Build, Pray, Love, Look

I’m currently reading one of a number of “never before published” books based on the writing of A. W. Tozer.  This one is titled The Dangers of a Shallow Faith: Awakening from Spiritual Lethargy, released this year by Regal (Gospel Light). In Chapter 3, he speaks about having a wrong concept about God himself.

If you do not have a right concept of God, of yourself and of sin, you will have a twisted and imperfect concept of Christ. It is my honest and charitable conviction that the Christ of the average religionist today is not the Christ of the Bible. It is a distorted image — a manufactured, painted on canvas, drawn from cheap theology Christ of the liberal, and the soft and timid person. This Christ has nothing of the iron and fury and anger, as well as the love and grace and mercy that He had, who walked in Galilee.

If I have a low concept of God, I will have a low concept of myself, and if I have a low conception of myself, I will have a dangerous concept of sin. If I have a dangerous concept of sin, I will have a degraded concept of Christ. Here is the way it works: God is reduced; man is degraded; sin is underestimated; and Christ is disparaged.

Does this mean we must be tolerant? Actually, men are tolerant only with the important things. What would happen to a tolerant scientist or a tolerant navigator? The liberal religionist simply admits he does not consider spiritual things as vital.

No wonder Jude said the terrible things he said in his epistle to the Church. I recommend you read the book of Jude…

…We are not called to always show a smile. Sometimes we are called to frown and rebuke with all long-suffering and doctrine. We must contend for but not be contentious. We must preserve truth but injure no man. We must destroy error without harming people…

A Call to Remain Faithful

^{(NLT) Jude 1:17} But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said. ¹⁸ They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. ¹⁹ These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.

²⁰ But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, ²¹ and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.

²² And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. ²³ Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

…Now He’s come to His own — true believers in God and in Christ. And then He gives them four things to do:

1. Build up — “building up yourselves on your most holy faith…” (v. 20) Do you have a Bible, and do you study it? Have you read a book of the Bible through recently? Have you done any memorization of Scripture? Have you sought to know God or are you looking to the secular media for your religion? Build up yourselves on your most holy faith.
2. Pray — “praying in the Holy Ghost” (v. 20) I do not hesitate to say that most praying is not in the Holy Spirit. The reason is that we do not have the Holy Spirit in us. No man can pray in the Spirit except his heart is a habitation for the Spirit. It is only as the Holy Spirit has unlimited sway within you that you are able to pray in the Spirit. Five minutes of prayer in the Holy Spirit will be worth more than one year of hit-and-miss praying if it is not in the Holy Spirit.
3. Love — “keep yourselves in the love of God…” (v. 21) Be true to the faith, but be charitable to those who are in error. Never feel contempt for anybody. No Christian has any right to feel contempt, for it is an emotion that can only come out of pride. Let us never allow contempt to rule us; let us be charitable and loving toward all while we keep ourselves in the love of God.
4. Look — “looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (v. 21) Let us look for Jesus Christ’s coming — for the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ at His coming. Isn’t it wonderful that His mercy will show forth at His coming? His mercy will show itself then, as it did on the cross; as it does in receiving sinners; as it does in patiently looking after us. And it will show itself at the coming of Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
   

~A. W. Tozer, The Dangers of a Shallow Faith pp. 44-46

(scripture text added)

Receiving a Double Portion Isn’t Twice as Much

Sometimes, churches build a ‘culture’ around an interpretation of certain words and phrases which come to mean something to them that it never meant in the original text. K.W. Leslie, whose writing has been seen on this blog a couple of times before deals with this in an article entitled Out of Context: The Double Portion. To support the writers quoted here, please click the link and read the day’s thoughts at the source blogs.

Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.”

—2 Kings 2.9 ESV

Years ago I listened to a youth pastor quote this verse as he spoke about how each generation of young people should ideally receive a “double portion” of their parents’ spirit. I’ve heard other pastors teach likewise. By “spirit” they don’t usually mean the Holy Spirit—though sometimes they do, and the preaching starts to turn mighty weird. Most commonly they mean a person’s enthusiasm, their devotion to God, their spiritual activity, and so forth. Ideally, parents should pass this “double portion” to their children, who would in turn pass this “double portion” to their kids, and so on till Jesus returns.

Here’s the thing. By “double portion,” the pastor meant twice as much. The kids would have twice as much spirit as their parents. Their kids would have twice as much spirit as they. Their grandkids would have twice as much spirit as their kids—and, if you do the math, that’d be 16 times as much spirit as the first generation.

In fact, let’s do even more math. Assume the very first generation of Christians, namely the 120-some people who originally received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost in the year 33, were following this “double portion principle,” so to speak. Assume there’ve been 100 generations of Christians since—a really conservative estimate. After 100 generations, the “double portion” we should receive would be 2¹⁰⁰ times the original amount of spirit. That’s more than 633 octillion (i.e. followed by 27 zeroes) times the spirit. More spirit than there are atoms in the universe.

So: Why aren’t we Christians walking around with so much spirit that, frankly, whenever we make a new convert, their chest explodes from the amount of spirit suddenly whooshing into them?

Obviously because “double portion” doesn’t mean twice as much. The New Living Translation tacks on a few words at the end of the verse to explain the historical context:

Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.”

—2 Kings 2.9 NLT

In the ancient Middle East, when a father died, his property was divided into equal portions and given to each of his sons. (If he had no sons, the Hebrews had it given to each of his daughters, Nu 27.8.) The firstborn, or the eldest, would be given two of these portions—the double portion. It wasn’t twice as much as his father had; that’s not mathematically possible. It was simply twice as much as his brothers received—and in those days, with those big families, it wouldn’t have amounted to that much. Even in the richest of families. It definitely wasn’t the eldest-male-takes-all system we find in Western aristocracies.

The firstborn inherited the double portion largely because he had particular responsibilities as his father’s successor. He was now responsible for leading his extended family. He had to care for his father’s wives and minor children. He had to arrange husbands for his sisters. If his father was a tribal leader, that role fell to him. If there were any personal blessings or prophecies (or even curses) attached to the family, they might fall to him too.

The birthright Jacob bought off his twin brother Esau (Ge 25.29-34) didn’t threaten to leave Jacob penniless when their father died. It only meant Esau would inherit twice as much—but have ten times the responsibility. The writers of the bible didn’t rebuke Esau for not caring about the stuff; there’s nothing wrong with rejecting material possessions. It was for dodging his duties. It was for setting aside God’s promises to Abraham and his descendants.

When Elisha asked for a double portion, he wasn’t asking for twice as much Holy Spirit. He was asking to be Elijah’s successor—to be recognized as the LORD’s chief prophet in northern Israel, the recognized leader of the LORD’s other prophets, the go-to prophet for kings and priests and people. Now, he could have asked for this because he wanted the honor—although considering how pagan the kings of Israel were, the constant threat of death didn’t make the job that much of an honor. More likely Elisha asked it because he wanted to serve. He recognized the people, in Elijah’s absence, would want someone to look to, and the prophets needed leadership. He offered to do it.

This is why Elijah’s response was, “You have asked a difficult thing.” (2Ki 2.10 NLT) Elijah wasn’t warning Elisha away from his request, or rebuking him for hubris. True prophets, like both Elijah and Elisha, are humble. They know they’re working for God; that titles don’t matter. It was in humility Elisha asked to succeed Elijah. It was in humility Elijah said the decision wasn’t really up to him, but Elisha would get his request if God permitted him to watch Elijah ascend to heaven. And the other prophets confirmed it when Elisha met with them afterward. (2Ki 2.15)

Some of the reason for this twice-the-spirit teaching is partly because people aren’t aware of the historical context. Some of it is human greed—hey, check this out, we can get twice what some other person got, so let’s seek that!—and how the possibility of a really nice blessing appeals to us. And, as usual, if a person we respect teaches it, we pass along that teaching without investigating it for ourselves, assuming the respected preachers probably know what they’re talking about. And sometimes they do. Sometimes not.

Plus there’s evidence: There are more stories about Elisha’s miracles in 2 Kings than there are stories about Elijah’s. Some pastors have estimated there are precisely twice as many Elisha stories, which conclusively proves their twice-the-spirit theory. (In fact there are actually more than twice as many Elisha stories.) Some have even attempted to teach that Jesus’s disciples performed twice as many miracles as did Jesus. (Which stands to reason: Jesus ministered on earth for maybe three years or so, and his apostles ministered for decades.) Honestly, we should see later generations do more in faith because they’re preceded by so many good examples. But it’s not a matter of doubling the power, doubling the spirit, doubling anything. It’s not math.

Math is actually limiting. If you assume you should do twice as much as your predecessors, you may burn yourself out trying to be (or look) twice as busy. You may spend more time trying to perform mighty deeds, and less time getting closer to God, trying to obey him, trying to reform your character, and worshiping him as he wants. There will be this foolish drive to prove your anointing, instead of obeying the Holy Spirit and letting him prove it for you by working with and through you.

Or, on the other extreme: If the Holy Spirit wants to do ten times as much, but you have a mindset of achieving only twice as much, you’re not going reach your potential. The Spirit may be obligated to use someone else—someone with the faith for it—to achieve his big goals. You’re never gonna have the faith to achieve more than the small tasks. (Or the tasks that only appear small.) In many things, twice as much isn’t anywhere near big enough. Certainly not for an infinite God.

But if you want to follow Elisha’s actual in-context example, do this: Get involved in a ministry like Elijah’s. Doesn’t have to be a prophetic ministry; any ministry will do. Assist the leader. Be helpful. Be useful. Be humble. Be Spirit-led. Develop those gifts and abilities that help the ministry, and the Kingdom, most. When the time comes, and you see your talents can serve the ministry best in administration, then ask for that double portion. If you ask in all humility, he may say yes. Or he may not; it’s entirely up to him, and if you did ask in all humility, you’ll be okay with his answer either way. But Christianity always suffers a shortage of humble leaders, and if you want to take on that role, go for it.

~K. W. Leslie

The Spirit Gives Life

Today marks the beginning of Year Three here at Christianity 201. As I’ve stated before, I began writing this for purely selfish reasons: To keep my personal devotional life grounded and accountable, and to keep from being distracted by the issues, controversies and news stories that characterize tens of thousands of other Christian blogs, including Thinking Out Loud.

I am learning so much in the process of doing this, and I thank all of you who read regularly for your support and comments, and especially those of you whose writing has been “borrowed” to be part of the collection here.

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I’ve just started reading Spirit Rising: Tapping Into the Power of the Holy Spirit by Jim Cymbala (Zondervan). His first book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire was a unique reading experience simply because the story of what God did and continues to do at the Brooklyn Tabernacle is a very unique story. It’s a church that was birthed into existence through prayer. I’m only a chapter in, but I hope I can whet your appetite for Jim’s writing through this and a couple of other excerpts I’m sure will run here.

First, from the introduction by Francis Chan:

It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh is of no help at all. (John 6:63)

The Holy Spirit is not merely helpful. He is our only hope. He is the one who gives life. Yet when people lack life, the church often points to other solutions. When church services lack life, we grasp at so many other methods to gry to generate excitement. This is not true at Brooklyn Tabernacle, where Pastor Jim has served faithfully for decades. Their solution to everything is prayer. And it shows…

…We all see problems in the church. We don’t need another book to point those out. We need the faith to believe that the solution is really quite simple: The Holy Spirit.

And from the first chapter by Jim Cymbala

The Holy spirit is God’s agent on earth, yet ye is the least understood, least preached about, and least discussed member of Trinity. And that is sad, because without him, our spiritual lives will always become a dry, mechanical struggle… I can’t think of anything else that will change your prayer life, your study of God’s Word, and your experience during worship in church more than inviting the  Spirit to join you in a new way…

…If you want power, confidence, joy, peace, and more love in your life, ask the Spirit to come in and do something new in you… I promise you that when he does, your spiritual life will cease to be dry and mechanical. Instead, it will be filled with awe at the power of the Spirit and the wonder of God’s goodness.

Trusting in God’s Plan

Microblogging consists of posting very short thoughts and quotations and usually many, many  pictures.  There are a number of Christian microbloggers who use the Tumblr blog platform. Today’s thoughts and graphics are from Spiritual Inspiration. I encourage you to bookmark the blog for when you need a quick spiritual lift. Each one of the graphics and text that follows is independent of the others, but these seemed to form a common theme.

“I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (Philippians 3:13, NKJV)

We all go through disappointments, setbacks and things that we don’t understand. Maybe you prayed for a loved one, but they didn’t get well. Or maybe you worked hard for a promotion, but you didn’t get it. You stood in faith for a relationship, but it didn’t work out. One of the best things you can do is release it. Let it go. Don’t dwell on it anymore. If you go around wondering why things didn’t work out, all that’s going to do is lead to bitterness, resentment and self-pity. Before long, you’ll be blaming others, blaming yourself, or even God. You may not have understood what happened. It may not have been fair. But when you release it, it’s an act of your faith. You’re saying, “God, I trust You. I know You’re in control. And even though it didn’t work out my way, You said, ‘All things are going to work together for my good.’ So I believe You still have something good in my future.”

There is power in letting go of the past and the frustration of trying to figure everything out. When you release your questions, you are saying, “God, You are in control. I trust You.” And when you put your hope in God, that’s when He can heal your heart and lead you forward into His path of blessing.

“Then the LORD said: ‘I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you’ ” (Exodus 34:10, NIV)
If you’re going to reach your highest potential in the natural, you will need to have supernatural doors open for you that you cannot open on your own. You’re going to need promotion, good breaks, divine connections and God’s favor greater than what you’ve seen in the past.

God said in Exodus, “I will perform great wonders that I have not done anywhere before in all the world. People will see what great things I can do because of the awesome things I’m about to do for you.” Think about that for a moment and let it take root in your spirit. God is saying, “I’m going to do something awesome in your life.” “Awesome” means “astounding, remarkable, overwhelming, breathtaking.” The key is found in the very next verse; it says, “Obey what I have commanded.” God’s ready to do His part, and we have to do ours. When we do things God’s way, we get God’s results. When we follow His Word, He promises to bless us with life, health, peace and joy. He promises to do what has never been done before!

“With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” (2 Chronicles 32:8, NKJ)
In scripture, the enemy was coming against Hezekiah, causing him all kinds of trouble, trying to keep him from his destiny. But Hezekiah didn’t get all upset. He just kept abiding, being faithful and putting God first. In Second Kings 19, God said, “Hezekiah, I myself will come against this enemy. He will receive word that he is needed at home, and I will cause him to want to return and he will be defeated.”

Notice that when you abide in Him, the Creator of the universe says, “I myself will come against your enemies. I myself will come against that sickness. I myself will come against those who oppose you.” It says God is the one who caused Hezekiah’s enemy to turn around. That means God can cause that unfair boss to take an early retirement. God can cause that neighbor that’s giving you so much trouble to decide to pack up and move. God can cause that classmate to be transferred to another school.

Today, no matter what’s coming against you, keep pressing into God. Put His Word first place in your life. Honor Him in all that you do. Let Him fight your battles and bring you into the land of victory He has prepared for you!

all pictures and text:  Spiritual Inspiration

Trouble The Water

Just two weeks ago I introduced you to the writing of Robert Moon, but I’m enjoying his blog and wanted to share another piece with you.  I chose to title this based on the phrasing I think I remember from the KJV, but it appeared on his blog as The Moving of the Water.

John 5: 6-8 (NKJV) When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”

On the one hand this is a very sad story, a “Winner Take all” proposition. While one man recovered his health, the rest were still laying around the pool waiting for the moving of the water. If Jesus ministered to anyone else it isn’t mentioned.

One might conclude that the people were looking to the water instead of Jesus for help. Notwithstanding the fact that they had not yet heard of Jesus but after he healed the impotent man they should have then changed their focus.

If we are still standing around the same old water hole hoping for help, and getting none, maybe its time to change the way we think, pray and conduct ourselves.

The pool was a place where misery was flourishing where people were speaking out about their problems, and receiving sympathy from one another. We, the church are not living in the age of sympathy but rather the age of grace where we should build each other up rather than to commiserate with the problem.

There are times when we must endure some hard knocks, for we don’t control the forces aligned against us.

1Corinthians 16:13 encourages us to; Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.

There are times when we can pray and encourage one another but sometimes we have to go through the valley all alone because our closest friend can’t help. It is in a time like this when we need to be reinforced by GOD’S word and remember

Joel 3:10 Let the weak say I am strong and, Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Being strong in the LORD is simply walking and talking according to the demands of His Word any thing less than that is sin. Going against GOD’S word saps our spiritual strength and affects our fellowship with GOD.

1 John 1:6-9 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

So there you have it, if you are weak, say I am strong in the Lord, if you sin, confess it to GOD along with repentance.

Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Expectancy

At age 20, Sarah is probably the youngest writer whose material has been selected to appear here.  She blogs at the contemporary music site, New Release Tuesday, and without describing the whole process, I really felt God guided me to find this article for you today.

Well, it’s hard to believe, but in nearly a month, this year will be over and a new year will have begun. It feels like 2011 flew by so quickly, yet at the same time, so much has happened.

If you are anything like me, around this time of year, you’re busy with turkey’s and trees, presents and carols, family and friends. Yet, as fun as all these things may be, you also find yourself looking back. It always seems that there is a deep retrospect that comes with the end of another year, or any changing season for that matter. And it’s with that same heart of retrospect, that I normally try to take my end of the year blog and turn it into a memoriam of sorts. Looking back on all the things God has shown me, brought me through, and lead me towards. I’ve done this for the last several years, and not only have I had many people tell me how much it’s encouraged them, in the end, it’s always been a great reminder for me to look back on the faithfulness of God through the last year.

I sat down a few days ago and began writing this with every intention on making it about 2011 and all the stuff God did this year… but apparently… God had another idea.

A few weeks back while I was in prayer, I had a certain word pop into my head: expectation.

I thought maybe that was something God needed me to pray about, so I mentioned something about it and went on my way thinking it was a one time deal.

…key words in that statement being “I thought.”

The word “expectation” over the next several days (and eventually weeks) kept coming to my attention. You know how you’ll have a certain song stuck in your head, so you’ll try to sing another song to get it out, but you’ll lose your train of thought for ten seconds and find yourself singing that same song again? That’s EXACTLY how I was feeling.

At first, I tried to reason with it. I prayed about it daily, trying to sound all spiritual by throwing in the addition of “Lord, I’m expectant” and not really having an idea about what it meant. I thought I understood, but at the same time, I had NO idea. All I knew was, this word was literally carved into my head and I couldn’t get it out.

This word was weighing heavily on my heart a few weeks back when I finally took it before God in serious prayer, and not just as a flippant afterthought. It wasn’t long after I approached it with validity that God revealed to me why this word was stuck in my head. It was a short but brief answer: “this is for 2012.”

“Okay, Lord” I thought, “you want me to be expectant in 2012. I always like to think I’m expectant, but if you need to be more expectant, I will be.”

…key words in that statement being “I always like to think.”

This went on for a while longer, the word still stuck in my head like glue, when it finally dawned upon me this morning. Yes. This morning.

I was reading in the book of Ephesians doing my journaling when I came across a passage of scripture I’ve undoubtedly read dozens of times. It was Ephesians 3:20: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,”

I’m aware that after the word ‘us’, there is a comma. And if you’re anything like me, you’re inclined to just keep reading after the comma, but I felt as I was reading this morning that God needed me to forget about the comma and focus on what He was saying in THAT moment.

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” …the NCV translation reads “God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.”

It doesn’t matter if you’ve grown up in church your whole life or not. I’ve only been a believer for about five years and I still fall into the trap of reading a scripture once, thinking I know everything about it then walking away. It’s easy to put God in a box, isn’t it? I had to drop the know-it-all act as I read this morning and genuinely ask God why this passage had stuck me the way it had.

See, this here is a statement: God isn’t just able, but more than able to do more in our lives than we could ever ask or think! Meaning, not only can He give us everything we ask Him for, but even the things we DON’T ask Him for. He hears our silent prayers and sees our quiet desires the same way He hears and sees the ones we’re open about. He’s able to because He’s GOD.

It was as I finally understood all this, that the whole “expectancy” ordeal became real to me after weeks of struggling with it.

And that’s what leads me here sharing with all of you today.

I had quite the blog written up about how amazing 2011 has been. I was going to tell you about all the things God did for me as I stepped out in faith. I was going to talk about all the incredible, life-changing people I’ve met and talk about how God has individually used them all to mold me into the person I’m meant to become. I was even going to share with you a few thoughts on areas where I feel like I still need to change drastically.

…key word in that paragraph being “I.”

There will be plenty of time to talk about what God has done, but for a change, I feel like He’d rather me talk about what He’s going to do .

I truly believe that 2012 is a year where God is calling His people to start being expectant.

For far too long, we’ve talked about God moving in our lives, but I feel challenged in this new year by God Himself to take it a step further and start expecting things to happen in our lives. To really believe He can do what He says He can do, and expect Him to give us more than we could ever ask or imagine. This doesn’t mean it’s gonna come easy. Every good thing in life requires some sort of sacrifice, but the rewards that come from obedience far outweigh the sting of the sacrifice.

New things are on the horizon for the people of God in 2012. The broken will be mended, the silent will be speak, the impossible is going to happen if only we’d just… you guessed it… expect it. Expectancy is the key to unlocking God’s best for us.

When a couple finds out they are expecting a baby, they don’t wait till they have the baby to get excited about the baby, they start getting excited in that very moment. They plan, they prepare, they know that in a matter of months, their lives are going to be different. God wants us to feel the same way! I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be the same person I am this time next year. I am expectant for new things, new opportunities, and the promises of God coming to pass in my life as I serve Him whole-heartedly. We need to be planning, preparing, and getting excited about what’s to come! Why? Because, our God is able to do, you guessed it, “do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.”

Don’t ever think what you expect of God is too big either. We have a God who is more than willing to hand you a gold plate if you asked Him for a silver one, and a diamond one when you ask Him for a gold. He’s a great romancer in that element of surprise. He always like to take it a notch higher then what we want because He’s constantly after pursing our hearts with His love.

See, God wants us to dream bigger than what we know we are already capable of, because when we finally start dreaming bigger, fully knowing that we can’t do it on our own, it gives Him the platform to move and takes all the pressure off of us to make it happen. We need to understand that as hard as we might try, it’s not up to us. We just need to obey.

Friends, this has challenged me, and I believe it’s meant to challenge you too. Let 2012 be a year of expectancy on God. Don’t let anyone tell you that your dreams are unattainable. It’s not up to them. Continue to seek God and watch Him unfold the next chapter your life. Be willing to move when He says to and take action when He needs you to. Don’t fear change, but rather, embrace what comes new. Let God “romance” your heart in this next year, His surprises will absolutely take your breath away.

“We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.” –Romans 8:22

Love, Blessings, Fireworks, and Confetti,
–Sarah

Undignified: Zacchaeus Meets the Christmas Story

The story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19: 1-9 is the ultimate children’s Bible story. Think about, it’s got:

• a short key character; kids can identify
• a parade — or something similar — about to pass by
• tree climbing; what kid doesn’t like that?
• unlikely guy gets singled out for special treatment
• Zacchaeus and Jesus have a tea party, at least according to the children’s song; actual serving of tea may have been unlikely
• restitution of unfair trade practices; he did something bad and is going to make it right

But the tree climbing is the fun part of the story, so much so that we omit to notice the fact that respectable adults in the culture simply don’t climb trees. In the book Preaching the Parables to Postmoderns, Brian Stiller reminds of another story, a different story, where we miss the cultural nuances.

Stiller notes that in the story of the prodigal son, the father sees his returning son in the distance and runs to meet him. To run meant to lift the lower hem of the tunics worn at that time, which would expose the ankles and lower leg. While that may not seem out of line with the bathrobes worn in most church plays you’ve seen, it in fact is out of line with norms in that society. Besides, the patriarchal head of household doesn’t run, period.

Zacchaeus climbs up a tree because he doesn’t want to miss Jesus. The father in the story of the two brothers runs because he doesn’t want to miss a moment with or hide his enthusiasm for the return of his lost son. Both actions involve a considerable loss of dignity on the part of both parties.

David understood this. Consider this account from II Samuel 6:

¹⁴ David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, ¹⁵ while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

¹⁶ As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷ They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the LORD. ¹⁸ After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. ¹⁹ Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.

²⁰ When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

²¹ David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. ²² I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

Note especially verse 22: I will become even more undignified than this. Nothing reinforces this like the Matt Redman song,

I will dance I will sing
To be mad for my King
Nothing Lord is hindering
The passion in my soul

And I’ll become even more
Undignified than this
Some would say it’s foolishness but
I’ll become even more
Undignified than this

David’s removal of his outer garment ought to remind you of something else. Think about this moment from John 13:

¹It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love^.

²The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. ³Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” …

¹²When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place.

The outer garment that Jesus removed was the fine piece of clothing that symbolized his authority as a rabbi. Hours later, Roman soldiers would gamble for the chance to walk way with this prime specimen of clothing as a souvenir of their day’s work.

This action symbolized his servant leadership, but as he told Peter, there was a bigger picture yet to be grasped. I believe that the removal of his outer garment symbolizes something else entirely, as remembered in Philippians 2:

⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

⁶ Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
⁷ Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
⁸ he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

⁹ Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor…

Jesus gave up the splendor of heaven — took of his outer robe — to enter into our human condition. But then, as John 13:12 shows us, he puts that outer robe back on, i.e. he returns to the glory he had known before at the right hand of the Father.

There are lots of words we could use to describe this, but the key one for today is that he made himself undignified.

Now, he invites you to find a place where you can lose your own pride and dignity in order to accomplish his purposes in your generation.

I Samuel and John passages – NIV; Philippians passage – NLT

This article appeared on November 3, 2009 at Thinking Out Loud

Guess What? You’re Going on a Missions Trip!

This story of the disciples first mission trip appeared at the blog Digging The Word under the title, Focus on Jesus…

Luke 9: 1-6  One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out demons and to heal all diseases. 2 Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

3 “Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes. 4 Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town. 5 And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.”

6 So they began their circuit of the villages, preaching the Good News and healing the sick.

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This is the first time that Jesus sends his disciples out on a mission trip, the second time is in Luke 10:1, it seems that Jesus woke up that morning and without any warning he calls the twelve together and gives them their instructions and all of a sudden they are leaving town.

Jesus does two things before he sends them on their way:

First he gives them the power and authority that they are to depend on for the spiritual battle that takes place on a mission trip. Jesus transfers his power and authority to the disciples so that their ability to do his work comes from him, the same power that they would be using after he left earth, they were getting some hands on experience with it now.

Second Jesus instructs them to depend on God to supply their physical needs as well, over preparation on their part would cause them to depend on their own resources so Jesus told them to travel light.

Luke 9:10-11   When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he slipped quietly away with them toward the town of Bethsaida. But the crowds found out where he was going, and they followed him. He welcomed them and taught them about the Kingdom of God, and he healed those who were sick.

Jesus gave them everything that they needed for the trip, every part of the mission trip was to be a journey of faith, he provided for their spiritual and their physical needs. The disciples’ focus was to be on God’s ability to supply all of their needs and to keep their focus on Jesus. The focus of the scripture was hardly on the disciples for anytime before the writer went back to Jesus doing another miracle.

Lord, help me to have faith that you have provided for all of my needs, I must believe that you will provide for the work that you have called me to do.

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Digging Deeper:  In today’s survey of material available in the Christian blogosphere, I discovered Daily Devotional Blog.  If you jump in right now, blog author Paul is deep into Ephesians; he sometimes takes three or four blog posts on a single passage.