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August 27, 2020

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Fruit of the Spirit, Patience & Perseverance, Sharing Our Faith

UNDETERRED (Part 3 – Mark 10:46-52)

Lots of people told him crossly to be quiet. But he shouted out all the louder, “Son of David – take pity on me!” [Mark 10:48 (NTE)]

hibiscusWhen Bartimaeus called out to Jesus, the crowd surrounding him kept telling him to be quiet. Not about to be deterred, the blind beggar just shouted louder. Another man in Jericho was as determined as Bartimaeus: the short and much disliked publican named Zacchaeus. When the little man couldn’t shove his way through to the front of the crowd to catch a glimpse of Jesus, he climbed up a tree (an extremely unseemly behavior for a man of his position).

There are many other stories of such dogged determination to see Jesus. In spite of the disciples reprimanding them for bothering Jesus with their children, some parents persevered in getting their little ones blessed by Him. We have the sinful woman who followed Jesus into a Pharisee’s house so that she could wash His feet with her tears and anoint them with her perfume. That she hadn’t been invited to dinner didn’t stop her from worshiping the Lord. In spite of trying to keep His whereabouts in Tyre a secret, a Syrophoenician woman doggedly tracked down Jesus. When she fell at His feet and pled for her daughter’s healing, the disciples urged Jesus to send her away. Refusing to leave, she even dared to debate with Jesus about her request (inappropriate behavior for a woman of any nationality)! The woman with the bleeding disorder was so intent on touching the rabbi’s cloak that she broke Jewish law and risked public humiliation and severe punishment to get to Him. Two blind men were so determined to see that they followed Jesus right into the house where He was staying. Consider the four friends who carried their paralyzed friend to Jesus only to find the doorway blocked. Unwilling to accept defeat, they cut a hole in the roof and lowered the man down to the Lord.

Bartimaeus and the rest of these people were not about to be deterred from coming into the presence of the Lord. Are we anywhere that resolute in worship, study, praise, and prayer? Would we fight our way through a crowd, climb a tree, refuse to leave, risk humiliation or punishment, go where we weren’t welcome, or cut a hole in someone’s roof? They did and their determination was rewarded. Jesus heard Bartimaeus’ plea, visited Zacchaeus, blessed the children, forgave the sinful woman, and healed the Gentile woman’s daughter, the bleeding woman, the blind men, and the paralyzed man.

While questioning our determination to be with Jesus, we also might ask ourselves if we might be like the ones who hinder or discourage people from coming to Christ. Are we like those who shushed the blind beggar, elbowed Zacchaeus, scolded the parents, wanted to send away the Syrophoenician woman, reminded the sinful woman she wasn’t welcome, shut the door, or blocked the entryway? Do we openly welcome the very people Jesus came to save: the socially unacceptable, weak, troubled, different, disenfranchised, vulnerable, and unclean? Let us be like those who, upon hearing Jesus’ call, said to Bartimaeus, “Cheer up. Come on,” and led the blind man to the Lord!

Then they too will answer, “Master, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t do anything for you?” Then he will answer them, “I’m telling you the truth: when you didn’t do it for one of the least significant of my brothers and sisters here, you didn’t do it for me.” [Matthew 25:44-45 (NTE)]

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August 26, 2020

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Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, Money & Wealth, Salvation: A New You, Trusting God

HIS CLOAK (Part 2 – Mark 10:46-52)

So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. [10:50-52 (NSRV)]

eastern bluebird

There is so much packed into the seven verse story of Bartimaeus that it justifies a closer look. Let’s back up just a few verses in Mark 10 to when, after reminding Jesus that they’d given up everything to follow Him, James and John asked for a favor. When Jesus inquired what they wanted, the disciplines said they desired privileged places in His coming Kingdom. In stark contrast, Bartimaeus didn’t ask a favor; instead he pled for mercy and asked only for his sight. The blind man got his request but the selfish disciples didn’t. If we have unfulfilled prayers, perhaps we should consider what we’re asking—are they favors for our advantage or pleas for God’s mercy?

If we back up a few more verses in Mark’s gospel, we come to when Jesus was just starting his journey toward Jerusalem and a young rich man approached Him. While he was sure he’d kept all the commandments, the man sensed something was missing so he asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. When Jesus told him to sell his possessions, give the proceeds to the poor, and come follow Him, the man’s face fell in disappointment. Treasuring his possessions more than eternal life, he departed.

In another contrast, we have Bartimaeus, the blind beggar who followed Jesus immediately and without question. It’s easy to think the sightless beggar left nothing behind when he followed Jesus but we’d be wrong. Mark adds an interesting detail—when Jesus called to Bartimaeus, the man threw aside his cloak before jumping up and going to Him. That cloak, a wide vest reaching to the ankles, was far more than an outer garment worn during the day. A man’s cloak was so valuable that it could be used as collateral for a loan. Mosaic Law, however, prohibited a lender from keeping it overnight because a cloak often was the only shelter, bed, pillow, or blanket a man had at night. Bartimaeus’ cloak was more than a coat; it was his home. While begging, he would have been sitting on his cloak with its lower part spread out in front of him to collect any coins dropped his way.

Throwing aside his cloak was an act of faith. That piece of clothing (and whatever money may have been on it) was all Bartimaeus had and as valuable to the beggar as all the rich man’s possessions were to him. The moment Bartimaeus threw it aside, the cloak and money were as good as gone—either stolen or kicked aside along the road. Whether blind or sighted, any man would be in dire straits without a cloak, but Bartimaeus did what the rich man couldn’t and left all he had to follow Jesus!

Bartimaeus left his cloak, John and James left their father, Simon Peter and Andrew left their fishing nets, Matthew left a lucrative job as a publican, and Paul left a promising career as a Pharisee but the rich young man wanted to take his old life with him. Thinking that we can keep our old lives while following Jesus is a little like expecting to stay dry when we jump into the pool! It just can’t be done!

When God becomes your only source, you don’t need plan B or C. He is more than enough! [Buky Ojelabi] 

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. [Matthew 16:24-25 (NSRV)]

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August 25, 2020

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Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, Knowing Him

SON OF DAVID (Part 1 – Mark 10:46-52)

When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” [Mark 10:47 (NLT)]

columbine

Jesus and his followers were among the crowd of pilgrims passing through Jericho on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover and the city was teeming with people. Picture the scene as pilgrims, donkeys, carts, and even sheep slated for sacrifice moved along the road. With people talking, animals bleating and braying, children running back and forth, and beggars calling out for alms, it was difficult for those following Jesus to hear Him speak.

Sitting by the road, in the midst of this confusion, was the blind beggar Bartimaeus. When he heard that Jesus was in the crowd, Bartimaeus stopped begging for alms and pled for mercy, crying out, “Son of David! Jesus! Take pity on me!” When people tried to quiet him, the beggar just shouted louder. Over the din of the crowd, this man’s desperate cry was enough to make Jesus stop. Of course, Jesus made it a practice to stop for the lost, outcast, and hurting. Just as He halted for the bleeding woman desperate for his healing touch and the tax man desperate enough to climb a tree, Jesus stopped for Bartimaeus and called the beggar to Him.

Throwing his cloak aside, the blind man stumbled his way through the crowd to find Jesus. When Jesus inquired what he wanted, Bartimaeus immediately asked for his sight. It was restored instantly and Mark’s gospel tells us the once blind beggar followed Jesus down the road toward Jerusalem.

One thousand years earlier, God had promised David that one of his descendants would be the Messiah: the one who would reign forever as the head of God’s kingdom. By Jesus’ day, the term “Son of David” was a title for the Messiah. Other Messianic prophecies promised that the Messiah would heal the sick, bring hearing to the deaf, make the lame walk, and give sight to the blind. Bartimaeus may have been blind but he recognized Jesus as the Messiah when he called Him “Son of David” and without hesitation asked for his sight. Acknowledging the man’s blind faith, Jesus said, “Your faith has saved you.” Indeed, had he not called out in faith, he would have remained a blind beggar until his dying day.

The blind man who received sight contrasts with the sighted religious leaders Jesus would soon meet in Jerusalem and call “blind guides” and “blind fools.” It’s ironic that a blind beggar, sitting in the dirt by the road, understood the prophecies and recognized the Messiah when the sighted couldn’t even see who was right in front of them!

The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him [Jesus]. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” [Luke 4:17-21 (NLT)]

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August 24, 2020

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, God's Plan, Obedience, Trusting God

THE POSSIBILITY OF FAILURE

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. [Philippians 4:13 (NLT)]

mottled duck“What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” the bumper sticker asked. That’s the sort of query that used to be posed to beauty pageant contestants. Their answers typically had to do with curing cancer, attaining world peace, or solving the problems of illiteracy, poverty and hunger. Of course, we’d all like to be able to wave a magic wand and solve the world’s difficulties. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.

The question, however, continued to intrigue me. Is there something I would do if there was absolutely no possibility of failure? Would I even want to? Would there be joy in achievement if there were no struggles, no hurdles to jump and no problems to solve? There’s no sense of victory in playing a game when the opponent doesn’t present a challenge. The value of a diploma would be cheapened if we never had to study for final exams. The sense of satisfaction at a job well done would be diminished if we never had the possibility of failure. Failure is part of God’s training plan. The risk of failure brings us closer to God and reminds us that we can do nothing without faith in Him.

When Paul wrote the Philippians that he could do all things through Christ, did he mean he would be successful in every endeavor? Rather than a statement of self-reliance or guaranteed success, Paul was declaring his reliance on Christ. He wasn’t denying the possibility of adverse circumstances or failure; he was affirming his faith.

If we knew we couldn’t fail in an endeavor, we’d have no need for faith. Furthermore, the possibility of success or failure should never keep us from obediently following God’s direction. While the risk of failure should never stop us, lack of faith will.  As long as His Spirit is in us and we are walking in His footsteps, whether we succeed or fail, we will not fail the test of faith!

What would I do if I knew I couldn’t fail? Exactly what I’m doing now—sometimes successfully and other times not, but always in obedience to Him.

Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter. [Francis Chan]

Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. [2 Corinthians 13:5 (NLT)]

Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. [2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NLT)]

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August 21, 2020

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Faith & Hope, God's Plan, Nature, Prayer, Trusting God, Wisdom & Guidance

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens.  Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish. [Isaiah 46:9-10 (NLT)]

For want of a nail the shoe was lost, For want of a shoe the horse was lost, For want of a horse the rider was lost, For want of a rider the battle was lost, For want of a battle the kingdom was lost, And all for the want of a horseshoe nail. [Poor Richard’s Almanack (1758)]

painted lady - marigoldOf course, in another time or place, a missing nail might have better consequences. Without the nail, horseshoe and rider, the horse wouldn’t have been on the road, reared at the sight of a snake, and thrown off his rider (who died from his injuries)! Life is unpredictable.

Theorizing that weather prediction models are inaccurate because knowing the precise starting conditions is impossible and a tiny change can throw off the results, meteorology professor Edward Lorenz posed this question in 1972: “Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?” Of course, a single act like the butterfly flapping its wings won’t cause a cyclone but Lorenz’s point was that nature’s interdependent cause-and-effect relationships are too complex to resolve. Small variations in conditions can have massive, minor, or imperceptible consequences and it is impossible to predict which will be the case.

As if the magnitude of this pandemic isn’t proof enough, Lorenz’s “butterfly effect” reminds us that life is amazingly unpredictable. We often pray that God will fix, heal, repair, reverse, or resolve situations or people and are disappointed when it seems that God has turned a deaf ear to us. The answers to our prayers, however, are not up to us—they are up to Him and the people and situations we want God to change are frequently the people and circumstances that God is using to change us!

As weather forecasters have learned with the “butterfly effect,” we mortals can’t possibly see all of the consequences of the changes we request in our prayers. God is the only one capable of knowing the repercussions of any alteration. While we have a limited concept of what the future will bring, His view is all-encompassing; He sees not just our lives, but all of the lives before us, with us, and those yet to come. God knows exactly what will happen if He grants our prayers, not just to us but also to everyone else. Our faith is not that God will give us what we want but that God will give us what is best!

In retrospect, I can only offer thanks that God, in His infinite wisdom and love, didn’t give me everything for which I asked. When Garth Brooks thanked God for unanswered prayers, he was wrong. God always answers prayers; it’s just that sometimes He answers with a “No!”

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers.
Remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs
That just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care.
Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. [Garth Brooks]

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? [Romans 11:33-34 (NLT]

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August 20, 2020

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Attitudes & Behavior, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Thanks & Praise

BLOWING KISSES

Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. [Hebrews 12:28 (NLT)]

hibiscusIn the New Testament, the Greek word commonly translated as “worship” is proskyneō. While it came to mean kneeling down, prostrating oneself, showing reverence toward, and worshiping, its roots are thought-provoking. Coming from the Greek pro (to or toward) and kyneō (to kiss), its literal meaning is “to kiss towards!” Knowing his Greek, a pastor said of proskyneō: ”I like to think of our worship in church as being sons and daughters of God blowing kisses to our Father.” I thought of his words when I welcomed the kisses my children and grands blew to me on our recent Zoom call.

The way we worship has changed drastically since March. For some people, it involves sitting in their cars in the church parking lot, tuning their radios to a specific station, and drive-by communion. For others, worship requires reservations, temperature checks, face masks, assigned seats, roped off pews, and restrictions on singing. Many of us, however, find church on the screen of our computers, tablets, smart phones, or TV. Our worship is virtual.

The live streaming from most churches really isn’t “live.” Having found that wide shots of the sanctuary and recreating the traditional Sunday service doesn’t transfer well to a small screen, many churches now pre-record. Early in the week, the pastor videos his part at home or in the empty church. At a different time, the worship leader and musicians video their parts, often from different locations. The tech team then pieces together the separate recordings and adds words for the songs and relevant Bible verses before posting the now cohesive video to their chosen platform. There’s a good chance that, even though the pastor “led” the worship service, even he doesn’t know what the finished product looks like until it is streamed on Sunday. That’s the case for a pastor I know who watches worship service with the rest of his congregation when it goes live on Sunday mornings.

This pastor mentioned getting an email from one of his parishioners thanking him for the inspiring on-line services. After telling her pastor that she still rises early Sunday mornings so she can get dressed and do her make-up and hair, the woman said she sets up her home “pew” with a lit candle and a Bible (so she can follow along during the lessons). Adding that she always stands for the Creed, Gospel and hymns, the woman said it almost feels like she’s worshiping inside the church! Hers were words of conviction for the pastor who reluctantly admitted to being unshaven and still in his pj’s while sitting on the sofa, feet resting on the coffee table, drinking coffee and eating a Danish as he views the service on his television. After confessing that the only time he stands is to get another cup of coffee from the kitchen, he realized he was watching rather than worshiping.

It’s not easy to stay engaged while worshiping on-line. People who normally wouldn’t talk during music now chat on-line during worship songs. I wouldn’t think of checking my phone, texting, or getting up for coffee during the sermon, but I did it during last week’s virtual worship! We don’t have to put on make-up or wear our Sunday best to worship in this COVID world but we might want to examine our worship behavior. The Essential Bible Dictionary defines worship as, “The honor, reverence, and homage that we should pay to God for his perfection, greatness, and goodness.” Does our worship reflect our love, respect, gratitude, dedication, and deference to God? Whether we’re worshiping in a kitchen, car, park, or pew, may our worship be so reverent, single-minded, and heartfelt that God receives it with the same joy a grandma would when her children and grands blow her kisses!

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. [Romans 12:1 (NLT)]

For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. [John 4:24 (NLT)]

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