"... suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves..."
What is it in us that keeps us waiting to awake our Jesus until we are desperate;y overwhelmed, nearly drowning amidst the storm-waves washing across our bows and into our sinking hearts?
Our self sufficiency and silly belief that we have control over any given situation has everything to do with that. We say, I've been here before, I can do it again. (True, however, this storm is different from the others, we may concede.) All the same, no need not bother the Master about this.
So the seasoned fishermen ferry on. O sure, they know all the potential risks. But, after all, they've been on this Lake many times.
Yet this tempest arises to such an extent that it's claws reach over the boundaries of their hull and saturates their safe places with the tides of the Shadows of Death. It is only then when their oars of pride drop and they awake the Lord (who has been there all along.... just waiting...) and cry out, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!"
Finally!
Perhaps he was sleeping with one eye open, wondering how long it would take. Perhaps he was a bit miffed - wondering why they hadn't called on him at the first sign of the oncoming tempest. Who knows? The Creator rises and rebukes both Creation and his Image in Creation. The ocean he calms. Their faith he questions.
"Why are you so fearful?" This isn't a slam against their spiritual integrity, like a, "You should have known better" statement. This is God's care for us. "My dear one, you don't have to live in fear - especially fear like this. You could have called out to me when you first got in trouble and I would have bailed you out right then and there! Why did you wait so long?"
As we continue sailing along with the Lord, let's be quick to remember that he is in the boat -there, amidst the tossing and turning, waiting and anxious to intervene - and will do so at our first cry, even when things aren't quite that bad. As a mother meets the first cry of her newborn, so does he rise to rescue us in the sudden tempests of our course. He has an unquestioning compassion for us, and is waiting patiently at the Heart of his Image in us.
Lord, give us the humility to awake you, even in our most experienced trials, with simple child-like faith. I choose to demonstrate my total dependancy upon you in all things.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Matthew Study 8:22
"... follow me..."
Jesus has his mission. He has his priorities. He knows what he needs to do and is about the business of aligning all shadows to meet the wheels of the Certainty of the Second Coming.
Recently I was on a plane and watched its shadow drawing closer and closer, scrambling over the trees, until both it and the plane touched wheels on the runway beneath me. That is the Certainty of God's consummation. It is an Ageless Pace which has been racing towards us for two thousand years and, by default, a pace wherein our Lord moved - and still moves today.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Some come to Christ as a Scribe, wanting to follow him for the sake of his or her own learning. It is a noble thing - to sit in the classroom of the Rabbi. But Christ is moving, he has no classroom. He can't promise the scribe anywhere to lay his head. The demands of Christ's own obedience found in Jesus cancels the idilic dreams of the young Scribe. Jesus cannot promise him a rose garden, only the thorny certainty of a Dogwood tree.
Others approach Christ as one of his own - as a disciple. We essentially tell our Lord we will be forever his - after all, we are his disciples - we have given our entire life for the Life. "So extend some grace here, Lord. Let me first go and bury my father." And - once again - the intensity of God's call of radical obedience in Jesus cancels our most noble desires. Jesus may have well said to this disciple, "This is about Me, and my radical obedience to the Father. It is about his life, and your death. You've gotten it all backwards."
The invitation to "follow me" sets a standard like none other. It is a call to clip the ties of family, friends, and personal dreams and be bound to a Cross for, none other than, Christ's sake - for his family, for his friends, and for his Personal Dream. And we, like Jesus, enter into that Following with absolutely no assurance of what life will look like on the other side of that Cross, only the assurance that there is life on the other side of that Cross - and, along with it, his promise to walk us through it to the resurrected life.
Jesus has his mission. He has his priorities. He knows what he needs to do and is about the business of aligning all shadows to meet the wheels of the Certainty of the Second Coming.
Recently I was on a plane and watched its shadow drawing closer and closer, scrambling over the trees, until both it and the plane touched wheels on the runway beneath me. That is the Certainty of God's consummation. It is an Ageless Pace which has been racing towards us for two thousand years and, by default, a pace wherein our Lord moved - and still moves today.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Some come to Christ as a Scribe, wanting to follow him for the sake of his or her own learning. It is a noble thing - to sit in the classroom of the Rabbi. But Christ is moving, he has no classroom. He can't promise the scribe anywhere to lay his head. The demands of Christ's own obedience found in Jesus cancels the idilic dreams of the young Scribe. Jesus cannot promise him a rose garden, only the thorny certainty of a Dogwood tree.
Others approach Christ as one of his own - as a disciple. We essentially tell our Lord we will be forever his - after all, we are his disciples - we have given our entire life for the Life. "So extend some grace here, Lord. Let me first go and bury my father." And - once again - the intensity of God's call of radical obedience in Jesus cancels our most noble desires. Jesus may have well said to this disciple, "This is about Me, and my radical obedience to the Father. It is about his life, and your death. You've gotten it all backwards."
The invitation to "follow me" sets a standard like none other. It is a call to clip the ties of family, friends, and personal dreams and be bound to a Cross for, none other than, Christ's sake - for his family, for his friends, and for his Personal Dream. And we, like Jesus, enter into that Following with absolutely no assurance of what life will look like on the other side of that Cross, only the assurance that there is life on the other side of that Cross - and, along with it, his promise to walk us through it to the resurrected life.
Matthew Study 8:15
"... so he touched her hand... the fever left her... and she arose and served..."
God's healing touch in our life is proclaimed through the witness of that same healing touch.
The attributes of the kingdom - salvation, healing, abundant life, and eternal security - are given that we would serve others. Plain and simple. Love one another as I have loved you. If a person receives a charism from Jesus and does nothing with it, it is good for nothing - of no more use than a person who fills a gas tank and then parks the car in a junk yard.
One may question the authenticity of the experience if one can't see the results of it.
God touches us - affiliates with our sin - and completely switches out, heart for Heart - our infirmity for his Eternity. Our fevers leave us. They have no power over us on us when defeated by the power of his Omnipotent Invasion. They are mystically magnetized into the crossbeams of Calvary and we become infused, filled, and empowered with an eschatological foretaste of heaven - where there is no longer any sickness, pain, or sorrow.
How does one respond to such a spiritual transference - darkness for Light, death for Life, clay for Gold, humanity for Deity? Is is through worship, through the offering of works from a grateful heart. This is not a personal, me and Jesus - me in the seat and thee on the Throne - kind of worship (though there is a place for that). The worship expressed by Peter's mother-in-law was tangible. It was seen and experienced. She served.
And the residue of her healing gave testimony to Christ through her service to others.
God's healing touch in our life is proclaimed through the witness of that same healing touch.
The attributes of the kingdom - salvation, healing, abundant life, and eternal security - are given that we would serve others. Plain and simple. Love one another as I have loved you. If a person receives a charism from Jesus and does nothing with it, it is good for nothing - of no more use than a person who fills a gas tank and then parks the car in a junk yard.
One may question the authenticity of the experience if one can't see the results of it.
God touches us - affiliates with our sin - and completely switches out, heart for Heart - our infirmity for his Eternity. Our fevers leave us. They have no power over us on us when defeated by the power of his Omnipotent Invasion. They are mystically magnetized into the crossbeams of Calvary and we become infused, filled, and empowered with an eschatological foretaste of heaven - where there is no longer any sickness, pain, or sorrow.
How does one respond to such a spiritual transference - darkness for Light, death for Life, clay for Gold, humanity for Deity? Is is through worship, through the offering of works from a grateful heart. This is not a personal, me and Jesus - me in the seat and thee on the Throne - kind of worship (though there is a place for that). The worship expressed by Peter's mother-in-law was tangible. It was seen and experienced. She served.
And the residue of her healing gave testimony to Christ through her service to others.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Matthew Devotion 8:5
"... a Centurion came to him, pleading with him..."
This story is sandwiched between two stories revealing Jesus as the healer and lover of all who are unclean.
In the passage above the leper was cleansed. In the passage to follow, the demonized would be set free. Jesus is no respecter of persons, status, gender, or deception. He may actually find himself more at home with the disenfranchised. As one Church Father has said, "the Love of Chris transcends all boundaries."
The encounter between the gentile centurion and the Jewish Rabbi is striking - not so much because the centurion's faith was cause for the healing of his "paralyzed" and "dreadfully tormented" servant - but for the intercessory heart of compassion he had for his servant. Jesus recognized this, for he had a heart of compassion, too, and would one day be an Eternal Intercessor his servants, too.
So the centurion leaves his formal duties as captain over 100 troops and pleads for the healing of this lone, crippled servant. Knowing the servant is too ill to plead on his own he rises to the occasion, leaves his home, finds Jesus, and pleads for simple nod. That's all it took. From that instant, his heart is renewed - joy is restored - and his faithful servant is healed.
Perhaps you, Friend, are a centurion, interceding - taking action - on behalf of one(s) who cannot move. They may not know of your activities but they will surely feel the results. You who are strong, rise up and plead for those who are weak.
Conversely, you who are paralyzed, dreadfully tormented; pray that your God will raise up a centurion, someone who will will take the reigns and plead your plight on your behalf, before the Father. Sometimes that can be our only prayer. "God, raise a centurion on my behalf!"
Even so, we know, he will - and he has - the Son of God, even our Lord Jesus Christ!
This story is sandwiched between two stories revealing Jesus as the healer and lover of all who are unclean.
In the passage above the leper was cleansed. In the passage to follow, the demonized would be set free. Jesus is no respecter of persons, status, gender, or deception. He may actually find himself more at home with the disenfranchised. As one Church Father has said, "the Love of Chris transcends all boundaries."
The encounter between the gentile centurion and the Jewish Rabbi is striking - not so much because the centurion's faith was cause for the healing of his "paralyzed" and "dreadfully tormented" servant - but for the intercessory heart of compassion he had for his servant. Jesus recognized this, for he had a heart of compassion, too, and would one day be an Eternal Intercessor his servants, too.
So the centurion leaves his formal duties as captain over 100 troops and pleads for the healing of this lone, crippled servant. Knowing the servant is too ill to plead on his own he rises to the occasion, leaves his home, finds Jesus, and pleads for simple nod. That's all it took. From that instant, his heart is renewed - joy is restored - and his faithful servant is healed.
Perhaps you, Friend, are a centurion, interceding - taking action - on behalf of one(s) who cannot move. They may not know of your activities but they will surely feel the results. You who are strong, rise up and plead for those who are weak.
Conversely, you who are paralyzed, dreadfully tormented; pray that your God will raise up a centurion, someone who will will take the reigns and plead your plight on your behalf, before the Father. Sometimes that can be our only prayer. "God, raise a centurion on my behalf!"
Even so, we know, he will - and he has - the Son of God, even our Lord Jesus Christ!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Matthew Study 8:2
"... and behold, a leper came and worshiped him..."
To receive worship from this leper - indeed, to reach out and touch the leper - was an intentional act of a compassionate God willing to fully associate with his fallen Creation.
Praise God for the leper - the outcast of culture - who had it in him enough to know that, even in his wretchedness, he could bow before the One who had created him in his own image. Society had it's label: unclean and cursed. God had his label, too: beloved, welcomed, and blessed. How this leper knew he could come before Messiah Christ in his horrid state, no one knows. But it all came together as he fell down before him and worshiped him.
As we worship God we soon realize his absolute power to heal everything. Even our leprous nature becomes in before the Healer becomes insignificant, for the greater radiance of loosing all in the worship of Christ.
And, in that place of Divine Communion, Jesus knows. He sees. He asks. For he longs to hear our "if you are willing you can make me clean!" "I AM willing," he replies and, reaching his hand from above, he so identifies himself with our angst that be becomes one with our leprous nature. In the unconditional exchange he chooses to become our leprosy so we can be made whole and testify to his Name.
Many of us say, "I will worship God after I am properly cleansed." Or, "One day, when all is well, I will return to the Father and say 'such and such' a thing. Perhaps I'll be good enough then." Yet, in Christ, we have the Prodigal's Privilege to rise from the pig fields and come boldly to the Throne of Grace - even in our most horrid and stinky state. And, when his father saw him, he ran to him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him!
Father, give us the humility and desperation of this leper, that you would touch us and make us whole as we wholly worship you. For you are Holy.
To receive worship from this leper - indeed, to reach out and touch the leper - was an intentional act of a compassionate God willing to fully associate with his fallen Creation.
Praise God for the leper - the outcast of culture - who had it in him enough to know that, even in his wretchedness, he could bow before the One who had created him in his own image. Society had it's label: unclean and cursed. God had his label, too: beloved, welcomed, and blessed. How this leper knew he could come before Messiah Christ in his horrid state, no one knows. But it all came together as he fell down before him and worshiped him.
As we worship God we soon realize his absolute power to heal everything. Even our leprous nature becomes in before the Healer becomes insignificant, for the greater radiance of loosing all in the worship of Christ.
And, in that place of Divine Communion, Jesus knows. He sees. He asks. For he longs to hear our "if you are willing you can make me clean!" "I AM willing," he replies and, reaching his hand from above, he so identifies himself with our angst that be becomes one with our leprous nature. In the unconditional exchange he chooses to become our leprosy so we can be made whole and testify to his Name.
Many of us say, "I will worship God after I am properly cleansed." Or, "One day, when all is well, I will return to the Father and say 'such and such' a thing. Perhaps I'll be good enough then." Yet, in Christ, we have the Prodigal's Privilege to rise from the pig fields and come boldly to the Throne of Grace - even in our most horrid and stinky state. And, when his father saw him, he ran to him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him!
Father, give us the humility and desperation of this leper, that you would touch us and make us whole as we wholly worship you. For you are Holy.
Matthew Study 7:1
"... judge not, that you be not judged..."
It's funny how it works. But the very thing we most judge, we become.
We need to be careful in this. Obsession with the sin will bring us into the participation of that same sin, howbeit be an obsession of avoidance with the sin, or fascination with the sin. Where our heart is, there our treasure will be also.
So we need to honestly ask ourself: Who do I judge? The idolator? The thieve? The murderer? The adulterer? And when that is determined, move slowly away from that judgment, lest we incur the same judgment from our Heavenly Father towards that same sin.
Judgement on sin is solely reserved for God alone - and that, for good reason.
Jesus tells us not to judge others because he knows that, when we become the thing judged, we will invoke the Judgement of the Father for the same sin. So, in essence, our freeing of judgement towards others frees God's judgement from us. Or, to say it another way, God judges us, more/less, in the way we judge others.
Forgiveness works the same way. Scripture says, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." You see, my dear one, we become the thing we withhold, and we loose in ourselves that which we loose in others. Thus - while it sounds heretical - there is a sense wherein God's work in Creation is either stifled or nurtured by the free-will choices of that same Creation.
As Living Temples filled with the Essence of Heaven, we carry tremendous Authority. We have the power to loose and to bind, to heal, and to forgive. Let's use our authority wisely. Let us bless everybody we meet the Grace and Mercy of the One who has graced us with his unconditional mercy.
It's funny how it works. But the very thing we most judge, we become.
We need to be careful in this. Obsession with the sin will bring us into the participation of that same sin, howbeit be an obsession of avoidance with the sin, or fascination with the sin. Where our heart is, there our treasure will be also.
So we need to honestly ask ourself: Who do I judge? The idolator? The thieve? The murderer? The adulterer? And when that is determined, move slowly away from that judgment, lest we incur the same judgment from our Heavenly Father towards that same sin.
Judgement on sin is solely reserved for God alone - and that, for good reason.
Jesus tells us not to judge others because he knows that, when we become the thing judged, we will invoke the Judgement of the Father for the same sin. So, in essence, our freeing of judgement towards others frees God's judgement from us. Or, to say it another way, God judges us, more/less, in the way we judge others.
Forgiveness works the same way. Scripture says, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." You see, my dear one, we become the thing we withhold, and we loose in ourselves that which we loose in others. Thus - while it sounds heretical - there is a sense wherein God's work in Creation is either stifled or nurtured by the free-will choices of that same Creation.
As Living Temples filled with the Essence of Heaven, we carry tremendous Authority. We have the power to loose and to bind, to heal, and to forgive. Let's use our authority wisely. Let us bless everybody we meet the Grace and Mercy of the One who has graced us with his unconditional mercy.
Matthew Study 6:14
"... if you do not forgive... neither will your Father forgive you..."
An old man eased down the rickety stairs to the floor of his stone basement. Above him were numerous mobiles, each perfectly balanced and hanging delicately from the ceiling with thin silver cords. Once arriving at the workbench he opened the wooden cabinet and, running boney fingers across the gamete of color-filled bottles, found the perfect one for this particular occasion.
"Ah, here you are..." He carefully removed the bottle from the cabinet, made his way to the center of the room where an ancient stone Well stood and tipped the bottle upside-down, emptying its contents into the Well, where it poured into the blackness of its depths forever.
After a moment of satisfaction he returned the bottle to its shelf and began searching for the next next ingredient. "Aha - here you are!" He excitedly took the new bottle in his fingers and made his way over it over to a Well in the middle of the room. Yet, as he tipped this new bottle over the Well, nothing poured out. "That's odd." He tipped it again, even tapped it on its side a few times. Still nothing. Why couldn't it be poured out? Upon deeper observation he saw the precious liquid had become clogged by an old cork, stuck there in the bottleneck.
When the old man saw this his attitude of excitement and joy at once changed to frustration, anger, and righteous rage. He raised his voice at the bottle and shouted at it, his voice echoing through the house.
"I asked you to clean yourselves out but apparently you've chosen to ignore me!"
He tightened his grip and threw the bottle across the room where it smashed to smithereens across the cold, stone floor of the candle-lit workroom. The room exploded with the sound of splattering glass and the delicate mobiles, each hanging with a thin silver cord, radically skewed and tipped out of balance.
As the liquid absorbed through the cracks of the stone floor the old man returned to the cabinet, looking for another bottle that would carry out his Plan.
Forgiveness is everything in the Kingdom of God. Without vessels of forgiveness, God's hands are tied. Some would say God cannot forgive through us until he can forgive to us. Only when we release our bitterness - the bottle cloggers, if you will - is when we can both receive and pour out, his Grace.
Forgive, my brother, forgive your brother from your heart. Only then will the plans of the Well-Maker be poured through your Well, and then out to this broken world.
An old man eased down the rickety stairs to the floor of his stone basement. Above him were numerous mobiles, each perfectly balanced and hanging delicately from the ceiling with thin silver cords. Once arriving at the workbench he opened the wooden cabinet and, running boney fingers across the gamete of color-filled bottles, found the perfect one for this particular occasion.
"Ah, here you are..." He carefully removed the bottle from the cabinet, made his way to the center of the room where an ancient stone Well stood and tipped the bottle upside-down, emptying its contents into the Well, where it poured into the blackness of its depths forever.
After a moment of satisfaction he returned the bottle to its shelf and began searching for the next next ingredient. "Aha - here you are!" He excitedly took the new bottle in his fingers and made his way over it over to a Well in the middle of the room. Yet, as he tipped this new bottle over the Well, nothing poured out. "That's odd." He tipped it again, even tapped it on its side a few times. Still nothing. Why couldn't it be poured out? Upon deeper observation he saw the precious liquid had become clogged by an old cork, stuck there in the bottleneck.
When the old man saw this his attitude of excitement and joy at once changed to frustration, anger, and righteous rage. He raised his voice at the bottle and shouted at it, his voice echoing through the house.
"I asked you to clean yourselves out but apparently you've chosen to ignore me!"
He tightened his grip and threw the bottle across the room where it smashed to smithereens across the cold, stone floor of the candle-lit workroom. The room exploded with the sound of splattering glass and the delicate mobiles, each hanging with a thin silver cord, radically skewed and tipped out of balance.
As the liquid absorbed through the cracks of the stone floor the old man returned to the cabinet, looking for another bottle that would carry out his Plan.
Forgiveness is everything in the Kingdom of God. Without vessels of forgiveness, God's hands are tied. Some would say God cannot forgive through us until he can forgive to us. Only when we release our bitterness - the bottle cloggers, if you will - is when we can both receive and pour out, his Grace.
Forgive, my brother, forgive your brother from your heart. Only then will the plans of the Well-Maker be poured through your Well, and then out to this broken world.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Matthew Study 6:17
"... when you fast..."
Fasting is the intentional forsaking of fleshly passion - food, sleep, attitudes, and behavior - given as an offering, and laid out upon the altar of our hearts.
As with all Biblical disciplines, it is temporal - with the caveat that the whole of of the Christian Pilgrimage is to be considered "fasting" on some level. (For, there are elements of our world and culture from which we must continually fast, for the sake being in the Kingdom of God.)
When a person fasts his or her spirit, body, mind and soul all become victim to the discipline of the fast. As the Son can do nothing without direct interaction with the Father through the Holy Spirit, so our discipline of fasting affects our entire Being. Far more, this intentional "circumcision of the flesh" provides a spiritual clarity that could not be revealed otherwise.
Normal Christian life can be compared to a light bulb - bright, filling the room with a soft gentle, soothing glow. When a person fasts, the fuzzy non-desrcript outlines take focus and provide sharp distinctions in the shadows of turning, providing fast-bearer with laser-keen revelation, which seems to grease the Will of the Father. Hindered prayers become unhindered. Spiritual confusion is turned to clarity. And vocational lukewarmness becomes revitalized with the empowered Vision of the Call.
... when you fast.
Fasting is the intentional forsaking of fleshly passion - food, sleep, attitudes, and behavior - given as an offering, and laid out upon the altar of our hearts.
As with all Biblical disciplines, it is temporal - with the caveat that the whole of of the Christian Pilgrimage is to be considered "fasting" on some level. (For, there are elements of our world and culture from which we must continually fast, for the sake being in the Kingdom of God.)
When a person fasts his or her spirit, body, mind and soul all become victim to the discipline of the fast. As the Son can do nothing without direct interaction with the Father through the Holy Spirit, so our discipline of fasting affects our entire Being. Far more, this intentional "circumcision of the flesh" provides a spiritual clarity that could not be revealed otherwise.
Normal Christian life can be compared to a light bulb - bright, filling the room with a soft gentle, soothing glow. When a person fasts, the fuzzy non-desrcript outlines take focus and provide sharp distinctions in the shadows of turning, providing fast-bearer with laser-keen revelation, which seems to grease the Will of the Father. Hindered prayers become unhindered. Spiritual confusion is turned to clarity. And vocational lukewarmness becomes revitalized with the empowered Vision of the Call.
... when you fast.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Matthew Study 6:6
"... and when you have shut the door..."
Your relationship with Jesus Christ is the most intimate relationship you have.
Through the course of your relationship with him you will get to know him in revelatory ways that others do not, indeed cannot, know. And you will be able to entrust to him the secrets of your soul - the things you dream of, the things that pain you - freely, without any fear.
This relationship is so special - so much "one of a kind" that, in a sense, it needs to kept secret. He sees when you give, pray, or establish devotions in secret and rewards you openly. He sees everything, loves everything, and - believe it or not - he is in love with you. He really likes you!
This kind of love needs to be guarded, hidden, so very cherished that nothing can distract you from the sacredness of your union with him. During your times of prayer, meditation, revelation, and reflection everything needs to be intentionally "shut out" for the sake of who you are together. It's a Consecrated Courtship, where there is no place for phone calls, impulsive behavior, or even the needless repetition of devotional activity. He knows all that, and will take care of it all in due time. For now, in this instant, he simply longs to be with you, with no outside distraction.
Shutting the door doesn't deny, or callously write off, the problems of the world around you. It is what you must do to wholeheartedly continue your sacred relationship with Jesus. It is an intentional act of love which, in essence, says that nothing in the world is as important as the One with whom you are with.
Your relationship with Jesus Christ is the most intimate relationship you have.
Through the course of your relationship with him you will get to know him in revelatory ways that others do not, indeed cannot, know. And you will be able to entrust to him the secrets of your soul - the things you dream of, the things that pain you - freely, without any fear.
This relationship is so special - so much "one of a kind" that, in a sense, it needs to kept secret. He sees when you give, pray, or establish devotions in secret and rewards you openly. He sees everything, loves everything, and - believe it or not - he is in love with you. He really likes you!
This kind of love needs to be guarded, hidden, so very cherished that nothing can distract you from the sacredness of your union with him. During your times of prayer, meditation, revelation, and reflection everything needs to be intentionally "shut out" for the sake of who you are together. It's a Consecrated Courtship, where there is no place for phone calls, impulsive behavior, or even the needless repetition of devotional activity. He knows all that, and will take care of it all in due time. For now, in this instant, he simply longs to be with you, with no outside distraction.
Shutting the door doesn't deny, or callously write off, the problems of the world around you. It is what you must do to wholeheartedly continue your sacred relationship with Jesus. It is an intentional act of love which, in essence, says that nothing in the world is as important as the One with whom you are with.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Matthew Study 5:21
"... You have heard it said..."
The Grace found in Jesus in no way alleviates the Judgement from the Father. It only redirects it.
The OT Law was clear about it's conditions to meet the righteousness of God. We better not commit adultery, bear false witness, worship other Gods, forsake the Sabbath, and so on down the line. Violation of these God-graven commandments induce the consuming judgement of a Holy God against a Rebellious Tribe.
The NT Law of Love doesn't get us off the hook, either. Jesus kicks it up a notch, reveals the rebellion of our hearts, and says in essence, "No way can you make God happy with you. You just don't have it in you. "Whoever looks at a woman to lust..." Whoever considers telling a lie..." "Whoever wonders if the worship of another God is valid..." "Whoever secretly longs to work on the Sabbath." And so on down the line.
And yet, as we embrace him as Savior - turning all we are and entering into the Stream of Forgiveness - he does a curious thing: He clothes us with a Cloak of Perfection, thus causing us to at least appear sinless before the Throne of Judgement. Thus, as the old song reminds us, "When he looks at me, he sees not what I used to be, but he sees Jesus."
Does his undeserving Grace change, or lesson, the demands of holiness from the Holy One? Does is ease his anger towards the rebellion of Created Order? Not in the least. (Nor does it give us the freedom to sin all the more so that Grace may abound.) God's wrath is not dismissed. It is only redirected, redirected onto Jesus.
That's how much he loves you.
Followers of Jesus, embrace his Grace and spend the rest of forever thanking him for his indescribable Gift. He became you, that you may freely live in him. He was tempted, yet did not sin, so that his Grace would stealth the very issues of your heart.
So walk in fear, walk in thanksgiving; expressing that same Unmerited Favor others, as a loving act of worship for his Grace he has bestowed on you.
The Grace found in Jesus in no way alleviates the Judgement from the Father. It only redirects it.
The OT Law was clear about it's conditions to meet the righteousness of God. We better not commit adultery, bear false witness, worship other Gods, forsake the Sabbath, and so on down the line. Violation of these God-graven commandments induce the consuming judgement of a Holy God against a Rebellious Tribe.
The NT Law of Love doesn't get us off the hook, either. Jesus kicks it up a notch, reveals the rebellion of our hearts, and says in essence, "No way can you make God happy with you. You just don't have it in you. "Whoever looks at a woman to lust..." Whoever considers telling a lie..." "Whoever wonders if the worship of another God is valid..." "Whoever secretly longs to work on the Sabbath." And so on down the line.
And yet, as we embrace him as Savior - turning all we are and entering into the Stream of Forgiveness - he does a curious thing: He clothes us with a Cloak of Perfection, thus causing us to at least appear sinless before the Throne of Judgement. Thus, as the old song reminds us, "When he looks at me, he sees not what I used to be, but he sees Jesus."
Does his undeserving Grace change, or lesson, the demands of holiness from the Holy One? Does is ease his anger towards the rebellion of Created Order? Not in the least. (Nor does it give us the freedom to sin all the more so that Grace may abound.) God's wrath is not dismissed. It is only redirected, redirected onto Jesus.
That's how much he loves you.
Followers of Jesus, embrace his Grace and spend the rest of forever thanking him for his indescribable Gift. He became you, that you may freely live in him. He was tempted, yet did not sin, so that his Grace would stealth the very issues of your heart.
So walk in fear, walk in thanksgiving; expressing that same Unmerited Favor others, as a loving act of worship for his Grace he has bestowed on you.
Matthew Study 5:11
"... blessed are you when they revile you... for My sake...
One would think that, as followers of the Prince of Peace, we would be perceived as people of peace - that we would be friends over everyone, and have no enemies.
Yet our very essence, that is "Christ in us" by default, includes both peace from within and persecution from without. Though we are in this world, are are no longer of it. We are pilgrims, in a strange land. We are not of this world.
We need to reconcile this truth within ourselves or we will be forever conflicted in our identity as followers of Jesus.
You can try to be like the world but there will always come a time when the difference between you and others will be evident. When that day arises, you will have the grace and compassion to let his love pour through you. They, however, will not have that capacity. In their natural angst, they will persecute you. (And they may not be sure why.)
As you walk in the tension - that of being peacemaker and persecuted - remember you are not alone. You are surrounded by a cloud of past saints (and contemporary pilgrims) who were unmoved in the face of false accusations, rumors, and persecutions. They knew that their persecution acted as a polish, resulting in a glorious sheen on their heavenly trophies.
So they rejoiced.
So cease seeking and trying to make it all work out, presenting a euphoric inclusivity of all the cultures and families of the world, where Universalism can be embraced and all paths equally lead to the Father. That is simply untrue. Jesus Christ is the only Way, the only Truth, and the only Life in the Father. Affiliation with him changes everything. By our very Deified Nature, as the Body of the Living Christ, friction happens.
Friction happened with the prophets. Friction happened with the apostles, martyrs, saints. Friction even happened with Jesus. Why would anything less happen to us?
Friction is who we are.
One would think that, as followers of the Prince of Peace, we would be perceived as people of peace - that we would be friends over everyone, and have no enemies.
Yet our very essence, that is "Christ in us" by default, includes both peace from within and persecution from without. Though we are in this world, are are no longer of it. We are pilgrims, in a strange land. We are not of this world.
We need to reconcile this truth within ourselves or we will be forever conflicted in our identity as followers of Jesus.
You can try to be like the world but there will always come a time when the difference between you and others will be evident. When that day arises, you will have the grace and compassion to let his love pour through you. They, however, will not have that capacity. In their natural angst, they will persecute you. (And they may not be sure why.)
As you walk in the tension - that of being peacemaker and persecuted - remember you are not alone. You are surrounded by a cloud of past saints (and contemporary pilgrims) who were unmoved in the face of false accusations, rumors, and persecutions. They knew that their persecution acted as a polish, resulting in a glorious sheen on their heavenly trophies.
So they rejoiced.
So cease seeking and trying to make it all work out, presenting a euphoric inclusivity of all the cultures and families of the world, where Universalism can be embraced and all paths equally lead to the Father. That is simply untrue. Jesus Christ is the only Way, the only Truth, and the only Life in the Father. Affiliation with him changes everything. By our very Deified Nature, as the Body of the Living Christ, friction happens.
Friction happened with the prophets. Friction happened with the apostles, martyrs, saints. Friction even happened with Jesus. Why would anything less happen to us?
Friction is who we are.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Matthew Study 4:23
"... preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and disease..."
Both the words of Jesus and the words of Jesus are necessary to present a holistic witness of the Kingdom of God found in Christ.
It's easy for some to write off the miracles of Christ because they provide no logical closure. They are messy, oftentimes outside the box of our understanding. Conversely, it is easy for some to write off the words of Christ because they provide nothing more than words in a Book.
But God is a Spirit, and he is to be manifested in both spirit and truth.
Word and works always accompanied Christ's teaching on the Kingdom. Sometimes people were led to Christ because of the miracles. Other times, people were lead to the miracles because of the words. Either way, both word and works were united in presenting an authentic witness of God's love to the world.
A friend once said, "Too much word without works? You dry up. Too many works without the Word? You blow up! But both word and works? You grow up."
The ministry of Christ has been given to you. That ministry involves the expansion of the Heaven on earth. Heaven is a place of miracles. By default, our witness to the lost is to be a witness of God's love through his word, and his works.
Both the words of Jesus and the words of Jesus are necessary to present a holistic witness of the Kingdom of God found in Christ.
It's easy for some to write off the miracles of Christ because they provide no logical closure. They are messy, oftentimes outside the box of our understanding. Conversely, it is easy for some to write off the words of Christ because they provide nothing more than words in a Book.
But God is a Spirit, and he is to be manifested in both spirit and truth.
Word and works always accompanied Christ's teaching on the Kingdom. Sometimes people were led to Christ because of the miracles. Other times, people were lead to the miracles because of the words. Either way, both word and works were united in presenting an authentic witness of God's love to the world.
A friend once said, "Too much word without works? You dry up. Too many works without the Word? You blow up! But both word and works? You grow up."
The ministry of Christ has been given to you. That ministry involves the expansion of the Heaven on earth. Heaven is a place of miracles. By default, our witness to the lost is to be a witness of God's love through his word, and his works.
Matthew Study 4:22
"... and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him..."
This didn't happen just like that - the radical response to the Call, that is.
They had heard Christ's message of repentance long before this moment. The Message was spreading everywhere in that region. News about the invading Kingdom was the talk of the town. Locals talked about it in the fields, elders talked about it in their Synagogue (perhaps even preached on it), and fishermen talked about it on the same sea that one of them - after responding to the Call - would leave his boat and friends and, stepping into a deeper Invitation, walk upon its stormy surface. The Word was working in the hearts of these future disciples long before they had the opportunity to respond to it.
Timing is everything.
The initial Invitation to rise and willingly forsake everything for the sake of the Call is, to say the least, challenging. It demands us to think it all through, to carefully consider the Invitation - and it's probable implications - so that, when our time arrives, we can unashamedly rise and leave both boat and father - both material and relational - for the sake of the Gospel.
Others do that, too.
It's easy to be frustrated with the perceived procrastination of our friends and family (with regard to responding to the Gospel). We angst , "When are they going to forsake all to follow Christ?" "It's a simple decision - just say yes!" Yet, to be sure, if you are praying for them, God's is wrestling within. Find rest in knowing that, deeply and daily, your loved ones are internally engaged in a consecrated consideration concerning the sacrificial ending of their life. For them, as it was for you, that's a tough call.
One day, when they see the Rabbi walking their shore with the Invitation of the Bigger Catch, they will do so wholeheartedly, without looking back, forsaking both material and relational for the greater Life of the Call.
This didn't happen just like that - the radical response to the Call, that is.
They had heard Christ's message of repentance long before this moment. The Message was spreading everywhere in that region. News about the invading Kingdom was the talk of the town. Locals talked about it in the fields, elders talked about it in their Synagogue (perhaps even preached on it), and fishermen talked about it on the same sea that one of them - after responding to the Call - would leave his boat and friends and, stepping into a deeper Invitation, walk upon its stormy surface. The Word was working in the hearts of these future disciples long before they had the opportunity to respond to it.
Timing is everything.
The initial Invitation to rise and willingly forsake everything for the sake of the Call is, to say the least, challenging. It demands us to think it all through, to carefully consider the Invitation - and it's probable implications - so that, when our time arrives, we can unashamedly rise and leave both boat and father - both material and relational - for the sake of the Gospel.
Others do that, too.
It's easy to be frustrated with the perceived procrastination of our friends and family (with regard to responding to the Gospel). We angst , "When are they going to forsake all to follow Christ?" "It's a simple decision - just say yes!" Yet, to be sure, if you are praying for them, God's is wrestling within. Find rest in knowing that, deeply and daily, your loved ones are internally engaged in a consecrated consideration concerning the sacrificial ending of their life. For them, as it was for you, that's a tough call.
One day, when they see the Rabbi walking their shore with the Invitation of the Bigger Catch, they will do so wholeheartedly, without looking back, forsaking both material and relational for the greater Life of the Call.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Matthew Study 4:12, 15, 17
"... when he had heard that John had been put into prison... he departed to... Galilee of the Gentiles... and [said], 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand..."
There is something about death that focuses us. Suddenly we are no longer on random paths, competitors and dreamers of our own games and selfish ambitions. Death is everyone's common destiny. It's acute awareness strips us of everything. It has the power to surface what's truly Important and discard spiritual superficiality to its proper place.
Crises works like that too. We may have our Call, buried deeply within the mish-mash of daily "priorities" and activities. But such deep streams burst to the surface through immense personal, or corporate, crises. It doesn't necessarily have to be our crises, our death, or our personal catastrophe that gets the Call going. It can be the affiliation of someone else's crises.
When Jesus heard his cousin, John, had gone to prison for unabashedly living into what he really - deep down inside - believed in, it affected him in a significant way. Real Life kicked in. Excesses fell to Creation and he was clothed with the outranking priorities of the Creator. And where did the priorities of the Father bring him? To the second class, half-breeds - neither Jew nor Gentile, but those in a theological stew of mish-mash - living in Zebulun and Naphtali. The Call lead him to me. It lead him to you.
Living Real Life affects people forever.
And there he preached the same word as John preached - the same message that John had been imprisoned (and eventually would die) for, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." You see, my faithful one, when those we love are forced to go to prison, the Lord raises that same Call, that same Spirit, in the hearts of those remaining behind. The Remainders are empowered by the Call lived out in others. As things once valued - things now revealed to be hinderances to the Call (though never thought as such before) - fall to the earth, within us, the greater Priority emerges.
Indeed, it is our responsibility to carry on the Call for the well-being of the Remainders.
There is something about death that focuses us. Suddenly we are no longer on random paths, competitors and dreamers of our own games and selfish ambitions. Death is everyone's common destiny. It's acute awareness strips us of everything. It has the power to surface what's truly Important and discard spiritual superficiality to its proper place.
Crises works like that too. We may have our Call, buried deeply within the mish-mash of daily "priorities" and activities. But such deep streams burst to the surface through immense personal, or corporate, crises. It doesn't necessarily have to be our crises, our death, or our personal catastrophe that gets the Call going. It can be the affiliation of someone else's crises.
When Jesus heard his cousin, John, had gone to prison for unabashedly living into what he really - deep down inside - believed in, it affected him in a significant way. Real Life kicked in. Excesses fell to Creation and he was clothed with the outranking priorities of the Creator. And where did the priorities of the Father bring him? To the second class, half-breeds - neither Jew nor Gentile, but those in a theological stew of mish-mash - living in Zebulun and Naphtali. The Call lead him to me. It lead him to you.
Living Real Life affects people forever.
And there he preached the same word as John preached - the same message that John had been imprisoned (and eventually would die) for, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." You see, my faithful one, when those we love are forced to go to prison, the Lord raises that same Call, that same Spirit, in the hearts of those remaining behind. The Remainders are empowered by the Call lived out in others. As things once valued - things now revealed to be hinderances to the Call (though never thought as such before) - fall to the earth, within us, the greater Priority emerges.
Indeed, it is our responsibility to carry on the Call for the well-being of the Remainders.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Matthew Study 4:3
"... If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread..."
Did the devil say, "If - IF you are the Son of God?" But didn't God just say, "This IS my son?" And did the devil say, "Command these stones to become bread?" just after Jesus' 40 day fast, after which he was famished?
Nothing new here. Satan is always trying to undo the thing that God has done. He is also all about providing instant gratification to those in fatigue and dilemmas with "no hope." When we hear thoughts that seek to undo God's full redemption in us, or when a magic answer appears and prematurely plops itself before us in the heat of our greatest perceived need, take caution.
God's ways are peaceful. They are loving. They are timed between between the hands of grace and mercy. His provision is not provisional. His unconditional love is not conditional. God gives with no strings attached, with no hint of ulterior, hidden agenda - nor any trace of coaxing or questioning.
Jesus knew this. When he recognized that same voice of Fallen Creation in his WIlderness he decidedly engaged the battle with a proper exegesis of Holy Scripture. The devil uses Scripture, to be sure. But he twists it to his own agenda, which always includes the accusation of the Saints. But Jesus knew the Word of God. He quoted it, not himself. He knew it was/is a more powerful than any double-edged sword. In the pain, fatigue, hunger and thirst of his Wilderness Experience he knew the Word of God would maintain its spiritual anointing and authority, regardless of his own personal weakness.
And, when the Word was exalted, the devil retreated.
Did the devil say, "If - IF you are the Son of God?" But didn't God just say, "This IS my son?" And did the devil say, "Command these stones to become bread?" just after Jesus' 40 day fast, after which he was famished?
Nothing new here. Satan is always trying to undo the thing that God has done. He is also all about providing instant gratification to those in fatigue and dilemmas with "no hope." When we hear thoughts that seek to undo God's full redemption in us, or when a magic answer appears and prematurely plops itself before us in the heat of our greatest perceived need, take caution.
God's ways are peaceful. They are loving. They are timed between between the hands of grace and mercy. His provision is not provisional. His unconditional love is not conditional. God gives with no strings attached, with no hint of ulterior, hidden agenda - nor any trace of coaxing or questioning.
Jesus knew this. When he recognized that same voice of Fallen Creation in his WIlderness he decidedly engaged the battle with a proper exegesis of Holy Scripture. The devil uses Scripture, to be sure. But he twists it to his own agenda, which always includes the accusation of the Saints. But Jesus knew the Word of God. He quoted it, not himself. He knew it was/is a more powerful than any double-edged sword. In the pain, fatigue, hunger and thirst of his Wilderness Experience he knew the Word of God would maintain its spiritual anointing and authority, regardless of his own personal weakness.
And, when the Word was exalted, the devil retreated.
Matthew Study 4:1
"... Jesus was led up by the Spirit... into the wilderness... to be tempted by the devil..."
It's a curious thing that we rarely question the Spirit's leading when we are in green pastures surrounded by bubbling brooks. Yet, truth be known, the Spirit - being about the ultimate forging of the Father's character in us - leads his sheep equally into times of pasture, and times of wilderness.
As a knife finds it's sharpening potential under the spinning wheel of flint, so do we discover authentic Christlikeness within the flying sparks of the wilderness experience. Nothing comes without a struggle. And nothing fruitful comes without sacrifice and pain.
We often placate ourselves and others by dropping superficial comments such as , "O, I am in a spiritual desert now, praise God." Or, "I am ready for my personal wilderness that I may rise into my ministry." Yet, when one actually enters his or her wilderness, everything is stripped away. Happy bumper-sticker theology finds no place in the pained heart of the wilderness pilgrim.
We are are a strange mix of the divine and human, are we not - see-sawing up and down between the blue skies of "this is my son, in whom I am well pleased" and the hardened ground of "If you are the Son of God...". We are immersed in the God's love one minute and, the very next minute, find ourselves seriously entertaining the cancer of hell's adversary.
"Will I forever be so spiritually schizophrenic? What needs to happen so that my thoughts finally become his thoughts, so that, one day by his Grace, my worldview will become his Kingdomview? How in the world does that happen?"
It happens as we are led by the Spirit into our wilderness experience. It's something that we need not merely tolerate, but embrace as a Gift from God.
If you are in your wilderness experience you must know the following. First, your experience - beginning to end, its timing to its duration - has all been orchestrated by Divine Providence. The Spirit has led you here. So this is a good thing.
Secondly, you will be confronted and assaulted by the devil. He will do everything he can to talk you out of everything that God has brought you into. Don't forget your sacred history. The God who gifted you in the pasture is the God who is walking with you in the wilderness. His Word in you is a mighty weapon against the deceitfulness of your enemy. Remember, you don't have to believe everything you hear.
And, if you sense your grip loosening from the Sword, all is not lost; you will be pruned and circumcised, perhaps, (and it will pain you). But your Lord will never loosen his grip on you. The victory belongs to the Lord. He will fight for you.
After all, after all this, be encouraged in the Lord. He has plans for you. From his perspective this is your boot camp. Besides, even as we speak, his angels are rushing in to balm your wounds, bathe your weary soul, and set you firmly into you into the fulfillment of your Baptism Vows, the Spirit-filled ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It's a curious thing that we rarely question the Spirit's leading when we are in green pastures surrounded by bubbling brooks. Yet, truth be known, the Spirit - being about the ultimate forging of the Father's character in us - leads his sheep equally into times of pasture, and times of wilderness.
As a knife finds it's sharpening potential under the spinning wheel of flint, so do we discover authentic Christlikeness within the flying sparks of the wilderness experience. Nothing comes without a struggle. And nothing fruitful comes without sacrifice and pain.
We often placate ourselves and others by dropping superficial comments such as , "O, I am in a spiritual desert now, praise God." Or, "I am ready for my personal wilderness that I may rise into my ministry." Yet, when one actually enters his or her wilderness, everything is stripped away. Happy bumper-sticker theology finds no place in the pained heart of the wilderness pilgrim.
We are are a strange mix of the divine and human, are we not - see-sawing up and down between the blue skies of "this is my son, in whom I am well pleased" and the hardened ground of "If you are the Son of God...". We are immersed in the God's love one minute and, the very next minute, find ourselves seriously entertaining the cancer of hell's adversary.
"Will I forever be so spiritually schizophrenic? What needs to happen so that my thoughts finally become his thoughts, so that, one day by his Grace, my worldview will become his Kingdomview? How in the world does that happen?"
It happens as we are led by the Spirit into our wilderness experience. It's something that we need not merely tolerate, but embrace as a Gift from God.
If you are in your wilderness experience you must know the following. First, your experience - beginning to end, its timing to its duration - has all been orchestrated by Divine Providence. The Spirit has led you here. So this is a good thing.
Secondly, you will be confronted and assaulted by the devil. He will do everything he can to talk you out of everything that God has brought you into. Don't forget your sacred history. The God who gifted you in the pasture is the God who is walking with you in the wilderness. His Word in you is a mighty weapon against the deceitfulness of your enemy. Remember, you don't have to believe everything you hear.
And, if you sense your grip loosening from the Sword, all is not lost; you will be pruned and circumcised, perhaps, (and it will pain you). But your Lord will never loosen his grip on you. The victory belongs to the Lord. He will fight for you.
After all, after all this, be encouraged in the Lord. He has plans for you. From his perspective this is your boot camp. Besides, even as we speak, his angels are rushing in to balm your wounds, bathe your weary soul, and set you firmly into you into the fulfillment of your Baptism Vows, the Spirit-filled ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Matthew Study 3:14
"... I need to be baptized by you, and you are coming to me?..."
It's interesting to note that Jesus not only submitted himself to a human form, but also submitted himself to the language, customs, and [what would, from his perspective would have been] the menial religious activities of Palestine. He celebrated Passover Feasts, Pentecost Feasts, weddings, and funerals - oftentimes humbling himself to the limited liturgies designed to give glory to himself.
Transformation begins as we humble ourselves and immerse ourselves fully into the customs at hand. As Jesus ascended from his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven, equipping and encouraging him in the furtherance of his Call. Likewise, as we arise from our immersion we, too, are met by the Spirit landing upon us, too, expressing the good pleasure of the Lord for our willingness to engage and transform the culture wherein he has planted us.
It's interesting to note that Jesus not only submitted himself to a human form, but also submitted himself to the language, customs, and [what would, from his perspective would have been] the menial religious activities of Palestine. He celebrated Passover Feasts, Pentecost Feasts, weddings, and funerals - oftentimes humbling himself to the limited liturgies designed to give glory to himself.
Jesus could never participate in a religious liturgy without completely transforming it into an Icon which would be forever changed to reveal the everlasting Son of God.
His baptism was no different. Though John questioned his intent, the Baptizer self-humbled himself under the hand and protocol of the Baptist. And then, in the participation of the thing, transformation happened. At the Last Supper Jesus embraced the custom of the people, yet transformed it into his own new covenant of Body and Blood. Even in his actions of washing the disciples feet, we hear - echoed from John's "You are coming to me?!" - Peter's cry, "You are going to wash my feet?!"
Jesus invested fully in the religious practices of his day, that he might give clarity to them, transforming them for all to see into Life-giving gatherings. Jesus transformed "church" - not by doing away with it's ancient rites and practices - but by simply showing up.
Transformation begins as we humble ourselves and immerse ourselves fully into the customs at hand. As Jesus ascended from his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven, equipping and encouraging him in the furtherance of his Call. Likewise, as we arise from our immersion we, too, are met by the Spirit landing upon us, too, expressing the good pleasure of the Lord for our willingness to engage and transform the culture wherein he has planted us.
Matthew Study 3:3
"... Prepare the way of the Lord; Make his paths straight..."
When I was young we lived on a dirt road. Every Saturday afternoon the road grater would move deliberately up and down the road, flattening out the bumps and valleys, so they were a smooth, solid surface.
Our pathways are random. They rise high with attitudes of pride and arrogance, they sink low in willful sin and emotional distress. There are piles of stones here, and murky mud-puddles of water there. They are overgrown with vines and untrimmed hedges and, in places, have become quite darkened indeed.
"Make his paths straight..."
We may view our task with dismay. "How am I to clear this path?"
While God calls us to "make his paths straight," to lay aside the wicked devices of our hearts - to level mountains of pride or fill our hellish holes through repentence - he also provides the wherewithal to make that happen. God works with us in the straightening of our paths. He wants us to recognize Jesus at the end of the road and gives us the tools needed to bind and to loose, to forgive, to be delivered and healed.
True, we have our work cut out for us. (He may provide the shovel and the materials, but we need to roll up our sleeves and make it happen.) These are hard choices to make. But, as we seek to make his paths straight, pure, and holy, he instantaneously equips us in the doing of the thing.
We may think we can level this mountain on our own. But we can't - or bring this darkness into the light, but we can't. In his mercy, God has set both his unwavering standard of holiness and provided the Holy Spirit as the Chief Engineer in this project.
Call out to him. Share with him your intent to prepare a straight Way in your heart for the coming of your Lord, and he will help you prepare the way for the Lord.
When I was young we lived on a dirt road. Every Saturday afternoon the road grater would move deliberately up and down the road, flattening out the bumps and valleys, so they were a smooth, solid surface.
Our pathways are random. They rise high with attitudes of pride and arrogance, they sink low in willful sin and emotional distress. There are piles of stones here, and murky mud-puddles of water there. They are overgrown with vines and untrimmed hedges and, in places, have become quite darkened indeed.
"Make his paths straight..."
We may view our task with dismay. "How am I to clear this path?"
While God calls us to "make his paths straight," to lay aside the wicked devices of our hearts - to level mountains of pride or fill our hellish holes through repentence - he also provides the wherewithal to make that happen. God works with us in the straightening of our paths. He wants us to recognize Jesus at the end of the road and gives us the tools needed to bind and to loose, to forgive, to be delivered and healed.
True, we have our work cut out for us. (He may provide the shovel and the materials, but we need to roll up our sleeves and make it happen.) These are hard choices to make. But, as we seek to make his paths straight, pure, and holy, he instantaneously equips us in the doing of the thing.
We may think we can level this mountain on our own. But we can't - or bring this darkness into the light, but we can't. In his mercy, God has set both his unwavering standard of holiness and provided the Holy Spirit as the Chief Engineer in this project.
Call out to him. Share with him your intent to prepare a straight Way in your heart for the coming of your Lord, and he will help you prepare the way for the Lord.
Matthew Study 3:1
"... John the Baptist came..."
John had the spirit of Elijah. He was the word before the Word. John's ministry helped prepare others so that, when Jesus showed up, they would recognize him.
People often overlook the obvious. They need help to label things. They need others - like us - to say this is God, this is how he works, this is how he judges, this is your role in the relationship, that sort of thing. Otherwise, when the Messiah knocks, they may not know who is at the door.
Ben Sirach writes (concerning Elijah), "... You will come at the proper time, with rebukes to calm the wrath of God before it breaks forth in fury, to turn the heart of the father to the son." (Wisdom of Sirach 48:10)
Like Elijah, like John, like us...
Our jobs are to inform others that there IS a God, that he still loves them, that he is returning for them, and "these are the things you need to do" to make his path straight. Better they hear it from us before he returns, then to be blind-sighted by his fury when he returns.
John had the spirit of Elijah. He was the word before the Word. John's ministry helped prepare others so that, when Jesus showed up, they would recognize him.
People often overlook the obvious. They need help to label things. They need others - like us - to say this is God, this is how he works, this is how he judges, this is your role in the relationship, that sort of thing. Otherwise, when the Messiah knocks, they may not know who is at the door.
Ben Sirach writes (concerning Elijah), "... You will come at the proper time, with rebukes to calm the wrath of God before it breaks forth in fury, to turn the heart of the father to the son." (Wisdom of Sirach 48:10)
Like Elijah, like John, like us...
Our jobs are to inform others that there IS a God, that he still loves them, that he is returning for them, and "these are the things you need to do" to make his path straight. Better they hear it from us before he returns, then to be blind-sighted by his fury when he returns.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Matthew Study 2:13
"... Arise... flee to Egypt... stay there until I bring you word..."
Angels appear to us in dreams.
They direct us, warn us, fight for us, and open prison doors for us. They are not people who died and went to heaven. Nor are they the persona of good wishes and well intent from grieving individuals.
Angels are created beings - and there are swarms of them - most of them acutely active in the carrying out of God's plans. Sometimes they appear in a physical, human-like form. Other times, like in this case, they share God's Word through the medium of dreams. Either way, their word is as good as Gold.
"Stay there until I bring you word." This wasn't the first time God's people took refuge in Egypt. In the Old Testament, Jacob's family went to into Egypt where God provided for them during a time of drought. Here, as well and there, the pilgrims are guided with a promise. In essence, God tells the Holy Family, "Go into Egypt and wait. Settle in, use the provisions given through the gifts of the Magi. One day I will call you out of Egypt. But, for now, simply wait until I come back for you - and I will come back for you."
We often enjoy the thrill of guidance, yet find ourselves waffling in the wait. Some of us think we've become abandoned. We begin to read all sorts of things into our dilemma. Has he forgotten about me? Doesn't he understand my situation? Have I forever been exiled, never return to my green pastures again? Some of us, in our waiting, are fearful to do new things, to make new friends. We're afraid to get too rooted. After all, we think, we'll be gone fore we know it. Why waste the time?
But time is not wasted while waiting on the Lord. Besides, my dear saint, you may be waiting for a long time. OT Joseph's tribe waited 200 years before Moses brought them out of Egypt. And we have been waiting 2000 years for the glorious Call of the Trumpet.
Waiting is life.
God's timing is unlike anything else. Best to root into community as if he's never going to call us Home, and live as if the Call will come this afternoon. The only thing we, who are waiting on the Lord, really know is, "stay there until I bring you word."
So remember: He was big enough to call you In; he is big enough to call you Out. For now, keep one ear heavenward, with the other earthward, and go about your days with joy. Bloom where you are planted. Witness the Lord wherever you are and enjoy your Gift of Life, for which the Christ Child gave his Gift of Life.
One Day, when you least expect it, you will hear the Word and you will be called - and guided by his holy angels - into your Promised Nazareth.
Angels appear to us in dreams.
They direct us, warn us, fight for us, and open prison doors for us. They are not people who died and went to heaven. Nor are they the persona of good wishes and well intent from grieving individuals.
Angels are created beings - and there are swarms of them - most of them acutely active in the carrying out of God's plans. Sometimes they appear in a physical, human-like form. Other times, like in this case, they share God's Word through the medium of dreams. Either way, their word is as good as Gold.
"Stay there until I bring you word." This wasn't the first time God's people took refuge in Egypt. In the Old Testament, Jacob's family went to into Egypt where God provided for them during a time of drought. Here, as well and there, the pilgrims are guided with a promise. In essence, God tells the Holy Family, "Go into Egypt and wait. Settle in, use the provisions given through the gifts of the Magi. One day I will call you out of Egypt. But, for now, simply wait until I come back for you - and I will come back for you."
We often enjoy the thrill of guidance, yet find ourselves waffling in the wait. Some of us think we've become abandoned. We begin to read all sorts of things into our dilemma. Has he forgotten about me? Doesn't he understand my situation? Have I forever been exiled, never return to my green pastures again? Some of us, in our waiting, are fearful to do new things, to make new friends. We're afraid to get too rooted. After all, we think, we'll be gone fore we know it. Why waste the time?
But time is not wasted while waiting on the Lord. Besides, my dear saint, you may be waiting for a long time. OT Joseph's tribe waited 200 years before Moses brought them out of Egypt. And we have been waiting 2000 years for the glorious Call of the Trumpet.
Waiting is life.
God's timing is unlike anything else. Best to root into community as if he's never going to call us Home, and live as if the Call will come this afternoon. The only thing we, who are waiting on the Lord, really know is, "stay there until I bring you word."
So remember: He was big enough to call you In; he is big enough to call you Out. For now, keep one ear heavenward, with the other earthward, and go about your days with joy. Bloom where you are planted. Witness the Lord wherever you are and enjoy your Gift of Life, for which the Christ Child gave his Gift of Life.
One Day, when you least expect it, you will hear the Word and you will be called - and guided by his holy angels - into your Promised Nazareth.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Matthew Study: 2:11
"... they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him... they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh..."
The only way we can respond to the Gift of God in Jesus Christ is through the giving of gifts - our treasure, our adoration, our lives.
Like fragile clay pots, infused with such water pressure that we literally burst and diffuse the liquid in every conceivable direction, we would be hard-pressed not to return some sort of response, some impulsive reaction; a heartfelt compulsive act which longs to reflect - howbeit so meager - a thankful heart for the glorious Gift of the Christ Child, given us here, in the House of God.
The magi offered the Boy the best they had - indeed, treasures of His own Creation. Jesus came into the world surrounded by expensive gifts of gratitude and left the world, having been anointed with an alabaster jar of ointment. Jesus was enthroned - and continues to be enthroned - between the bookends of worship, sacrifice, and adoration.
And later, when the Holy Family would flee Bethlehem to safeguard the Child's life from Herod, these same gifts would provide as sustenance for their journey and nurture in their continued wanderings in Egypt. Thus, the Giver of gifts returns our gifts of worship, sacrifice, and adoration in order to provide for, and bring forth, the Will of that same Giver.
The only way we can respond to the Gift of God in Jesus Christ is through the giving of gifts - our treasure, our adoration, our lives.
Like fragile clay pots, infused with such water pressure that we literally burst and diffuse the liquid in every conceivable direction, we would be hard-pressed not to return some sort of response, some impulsive reaction; a heartfelt compulsive act which longs to reflect - howbeit so meager - a thankful heart for the glorious Gift of the Christ Child, given us here, in the House of God.
The magi offered the Boy the best they had - indeed, treasures of His own Creation. Jesus came into the world surrounded by expensive gifts of gratitude and left the world, having been anointed with an alabaster jar of ointment. Jesus was enthroned - and continues to be enthroned - between the bookends of worship, sacrifice, and adoration.
And later, when the Holy Family would flee Bethlehem to safeguard the Child's life from Herod, these same gifts would provide as sustenance for their journey and nurture in their continued wanderings in Egypt. Thus, the Giver of gifts returns our gifts of worship, sacrifice, and adoration in order to provide for, and bring forth, the Will of that same Giver.
Matthew Study 2:6
"... but you, O Bethlehem, you are not the least among the rulers of Judah... for out of you shall come a Ruler, a Shepherd for my people..."
How easy it is for us to celebrate encouraging words from the Lord when there is nothing to weep about. How believable it all is - that we are loved, that God has a plan, a purpose, that that causes us to proclaim God will never leave us or forsake us - when all is well with the world.
Later, this same Bethlehem would be ravaged but Herod's rage. His decision to move into the heart of the villages and surrounding towns and murder all children from two years old down would send up lamentations, weeping, and mourning so intensely that all forms of comfort would be outright refused.
"Out of you?" "I am not the least?" "You still have a plan?" "Your Word - still living, still active - in the heart of Ramah?"
Yes, in spite of it all, he still has a plan!
The word spoken over you in the light will carry you in the darkness. When God prophesied over the Bethlehem of your heart, do you think he didn't know the enemy would one day ravage you in its rage? You who house the "Bread of Life" (i.e. Bethlehem = house of bread), what were you thinking? You are hated by Satan. There will be times when your enemy will break into the cupboards of your being and seek to strip you of your most precious and time-honored vows, keepsakes, and treasure.
In the life over every saint there comes a "season" where - in spite of all the good things that have been spoken over you - you will refuse to be comforted. But hold firm to the Promise, my wavering saint. He has not left or forsaken you. He still loves you, he still believes in you. He is neither mocked or forgetful. Who are you to think that you are so important as to shut down God's Word, prophesied over you?
He who began a good work in you will complete it. His words to you were spoken and received in your time of light - not that you would long for the better days, or worse, use them as a standard of holiness from which you have marred. His Words breathes through you - your past, future, and present. They are given so that you would remember them, hold fast to them, and be encouraged in them here, in the weeping of your Ramah.
How easy it is for us to celebrate encouraging words from the Lord when there is nothing to weep about. How believable it all is - that we are loved, that God has a plan, a purpose, that that causes us to proclaim God will never leave us or forsake us - when all is well with the world.
Later, this same Bethlehem would be ravaged but Herod's rage. His decision to move into the heart of the villages and surrounding towns and murder all children from two years old down would send up lamentations, weeping, and mourning so intensely that all forms of comfort would be outright refused.
"Out of you?" "I am not the least?" "You still have a plan?" "Your Word - still living, still active - in the heart of Ramah?"
Yes, in spite of it all, he still has a plan!
The word spoken over you in the light will carry you in the darkness. When God prophesied over the Bethlehem of your heart, do you think he didn't know the enemy would one day ravage you in its rage? You who house the "Bread of Life" (i.e. Bethlehem = house of bread), what were you thinking? You are hated by Satan. There will be times when your enemy will break into the cupboards of your being and seek to strip you of your most precious and time-honored vows, keepsakes, and treasure.
In the life over every saint there comes a "season" where - in spite of all the good things that have been spoken over you - you will refuse to be comforted. But hold firm to the Promise, my wavering saint. He has not left or forsaken you. He still loves you, he still believes in you. He is neither mocked or forgetful. Who are you to think that you are so important as to shut down God's Word, prophesied over you?
He who began a good work in you will complete it. His words to you were spoken and received in your time of light - not that you would long for the better days, or worse, use them as a standard of holiness from which you have marred. His Words breathes through you - your past, future, and present. They are given so that you would remember them, hold fast to them, and be encouraged in them here, in the weeping of your Ramah.
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