Out of control?

One of the themes of my Advent musings is the humility of Christ Jesus. That the Magnificent God of Heaven would choose to become an ordinary baby, delivered among animals in the lowliest of places, live as a laborer, and subject Himself to ‘death, even death on a cross’ is a wonder.

Hebrews tells us that He was willing to “declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”  (2.13) Yes, He calls us His brothers and sisters! What love, what humility.

It is a call to us, so well-trained in protecting our rights and insisting on being comfortable, to change our ways. We must be willing to release life, to be 'out of control,' a scary proposition to most of us.

The centrality of humility in our relationship with the Lord is abundantly clear in the Word.

Jesus spoke to the need with this paradoxical statement - "whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:4, NIV) Paul urges us to "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." (Ephesians 4:2, NIV)
James does not qualify the command - "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:10, NIV)
Peter, likewise, directs us to "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." (1 Peter 5:6, NIV)

Humility is an indispensable trait in the character of the godly.

From Genesis to the Revelation, we find humility presented as an indispensable quality of the godly. What a foreign concept to most of us! “I want it my way!” we say without a twinge of conscience. We dissolve relationships, throw our garbage over the fence to spite our neighbor, and insult one another on social media and think – “That’s normal behavior.” It is NOT in the life of the disciple of Jesus.

Humility is the fertile soil in which peace with others flourishes.
It dissipates anger.
It facilitates forgiveness.
It raises up the wounded and broken, viewing people as being worthy of respect.

Humility allows us to strengthen our relationship with God bringing us to bended knee and open heart before Him. (By the way, prayer is truly enriched by actually kneeling before God in humility and few do it anymore.)

Some confuse humility with a lack of healthy self-esteem. Truly, those who have learned to be humble are those who understand that genuine self-esteem is rooted in faith that takes hold of God’s amazing grace and love.

Humility relieves us of anxiety because the humble has no need to pursue the ‘success’ image that is entrenched in American lore and society. The humble person is set free from the slavery that comes from trying to find worth and acceptance by pleasing others. They do not need to dance better, buy bigger, or spend money on fashion to impress.

Isaiah reminds us that "The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled)." (Isaiah 2:11-12, NIV) One of John’s themes in the Revelation is the judgment that will come to the prideful of the world when the Lord calls them to account.

Like all evidence of the Spirit’s life, humility is both a gift of God and something we must cultivate. Do you want to become humble?

First step is to acknowledge Christ as Lord. Not just once, but daily. (Try kneeling in prayer!) Confess, aloud, “You are Lord!” in your morning prayer. Almost every day, among the first thoughts in mind is a prayer – “Lord, this is your day, I am your servant. May You be honored by my thought, word, and action.”  (Sin being what it is, I fall short of that aspiration too frequently!)

Second step is honest confession of need, of sin, of reliance on His grace and goodness. I am a Christian for over a half-century, have preached the Word for 4 decades, but I am still a child before my Father; absolutely dependent on the Holy Spirit moment by moment. That is not weakness, that is humility. Without the life of the Spirit actively working in me as I yield myself to Him, I cannot please God. Nor, my friend, can you.

You ARE capable of living for Christ Jesus and being humble. This character quality grows from daily dependence, real prayer, learning the Truth of the Word, and in close communion with other Christians. Refuse to be deceived by pride, attempting a ‘self-centered’ Christianity. That phrase is an oxymoron, an impossibility.

If you pray for humility to be created in your life, prepare for struggle! And then, bow your head, open your heart, and learn to lean, like a child, on the complete sufficiency of the Father.

Here is a word from the Word. "For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13, NLT) Do you believe that? Now, humbly live it.

__________________

Video of this blog

https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55

Come and see!

Thinking about the story of Christ’s birth while looking at the beautiful Nativity set in our church, I focused on an improbable group that came to that manger – the shepherds. Shepherds of that era do not really belong in such a scene, or do they? They were men who slept in the fields, who did not enjoy regular meals at home; theirs was a menial job. Tending sheep kept them from going to synagogue and observing the Judean ritual of Sabbath. They generally were not a ‘holy’ lot!

But there they are, at a most holy moment. These men responded with faith to the angelic announcement of the Messiah’s birth. "And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people." (Luke 2:9-10, NKJV)

"So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger." (Luke 2:15-16, NKJV)

That choice to leave their sheep and go to the manger brought that little group of ruffians into the Story of the ages.

Friend, are there those who have told you or implied that you are not worthy of God or His goodness? Does some memory of failure or rejection tempt you to conclude that you cannot really stand in the Presence of Jesus - too bad, too sinful, too old, too sick, too poor? Consider this. Another announcement and invitation recorded in the book of Acts extends an offer to us.

About 33 years after the events in Bethlehem, the Spirit was poured out in Jerusalem at Pentecost, the birth of Christ’s Church. Peter preached a powerful message, concluding with these words: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”  (Acts 2)

It is an invitation to us – those who “are afar off.”

How will YOU respond? People have lots of reasons (excuses) for not responding to God’s invitation to come to Jesus. No one is “too anything” to be beyond His love and grace.

Jesus Christ is’ good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’   Jesus found men, ordinary men fishermen, laborers, and said, “Come, follow Me.” They, too, dropped what they were doing. "At once they left their nets and followed him." (Matthew 4:20, NIV) He changed them into spiritual giants who changed the world!

Are you a captive of fear, believing the lie that God does not care about you?
Are you tangled in the troubles of life, convinced by circumstances that you are outside of the circle of God’s grace?

Take the way of the shepherds.
Come running!
Don’t stop at the Manger.
Continue to the Cross where love spilled forgiveness,
then move to the Empty Tomb that assures us of our final victory over sin, death, and Hell.

The word from the Word comes to us in the inspired work of Isaiah -
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David." (Isaiah 55:1-3, NIV)
"Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near." (Isaiah 55:6, NIV)

Let faith make this the best Christmas ever, a discovery of life and Light found in the greatest Gift- Jesus Christ. Come and see!

______________

Video of this blog

https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55

But, they laughed!

When God asks us to believe, to trust Him, in our faith we risk looking ridiculous.

Remember when Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt and a few days later found himself up against the Red Sea with the chariots and horsemen of the Egyptian army coming to reclaim their slaves? To any reasonable person, it looked like the thing was over, dead, and done! The super-power of that era had a disorganized bunch of former slaves trapped against an impassable body of water.

So, what was Moses to do? Negotiate the best settlement possible? Fall on his sword and let the Egyptians kill him in retribution for the rebellion? Run off into the night and save his own skin? Each of those solutions had some merit, but here is what really happened –
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.” (Exodus 14:15-17) The act was utterly ridiculous. I have a feeling that some of the people expressed real scorn, but he did it and we have the miracle of their deliverance as well as the destruction of the army!

Even the Perfect Man, Jesus, felt the scorn of those who did not believe, who found His complete faith a thing to be mocked. One day He was asked to go to the home of Jairus, a respected leader, whose daughter had died. When He got there, He was met with “reality.” The mourners were already there doing the rituals of grief common in the day.

Jesus ‘saw’ a different fact, informed by obedience to His Father and HE said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.”  (Matthew 9:24) Based on the evidence, His assertion was ridiculous, except for a greater reality! Matthew goes on to tell us that He dismissed the mockers, those who only saw ‘reality.’  Then, “He went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.”

If we choose to walk with God, we will find ourselves the objects of ridicule, not because we actually try to be weird or offensive, but because faith collides so often with what is seen and known with natural senses.

How dumb does it seem to ‘turn the other cheek’ to that person who takes advantage of us?
How can we possibly forgive those who offend us 77 times, in other words, without limit?
How silly is it to pass up riches on earth to ‘store up treasure in Heaven?’
How can we actually think it is great to serve, to give up our life, to gain eternal reward?

Yet, each of those things are choices Jesus tells us are the values of the person who claims to be His follower!

God invites us to ‘walk with the Spirit’ listening to a drum that those who lack spiritual insight cannot hear. In so doing, we will face laughter, regarded as fools for Christ. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, one where there were sophisticates who mocked his simple Gospel. He told them, “Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” 

When the ‘wise’ ones pointed out Paul’s suffering as evidence of his apparent failure, his reply is sarcastic, acknowledging the very real pain he had endured. “For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored; we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.”  (1 Corinthians 4)

He concludes with an appeal to them to consider the way of faith, to let God lead them rather than just ‘common sense’ or human reality.

This, too, is our call. It is not that we discard all reality or counsel. We live in this world and need to pay attention to the laws of gravity, the best advice for health, to pay our bills, and meet our obligations of work and productivity. BUT, at the very same time, we become people with eyes that see beyond time, who are led by the Spirit, shaped by the wisdom of the Scripture, and kept in the counsel of the godly.

Are you willing to risk ridicule for God’s sake?
He will lead you to life to the full and ultimately to the reward of eternity.

Here is a word from the Word. May this Psalm inspire us to greater obedience.
“Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.

But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

But not the wicked!
They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
Sinners will have no place among the godly.

For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.” – Psalm 1 NLT

Now let’s walk with God!

______________

Video of this blog

https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55