But to go on and give us LIFE!!!! in Christ is the opposite of what we deserve.

WHEN did this happen?

• EVEN WHEN WE WERE DEAD IN OUR TRESPASSES, v.5. There was no remaining flicker of life in us that responded to God's overtures. WE WERE DEAD. There was no spiritual life in us. There was no possible initiation from us toward God. It was ALL God's doing. He was the initiator! Not only was there no flicker of life or desire for God in us, we were HATERS of God, rebels, vile sinners, we were head over heels in love with the world and disciples of Satan (vv.1-3).

At THAT TIME God's nature, rich in mercy, love, and grace stepped in and rescued me from my nature, dead, sin-pursuing, Satan-led, to MAKE ME ALIVE in Christ.

I am thankful to be ALIVE! "Father, I marvel in your mercy, love, and grace. I marvel that when I was rushing headlong into your wrath I was swept up by your love and mercy and grace into LIFE, LIFE IN JESUS."

No Time Like the Present to be Thankful

Some of the benefits of being genuinely thankful to God through the Lord Jesus Christ:

• I have the feet of my faith planted firmly in reality. The truth is, I always have a mountain of things to be thankful for. Since God is sovereign over all things and is good and is for me, complaining is the most rank kind of unbelief and is ridiculously blind. Thankfulness is standing where I should be, acknowledging the reality of God's unfailing goodness.
• Thankfulness directs the eyes of my heart towards Christ, where my faith can grow and I can move into greater trust and I can stay connected to Him. Thankfulness is decidedly personal and enhances my relationship to my Personal Father and Savior.
• Thankfulness is the kind of witness this cranky, "victimized," complaining world around me needs. Fate is not in control. A good, personal God is.
• Thankfulness is obedience to God. "In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" 1Thessalonians 5:18. To be unthankful or not to be thankful is to sin.
• Thankfulness allows me to be filled and stay filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18-20
• Thankfulness makes me so much more attractive to others. Who wants to be around a whiner?
• Thankfulness brings glory to God.
• Thankfulness reaffirms me as the needy receiver and God as the Source.
• Thankfulness allows me to infect others with something good instead of something that is soul-shrinking.
• Thankfulness makes others look better and allows me to like and love them because I do not see them as problems or as those who are blocking the way to my happiness. God is in control of that.
• Thankfulness is part of a winning strategy against the enemy of my soul, the original dissatisfied being, Satan.
• Thankfulness allows me to see others as blessings from God and not bothers.

Just to name a few.

Misunderstood and Misrepresented

In Mark 3:20-30 we see Jesus again pursued relentlessly by the crowds of those needy for healing and deliverance. The crowd is so great that He and his disciples cannnot even eat.

The religious leaders HATE it. Why? They see Jesus as the greatest threat possible to their prestige and favor and position with the people. They hate Jesus at this point so much that the Pharisees are willing to work together with the Herodians, the political group who were lovers and cooperators with Rome and Herod.

Jesus' family did not like it, either. They considered Jesus insane. WHO does He think He is? Is he delusional? What is he doing gathering crowds like this? These crowds will destroy him.

Jesus' own family, who had been around him growing up and doubtless knew that he was like no other, MISUNDERSTOOD Him. They did not believe He was the Messiah. Neither Rome nor the Jewish authorities liked someone who gathered rabid crowds around themselves. What is Jesus doing to our good name?! We better save Him from Himself! So they went out "to seize him," v.21, that is, to take control of Him.

Even for Jesus it must have hurt to be so misunderstood by his family. Have you ever been misunderstood? Have you ever been doing something that was God's will for you and you received a hard slap of criticism for it...from those you love (and who very possibly love you?)? Perhaps your commitment to purity was misunderstood. Perhaps your concern that a dying loved one was not saved was misunderstood in the gush of confidence that such a "good" person would surely be with God soon. Perhaps your commitment to serve someone that everyone else had written off was ridiculed. Perhaps your willingness to give to missions when you could have that place in the mountains. Being where Jesus is, serving His way, brings misunderstanding. We need to expect it. It still hurts. See John 12:26; 15:18f.

Jesus was MISUNDERSTOOD by his family but WORSE, He was MISREPRESENTED by the religious leaders. Since they could not overcome his wisdom by accusations and they could not argue with the results from His healing and casting out of demons, they did what men who would do anything to remain in or come to power would do - they screamed lies and made false accusations. This is one of the most sobering passages in the Bible: since it was SO plain that what Jesus was doing was by the HAND OF GOD (the Holy Spirit), they had to try to ruin his reputation with the people by accusing Him of doing His remarkable deeds by the HAND OF SATAN. "It is by Beelzebul, the prince of demons that he casts out demons" v.22.

Jesus' answer is that their reasoning makes no sense at all. If Satan is destroying himself, his kingdom is coming to an end. Rather, the truth that Jesus healing and deliverance ministry makes plain is that ONE stronger than Satan is here, and He is binding Satan and plundering his goods, He is setting free the devil's captives. Jesus is not Satan's tool, but Satan's CONQUEROR.

Jesus' next words are glorious and then frightening. All sins and blasphemies will be forgiven men. That is great news! Especially for seasoned sinners like us. That ONE sin that Satan likes to bring up over and over. Forgiven by the blood of Jesus. That sin that I've just committed for the 5,000th time. Forgiven. But frightening: the one who blasphemes the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven...it is an eternal sin. That was the sin of these MISREPRESENTING religious leaders: they called the work of the Spirit of God the work of the evil spirit. This represented a hard, calculated, malicious heart that had closed itself to the evidence and revelation of the Spirit working through Jesus.

This is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. It is not a one time sin. It is not a curse spoken in grief or confusion. It is not something we can do without knowing it. It is an intentional, clear-minded (as clear-minded as insanity can be), repeated, vicious, malicious rejection of the revelation of Christ by the Spirit's work. It is saying, "I will have none of this. I do not care how clear it is. I WILL NOT believe. I see but I reject what I see. This is all so much fakery and foolishness and lies. There is NO room in my heart for this ridiculous impostor. I reject God and His hand reaching out to me."

A sin that cannot be forgiven. Tremble at the thought.

This is what Jesus faced from the religious leaders. MISREPRESENTED as an envoy of Satan when the Spirit of God made it crystal clear that He was the very Son of God.

If we follow Jesus, we, too, will be misrepresented as fools, idiots, outdated, prudish, narrow-minded, life-destroyers, deluded fanatics. It comes with the territory. It is rough terrain. May God grant us grace day by day to stay true to our Lord even when MISUNDERSTOOD and MISREPRESENTED.

The Bookends of Faith

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 1:17 that the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel is "from faith to faith" or " by faith from first to last." That is, our right standing with God through Christ is always, on our part, "by faith."

The entire Christian life is by faith. What is faith? Faith is trusting or relying upon God according to His Word. It is being sure that God is true and will be faithful to His promises. It is clinging to God not only for my eternal desitiny, but for my present obedience, moment by moment, day by day. The object of faith is God himself: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Faith is NOT relying upon myself or my determination, or my feelings of commitment or what I think is or is not possible. Faith in its most basic sense is a raw reliance upon God because God has said so.

In another place the same Paul writes that "we walk by faith, not by sight" 2 Corinthians 5:7. That is, we live by looking at God and His Word, not my surroundings or circumstances. The ONLY stability that is available here on planet Earth is that which comes as we walk by faith. The reason for this is simple: God says, "I am the Lord, I change not" Malachi 3; and "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and tomorrow" Hebrews 13. As I TRUST in the unchanging God I more and more take on His very character.

Perhaps like me, your struggle today is not so much with what that person did to you that has you in a wrestling match with bitterness, nor with the fact that you did not receive warm love and affirmation from your parents growing up, nor that others just don't understand you and give you your due, nor with the bad lot that life has thrown you... but perhaps your struggle is with FAITH. Perhaps you have decided to walk by sight and you have decided that God is not trustworthy. Perhaps you have decided God is faithful to others but not you. Perhaps the eyes of faith have been distracted to focus on all that is going wrong.

Precious friend, LOOK UP! There in heaven is seated the Father, who planned a great salvation for you and then sent His Son. There at His right hand is the Son, who accomplished your salvation by His death and resurrection and continues to hold you in His hand by His present intercession. And HERE is the SPIRIT, indwelling you, never to leave you, ready, if you cease to grieve Him by unbelief, to fill you with the power and character of Jesus Christ. And this blessed and eternal Trinity's help is only a PRAYER OF FAITH away.

This life is by faith from first to last. The bookends of it all. Let us PRAY IN FAITH!!

Serving the Jesus Way - Part 2

Jesus' primary commitment in serving was to His 12 disciples. You don't impact a world or start a movement that goes to the uttermost by only serving crowds. There has to be investment in individuals...individuals who can then invest in others.

Investment serving happens through relationships. Jesus called the 12 "to be with Him." Mark 3:14 It may not seem or sound "fair" in a culture like ours, but not everyone was eligible to be with Christ in this way. In fact, Jesus could be VERY "unfair" (it seems to us) because he had the 1 (Peter), the 3 (Peter, James, John), the 12, the 72 (Luke 10:1ff), and the 120 (upper room?). How dare He make distinctions between who was and wasn't to be with Him! How dare He leave the other 9 behind to take Peter, James, and John on select outings! How dare He? Because He spent the whole night in prayer to the Father to make sure just the 12 were chosen that should be chosen (Luke 6:12). These were a prepared 12 men, even though one of them was the betrayer.

For us, Paul gives instructions re: who we should choose to invest in, in this "be with us" way. In 2 Timothy 2:2 he tells Timothy to "entrust" the things Paul had invested in him to "faithful men, who will be able to teach others also." In one sense, we are to "move with the movers." We are to love and serve all men, but investment of life is for those who will not just take, but become givers and servers and disciplers in their own rights.

Some critical lessons from Jesus' "be with Me" choices:

• Since I never outgrow my need of being discipled by Jesus, I need to be with Him regularly to HEAR Him (Word) and SPEAK to Him (Prayer). But do I?
• I am also discipled by Jesus when I am "with" others who are committed disciples of His. If I look around and it's just Jesus and me (all the time or most of the time), it is debatable whether any true discipleship is taking place. There is NO substitute on earth for the fellowship of the local church. But this fellowship must be real and a "rubbing" kind so that iron can sharpen iron.
• Are you investing your life in someone? Maybe you don't know too much, but you probably know enough to share with and benefit someone else. If you are walking with Jesus and spending regular time in His Word and participating in your local church and therefore growing yourself, you can choose someone to be with you. Ask them out for tea or coffee or a sloppy burger. Inquire into their spiritual life. Share with them what you are learning. Share with them how to pray for others. Just do it.

Life investments all around. It's the Jesus way to serve.

Thoughts on Extravagant Love

In John Chapter 12 we see the extravagant love of Mary (sister of always-busy-Martha and alive-again-Lazarus) as she washes the feet of Jesus with expensive perfume and her hair. She did everything wrong. That is, from her culture's perspective and from the perspective of a thief.

Mary used perfume worth about a year's wages to anoint the feet of Jesus. Usually it was the head that was anointed. Only water was used for washing the feet. Mary always seemed to be at the feet of Jesus (see Luke 10:38-42 and John 11:32, also). She uses what could easily have been the most precious of her possessions to grace His FEET. Then, she lets down her hair, a definite cultural no-no, especially in the presence of a respected guest. She's doing the servant's work, with the wrong items, in the wrong way.

Judas' take on the anointing was, "What a waste!" Jesus' take, "Leave her alone, she has kept it for the day of my burial." Mary's "waste" fit right into the center of God's sovereign plan.

There is no waste in extravagant love. Was not Almighty God's sending of His eternal Son for sinful rebels like you and me extravagant?

Am I willing to give what is most precious to do the lowest of tasks for my Lord and Savior?

Am I willing to love Jesus to the embarassment of those around me?

Do I think I belong beside Jesus or at His feet?

Am I like Judas, being critical of the extravagant love of others for the Savior?

Whose approval am I LOVING for?

"Lord, make me like this Mary."

Serving the Jesus Way - Part 1

In the early chapters of Mark, Jesus is off to a rapid-fire ministry of preaching and healing and casting out of demons. Always in tow are his disciples, observing and assisting (I assume) in Jesus' interactions with the crowds. Jesus is healing people from many diseases and incurable handicaps and soul-slavery at the hands of Satan's unclean spirits. Word is getting out. In Mark 3:7ff, we see that crowds are beginning to seek out and follow Jesus from all over Israel and beyond. It is no small wonder.

When you are truly helping people, people needing help will seek you out. You can't keep good things like healing and demonic deliverance quite. Soon Jesus had to have a boat ready for escape in case the crowds became too suffocating and dangerous. They weren't going to let Him out of their sight!

The price of being a true people helper is having ever more people to help. Truly helping and loving people can bring us face to face with radical decisions about time and energy and priorities. The more you help, the more some people want help. If you are willing to give, they are willing to take...and take...and take...and take. Of course, we have the help of the Holy Spirit. Praise God for that. But notice a couple of things regarding how Jesus served the increasing crowds of the needy:

• He made a way to escape from the crowds when their demands became dangerous: v.9
• He got away at intervals to be with the Father: v.13
• He showed compassion to the crowds, but He gave His full commitment to the small band of disciples he chose: v.14

It is no small part of wisdom and survival in ministry to learn how to do each of the above, not out of fear or selfishness, but in obedience to the Father.

"Lord, help me to be willing to serve the needy beyond all that I have previously experienced. May I be known as one who has something that the needy need."

Better to be faced with choosing the BEST over the BETTER rather than always settling for the least.