Luke 8:53 - We won't be laughing then

"They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead." (Luke 8:53, NIV)

We know how the story ends. We know that the girl is raised up by Jesus. We know that the laughter was undeserved. So, we, or maybe it's just me, stand in judgment of these people for their laughter.

Yet, how many promises in Scripture do I fail to believe and take literally? Why do I get caught up in stressing about things over which I have no control? Why do I fail to trust that God loves me and is watching out for my well being? Why am I hesitant to step out in faith when I am prompted to do something? Why do I remain in fear when Jesus commands me to fear not?

By not taking the commands and promises seriously, there is a sense that I am laughing at Jesus. I don't like it or want to do it, but it is true; I have to own it. I fall back on the prayer of the father in Mark 9:24, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24, NIV)

When I get to Heaven, I wonder if I will have a sense of how many opportunities to excercise faith I missed. I won't be laughing then.

Luke 6:26 - Focus on the message

"Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets." (Luke 6:26, NIV)

"Blessed are thsoe who are persecuted because of righteousness . . ." (Matthew 5:10a, NIV)

Perhaps I am oversimplifying when I write this, but much of the driving force behind the emergent church seems to be the desire to have people like and respect Christians and Christianity.

My largest concern with the emergent church concept is not their methods, or their desires. My biggest question and concern is their priorities. If you value relationship over truth, then there will be pressure to compromise the message , which some in the emergent church have clearly done.

To be fair, I should point out that too often the orthodox (I use this in the generic sense, not a particular denomination) Church has been out of balance the other way, using truth as a means of dividing and separating rather than bringing together.

Yet we see Jesus never compromising on his message AND loving people into the Kingdom. John tells us that Jesus was "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). It is possible to be loving and orthodox at the same time. It is not an either / or, but a both/and. We should be orthodox and loving.

What then should we learn from the verses above? I take from these that not everyone will embrace or appreciate the message or the messenger. Secondly, I learn that we should not focus on being liked. I am reminded of the words of Paul to the Ephesians:

"Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." (Ephesians 4:14-15, NIV)

Titus 2:15 - Stay in the fight

"Do not let anyone despise you." (Titus 1:15b, NIV)

The word here carries the idea of setting to the side, or dismissal. In other words, Paul is saying to Titus don't let anyone brush you off and ignore you.

Those of you who like conflict perhaps cannot understand this command. You are thinking, "of course I won't let anyone ignore me." But as I read Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus, there are various places where Paul encourages them to engage the battle. I take from this that Timothy and Titus are naturally inclined to avoid conflict.

The really important question is what issues are worth having conflict about. Christendom provides many stories of silly debates and church splits over trivialities. Yet, there are issues that are important enough that to give ground on them requires a compromise on the message of the Gospel.

From this verse I gather that once an issue is deemed important, it is vital that the leader stand his ground. I think of Martin Luther's words, "here I stand, I can do no other . . . "

Luke 2:39 - Back to the "real" world

"When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth." (Luke 2:39, NIV)

Joseph, the stepfather of Jesus, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, just experienced some amazing things in Jerusalem. They are the parents of the Messiah! If any family was entitled to support and privilege it was theirs.

Yet, when the hoopla is over, what happens? They go back to their home town and settle back into their old lifestyle.

What strikes me about this is that too often in the church we put full time ministry personnel into a different spiritual category than the rest of the folks in the fellowship. Since the reformation, we have taught against this, but still we gravitate back to this attitude like moths to a porch light.

Yet, here we see the holy family going back to Nazareth and doing what they did before the birth of Jesus.

Certainly, there would be a different attitude in their work. Watching Jesus grow up would have brought a unique set of joys and challenges. Can you imagine the challenge of having a perfectly behaved child? Can you imagine being in a relationship when you are always the one that needs forgiving?

But the point is that they did not assume the pastorate of the local synagogue. They did not go on national TV, or start a web site (or a blog). They went back to their old work and old lifestyle. They did, however, accomplish the task that God set before them which was to rear the Messiah of the Jews and the Savior of the world.

May we all be willing to play the role that God has given us for His glory, trusting that the final result will be better than anything we could have planned.

Mark 15:15 - Crowd (self) Control

"Wanting to satisfy the crowd . . ." (Mark 15:15, NIV)

Pilate made a bad decision in order to satisfy the crowd. Does this sound familiar to you? It certainly does for me.

I have left things unsaid which should have been said. I have said things that were best left unsaid. I have allowed the people around me influence my behavior. Too often, I have allowed my chief concern to be people liking and accepting me.

It is God, and God alone that I should seek to please. For, in the end, it is God and God alone who will be the judge.

Now, to be fair, Pilate was close to having a riot on his hands. As a very unpopular Roman Governor, he had a difficult issue to address in his handling of Jesus. But, like you and I, he had the opportunity to hear the truth and respond to it.

May I hear God's voice above the din of the crowd and follow it today.

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27, NIV)

Mark 14:3 - Nobody here but us lepers

"While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper . . ." (Mark 14:3a, NIV)

Perhaps you catch on more quickly than I, but the many times that I have read this story, it never dawned on me until now that no-one, not even Jesus, would dine in the house of a leper. That is, no-one would dine in the house of one that currently has leprosy.

The conclusion is that Simon had been cured of his leprosy by Jesus.

Leprosy is used in Scripture as a picture of sin in the life of men and women. Like leprosy, it permeates our lives and effects the way we live. But, by faith in Jesus, we can be changed and forgiven of our sin.

Here we see Simon, formerly an outcast from society, throwing a party for Jesus. He is cured of the disease that brought separation and now revels in the ability to be in relationship. One would think that the mood at this event would be very upbeat, at least Simon's mood would have been.

This should be, and sometimes is, a description of what happens in worship on Sundays. All of us who have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus come together to share in worship of the one who did the cleansing. We come together to fellowship with the God who makes possible our fellowship with each other.

Would our worship be different if we took the viewpoint of Simon the (former) Leper?

Mark 13:2 - It's all gonna burn

“Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” (Mark 13:2, NIV)

I worship at a fellowship that meets in a strip mall. No-one would argue that the building is magnificent, awe inspiring or beautiful. As a result, the Pharisee in me points to the disciple to whom Jesus directed these remarks and I think "I'm glad I'm not as confused as that guy."

Yet, how much of my resources do I spend on acquiring and maintaining things that have no value for the Kingdom of God? How much time do I spend on activities that entertain but do not enlighten or encourage growth? I am reminded of Paul's words in Ephesians:

"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:15-16, NIV)

May God grant you and I eyes to see from His perspective, wisdom to understand how we should walk and courage to take the next step.

Mark 9:29 - Thoughts on Prayer

"He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”" (Mark 9:29, NIV)

A coworker told me about the bumper sticker on her husband's car which reads, "If you don't pray in my school, I won't think in your church."

While this may be considered to be clever or offensive, it does highlight something that I often take for granted. Whether the writer of the phrase knows it or not, he is highlighting the power of prayer.

I actually think it amusing to consider the fact that self proclaimed atheists, who claim there is no God, get so upset about someone praying. If there is no God, what is the harm is sending words into the cosmos? How is the atheist damaged by meaningless expression? I think that atheists fear prayer because there is a part of them which feels that there might be something to it.

So, as a believer, the challenge is to give prayer its proper place in my life. Prayer is feared because it is powerful. Prayer is effective because it is God's will for me to pray.

And, oh by the way, we can pray and the atheists will never know that we are doing it. If you really want to mess with their atheism, pray that they acknowledge Jesus as Lord. Someday they might thank you for it.

Mark 9:6 - Better to keep your mouth shut

"He did not know what to say, they were so frightened." (Mark 9:6, NIV)

I have often had the experience of walking away from a conversation thinking "why did I say that?" Sometimes I say stupid things because the silence is awkward. Sometimes the stupid things are an attempt at making myself look good (and doing the exact opposite). But there are times when, like Peter, I am in a nerve wracking position and I talk to relieve my tension.

If I remember my New Testament history correctly, Mark used Peter as a source for much of the material for the Gospel that bears his name. Can you imagine Peter relating this story to Mark? "There we were, we were confronted with the Glory of God, scared almost to death, and you know what I said? . . . can you believe I said that?"

There is a proverb that I'm fond of but often fail to implement. "It is better to keep quiet and let them think you a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14, NIV)

Matthew 7:21-23 - Relationship Matters

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"(Matthew 7:21-23, NIV)

I had the opportunity to attend a conference on "Missional" theology at Biblical Seminary yesterday. The good news is that there was emphasis on taking the gospel into the post modern culture that surrounds us. There was a challenge for the Church to have a sense of mission. There was much emphasis on the development of relationships for the spread of the gospel. So far so good.

Here is the bad news. There seems to be little agreement in this movement on what the gospel is. I heard nothing about the fallenness of man. I heard nothing about a sin nature that is in open rebellion against God. I heard nothing about the eternal destiny of those who have not responded to the Gospel.

I do not have any statistics handy (and I'm too lazy to go look them up at the moment), but it seems to me that the Gospels record more words of Jesus about Hell than Heaven. Hell is a very real place and we should be very, very concerned that people we know are destined to go there without intervention.

The desire to address the issues of poverty and live in an eco-friendly manner is good. I think that good stewardship of the planet's resources has been a weakness of western Christendom. Using these issues to bridge the communication gap between the church and the world makes sense to me. Where I really, really get frustrated is when this desire to bridge the gap ignores the fact that Jesus gives us propositional truth about God, Man, Sin, Salvation, the Church and the culmination of history. It is this propositional truth that was largely ignored in the conference yesterday.

In Matthew 7, Jesus posits that he will say to many, "I never knew you." Two things come to mind. To know someone is to know the truth about them and to respond accordingly. Secondly, relationship very much matters. The "missional" movement seems to largely ignore the uncomfortable aspects of being in relationship with a Holy God. It is uncomfortable to know that my sin nature continues to be at war with God and will not ultimately be conquered until I am with Jesus. It is uncomfortable to have the responsibility to tell people that their current path leads to eternal damnation. Yet, these uncomfortable truths are part of the communication that the Church is required to present and a requirement for being in relationship with God. The Church cannot say more than what Jesus said to the culture, but it certainly should not say less.

I am grateful for the emphasis in the conference on relationship. I am grateful for the fervor surrounding the desire to be a light to a lost culture. I am grateful that there is the desire to bring salvation to the members of our community. At the end of it all, though, I was saddened that there was not clear articulation of what salvation looks like other than providing a safe environment and feeding the hungry.

Paul says "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." (1 Corinthians 15:19, NIV). The "gospel" presented in the conference yesterday, the gospel of full bellies and lack of conflict, is inadequate. If it only gives hope for this life, we are to be pitied.

Matthew 24:38-39 - They knew nothing?

"For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24:38-39, NIV)

Noah built an ark that was 450 ft long. It was really big, took a long time to build and it was not hidden. So, the people around Noah had some cause to ask, "watcha doing?"

If they were ignorant of the coming flood it was because they chose to be. They had plenty of evidence that it was on its way.

In the same way, people choose to ignorant of the fact that they will have to give an account of how they lived their lives. Choosing to ignore God does not cause him to cease to exist.

Our society portrays those who speak of the end of the world as religions fanatics at best and delusional at worst. We've all seen comic strip figures carrying sandwich boards with the message, "Repent - The End is Near." Most choose to believe that society will go on indefinitely.

Yet, it is our job as believers to be witnesses to the fact that there is a coming judgment. I am reminded of what Paul presented to Governor Felix; he discoursed on "righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come." (Acts 24:25) Good words for this society in this day.

Matthew 21:10 - Who is this?

"When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”" (Matthew 21:10, NIV)

The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is recorded in all four Gospels, indicating that it is a significant event in the ministry of Jesus. Matthew is the only one to record the statement in 21:10 quoted above.

When he writes the "whole city," is Matthew using hyperbole? Perhaps he is, but it is not hard to imagine that the events as described by the Evangelists would grab most, if not all, of the people's attention.

Is our attention not drawn to the flashing lights and sirens of emergency vehicles? Whenever I hear a siren, I am curious to know what is happening. My guess is that when people started shouting in Jerusalem, others would want to know what was going on.

Here is the thought that captured me this morning. I began thinking about the different reactions of the people in Jerusalem. Some were excited and hopeful that this was indeed the long promised Messiah. Others were just caught up in the spectacle and drama of the thing (such as the Pharisees going apoplectic). Others were probably annoyed at the disruption of their daily routine (who likes traffic jams?). We know from the Gospels that others were plotting to kill Jesus. But, few, if any, were not asking the question "what is going on?"

We see similar reactions to Jesus today. Militant atheists want all vestiges of Christianity removed from society. Others view religion as an annoyance when Christians argue against "progressive" ideas such as abortion or legalized drugs. Another group likes the trappings of religion and the idea of spirituality but resist the responsibilities associated with acknowledging absolute truth. Some of us understand that without Jesus, there is little hope that things can be different than the mess we currently see in ourselves and in our society.

Proverbs 24:19-20 - Putting Things in Perspective

"Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out." (Proverbs 24:19-20, NIV)

This morning I was catching up on my email. One daily list I subscribe to sends a quotation from a Christian author which is tied to a portion of Scripture.

One of them I read this morning was tied to these verses. I did not find the quotation to be very helpful but the verses captured my attention.

I get upset when men who are clearly acting out of self interest get rewarded for their selfish behavior. I have seen this in corporate America and in our political system. There is good reason to be angry at this, but often my anger is because of how it effects me rather than that it violates what is right.

These verses again point to the need to have an eternal perspective. I often struggle to see beyond the here and now. I pray with the hymn writer, "Open my eyes, that I may see glimpses of truth thou hast for me."

Matthew 8:26 - Little Faith

"He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”." (Matthew 8:26a, NIV)

One of the things I appreciate about the Bible is that the "heroes" of the faith are not portrayed as being anything other than regular men and women who have yielded themselves to be used by God. They have the same struggles and make the same moment by moment decisions that we are called to make. Like us, they also make bad choices from time to time.

In one of these moments, the disciples yielded to fear and woke Jesus while he was sleeping. His response is curious and challenging. He points out that they had insufficient faith on this occasion.

I sometimes ask myself, do I miss opportunities to be of service simply because I lack faith? I am sure that the answer to this is yes. My guess is that when I get to Heaven there will gain understanding into how different things could have been had I exercised more faith. Too often I give in to fear and miss out.

Now the good news. As I write this, I can see how my faith has grown. While I have a long way to go, I can look back and see how far I've come. God has arranged my circumstances and my failures to show me that He is faithful, even when I am not. This has resulted in growth of both understanding and of faith.