Returns: One Happy, Many Tragic

It has been too long! To my readers, my friends, I bid each of you a fond hello. The last 15 months have been very exciting. Every day has been a new adventure! It has been for me a time of great growth, but not without often greater struggle. Perhaps it has been the same for you. Conversations for another day, I suppose.

Tonight I return to my writer's desk for just a few brief minutes. As I was reading this morning, I was struck by what may be, in my humble opinion, one of the saddest verses in Scripture. Take a look at Psalm 106:43:

"Many times He delivered them, but they were bent on rebellion and they wasted away in their sin."

This text is a theological reflection on the journey of God's people, beginning its chronology during their time in Egypt. While recounting history, the author hits on a recurring theme: people really don't change that much. As their fathers had, they continued to run to sin.

I dare not speak for anyone else, but I feel as though this is probably true for us today. We all run to our own sins. May God help us to chase after Him instead.

I hope that it will not be another 15 months before we meet again. Times are busy, but it is in these times we most need to encourage each other. All the best to you, friends!

Bibliography

NIV Archaeological Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005. Print.

Setting an Example

"Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead is into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.]"

Matthew 6:9-13

Much has been said and written about the Model Prayer. Often referred to as the Lord's Prayer, this passage is deservedly so a staple of the Church's understanding of prayer. For our purposes, we will refer to it as the Model Prayer to distinguish it from the Lord's Prayer found in John 17, which will be our focus in an upcoming post.

Before we get to the meet of the prayer itself, let's turn our eyes to the preceding verses. In Matthew 6:5, Jesus commands His followers not to pray "as the hypocrites." Merriam-Webster defines a hypocrite as "a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs." I include this definition simply to give us a frame of reference; we all have our own definitions of hypocrisy, and we all know people that, according to our personal definitions, fit into this category.

To understand exactly what Jesus meant, we need to look into the historical context. Does Jesus tell us anything about who He defines as hypocrites? It just so happens that He does: "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 6:1). Paul later expands on this in his letter to Titus, saying "For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach, for the sake of sordid gain... They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient, and worthless for any good deed" (Titus 1:10-11, 16).

So who does Jesus call a hypocrite? Men who put on a show of their righteousness before men, but who are filthy before God. In some instances during His earthly ministry, He directly calls out the Pharisees on this point. In his own time, Paul calls out those who claim to be part of the body of Christ but by their actions they hurt hurt that same body.

I have grown up and lived in the Bible belt my whole life. In all of the churches which I have been a part of, hypocrisy has been present. Thankfully, in some cases, it was a very small influence; in others, it was a dominating force. Truthfully, hypocrisy seems to be a staple feature of the church in America of which all participants, myself included, have been guilty at one point or another.

In preparing for this post, I am trying to hold myself accountable in the same way that I encourage you: as we seek to be honest with God in prayer, we need to acknowledge our own hypocrisy. God sees through my charade. Before God, the masks which we use to hide the real us from men and women are transparent. In many cases, we have worn these masks for so long that we ourselves are deceived; perhaps that needs to be where our prayer begins.

This is not to say that we need to fix ourselves before we come to God. We cannot fix ourselves. However, we can learn a lesson from Jesus' parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14:

And He also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: "Two men went up into the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other-people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' I tell you that this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted." (emphasis mine)

Next week we will examine the Model Prayer itself. Until then, as we seek to approach the throne of God in prayer, we need to realize who we are. We also need to realize Whom we approach.

Bibliography

"Hypocrite." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.

New American Standard Bible. La Habra, CA: Lockman Foundation, 1977. Kindle.

The Choice in the Journey

I've always been a fan of adventure stories. Like so many of you, I love the thrill and the possibilities. Granted, yes, there are some similarities and recurring themes/events throughout the genre, but it is the nuances to each story that makes the adventure. One of the interesting things that usually occurs early in these stories, whether film or literature, is that the hero is given a choice. He can continue with life as usual, or he can leave the unknown behind and seek to answer the call which he has been given.

It is interesting to observe the similarities between the Heroic Journey and the call of God on the life of a disciple; one key similarity is that of the choice. I had a professor in college who was fond of saying that "Following Christ is a political decision." What he meant was this: when we choose to submit to Christ as Lord of our lives, when we claim Him as King, we are setting down our claim to the throne. The biggest governing factor in our lives is no longer partisan politics or our own opinions, but rather the voice of the King of Glory as He reveals Himself through His word by the power of the Holy Spirit. This changes everything.

In my last post, our focus was on the fact that we need to be aware of what is going on around us. However, being aware is not enough. The Church, the body of Christ, is called to make an impact on our communities. We are called to be difference makers. That's what is so incredible about the Great Commission. When Jesus said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20), He was not giving the command that we should share the Gospel simply for the sake of philosophy. This call imposes a change in the way that we think and the way that we act.

This change will carry over to the ways that we respond to needs. Will we always respond correctly? Will we use every opportunity? No; we are still markedly human. But, as Christ calls and equips us, He gives us the chance to share the Gospel, meeting both spiritual and physical needs in ways that so often depend on circumstance. Some days we will have the money to give and we can supply it. Other days, we may be the driver that pulls over to help out in a moment of distress. Most days, we may just be the friendly voice and ear that someone needs.

Whatever the circumstance, we, as followers of Christ, are called. We now have the responsibility to be difference makers: not for our own glory, not just so that others can benefit, but so that God may be glorified in our actions. But, as all do who take the journey, we must now make a choice.

Bibliography

"The Hero's Journey." TV Tropes. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2014.

New American Standard Bible. La Habra, CA: Lockman Foundation, 1977. Kindle.

Awareness

Last Thursday, I was sitting at my desk. As they often do, students came in to my classroom during lunch to eat and visit. I was eating my own lunch and trying to finish some time sensitive work. At one point, a student looked up from talking to one of her friends, and asked me what I thought about what they had just said. "To be perfectly honest," I responded, "I wasn't listening. I'm trying to finish some work; if I need to be in on a conversation, you need to let me know beforehand."

I enjoy having students in my classroom at lunch. Some of the most interesting conversations happen at this time. However, there are times where we just get busy, to the detriment of our relationships.

This is something that has always impressed me about Jesus. Throughout His earthly ministry, He stayed busy and on the move; even in the midst of this, He was always aware of what was going on around Him. He was aware of people and their needs, and He never missed an opportunity to invest in others.

Take a look with me at Luke 8:40-56. 

And as Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus' feet, and began to entreat Him to come to his house; for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes were pressing against Him.

And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him, and touched the fringe of His cloak; and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. And Jesus said, "Who is the one who touched Me?" And while they were all denying it, Peter said, "Master, the multitudes are crowding and pressing upon You." But Jesus said, "Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me." And when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."

While He was still speaking, someone came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, "Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore." But when Jesus heard this, He answered Him, "Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be made well." And when He had come to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl's father and mother. Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, "Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep." And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Child, arise!" And her spirit returned, and she rose immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. And her parents were amazed; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

Notice a few specific details from this passage:

1. In the midst of the multitude, Jesus heard the cry of the individuals.
2. He was aware of something as simple as touch.
3. He sympathized with the woman. He even addressed her as "daughter," a term of endearment that comes from the same Greek word which Jairus, the synagogue official, used to describe his biological daughter.
4. The first thing He did after bringing Jairus' daughter back to life was to order food for her.

Throughout the Gospels, we can find many passages like this one. The point is this: Jesus was aware of the needs of those around Him, and He sought to meet those needs according to the will of His Father.

Next week, we will take a closer look at meeting needs, but for us this challenge is great enough: we need to be aware of what is going on around us. No matter how busy we are, there is opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. God has put us in these times and these circumstances for a reason; let's not waste it.

Bibliography

Goodrick, Edward W., John R. Kohlenberger, and James A. Swanson.Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Pub. House, 1999. Print.

New American Standard Bible. La Habra, CA: Lockman Foundation, 1977. Kindle.