A Lover's Prayer

Hawaiian entertainer, Don Ho sang a song entitled, “A Lover’s Prayer.” In the song, he expresses an intense passion—on second thought, such an obsession that he sings, “If I go to heaven and you’re not there…I’d go to hell to be with you…”

As a youngster, the words to this song troubled me greatly because it sounded blasphemous. Now, as a Christian, some thirty plus years later, those words are still disturbing because it expresses a love that is reserved for God and God alone (Exodus 20:3-4, Deuteronomy 6:5).

Jim Woodruff said something that has helped me some. What he said has not helped to take away the uneasiness and the tension that I still feel every time I hear or think about this song. However, Jim said something that has shifted my attention and has helped me to focus on something else. Jim said, “If Jesus was in hell, I’d go there to be with Him.” Let that sink in. “If Jesus was in hell, I’d go there to be with Him.” Can we imagine or think such a thing? Can we declare this with our lips?

Let’s also ponder on this. Not only is Heaven not the same place without Jesus, but Hell is not Hell when Jesus is with you. Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)

Insanity

Someone defined insanity as doing the same things over and over again expecting different results. If you were to watch me, you’d probably think that I am insane. Every day I wake up and expect that my work situation has changed. Every day I expect changes in the people that I encounter regularly. Every day I am somewhat disappointed because it seems like nothing has changed and everything and everybody are pretty much the same. But the greatest disappointment and frustration that I encounter is when I find that my personal situation hasn’t changed and neither have I.

I want to be a complete or whole person—a person that has the appropriate feelings for the situation that I’m in; a person that responds correctly to every situation; a person that deals honorably with every individual; a person that has a level head, an unwavering purpose, and an undivided focus. Every day I expect this of me and yet every morning, not long after I roll out of bed, I am once more disappointed. One might think that I live on the edge of insanity, but I don’t. And I don’t for a couple of reasons.

First of all, I am not alone in my struggles. The great Apostle Paul said, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do . . . I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out . . . what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:15, 18, 19) I suspect that this struggle is not limited to Paul or myself. It’s my guess that almost everyone engages in this conflict.

Secondly, I am not going over the edge because I find extreme comfort in what Paul says, “…that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6) Paul compares this process to that of a woman in labor. He says that there will be suffering, and there will be groaning, but it will be worth the wait and effort (Romans 8:18-39).

I believe that I will be changed. If I believed in myself, I’d be insane, but I believe in the One who has that power. “. . .to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Spiritual Gifts

Although I don’t speak of it much, I have no doubt that spiritual gifts are in existence today. There are a lot of times when I have gone to Church or to a Bible Study where I don’t have the faintest idea of what the leader or speaker is talking about. I believe that this is the gift of tongues in action. What the leader is saying sounds good. There seems to be a harmony, intelligence, and order to it, but it sounds very foreign to me. I am convinced that this is “tongues” in action because if I turn to someone to my right or to my left and I ask them, “Does that make sense?” They nod their heads emphatically up and down, as if to say, “Absolutely!” I believe that these people also have a gift; I believe that they have the gift of wisdom because they seem to totally understand what the leader is saying. I am in awe and am intimidated by these gifts and it makes me feel so lost, inadequate, and wanting to leave the meeting place.

On the other hand, one of the gifts that encourages me to stick around is the gift of interpretation. People with this gift explain to me what the speaker said (and what others obviously understand) in a language that I can grasp. This is the gift and the people that I really appreciate. It is little wonder that even the great Apostle Paul says, “…I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue” (I Corinthians 14:19).

The people with the gift of interpretation also demonstrate another gift to me. In the same portion of Scripture, Paul says, “…those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty…” (I Corinthians 12:22-23). When an “interpreter” takes all the time I need to help me understand, it translates into a gift of love.

It's Okay . . .

So very often I have heard people say, “It’s okay, as long as you don’t hurt anyone.” And if you look at their situation, it does appear that no one is really offended or getting hurt. That’s because we are not considering God and how He feels about our actions. In the Bible, all offenses against God are called sins (James 2:9-11). We are told that God hates sin (Psalms 5:4-5); He turns His face away from sin (Isaiah 59:2), and He is hurt by sin, no matter how large or small the sin is.

One of the passages of Scripture that really speaks to me about this is when the Israelites were in the Wilderness and God told Moses to “…speak to that rock…” Instead, Moses struck the rock, not once, but twice (Numbers 20:1-13). Because of what Moses did, God did not allow Moses to enter into the land that He promised them.

In my thinking, God was really harsh. Moses was faithful to God for the entire journey. He was obedient to the Lord and even interceded for the people of Israel when God, in His anger with the Israelites, was going to destroy them (Exodus 32:7-14). Moses was a good man, but this one time, Moses exploded and lost his temper. God told him that he was going to receive the same judgment as everyone else—he was not going into the Promised Land—that just doesn’t seem fair. Is God that petty and shallow? How can striking a rock hurt anyone?

The answer is found in the following words. God told Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."

God says it’s a matter of honor. God says it’s a matter of holiness. God says it’s a matter of trust. Moses and Aaron broke faith with God. Later on in the New Testament, Paul said that the rock that followed the Israelites around in the desert was Christ (I Corinthians 10:4). What Paul says to me is that the rock that Moses struck was Jesus. And Moses struck the rock not once, but twice.

This is also the picture we get when we see Jesus hanging from the cross. It’s a portrait of the Living Word of God (John 1:1, 14) being rejected by men (John 1:10-11). The vastness of sin is truly and soberly revealed in the sufferings of Jesus on the cross (II Corinthians 5:21).

Don’t let anyone kid you. If no one else, your actions affect God and it's not okay.

Stewardship--II

Most of us know Matthew 25:14-30 as “The Parable of the Talents.” We have come to understand this section of Scripture as referring to our talents, abilities, or gifts that the LORD has given us. I have a problem with this “interpretation” in that we seem to spend a lot of time trying to discover our talents and gifts and other times saying, “I can’t do that, because that’s not my gift.”

This parable is speaking of stewardship and we often fail or neglect to emphasize the core of stewardship. In Hebrews 10:5-10, the Hebrew writer says:

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, `Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, O God.'" First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Jesus defines the heart of stewardship. Although these verses are talking about Jesus, I think that we can apply these verses to ourselves and to our stewardship. From these verses we see that God is not pleased with the things we can offer him. What He desires is our full surrender to Him (I Samuel 15). The apostle Paul describes stewardship as being a “living sacrifice” and that this is not only acceptable and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1-2) but has been predetermined from the beginning of time (Romans 8:28-29).

One more thing about stewardship—being a good steward is not God’s ultimate goal. At some point we have to transition our minds from stewardship to Sonship. We should not be like Esau who sold his birth right for a single meal and was called godless (Hebrews 12:16-17). We need to live out the life that God has given us. Otherwise it would be like burying God’s Spirit that has been entrusted to us.

Name Calling

In my lifetime, I’ve been called many names. I’ve been called Idiot, Dummy, Jerk, Doodah, and a few others that I choose not to repeat. I don’t remember how I used to respond to these names, but these days I find one that is highly offensive. That is the name, Pagan.

In Matthew 6:19-34, Jesus talks about the important things in life and then says, “…the pagans run after all these things…” (vs. 32). Ouch! This hurts because I feel like Jesus is talking to me.

There was a time in my life that this name would probably not have fazed me. But because I have made my life’s ambition to pursue God, this name is repugnant to me. It is also one thing to have someone—anyone, call me a pagan, but to have my Lord and Master call me by this name—it is really devastating.

Funny thing, I don’t intentionally start out pursuing the things of this life. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Every day, I purpose in my heart to seek after the things of God. But it doesn’t take long—amazingly there are times when I have barely stepped out of my prayer closet, when the cares of this life drag me in the opposite direction.

I am so glad that Jesus didn’t end his talk on that note. I am also really glad that He didn’t end His sentence leaving me outside the kingdom of God. Instead He continued, “…your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” Daddy knows. Daddy knows. Daddy knows! What I hear Jesus saying to me is that not only does God know me and my needs, but I am also related to Him, that I am a child of the Most High, and I bear His Name!

Father, I thank You and praise You for the wonderful relationship I have with You. I especially thank You for my big Brother who made it possible for me to enter into Your kingdom and into Your family. Help me to be always passionately pursing You! In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Discipleship

In one of his sermons, Colt asked the question, “Who do you envision leading this congregation into the future”? He also asked, “Is it possible that God might be preparing you for that role”? He answered his questions by exhorting us to invite someone to walk beside us. In other words, Colt was calling us to be Disciples and Disciplers.

Listening to what Colt had to say about transitions, leadership, and the future and growth of the church, I was reminded of a handout that I “stole” from Robin. It’s a quote from William Glasser who said, “We learn…10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% of what we see and hear, 70% of what we discuss, 80% of what we experience (and) 95% of what we teach others.”

In his message to us, Colt came to the same conclusion because he said that we know, “the way that leaders are trained, and transition happens not by reading a book on leadership, not by having better Bible classes directed toward the subject, [but] by walking along side with someone who has been a leader and is worthy of imitation…”

Church growth (individually and collectively) comes by discipleship—by sharing our “faith journey” with others. Paul understood this. This is why I think Paul said to Philemon,

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. (Philemon 6, NIV)

Perhaps the question we should be asking ourselves is not how can we attract others to our building, but how can we share the beauty and Person of Jesus to others?

Mary and Martha

Colt told us that one of the exercises that can help us in our meditation of Scripture is to place ourselves in the characters of Scripture and to try and think and feel what they are experiencing. For homework, Colt had us turn to Luke 10:38-42 and imagine that we were Martha and then Mary. He then asked, “Which of the two do you most identify with?” and concluded with “Allow the story and your involvement with the story lead you into prayer. This is what I experienced:

Martha: When I invited Jesus over, I did not expect Him to bring His disciples—all 12 of them! Instead of spending a nice quiet afternoon with Jesus, I now have to make preparations for a party. This is not what I had in mind. Look at them— Men! Twelve big, strong, able bodied men! And do they even care? Not one of them is willing lift a finger to help. Not only that, not one of them even has a clue of what I am going through and the stress level that I have. I don’t know why Jesus doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t He see how much work there is to do and the burden that I carry? Besides, I am sure that these 12 guys have heard Jesus’ message before. And I don’t believe this—look at Mary! She’s not doing anything either! This is not fair! This is not right! I just have to say something. “Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

Mary: There was an aura about Him, when Jesus walked into our home. I was totally spellbound by Him. When He spoke, His words had so much authority it commanded my attention and I hung on His every word. His words were filled with grace and truth and as He spoke it was as if springs of living water were welling up inside of me, ready to gush forth. His words had life, and the more He spoke, the more His words burned within me. I was so captured by Him that I was unaware of anything else. I did not see Martha’s frenzy and frustration. That’s why I was totally stunned when Martha interrupted Jesus and screamed, “Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

My prayer: Lord, thank You for allowing me to see myself in others. Lord, help me not to be so busy with Your work that I neglect You. Lord, help me not to be so spiritually minded that I am of no earthly good. In Jesus Name, Amen!

Victory in Jesus

After the football season, two High School football players were talking. The offensive lineman said to the defensive lineman, “I hated you during practice. You used to hit so hard, I used to go home with bruises all over my body. But when we played games, I was so glad that you were on our side.”

What I heard the offensive player saying is that whether it was practice or a game, the intensity and the passion of the defensive player was the same on the field all the time. However, the offensive lineman had mixed feelings about the defensive player.

This is the way I feel about Jesus. His questions, His expectations, and His demands hit me hard. He bruises my ego; He levels my arrogance, and my uniform of self-righteousness is torn and soiled from being cast down so many times. At times I feel like He’s punishing me and sometimes I hate Him for exposing my weaknesses, inadequacies, and vulnerabilities. However, I am grateful, in the fact, that Jesus never wavers—He is constant, consistent, and passionate about the Father’s game plan. I also know that He is really preparing me to be a better equipped player in the game of life and I take extreme pleasure in knowing that being with Him is being on the winning side (Romans 8:37, John 16:33). Don’t you just love Him for that?