Just an object without a name?

Just an object without a name?

Recent encounters with government agencies made me know, first-hand, the many ways our society turns us into nameless, faceless objects.  Someone else was ‘in control’ of my life and that they cared little, if at all, about me.  From that experienced I developed real fear, a sense of helplessness, that I cannot recall ever feeling in the same in my entire lifetime.  

I thought back to times when I did prison outreach work and what some of those men and women told me about being trapped and afraid.  They were not Jim Smith or Jane Jones to the system. They were a case or a number, their identity ripped away. Now, I 'got it.' It’s so much easier to deal with things than it is with people!  That’s why we depersonalize others before we exploit them.

Are you feeling like a number?
Does it seem to you that no one really cares if you exist?   

Mark tells us a story about Jesus’ love for a person who was invisible to the world.  She had an “issue of blood,” (KJV) the Bible says. This means she bled constantly as if her menstrual period never stopped. "She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse." (Mark 5:26, NIV)  Chronic illness, left broke by those who could not help – that’s terrible. Left unsaid is that she was ritually unclean, isolated from general society, unable to attend synagogue, making others who risked contact with her ritually unclean as well!  Complicating matters, generally those who suffered as she did were thought to be under the judgment of God, receiving what they deserved.

One day, she took a huge risk. She heard about a healer named Jesus, that He was coming to her town. “She slipped in from behind and touched his robe. She was thinking to herself, “If I can put a finger on his robe, I can get well.” The moment she did it, the flow of blood dried up. She could feel the change and knew her plague was over and done with.” (The Message. Mark 5:27)   

But Jesus knew she needed more than physical healing. Her heart was broken and so He stopped and asked, “Who touched me?”  His disciples chided Him for the ridiculous question. “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” (Mark 5:31, NIV)  The woman, who was trembling with fear Mark says, emerged from the shadows and identified herself.  Tenderly, lovingly, Jesus finishes her healing! How?  She expects a rebuke from Him for making Him unclean.  She’s used to being an object but instead He gives her dignity. "Jesus said to her, “Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you’re healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague.”  (Mark 5:34, The Message)  Daughter! It’s a relational word. She’s not just ‘woman.’  She’s not just ‘unclean.’ She’s a daughter of God, a person who matters enough that the Master will look her in the eyes and call her His own!

Deep emotion wells up in me as I read that and, by faith, know that He knows MY name, too.  In a world of billions of people, where I am often an object or useful only for my work, He loves ME. And, Christian friend, He loves YOU.  Ask Him to heal you.  Take a step of faith to present yourself, as you are, to Him.  My prayer is that the quiet voice of the Spirit will answer with the revelation that He knows YOU.

Here’s the word from the Word. “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear. “What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows." (Luke 12:4-7, NLT)

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(Listen to the song)

                                                                                                                                                             Love Me              

He cries in the corner where nobody sees,

He's the kid with the story no one would believe.

He prays every night, “Dear God, won't You please,

Could You send someone here who will love me?”

Her office is shrinking a little each day,

She's the woman whose husband has run away.

She'll go to the gym after working today,

Maybe if she was thinner,

Then he would've stayed,

And she says…

“Who will love me for me,

Not for what I have done,

Or what I will become?

'Cause nobody has shown me what love

What love really means.”

He's waiting to die, as he sits all alone.
He's a man in a cell who regrets what he's done.
He utters a cry from the depths of his soul,
“Oh Lord, forgive me, I want to go home.”

Then he heard a voice somewhere,

Deep inside and it said,

“I know you've murdered and I know you've lied,

I have watched you suffer all of your life,

And now that you'll listen I'll tell you that I…”

I will love you for you,

Not for what you have done,

Or what you will become.

I will love you for you,

I will give you the love,

The love that you never knew.

David Heller | JJ Heller

© 2006 Stone Table Records -
CCLI License # 810055

Anger doesn’t just boil, sometimes it simmers!

The dictionary defines resentment as “feeling displeasure or indignation at (a person, act, remark, etc.) from a sense of injury or insult.”  Resentment turns innocent people into adversaries. It eats at a person’s heart. Left unchallenged, it robs the person of the very thing he needs, a network of friends and co-laborers, turning him into an angry, lonely person. Resentment destroys a marriage if it turns a husband and wife into rivals that demand respect and struggle for control in their relationship. “He will never treat like that again,” she declares in her wounded state. He angrily declares, “I won’t be ignored for one more day!”  Employees who feel unappreciated or used will often build a slow simmering resentment and a continuing grudge match with their supervisors.  The company suffers loss of productivity and ultimately everyone loses.

So, what does the Lord say to us about simmering resentment?

He reminds us that we don’t live in Heaven yet!  Since the Fall of Eden, humanity has struggled with a break between effort and reward. Work, a gift of God, sometimes turns into toil because sin exists and hinders the harvest. When we accept that this is the common experience of everyone, we stop feeling like “it just must be me!”  Facing up to the difficulties of life and accepting our weakness opens up the possibility of experiencing God’s power.  Paul observes that at his moment of greatest frustration, the Spirit told him - “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power 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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:9-11, NIV)

He also demands that we learn to forgive others, even the real hurts they visit on us. Jesus taught us to pray: Father, "forgive us our sins, as (in the same way) we have forgiven those who sin against us." (Matthew 6:12, NLT)  This directive comes to all of us, "Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:32, NLT)   In one of His most challenging words to us, Jesus says that we must "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back." (Luke 6:27-30, NIV)  He makes no excuses or rationalization for resentment in our hearts, does He?

He further tells us that we find our true value from loving and serving Him. He sees all we do and never forgets. That can comfort and it can be a fearful thought. Today, I encourage us to read it with hope that He knows us, inside and out, and understands the longings that others cannot understand, or for which we may not even have words. IF we will entrust ourselves to Him, we find a peace. The Bible says that "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his." (Hebrews 4:9-10, NIV)  "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:13, NIV)

Here’s the word from the Word. Of Jesus it was written
“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
‘till he leads justice to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope.”
(Matthew 12:18-21, NIV)

Thank you, Lord, for your patience with this bruised reed!

Give me the grace of rest, the strength of deep faith.

Help me to follow You to victory over sin.

Replace the simmer of resentment with the joy of the Lord.

Amen.

If only I ...

When you’re unhappy or distressed, what do you want most? Would a new job bring satisfaction? How about more money? Or, maybe you are convinced that your spouse is the problem; if he would just be more involved with you? Or, do you need to move, or lose 25 pounds, or escape those miserable in-laws that are always intruding?  Then, again perhaps you are convinced that a new car would be just the thing.  Often our discontent is born from comparison.   

We (yes, all of us to some extent) idealize the life and experience of others:  you know, the whole ‘grass is greener on the other side of the fence’  thing.  God knew this and, in the basic 10, He included this commandment: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” (Exodus 20:17, NKJV)  The Message says: "No lusting after your neighbor’s house—or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don’t set your heart on anything that is your neighbor’s." (Exodus 20:17, The Message) God knows that coveting creates a mental fertile garden where all kinds of destructive, sinful behaviors grow.

Christians can pray to develop a character trait that comes from the response of faith-  contentment! Before you stop reading, I hasten to add that the Lord does not ask you to ignore the challenges, problems, or disappointments of your life.  Contentment is not resignation to fate, giving up on our dreams, or pretending that life is wonderful. Pain can be a gift when it moves us to seek change. God, the Spirit, creates vision in us, and when coupled with true faith,  it turns into a powerful ability to change life for the better.

So, what does Paul mean when he says he is content?   "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (Philippians 4:11-12, NIV)  He is not looking around comparing his life to that of others.  He is not needy.  No matter where he way – in prison or in the pulpit – Paul was able to make the same declaration. “God is here and He is near.” Can you? Will I?  The Psalmist points the way and invites us to live in this Truth. "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success." (Psalm 118:22-25, NIV)  Using a mason’s metaphor, he says that a stone thrown on the discard pile yesterday became the most visible decorative one that finished the wall (capstone) today!  When we learn to wait on Him, to give our life to Him, he can take yesterday’s wreckage and make something beautiful out of it.  “God is here and He is near.”

Usually what He changes most is ME, not my situation.  We can choose joy today, Christian. It’s not a ‘can’ kind of question. It is a ‘will’ question. Paul reveals the power of choice in the passage quoted a moment ago.  Twice he says, “I have learned to be content.”  Contentment emerges from the choice to accept that “God is here and He is near.”  

What has you restless today? What ‘sore spot’ in your life is making you long for something you probably should not desire?  Give him your pain, your disappointment.  Yes, tell God about it and then, in faith, leave it with Him.  Thank Him repeatedly with these words; “You are here now. You are near now.”  It’s not just an empty mantra. It’s a prayer. "Pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7, NLT)  Much wiser choices for change are made when our hearts and minds are resting securely in the Presence of God.

The word from the Word is the counsel of the Spirit given to a young man whose circumstances battered him.  His mentor wrote, with inspiration, that Timothy should not seek more money, but rather more “God.”  The result?  Contentment.  "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." (1 Timothy 6:6-12, NIV)

______________

Give thanks to the Lord,

Our God and King,

His love endures forever!

For He is good, He is above all things,

His love endures forever!

Sing praise, sing praise.

With a mighty hand

And an outstretched arm,

His love endures forever!

For the life that's been reborn,

His love endures forever!

Sing praise, sing praise.

From the rising to the setting sun,

His love endures forever!

And by the grace of God,

We will carry on,

His love endures forever!

Sing praise, sing praise.

Forever God is faithful!

Forever God is strong!

Forever God is with us!

Forever, forever.

Chris Tomlin

© 2001 sixsteps Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Givers and Takers

An email notifies me of a deposit, my bi-weekly compensation from the church. The balance grows. Another email reminds me that the mortgage payment will be deducted. The funds in my account will reside in my checking account just for a few days before flowing out to other places. Those transactions made me think about the larger scheme of life, asking myself about how I interact with other people. Do I leave people around me richer or poorer? On the whole, am I a giver or a taker?

Givers bring encouraging words, help and cooperation, prayer, and even resources. We look forward to interactions with them, don’t we? Takers drain us. They whine, criticize, or shuffle their responsibilities onto our shoulders.  Yesterday, a person I pastored nearly two decades ago, wrote a note to me. (One reason I enjoy Facebook) She said that life had been stormy, but that the teaching I provided stuck with her and brought her through and helped her to find her way back to Life. I gave thanks that the Lord had used me to make an investment in her that was still returning dividends! Now, she invested in me by offering her encouragement. The circle is complete.

We should be inspired by a man so generous that the nickname given to him by church leaders became the name by which he was widely known. The first time we meet him he is called Joseph. "There was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles." (Acts 4:36-37, NLT) Joe became Barney!  He did not come into the story of the church because he was eloquent, or because of insightful leadership, or theological teaching.  Everybody remembered one thing about Joseph. He encouraged. He was a giver, a man who invested in others. When those first Christians were suspicious about Paul’s new-found faith, Barney stood by him and vouched for the genuineness of his transformation. His great heart clearly made a positive difference wherever he went. One passage tells us that "When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord." (Acts 11:23-25, NLT)

Jude, in his short letter, contrasts takers and givers, calling on us to share ourselves generously. Of those who are a negative draw, he has these strong words of warning: “They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. …These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want." (Jude 12, 16, NLT) And, then he urges us to an entirely different kind of life: "But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering." (Jude 20-22, NLT)

So, friend, which will you be today – a giver or a taker?

Here’s a word from the Word. Don’t think it is just about money.  The Spirit is describing a way of life. "God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God." (2 Corinthians 9:8-11, NLT)

Lord, as we receive your gifts, let us give ourselves away. Amen.
___________

Give It Away

He was workin' his garden when I happened by,

He waved me over with that look in his eye.

And he started in breakin' off some ears of corn,

“Here boy, today this corn is just right.

Just boil it up for your supper tonight.”

I've learned it's true what my pappy used to say,

“Nothing's quite as good 'til you give it away.”

If you want more happy than your heart will hold,

If you wanna stand taller if the truth were told,

Just take whatever you have and give it away.

If you want less lonely and a lot more fun,

And deep satisfaction when the day is done,

Then throw your heart wide open and give it away.

There's been a lotta water over the dam,

Since that day in the garden with my Uncle Sam.

So I hope you'll hear these words I have to say,

There are two kind of folks,

There are takers and givers,

There are gripers and complainers,

And big hearted livers.

It depends on how we choose to spend our days,

We can hoard up all we've got or give it all away.

Benjamin Gaither | Gloria Gaither

© 2005 Gaither Music Company (Admin. by Gaither Copyright Management)

Hook, Line And Music Publishing (Admin. by Gaither Copyright Management)

CCLI License # 810055

(The Gaither Band – “Give It Away” YouTube)