I attended the funeral of a 75 man the other day. His grand-daughters are in my youth group. As I ponder the words of Jesus, I am drawn to his words about children ("Let the little children come to me" and "faith like a child"). [I know this is out of order in my study, but the Holy Spirit moves in unpredictable ways :)] As I sat there, I saw this gentleman's 50+-year-old daughter recollect memories of her dad sharing many of the things that he did with her and her siblings. She looked 50, but sounded 5. The sound of her voice could only be likened to child-like infatuation for a daddy.
As a teacher I have had the privilege of attending graduation each year. Honestly, most of it I could do without, but the thing I do look forward to is seeing each graduate's face as they step up to the edge of the stage and look out for Mom and Dad. There it is again. I don't see an 18 or 22 year old young adult. I see in their eyes and smile a look of a 5-year-old quietly screaming, "Daddy, Mommy, aren't you proud of me?! I did it!" Its wonderfully similar to the look they gave from that same spot on a stage at their Kindergarten graduation!
To some, these may be odd observations or meaningless coincidence. To me, these are a reminder of how our relationship with God should be. Do you remember standing in that spot at graduation? Looking out at all of the faces. Your eyes dart from section to section trying to remember where Mom said they had reserved seats. And then it happened: you found them. At that point in your young life, that was the biggest sigh you have ever let out. You have connected with them. You see them beaming with pride, camera rolling. You longed to hear them say, "Well done."
So why do I try to use smart words or sound all "grown-up? I think He still wants us to come like those graduates or loved ones. Even at 33.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Temptation and Kevlar vests
Isn't it amazing how the minute you start an intentional drive towards growing in your relationship with God, the distractions and temptations and time-wasters come at you in full force!! I couldn't tell you how many times I have sat down to study further and something has interrupted me!
As I look at the big picture of the first words of Jesus during His earthly ministry, I see Him (Matt. 3:13-17) approaching John the Baptist and instructing John to baptize Him. (Talk about a humbling request!) The very next passage (Matt. 4), Jesus is led into the wilderness to be tempted for 40 days! Forty days!? So, after baptism, the outward announcement of one's commitment to following God and none other, He gets hit for 40 straight days with temptation of all kinds. But there is a little phrase at the very beginning of verse 1 that changed everything for me: "by the Spirit". Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into challenging times. It's almost like the Holy Spirit is saying, "Let's see how serious you really are!" (Please see that I am not trying to sound blasphemous or infer division among the Trinity) How many times have we said to God, "I will worship You alone" or even, "I will never do that again" only to turn around and WHAM get slammed by challenges?
I equate it with Kevlar bullet-proof vests. Like our faith, a vest may leave the manufacturer having been pieced together carefully and completely. Before it is released to the public, it is sent to a testing facility where trigger-happy men and women fire everything they've got at it to see how well it does what it is supposed to.
If we've ever taken a stand for Christ, we've been there. You may still be feeling the aches and exhaustion as you read this. When we are there, trying to hold up, trying to prove that this is the "real thing", remember those 3 words, "by the Spirit". God is not waiting on the other side of challenges, hoping you survive your"40 days of Wilderness". He is right there, with you, the whole time. Don't let the instant temptations dishearten you. If anything, let them inspire you with the truths that God is with you AND what you are doing is thoroughly angering the devil. That sounds like the place I wanted to be in from the start!
As I look at the big picture of the first words of Jesus during His earthly ministry, I see Him (Matt. 3:13-17) approaching John the Baptist and instructing John to baptize Him. (Talk about a humbling request!) The very next passage (Matt. 4), Jesus is led into the wilderness to be tempted for 40 days! Forty days!? So, after baptism, the outward announcement of one's commitment to following God and none other, He gets hit for 40 straight days with temptation of all kinds. But there is a little phrase at the very beginning of verse 1 that changed everything for me: "by the Spirit". Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into challenging times. It's almost like the Holy Spirit is saying, "Let's see how serious you really are!" (Please see that I am not trying to sound blasphemous or infer division among the Trinity) How many times have we said to God, "I will worship You alone" or even, "I will never do that again" only to turn around and WHAM get slammed by challenges?
I equate it with Kevlar bullet-proof vests. Like our faith, a vest may leave the manufacturer having been pieced together carefully and completely. Before it is released to the public, it is sent to a testing facility where trigger-happy men and women fire everything they've got at it to see how well it does what it is supposed to.
If we've ever taken a stand for Christ, we've been there. You may still be feeling the aches and exhaustion as you read this. When we are there, trying to hold up, trying to prove that this is the "real thing", remember those 3 words, "by the Spirit". God is not waiting on the other side of challenges, hoping you survive your"40 days of Wilderness". He is right there, with you, the whole time. Don't let the instant temptations dishearten you. If anything, let them inspire you with the truths that God is with you AND what you are doing is thoroughly angering the devil. That sounds like the place I wanted to be in from the start!
Getting started
I turned 33 a few weeks ago now and in my time with God I was challenged with this thought: Jesus died on the cross when He was 33 years old. Why not take this year and only study the words of Jesus, you know, the ones in RED. We had just finished studying the Christmas story and I can't think of a better place to start. So, with the help of a Reese Chronological Bible, my cultural help (Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, by Kenneth E. Bailey) and my red-letter Bible, I started. I have observed, since my start, that this exact study is apparently a big trend in North American Christendom! I don't want this to be another blog lost in the rush of similar blogs. Since I have started, I have found some very intriguing things. So much so, that I wanted to write them down and, in this digital age, a blog made more sense than a journal. This one is more about my journey, my questions, my wonderings and awe-struck moments as I seek to know Jesus better. I will ask questions, some rhetorical, some literal. Feel free to respond to either. Here we go!
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