Tag Archives: God

Imposs-ability

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What the heck just happened?  Or, what was that all about?  When you read about Jesus, you may find yourself scratching your head, asking that kind of question.  Good!  If you want to get the most out of Jesus, you have to ask.  Because Jesus frequently used object lessons, where there was more to be learned in what just happened than there was in what He said.  Here’s a good example:

“During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if (since) it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.” (Matthew 14:25-32 – I’ve changed “if” to “since” in v. 28 for clarity)

What was that all about?  What just happened?  One obvious lesson is this: When  Jesus asks the impossible, keep your focus on Jesus, not on all the scary things that hinder you.  Jesus let Peter learn that truth through what happened to him.  Jesus underlined the principle with what He said to Peter:

…“You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”” (Matthew 14:31b)

That important principle, is repeated in the Book of Hebrews:

” Therefore, …, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  [How can we do that?] Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, ….” (Hebrews 12:1-2 – excerpts plus my question in brackets)

Jesus frequently asks or motivates us to do things considered impossible in the world.  Impossible things like forgiving.  There are times that forgiveness seems as impossible as walking on water.  But, when you fix your eyes on Jesus, and not on all the hurt, when you allow faith to push aside doubt, you can walk across that impossible “water,” you can walk toward Jesus.

That’s just one example.  When Jesus asks the impossible, do what Peter did.  Call out to Jesus and say, “Lord, since it is You, tell me to do the right thing, the thing that looks so impossible.”  Then trust.  Likely, you will be amazed, as were His disciples on that windy night:

“And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”” (Matthew 14:32-33)

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

Why and How

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Do you want to know how Jesus walked on water?  You’ve probably heard people telling jokes about walking on water (I think my wife walked on water once when she saw a snake) but how did Jesus do it?  What Jesus told His disciples gives us a clue.

“When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”” (Matthew 14:26-27)

You may want to review how Jesus set this experience up (See: Jesus Throws a Combination).  Point is, they were really terrified.  When you first experience terror, it’s like suddenly falling.  Most people scream and their arms fly out involuntarily.  Some faint.  Like that time your brother pranked you with a fake spider that dropped on your head?  Like that.  Jesus set that up.  He deliberately terrified them.

And then, He told them three things, important things.  Things He wanted them to really know.  Us too.  Two of those things were commands:

  • Take courage!
  • Don’t be afraid

Essentially, “Stop freaking out and get a grip.  Allow your heart to be filled with understanding and confidence.”  And then, “Don’t become afraid in the future.”

But it’s what Jesus said in between those two commands that is the key to why they make sense.  (It’s also the key to how He walked on water.)  It’s not clear in the English translations, but Jesus pronounced the Holy Name of God, applying it to Himself.  He said, “I Am!”  Which meant, “I am God!”  In our culture, where people use the names for God in a casual and disrespectful way, it’s hard to understand what a big deal this would have been.  But know this: when Jesus said those words in public (John 8:58-59), the people picked up rocks and tried to kill Him.

Jesus could have gone with the disciples in the boat.  But He sent them off by themselves, into a developing storm and came to them, walking on the water.  He intentionally blew their minds, shaking them loose from everything they thought they understood.  Then, with them in that vulnerable condition, He explained, “You can take courage and confidence; you can put away fear.”  Why? “Because I, Jesus, am God. With Me, all things are possible.”  That is why Jesus walked on water, so they would know that in their bones.

So then, how did He walk on water?   Same answer.  He is God; He did it any way He wanted to.  Sorry about that…   But the important thing is to know why He did it, to fully understand it and believe that He is God, take courage and put away all fear.

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

Blinded by What You Think You Know

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If you put an old man in a short-skirted cheerleader outfit, most people driving by will think they saw a young woman.  Researchers have proved that we tend to see what we expect to see.  Our expectations limit what we experience.  That’s the reason so many of Jesus’ neighbors from His hometown didn’t “see” Him!

” When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. “ (Matthew 13:53-58)

The people that knew Jesus as a little kid, mostly couldn’t “see” Who He was!  Why not?  They were limited by their expectations.  They were blinded by what they thought they knew about Him.

People have that same problem today.  When people think they know everything there is to know, they rarely learn anything new.  That is true for most hard core atheists and it is also true for most dogmatic theologians.  If Jesus hasn’t surprised you and confounded you, perhaps you haven’t really “seen” Him.  Put down your preconceived ideas of what is possible, and let Jesus show you Who He is!

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

It’s Up to You

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Jesus wasn’t being fair. At least He sounded unfair, when He told his disciples why He spoke in parables, instead of laying out His truths in a straightforward way.

“He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’” (Matthew 13:11-15, NIV)[1]

Sounds unfair, doesn’t it:  “Whoever has will be given more, etc.?”  Did Jesus arbitrarily try to confuse some people and keep them from His salvation?  The answer is revealed in the words Jesus quoted the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9ff).   There are some people who cannot “see and hear,” who will never understand God’s truths.  But that is because “They have closed their eyes!”  By that choice, “this people’s heart has become calloused…”   When people shut their eyes to God’s truth, when they turn away from God, their hearts do become hardened, and it becomes tougher – potentially impossible –  for them to understand anything about God.

You have seen a lesser example of this dynamic as most teenagers close their eyes and ears to what their parents try to teach them.  For a time, in the minds of those adolescents, the parents have become stupid  and ignorant.  The youth’s make a choice that hardens their hearts.  In most cases, the resulting separation and angst is temporary.  No harm, no foul.   But when people close their eyes to God, the effects are potentially much more serious and long-lasting.

When Jesus told a parable, it was like a bunker-buster of truth, designed to penetrate beyond the callouses on our hearts.  Once the seemingly harmless story has gotten past our defenses, the truth contained within it “goes off.”  But the impact of that truth separates the HAVES from the HAVE-NOT’S.  For those who HAVE a readiness to learn and receive, the truths contained in the parable produce “aha moments” of increased understanding.  Those who DO NOT HAVE that readiness don’t get it.

When those who HAVE, respond to what they understand, when they TURN, Jesus heals them.  He erases their separation from God by fully paying for their pardon on the cross.  He reconciles them with God and gives them eternal life – His Holy Spirit.  This Spirit is born in their souls and grows, producing a crop of fruit (of the Spirit) in the world. (See “Sow What” and “Seeds of Truth“)

In other words, the impact of Jesus’ parables in your life, depends upon you.  It’s up to you.  It depends on whether you HAVE a willingness to learn His truths, or whether you have closed your eyes and HAVE NOT.

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

Pay Attention

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When was the last time you saw a miracle?  Jesus performed many miracles during His time on earth, to make people aware of God’s presence and power.  He used miracles as “signs” to validate His own identity and message while pointing people to God.  He said,

“Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.” (John 14:11)

He still performs miracles today and it is for the same purpose.  But some people are so distracted by the substance of the miracle – whether it is something as amazing as physical healing or something as simple as providing bread – that they miss the sign contained in it.  After miraculously feeding a huge gathering, Jesus warned them not to follow Him around to get more bread.  Miracles are done to open our eyes to the power of God!  Even physical healing, as wonderful as it is and as grateful as we are to receive it, is merely temporary.  You get healed of one thing only to die later on of something else!    Miracles are signs that point us to the presence and power of God.

Trouble is, many people cannot see miracles.  Perhaps miracles make them uneasy.  Their first response is to explain away what happened by trying to understand the physical explanation of how it occurred.  But the point in a miracle is not how it was done but rather, why it was done!  I am convinced that the reason we in the United States don’t see more miracles is because we have blinded ourselves to them.  We are so fixated on the  how that we miss the why.  Jesus reflected on that kind of blindness:

” At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” (Matthew 11:25)

Jesus didn’t want us to be childish, but childlike.  He wasn’t telling people to park their brains at the door but, rather, to open their eyes!  To recover their natural capacity for wonder and awe when confronted by the presence and power of God.  To look for why instead of smugly dismissing the miraculous with explanations of how.  Open your eyes!  Pay attention!

This is more important than you may realize.  Faced with the stony faced blindness of the “wise and learned,”  Jesus warned them:

“And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” (Matthew 11:23-24)

More bearable for the people of Sodom, because they would have paid attention, they would have gotten the point.  They would have turned away from their arrogant, “know-it-all” attitudes, and responded to the power and majesty of God with humility and reverence.

Do You?

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Let’s suppose the skeptics are right and Jesus was merely a profound teacher, a man in tune with deep wisdom.  Maybe Jesus was simply a man who surpassed all others by His understanding of reality.  Given that premise, try to imagine what He meant by these teachings- literally:

““For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17)

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”” (John 11:25-26)

Okay then, literally, what did the “best teacher” mean?  Literally!   Was what He said true?  If not, why would He have had the cruelty or audacity to teach such things?  And, if they are true, then what did Jesus mean by “believe in Me?”  And the part about being the Son of God?

One last question:  Why did Jesus ask His friend, “Do you believe this?”

Do you?

Words of Warning

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“Convert or die!”  That is the message ISIS is giving to thousands of Christians in Iraq.  This is no idle threat; it has been followed up with crucifixions.   But this latest and most publicized example of hostility toward Christians is not new or unusual.  Jesus told us to expect it.  The first time Jesus sent out His disciples to tell people the Good News of the Kingdom of Heaven, He warned them:

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. “Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues.” (Matthew 10:16-17)

His warnings were not merely for that first assignment.  They pertained to the whole age until His Second Coming:

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted [not “if”] in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 10:21-23)

Jesus warned of opposition, cautioned His followers to be on their guard and ready to flee, but not to let up in spreading His message without fear.

“So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.” (Matthew 10:26-27)

The opposition to Jesus brought by ISIS is bold and direct.  The opposition in the United States is subtle and indirect.  There has been a groundswell of public pressure brought to bear in opposition to any Christian who might dare to “proclaim [His faith in Jesus] from the roofs.”  The First Amendment specifically prohibits congress from making a law restricting the “free expression” of our religion.  Nevertheless, bills have been recently introduced in response to the “Hobby Lobby decision” that would do just that.

Do not be surprised.  Jesus warned us to expect opposition, even violent opposition but to speak up anyway.  He said:

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:32-34)

Please take a moment and pray for those who are suffering and dying right now because they believe in Jesus and follow Him.  Thank you.

 

According to Plan

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Was Jesus racist?  it sounded like it when He first sent out His apostles.

“These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.” (Matthew 10:5-6)

Why only tell Israel?  Didn’t the other nations deserve to hear the Good News of the Kingdom of Heaven?  It was not that He cared about them more than the other nations.  To the contrary, Jesus’ ultimate goal was to give the invitation and opportunity to everyone on earth.  As He explained to His disciples, late in His ministry:

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

So, why did Jesus send His disciples only to the people of Israel in the beginning?  it was how God’s plan was designed to work.  When you split wood, you can’t use a sledgehammer.  You must hit the wood with a sharp point and then gradually spread the force outward.  When you start a fire, you cannot pile all the wood on at once and try to light a log with your match.  You must start small, with carefully prepared kindling.

For 2000 years, through the times of Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Isaiah and Daniel (to name but a few), God carefully prepared Israel to “get it” when Jesus would come.  Their history and cultural DNA gave them the context to understand His message, His sacrifice and His offer of redemption.  All these things had explained to Israel through their prophets and other sacred writings.  When Jesus struck His “match,” it needed to be applied to the kindling of the “lost sheep of Israel.”  For more about that strategy, see “Sourdough Theology.”

Expert professionals sometimes do things that seem illogical or counterproductive to us,  But then those things work and we think, “Hey, they really do know what they are doing.  In a similar way, I am awestruck by how God’s plan to rescue all peoples by choosing one people, revealed many hundreds of years in advance, was applied, unchanged, by Jesus,   After His resurrection, Jesus reiterated how the plan would work:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”” (Acts 1:8)

Their small, local witness, would gradually expand outward, until all the world had heard the News.  That original plan continues to work, 2000 years later.

Perhaps God really does know what He is doing…

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.

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…”