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March 7, 2010
Waiting for Jesus
Read Mark 5:21-43
“While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?’ But ignoring what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’”
Mark 5:35,36
I don’t know about you, but I will confess that I am not a big fan of waiting on or for anything. I like to be able to move quickly through drive-thru and checkout lanes and anything else that normally requires you to wait. I like to be called back immediately at the doctor’s office and to have food brought to my table a very short time after ordering. They say patience is a virtue. It is a virtue that I am still hoping to attain.
That said, I am pretty sure that if I had come to Jesus with the urgent request that he come back home with me to heal my very sick child, I would most likely have been pulling my hair out when Jesus stopped to take care of the lady who had been sick for twelve years. It would have been about all that I could do to not pull him away and run him to my house. But Jairus, whose daughter is near death, does not do that. He shows us very clearly what it means to wait patiently for Jesus. He waits so long in fact that word arrives that his daughter has died. And while you might expect an outburst of sorts from Jairus, there is none. He just waits on Jesus. Jesus tells him to not be afraid, but to believe. Ultimately, they make it to Jairus’ home and it is there that Jesus goes in and cares for the daughter.
There are times in our lives when we have very urgent requests for Jesus. When we need something or someone fixed, we want Jesus to do that now and not later. We don’t want to have to wait. What could be more important than our need? But this passage challenges us to have the faith to wait on the Lord, and in our waiting to believe that he will work out all things for our good. Just as he did with Jairus.
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February 21, 2010
Turning Our Face to God
Read Daniel 9:3-10
“Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.” Daniel 9:3
This passage introduces us to the prayer of Daniel for the people of God. While we think of prophets calling the people back to God, we also see them praying for the return of God’s people. Daniel prays on their behalf, asking the Father to forgive them. It is not a spontaneous prayer but one that has been given much thought and effort. Daniel has fasted, put on sackcloth, sprinkled himself with ashes, turned his face to the Lord assuming a position of prayer, and then opened his mouth to pray. His prayer acknowledges both the greatness of God and the shortcomings of the people of Israel.
This prayer of Daniel is reminiscent of an even more beautiful and powerful prayer that was offered to God in much the same way. It is the prayer of our Lord, who having been stripped of his clothes, and deprived of food and drinkable water, hangs upon the cross. It is there, as he hangs between two criminals who, by law, deserve death, that the innocent and guiltless Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” It might have seemed like a spontaneous prayer, but in essence it was the prayer of the Word made flesh, who had come into the world to bring forgiveness to those who did not know what they were doing in killing the Son of God.
Just as Daniel’s prayer is offered on Israel’s behalf, Jesus’ prayer is offered to God on our behalf. On behalf of those who have and do continue to fall short of the glory of God, but who also need to be reminded, that in and through Jesus Christ, we are able to receive the unending mercy that flows from the heart of God. That mercy is available to us anytime we, in the name of Jesus, lift up our confession to the Lord.
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February 14, 2010
Not Getting What We Deserve
Read Psalm 103
“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor requite us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him.”
Psalm 103:10-11
There are times in life when the phrase, “getting what you deserve,” makes a lot of sense. We would say that about the person who cuts us off in traffic and speeds away, only to be stopped just down the road by the police. As we drive by, we smile and wave and mutter under our breath that they got what they deserved. We say that of the person who defrauds his company of thousands of dollars and is caught and sentenced to a time of incarceration. We even say that of our children when they choose to not study for a test and then don’t make a good grade. Clearly, there are consequences for the decisions that we make.
In the same way, there are always going to be consequences for our sins. Our sins prevent us from living the life that God intends for us. Our sins bring pain and hurt into our lives and sometimes into the lives of others. We deserve to be punished greatly! But when it comes to our many sins, the Bible seems very clear. In the end, unlike so often in this life, we do not get what we deserve. We deserve death. We deserve bondage. We deserve estrangement. But in Jesus Christ we see the fullest expression of God’s love for his people. In his crucifixion upon a rugged cross we get a sense of how great is our Father’s steadfast love for his children. The Psalmist wrote, “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him.” Which means that even when we fail our Lord and deserve nothing good, he forgives those whose hearts, though broken, cry out to him for mercy.
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January 31, 2010
Fifty to One!
Read Genesis 18:22-33
“For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”
Genesis 18:32
Over the past few years there has been a growing concern that our country was moving dangerously away from the Judeo-Christian principles upon which it was founded. At the same time, there have been those deeply concerned by the nature and necessity of some of the battles that our Presbyterian denomination has fought over the past twenty years, including the on-going debates regarding the authority of Holy Scripture, the role of Jesus in salvation, same sex marriages, and the ever present debate over ordination.
There are those who believe that because of this drifting away that God is going to bring down judgment upon the land and his church. Some even believe that the Old Testament God of wrath and vengeance is preparing to blot us out for our multiple transgressions. It would certainly seem as God had every right to do so. But that really is a terrible misunderstanding of who God is. The God we serve, and who we too often betray with our thoughts and actions, is a righteous God. Because he is righteous, there will be consequences for our sins. But God is also merciful! We see this, even in the Old Testament. We see this, even at Sodom, where wickedness was rampant. As Abraham questions God about the whole idea of “sweeping away the righteous with the wicked,” God speaks to Abraham and says, “For the sake of fifty, forty-five, forty, twenty, or ten (righteous men), I will not destroy it.”
God is indeed a merciful God. It is part of parcel of his divine nature. It is why he sent his Son into the world, to save the lost sheep, even if just “one” of those sheep was missing. Even if that one lost sheep was you. God has come into the world to show his love and mercy, through Jesus Christ, to you. And to bring you back into the fold.
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January 24, 2010
Healed
Read Mark 7:31-37
“And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’”
Mark 7:34
As was so often the case during his ministry, people would bring their sick friends, relatives, or neighbors to Jesus so that he might heal them. And Jesus, whose heart was always full of compassion, would reach out and heal them of whatever their condition was. The stories of these healings throughout the gospels are many; a blind man; a man possessed by demons; a paralytic; and a deaf and mute man, just to name a few.
Can you imagine how amazing it would have been to be in the crowd and see these miracles take place? To watch as each afflicted person went from a life of bondage to whatever physical ailment they suffered, to a new life of freedom, purpose, and hope. Incredible! No wonder Jesus had crowds following him all the time.
How great it would be if only Jesus were around to continue these miracles. Yet, isn’t that exactly what Jesus continues to do? We may not see him physically, but isn’t it his work on the cross that daily heals many from their sins? Isn’t it his love that frees us from our bondage to sin and gives us our purpose and hope? Those who would say that Jesus isn’t still at work healing many, miss seeing the change that has happened in the lives of every sinner who has ever put their faith and trust in the Savior. But those who have eyes to see will take note of the miraculous healings that continue to happen, first and foremost, in the hearts of those who have come to Jesus seeking out a Savior.
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January 17, 2010
Your Spiritual Gift
Read I Corinthians 12:1-11
“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.”
I Corinthians 12:1
If you are like me, then you may find that it is much easier to identify the spiritual gifts in others than to claim your own. I am not so sure why this is the case. Maybe it is because we view these gifts as being only for the most devout and pious of believers. Maybe we think these gifts are reserved only for the spiritual elite or the super Christians. Whatever the case, our struggle to see our own gifts keeps us from some very important business.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth that he did not want them to be “uninformed” when it came to spiritual gifts. The Corinthians must have struggled with this just like us. Paul wrote with the goal of assuring them that not only had God provided His Holy Spirit to them, but that through that same Spirit they were each given a spiritual gift. That gift could have been wisdom, speech, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy and so on. But to be sure, each one was provided with a gift. And the same is true for us. We have each been provided with God’s Spirit, and through that Spirit, a gift that we are to use for the common good.
So what gift have you been given? In what way has the Holy Spirit uniquely shaped and strengthened you for service to the Kingdom of God? The only thing more fulfilling and gratifying than being able to identify and claim your spiritual gift, is actually using that gift in service to the Lord who has given it to you. When you claim it and use it, God will do wonderful things in your life and in the lives of those around you.
So what are you waiting for? It is time to put your gift to use.
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January 10, 2010
Proclaiming What We Believe
Read John 1:35-42
“…and John looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’” John 1:36
In this powerful declaration from John the Apostle, we find the beginning of faith in Jesus Christ. In seeing Jesus, John states that which he believes; “Behold the Lamb of God.” Our faith begins when we are willing to humbly believe and profess that Jesus is the precious Lamb who has come into the world to be a sacrifice for our sins.
Yet this proclamation is also the heart of the ongoing work of Christian faith. We don’t come to faith in this Jesus and then hide it all away. Jesus would say in his Sermon on the Mount that we are the “light of the world,” and that “a city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” We must continue to proclaim what we believe that the world might come to know the Lamb of God as well. That is what we see happening in John’s Gospel. Immediately after making his statement of faith, two of John’s disciples began to follow Christ. One of those disciples was Andrew. He immediately went and found his brother Peter and told him of the Messiah. Peter’s response was to follow and, as we know, to proclaim what he believed to the world.
Our proclamation of the Christ can be in word or deed. It can be done quietly or with great fanfare. However we are led to proclaim what we believe, the results will most certainly be positive, whether we see the end result or not. Because when we share this Jesus, others will hear, will come to know God’s love, forgiveness, and grace, and will have the opportunity to confess him as Lord. And while the work of salvation always solely belongs to Jesus, the work of proclaiming what we have come to know and believe is ours.
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January 3, 2010
What To Do In Dark Places
Read Jonah 2:1-10
“And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.”
Jonah 2:10
Have you ever found yourself in a jam? Or a ditch? Or perhaps in the depths of the darkness of the belly of a great big fish? If you have lived long enough, the answer to these hypothetical questions is, of course, yes. We have all found ourselves in places we would rather not be. For some of us, it has meant spending time in hospital waiting rooms or doctor’s offices. For others, it is a court room or your boss’s office. For some, it has meant spending time at the graveyard. None of those places are great. Sometimes we end up in those places because of circumstances in life that we could not control. Other times, like our friend, Jonah, it is because we have made some really bad decisions.
Jonah was running from God’s call to go to Nineveh and proclaim the gospel. That is always a bad decision and you can be sure that nothing good ever comes from running from God – ever. The outcome of Jonah’s run was that he ended up in the belly of the fish, where he stayed for three days and three nights. It must have seemed like an eternity. But there, in the belly of the great fish, Jonah turned to God. And he prayed, concluding his prayer with the words, “deliverance belongs to the Lord.” It was then that the Lord commanded the fish to return Jonah to dry land.
It is an important lesson to learn. Deliverance indeed belongs to the Lord and to the Lord alone. And when you find yourselves in places you do not want to be, acknowledging this very important fact will ultimately mean freedom for you from guilt, pain, and anxiety. It will also free you up to live as God’s messenger of grace and love in this world.
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