Author Archives: tombeaman

Deep Yearning

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Need something to smile about?  Check this out:

The reason that makes us smile from deep inside is because we have a knowledge, deep inside, that there is a deep rightness to this kind of peace.  The Bible word for rightness is righteousness.  I take the “eous” out of that word and it feels more natural: rightness.   Yes indeedy, the way things ought to be!

Deep inside each of us there is a place where we yearn for rightness.  We yearn for that kind of peace to be spread out across the world.  That thirst is there because God put it there.  He put it there and He will eventually satisfy it.  Here are some excerpts of what He foretold through the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, about the coming Kingdom of Jesus:

“Righteousness [rightness] will be his [The Messiah, Jesus] belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.” (Isaiah 11:5-7 with my explanations in brackets)

More remarkable than vegetarian lions and bears, people from all nations, even Israel’s former arch enemies, will come to her Messiah and unite with her in true peace!

Imagine,

“In that day the Root of Jesse [The Messiah, Jesus] will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations [other nations, not just Israel] will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea.” (Isaiah 11:10-11)

That might sound like “pie in the sky, by and by” except that Isaiah nailed his prophecies over the several hundred year period before Christ, and those about Jesus, His purpose in coming, His death and resurrection.  Isaiah is batting 1000.  When he looks into the future, to envision the Kingdom of Jesus, pay attention.  Especially as he tells of that deep knowledge, that deep yearning being fulfilled.

“They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:9)

The folks will not simply be peaceful, but thankful, too:

” In that day you will say: “I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”” (Isaiah 12:1-2)

Oh, and by the way…   If you look up the word Isaiah used for “salvation” in Hebrew you will discover it is “Yeshua,” the Name of Jesus…

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

 

Passing Through

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Admit it: there are times when you wonder if you have arrived on the wrong planet.  The world seems to have gone crazy.  We don’t belong here.  Don’t turn away from that feeling; we really don’t!  God makes it clear in His Word: we are temporarily homeless, homeless now but traveling toward our home with Him.  You see this throughout the Bible, as He calls His people “sojourners” (King James word), people on a journey.  Sojourners may be staying for awhile in a place, but know, ultimately, they are moving on.  God called Abraham to sojourn away from his family homeland.  The Israeli escaped slaves sojourned in the desert enroute to the Promised Land.  And followers of Jesus are called sojourners, too.  Our citizenship is not here on Earth but in Heaven.  Jesus prayed for His followers, saying,

“…they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.” (John 17:14b-16)

Sojourners.  That’s why Peter, writing to fellow believers, referred to them as,

“…strangers [literally sojourners] in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,” (1 Peter 1:1b)

When we realize, as the song says, “this world is not my home; I’m just a-passin’ through,” life in this crazy world makes more sense.  It is fresher, more invigorating and filled with purpose.  Motels don’t feel like home but when you are on a journey, the temporary feel of a motel is no big deal  It’s when you get stuck living in a motel, as  several friends have been, after their homes were destroyed, that things get weird.  It’s as though life stagnates.

When we think of this world as our permanent home, life stagnates and gets weird here, too.  Our priorities become twisted.  Instead of living by love we fixate on acquiring stuff.  When we recognize that this life is but a journey, and make that journey with God, the natural stagnation of this world is cleansed and refreshed by the “living waters” of His Spirit.

Our journey is not aimless.  We are heading toward our real and permanent home.  The author of Hebrews wrote this about those who knew they were sojourners:

“If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11:15-16)

When you know life is a journey, the ups and downs are better, the craziness easier to deal with.  And the destination is better, too.  As David wrote about his journey, the one that even wound its way through the “valley of the shadow of death,”

“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6)

 

 

 

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

 

Members Only?

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Has God passed you by?  I’ve been enjoying “American Idol” over the past few weeks, but always feel the pain of the contestants who, each week, are informed they were not chosen.  They are told, your best wasn’t good enough; go back to the hotel, get your stuff together and go back to your ordinary, humdrum life.  Ouch.  But the Bible uses that word, chosen, too.  Israel is “God’s chosen people.”  And Peter calls Christians,

To God’s elect, ….who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, …. 1 Peter 1b & 2a (excerpts)

If God chooses those who become Christians, does so by His own foreknowledge, and if you are not a Christian, does that mean God has passed you over?  Has God rejected you?  When you also realize that Jesus taught that only those who come to Him by faith are born into the Kingdom of Heaven and attain eternal life, this is no small question.  Has God left you out?   These other teachings of Jesus may sound to you as though Heaven is for “Members Only” and that it’s up to God who becomes a “member.”

 John 14:6 (NIV)
Jesus answered, “I am* the way* and the truth* and the life.* No one comes to the Father except through me.*

John 6:44 (NIV)
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,* and I will raise him up at the last day.

But look more carefully at these other teachings of Jesus:

John 6:40 (NIV)
For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son* and believes in him shall have eternal life,* and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:45 (NIV)
It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’** Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.

So which is it: “no one” or “everyone?”  Both, really.  If you haven’t decided about Jesus but are still reading this, it is likely that God is “drawing you” to Himself.  If you sense a desire to “listen to the Father” and “learn from Him” you are likely being drawn by God to come to Jesus.  His will is that everyone who believes in Jesus “shall have eternal life.”  Everyone.  If you are willing, He won’t leave you out.

So who chooses?  Is it you or is it God?  As hard as it is to wrap our minds around it, the Bible says it is God Who chooses.  But it feels as though we choose.  The best way for me to illustrate this is with this scenario:  Suppose my dog is sick and will die unless he eats a certain life-saving medicine.  I wrap the medicine in his favorite peanut butter and put it out where he will find it.  He gobbles it down.  Who chose?

Bottom line is this:  If you sense a desire to be closer to God, He will not leave you out.  He will open the way for you to come to Him through Jesus.  Follow that desire, take advantage of that open “Way,” and, mysteriously, you will have been “chosen!”

For Best Results…

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Rescue TragedyThey didn’t need to die.  If those refugees in the dinghy had only listened to their rescuers it could have turned out differently.  But, instead, they decided for themselves what to do.  Panic ensued.  People were trampled and drowned.  Heartbreaking, because no one needed to die.  If only they had listened…  (More about this below).

This world is a dinghy.  God has launched a  rescue.  We would do well to listen to His instructions.  When, instead, we make our own rules, when we decide for ourselves what works best, what’s right or wrong, eventually things go badly.  Because we don’t have the knowledge or wisdom of our “Rescuer.”  Too late, what seems good to us proves unsustainable.  What we planned as a party deteriorates into panic.  We mean well, but people die.

What causes fighting, rioting, terrorism and war?  How about starvation and disease?  Why have so many lost hope?  It’s not that God hasn’t told us how to live.  He has given us standards of righteousness and justice, love, compassion and humility.  But we know better.  By our own ideas, we chase after life and find death, both physical and spiritual.

Here’s a word for us all, for Supreme Court Justices and grocery store baggers.  For kings and cab drivers alike, For world leaders and local waiters.  Listen!  God warned us, saying:

“…They have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in their abominations; so I also will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring upon them what they dread. For when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.” (Isaiah 66:3b-4)

When troubles come, frequently people bemoan the loss of the standards of humanity.  But that’s not it; it’s a loss of godliness.  We do better when we listen to the Manufacturer’s instructions.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
For more about the refugee tragedy, click HERE

A Note

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As she unzipped her suitcase, a whiff of her childhood home escaped.  As excited as she was to be out at last, making her own way in the world, loneliness was lurking among the cardboard boxes stacked around her new apartment.  She began to unpack.  Tucked underneath her old jeans was a note.  When she opened it, there were no words, just a sketch, done in her father’s hand, of a rose.  Just a sketch, but so much more, as it wrapped her in warm memories of home and a tangible connection to his love.

When Spring hits, it feels like a note from God, reminding us of His love.   As the snow finally receded out back, the remnants of our flower bed lay dead, flattened into the mud.  But then Spring pushed new life up.  Yesterday, God said, “Check this out!”  wpid-wp-1430754629587.jpg

Why do you suppose God created beauty like that?   A note maybe?  As though He is saying, “Here’s how much I love you.  Remember Me as you make your way in the world.”   I think so.

In the Psalms there is much talk of how Creation lifts praise and joy up to God.  Like this:

“Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy;” (Psalm 98:8)

Have you ever heard a mountain river during Spring run off?   It does sound a lot like enthusiastic applause.  If you’ve never heard mountains sing, you need to experience the Rockies at sunrise. There is a sense in which the beauty of Creation lifts up praise to her Maker.  But there is also, in that beauty, a note from God to us.

He says, “I made this to make you smile inside, to remind you of  how much I love you.  Remember me as you make your way.”

 

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Oh Shoot

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If Iran gets a nuke, would God stand by and let them wipe Israel off the map?  He let it happen before, about 2700 years ago. God had planned to use Israel to bless other nations as a living demonstration of how much better life works when you pay attention to the real God,  But, when they turned away and began to follow the gods and customs of their neighbors (now called Iran, Iraq and Syria), He allowed those countries to literally wipe His people off the map.  Almost.  God had not given up on His original plan.  Speaking through Isaiah, He said:

” A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse [i.e. Israel]; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” (Isaiah 11:1, my explanation of “Jesse.”)

My neighbor got fed up with his apple tree.  You couldn’t eat the apples and it messed up his yard in the fall.  Here’s a picture of what used to be his apple tree:  .wpid-wp-1430490990902.jpg

It looks a bit like Israel did after they stopped  producing the kind of “fruit” God had intended.  But look very closely at the bottom, left corner of the picture.   Here’s a blow up:

wpid-wp-1430490977197.jpg

 

That’s a shoot, coming up from the stump of his apple tree.  You have to look carefully to even notice it.  To the casual observer it doesn’t look like it will amount to much.

 

You could make the same mistake when it comes to Jesus, the “Shoot” Who sprouted from the “stump” of God’s Chosen People.  You might miss Him, such a seemingly insignificant figure, compared to the might and grandeur of Rome.  But Rome has fallen and the “Shoot” is still growing.  Jesus is still blessing people of all nations who come to Him to be reconciled to God.  He is “bearing the fruit” of leading people to the real God.  Here’s more of what Isaiah wrote:

” A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord— and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” (Isaiah 11:1-5)

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

 

Who Ultimately Pays for Corruption?

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Newsflash: Corrupt government officials have been enriching themselves by “selling” favorable decisions to interested parties who are willing to pay.  The payments are usually carefully disguised as “gifts” or “donations” to avoid the appearance of corruption.  Surprised?  Of course not; it’s been happening on both sides of the aisle for as long as the aisle has been there.

But those who sell their influence should heed this warning.  It does not come from the media, or the public, or from any watchdog agency.  It comes from God.  He sent this warning to the leaders of His own people, but it applies universally, to every nation and across all party lines:

“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches?” (Isaiah 10:1-3)

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Says Who?

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After 30 years, now it’s safe to eat eggs.  The experts were wrong. Of course, the experts used to think tomatoes were poisonous, too.  Nope, it’s Lima beans that are poisonous; ask any kid.  You can’t always trust the experts.  Expert publishers rejected the novels of John Grisham (16 times!).  Expert physicists rejected the theories of Einstein.  And expert religious leaders rejected Jesus.

Of course, God saw that coming.  He created us humans and knows how we tend to think we know all the answers.  Hundreds of years before Jesus, He inspired these words:

“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone [or cornerstone – same word]; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Psalm 118:22-23 – with my explanation)

Jesus quoted that line to challenge religious leaders who had rejected Him.  He is the cornerstone of the Kingdom of God, the foundation stone upon which everything else in God’s Kingdom is built.  God has done this, not “the builders.”  Not the experts.  God’s Kingdom is still growing.  Every human kingdom ultimately collapses for want of a strong “cornerstone.”

We still have experts today – leaders, judges, officials, scholars – who choose to build without regard to the “Cornerstone.”  Inevitably, what they build is not so “marvelous.”

“[But]…this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.” (Isaiah 28:16b)

Be careful who you trust.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

What Will Happen

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What’s going to happen next in Iran?  Who knows?  How about in Iraq, Syria or Israel?  Who knows about Yemen?  Experts and national leaders alike can only guess.  News commentators are at a loss.  And yet, there is Someone Who knows and He’s proved it.

If the current situation in the Middle East seems complicated, check out the history of that region during the last few centuries BC.  The Assyrians and Babylonians conquered the Israelis, lost to the Persians, who then were conquered by the Greeks, whose kingdom broke up and was taken over by the Romans.  And the whole, complex, seemingly chaotic series of events was revealed in advance to the prophet, Daniel. Read the 10th and 11th chapters of Daniel.  The specificity is amazing!  For example, he wrote:

““The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power. After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last. In those days she will be handed over, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her. “One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious.” (Daniel 11:5-7)

A couple hundred years  after Daniel wrote those prophecies, they took place!  The “King of the South” was Ptolemy II Philadelphus and his daughter was named Berenice.  It all happened!  Daniel’s writings were so specifically accurate that some doubt that he could have written them in advance.  And yet, there is compelling evidence he did.  God proved He knew what would happen.

My point is this: Even in the midst of our current, global, political chaos, God is not surprised or defeated.  He knows.  He not only knows because He is in control.  He also told Daniel about events still in our future.  He said:

“… There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:1-3)

Jesus reaffirmed the certainty of those promises.  Daniel got it right.  “Those who are wise” will draw close, through Jesus, to the One Who knows.  He knows what will happen in the Middle East.  He knows what will happen to you.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

You are Invited

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You have been invited by God.  Doesn’t matter what family or faith you have come from.  Makes no difference what trouble you have fallen into, or how unworthy you feel.  You are invited, which means you cannot buy a ticket or use any good works to bribe your way in.  God says, “Y’all come!”

“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. …Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live….” (Isaiah 55:1 & 3a)

Jesus renewed that invitation:

“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” (John 7:37-38)

Notice the lack of fine print.  “All you” are invited.  “Whoever is thirsty” is on the guest list.  Jesus does not say, if you are good enough, or, if you were born into the right family or faith.  He does not discriminate between liberal and conservative, rich or poor, Jew or Gentile, or any racial lines.  He says,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

The invitation is for way more than rest:

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24)

And, you are invited.  We humans use a four-letter word to exclude one another, the word “them.”  God and Jesus use a four-letter word to include us all, the word “come.”

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.