Have you ever tried to cover something up? Kids do it all the time. Hey run around and end up breaking something and try to cover it up. They try to meticulously place the broken item back where it was and in a special position so that you can’t notice. I do this all the time in my own life. I will screw something up and I will try to put things back the way they were so, hopefully, no one will notice that something is wrong.
Adam and Eve tried to do that in the Garden. Eve ate the fruit of ‘the knowledge of good and evil’ and then fed it to Adam (never trust a woman who takes with animals. I learned that from ‘Smallville’). When they ate the fruit the realized they were naked... like really naked. Suddenly they realized they had done something wrong, covered their nakedness and tried to hide from God. Hiding from God never works. God found them, revealed their sin and protected them from themselves. Still Adam and Eve were stuck with the consequences, the wages of sin.
There is another story of the ultimate cover up, David and Bathsheba. Obviously David had never seen CSI (or King’s for that fact, it is about him after all). It was spring so David did what all the other kings did this time of year, sent men out to war. 2 Samuel 11 records, “One evening David got up from his bad and walked around on the roof of the palace”. It is never good to walk on roofs... notice how bad stuff always happens on roofs. “From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, ‘Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?’” At this David should have known, don’t rub another man’s rhubarb. Obviously, David wasn’t Canadian. David takes Bathsheba to the love shack and helps people understand why it is called that (Thax B-52’s). She got Prego and David was thinking “O no, how do I get out of this one”.
What they really need was Maury Polvich. He could have done one of his ‘who is the Daddy’ shows. “David you are the father”. Bathsheba runs to the green room crying. Uriah is held back by the security guards and David goes on a rant on how it is his baby and he’ll support it (said it an almost unintelligible ghetto like voice).
David tries to cover his tracks. “So David sent this word to Joab: ‘Send me Uriah the Hittite’...The David said to Uriah, ‘Go down to your house and wash your feet.’ Uriah, unknowingly to David, was a man of honour was not about to go and sleep in his house eating a drink while his men slept in tents on the ground. Plan A failed, time for plan B. David invited Uriah, before he headed back to war, to dine with him. David tried his hardest to get Uriah drunk (with jell-o shots I think, but don’t quote me) thus tricking him to sleep with Bathsheba. I am betting that Bathsheba is not feeling great about herself. The King can’t even trick her own husband to sleep with her. Even when Uriah was drunk he still went outside the city and slept on his matt.
Plan A flopped and now plan B flopped. David is getting desperate. He needs to cover his tracks. He can’t let anyone see that he did something wrong. We’ve all been there. We do something stupid and then end up doing something even more stupid (or studiper) just to cover up what we’ve done. Really we are worse off than if we would just admit it our mistake from the beginning.
“In the Morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In it he wrote, ‘Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.’” Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky, David not only is David a home wrecker now he can add murderer to the list of infractions.
Worst than these things, David had no shame. “When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. After the time of Mourning was over, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD”.
David the Hero, the mighty Champion over Goliath, the man with so much integrity that he would not slay God’s anointed king, Saul, has become David the slime ball. You can’t hide from God. David would have heard the stories of Adam and Eve and how they could not hide their shame from God. But yet David tried. God brings people along like Nathan. You can read about him in 2 Samuel 12. Nathan is a tricky fellow himself. He tells a David a story to which David responded with burning anger against the man in the story. David said, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
There are times in life that you wish you never said anything. I wonder if David knew what was happening as soon as he spit those words out of his mouth. Maybe he was totally oblivious to all that was happening. One thing that we can know for sure is that David was guilty of his trespass against both Bathsheba and Uriah. Nathan said, “You are that man!” UH-OH someone’s been caught. David is like the kid who sneaks chocolate pudding unaware that it is all over their face. The child’s mother asks if they ate the pudding, knowing full well that they did, while the child denies even know there was pudding. The evidence, however, is all over the child’s face. (This pudding talk is making my hungry... be back after lunch).
David’s sin has been revealed. It could have been so easy if he would have admitted his folly to God from the beginning but pride got in the way. “Pride is a foolish game that we all play, because we’re all nothing more than broke, weak and frayed”. David was exposed and repented. I am sure if David could do what, unfortunately, Cher sang about and ‘turn back time’ I am sure at this point he would have chose a different path.
We have this challenge every day. We can admit our sins to God and if necessary one another or be exposed when your day of judgement comes. I think prefer the prior. When we try and cover our sins we end up make things worse. For that time on the people in the kingdom knew what David had done and when people read the Holy Scriptures they are able to read of the shamefully things that David did. Even ‘the man God’s own heart’ found himself unable to repent on crouched knee until he was exposed. Repent, be free, rid yourself of pride and don’t kill anyone named Uriah (We are running out of Amish boys).
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Dead people's earrings
“...Gideon, Rule over us-you, your son and your grandson-because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.” But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” This is the right answer. I don’t know if I would have said the same thing. King Joshua... sounds nice doesn’t it? Hmmmm, maybe there is something to that. Gideon had fought this great battle and won. Gideon deserved nothing more than to take over and rule but he didn’t. Gideon challenged the Israelites to rearrange their thinking. He pointed them to the God that allowed them to have the victory.
After this pearl of wisdom Gideon says something strange though. “...Give me an earring from your share of the plunder” and the people did. The people were glad to oblige. Why would Gideon want an earring? They probably had crusty dead people parts on them. I guess they were worth something but still I wouldn’t want something taken off a dead body... maybe that’s just me.
I remember in my last semester of Bible College I had a class with our former super-attendant Bill Morrow, now President of Master’s. We were discussing issues in pastoral ministry and professor Morrow said something that has stuck with me ever since. He said, ‘stay away from the three G’s, Glory, Gold and Gloria’. Meaning watch that you don’t get sucked into being above everyone, don’t become a lover of money and watch the hunnies because they can lead you astray.
Gideon passed the first test. When the glory was handed to him he placed it back to the one who deserved it, the God of the Israelites. But he began to fail the gold part. Gideon made the gold into an ephod. The type of ephod this is we don’t know. There is a description of an ephod in Exodus 28:6-10 but more than likely this is not the same type. It seems as though, in the opinion of most scholars, that Gideon made a Garment that covered an idol like those from Mesopotamian or Egyptian cultic statues.
I don’t know if it was the allure of the gold or if he just totally lost sight of where this gold was from, but Gideon seemed to have lost focus. The thing that was won by the mighty hand of God through his humble servant Gideon who did not take the glory for himself but placed on the most high, had now created an ephod for a pagan idol. In Judges 8:27b it states, “All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family”.
What started out as something so promising quickly led a nation astray. Not only did Israel turn away but the great leader created something that became a snare for both him and his family. Was there something in Gideon’s heart from the beginning? Did he know what he was doing? Or was something that happened over time? I guess we will never know. What we do know is that it was a snare and Gideon was content to let it lead him astray. Not only him but a nation of people
What is your snare? Maybe you don’t know it is yet. Maybe somewhere in the back of your mind you know that there is something that is beginning to dig its teeth into your life. What are you going to do to stop? Gideon is not just responsible for his heart wandering but for hundreds of thousands of people prostituting themselves to an ephod that he created. Watch out for snares. Don’t get caught. Remember who the true God is. Leave the earrings in the dead people? (I just thought I would throw that on in).
After this pearl of wisdom Gideon says something strange though. “...Give me an earring from your share of the plunder” and the people did. The people were glad to oblige. Why would Gideon want an earring? They probably had crusty dead people parts on them. I guess they were worth something but still I wouldn’t want something taken off a dead body... maybe that’s just me.
I remember in my last semester of Bible College I had a class with our former super-attendant Bill Morrow, now President of Master’s. We were discussing issues in pastoral ministry and professor Morrow said something that has stuck with me ever since. He said, ‘stay away from the three G’s, Glory, Gold and Gloria’. Meaning watch that you don’t get sucked into being above everyone, don’t become a lover of money and watch the hunnies because they can lead you astray.
Gideon passed the first test. When the glory was handed to him he placed it back to the one who deserved it, the God of the Israelites. But he began to fail the gold part. Gideon made the gold into an ephod. The type of ephod this is we don’t know. There is a description of an ephod in Exodus 28:6-10 but more than likely this is not the same type. It seems as though, in the opinion of most scholars, that Gideon made a Garment that covered an idol like those from Mesopotamian or Egyptian cultic statues.
I don’t know if it was the allure of the gold or if he just totally lost sight of where this gold was from, but Gideon seemed to have lost focus. The thing that was won by the mighty hand of God through his humble servant Gideon who did not take the glory for himself but placed on the most high, had now created an ephod for a pagan idol. In Judges 8:27b it states, “All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family”.
What started out as something so promising quickly led a nation astray. Not only did Israel turn away but the great leader created something that became a snare for both him and his family. Was there something in Gideon’s heart from the beginning? Did he know what he was doing? Or was something that happened over time? I guess we will never know. What we do know is that it was a snare and Gideon was content to let it lead him astray. Not only him but a nation of people
What is your snare? Maybe you don’t know it is yet. Maybe somewhere in the back of your mind you know that there is something that is beginning to dig its teeth into your life. What are you going to do to stop? Gideon is not just responsible for his heart wandering but for hundreds of thousands of people prostituting themselves to an ephod that he created. Watch out for snares. Don’t get caught. Remember who the true God is. Leave the earrings in the dead people? (I just thought I would throw that on in).
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Prison Stars
"I can't believe this. Is my life unravelling"?! "Why does this always happen to me"?! "Is everyone in my family insane... I just don't understand"?! "Is this all my fault"?! Some say that the three most important questions in life are, where do we come from, what is the meaning of life and what happens when we die. These probably are the most important questions because they form the way we think and approach life. These, however, are not the questions that we are asking. The ones stated earlier follow the track of most of our minds. It is the worries of everyday life that impinge our everyday life.
The apostle Paul stated, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9b-10. This is coming from a man who, as he stated previous,
"Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches." 2 Corinthians 11:24-28
That does not sound like a fun time to me! One may wonder how one person could preserver through a live filled with so much physical pain and emotion strain. Bill Hybels in his book Who You Are When No One’s Looking, he tells the story of two prisoners. Both are contained in the same small cell, with the same small window about three feet above eye level.
"Both Prisoners spent a great deal of time looking at the window, of course. One of them saw the bars-obvious, ugly, metallic reminders of reality. From day to day he grew increasingly discouraged, bitter, angry and hopeless. By contrast, the other prisoner looked through the window to the stars beyond. Hope welled up in that prisoner as he began to think of the possibility of starting a new life in freedom". (p35)
For one of the prisoners hope seemed like a pipe dream; the other was able to look past the bars and ‘saw stars’. I believe this is how Paul viewed life. He did not let the situations around him overcome but was able to peer past to see the light. Paul aligned his focus with God’s and counted his trials as gain. When the bars of the prison, the shattered wood of the ship wreck, the scars and broken bones, to see what Christ was doing in his life.
When we look at the leaders of the Bible Moses stands out. Continually when trials came his way and the people of Israel rebelled instead calling it quits, and roaming off into the desert like the littlest hobo, he sought the face of God. Time after time Moses entered the tent of meeting to meet with God face to face, not only to deal with the frustrations of leading a stiff necked people, but to continually remain in a close relationship with God.
That is what defines a situation. It is the relationship of trust that keeps a man true. Habakkuk, Jonah, Abraham, David, Job... the list goes on. These are people who when trials came sought God.
There was one time when Moses slipped into carnal thinking. Numbers 20 tells the story of Moses striking the rock with his staff that ultimately leads to his restriction from the promise land. The first verse of this Chapter states something very interesting. “Miriam died and was buried”. Immediately following this piece of information the people begin to lose focus and start complaining. Moses seeks the face of God but when it came time to react he let his emotions take control.
Even the best of us fail. We all go through hard times. The cliché answer is just pray. Unfortunately, that is not what we want to hear. We want answers. We want a solution. The best response is seeking the face of the most high. It does not mean that problems will be fixed, although they may. The Apostle Paul’s scars never went away. Paul’s bones were never restored. Yet he found peace in his creator when he sought his face. I leave you with a message from James. “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12
The apostle Paul stated, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9b-10. This is coming from a man who, as he stated previous,
"Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches." 2 Corinthians 11:24-28
That does not sound like a fun time to me! One may wonder how one person could preserver through a live filled with so much physical pain and emotion strain. Bill Hybels in his book Who You Are When No One’s Looking, he tells the story of two prisoners. Both are contained in the same small cell, with the same small window about three feet above eye level.
"Both Prisoners spent a great deal of time looking at the window, of course. One of them saw the bars-obvious, ugly, metallic reminders of reality. From day to day he grew increasingly discouraged, bitter, angry and hopeless. By contrast, the other prisoner looked through the window to the stars beyond. Hope welled up in that prisoner as he began to think of the possibility of starting a new life in freedom". (p35)
For one of the prisoners hope seemed like a pipe dream; the other was able to look past the bars and ‘saw stars’. I believe this is how Paul viewed life. He did not let the situations around him overcome but was able to peer past to see the light. Paul aligned his focus with God’s and counted his trials as gain. When the bars of the prison, the shattered wood of the ship wreck, the scars and broken bones, to see what Christ was doing in his life.
When we look at the leaders of the Bible Moses stands out. Continually when trials came his way and the people of Israel rebelled instead calling it quits, and roaming off into the desert like the littlest hobo, he sought the face of God. Time after time Moses entered the tent of meeting to meet with God face to face, not only to deal with the frustrations of leading a stiff necked people, but to continually remain in a close relationship with God.
That is what defines a situation. It is the relationship of trust that keeps a man true. Habakkuk, Jonah, Abraham, David, Job... the list goes on. These are people who when trials came sought God.
There was one time when Moses slipped into carnal thinking. Numbers 20 tells the story of Moses striking the rock with his staff that ultimately leads to his restriction from the promise land. The first verse of this Chapter states something very interesting. “Miriam died and was buried”. Immediately following this piece of information the people begin to lose focus and start complaining. Moses seeks the face of God but when it came time to react he let his emotions take control.
Even the best of us fail. We all go through hard times. The cliché answer is just pray. Unfortunately, that is not what we want to hear. We want answers. We want a solution. The best response is seeking the face of the most high. It does not mean that problems will be fixed, although they may. The Apostle Paul’s scars never went away. Paul’s bones were never restored. Yet he found peace in his creator when he sought his face. I leave you with a message from James. “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12
In The Whisper
I sit here, in my office, on a rainy day listening to Bjork and feeling very mellow. I can hear voices in the background from the hallway. These voices are not the voices I want to hear though. The phone rings and interrupts my train of thought. I begin to wonder if there is a point to even seeking to hear this voice that I long. Each time something interrupts me, the phone, an email, a message, my ADD. Yet I can't stop, it is like there is something intrinsic that causes me too seek and too long. Could it be that there is too much noise in my life? I know there is too much literal noise. But maybe there is too much internal noise. Is it possible for my soul to become so clogged with the internal crap that I deal with day to day? Or maybe I am looking for the wrong thing?
I think about Jesus. Where did he go to hear? What did he do for better hearing? As I look through the gospels I see that he got alone. I see he secluded himself from distraction. He had an outlet for the heart and soul. I need an outlet. I did in high school. I remember I would go to my keyboard every day after school and play and sing, I would worship God and I would write my praise, laments, anger and worship in song. I am older now and it is not as easy. I get distracted. I have obligations to a wife and my home, though it seems I look after these things at the expense of my soul (I was just distracted again for about an hour).
You see when your heart and soul are cluttered you can only hear the load stuff. Like when you have a head cold and the only way you can hear someone is if they kind of yell. When our life is cluttered it is like that. In first Kings 19 it relays the story of Elijah and the way in which the Lord appeared to him. Verse 11b begins, "a great powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earth, but the LORD was not in the earth quake. After the earthquake cam a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a Gentle Whisper." (1 Kings 19:11-12 NIV).
When Elijah heard the whisper he heard the voice of God. Elijah knew what to listen for. He didn't allow his ears to become cloudy; if they would have been he wouldn't have been able to hear. We need to purge ourselves. We need to surrender. It is time for us to find some alone time and focus on the voice of God.
I think about Jesus. Where did he go to hear? What did he do for better hearing? As I look through the gospels I see that he got alone. I see he secluded himself from distraction. He had an outlet for the heart and soul. I need an outlet. I did in high school. I remember I would go to my keyboard every day after school and play and sing, I would worship God and I would write my praise, laments, anger and worship in song. I am older now and it is not as easy. I get distracted. I have obligations to a wife and my home, though it seems I look after these things at the expense of my soul (I was just distracted again for about an hour).
You see when your heart and soul are cluttered you can only hear the load stuff. Like when you have a head cold and the only way you can hear someone is if they kind of yell. When our life is cluttered it is like that. In first Kings 19 it relays the story of Elijah and the way in which the Lord appeared to him. Verse 11b begins, "a great powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earth, but the LORD was not in the earth quake. After the earthquake cam a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a Gentle Whisper." (1 Kings 19:11-12 NIV).
When Elijah heard the whisper he heard the voice of God. Elijah knew what to listen for. He didn't allow his ears to become cloudy; if they would have been he wouldn't have been able to hear. We need to purge ourselves. We need to surrender. It is time for us to find some alone time and focus on the voice of God.
Sitting in a Hotel Looby
Right now I am sitting in a hotel lobby all by myself. I only hear the ambient noise of people in other rooms and the furnace. Being left alone with your thoughts can be dangerous just ask Dantes from 'Count of Monte Crisco'. The reality is that sometimes it is good to reflect and wonder. It is good to dream and challenge. It is good to saturate yourself in God and His will for your life ever now and again. I have been doing for the last number of moments and a few thoughts came to mind. I began to read the book of Job and I was blown away by what I read. Here is a man, nothing to live for, nothing to lose. It feels as though the world is crashing down on him. His friends do nothing but hassle him and his wife nothing but a nag. Yet in this moment, of pure frustration and pure hell, when all is lost and it seemed as though God had abandoned him, he did not lose his integrity. He did, however, ask God the hard questions but never did he curse the God that seemed so far away. Never did he abandon a faith the seemed to be pointless When all was taken away. I think of my own life, I think of my own theodicy. I reflect on my journey with the Most High. Can I say about myself what is said about Job? Would people who observe my life say the same thing about me? I strive to live out a faith that when tested by fire will stand. I pray that I will be able to say, as King David said, 'May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you'. My Hope is that this is the prayer of each and every one of your hearts. I encourage you to find some quiet time and ask God what He is looking for from you!
Priorities
What are the priorities in your life?
As Christians it is important that we have the right priorities in the right place. We have family, friends, work, school and our faith. Are they in that order for you? Or maybe they are a little different order.
As we get older, it is amazing how our priorities change. Two years ago, marriage was not even a side thought for me but now starting my own family is something that is just on the horizon. Many of you are going off to school in September you will notice how things will become prioritized in your life. Things you thought were important will seem more like a distant thought and things that were never really had a concern for will rise to lead the pack.
Throughout Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, in the Bible, we see a small picture of Jesus’ life. As one begins to read through these books you see situations where Jesus’ priorities, the things that were most important to him, were very clear.
Even as a child, Jesus knew the things that came first in. In Luke chapter 2 we read about how Mary and Joseph, Jesus’ parents, would go to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover every year. Jesus is twelve and after they do their Feast of the Passover thing Mary and Joseph head home, the problem is that while they were on their way they realized Jesus not is with them.
Picture the conversation if you will, ‘You know, Jesus, you were so well behaved today; you were just a little saint, so how did you enjoy the feast this year? Jesus…. Mary where’s Jesus’, ‘I thought he was with you’. ‘Clearly, Mary, I asked you to watch him’. ‘You’re always doing this, always blaming me’. Anyway you get the point… they forgot their child in a city that was far away from home. It is a good thing there was not social services back then because I think they would have taken Jesus away.
Anyway, eventually they go back to Jerusalem and look. After three days of nothing they finally find Jesus in the Temple, sitting among the teachers.
Mary sees Jesus and says, ‘Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you’, basically the crap was scared clean out of her. Jesus’ reply, at twelve years of age, is ‘why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my father’s house?'
At twelve Jesus knew, first off that the Lord, adonia, was his Father, but he also knew that at that moment the most important place he needed to be was in His Father’s house.
Many years later, 21 to be exact, Jesus is fasting and praying. While Jesus is doing this Satan comes and tries to tempt him. Satan says, ‘make these rocks into bread’, ‘jump the angels will catch you’ and ‘if you bow down to me I will give you all the kingdoms of this world’.
You see when Jesus came as man to this earth He knew His purpose. Jesus knew that he would have to sacrifice his own life and that it would be the most horrible thing on earth, which is why he prayed in the Garden ‘take this cup from me’. Satan also knew this because it was prophesied in to Older Testament.
When Satan was offering Jesus the entire world in return for Jesus to bow down at his feet, he was offering Jesus a way out of horrendous pain.
Jesus knew the priority was the Father’s will and that the God the Father did not want to dictate over His creation but to persuade them with love to follow him. Jesus, although it was the hard way, made God the Father priority and did God’s will.
Later Jesus is at a house, he is healing people, and His mother, brothers and sisters come and send someone in to call Jesus to them. Okay, I am going to try to illustrate this in a kind of story form. Keep in mind this story section is not in the Bible.
There is a man he feels like a cast away, an island, he essentially feels alone. He has a disease that makes him unclean according to the rules that the Pharisee’s and religious leaders have put in place. Not one person will give him the time of day.
The man hears about this man named Jesus who embraces the sick and heals. He hears that Jesus will be in his town at quarter past the sundial. The man goes to the house, it is crowded but he makes his way to the front. He sits and listens to Jesus talk.
The man is moved and compelled toward changing his life as he sits and listens. Jesus begins healing people. He is two people away, one person; the man is next in line. He is filled with anticipation. The moment that will change his life forever is approaching. Finally, there is a person who seems to care.
Just as Jesus is about to pray for the man the message comes through the crowd, ‘Jesus your mother, brothers and sisters are here they want you to come now’.
The man’s dreams, hopes, the man who is inflicted with disease and feels alone, his ideas of what could have been, what would have been, hang in the balance. Like a glass inches from shattering on the floor, the man’s hopes of what could have been looms in the air.
Suddenly shock fills the room as Jesus opens His mouth, ‘who are my mother and brothers’, pointing at the inflicted man in front and those around him, Jesus states, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother’.
At that moment, you could not begin the read the mixed reactions on people’s faces. Some were repulsed, ‘how could a man do that to his family’. Others were confused.
The man, the one with the disease, the one who felt alone, at that moment never felt such love, never felt such a high. Suddenly he had friends and a family. He was no longer alone. That day the afflicted man was healed not only of his physical affliction but also an affliction of the heart.
At that moment Jesus made the people who he was with his priority.
Later Jesus says to a different group of people, “If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters- yes, more than your own life.” You may say that it sounds more like Jesus does like family. Actually what he is saying is that God needs to be the first priority. If God did not like family he would have never said honour your mother and father, or do not cause your children to wrath or wives honour, your husbands and husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church.
God should be number one in your life. Family, education, work, security and other such things should not come close to taking God’s place.
You may say but I need to work every Friday and Sunday so I have money for things, I need to save for school, I have to buy my own clothes. Jesus said, ‘What good will it be for a person if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?”
You can have all the stuff, the best education but it means squat if Jesus isn’t the leader of your life.
Even at 12 years of age Jesus knew that the things of most importance were to be with God, to be in God’s house and to do His will.
It is time we begin to re-evaluate our priorities. Even I screw up the things that need to come first in my life. You, me and Dupree need to begin making God first in our hearts and lives.
It's time to let God take hold of our hearts and minds and lives. Let him direct our path. Be faithful to god and waht he desires and have the faith that he will provide for us in our faithfulness to him.
As Christians it is important that we have the right priorities in the right place. We have family, friends, work, school and our faith. Are they in that order for you? Or maybe they are a little different order.
As we get older, it is amazing how our priorities change. Two years ago, marriage was not even a side thought for me but now starting my own family is something that is just on the horizon. Many of you are going off to school in September you will notice how things will become prioritized in your life. Things you thought were important will seem more like a distant thought and things that were never really had a concern for will rise to lead the pack.
Throughout Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, in the Bible, we see a small picture of Jesus’ life. As one begins to read through these books you see situations where Jesus’ priorities, the things that were most important to him, were very clear.
Even as a child, Jesus knew the things that came first in. In Luke chapter 2 we read about how Mary and Joseph, Jesus’ parents, would go to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover every year. Jesus is twelve and after they do their Feast of the Passover thing Mary and Joseph head home, the problem is that while they were on their way they realized Jesus not is with them.
Picture the conversation if you will, ‘You know, Jesus, you were so well behaved today; you were just a little saint, so how did you enjoy the feast this year? Jesus…. Mary where’s Jesus’, ‘I thought he was with you’. ‘Clearly, Mary, I asked you to watch him’. ‘You’re always doing this, always blaming me’. Anyway you get the point… they forgot their child in a city that was far away from home. It is a good thing there was not social services back then because I think they would have taken Jesus away.
Anyway, eventually they go back to Jerusalem and look. After three days of nothing they finally find Jesus in the Temple, sitting among the teachers.
Mary sees Jesus and says, ‘Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you’, basically the crap was scared clean out of her. Jesus’ reply, at twelve years of age, is ‘why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my father’s house?'
At twelve Jesus knew, first off that the Lord, adonia, was his Father, but he also knew that at that moment the most important place he needed to be was in His Father’s house.
Many years later, 21 to be exact, Jesus is fasting and praying. While Jesus is doing this Satan comes and tries to tempt him. Satan says, ‘make these rocks into bread’, ‘jump the angels will catch you’ and ‘if you bow down to me I will give you all the kingdoms of this world’.
You see when Jesus came as man to this earth He knew His purpose. Jesus knew that he would have to sacrifice his own life and that it would be the most horrible thing on earth, which is why he prayed in the Garden ‘take this cup from me’. Satan also knew this because it was prophesied in to Older Testament.
When Satan was offering Jesus the entire world in return for Jesus to bow down at his feet, he was offering Jesus a way out of horrendous pain.
Jesus knew the priority was the Father’s will and that the God the Father did not want to dictate over His creation but to persuade them with love to follow him. Jesus, although it was the hard way, made God the Father priority and did God’s will.
Later Jesus is at a house, he is healing people, and His mother, brothers and sisters come and send someone in to call Jesus to them. Okay, I am going to try to illustrate this in a kind of story form. Keep in mind this story section is not in the Bible.
There is a man he feels like a cast away, an island, he essentially feels alone. He has a disease that makes him unclean according to the rules that the Pharisee’s and religious leaders have put in place. Not one person will give him the time of day.
The man hears about this man named Jesus who embraces the sick and heals. He hears that Jesus will be in his town at quarter past the sundial. The man goes to the house, it is crowded but he makes his way to the front. He sits and listens to Jesus talk.
The man is moved and compelled toward changing his life as he sits and listens. Jesus begins healing people. He is two people away, one person; the man is next in line. He is filled with anticipation. The moment that will change his life forever is approaching. Finally, there is a person who seems to care.
Just as Jesus is about to pray for the man the message comes through the crowd, ‘Jesus your mother, brothers and sisters are here they want you to come now’.
The man’s dreams, hopes, the man who is inflicted with disease and feels alone, his ideas of what could have been, what would have been, hang in the balance. Like a glass inches from shattering on the floor, the man’s hopes of what could have been looms in the air.
Suddenly shock fills the room as Jesus opens His mouth, ‘who are my mother and brothers’, pointing at the inflicted man in front and those around him, Jesus states, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother’.
At that moment, you could not begin the read the mixed reactions on people’s faces. Some were repulsed, ‘how could a man do that to his family’. Others were confused.
The man, the one with the disease, the one who felt alone, at that moment never felt such love, never felt such a high. Suddenly he had friends and a family. He was no longer alone. That day the afflicted man was healed not only of his physical affliction but also an affliction of the heart.
At that moment Jesus made the people who he was with his priority.
Later Jesus says to a different group of people, “If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters- yes, more than your own life.” You may say that it sounds more like Jesus does like family. Actually what he is saying is that God needs to be the first priority. If God did not like family he would have never said honour your mother and father, or do not cause your children to wrath or wives honour, your husbands and husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church.
God should be number one in your life. Family, education, work, security and other such things should not come close to taking God’s place.
You may say but I need to work every Friday and Sunday so I have money for things, I need to save for school, I have to buy my own clothes. Jesus said, ‘What good will it be for a person if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?”
You can have all the stuff, the best education but it means squat if Jesus isn’t the leader of your life.
Even at 12 years of age Jesus knew that the things of most importance were to be with God, to be in God’s house and to do His will.
It is time we begin to re-evaluate our priorities. Even I screw up the things that need to come first in my life. You, me and Dupree need to begin making God first in our hearts and lives.
It's time to let God take hold of our hearts and minds and lives. Let him direct our path. Be faithful to god and waht he desires and have the faith that he will provide for us in our faithfulness to him.
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