Author Archives: tombeaman

Despite what you may have heard,  DMV employees are not zombies. It       just seems that way because they have become emotionally anesthetized.  They probably started out happy in their new job and eager to serve the public.  But the endless stream of people with the same questions, the same missing paper work, the same complaints, day after day, over time, dulls even the best of them.  It takes a rare individual to maintain empathy in situations like that.  Rare like Jesus.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.   When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. – Matthew 9:35-36

Try to put yourself in Jesus’ position.  You have come to tell people about God and to rescue them from spiritual    destruction.  Along the way you see someone with a disease and, because you can, you decide to heal them.  But then the word gets out and you are at the center of a mob scene.

It’s endless:  crippled people, blind people, sick people, neurotic people, crazy people.  Every face wears the desperate expression of deep neediness.  You can imagine yourself throwing up your hands and shouting, “Enough, already!  No more healings today; Everybody go home.”

But instead of running out of emotional gas, Jesus looks at all the people and He gets it.  He understands why they are feeling so needy.  He has compassion for them.  He sees they are like “sheep without a shepherd.”

Here’s why this matters to you.  When you have a need in your life that only God can supply, you need to know you don’t have to take a number and wait in the back of the room, like you do at the DMV.  You need to know that you won’t be misunderstood or turned away because you don’t have the right paperwork.  You need to know that it’s Jesus behind the counter and that He gets it.  He understands what you need and why you feel so needy.  Jesus has compassion for you, not frustration.  You can trust Him.

Beware the Crusty

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Nobody told Marlene (not her real name) you’re not supposed to yell in church.  Even if she had been told I’m not sure it would have made any difference.  Right in the middle of a sermon, the pastor said something about how the Holy Spirit lives and grows in the souls of those who place their faith in Jesus.  And she couldn’t sit still.  Marlene jumped to her feet, with her arms waving wildly above her head, and yelled out, “Whoo Hoo!”  Needless to say, the rest of the congregation was a bit startled.  Some of them woke right up, blinking and bewildered.  No doubt, others were thinking, “That’s not the way we do it here…”

But I think Jesus loved it!  Whoo Hoo!  He knew that woman had come to faith and been reborn a few days earlier, that she just couldn’t contain her joy.  I’ll bet Jesus was wondering why nobody else was jumping and shouting.

A bunch of long-faced, crusty, religious types once asked Jesus why He and His disciples were not fasting, why they were not acting with appropriate religious sorrow.

Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:15-17)

New wine is alive.  It’s growing and bubbling inside.  So is new birth in the Spirit of God, when someone surrenders to Jesus.  It bubbles with joy and new life.  Paul called it “walking in the newness of life.” (Romans 6:4 NASB)  Old, crusty rituals cannot contain new life.  How can the guests fast while the “Bridegroom” is with them?  Jesus told believers that He would never leave them (Matthew 28:20), that He would come and make His home with them (John 14:23).  He said, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14;19).  Whoo Hoo!

The chances are good that Marlene is more subdued in church these days.  She probably got the memo.  She’s more crusty.  But don’t you fall prey to that!  The wine is still new.  The Spirit of God is still growing and bubbling inside.  Let that joy loose!  Whoo Hoo!

Who is on the Guest List?

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During WWII, when Nazi forces conquered towns in Europe, some of the citizens in those towns collaborated with them, in an attempt to secure special favors and safety for their families.  You can imagine how such collaborators were hated and despised by the others in town.  Tax collectors in Jesus’ day collaborated with Rome.  In addition to being despised for that reason, they also were considered to have abandoned their place among God’s Chosen People.

And yet, Jesus selected a tax collector, Matthew,  to become one of His disciples.  Imagine the outrage!  Worse yet, Jesus went to a dinner at Matthew’s house, also attended by other “outcasts” and sinners.

“When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:11-13)

Jesus, Whose understanding of reality was not limited or distorted, knew that people caught up in sin are spiritually sick, that they need healing not ostracism.  Jesus told the self-righteous people, those who looked down on “sinners,” to “go and learn” what the verse in Hosea meant by, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”   Jesus began to extend mercy to the outcasts by showing up for dinner.  He sent the religious people back to learn more about the Bible.  Think about that.

It is ironic that many who call themselves Christians consider themselves too good to associate with people who are caught up in spiritual sickness, people who need mercy.  If you have been rejected by so-called Christians, do not hesitate to seek mercy from Jesus.  He didn’t come for the righteous but for sinners.

What Really Matters

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Eric Wallace threw himself out of an airplane and parachuted into the middle of the Air Force Academy football stadium, just before the game.  But when he landed, he knelt down before his girlfriend, Melanie and asked her to be his wife.  The parachute part was sensational.  The proposal was more important.  The day will come when what really matters to Eric and Melanie is that they agreed to be husband and wife, “’til death do us part.”  On days like that, how he showed up to ask her won’t be so important.

Matthew focused in on what really mattered when he told about the paralyzed guy and Jesus. The way Mark and Luke tell the story, his friends smash a hole in the roof and lower him down on ropes, to get him to Jesus.  But Matthew leaves that part of the story out, skipping ahead to what really matters.  He wrote:

“Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2)

Being lowered through the roof was the sensational part.  Being healed of paralysis must have been what the man was hoping for.  But Jesus jumped right to the part that really mattered: “Your sins are forgiven.”  I realize that some priests and clergy presume to pronounce sins forgiven, but in truth, only God has the authority to forgive sins.  That is why…

“At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” (Matthew 9:3)

The blasphemy they accused Jesus of was taking on the role of God.  In Luke’s account, they asked, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:21)

“Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” And the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.” (Matthew 9:4-8)

The startling part of this story was when they tore open the roof.  The sensational part was when the man stood up and walked home, healed.  That part wowed the crowd!  But the healing was only a sign, a sign to prove the part that really matters.  What really matters for you and me is that Jesus has the authority on earth to forgive sins.

When you go to Jesus, seeking forgiveness, it makes no difference what you had to do to get there.  If He heals your body when you come, that is a bonus, of only temporary significance.  But what really matters to you eternally, is that your sins have been completely and eternally forgiven.  When your mind wonders and doubts if it is really true, you can be sure it really is, because Jesus has the authority on earth to forgive sins.  That’s what really matters.

The Path to Freedom

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When he pushed a 2×4 into the bear trap, the huge, rusty, steel jaws of that thing snapped shut, breaking that piece of lumber like a toothpick.   Everyone in that football stadium, attending Promise Keepers, flinched from the violent sound of it.  Then a father and his son were invited up onto the stage.  The son was blindfolded while a few bear traps were placed in the middle of the stage.  The father then called to his son, telling him to listen to his instructions as he walked across the stage.  At one point, as the kid was heading right toward a trap, the father shouted, “STOP!”   He did stop.  He followed his father’s spoken instructions, eventually winding up safely in his father’s embrace.  As you can imagine, this object lesson was indelibly pressed upon us that day.

Jesus said,

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

We are blindfolded from the truth in this earthly life, deceived by our limited understanding and false assumptions.  We stumble through life, unknowingly and inevitably heading toward peril.  That is, unless we “hold to” the teaching of Jesus.  It’s not enough to hear Him say, “STOP!”  Holding to His teaching means also responding to what He says.  If we do, Jesus says, we will “know the truth and the truth will set [us] free.”   Real freedom comes to us when we carefully follow the instructions spoken to us by the One Who knows where the traps are.  Real freedom is the path that leads to the full embrace of our Father.

July 4th is the day we celebrate freedom in this country.  According to our Declaration of Independence, we believe all people have been “endowed by their Creator” with the “unalienable right”  to liberty or freedom.  Such freedom may be our right but it is not guaranteed to those who refuse to listen and respond to the Creator.  It is those who “hold to [His] teaching” who “know the truth” and are thereby set free.

Even You

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How would you feel if China called in its debts from the US, foreclosed on us and took over our country?  What if China invaded, abolished our government and put Chinese troops in every community to keep order?  If that happened, everywhere you went you would have to deal with soldiers from a foreign culture who would tightly regulate what you could do.  Can you imagine how resentful you would be, what simmering anger would fill your heart?  Put yourself in that frame of mind, and you have some idea of what it was like for the Israeli people, as they lived under the dominion of Rome in the first century.  But they had one hope: God had promised to send a Messiah, a Savior.  They assumed that when He came, He would overthrow Rome and re-establish their independence.

Imagine, in that situation, how it must have felt as people began to sense that Jesus might be the One.  Many signs seemed to confirm that He was the Savior.  Excitement was building and crowds were gathering around Him.  But then He started smashing the preconceived notions of the religious leaders.  He taught a radically different interpretation of God’s laws.  He called simple people to follow Him and argued with the scholars and priests.  He dared to touch a leper and healed him.  But then Jesus agreed to heal the servant of a hated Roman centurion!  Can you see how shocking this would have been?  How could the Jewish Savior consent to help one of their enemy oppressors?  Worse yet, Jesus praised this soldier’s faith, said it was better than the faith of any of the Israelites!  When the soldier said,

“Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” (Matthew 8:8b)

Jesus said,

 “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” (Matthew 8:10b)

As the leaders’ indignation was building, Jesus offended them even more, by suggesting that this Roman centurion was closer to the Kingdom of Heaven than they were!  He said:

“I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:11-12)

God’s promise to Abraham was that “…all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:3b).  The religious leaders had forgotten God’s plan and assumed that God cared more about His Chosen People than He did about everyone else.  What’s more, they had forgotten that this whole plan was set into motion by Abraham’s response of faith in God.

God’s Kingdom exists for anybody who will enter it by faith.  Jesus came for you.  It makes no difference what nation or culture you were born into.  What matters is whether or not you trust Him.  Like the Chinese… I mean, Roman soldier did.

Lessons from a Leper

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If you had been there, you would have ridden an emotional roller coaster.  The Sermon on the Mount was over.  The large crowds were so blown away by  the authority of Jesus’ teaching that, when He walked down off the mountain, they just had to follow Him.  They could sense it; they were in on something big.  Jesus was going to be really famous and popular. But then:

A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (Matthew 8:2-4)

It’s hard for us to appreciate how jolting it would have been for the people following Jesus, to suddenly discover a leper in their midst.  People with leprosy were so horribly disfigured that they were severely ostracized and shunned.  They were considered unclean, spiritually dangerous to be near.  And here comes a leper, right up to Jesus.  It was shocking and revolting.  But then Jesus touched him, making Himself  unclean by the rules of their day, and risking catching the disease.  Jesus went from being the grand winner of “Galilee’s Got Talent” to making Himself unfit to be near.  You can imagine how the crowd’s emotions were tossed back and forth.

Before anyone could recover from the shock of those two things, the leprous man was instantly healed!  Fear and revulsion would have suddenly turned into amazement and awe!  Let’s sound the trumpets!  Jesus can stand up now and loudly proclaim His Divinity.  He can bask in the glory of His great power.  The crowd would have gone wild…

But that’s not what He did.  Jesus told the man not to tell anyone.  Instead, He said, he should follow the customary procedure for someone who was healed – get checked out by a priest and bring an offering.  Why would Jesus tell this man to keep it a secret?  Why would He set it up for the priests to get the credit?   Confused?  So were all the people in the crowd.  Jesus didn’t say why and Matthew doesn’t tell us.  He just let them ride the roller coaster.

Maybe you have felt a little like the leper – too much like damaged goods to be able to get near Jesus.  Maybe you see all those Christians crowding around Jesus and think, “I’m not like those people; they wouldn’t want me to come in and ruin the celebration.”  Maybe you are wondering if Jesus would reach out and touch you, if He would heal you from whatever kind of moral, spiritual or physical “leprosy” that afflicts you.  If so, carefully consider three things about how he brought his request:

1.   First,  he kneeled before Jesus and called Him “Lord.”   Mathew used a word for prostrating oneself as an act of wholehearted worship.  The leper approached Jesus with humility and reverence, with a deep sense of how needy he was and how Holy Jesus was.

2.   Secondly, he acknowledged Jesus’ power and authority.  He said “… you can make me clean.”  This was a profound statement of faith.  “You can do it.”  Trusting Jesus means believing He is able.

3.   Finally, the leper accepted that Jesus would only heal him if He was willing.  He left the decision up to Jesus.

We would do well to remember these three attitudes whenever we bring a request to Jesus.  Remember his attitude of humble reverence before the “Lord,” His faith in Jesus’ great power, and how he submitted himself to what Jesus willed.   Jesus, Himself modeled these 3 attitudes in the Garden of Gethsemane.

“Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39)

When you approach Jesus, don’t come with the crowd.  They can be easily confused.  Instead, come with the leper.  He knew what to do.

No Elvis Eyes

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Picture Elvis.  The sparkles of his sequined, high-collared costume, the swagger, the hair, the sweat…   He takes a scarf and bestows it on one of his adoring fans.  Look at his eyes.  Can you see them?  He had Elvis eyes because he was “The King.”   Everywhere he went, he was treated like royalty.  But Elvis was only “The King” for lovers of that kind of music.  What would it feel like to be the King of a growing, strong and influential country?  What would the look in his eyes be like?

King David was all of that.  True, he also played music, but David was the King of everybody, not just those who liked his music.  Imagine how powerful and privileged he must have felt.  On a whim, he could send out hundreds of warriors.  He literally had the power of life and death over his subjects.  And yet, here is what he said about his eyes:

“My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty…”  (Psalm 131 1a)

It intrigues me that people can tell what you really think by looking at your eyes.  I can’t describe haughty eyes, but I know when I see them.  David, the King of the whole country (which was at that time, a major player in the Middle East) says “my eyes are not haughty…”   No Elvis eyes on David.  I’ve seen books written about how to dress in a way that intimidates others.  No doubt, someone has written a book about how to succeed by showing arrogance in your eyes.  But David, who must have surely been tempted to think he was something special, confessed, “My heart is not proud…”  Why not?

David didn’t look down on others because he was too busy looking up to God.

“I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 131:1b-3)

What do you suppose this world would be like if our leaders looked up to God and not down on us?  What if they humbly admitted that there were “great matters [and] things too wonderful for [them]?”  Things that filled them with wonder and awe, things that reminded them of God’s position and power?  How would the world be different if its leaders all “stilled and quieted” their souls before God, resting in Him like a weaned child with its mother?

Do you yearn for a world like that?  I do.  If so, start with this:  Check your eyes.  God will “…save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty” (Psalm 18:27b).  And pray: “Thy Kingdom come…”

The God of Jesus

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The pictures of my dad as a boy and as a young man do not look exactly like the guy I remember who rode me around our back yard on his shoulders.  They don’t look exactly like Dad did as an old man, either.  But I am sure that those pictures are of the same man.  There is a basic identity revealed in those pictures – the set of the eyes, the shape of the hands – and there is no doubt about who they are.  If someone asked me to prove it, I could go on and on.

It seems like I’ve been “going on and on,” showing how the identity of the Old Testament God is the same as the God revealed in the New Testament.  Once you look for evidence of that, there are many ways to prove it.  But, before we leave this topic, let’s reflect on how Jesus saw the God of the Old Testament.  Did He recognize Him as the same God He called His Father?   Even in answering this question we could “go on and on.”  But consider how Jesus answered the angry accusations and questions of the Jewish leaders of His day.  When they asked Him:

“Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word.” (John 8:53-55, NIV)

There it is, in Jesus’ words.  The God of the Jewish people in the 1st century, the God Who called Abraham, back in Genesis 12, is the same God. Jesus refers to as His Father.

Wanting a Better God

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“I don’t want that kind of a dollhouse; I want the one like on TV!”  That scene in the movie, Babe, ripped my heart out.  The old man had spent hours in his shop, lovingly crafting a dollhouse for his granddaughter, his snot-nosed, spoiled-rotten, twisted-by-TV granddaughter.  But she didn’t want that kind of dollhouse.  I still get mad and frustrated, just thinking about it!

That scene reminds me of the many times I have heard people say something like, “If God is so good, how come there are starving children?”  Or, “I can’t believe in a God who would allow wars to happen.”  Although I understand those thoughts, have had them and expressed them myself, what they really amount to, is, “I don’t want that kind of God; I want the one like in my imagination.”  “I want the right to say what God should be like, what He should do and say.”   Does that sound a bit spoiled or presumptuous?

“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.” (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2)

‘Nuf said…