When He [Jesus] entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” – Matthew 21:23
On this long day, Jesus would demonstrate in one situation after another that he spoke and acted with the authority of God Himself. The barren fig tree cursed by Jesus the day before had indeed withered and died. The disciples saw it themselves that morning as they walked again from Bethany to Jerusalem. Jesus spoke to them of faith, which they would need all the more in the days ahead (Matthew 21:21-22).
It’s amazing that he even gained entry to the Temple after overturning the market just the day before. Again, another sign of his authority. He was untouchable, until he gave himself over to his own death on the cross…for us.
In an attempt to test Jesus’ understanding of the law, a legal advisor to the Pharisees asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment in the law. The Pharisees emphasized strict adherence to the laws of the Torah, all 613 of them! They were not prepared for Jesus’ response:
Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is One Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:29-31
Two commands: 1) Love God with your whole being; 2) Love your neighbor as yourself.
The Pharisees, Sadducees, and other Jewish leaders grew more angry at Jesus and were vexed as to how to destroy his popularity and influence with the masses of Jews loyal to him. All their trickery failed this time. Jesus was not intimidated by them, and in fact, spoke some of his strongest words against them while teaching that day.
Finally, leaving Jerusalem that day, Jesus stopped on the Mount of Olives (Olivet) to speak about the future. He talked at length, to his disciples and all those who followed, about the end times. He cautioned them about false teachers and the evil that would rise up in those last days. What it must have been to listen to Jesus, the Messiah, on that Tuesday – filled with a mixture of faith in him and fear of what could lie ahead for them, and the generations to come.
So went Tuesday…for Jesus and all of the world.
[Read this post in its entirety, including Jesus’ strong indictments of his religious enemies,here.]
P.S. All the days of Holy Week are described in my posts below.
On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” – Mark 11:12-14
When Jesus woke on Monday morning, after that glorious Sunday entering Jerusalem…I wonder what he thought. Did he know that, in just four days, he would be crucified? Whew…
On that Monday morning, Jesus became hungry on the walk in to Jerusalem, from his friends’ home in Bethany. Seeing a leafy fig tree, he looked for fruit. With fig trees, where there are leaves, there should be figs. Green figs are edible/ Though it wasn’t yet harvest time, there should be some fruit on the tree.
When he found no figs, Jesus cursed the tree. This seems out of character for Jesus, until his action is put in the context of his culture and community. Throughout his public ministry, especially as he became more known and revered, the Jewish religious leaders held him in contempt. Jesus’ teaching of our dependence on God’s righteousness and not our own flew in the face of the Pharisaical teaching of the day – that of strict adherence to Jewish law as the only hope of finding favor with God. For Jesus, the leafy barren fig tree must have been a picture of religious Jews of that day, all flash and finery but no fruit of faith.
“Christ’s single miracle of Destruction, the withering of the fig-tree, has proved troublesome to some people, but I think its significance is plain enough. The miracle is an acted parable, a symbol of God’s sentence on all that is ‘fruitless’ and specially, no doubt, on the official Judaism of that age. That is its moral significance.” – C. S. Lewis
Finally, arriving back in Jerusalem, Jesus was deeply troubled by what he found inside the Temple. The crowds of Passover pilgrims did not disturb him, but what did was temple grounds turned into a marketplace. In this sanctified place, meant only for worship, there were money-changers and sellers of animals for sacrifice, right in the Court of the Gentiles – in the only place where non-Jewish God-believers could worship.
And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.And He said to them, “It is written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’; but you are making it a ROBBERS’ DEN.” – Matthew 21:12-13
Often in film depictions of Jesus cleansing the temple, he appears a crazed individual, flailing about, throwing tables and flinging pigeons into the air. I can’t even imagine him that way. We can’t know how it happened except that in Jesus’ anger, he did not sin. He would not sin. I know the Jesus Filmis just another director’s film rendering, but in this scene, Jesus showed considerable restraint. Disturbed at the buying and selling that actually kept believing Gentiles from worshiping, he moved to correct the situation. He was unafraid of the temple officials, burning with zeal for his Father to be truly worshiped in that place.
Zeal for Your house has consumed me, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. – Psalm 69:9
This Holy Monday, we are drawn again to this Messiah who teaches us that the way we live our lives matters but not more than the way we relate to God. He makes space for us…room for all of us to receive Him. He is holy, and in His righteousness, we stand…on solid ground.
Today is the first day of Holy Week (for most Christians in the world; Holy Week begins a week later for Orthodox/Coptic Christians. Each day is significant as Jesus began the week with a triumphant entry into Jerusalem and then endured crucifixion for sins not His own on the Friday of this week…followed by a glorious Resurrection. This year, I will point you to each day’s events through the links below…recapping the significance for us of Jesus’ journey through this most holy of weeks.
Today is Palm Sunday.
For you critical thinkers, this week in the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one worthy of analysis. No matter your religion or non-religion, this Jesus, in these days, warrants examination, related to anything you may think of God. You will better understand the core beliefs of a Christ-follower, not just a person known to you as Christian. For in the study of Jesus’ life and his followers, in just this one week, you will see a deep distinction between “the religious” and “the redeemed”.
Palm Sunday is celebrated as the “triumphal entry” of Jesus into Jerusalem, just days before he would endure a mock trial and then be crucified. He and his closest followers (disciples) came to Jerusalem for the celebration of Passover. Passover was an annual remembrance of God’s protection and deliverance of Israel during a time of slavery (Exodus 12:26-28). Jesus would celebrate Passover on Thursday of that coming week, but he did not come to Jerusalem for that reason alone.
He knew from his Father God why he came to Jerusalem, and he tried to prepare his disciples for what was coming.
From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. – Matthew 16:21
Imagine the scene as Jesus entered Jerusalem. Some in the crowd did recognize him, and then the word spread of the arrival of this great teacher, this healer, this man whose teaching was like none before him. Palm branches were pulled to wave in tribute to him, as others flung their cloaks on the dust before him welcoming him.
Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna** to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!” When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” – Matthew 21:8-10
“Who is this?” For those who did not know him, the wild welcome for him must have been confusing and captivating. For the religious authorities in Jerusalem, who knew him and were unwilling to welcome this “king of the Jews”, his popularity was infuriating.
The clock began ticking as they plotted against this man Jesus.
Over that bright hopeful day of palms hung the shadow of the Cross – the Cross that would bring even greater hope to all people. The “Hosanna” of Palm Sunday would change to cries to “Crucify!” just five days later. Jesus had no ambition to please the crowds; he was resolutely on task to redeem those who could not redeem themselves – the whole world.
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. – 1 John 3:1-2
As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’” – Romans 9:25
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:37-39
From where do we derive our identity? The parts of us that we consider strengths or even weaknesses? The opinions of others? Our accomplishments or place in society? Our performance at work or play or church? The number of likes we have on a social media platform or reads of our blog?
What if we moved through every one of our days remembering how the Lord of the universe views us?
We are His beloved. Not out of our own worthiness from a human standpoint, but because of who He is. He loved us while we were still deep in sin (Romans 5:8). When we confronted our sin and asked His forgiveness, God not only forgave us but also made us heirs with Christ, adopted into His family forever (Romans 8:17).
Having that immeasurable love from God, how do we get tripped up by comparisons – fretting over how others see us (or even how we see ourselves in comparison to others)?
Pride. Be it self-congratulatory or self-deprecating. It’s still pride. Given how God has said Himself how He loves us, freely and unconditionally, we put such a burden on ourselves with this sin. How do we rid of it (sometimes daily, sometimes moment-by-moment)? By faith. Faith kills pride.
“All self-exaltation [or self-demeaning, I might add] is a re-crucifixion of Christ because he died to kill pride. Every boast, therefore, mocks the suffering of Jesus. And I end on this: every humble attitude, every humble act of faith, glorifies the grace of God in Christ.” – John Piper
Out of our faith in the work of Jesus on the cross for me, we can die to pride. The fruit of that is humility – that work of the Holy Spirit in our lives that allows us to receive and rest in the transcendent love of God.
“C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity makes a brilliant observation about gospel-humility at the very end of his chapter on pride. If we were to meet a truly humble person, Lewis says, we would never come away from meeting them thinking they were humble...The thing we would remember from meeting a truly gospel-humble person is how much they seemed to be totally interested in us. Because the essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less. Gospel-humility is not needing to think about myself. Not needing to connect things with myself. It is an end to thoughts such as, ‘I’m in this room with these people, does that make me look good? Do I want to be here?’ True gospel-humility means I stop connecting every experience, every conversation, with myself. In fact, I stop thinking about myself. The freedom of self-forgetfulness. The blessed rest that only self-forgetfulness brings.” – Tim Keller
This has been on my heart daily this week in wrestling down thoughts of inadequacy and insignificance. Then God gave me a song on the radio: Belovedness by singer/songwriter Sarah Kroger. Slayed by His love. All over again.
Kroger beautifully writes about this song here. She says:
“Five years ago, I was introduced to a book called Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen that changed my life. The book revolves around the idea that every day we’re surrounded by voices. The voices of society, negativity, lies we’ve believed, our peers, etc. What would it look like if we could silence the noise and listen to the voice, that at the center of our being, calls us “beloved”? While reading the book, I realized that instead of owning and living out of my belovedness, I was only owning my mistakes. My journey is far from over, but I work every day to own the truth of who I am.
Our identity isn’t based on our accomplishments or failings, what people think about us, or how we view ourselves in the mirror. Our identity is that we are the beloved children of a relentless Father who loves us unconditionally.
I’m reminded of a stained-glass window in a chapel in which I used to spend a lot of time. The image was of Jesus holding a sheep close to his chest. This is the goal of a Christian. To be so close to the heart of the Shepherd that you hear His heartbeat and can conform your life to that rhythm. When you do this, you’ll go into each day knowing you are loved, not looking for ways to earn it. This is freedom.” – Sarah Kroger
[A stained glass window in Movement Church, Richmond, Virginia]
God’s love for us is utterly without any merit of our own. We receive His love by remembering. Who He is and who we are in Him and alongside our brothers and sisters. Putting self in its proper place. Crucified.
Dave and I are so privileged right now to be in a season of community with a group of young people (20s-30s). I can’t even put into words what it’s like being in the same room with them. They are welcoming to one another as it must have been with Jesus when He sat at tables with publicans and sinners (of whom we once were). Not that these precious ones are perfect, but that isn’t the point, is it? You are just wrapped in the delight of Jesus in this place…in this space of the week with them. There is a winsomeness, a joy in discovering, a deep affection, a celebration of each one who enters the room. God has given us other communities where we’ve had this experience, and I’m grateful for each one. I hope you have such community. If not, seek it out. God doesn’t mean for us to be isolated, left to our own tough thoughts. He means to pour His love on us and He chooses to do some of that through the church.
Worship with me…and believe true what He says about Himself and what He says about you.
You’ve owned your fear and all your self-loathing You’ve owned the voices inside of your head You’ve owned the shame and reproach of your failure It’s time to own your belovedness
You’ve owned your past and how it’s defined you You’ve owned everything everybody else says It’s time to hear what your Father has spoken It’s time to own your belovedness
He says you’re mine, I smiled when I made you I find you beautiful in every way My love for you is fierce and unending I’ll come to find you, whatever it takes My beloved
You’ve owned the mess you see in the mirror You’ve owned the lies that you’re just not enough You’ve been so blinded by all you’re comparing It’s time to own your belovedness
He says you’re mine, I smiled when I made you I find you beautiful in every way My love for you is fierce and unending I’ll come to find you, whatever it takes My beloved
You are completely loved and fully known Beloved, believe He died to make your heart His home
And He says you’re mine, I smiled when I made you I find you beautiful in every way My love for you is fierce and unending I’ll come to find you, whatever it takes He says you’re mine, I smiled when I made you I find you beautiful in every way My love for you is fierce and unending I’ll come to find you, whatever it takes My beloved It’s time to own your belovedness*
Now Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came [after He had risen from the dead]. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them,“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” – John 20:24-29
When Jesus appeared to his disciples after his horrific death on a Roman cross, he was alive again. Not a ghost but in a glorified body. Jesus resurrected. Never to die again. As he confirmed his identify to Thomas, the struggling to believe disciple, he, knowing all things, offered the proof asked for.
Wound marks. From the nails hammered into his hands and the spear thrust in his side on the day he died for us. God the Father must have known these marks would form into necessary scars…for at least one to believe. The scars of a savior…the Savior.
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
That’s us.
Yet we benefit from that brother Thomas who, in his grief, still needed a sign that Jesus was alive again.
We all bear scars of some sort or another. Scars of abuse or loss. Disappointment or betrayal. Scars from hating and being hated. Unforgiveness or caring too little. Even scars of victory, as were the scars of Jesus. Wounds we received, even standing, as the Lord fought our battles for us…and won. Jesus has such scars of victory.
A friend of mine died this week. Becky Cole. We have known each other for over 35 years. We met in church in East Tennessee. I was pregnant with my first born, married to a good and Godly man, financially stable…in a really good place. She was pregnant with her first and would be only child. A son. She was a single mom who took herself out of an abusive home and away from a man who she feared would abuse her child as well. She had a heart full of love for that little boy now grown up into a gentle and accomplished man who made her proud.
She also loved Jesus which was clearly the biggest steadying force in her turbulent life.
We moved away from Tennessee in 1994 – almost 30 years ago, but we never lost touch. The phone would ring, and we would start up right where we left off. Did we always agree on things? Absolutely not. Still, I admired her tenacity so much. If something needed to be made right, she would not give up on it. She was a fighter. An activist. An advocate.
Did she have scars? Absolutely! She just wasn’t afraid of a fight.
If there was ever a Mama Bear, it was Becky. Much of her mid-life she was what some might label a welfare mom, but as happens with stereotypes, she was so much larger than one who sought aid from the state. So much more.
She fought for her son to have the best life she could give him. Plagued with health problems, she wasn’t always able to work. That did not stop her from being deeply concerned and involved with her larger community, not just for her sake but for those around her. She tried to make life better; tried to help people with power and authority to do better. I know I was better knowing her…being her friend.
As she grew older, her health issues worsened, as happens in life. Her son became successful with work and married the love of his life. Becky kept fighting to make the world a better place…for her son…and she kept fighting to live…until this week when the fighting came to an end.
I was actually shocked when her son told me she had died. She had been at Duke University under evaluation for one more surgery that would have hopefully given her more time and more quality of life… but she just wasn’t a good candidate, they said. She was too far spent.
We talked before she traveled to Duke. She was hopeful. I committed to pray. We wouldn’t talk again. She texted me that the surgery wasn’t going to happen and she would be placed on hospice care. That was hard to hear about someone as full of life as Becky, although I knew she had been so sick. I called and texted through the last days of her life…she has never not picked up or answered a text…until now.
For Becky, the fighting was over. She would go Home. Once that was settled, I wonder what it must have been like for her to “lay down her weapons” for the last time. Thank You, Jesus.
All the week while she was at Duke, the Casting Crowns song “Scars in Heaven” seems to have been on auto-repeat on my Christian radio station. Listening to the beautiful truth of this song, I thought of Becky…and prayed.
“I know the road you walked was anything but easy You picked up your share of scars along the way Oh, but now you’re standing in the sun, you’ve fought your fight and your race is run The pain is all a million miles away.”
If I had only known the last time would be the last time I would’ve put off all the things I had to do I would’ve stayed a little longer, held on a little tighter Now what I’d give for one more day with you ‘Cause there’s a wound here in my heart where something’s missing And they tell me that it’s gonna heal with time But I know you’re in a place where all your wounds have been erased And knowing yours are healed is healing mine
The only scars in Heaven, they won’t belong to me and you There’ll be no such thing as broken, and all the old will be made new And the thought that makes me smile now, even as the tears fall down Is that the only scars in Heaven are on the hands that hold you now
I know the road you walked was anything but easy You picked up your share of scars along the way Oh, but now you’re standing in the sun, you’ve fought your fight and your race is run The pain is all a million miles away
The only scars in Heaven, they won’t belong to me and you There’ll be no such thing as broken, and all the old will be made new And the thought that makes me smile now, even as the tears fall down Is that the only scars in Heaven, yeah, are on the hands that hold you now
Hallelujah, hallelujah Hallelujah, for the hands that hold you now
There’s not a day goes by that I don’t see you You live on in all the better parts of me Until I’m standing with you in the sun, I’ll fight this fight and this race I’ll run Until I finally see what you can see, oh-oh
The only scars in Heaven, they won’t belong to me and you There’ll be no such thing as broken, and all the old will be made new And the thought that makes me smile now, even as the tears fall down Is that the only scars in Heaven are on the hands that hold you now.
[Blog first posted on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent 2023 – as we look toward the Cross of Christ.]
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross. – Philippians 2:6-8
Hold with me while we work through the concept of scandal involving grace. We usually think of scandal as a negative, to-be-avoided word, but the first definition that popped up is this:
“A publicized incident that brings about disgrace or offends the moral sensibilities of society”
Just a few days ago, I heard the song Scandal of Grace for the first time. The lyrics are striking and so moving. As defined above, what Jesus did for us on the day of his crucifixion was scandalous. He suffered false testimony, public humiliation, torturous treatment, the unimaginable weight of our sin on himself, and the horrific aloneness as God the Father seemed to turn His face away…even for a moment.
Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, counting down to Easter, the day we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Whether or not we commemorate Ash Wednesday, it is a good day to marvel at the Savior we have in Jesus, and the scandalous grace He showed to us on the cross.
John Piper describes (in 2 1/2 minutes) this history-shaking act of God – this death of a sinless Savior for us hopeless sinners. Take the time to watch this and wonder with me at the extravagant love of God.
Grace, what have You done? Murdered* for me on that cross Accused in absence of wrong My sin washed away in Your blood
*[Only word I struggle with in this song. Jesus gave His life; it was not taken from Him…What seemed like murder was a shocking, wholly loving, definitive, complete and merciful work of God.]
Too much to make sense of it all I know that Your love breaks my fall The scandal of grace, You died in my place So my soul will live
Oh to be like You Give all I have just to know You Jesus, there’s no one besides You Forever the hope in my heart
Death, where is your sting? Your power is as dead as my sin The cross has taught me to live And mercy, my heart now to sing
The day and its trouble shall come I know that Your strength is enough The scandal of grace, You died in my place So my soul will live
Oh to be like You Give all I have just to know You Jesus, there’s no one besides You Forever the hope in my heart
Oh to be like You Give all I have just to know You Jesus, there’s no one besides You Forever the hope in my heart
And it’s all because of You, Jesus It’s all because of You, Jesus It’s all because of Your love that my soul will live
Oh to be like You Give all I have just to know You Jesus, there’s no one besides You Forever the hope in my heart
Oh to be like You Give all I have just to know You Jesus, there’s no one besides You Forever the hope in my heart*
Look to the right and see: no one stands up for me; there is no refuge for me; no one cares about me.
I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my shelter, my portion in the land of the living.” Listen to my cry, for I am very weak.
The righteous will gather around me because you deal generously with me. – Psalm 142:4-6a, 7b
Protect me, God, for I take refuge in you. I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have nothing good besides you.”
Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I will bless the Lord who counsels me—even at night when my thoughts trouble me. I always let the Lord guide me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my body also rests securely. You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures. – Psalm 16:1-2, 5-6, 7-9, 11
Terrible trials happen in this broken world. Yet, we do not face them alone.
Our whole world has been rocked by the earthquake last week with shockwaves leveling parts of Turkey and Syria. Tens of thousands dead so far. A natural disaster? Horribly unnatural really. The weight of a messed up world comes crashing down sometimes, and we can NOT explain it. Only grieve…and hope.
You may be suffering yourself in ways not as devastating as the earthquake above, but deeply significant to you personally. We seek the Lord for refuge…for shelter…and we find it.
We have dear friends and loved ones experiencing their own losses right now…heavy ones. Financial devastation. A betrayal in marriage. Drug addiction. Metastatic cancer. Sudden death of a spouse and father.
Just this past week, I was checking Twitter and someone I follow retweeted an update on Jacob & Rachel Hale. Jacob is a pastor and his wife has metastatic cancer. Their faith, courage, and even joy in the wake of this situation are the attributes of those who know God, and know Him to be good.
We just watched the season finale of The Chosen (Episodes 7 & 8, Season 3) – Remember this TV show is a story of Jesus and his disciples. Much of it is Biblical and it has never strayed, in these three seasons, from the character of Christ and the recorded obedience of the apostles. Within the story in this episode, we have a situation where Simon Peter is angry at the Lord for not healing his wife. He doesn’t doubt who Jesus is (the Messiah, Savior, Son of God), but he doubts His actions. [This episode includes the feeding of the five thousand…very powerful.] In the final scene, the disciples are in a boat in a terrible storm. Jesus comes to them, walking on water. Simon Peter gets out of the boat, in faith, and begins walking towards Him, like Jesus, on the water. Then he takes his eyes off Christ and begins sinking, overwhelmed by the height of the waves and the terror of the storm. Jesus rescues him and gets him back into the boat. You can hear Peter saying over and over, as he clings to Jesus, “Don’t let me go!” As he is murmuring these words, another scene reveals Peter’s wife, without knowing his situation but knowing his heart, praying in the same way: “Don’t let him go.” Jesus said to Simon Peter [this is not taken from Scripture per se but is taken from the whole of His messages to us]: “I’ve got you. I have much planned for you, Simon. Including hard things. Just keep your eyes on Me. I promise. I’m here. I’m always here. I let people go hungry, and I feed them.”
Throughout Scripture, we can see His comfort, His promises, and His affirmations that He is our refuge, our shelter from the storm. No matter what happens, even when it feels so and seems so, we are NOT shaken. He is the same God as He has always been.
I’m calling on the God of Jacob Whose love endures through generations I know that You will keep Your covenant I’m calling on the God of Moses The One who opened up the ocean I need You now to do the same thing for me For me, for me
O God, my God, I need You O God, my God, I need You now How I need You now O Rock, O Rock of Ages I’m standing on Your faithfulness On Your faithfulness
I’m calling on the God of Mary Whose favor rests upon the lowly I know with You all things are possible I’m calling on the God of David Who made a shepherd boy courageous I may not face Goliath but I’ve got my own giants!
O God, my God, I need You O God, my God, I need You now How I need You now, yes O Rock, O Rock of Ages I’m standing on Your faithfulness On Your faithfulness O God, my God, I need You (I need You, Lord) O God, my God, I need You now How I need You now, yeah O Rock, O Rock of Ages I’m standing on Your faithfulness On Your faithfulness
It’s Your faithfulness I’m standing on Never changes, never changes
You heard Your children then, You hear Your children now You are the same God, You are the same God You answered prayers back then and You will answer now You are the same God, You are the same God You were providing then, You are providing now You are the same God (You are the same), You are the same God (Yeah) You moved in power then, God, move in power now You are the same God, You are the same God You were a healer then, You are a healer now You are the same God, You are the same God You were a Savior then, You are a Savior now You are the same God, You are the same God
O God, my God, I need You (Lifted up) O God, my God, I need You now (How we need You now) How I need You now (We stand in faithfulness) O Rock, O Rock of Ages I’m standing on Your faithfulness Oh, on Your faithfulness O God, my God, I need You O God, my God, I need You now How I need You now (Oh-oh) O Rock, O Rock of Ages I’m standing on Your faithfulness It’s Your faithfulness
You’re the same God (Yes, You are) You’re the same God This is who we worship tonight, yeah He’s the same, He’s the same O God, how I need You How I need You now
You freed the captives then, You’re freeing hearts right now You are the same God, You are the same God You touched the lepers then, I feel Your touch right now You are the same God, You are the same God
Never changes, oh forever We feel You now You are the same God, You are the same God, yeah How we need You now, yeah
I’m calling on the Holy Spirit Almighty river, come and fill me again (Let that be your prayer tonight) Come and fill me again (Come and fill me) Come and fill me again*
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. – Romans 10:13-15
Do you know when you first heard about Jesus?
How old were you? What was the circumstance?
For me…I was maybe 6 or 7. Before that, my mom was doing all she could to keep us fed and clothed in a hard marriage. If she told us about Jesus, I don’t remember. She might have, but for her during those years of small ones, faith had been wrung out of her by hardship and disappointment.
Until…some neighbors invited us to their church, and we went. It was there that, as Paul described in his letter to the Roman church above that we first heard a clear message of the person and life of Jesus Christ. It was in that church, as a 9 year old, that I trusted God, through Christ, for the forgiveness of my sins. I trusted God with my small life and my large future.
There have been bumps in the road over the decades following, but none so large that caused me to leave my faith. During a time of great persecution, the apostle Peter declared (in response to Jesus’ question “Do you want to leave?”): “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
That is my witness as well. Nowhere would I want to be except in this journey and destination the Lord has graciously given to me…and you. What a wonder that I got to hear about Him. At an early age. How about you?
It’s not always in a church building where we hear. I’ve known people (and the stories of many others) who came to faith through the quiet revelation of truth by the Holy Spirit…a taxi driver in a far away place whose conversation with a believer really just confirmed what he had already heard, in his dreams and private wrestling with God. A young woman who witnessed her mother’s long years of faithful following of Christ and finally received Him for herself. A man who heard Jesus’ teaching, as he read torn and discarded pieces of Scripture, and believed. So many.
What joy we experience in knowing Jesus. He has brought joy to the whole world. May many hear and receive the good news!
I’ve heard about You It’s always this time of year When the trees are up and lights are hung And Christmastime is here
I’ve heard about You Sometimes I struggle to believe But people keep on telling me You’re as real as real can be
They sing Joy to the world A Savior is born O Holy night Every Christmas, they sing Hallelujah Like they always do Could it be true What I’ve heard about You
I’ve heard about You All those stories that they tell They say You came to fix a broken world And that Your name is Emmanuel
I’ve heard about You Born in Bethlehem, The Christ Who left His throne to rescue Even a doubter’s heart like mine
So I sing Joy to the world A Savior is born O Holy night Every Christmas, I’ll sing Hallelujah Like they always do I believe it’s all true What I’ve heard about You What I’ve heard about You
Hope is here Hallelujah Hope is here
If it’s all true Then it changes everything Cause the hope I thought I’d never find Has found its way to me
So I sing Joy to the world A Savior is born O Holy night Every Christmas, I’ll sing Hallelujah Like they always do I believe it’s all true What I’ve heard about You*
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. – Galatians 2:20
May it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. – Galatians 6:14
Oh the wonder!!! That we can walk around this world with Creator God, our Sinless Savior, at home in us.
We spend much of our life in the mundane, and yet, miracle of miracles, we carry the fragrance of Christ with us wherever we go. He turns seemingly inconsequential encounters into divine appointments. He fills our quiet with glory. He turns our wanderings into plain paths, clearing the way for His will.
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end, nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. –Thomas Merton – Deb Mills’ blog
Today I resonate with Thomas Merton’s words. Each day of our lives brings both clear purpose and clouded faith. We don’t always know how to pray or which door of opportunity to enter. Nor do we even feel like lingering, listening to God in prayer, or taking steps forward into the latest unknown.
Fortunately, God knows our frame…our struggles and our strengths. Our weaknesses are not a surprise to Him. In fact, He has already told us that His own strength is revealed as perfection in our own weaknesses. Hallelujah!!! Nothing to fear here.
During our worship time this past Sunday at Movement Church, we sang the song Resurrecting by Elevation Worship. At first I was just singing the words and enjoying the community of our gathered church family. Then this verse caught me off-guard:
The fear that held us now gives way To him who is our peace His final breath upon the cross Is now alive in me
Any of you who know me know that breathing is something I no longer take for granted. Especially as a lung cancer survivor and twice rescued by God during emergencies when I could not even get my breath. Since Sunday, this song has stayed on my heart…as have the apostle Paul’s words to the Galatian church above.
The life we have, as Christ-followers, is ours because of the life Christ gave for us. He lives in us and works that beautiful life through us to others, for our good and the good of those around us, and for His glory.
We won’t always get it right…living this side of Heaven…but we can trust Him to carry us through whatever comes. Praise His glorious name! “His name, His name, is victory!”
The head that once was crowned with thorns Is crowned with glory now The Savior knelt to wash our feet Now at his feet we bow
The one who wore our sin and shame Now robed in majesty The radiance of perfect love Now shines for all to see
Your name Your name Is victory All praise Will rise To Christ our king Your name Your name Is victory All praise Will rise To Christ our king
The fear that held us now gives way To him who is our peace His final breath upon the cross Is now alive in me
Your name Your name Is victory All praise Will rise To Christ our king Your name Your name Is victory All praise Will rise To Christ our king
By Your spirit I will rise From the ashes of defeat The resurrected king Is resurrecting me In Your name I come alive To declare your victory The resurrected king Is resurrecting me
By Your spirit I will rise From the ashes of defeat The resurrected king Is resurrecting me In Your name I come alive To declare your victory The resurrected king Is resurrecting me
By Your spirit I will rise From the ashes of defeat The resurrected king Is resurrecting me In Your name I come alive To declare your victory The resurrected king Is resurrecting me
The tomb where soldiers watched in vain Was borrowed for three days His body there would not remain Our God has robbed the grave Our God has robbed the grave
Your name Your name Is victory All praise Will rise To Christ our king
Your name Your name Is victory All praise Will rise To Christ our king
By Your spirit I will rise From the ashes of defeat The resurrected king Is resurrecting me In your name I come alive To declare Your victory The resurrected king Is resurrecting me
By Your spirit I will rise From the ashes of defeat The resurrected king Is resurrecting me In your name I come alive To declare Your victory The resurrected king Is resurrecting me
By Your spirit I will rise From the ashes of defeat The resurrected king Is resurrecting me In your name I come alive To declare Your victory The resurrected king Is resurrecting me
There is none like You, O LORD. You are great, and Your name is mighty in power. Who would not fear You, O King of nations? This is Your due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. – Jeremiah 10:6-7
Lord, there is no one like you among the gods, and there are no works like yours. – Psalm 86:8
Earlier this evening, a small group of friends were gathered. Our hosts were refugees from a war-torn country which they fled over a year ago. We were celebrating a late Christmas/New Year’s together… One Christian friend was describing the “why” of giving gifts at Christmas. Crossing cultures and languages, the conversation was peppered with polite exchanges of where our beliefs were similar and where they were not. It happens…close friends who all consider themselves believers, but in very different experiences of faith.
I was reminded of a letter I wrote after a difficult conversation with a dear friend who wanted me to believe in God as she believed…just as I wanted the same for her…to believe as I did.
[As you read the letter, remember I’m writing to someone I loved very much and didn’t want to offend by my words. So keep that context in mind. To this day, she is as dear as ever. Precious to me. Still loving me as I love her…still two people who love God from different faiths.
Dearest Friend,
You’ve asked me why can’t I follow your way…the way you believe. I know you spoke that from your heart, and you know I love you for it. You also know how much I love you as you love me. Since our conversation, your question has weighed heavily on my mind, and I want to try to give that question the answer you deserve. Thank you for loving me enough to risk asking that question. Now, I hope you will hear my love through this answer. We think very differently on these things, but I don’t think I will be telling you anything that we haven’t already talked about. Also, I want you to clarify anything for me that I’m in error on regarding your religion. I commit to you the same in our talks about what I believe. So what I write below is the answer to your question, “Why?” And it’s written with all my love.
First, I already see myself as one “submitted to God”, in the deepest sense of the word you’ve defined for me. My greatest desire is to know God and to surrender to Him in all areas of my life. It’s been the imperfect but deeply personal pursuit of my life. My hope is to follow Him as He reveals Himself to me, both through His Word and by His Holy Spirit.
As I understand your question, to follow your way would require me to leave the way I now follow. That would be impossible for me. I wasn’t born Christian. I became a believer as I understood His revelation of Himself (through the Bible, the witness of others, and the stirring of my heart by the Holy Spirit). This is a relationship with God that I would never or could never sever. To remove a portion of Who I believe He’s expressed Himself to be, both to and for His creation, would be unforgivable. He has come near to us, and I am thankful to know Him, as One both Holy and Humble. I would be sad to believe in a God whose holiness and judgment distance Him far from His people. Am I wrong in my understanding of your experience of God?
To have to face the burden of a life of sin would be more than I could bear. I believe, by His Word, that He has forgiven me and continues to forgive me, as I confess my sins, repent of them, and live for Him. I can’t imagine life where I was responsible to do good works and more good works in hopes to cancel some of my sins and hopefully to win His mercy. My understanding of what is required in your faith may not be altogether correct on this point, but it’s what I see practiced. Help me with this, if I am wrong.
To live not knowing whether I would spend eternity with God or in Hell would be very painful…unimaginable, to be honest. Such terrible uncertainty! His Word tells me that I can know – not because of my good works but because of His good work for my sake. I take great comfort in knowing that I will be in the presence of God forever. It is also a great comfort to know I will see my Mom and Dad again, my brother and others who have gone before me, confident in God’s promises to them through His Word.
To have to deny the sinless life of the Messiah, to deny His death on the cross, and to deny His resurrection would be the greatest dishonor to God that I could ever commit in life. I would never be willing to deny this, and if this is required to be a good believer in your faith, then I am helpless to go that way.
I could not require my children to follow any religion. I do prefer for them to be believers in God by way of the Messiah, and I would be heart-broken if they denied God in their lives. However, to be in a religion that requires them at birth to be identified with that religion seems beyond my right as a parent. It is up to God how He moves in a person’s life. I cannot demand it, no matter how much I would wish it a certain way.
There are tenets of faith in your religion that I agree with wholeheartedly. I think it’s a very good thing to have calls to prayer. I actually also prayed, (when we lived in the same country), when I heard the calls to prayer, so in that we are alike. I also agree with giving money to the place of prayer (for me, the church) for its service to the community. I also think the intention of a month of fasting is a good thing. To sacrifice food, drink, cigarettes, etc. to understand better what it’s like to be poor, and then to give that money to those less fortunate is a reasonable service for believers. I think pilgrimages are also good opportunities to draw closer to God. I do struggle with a pilgrimage that is not really accessible to every believer.
Like you, I believe that God is One…but I cannot ascribe to a faith that places a messenger of God in a preeminent position. You say that is what I do with Jesus, even to the point of making him equal, or a partner to God. This is where we differ greatly, and I know it divides us which makes me the saddest. We have books we believe to be holy which speak very differently about Jesus, even though Jesus is called Messiah in both. He is also said to be without sin in both. This is not a small thing.
I don’t understand the concept of a holy war. I do understand dying for one’s faith, and my hope is that if I have to die for my faith in God, that I will do it courageously and for His glory. That part I understand. To kill others, even infidels, and martyring oneself in doing so, seems morally wrong. God doesn’t need my help to deal with infidels. I know there are examples in the Torah of God calling His people to battle with those who stand against His people, and He shows His glory by miraculously giving them victory. I don’t see God when people take matters into their own hands. I don’t believe God would give me greater rewards for killing people rather than to try to reason with them to become true believers.
Last, but not least, is that to follow your way, I would have to give up parts of the Bible to believe everything in the book you hold sacred. I can’t do that. It would be great sin for me to deny any part of God’s Word. I believe every word is true. I know you think I am deceived. All I know, is that there was a time in my life that I wasn’t a Christian, and it was a dark time for me. God revealed Himself to me through His Word, through the example of others whose lives had been changed by God, and through the movement of His Holy Spirit in my life. Now, I know the experience of a changed life. I am free, because His Truth has set me free. It would be impossible for me to leave His guide for my life. This person that you know and love is that person, only because I am walking in the Light of His Word. We all struggle with the presence of sin, but we can have victory through His Word and by His Power. Since I believe what He says about His own Word, I cannot leave His Word, any more than I can stop breathing.
As I write this, my heart aches, because, of course, I would love for us to be on the Way together. I have answered your question. Maybe, you’ll answer the same question for me sometime. No matter what, if you let me, I will love you all the days of my life. You are my friend, my sister, and my daughter. You are one of the greatest gifts the Lord has given me, and I am so grateful. Sometimes His gifts require a price. He gave Himself for us, that we may be with Him forever. My hope is that our friendship won’t require a price. I never want us to be apart…although we’re not exactly traveling on the same path. My prayer will always be that we reach Home together….and I know you pray the same for me. Only God can answer both our prayers.
That letter was written years ago…to a friend who is even more dear to me today than decades ago. My faith remains unchanged…because God has not changed. He is worthy of our praise…He is worthy of our very lives. The song “Build My Life/Holy, There Is No One Like You” (by Housefires) speaks my heart today.
[Verse 1] Worthy of every song we could ever sing Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe We live for You
[Verse 2] Jesus, the Name above every other name Jesus, the only One who could ever save Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe We live for You Oh, we live for You
[Chorus] (Holy) Holy, there is no one like You There is none beside You Open up my eyes in wonder And show me who You are And fill me with Your heart And lead me in Your love to those around me
[Verse 1] Worthy of every song we could ever sing Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe We live for You Oh, we live for You Jesus
[Verse 2] Jesus, the Name above every other name Jesus, the only One who could ever save Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe We live for You Oh, we live for You
[Chorus] And holy, there is no one like You There is none beside You Open up my eyes in wonder And show me who You are And fill me with Your heart And lead me in Your love to those around me Holy Holy, there is no one like You There is none beside You Open up my eyes in wonder And show me who You are And fill me with Your heart And lead me in Your love to those around me*
