A little encouragement for your day.
Video Spotlight | Jordan Smith: “Great You Are”
Author: Victor Scott
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, husband, father, and author. I am an avid Cubs fan and a lover of Chicago-style Deep Dish pizza.
Gamaliel’s Wager: When you Risk Making God your Enemy
A Startling Realization
Several years ago, I read the passage below and was startled by what it said. I had not considered the implications of it because I had not seen them before. I’ll explain more as we go. But first let me set the stage for what is going on.
The story begins with the arrest of the apostles for teaching and preaching the Gospel in the public square and in the Temple. There is the added wrinkle of the jealousy of the Pharisees because the disciples were performing signs and wonders, and many people were being healed (Acts 5:17). The Pharisees were no longer the cool kids. Their influence was shrinking. And they did not like that at all.
In an attempt to silence the apostles, the high priest had them all arrested and put in prison. But, during the night, an angel of God came and freed them, and instructed them to go back to the Temple and continue teaching and preaching.
Imagine the surprise of the high priest and the council when they could not find the apostles in the prison!
As they were trying to figure out what was going on, word got back to the council. The apostles were back at the Temple doing what got them arrested in the first place.
So, the guards went to go get them, but with great care. These simple soldiers knew something was different about these men. No need to stir things up with the people either.
Gamaliel’s Wager
It is into this context we find the speech given by one of the members of the council. A Pharisee name Gamaliel. Who, not uninterestingly, may have very well been the Apostle Paul’s teacher in the rabbinic tradition.
Luke records what was said for us in Acts 5.
33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36 For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, 40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
Acts 5:33-40
The sentence that caught my attention was at the end of verse 39: You might even be found opposing God!
I was floored by the both the wisdom and challenge of what Gamaliel said. As human beings, we are limited in our abilities to see beyond the moment. We have to be careful not to suppose we know more than we do.
Gamaliel was calling for a deeper wisdom. A wisdom grounded in humility rather than pride. We could all benefit from listening to his words.
But there is also a challenge. It is what I have called Gamaliel’s Wager.
A wager is a gambling term. It describes the risk a person takes in the hopes of gaining more than what is at stake.
If you have watched any casino movie in your life, you have probably heard some version of these statements. “Don’t bet against the house.” Or, “the house always wins.” Why? Because in the long run, the casino has also made a wager, that you, in all your cunning, will not be able to outlast the house’s patience in winning their money back.
The reason the house has this confidence is because they understand one thing about people. People, given enough time, will get greedy. They will think they are invincible and try to continue maximizing their returns.
The problem is the game is rigged. This is how you get reeled in. You are enticed by small gains so you are tempted to bet everything you have. Not realizing that by this time it’s too late. You have become the victim of your own hubris.
Refrain from Speaking for God
What does this have to do with making God our enemy? It’s this. The wager the high priest and the Pharisees made put them on the opposite side of God!
What’s worse is they thought they WERE on God’s side. They are not unique in making this mistake. We are capable of doing the exact same thing.
Let me give you a little secret: The one thing we should avoid more than anything in this world is to bet against God!
We don’t always know what God is up to, so we should be extremely careful when we start saying where God is working or is not working. Who God is using and who he is not using. That is a bet we should never take.
To make the kind of declaration the Pharisees were making is to assume access to information not available to any of us. To many of us think ourselves counselors to God and capable of predicting his actions. But we are mistaken to ever take that position.
This is the wager the Pharisees were making by how they were treating the apostles. They were the religious leaders. They were the ones trained and educated. They were the ones who were responsible for knowing what God was doing.
It just did not make sense to them that those silly apostles of Jesus could ever be a part of God’s plan.
And that is the wrong bet. That is the wrong wager. And that is exactly what Gamaliel was warning against.
Because, what if God, in his sovereign wisdom, WAS using people we would not normally consider “worthy” of the honor? Or doing something we had never seen God do before? What then?
Well, at that moment, we will be found “opposing God!”
We will have put ourselves on the wrong side of the battle line.
And like in any good casino movie, we will lose because the house always wins!
NEW BOOK: “Enduring Delight” by Victor R. Scott
From the Preface:
Not only is Psalm 119 the longest Psalm, but its particular focus is on the way the Word of God is to operate in the life of those who seek, serve, and submit to God. This is what makes it an important Psalm to consider and meditate on.
My hope and prayer are that as we consider what the Psalmist wrote, we will see through the Psalm like a lens. And as we peer through the images and illustrations offered to us, we will understand more deeply what God is calling us to.
Video Spotlight | Advent Birmingham Music: “Skin and Soul”
In one of those chances of life, I discovered this song by Advent Birmingham Music. It is a group of musicians and singers from the Cathedral Church of the Advent, in Birmingham, Alabama.
There is both a solemnity and a somberness to the lyric and melody.
As I listened I was reminded of the power of song to convey the heart of an issue.
Take a few minutes and listen. Then listen again. And again.
Video Spotlight | Morissette Amon: “Could You be Messiah”
I saw this song this past weekend. It is a beautifully performed cover and has a wonderful message in this season of Easter.
You can also read some of the backstory of the song written by Freddie Santos here.
An Ancient Vision for a Present Need
Psalm 133
KJV
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
The Divine Unity
The first time I heard this song, I felt the Lord impress upon me the fact that what we, the Church, need today may not be something new. We may need something as old as God himself.
It has become fashionable to go after the new thing. And this fad has been reigning large in the contemporary church strategy circles. There is nothing wrong with exploring the opportunities and options we have available to us. It is both wise and prudent to evaluate tactics in the work of Gospel ministry. What can get us distracted, however, is thinking the “new thing” is the right thing no matter what.
In a similar way, when we consider the mystery of the Godhead, how God exists within God’s own being, we are challenged to consider what we think we know about God. Everything God is helps us to understand how things should be in the world and in our lives. It may not always be easy to see or discern, but it is possible. We just have to be willing to take the time to spend with God. To hear what he is saying. To obey what God is commanding us to do.
The unity of the Godhead is a mystery. Of that there is no doubt. However, Jesus tells us that his desire for his followers is that we would experience the same kind of unity as he has with the Father (John 10:30, cf. John 12-20-23).
When this unity is achieved, then most, if not all, of the problems and issues facing the Church, and by extension the world, can be addressed. It is the unity of the Church that provides the proper framework for the world’s reconciliation to God.
And just to be clear, by “achieved” I don’t mean perfectly. When we are actually working toward the kind of unity Jesus described, and making steady progress towards it, then we will be on the path toward actually seeing the fruit the unity we seek.
The work of Gospel-centered unity cannot be achieved through the mechanisms of the world. The temptation to try can be quite enticing. But any and every attempt to circumvent the Gospel path will inevitably end in ruin.
It is the unity of the Church that provides the proper framework for the world’s reconciliation to God.
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I believe the primary obstacle many of us face is understanding the nature of the unity Jesus sought is we have internalized the perspective of immediacy as evidence of God’s activity in the world. So when there is a delay between request and response we question God’s faithfulness to come through.
The Unity Described
There are several passages in the Apostle John’s gospel that are helpful here. We find clarity of what this unity looks like as Jesus’s words are recorded in several places.
42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.
John 8:42 ESV
And again in chapter 12 we see Jesus say,
49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
JOhn 12:49-50 ESV
And again in the chapter 15:
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
John 15:26 ESV
What I find curious about what Jesus is saying is that there is a clear unity of mission within the Godhead. The Father sends the Son, the Son speaks what the Father commands, and the Holy Spirit points back to the words and work of Jesus.
There is not only a harmony of purpose, but there is a clarity of assignment. Each divine person working together, accomplishing their specific assignment as determined within the council of their own being.
Let’s not pretend to understand how this was all decided. What we know, through a gift of revelation, is that this happened.
This is not only an example of unity, it is our model for working toward the kind of unity that will change the course of those who’s lives will intersect with ours. And who, by the grace of God, will come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).
True Unity is Possible
The simplicity of the Psalm upon which this song is based points to the blessing that shall cover all of life when God-glorifying unity is achieved. This blessing is grounded in the commitment of God’s people to live together in unity.
It can be difficult to envision a world with this level of commitment. In particular when we see the internal strifes and challenges in the Church. However, the problem is not whether this unity is possible. The question we have to answer is are we willing to seek the unity God has promised according to God’s plan.
If we are not willing to follow the way we should not be surprised when the unity doesn’t materialize.
There is not a single instance I can think of in the Bible where someone decided to substitute their own wisdom for God’s where the events turned out well. Every single time we choose to deviate from God’s plan, we risk everything we desire to see.
This is why when we work for unity, we have to make sure to guard against any influence, any system, any methodology, any metric, or any alliance that does not harmonize with the character of God.
Yes, this means we may have to slow down. And yes, it may mean that we will have to be more cautious with how we proceed. But in the end, working in congruency with God and his purposes should be more important than expediency.
When God Tells You to Hush
Some Context
A couple of days ago, my oldest child and I went to worship with a friend of mine at the church he serves as Rector. He is a priest in the Anglican tradition.
The liturgy for the service was The Great Vigil of Easter. (If you are interested in reading the liturgy for yourself in starts on page 582 of the Book of Common Prayer 2019)
It is the service that ends the season of Lent and the corresponding fast and initiates the season of Easter. It was a beautiful service and was actually the first time I was able to participate in one.
The general format of the service follows a series of lessons from the Old Testament, each accompanied with a psalm and a prayer. The lessons are followed by a message and then the celebration of the Eucharist (or Lord’s Supper). It’s a simple structure, but it can certainly pack a punch when we stay engaged and pay attention to what is happening!
The purpose of the lessons is to lead us from creation through the fall and then through the story of deliverance of the Hebrew people from Egypt. From there the promises of God for salvation are shared as we get ready to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
With each lesson, we are given a clearer picture of the story of God’s redemptive plan.
One story in particular stuck with me. It is the retelling of God’s deliverance of the people as they stand with the Red Sea on one side and the Egyptian army on the other. The selection is a bit longer in the service, but here is the paragraph that really captured my imagination.
A Text
10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (Exodus 14:10-14 ESV)
A Curious Problem
The part of the story that stood out was verse 14: “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
As I was listening to the reader, when they said this line a thought popped into my head.
"How many times do I talk back to God rather than be silent as he fights to deliver me?"
When we are talking it is very difficult to listen. When we are talking we are also not able to pay attention to what is happening around us. Our minds are so engaged and focused on what we are doing it is difficult to see or hear anything else.
It can be tempting to try and figure out everything God is working out. The biggest issue with this is that it just isn’t possible. But that temptation is also a trap.
When we are not able or willing to trust God to do what he has said, we are exposing a deficiency in our faith. That deficiency being that we have a hard time trusting God at all, at least in the area that we are questioning God about.
A Dangerous Attitude
I am not saying that we can’t consider and wonder what God is up to. That is not it at all. What I am saying is that our desire to know every aspect of God’s plan is thinking we can sit in his chair and make the “big” decisions. This attitude is a childish form of hubris and it’s a mistake.
If we know that God is going to do something, we need to let God do it. How he is going to make it happen is not really our problem. And we should not make it our problem. But too many of us do.
The number of variables that God is considering and dealing with would literally make our heads explode. But that doesn’t stop some of us. We rush right in and we question not only God’s motives but his affection. We even go so far as to question God’s competence.
A Time to Hush
I don’t have a tendency toward telling God how to do his job. I never have. But I felt the weight of this story and the verse in particular.
For better or worse, I know there are times and places in my life where I speak when I should be silent. Not because what I would say or do would be wrong or a sin.
I should be silent because God is going to do something that will be remembered and celebrated for all eternity.
My silence gives me the space I need to see the wondrous works of God in the world around me and in my life.
Easter Sunday
Reflection
He is RISEN!
Christ is risen indeed!
This acclamation and response has become one of the most common used during the celebration of Easter in the Christian Church all over the world. It declares the glorious news that Jesus conquered sin and death.
After all that happened at Jesus’s trial and crucifixion, the hope of the disciples seemed lost. The darkness of the day seemed to seep into their souls as well.
But, on Sunday morning everything Jesus said was restored by his exit from the tomb. In that moment hope and joy were infused with life and power. The promises of God from ages passed were being kept and fulfilled.
Today we celebrate. We celebrate because what once appeared lost and finished was only just the initiation. The end of one story had become the opening lines of a new chapter of another. And this new story was filled with possibilities never before imagined.
Happy Easter!
Worship
Lent 2021, Day 40 | Holy Saturday
Reflection
“Saturday Mourning”
The darkness deepening
Our sadness winding
listing in the waves
The loss of friendship
Our life upending
crashing on the shore
The Master descending
Our hope departing
for now, the world is cold
Our weight compounding
Our fear increasing
a future, left unsure
The Lord is silent
His voice is quiet
We wait for Easter morn’
by: Victor Scott
Holy Saturday (April 3, 2021)
Lent 2021, Day 39 | Good Friday
Reflection
On that first “Good” Friday, there was nothing good happening. At least not from an earthly perspective.
The Son of God was falsely accused and tried in the middle of night. Those who should have defended him fled for their lives. And all who wanted him dead were doing all in their power to see it happen.
But if this is all you could see, then a dark picture was taking shape.
We look back with a different vantage point. What we see, is filtered through the completed text of the New Testament and the collective wisdom of a church 2,000 years removed from those difficult event.
As the Holy Spirit began to work in and through those first Christians, the overwhelming sadness of that first Good Friday would give way to an incomparable joy. The light of God’s grace in the sacrifice of his Son would change everything we ever thought we knew about God.
All of the questions that were lingering in the mind of those disciples would eventually find their answer in the resurrection of Sunday morning. The darkness on Golgotha as Jesus entrusted his spirit to the Father would be replaced by the shining brilliance of a risen savior.
The reality of Good Friday is not that Sunday is coming. Even though it is.
The most helpful thing to remember about that first Good Friday is that in spite of what we know or think we know, if God is involved we need to wait and see what God has in store.
The call to a holy patience is not easy to tolerate. But it is the price we pay to see how God fulfills his promises.
Let us give thanks to God for Good Friday. It is the first step toward a resurrection on Sunday.