Category Archives: Faith

Are You Ready? – Part 3

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When punters are called into a game, it is usually an emergency.  The outcome of the game will likely be determined by how well the punter does what he is meant to do.  Therefore, the stakes are high for punters: those who consistently do well will celebrate with the rest of the team; those who do not will lose their place on the team.  The same is true for those who follow Jesus, who are meant to serve as His witnesses in an attitude of readiness for His return.

This is the concluding section of a message on being ready for Jesus’ return.  In Jesus’ parable about being ready (Luke 12:36 – 48), He said, those whose actions demonstrated their readiness, who were doing what He assigned us to do would be really glad.  He concluded His parable by talking about how devastating it would be for those who were not ready:

 

If  you haven’t already listened to the first two parts, you can hear them here: )   

Are You Ready? – Part 2

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At my grandson’s T-ball game, some little kid smacked a long hit, way out into the outfield.  Everybody went chasing after the ball, everybody on both teams, – even the base runners and several of those waiting to bat!  T-ball is a riot.  Another time, one of the youngsters was so intent on being in the “ready position” – knees slightly bent, hands forward, eyes fixed on the batter – that when the ball came his way it sailed right past him.  Readiness doesn’t amount to much unless you can translate an attitude or mindset of readiness into actions of readiness.  When we are truly ready, we do what we are meant to do.

As we continue a study of Jesus’ parable about being ready for His return (Luke 12:36 – 48), how we can maintain an attitude of readiness and translate that readiness into action – the right kind of action?  What is the right kind of action?

If  you haven’t already listened to the first part, you can hear it here: )

The conclusion of this message will be posted on Friday.

Are You Ready? Part 1

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One of the hassles of selling your home is that you have to keep that place ready for folks to come to see it, for them to come at any time of day without much notice.  It’s stressful to stay ready for an inspection at all times.  But Jesus tells His followers to be ready for His return, which will come when we least expect it.  You have probably spotted a crucial distinction: the difference between getting ready to look perfect in an artificial way and being ready because that is how you naturally live.  The first kind of readiness is stressful; the second is not.

But what does it mean to be ready?  Jesus told a parable about what it means, recorded in the 12th chapter of Luke, starting at verse 35.  Let’s take a close look at what that parable means and consider how it applies to our lives today, once again by means of a recorded message.  If you have been following these blog posts you know I’m experimenting with this format.  I really appreciate your feedback on what works and what does not.  This week, I’m going to break the message up into three sections but post them separately, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  (That is, if Jesus hasn’t come back before Friday!)

What does it mean to be ready?  Let’s begin with a mindset of readiness, something NFL punters know a lot about:

Next time we’ll talk about turning the mindset of readiness into action.

God’s Laundry

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Dirty socks may not understand this, as they are sloshing around in the washer, but they have nothing to fear, not even from the repeated rinse and spin cycles.  People who are gathered to God in Jesus have nothing to fear either, from the growing bloodthirstiness of ISIS, the new alliances between the evil dictators of Russia, Syria and Iran, or the hostility toward Israel that simmers in Egypt and Iraq.  God told us to expect all that, all that and more.  There’s no way for us dirty socks to know if this will be the final rinse and spin, but we can take heart in knowing that things turn out well for God’s Laundry:

This is the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares:   “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem.  On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.  On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the LORD. “I will keep a watchful eye over the house of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.   Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.’  –  (Zechariah 12:1-5)

No Small Thing

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If I told you how God intervened in my life a couple of days ago, you might think I was gullible or naive.  It was a simple little thing – (OK, it had something to do with hubcaps) – nothing like parting the Red Sea.  But I know Who pulled it off.  I call those brief encounters with God’s grace, winks.  He winks at me and lets me know He’s there and He cares.

Have you ever thought a situation you faced was too small to trouble God with, too silly for prayer?  Consider: Is there anything you face that isn’t small to God?  Check out these words of Jesus:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.   So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”  –  (Matthew 10:29-31)

God invites us, through Jesus, into an intimate relationship, in which we walk together through the circumstances of life. As we do, we are humbled to discover God cares about how we are doing – even about the “little” things. 

Knowing He cares makes the tough experiences more “doable.”  Jesus spoke those words as He told His followers not to be afraid to tell people about Him, even in the face of physical violence.  Because God cares and He intervenes or not, depending on what is best.

Taproot – Part 3

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Are you afraid to love, believing it will constrain you?  Certainly some neurotic relationships constrain us, but these are not real love.  Real love releases false constraints, setting us free to be all we really are.  That is the kind  of love relationship God wants for us with Himself (See: previous two posts).

It seems counterintuitive: How can submitting to a relationship with someone else, making a commitment, result in more freedom?  Picture those flying suits people wear to jump from high cliffs and soar.  It is strapping oneself into the tight bonds of the suit that allows the freedom to fly.  Additionally, unless they fully commit and jump, they will not fly but fall.  Love works like that, especially love mutually extended between you and God. 

You can see the relationship between love, commitment and freedom in the following two quotes from Jesus.

“Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”   –  (John 14:23)

The word, “obey,” makes us cautious and reluctant, but it is that commitment that leads to freedom.  The Father and Son come and “make their home” with us.  This happens with the life of the Holy Spirit in our souls.  The word for “make their home”, also translated as “abide” is used in this saying of Jesus:

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to (literally, abide or make your home in…) my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  –  (John 8:31-32 with my added note)

It is the love commitment of making one’s home in the teachings of Jesus, the ways of God, that causes us to soar in freedom.  Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10b) 

If you are standing at the edge of that cliff, worried that loving God will inhibit you or constrain you, do not hesitate;  Go for it!  Fully commit and watch how this relationship of love spreads your wings.

What’s Your Excuse?

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You probably remember being summoned (or sent) to the principal’s office, that is, unless you were like those goody-two-shoes girls that always who were so annoying…  oops, that’s a different story.  But remember the feeling of dread as you dragged your feet toward that huge oak door with the frosted glass, wondering what terrible consequences lurked on the other side?  For a lot of people, including myself not so long ago, when you hear people telling you to “get right with God,” it feels much the same way.  God is the terrible “Principal” in the sky, waiting behind His desk with scowling, bushy eyebrows and a switch.  Who wants to go through that door?

And yet, Jesus referred to that whole deal as being invited by God to a celebration and a party! 

And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. – (Matthew 22:1-3 ESV)

In those days there was no better party than a wedding party – lavish food and drink, happy times that lasted for days. And this do is being thrown by a king Who sent personally delivered invitations! So why wouldn’t the people come? They were busy doing their own thing.

Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,…

And others were angry about being invited:

…while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.

Jesus’ story takes a pretty intense turn there – shocking – and yet He wanted to confront people with the heartbreaking contrast between a gracious invitation to the party and the indifference or outright hostility of those who were invited.

People today also decline this invitation because business calls or because they are too busy with life. Some don’t want to go because they don’t understand it is an invite to a party. Others have decided the whole thing is a hoax! They say, “There’s no King and who would want to go to that kind of a party if He did exist?” When those delivering the invitation persist, sometimes they are belittled, roughed up or killed.

If you haven’t read through the rest of this parable in awhile, I encourage you to do so. It raises a number of intriguing questions. Here’s just two: Are you going to the party? If not, what’s your excuse?

If You Dare

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There’s no way Robert Johnson could have sold his soul to the Devil, in exchange for the ability to play guitar exceptionally well.  He couldn’t have sold his soul because he didn’t own it.  We may feel like our souls belong to us, but in reality, Jesus taught, they have already been sold to Satan.  They are being held for ransom.  That is why Jesus posed this haunting question:

“…what can a man give in exchange for his soul? ” –  (Matthew 16:26b)

No matter how much you would pay, it would not be enough.  The cost is impossibly high.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is this: Jesus has already paid the ransom and offers freedom and life for our souls.   He extends the offer to anyone willing to abandon the cage that holds them and dare to follow Him.  But a hostage rescue only works if the hostages dare to follow their rescuer.  That’s a tough choice for those hostages who have gotten used to captivity and may actually feel more secure staying where they are!  Sometimes cages feel like life.

That’s why Jesus said:

“… whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. –  (Matthew 16:25b)

Warning: Offensive Words

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“We don’t say ____; someone might be offended.”  You may think that is a new attitude of our hyper-sensitive times, but in fact, they said similar things to Jesus. He paid no attention.  Jesus constantly said things that offended people.  So much so, they killed Him.  Roughly paraphrased, He said, “I am God.”  I don’t think anyone would be offended by that today. 

But there are two words Jesus said that still offend people deeply today.  I think the offensiveness of the two words has a lot to do with why so many people reject Him.  The two words?  “Deny himself.”

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)

We don’t say “deny himself” or “deny yourself” today.  People definitely get offended.  We say, “find yourself,” “express yourself,” “help yourself,” “be yourself,” “love yourself” and “protect yourself.”  But not that D word…  “Take up your cross?”  No problem.  That phrase no longer contains any horror for us.  Not like denying my self…

Jesus’ offensive truth is this: You cannot follow Him and follow your “self” at the same time.  And to choose your “self” over following Him is to forfeit your eternal soul. I know, I know, we don’t say that.  We don’t want to get anyone’s feathers ruffled.  But Jesus not only said it, He explained it:

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.   What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?…”   –  (Matthew 16:25-26a)

It sounds like heresy in our “Me” world.  But instead of being offended, why not spend some time considering whether Jesus might have been telling the truth?

A Glimpse

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A few months before she died, my wife was awakened suddenly, in the middle of the night.  The next morning she struggled to find words for what happened next.  She said God impressed upon her a sense of absolute peace and joy unlike anything she had ever experienced.  She was laughing and weeping as she tried to explain what it was like.  She said she was sure He was encouraging her with a foretaste of Heaven.  That sudden “download” was a source of great strength and peace to her – and to me – as her time grew short.

I’ve recently learned that Blaise Pascal experienced something similar on November 23, 1654, a pivotal moment in his spiritual journey.  His epiphany lasted a couple of hours, during which time he scribbled notes to himself, including these words, found hidden in his jacket after he died:

Certitude, certitude, Emotion, Joy, Peace.  God of Jesus Christ  …  Oblivion of the world and of everything except God.  Righteous father, the world has not known You,  But I have known You.  Joy, Joy, Joy, tears of joy, Jesus Christ ___________ Jesus Christ 

This morning, I reread the account of Jesus’ transfiguration.

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.  There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.  Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. –  (Matthew 17:1–3 (NIV84))

I’ve always interpreted this strange episode as an instructive encouragement for the two disciples.  I wonder if it was not also given to strengthen and encourage Jesus.  A reminder of things impossible to fully comprehend in this earthly plane.  It occurred shortly after Jesus began to teach His disciples that He must be put to death.   Jesus struggled greatly as His death became imminent. He silenced Peter abruptly when he said such a death would never happen.  He agonized in prayer in Gethsemane.  Perhaps that glimpse of the reality of Heaven was a gracious gift for Him.

I don’t know.  I wonder.  But of this I am sure:  the circumstances awaiting those who die as believers and followers of Jesus are so astonishingly wonderful, we have no words to fully express them.  We also have no currency capable of expressing the value of being welcomed into such an environment of joy and peace.  The best Jesus could manage was an analogy:

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.   Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”  –  (Matthew 13:44–46 (NIV84))