Tag: Jesus

You Can Never Tame The Lion

Hebrews 11:38

“…the world was not worthy of them.
They wandered in deserts and mountains,
living in caves and in holes in the ground.”

Hebrews 11 has been called the “Hall of Fame” of the faithful. It is an interesting collection of names and stories. For some only a name is given. For others various facts and events are related. Then at the end of passage we find the writer essentially give up on trying to record all those who had given so much. The writer of Hebrews reveals it would be impossible to capture or highlight the lives of so many. Rather, there is an attempt to help us, the readers, understand what has taken place.

Verse thirty-eight serves as the epilogue for the string of lives that are woven together to help future believers. The tapestry of faith is both majestic and common. And yet, we are told that these saints of the past were of a different sort. They were not cut from the same cloth as we might want to believe. It is interesting how they are described, isn’t it?

“…the world was not worthy of them.”

The question that this raises in my mind is this: Am I living a life that would be described not worthy of this world? Maybe this should be the driving motivation of our lives. We should strive to live counter-culturally, living out those realities that others would consider odd, strange or even crazy.

Would we even want it to be said of us that the world is not worthy of our labors? Do our lives reflect such piety of life, humility of heart and sincerity of service as to be deemed “too good for earth” (in a good way).

The persecution of the faithful has been a part of the life of the church from the beginning. Christians rounded up and thrown into the pit with lions for the sport of it was so common as to be expected. The church in the West has grown accustomed to being accommodated and it believes the lion has been tamed. The lions of culture, society and the world can not be tamed. We might be able to train them and give ourselves a sense of comfort. The truth of the matter is that given the opportunity a lion will only do what lions do.

We should not allow ourselves to believe that “we have things under control.” The second we do we have failed to stay alert and vigilant. We will have been mauled before we know it.

Advent Series 2012, Pt. 5 | Who’s your Daddy?

I can’t think of any character more mysterious than the man who became the earthly father of the heavenly son. Of all the people in and surrounding the story of Jesus’ birth Joseph stands alone as the most awkward and underscored entity. He does not appear to have a role or a proper place in the story. Even the writers of the Gospels dismiss him and don’t even include him except for Matthews passing acknowledgement that he was informed of the coming of the birth and that he should not so quickly discard his betrothed.

At first glance we do not have a flattering picture of Jesus step-father. We are almost left with the impression that Joseph played an insignificant role in the grand scheme of things. This view of Joseph, however, would be terribly short-sighted and tragically uninformed. What we have in the limited information provided is the picture of a man who possessed attributes suited to nurture the young Jesus. (Even that last statement feels “wrong” somehow, but we have to maintain realness of the Jesus human nature.)

As I have read and looked at what Matthew says about Joseph there are four identifiable attributes that emerge. Let’s look at Matthews retelling of Jesus’ birth narrative.

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew lets us into the mystery of Joseph’s personality by revealing that Joseph was well suited to be Jesus’ step-father. In the gospel we find Joseph to be a Just, Honorable, Faithful and Gracious man. Let’s look at each of these in turn.

Joseph was…

…a Just man

The idea here is that a just man knows right from wrong. It is interesting how this is the word that Matthew uses to begin describing Joseph as he finds out that his soon-to-be wife is pregnant. This must have been horrible news. I do not know how he took it, but it would be safe to assume Joseph did not take it well. Being a just man his moral compass was properly calibrated. Joseph knew that he had been “wronged” and he made up his mind to do something about it.

The reality of this situation is that Joseph was doing all the right things for the right reasons. Given the predicament that he found himself in he did what any just man would do, he sought to rectify the situation by the means available to him. What we will see is he was not only just, he was also willing to do something unthinkable due to his love for Mary. This leads us to the second attribute in Joseph.

…an Honorable man.

Of all the actions that Joseph could have taken or should have taken, he probably picked the least likely and most perplexing. When we consider that in divorcing Mary while she was pregnant, after they were betrothed to him, Joseph was leaving the community with only one conclusion. Everyone in town would see Joseph in a negative light. They would think that Joseph had taken advantage of Mary. To “divorce her quietly” would be to assume all of the shame and guilt of the pregnancy even though he knew that the child was not his.

Consider the selflessness of this action. In the same way that Mary modeled and possibly spoke to Jesus about how to accept God’s will, Joseph modeled what it was like to take the shame of another out of a deep love for them. Joseph was a living example of propitiation. He took the shame of another and bore in upon himself. By doing this Joseph spared Mary the penalty of her alleged infidelity. Honor is something that emerges from within and sustains us through difficult circumstances. Joseph was an honorable man. He could have allowed the laws of the land to destroy Mary and the child that was growing in her womb. However, Joseph chose a different path. A difficult path. Joseph chose honor.

… a Faithful man.

Faith should be the defining characteristic of those who love God and obey his commands. Here we see the third attribute of Joseph’s life. He had so many competing and conflicting thoughts and emotions. I simply do not have the ability to understand what must have been going on in his heart, or what thoughts were running across his mind. How many tears must he have shed? How many longs walks to clear his head? How many nights lying awake in bed? There was only one truth that sustained him, it was his faith in God.

Only a faithful man would take the word of the Angel of the Lord and fulfill his vow to marry and live in peace with Mary. Only a faithful man could pick up the pieces of his broken heart and entrust them to God to mend. Only a faithful man could look into the eyes of his future wife and stay by her side as she gave birth to another’s child. Joseph was a faithful man. He heard the message and in the midst of his own sorrow and pain believed the word of the Lord. Faith will not always be easy, but it will always be the best path to choose.

… a Gracious man.

The final attribute that is demonstrated by Joseph is the one that we know the least about. However, it is there. Joseph was a gracious man. What does this mean, Joseph was gracious? It means that Joseph understood how to extend to others what was in their best interest. And, he did this out a genuine heart. I have drawn this conclusion from the fact of the previous three attributes that we have seen demonstrated. Joseph could have picked another path. he could have chosen another way, but he did not. Joseph married Mary and did not obligate Mary to consummate the marriage until after Jesus was born. This is just one example. The second is even more poignant.

Joseph did for Jesus what many men would not do. Joseph raised and loved Jesus as his own son. I think it would be foolish to think that the home life of Mary and Joseph was difficult or turbulent because of Jesus presence. God picked a man who had the capacity to love the son of another as his own. Jesus learned his “father’s” trade and became a carpenter as well. Of the many questions I would love to ask Jesus one of them will have to be about Joseph. “How was Joseph as a father as you walked on earth?” I just have this feeling that there will not be a negative recollection.

What About You?

As we continue our journey toward Advent allow me to ask you one question: What about you? Would God have considered you? The responsibility of representing the love the Heavenly Father to the Heavenly Son could have been overwhelming. I just don’t think that Joseph even worried about it. He had a young family to tend to. He lived out his faith each and everyday, trusting in God to get them through. What about you? Who are you trusting in?

Joseph’s life is largely veiled in mystery. What we know about him is limited. However, what we know about him reveals a man who was well equipped to raise Jesus and teach us about the kind of people we ought to be.

Praying that you have a blessed and happy Advent!

This is one of the few musical examples considering Joseph role in the life of Jesus. If you have others I would love to know. Enjoy!

youtube=http://youtu.be/qfTxyZDAnOY

Advent Series 2012, Pt. 4 | Mary: The Mother of God

Before people scream “heresy” or “blasphemy” I would ask you to consider the plain and simple truth that Mary was the mother of God, even if she did not fully understand that to be the case. As a Protestant I do not believe that Mary should hold some elevated status. She was a simple and frail human being just like the rest of us. I think that there are some within the Christian family that have gone too far in seeking to praise Mary for her role in the Christmas story. However, I do believe that those of us on the other side of the family do not go far enough in recognizing the remarkable fact that Mary was the one chosen for this sacred task.

I have often asked the question to myself, “why did God choose Mary?” I will admit that we will never fully know why God chose Mary. That isn’t for us to know. But, we can get a sense of what God was thinking based on the way Mary interacted with the angel Gabriel. The Bible provides for us a clear and concise depiction of Mary and her response to what God was placing upon her young shoulders. There are two characteristics I believe highlight God’s choice of Mary. These two attributes are seen in Mary’s response to the message brought by the Angel of God.

Continue reading “Advent Series 2012, Pt. 4 | Mary: The Mother of God”

Advent Series 2012, Pt. 3 | What The Incarnation Means For Me

In part two of this Advent series we looked at the sweet baby Jesus. The truly human characteristics of his life and ministry on earth are remarkable and confounding. The word, “amazement,” would only slightly capture what the doctrine of the Incarnation represents. The Christian faith is subsumed in this mystery.

My goal in the previous article was to look at the human side of Jesus. However, there is another side, equally present and infinitely more difficult to comprehend. The apostle Paul records an early hymn of the church describing what Jesus “did” in order to come and take on flesh. I placed the word “did” in quotation marks because I have no better way of explaining what happened. Paul reminds the Philippians of Jesus humility and journey toward earth in the second chapter of the letter.

5 ;Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 ;who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 ;but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 ;And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 ;Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 ;so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 ;and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

From the very beginning the church has sought to understand what it meant for God to enter into the human narrative and secure the redemption of the entire race.The phrase that captures my mind and speaks directly to this mystery in these verses is found in verse 7. What does it mean that Jesus “emptied himself?” The very thought ties the mind in theological, intellectual and philosophical knots. I want to state right from the start, I am not claiming to have the definitive answer to this question. I do, however, have strong reasons for believing what I am going to offer.

Continue reading “Advent Series 2012, Pt. 3 | What The Incarnation Means For Me”

Advent Series 2012, Pt. 2 | Who Doesn’t Like Baby Jesus?

Where has 2012 gone? Another year almost in the record books, but we still have one more month to go. December is an amazingly busy time around the church. There is a lot going on, but one of the realities my mind turns to around this time of year is the fact that Jesus, our Lord and Savior, was born in the home of ordinary and humble people. I think that we take for granted that there was not anything overly remarkable about Jesus earthly parents. I don’t know if Mary and Joseph fully understood what it meant that the baby born in the stable that first Christmas night would be the Messiah. I am not fully convinced that they fully could comprehend what God was going to do through their faithful obedience. What they did know was that this little, precious bundle of joy was going to change their lives forever! I think every parent understands this even if they are not sure how.

The mystery of Advent (what us church nerds call this time of the year) is that God became like one of us. The technical term for this is “Incarnation.” When we talk about Jesus coming into the world as a baby we are saying that Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, took upon himself something that he did not have before the moment of conception! The Trinity existed as spirit. But, after Jesus descended into the womb of Mary he no longer exists in this way. The great miracle and mystery of this truth is that Jesus voluntarily confined himself to the body of a human being so that we can enter into fellowship with the Father.

Continue reading “Advent Series 2012, Pt. 2 | Who Doesn’t Like Baby Jesus?”

“I’ll Pray For You” And Other Lies We Tell

Not until that moment this past week have I ever understood the power of interceding for another, nor my own failure to follow through when I offered to pray for someone.

This past week I had an opportunity to pray with a friend. The two of us gathered with another brother in Christ and we spent time before the Lord. In the course of that time, we lifted him up before our heavenly Father and just tried to encourage him and remind him of who is in Jesus. There is nothing better than speaking the truth to another because, in the end, we are speaking the truth to ourselves. However, something happened as we wrapped up our time together that I could not have anticipated. My friend, let’s call him Rafael, said something that just blew me away. Rafael looked at us and said, “Thank you for being my words.”

OK, I have to be honest, I did not know what to make of that statement. I was shocked by it. It had never occurred to me that when I pray for someone I would actually be praying for them. That the person that I am praying for would use my words for their prayer to God. That as I spoke, they were speaking. Not until that moment this past week have I ever understood the power of interceding for another, nor my own failure to follow through when I offered to pray for someone.

I have said, “I’ll pray for you,” and “I’m praying for you,” and just offered one prayer right then because I was thinking about it, but forget about them and their situation until I see them again. Or, “You should pray about that,” and I do not even offer to pray for them right there. Prayer is not our way of feeling better about ourselves or what’s going on around us. Prayer has become therapy rather than trembling; an outlet rather than an opportunity to engage God and allow Him to speak. I wonder sometimes if we see prayer as an option rather than as an act of surrender. Rafael needed someone else to speak for him. His heart had feelings and thoughts that were held captive by pain and confusion; issues that I and the other brother did not have. Look around you. What friend, neighbor, or family member needs your help in expressing what they are feeling, but are unable to articulate? I found the following quote by Richard Foster as I was looking for pictures related to prayer.

Does this reflect your view of intercessory prayer? I cannot say this was me before this event. However, I have found myself praying more this week. Not just because I need to, because I do. I find myself praying for those I have promised or offered to pray for, but have not done so as I should. I have come to realize that when I intercede I am standing in the place of another. The word “inter-cede” literally means to surrender for another. I have not been doing that as I should.

If you read my random ruminations would you pray for me? I desire to be more consistent and faithful to walking and talking with my Lord and Savior Jesus, my heavenly Father, and the great helper, the Holy Spirit. I need to surrender more and more in this area and I need your help.

You Are A Missionary: Calvin Miller’s “A Letter to the Church”

Dr. Calvin Miller passed away this last week from complications of a surgery. He was a renowned pastor, writer, professor and poet. I remember encountering his thoughts on worship and the devotional life with God as I read Into the Depths of God. I think that book had more highlights per page than any other book I have ever read. I have since loaned it out and have not gotten it back. (It may be time to get another copy!)

Dr. Ed Stetzer has written a wonderful tribute for Dr. Miller and has also shared an essay that Dr. Miller wrote for a study bible. Take a few minutes this morning and be reminded of what God has called us to as the church. Here is a just a sample of what Dr. Miller wrote:

But be not proud! In redeeming the world all arrogance is precluded. There are no good, arrogant missionaries (2Co 12:5). Christ’s ambassadors (2Co 5:20) are men and women made humble by the immense size of the message given to them by Earth’s Lover. They feed on the bread they give away. They remember who they were when they met Christ, and just that little act of memory causes them to weep that that they once stumbled into grace, before they were ever called to dispense it. Now they are driven by the joy of God’s call, they are the cleansed unclean, the forgiven forgivers, the wounded healers.

Why Supporting Chick-Fil-A Does Not Equal Supporting Jesus

Chick-Fil-AOk. So here are my two cents for what it’s worth.

There are a large number of people who have decided to support Chick-Fil-A and Dan Cathy, the CEO of the company, today with a blitz of consumption. I will tell you that I agree with and support Mr. Cathy’s in support of “traditional” marriage. I put the word tradition marriage in quotations because it is ridiculous that we have now qualify what we are talking about!

That being said, let us move on to the purpose of this post. I have been reading some of the comments on Twitter, Facebook and the news and I have come to one very simple and yet profound conclusion. Here it is:

Supporting Chick-Fil-A does NOT equal supporting Jesus.

Some may be saying, “Well that is just ludicrous. Who would ever come to that conclusion?” I’ll tell you who. Every person who looks at the church and at Christian’s and sees this “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day” as another example of Christian’s banding together against something. I have already seen some of the insinuations in posts and tweets that I have read. I even jested in a tweet about “Christian Chicken.” What I have realized today is that supporting this company does not mean that we are advancing the cause of Christ. We, the church, has once again fallen for the oldest trick in the book. We are again fighting against everything we know is wrong, rather than standing for the one thing we know to be right–that Jesus is the only answer for a world lost in and to sin.

What this has become is the easy way for some (not for all) of these folks to say, “I did something because of what I believed. I stood up for truth, the bible, Jesus, the church.” Or whatever they think that this is going to accomplish. Let me tell you something, if God wanted Chick-Fil-A to crumble tomorrow, no number of customers would be great enough to save it.

Barnabas Piper called this move by supporters of the restaurant chain a “bold mistake.” He may be right, but for a different reason. Piper doesn’t see how this will help the church reach people who do not find the Gospel appealing or who may be searching. It probably will not. For me however, I think this may be a mistake because by supporting a company we have substituted the King of Kings with the King of chicken sandwiches.

Buy chicken sandwiches does not make (I don’t think) Jesus more beautiful, more rejoiced in, more adored than proclaiming the Gospel. We, as a church, have to get our priorities straight. If Jesus is the reason hearts, minds and souls are changed then let us get busy promoting him to our neighbors!

If people do not want to buy a chicken sandwich because of what the owner believes… that is on them. Just do me a favor, do not make it about Jesus. He’s never had a chicken sandwich and may not even like the Polynesian sauce.

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A Tribute to Jay Williams | “He Loved Jesus”

Jay Williams

(July 11, 1980 – June 30, 2012)

A Tragic End

Around 4:45 pm this afternoon Jay Williams died from injuries suffered from falling off a roof while at work, eleven days shy of his thirty-second birthday. That may have been the cause of my friend’s death. But, that will never be what I remember most about him.

It is during events like this that we are confronted with some of the most difficult questions of faith. We are consumed with our sorrow and pain. We are riddled with questions that may never be answered. We are shocked into the unchanging reality that the one who died, we will not see again… this side of eternity. And here in lies the hope of the disciple of Jesus. We do not mourn like those who have no hope, Paul told the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

God never promised that our lives on earth would be long and filled with every pleasure we could fill it with. What he promised was that we would never have to go through anything by ourselves. Taking advantage of all of the wonders and opportunities of life will never be a sin. We just can not expect those things to fill our hearts and satisfy out deepest longings. I never knew what that meant until I met Jay Williams. He taught me how to see the good in every situation and how to fill as many moments as possible with all that you have to offer.

I was praying for a different outcome. I wanted to see Jay again. I want Jay to be at the Chrysalis Journey Weekend in five weeks talking about serving God and helping others see their own potential. That’s what I want, but that is not the truth. Jay has walked THROUGH death’s door. That is what death is. It is a door we have to go through because Jesus has not come back and shut it for good. And, until Jesus comes back and makes everything right again we will have to deal with tragedies and losses like this.

But, do you know what I hate more than the fact that I will not see Jay again until I die or Jesus comes back? I hate the crazy things that people will say to try and make his family feel better. I want to clear some things up right here.

  • God did not need another angel. He has all the angels he needs.
  • It was not Jay’s time. Jay had an accident because that is what happens in a fallen world, and that accident cost him his life.
  • Jay is not looking over us. Jay is looking into the eyes of his Savior and is enjoying the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to him. Jay is better than he has ever been.
  • Jay would not choose to come back. This is the hardest of all. If Jay would choose anything, it would be for all of us who love him to be with him, where he is with Jesus.

I do not say any of this to hurt, but to remind us all of what, I believe, Jay would want us to remember. Our loss and grief is great because we loved him and we will miss him. But, if we see death as the end of everything rather than as the passage to everything we will deny ourselves the peace of knowing that he truly is in a better place.

The Life and Legacy of Jay Williams

There are three things that characterize Jay to me. I found all of these characteristics to be true as I worked with Jay during Chrysalis this past year.

1. He loved Jesus.

Man, did he love Jesus. He was not willing to lose sight of him. In everything that he did and said, Jay wanted to help others understand what he had come to know and love about Jesus.

Jay was not a religious person, but he had an undeniable faith. He was not trying to impress anybody, and yet, we were all impressed with him. His faith was rich and deep and true. He did everything he could to let you know that you were a child of God without making you feel like there was something wrong with you if you were not yet one. Jesus defined who he wanted to be.

I have to say that Jay was one of the most Christ-like men I have ever met.

2. Because he loved Jesus, He loved others.

In the time that I knew Jay (which was not long enough), he never met a stranger. He may have found you strange, but that never stopped him from talking with you and engaging you in conversation. I may have been the only one he did this to, but he had an awful tendency of not looking me in the eyes when we talked. I know he was not intimidated, I do not think Jay was scared of anything. I guess he was just a humble guy and did not want to make anybody else feel uncomfortable.

It always amazed me how he could talk people into doing or trying things they would not have done on their own. I remember him tying a tight-rope thing to a tree and the back of a truck and trying to teach a few people how to get on and off without hurting themselves. That was just his way. He did not believe that people could not do things. They just needed somebody to believe in them. So, there was Jay ready to believe. He believed in others because Jesus believed in him.

3. Because he loved others, he tried to help others see Jesus.

Everything Jay did and everything he was gave Jay an opportunity to be a light for Jesus. Jay was not a preacher or an evangelist, but everything he did reflected his faith in Jesus. That is what he wanted most of all, for people to know the one who had changed his life.

I do not expect any words of mine to capture all that Jay was. I just hope to remind myself of all that Jay was to me and how I am a better man having known him.

I will miss you my friend, but the wait will not be long. I will see you soon enough.

Prayers Purpose: What Prayer Actually Changes

As much as I would like to think that I pray as I should, I know it is not the case.

Over the course of my life I have heard people say, “Prayer changes things.” I have to agree. I believe that. The question that has often lingered in my mind though is this: What exactly is being changed? It is very easy to say that prayer changes things, but when you do not know what is being changed how can we benefit.

Because of my pastor’s emphasis on prayer in his current sermon series, I have found myself thinking on this subject regularly. As much as I would like to think that I pray as I should, I know it is not the case. As Pastor David was preaching this past week I wrote down this simple phrase.

Prayer is about Preparation

As I have thought about this over the last several days I have found that prayer does change things. What I have failed to realize is the changes serve a greater purpose than I have ever understood. There are at least three individuals or groups that are changed as we pray. I would like to look at each one of these in order.

1. The Person Praying Needs to be Prepared

Prayer prepares me for what God will do. Whenever I fail to pray through an issue with God I am missing out on what I will need to receive and use what God sends to me when he answers. If there is any one person that needs to change as a result of prayer it is me. One of the most confounding realities that James writes about is the fact that prayers go unanswered, not because God does not what to answer them, but because we are asking for things that do no conform to the plans and purposes of God. When we pray amiss, what we are doing is asking God to accept our petitions as his own. We want God to approve of what we have been doing, instead of asking God to allow us into what he is doing. Continue reading “Prayers Purpose: What Prayer Actually Changes”

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