Jesus' Generals

Years ago I attended a Pastor’s Conference which featured a minister then in great prominence. I was standing outside of the mega-church where the meetings were held just as Rev. Smith (not his real name) arrived in a chauffeur driven Lincoln. As it pulled up, a man sprang from the front door and retrieved a top coat and briefcase from the trunk. He went to the back door of the car and after opening it for our dear brother, lovingly put the coat around the man’s shoulders. I waited for Bro. Smith to acknowledge the man’s kindness, but did not see even so much as a courteous nod. Rev. Smith stood until his servant led the way, carrying his material. Later, during a presentation, Bro. Smith coughed and another man raced to the podium and placed a cough drop in his mouth! Needless to say, I never listened to another word that man spoke. He was in love with himself! Not too long after that day, his lack of moral integrity, infighting with other preachers, and sexual sins became known and he disappeared into anonymity.

Jesus turned greatness upside down. On the worst night of His life, just hours from the Cross where He would carry the weight of sin for the world, where He would be subjected to humiliation and suffering beyond my comprehension, He saw his friends fighting over position. Did He scream, “What’s the matter with you idiots? Can’t you give me a minute’s peace?”  No, instead, He got up from the table, took off his shirt, and picked up the towel. He moved from man to man, washing feet! It was a job usually given to the household servant with the least seniority, one of the most menial tasks. When He finished this living lesson, "he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table. Then he said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do." (John 13:12-15, The Message)  Before reading on, take time to reflect on this profound moment!

Jesus’ generals don’t seek limousines and servants as symbols of their importance. They serve. Is your ego in check? Do you love to be served, fawned over, and pampered? Do you wait for recognition, positioning yourself to be noticed? That’s the picture of ‘greatness’ we see every day. Celebrities live for notice. The powerful demand perks and privilege.

We’re tempted, in our own small world, to make the same thing happen. How do you treat the clerk at the coffee shop? Is she a non-person, just someone to pour your cup, or a person you can serve with kindness? That person who fails to hit the gas pedal within a nano-second of the light change, is he just a ‘driver’ to you, or a person you can serve with a quick prayer of blessing? How did you treat your spouse this morning? Did you tenderly serve with love?

Here’s a word from the Word. Here is wisdom to live by, a way of greatness hidden from those without a heart full of the Spirit of Christ Jesus. “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28, NIV)

“Go ahead, divorce your wife with Alzhiemer’s Disease.”

On Tuesday, Pat Robertson (TV’s host of the 700 Club) shocked a lot of us with his comments about the justification for a man divorcing his wife if she develops full-blown Alzheimer’s disease. Robertson reasoned that since she is ‘no longer there,’ and as good as dead, the marriage covenant is no longer in force.  I have not taken Robertson seriously for a long time. His theology, if one could call it that, appears to be formed ad hoc, without any anchor in the Truth of Scripture, more for the appeal to the audience than from a commitment to Christ’s truth.  But since so many still think he’s some kind of prophet, I felt the need to address his foolishness.

Marriage is a living lesson in Christianity. The Bible says that it is the foundational way we learn about God’s total commitment to us and His desire for our unwavering love for Him. There is no way that anyone who understands the covenantal basis of marriage (an agreement between God, husband, and wife) can accept the utilitarian idea of ‘loving until your mind fades with age.’  In an editorial in Christianity Today, Russell Moore writes:  “It's easy to teach couples to put the "spark" back in their marriages, to put the "sizzle" back in their sex lives. You can still worship the self and want all that. But that's not what love is. Love is fidelity with a cross on your back. Love is drowning in your own blood. Love is screaming, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me."  God didn’t love me when I was attractive to him. He loved me when I was ignoring Him, caught up in my Self, thinking that I was ‘it.’ He died for me when I cared nothing for Him.  And, He calls me to love others, including my wife, in the same way.  He says that that kind of love, which His Spirit makes possible, tells the world that His Gospel is real and true.  So, if Bev someday is afflicted with the dementia of Alzheimer’s Disease, if she is afraid of me because she no longer knows who I am, if she is ‘no longer there,’ I will still love her. That’s no romantic proclamation. It’s way, way deeper. I will do it, God helping me, for the glory of my Savior.

That kind of Christianity just isn’t all that popular in our Self-serving culture. Robertson finds a ready audience because so many American Christians practice a kind of ‘discipleship’ (and I use the word loosely) that is more of a hobby for those weekends when nothing else is on the calendar. It basically boils down to going to church, and then only if the program is ‘relevant,’ the music entertaining, and the preacher not too heavy – you know – more like an after dinner motivational speaker. He should say some things that cause vague discomfort so it seems that he is being ‘prophetic,’ but he should know when to back away from anything that might stick around long enough to make a person reflective over Sunday dinner! God is not allowed to make a prior claim on our time, our affections, our kids, or our money. And therefore, He is not really God at all. He is just a god of convenience.

Here’s the Truth. I hope it is comforting and challenging for each one of us.

“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery." (Matthew 5:31-32, NIV)

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24, NIV)

Bitter or Broken?

I stood on the deck looking out at the shadows of the trees. The stars glimmered overhead, the crickets sang, the night mist brushed my face. Usually, it would be a peaceful moment of reflection at the end of the day. Last night, frustration and disappointment so overwhelmed me that I wondered where God was.  My only prayer was a complaint! “Where are You, Lord? What do you want from me?”  As I lay my head down later to sleep, this thought brought a measure of comfort. I am not secured by my grip on His hand, but rather by His grasp of my hand. In the Scripture, I read: "I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. … Yet I still belong to You; You hold my right hand." (Psalm 73:21, 23, NLT)

When John, the disciple that Jesus loved, was an old man, he was sent to exile on the rocky island called Patmos. Do you think he wondered if God had forsaken him? There he was in a cave, alone.  But, the old disciple got up on the Lord’s Day and the Bible says, he was ‘in the Spirit.’  He was given the visions of the Revelation, wild and wonderful pictures of God’s ultimate triumph over Evil!  Jesus came to John there and we read this line from the first chapter. "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last." (Revelation 1:17, NIV)  His submission in heart and mind, his willingness to let God be God, allowed him to experience the touch of the hand of Jesus. I wonder if he would have received the same glorious visions if he had stood on that rocky shore screaming at the heavens about the injustice of it all?  Could he have known the comfort of the touch of the Lord if he wrapped himself in a stinking blanket of bitterness stained with his disappointment with God? I think not!

I find no place in the Bible that tells me that I cannot weep, that a man of faith will live above disappointment. When those days come when tomorrow is hidden by the fog of frustration, when the ache in our soul is too deep to express beyond a groan, we have two choices. We can become embittered or we can become broken. A bitter man blames God and cuts himself off from the touch of the Father’s hand. A broken man kneels in humble worship. There God finds and renews him. David’s song reminds us that broken hearts are open to God’s healing. "I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don’t for a moment escape God’s notice." (Psalm 51:17, The Message)

Are you feeling the pressures of life today?  Does it seem that God has turned away?

Choose to wait, humbly, for Him. When tempted by bitterness, reject it. Instead, let your heart break. And, my prayer is that you will feel the tender, comforting touch of the hand of your Father.

_____________________

Often you've wondered why

Tears come into your eyes,

And burdens seem to be

Much more than you can stand.

But God is standing near

He sees your falling tears.

Tears are a language God understands.

God sees the tears

Of a broken hearted soul.

He sees your tears

And hears them when they fall.

God weeps along with man

And takes Him by the hand,

Tears are a language

God understands.

Tears Are A Language

Jensen, Gordon

© 1971 Jensen Music (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc., 741 Coolsprings Blvd., Franklin TN 37067)

CCLI License No. 810055

Sweetness and Light

Even after a great dinner, I want something sweet. A small serving of ice cream is just right! It’s amazing to me the wide variety of things our tastes desire. The satisfaction of a well-prepared meal is one of life’s great pleasures – be it a simple bowl soup or a five course meal. Life gets so full of activities occasionally that I catch a meal ‘on the run.’  After a dash to the deli counter, I wolf down a sandwich. As tasty as a slice of pizza may be, it does not compare with a full meal! Eating that way does not provide anything like the satisfaction of sitting down to dinner with family.  Some people live on fast food and begin to believe that tacos, cheeseburgers, and pizza are rich fare.

My appetite for spiritual food is as real as my physical hunger. Like the Psalmist, I find myself saying, "I’m thirsty for God-alive. I wonder, “Will I ever make it— arrive and drink in God’s presence?”  (Psalm 42:2, The Message)  A time of contemplative prayer, quietly waiting before Him, is so sweet.  An experience of worship with the church, singing songs of praise and hope, praying together, renews me like nothing else. Moments spent reading the Scripture bring new strength to my heart. Sometimes I grab a quick spiritual snack; something from a book of devotions, or a few lines of a song, or a moment of hurried petition in prayer.  But, I know that real satisfaction can only come when I take time to sit down at the Lord’s table!

Are you trying to satisfy your spiritual hunger without consuming the Word, lingering for a time in His Presence?  You might not even know what you’re missing. I encourage you to carve time into your schedule for regular times for dinner with the Father. Here’s His invitation. “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." (Isaiah 55:1-2, NIV)  We will attempt to satisfy the hunger of our soul. May we have the wisdom to pursue the One who truly meets our need.

God’s children need not experience malnutrition, need not go through the day weak from hunger. There is fullness in Him. "Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." (John 6:35, NIV)  

Here’s the word from the Word. I pray it draws you to seek sweetness and light in the Presence of God today.

"How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey." (Psalm 119:103, NLT)

"Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path." (Psalm 119:105, NLT)

A Broken Camera

Parenting a 12 year old is an adventure. He thinks he knows better than I about just about everything. Ed recently received a camera for his birthday. I put the wrist strap on it with an explanation that if it slipped out of his hands, the strap was there to keep it from falling. Almost immediately, he went to his room and took the strap off of the camera. You can guess what happened the next day. As he ran down the steps the camera flew out of his hands. Now he owns a non-functional camera.

Are you obedient to your Father or are you a willful child, full of your own ‘wisdom?’ Jesus says, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock." (Matthew 7:24, NLT)  He really does know best!  When our will collides with His instruction, there is the temptation to discard what He says as belonging to another age or as impractical in our time.  His wisdom is timeless and flows from the mind of God. Submitting ourselves to Him can be a difficult and costly thing. But, like our Ed found out when he choose to ignore my instruction, when we ignore Him we are short-sighted and do so only to find that we have caused ourselves great pain!

At one point in His ministry, Jesus told the crowds that they had to ‘eat his flesh and drink his blood.’  He compared himself to the manna that God had provided to the Israelites during their wilderness wandering. He said that He was as important as food and water, that the only way to find the favor of God was to consume His wisdom. Many found this too much and left Him! I love Peter’s profession of faith that day. When asked if he too would leave, "Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life." (John 6:68, NLT)

Where are you finding Jesus’ words hard to obey?
Are you struggling with forgiveness?
Are you avoiding loving someone in your family that you find irritating?

Are you protecting yourself from humble, selfless service?

Are you resisting investing your time and treasure in the Kingdom of Heaven?

Here’s a word from the Word. May it be our prayer, one that embraces the wisdom of God. Read it prayerfully, asking the Spirit of God to help you see past this moment to the reward that comes to those who maturely say, “I will obey your Word!”

"Teach me your decrees, O Lord; I will keep them to the end.
Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions;
I will put them into practice with all my heart.

Make me walk along the path of your commands,
for that is where my happiness is found.
Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money!
Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.
Reassure me of your promise, made to those who fear you.

Help me abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good."
(Psalm 119:33-39, NLT)

___________________

I'll say,"Yes, Lord, yes,"

To Your will and to Your way.

I'll say,"Yes, Lord, yes."

I will trust You and obey.

When the Spirit speaks to me,

With my whole heart I'll agree.

And my answer will be,

"Yes, Lord, yes."

Yes Lord Yes

Keesecker, Lynn

© 1983 Manna Music, Inc. ARR UBP of Manna Music, Inc. (35255 Brooten Road, Pacific City, OR 97135)

CCLI License No. 810055