Category Archives: Jesus

Unlimited

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This time you went too far; Jesus is ready to give up on you.  Ever have thoughts like that?  No?  Well, then, this post is not for you.   But if you have, consider, Jesus taught us to pray:

“…and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.”   –  ( Matthew 6:12)

Later, when Peter asked:

… “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.  –  ( Matthew 18:21b—22 )

No doubt, Peter thought he would be commended for suggesting we should forgive someone for repeating an offense as many as seven times.  When you think about it, it would take a pretty big heart to keep forgiving after the second or third time.  But Jesus suggests a number so big it effectively means an unlimited number of times.

And we are to forgive like that  because that is how much we need God’s forgiveness!  The rest of Matthew 18 is a parable through which Jesus taught us to forgive as we have been forgiven, which means in unlimited measure. 

It’s not that God is a soft touch.  He’s not amused, doesn’t think what you did is cute.  He doesn’t smile and say, ” Well, boys will be boys…”  Instead, God forgives with unlimited grace because He knows what you need.  His plan is to set you free from everything for which you need forgiveness.  His love and His grace overpowers our sin.  Every time.

Good thing to remember, the next time you are telling yourself, “This time I’ve gone too far.” 

On Belay

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You look at the yawning chasm, the thin rope bridge and think, “No way!” But, it turns out, there is a way. Rope courses are designed to show how much more you can do than you thought possible.  You can muster up the courage to try if you trust the safety harness.   They have you “on belay.” The instructor shouts, “Go ahead; I got you!  You can do it”  And if you trust him, you just might screw up your courage and give it a shot.  If you fall, the harness keeps you safe (hopefully…).

With that in mind, read this:

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.  –  (1 Corinthians 10:13)

A big reason people fall from rope courses is their fear that they can’t make it.  When they trust the harness and step out in confidence, they discover they can make it. In a similar way, in our struggle against various temptations, frequently the belief that we will fail becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  But when you trust Jesus, His Holy Spirit lives within you. I’m a very real sense you are “on belay. ”  In that condition, God may allow you to experience temptation, but only in a measure you can withstand.  The trick is to trust His “harness” will truly keep you safe.  Trust Him, and with each step across the temptation, focus on how God has provided a way of escape.

Notice, the “escape” is not from the temptation, but from failing.  The “escape” allows you to withstand the temptation.  To endure it.  To not fall.

Next time you face that familiar temptation – the one that has come to your mind right now, the one that has caused you to fall so many times in the past – picture God calling out to you, “Go ahead; I’ve got you on belay.  You can do it!  Trust Me!”  Then screw up your courage and give it a shot…

Bound Up and Freed

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If the ability to fix broken hearts is an identifying mark of the Messiah (See the previous post: “What to Do with a Broken Heart”), what about James Taylor?  Remember his song,”Handyman?”

Hey girls, gather round, listen to what I’m putting down.
Hey babe, I’m your handy man.
I’m not the kind to use a pencil or rule, I’m handy with love and I’m no fool,
I fix broken hearts, I know that I truly can.

Nobody who starts out with “Hey girls, gather round…” knows how to truly fix a broken heart.  I think the same critique can be leveled against a newer song by the group, Indecent Obsession.  (“Fixing a Broken Heart”  –  Really?  With an indecent obsession?  Give me a break!)   When Jesus came to bind up the brokenhearted, it was by the power of the Holy Spirit, a genuine healing, not the temporary whitewash of a new infatuation.  It was that genuine healing or “binding up” that marked Him as the Messiah.

But it was not the only identifying role of the Messiah.  Here’s a bit of the rest of what Isaiah prophesied:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound  –  (Isaiah 61:1)

There is more to it, but some of what the Messiah (Jesus) was sent to do was to bind up broken hearts and to set free those whose hearts were bound up as prisoners or slaves.  Most of us know what it is to be broken-hearted.  And most of us know what it is to be stuck or bound in our hearts with an unhealthy habit or addiction.  Jesus came to fix both circumstances, especially since the things that bind our hearts are frequently also what caused our hearts to be broken.  Much of the time, I suspect, this is the case.

Before you try to grapple with the deeper issues of sin and atonement, the cross and resurrection of Jesus, make sure you understand this part of what He came to do for you.  He came to repair what is broken in your heart and to set free what has been held captive there.

Why would He do that for you?  Because He made you and He loves you.

What to Do with a Broken Heart

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Whoever coined the expression, “brokenhearted,”  got it right. In times of deep sorrow it really does seem that our hearts have been broken beyond repair.  We can feel the broken pieces, like shards of pottery.  Brokenhearted is more than just being temporarily sad. Deeper and more permanent, brokenhearted has lost hope. What is done is done and there is no fixing it. The pieces cannot be mended.  If you can relate, if you are brokenhearted as you read this, my heart goes out to you.  That is another expression for,  “I can identify with how painful it is for you right now” and “I would like to touch your heart with my own, if such a thing was possible.”  Some people come close in a very comforting way.  It’s a special gift.  But they cannot truly fix a broken heart.

Which makes these lines from Isaiah especially meaningful.  By quoting these words at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus identified Himself as the Messiah:  

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,… ”  –   (Isaiah 61:1a)

If you ask, “When God sent Jesus, what was He supposed to do?” I suspect not many people would include fixing broken hearts in the list.  And yet, it was the nearly the first identifying mark of the Messiah – binding up the pieces of broken hearts, restoring hope, healing a pain that could not be wished away.  How could anyone, even the Messiah, accomplish such a seemingly impossible task?  Here is another quote from Isaiah:

“And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.”  –  (Isaiah 25:7-8)

The One Who can conquer death can certainly mend a broken heart.  Jesus proved  He was able by His resurrection.  If your heart is broken, take the pieces to Jesus.  He will bind them and heal them.  Let Him have your heart.  You will not be sorry.

Beyond “Wisdom”

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“Help! Rape!”  My little boy eyes bulged as wide as yo-yo’s as I read the damp message I’d found in a bottle, floating in the lake.  I knew it was something bad, but back then, little boys were not taught much about rape, or even sex.  I had no recourse but to ask my mother what it meant.  I laugh to think back on that moment, the look on her face, because she would have been profoundly uncomfortable if I’d asked her what necking was!  She went through a few inarticulate false starts and then informed me that rape meant “misbehavior.”  Aha!  New information, I thought.  I hurried over to my brother to impress him with my advanced knowledge and wisdom.  “I know what rape means,” I proclaimed.  “Really?”  “Yes,” I said, drawing myself up to my full, second grade stature, “it means misbehavior!”   That was a moment of great pride for me.   That is, until I began to realize how incomplete my lofty wisdom really was.

There have always been people who think they know it all, who draw themselves up and make proclamations based on the fullness of their great wisdom.  God laughs.  In their wisdom they have been blinded to some of the most basic elements of reality.  So Paul wrote:

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”.  (1 Corinthians 3:18-19)

Every year about this time, as we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus, we hear from the “wise” who consider us foolish. They draw themselves up and proclaim how ludicrous it is to believe in a God Who would allow His Son to be tortured, and how naive it is to think He could have been restored to life.  Which is tragic, because Jesus endured that torment out of love for them, to rescue them.  And they cannot see it.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”  –  (1 Corinthians 1:18-19)

Before you bet your life on the wisdom of those who sound smug, consider the difference between what it means to be “perishing” and “saved.”  No doubt, there were some experts on the Titanic who knew it was folly to think such a ship could go down.  After all, it had been designed by the best engineers to prevent such a thing.  If only they had been able to see beyond their own wisdom…    Just possibly, the God of the Universe knows a bit more than those who think they are wise here on earth.

All the Difference

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The third time the disciples saw Jesus after He came back to life, it happened like this:

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. …  (John 21:4-7a)

This wasn’t just a startling way for Jesus to identify Himself.  Jesus didn’t spread His arms and shout, “Ta Da!”  It was a lesson for them, a lesson for us.   If you want to work with Jesus, pay attention to what He tells you to do.  It makes all the difference.   Notice, I said, “If you want to work WITH Jesus,” not, “work FOR Jesus.”  That too makes all the difference.  Jesus had taught His disciples:

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.   (John 15:5)

Nothing.  A nice round number with a hole in it.  If you decide to work FOR Jesus, you will probably accomplish nothing.  That is, unless you pay close attention to what He tells you to do, in which case you will be working WITH Jesus.  A friend of mine used to say, “Always ride a horse in the direction he is going.”  The same principle applies for those who would work with Jesus.  And that makes all the difference.

Fisherman’s Tale

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This wasn’t about the one that got away but the ones that didn’t.

So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. (John 21:11)
Not “about 150” but “153.”  Why that exact number?  Fishermen always counted their catch because their next stop would be to sell them.  John said 153 because that is how many they caught.  And because he was there!  When you read the Gospel of John you are reading an eyewitness account written by a close personal friend of Jesus.  Friends know friends better than anyone else.  When John wrote his account of Jesus, he tagged it with these words, referring to himself in the third person:

This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.  (John 21:24)
In the light of that, reflect on this other statement by John:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.  (John 20:30-31)

Powerful Love

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What would you do if your power was unlimited?  If you had the power to do anything, what would it be?  You could find a phone booth, grab your cape and be like Superman, flying about avenging injustice and stomping out evil.  Sound good?  It did to Jesus.  Except Jesus  didn’t use a phone booth and a cape.  No x-ray vision, no powerful explosions.  The first equipment He used included a bowl, a washcloth, and a towel.

 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. … Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;  so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.  –  (John 13:1–5 excerpts (NIV84))

This was an act considered so demeaning, it could only be required of a gentile slave.  Jesus knew there was no limit to the power God had given Him, so He humbled Himself and did what seemed to be the least powerful thing.  What He did seemed weak, but in fact, that act of love still powerfully rips through the earth, destroying evil wherever it is remembered and imitated.

I suppose Jesus, with all power at His command, could have refused to go to the Cross.  But He used His power to endure the assignment given by His Father, knowing it would ultimately defeat evil forever.  At the time of His arrest, as Peter whipped out his sword to resist,

 Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”  –  (John 18:11 (NIV84))

When Pilate was looking for an excuse to release Him,

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”  –  (John 18:36 (NIV84))

In this world, people try to overcome evil with increasingly powerful acts of violence.  We brag about “shock and awe.”  We post signs saying, “This property protected by Smith and Wesson.”  Of course, the bad guys are using the same tactics.  Violence proliferates.  But Jesus’ Kingdom is not of this world, and He knows those ways don’t work.  Because He had unlimited power, He chose unlimited acts of humble, powerful love.

His way works.  His way wins.

 

What Joy Looks Like

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Whenever I get a chance to spend time with Sam (not his real name), I come away filled with excitement and a kind of deep joy.  This morning was no exception.  He travels the world, visiting and encouraging small outposts of Jesus’ followers in some of the most unlikely places.  Like Lebanon, Syria, or Egypt.  He was bursting with enthusiasm and told me, “All over the world, people are coming to know Jesus in amazing numbers.  More than that, Christians of all different denominations and backgrounds, many of whom have been stuck in centuries of dead tradition, are waking up with renewed life and working together in creative ways to spread the good news.”  And then, with the same gleam in his eye, he said, “And everywhere this new life in Christ is cropping up, the opposition is really ramping up.  It is an exciting time!”

Sam is not exaggerating.  We are good friends and I know him well.  I’ve traveled with him on some pretty wild adventures.  When he says the new life of the kingdom of Jesus is popping out all over, you can take that to the bank. And, when he talks about opposition that naturally follows, he does so with the same credibility.  You might think the opposition, much of it extremely violent – churches being torched, Christians hauled off the bus and shot in the head because they cannot quote the Koran – would discourage him.  But he justs gets more excited.

Reminds me of Paul’s attitude when he wrote:

…I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.  (1 Corinthians 16:8b-9)

Sam understands something Paul knew: The greatest opportunities for introducing people to Jesus frequently lie in the midst of your greatest opposition.  He knows his enemies are not any of the people who attack him, but rather the spiritual forces in league with Satan who have them in their grip.  The more someone fights against him, the more he knows that person needs a Savior.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

In the previous post, I wrote about Jesus giving us Real Joy.  If you met Sam, you would  see what that joy looks like.  It isn’t dependent upon how successful or tough his circumstances seem to be, but emanates from the thrill of walking and working with a powerful Savior.  And it is infectious!

Real Joy

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A toddler picks her first dandelion seed ball and marvels at the symmetry.  She blows on it and delights to watch each tiny parachute in flight.  Can you see her face, lit with joy?  Now, imagine the kinds of things that will occur in her life that will work to erase that look of joy, replacing it with caution, suspicion, sorrow, weariness, insecurity – the list will be long.  Who among us does not yearn for our bygone innocence and unadulterated joy?  Someone who also yearned for you and I to recapture real joy was Jesus.  Just before He went to the Cross, He said these words to His disciples:

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.  (John 15:11)

The Creator of all things (John 1:2) wanted His followers to be filled to overflowing with His joy!  It is a sad irony that so many people who believe they are following Jesus are known for being joyless.  But how can we attain this joy?  What were “these things” He spoke in order to give us His joy?  Let’s look back to see:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.  (John 15:9-10)

Jesus loves you – His words, not mine.  How much does He love you?  He loves you like the Father, all-perfect, all-loving God loves His only Son.  Jesus loves you with the kind of love that prompted God to give His only Son to rescue you.  His love is unconditional, perfect, thorough, unchanging and powerful.  The kind of love that prompted Jesus to willingly lay down His life for you.  Jesus loves you, right now, in the condition you are in right now.  No matter what you have done.  He loves you.  We cannot earn that love and we cannot do anything to shut it off.  

But we may not be able to experience it.  That’s why Jesus tells His followers to “abide” – literally, to make their home in – His love.  Let His love surround you, let it be the environment within which you live.  And how does one do that?  How do we “make our home” within His love?   He tells us.  We do it by keeping, or following His commandments.  Jesus says, if we keep His commandments, we will live in His love, His joy will be in us, and our joy will be full.

Again, a sad irony.  People get the idea that to follow Jesus’ commands would rob us of joy.  We would have to dress in black, live within the confines of harsh and strict “thou shalt nots.”  We would not be able to laugh, but would have to sing mournful Gregorian chants and stare at candles.  No way!  Jesus came that we might have a more abundant kind of life, the kind of life we were designed to have, that would fill us with light and that by living according to our “Manufacturer’s” instructions, we would be filled with His kind of joy!  Following His commands would naturally lead us away from the kinds of things that change the face of a young child into the face of a wounded, disillusioned adult.  And return us to joy.
PS – Don’t misunderstand: I am aware that some have sensed a call from Jesus to dress in black and sing chants, etc.  In voluntarily obeying that call some have found exquisite joy.  I am not denying or diminishing their experience.  But those who reluctantly surrender to such a life, thinking that they are earning Jesus’ approval, have misunderstood His grace, the idea of abundant life and have missed out on His joy.