"You Shall Be My Witnesses..."

Luke 2:17, And when they [the shepherds] saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.

Oh that such evangelistic fervor would seize us! The shepherds knew only the beginning of the tale yet they could not keep silent about the little the Lord had revealed to them. We, on the other hand, know the story in its fulness yet how loath we often are to spread the joyful news to those around us. True, people may not listen to us and may scorn us, but that didn’t stop these common shepherds who were probably despised as simpletons who wanted to create a big story. Note that it doesn’t seem like the shepherds’ testimonies had much of an impact for the Bible doesn’t record that anyone did anything other than wonder at their tale (v. 18). And "wonder" doesn't necessarily imply something positive. Even so, this did not stop the shepherds for their excitement over what God had revealed to them could not be contained! They just had to tell others!

And we who claim to actually have a relationship with God Himself and know the price our Messiah had to pay to bring about this reconciliation–where is our  excitement? Why are we so silent when we have seen far more than angels singing in the sky or an infant in a manger? We have seen with the eyes of faith the Lamb, broken upon the altar of redemption. We have seen the glorious, risen Lord. We have seen the crowned Son Himself who is the fullness of revelation! And how can we keep such news to ourselves? Oh that our joy in the Savior and His proclamation of good news would not be contained by either self-conciousness or "political correctness."

The Sonrise of Peace

Luke 1:78-79, "...because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

This is Zechariah, John the Baptist's father, speaking in praise and prophecy of Jesus and his ministry. What beautiful imagery! Jesus is the sunrise from on high that has visited us to give us light and lead us in the way of peace. Such gifts to humankind! We walk in darkness and confusion in this world. We do not understand our place in the created order, and the best of our philosophy and scientific discoveries serve only to increase our spiritual bewilderment. Jesus comes as our Light to show us truth and our Guide to lead us in the ways of God. Though we yearn for it, we humans have no peace; Jesus, the Prince of Peace, brings rest to our souls and declares an end to the great war man wages with God and stills the conflict between man and man! Do we not have a wonderful Savior? What more could we ask for, for in Him we have received all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3-4)!

The Bondservant

Luke 1:38, And Mary said, “Behold, I am the bondservant* of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

*or love-slave. See Deuteronomy 15:16-17 for further definition of the word.

In this passage the angel didn’t say anything about how things were going to turn out for Mary. He didn’t assure her that God would take care of her in the “reproach” she was about to take on. As is typical of messages from God, this announcement focused on God and the great worthiness of His plan. As far as assurance of her own personal well-being, Mary got nothing.

Yet still, believing that God is a good God who takes care of His people and having faith that this was a blessing not to be missed for all the inconvenience it brought her (see her magnificat in Luke 1:46-55), Mary submitted to the will of God. And her response seems to indicate she wasn’t even thinking of herself at all! She recognized herself as God’s “bondservant” created for Him and His purposes. She willingly gave herself up to God’s plans without setting up stipulations and conditions (“Well, okay, You can do this but don’t do that!”) as we seem prone to do in our interactions with God. In humility, Mary yielded herself entirely–her body, her honor, her future, her dreams–to God to do as He would.

What an amazing example of a love-slave! An example the rest of us should follow. Too often in my life I have set conditions for God and have lost sight of the beauty of His master plan because I've been too focused on my role it (often smaller and more tedious than my diva complex is willing to accept). When we accept that we aren't the free beings that Western philosophy would claim we are, when we embrace our glorious role as servants of the Living God who follow in the footsteps of the Servant-King, then and only then will we see the beauty of God's plan and in submission to it find we were made for this satisfying role. After all, our Creator knows best what He created us for, and our bountiful God knows how to restore in fullest measure all that we surrender to Him.

Oh that we might be such willing bondservants as Mary and like her find fulfillment in His plan for us!

An Old Theme Replayed: Dependence

Youth group last night was wonderful–and it was all of God. I never know what results to expect from each meeting and lately they've been mixed. Sometimes we have mind-blowing discussions that leave all of us tingling with the power of God's Word and the beauty of our Savior. At other times, our dialogue is dry and the Spirit seems absent. And I've wondered if the "success" of the night has anything to do with how much I prepare for our gatherings.

I've often felt guilty that I usually don't make any provision at all for these meetings. With my class load and work schedule, I simply don't have time to plan out lessons for the young people the way I have with the other youth groups I've led in the past. I used to sweat over my Bible and computer for a whole day trying to hear the the Lord's words for His kids that evening. Now, thanks to mandatory meetings I attend that only end seconds before my mad dash to the car, I'm often flying down our steep, mountainous road with no plan for the evening except tackling the next verse in Matthew 6 (the chapter we're currently reading through). I arrive at our meeting place a couple of minutes after our usual time for Bible study and just hop right into the word of God with barely a prayer for God's guidance.

Again, I've been tempted to blame lack of preparation when our "God-talk" falls flat. If I only had more time to whip together something that might feed souls...

I relearned a lesson last night, one the Lord has frequently had me write on the board a hundred times after everyone else has long since left the class. Dependence... Dependence... Dependence...You'd think every contour of every letter in that arrangement would have been burned into my memory by now but this is still the word that trips me up during the spiritual spelling bee.

Perhaps my attitude is the product of being raised a believer in a Bible-saturated home, but I am so prone to forgetting God in spiritual matters and thinking I can "rightly divide the word of truth" on my own. My Father has frequently sent me through dry spells in my Christian walk to remind me that my self-reliance so quickly leads me, not by green pastures and still waters, but through the throat-burning misery of desert paths. Only when I am reminded that the LORD is my Shepherd do I discover I no longer want. When I approach my Christian living (Bible reading, prayer, fellowship, etc.) with humble dependence on God to show me His thoughts and lead me in His ways, only then do I feel like the Shulammite led to her lover's banqueting table to feast to her fill on his love.

It's an old lesson, I know, yet one I am realizing will take me all of my life to learn fully. Dependence on God...in everything.

Last night as my little car sped down the mountain, I recited to myself the next line of the Lord's prayer, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Perfect! I thought. There's a lot I can say about this! And that's when I felt the Spirit's chiding hand touch my arrogant heart. Sure, there was plenty I could say about this passage but it wouldn't be God talking tonight, just me pretending to be God. I could work myself into a passion, I could wax eloquent, I could thump the Bible and even quote lots of Scripture, but with my self-assured attitude doing the theatrics, the real Star of the show would never show His face on stage. There would be no fireworks celebrating God's performance tonight.

So I stopped the pre-production preparations immediately, went to the Director's room, and had a heart to heart. I cried out to God admitting I could bring nothing to this time and embracing my place as a mere spotlight-shiner among the ropes and rafters of the Father's theater. All I could do was aim my beam on stage and pray that Jesus would step from the curtains and steal the hearts of the audience. And He did...and it was beautiful to watch.

There is so much I think I bring to the spiritual table: my personality, my ability with words, my passion, my long exposure to solid Biblical teaching. Really, none of this amounts to anything especially because I have an inflated view of my own abilities. God works best through stutterers like Moses and frightened youths like Daniel; I've no place to think that my skills add anything to His message. As I Corinthians 1:26-29 reminds us, God uses those we'd least expect and why? Because those who know they have nothing to offer to the Lord don't pretend they can come up with better schemes for His master plan but rather lean in utter dependence on Him feeling the weight of their own incompetence to perform the tasks He has given them.

I'm sure we'd see much less spiritual dryness and ineffectiveness in ministry if we learned the lesson Christ illustrated to His disciples in Matthew 18: childlike dependence on God.

Confession of Unbelief

Hope this doesn't make y'all uncomfortable but I often include prayers in my notes on the Bible. I hope that these don't come across as self-preoccupied but that they can be sentiments echoed by you–kind of like a corporate prayer.

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Luke 1:18-20, And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”

Today we doubt and disbelieve so readily, never thinking of the consequences. Father, I have failed a hundred thousand times more than Zachariah and in worse forms of unbelief. Yet You have been so gracious to me, understanding of my unfaithful doubt. Lord, teach me to trust You and to fear questioning Your promises and Your ability to do as You have declared You would. I just don’t respect You as You deserve; and Zachariah was struck mute for less than I have done! How dare I spit at You in angry suspicion of Your goodness when I look upon Your ways and do not understand them because they are far higher than mine (Isaiah 55:8-9)? Do not let me take Your long-suffering for granted but rather praise You that You are so patient with my faith-failings. Increase my trust that I may bring pleasure to You as did the centurion in Matthew 8:10, 13.

(How fitting that today in chapel we should sing "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.")

...and Peter

Mark 16:7, Go tell His disciples and Peter…

The women at the tomb stood trembling before the messenger of God who had brought them special word from Christ Himself. Yes, He was risen! Yes, He would meet with His people soon! "Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored!" (From the hymn "Be Still My Soul.")

But this wasn't all. The angel made a reference especially to Peter, the poor and no doubt very troubled saint. What thoughts of self-accusation were coursing through this anguished disciple's mind? While all the other disciples may well have greeted the news of Jesus' resurrection with great joy, Peter had plenty of reason to doubt Christ would have much to say to him other than words of condemnation and damnation. He, like Judas, had betrayed his dear Master in His darkest hour. Peter's eyes probably burned every time he thought back to his loud oaths disowning Jesus and the cock crowing just as his dear bloodied, battered Friend looked across the fire-lit courtyard straight through to Peter's shriveled, frightened soul (Luke 22:61).

Perhaps that look reminded Peter of the time he, ever the blustering fisherman, had attempted to walk on water. He had been terror-stricken, flailing his limbs uncontrollably and screaming for Jesus as the hungry waves drew him close to Sheol, perhaps the same feeling of panicked helplessness Peter felt on that dark night of Jesus' arrest. But Christ had been there, His strong arm lifting Peter above the seething waters. Perhaps Peter had looked into those eyes as he blinked back the sea-water from his own, and perhaps it was that same look Peter later saw when he stood before the fire pit screaming Jesus' name again but this time in oath and disavowal.

How the "little rock" had crumbled! Peter's bitter tears must have flowed ceaselessly for not only had he lost his best Friend to death's dark hand, he had lost Him while He still lived by turning his back on Jesus though Christ had never yet shunned Peter in spite of all Peter's blundering errors and his foot-hungry mouth.

Jesus must have known what agony His beloved disciple suffered, which is why, when He sent a messenger to His disciples, He made sure Peter was mentioned specifically. What a comforting thing to be assured by God’s own herald that Christ had not cast Peter out but wanted him to meet the Master along with the rest of the disciples! The same arm that had restored his life from the Galilean waves lifted him once more from the dark billows of doubt devouring his soul! Peter had failed his Master so many times, yet the Savior had never failed Peter. Just like every time before, Jesus stood ready to save...and forgive. "The waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below!" (From "Be Still My Soul.")

Simon Peter never forgot Jesus' message that singled him out for encouragement, his message of salvation. Years later, when Mark wrote his gospel under Peter's influence, Mark would include this little phrase not found in any of the other resurrection accounts: "Go tell His disciples and Peter..."

They Will Look Upon Him Whom They Have Pierced...

Mark 15:17-19, And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him.

Thus you Romans treat Him now whom you suppose nothing more than another of the Jewish rabble. But one day, before every living being, the King of the Universe Himself will place a glittering crown on His Son’s brow. One day, every creature will see the bloody Man of the Cross robed not in purple but in eye-burning brilliance. And then you will fall, not upon a mocking knee, but on your face in terror, for you will see the one thing you recognize about this Glorious Man: not His crown, His robe, or His glory, but the wound-marks you scornful soldiers placed upon His body. And you will bury your face in the dust, for you will look upon Him whom you have pierced and see Him no more as the humble carpenter-turned-rabbi but as God, your Maker and your Judge.

Thus you, hard heart, treat Him now whom you suppose nothing more than another moralistic teacher. But one day…

God of the Small Things

Mark 15:11, But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead.

I love the thousands of minor details God, as the master Story-crafter, worked out long before the actual climax of the Crucifixion took place, things not necessarily essential to the story but that add so much more depth to it.

Pilate “was accustomed” to releasing for the people a prisoner, on the day of Passover no less (who knows why he picked this day). But all the times he had done this before at previous Passovers were only preparatory for this day. This custom of Pilate’s served to condemn not only the chief priests but the people of Israel and their Roman overlords, none of whom would stand up for a Man everyone knew was innocent.

Moreover, Barabbas had to have been incarcerated long before this to serve as a comparison to Christ. The former was a violent man who took life and led rebellions, the perfect figurehead for all of humanity. And when Pilate “randomly” selected the murderous rebel as a contrast to Jesus, he could not have guessed that Jesus would take this man’s place on the cross, symbolizing the substitutionary role Christ plays for sinful men who do not deserve to live. After all, Pilate was hoping the crowd would pick Jesus rather than, as he saw it, the objectionable Barabbas.

However, the Author of the Human Story was at work penning the tale of redemption into thousands of lesser vignettes that serve as mirrors reflecting back on the great work of salvation Christ accomplished on the cross that day.

Why the Fatal Words?

Mark 14:59, 62, Yet even about this their testimony did not agree... And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

It almost seemed like Jesus had a death wish. With those words, He gave Himself over in to the hands of His killers. They couldn’t find anything worthy of death to charge Him on, not even lies they concocted themselves. And just when all their efforts to condemn Him seemed to fail, Christ gave them what they wanted. Why?

Here's what I think is the point of this passage. These men weren’t going to take Jesus’ life from Him; He was going to give it. Therefore when all men’s efforts to find fault with Him met with laughable results (for who can find fault with a perfect God), Jesus spoke up and proclaimed the truth, truth He knew would give these men all the excuse they thought they needed to kill Him.

Jesus wasn’t being foolish here. He could have remained silent; after all, He is God and doesn’t have to respond when any human commands Him to speak. However, Jesus knew He had come as the sacrifice and He also knew sons of the father of lies hate truth (John 8:44-45). So He spoke truth and let men act according to their evil nature.

This was Christ showing that He was in control of the situation and He was allowing Himself to be the Passover Lamb. Men weren't forcing Him to the cross (much as they wanted to hang Him there); He was taking the road to Calvary Himself.

Leading Away the Passover Lamb

Mark 14:37, 41, And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour?" And he came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?"

It had begun. Even in the Garden of Gethsemane, surround by those who claimed to love Him best and who had spent the better part of three years with Him as their beloved Teacher and Leader, even here with them the Savior was being separated as the lamb for the sacrifice. The desertion, the isolation from God and men, began not on the cross but in the garden. None of His best friends could keep Christ company as He agonized in prayer. He “wrestled lone with fears. E’en that disciple whom He loves heeds not his Master’s grief and tears.” The Lamb for the Passover was being carried away from the rest of the flock that should have been chosen instead; this One, this chosen holocaust, would die alone, allowing the rest to live.

How this should wound our hearts for do we not so fear being alone? We humans were made for each other, for community. How could Christ have endured this utter loneliness, especially in death? Oh, how our hearts should be filled with teary gratefulness that He endured rending of fellowship with God and men so that we can be brought back into true union with our Father and our brothers and sisters!

"They were glad..."?

Mark 14:11, Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money.

What a curious insight into the hearts of the religious leaders. When they heard one of Jesus’ own followers was willing to betray Him, “they were glad and promised him money.” Had these men never read the Psalms which are full of imprecations against those who betray friends and those who lie in wait for innocent men? Had they never read the Law which prohibited such underhanded dealings?

Of course they had! These men made it their life purpose to study and guard the precepts of the Torah. Why then did they readily rejoice in evil without giving a second thought to how God’s Word condemned such actions? Because for all of their reading and knowledge of God’s ways, their hearts were closed to the heart of the Father revealed in Scripture. They knew much but the much they knew did not penetrate any deeper than their human intellect.

Makes me wonder about us. How guilty are we of such “understanding” of God? Can we sit in church, attend Bible studies, read the Word, and yet unthinkingly live lives so far from the boundaries of God’s Word, so far from the heart of the Father revealed in the very pages we pore over? Such is hardly the attitude of a Son-seeker.

Selflessness in the Widow's Gift | Measuring Value

I'm writing in large part for you, siblings. I miss getting to talk God with y'all. So here's one way to try to compensate for this. Hope y'all talk back. So here are some thoughts on my reading of a couple days ago in Mark. They are hardly exhaustive, just touching on some themes I found interesting.

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Mark 12:41-44, And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Now here is a beautiful example of one who did not put on a show, since I referred to putting on a spiritual shows in the last post. This widow hardly organized a fanfare when she offered her bits; people would probably have laughed if she had organized a parade only to drop into the box a 64th of a day’s wage. But she wasn’t giving her money to win the approbation of the crowd; she gave silently, and only Jesus noted. But only Jesus matters for it is He who judges these actions in the final day, not men. And Jesus knew what she was doing–giving her all to God.

God’s scale of value is so different from ours for, in our finiteness, we can only measure quantitatively; our qualitative measures are entirely relative because they are subjective and our subjectivity is riddled with sin. Only God can accurately measure quality for He has at His disposal all knowledge about everything to do with what He is currently examining. Therefore, while we humans most often resort to quantitative measures to define one’s devotion or worth, only God who knows the heart determines the true value, the qualitative value, of what we bring before Him.

This should both terrify and relieve us. Presenting to God a right heart is much harder than bringing Him massive quantities of valuable things (wealth, time, service, etc.) and this is terrifying. However, it should relieve us because we don’t have to invest a particular number of hours or amount of money before our service “becomes acceptable” to Him. God isn’t a rationalist who regards us as “good works” factories made to crank out the most number of good in the least amount of time with the least amount of input. What God values most is a Son-seeking heart, for His heart seeks the same thing ("He who loves Me shall be loved by my Father," John 14:21).

Selfish Ambition vs. Son-Seeking

For a long time now, I've toyed with the idea of starting a blog where I could bless the world with my thoughts and improve Christianity with my voice. Well, I didn't actually think of it in those terms but so often that was the state of my heart when I considered blogging. Even though family and friends encouraged me to get my thoughts on the web for the benefit of others, my first reaction was usually less about others, still less about Christ, and more about being known and respected as a biblical thinker (vain human that I am).

Over the last two years, God has knocked me all over the boxing ring of spiritual training. He began uncovering the true depths of my sinfulness, showing me that I am nearly always guilty of using Him for my own personal advancement. Now, we're all used to humans using each other for selfish ends; after all, isn't this what business and politics are all about? And, if we're honest, we must admit we all have used others for economic ends, status or goal achievement, emotional and physical needs...the list goes on. But there's still something that sickens us when friends use friends and family members prey on each other. We all recognize that this just isn't how you treat people you care about, and we are deeply hurt when someone we love uses us as a dispensable commodity.

Why then do we treat God any different than we would treat a loved one, seeing that we claim Him as our heavenly Bridegroom? I've realized in my own life I have a horrible habit of using my prayers and verses I've memorized and nuggets of truth given me by the Spirit to, in an underhanded way, act like I'm doing something for God by serving others with these gifts when I'm really striving after the praise of those I serve. I use God to advance myself! I use His gifts to achieve my own ends.

 So lately I've had to question every "spiritual" activity of mine. Am I really praying with this brother to lift him up before God, or am I really praying to him and not God? Am I writing notes during my Bible reading so that I can look back and wonder at all God has taught me, or am I really hoping someone will find these notes, read them, and think what a wonderfully spiritual guy I am? Am I teaching my Youth Group because I want them to seek the Son with all their hearts because He is beautiful and infinitely worthy, or am I putting on a spiritual show so they will wonder at the passionate "godliness" of their youth leader and want to be like him?

And this is why I've hesitated to start a blog. I fear that though I may say I'm writing for the glory of God and the good of others, I might really be using this as yet another medium to put myself on a pedestal. So it is with great fear and trembling that I pen (well, I guess "type" would be accurate) this first entry.

It is my goal to seek the Son through this blog and to do so without shadow of selfish ambition. Like John the Baptist stated so beautifully in John 3:30, He (Jesus) must increase and I must decrease. Such is my hope not only for myself but also for you who read these posts and thoughts on the Scriptures. May we, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, find ourselves transformed into the same image, from glory to glory (II Cor. 3:18). This is the exciting wonder of Son-seeking: In searching hard for Him we become like Him! And as we discover what is truly Beautiful, I pray we will be less inclined to turn our gaze back on ourselves and wallow again in our smallness, our vileness.

Come! Away from our sin, our self-preoccupation, our spiritual sluggishness... Let us seek the Son!