A Very Good Friday

            It had been a strange and solemn evening.  Jesus and His disciples had gathered in an upstairs room to celebrate Passover, a feast filled with symbolism and meaning.  Jesus knows that His time left with these twelve men is short, and He focuses His teaching on them alone.  After supper, Jesus plays the part of a servant, washing each of their feet.  He returns to the table and reveals that one of them will betray Him, and then sends Judas away to do what he will.  He teaches them about the Holy Spirit, and about abiding.  He reminds them that the greatest gift and act of obedience they can share in is to love each other.  He tells them He is going away and that they will mourn.  He prays for them, and for us (John 17:20).  In the midst of this, His farewell teaching, He tells them to take courage, because He has overcome the world.

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33

            Strange words, these, coming from a man who has just sent Judas away to betray Him.  Strange words from a man who is about to die. 

            When we think of overcoming, we think of strength, of commanding power.  We think of might.  We don’t think of blood.  We don’t think of dying.  We don’t think like God does.

            In God’s definition of overcoming, the distinction between overcoming and being overcome seems to blur.  Power is displayed in suffering.  Death is conquered by the One who embraced it, absorbed it, yielded to it, and then rose beyond it.  In Revelation the only one found worthy to open the Book was the Lamb, humblest of animals, looking as if it had been slain (Rev. 5:6).

            Jesus overcame the world.  He took on the form of man, setting aside His power and majesty.  He lived as one of us, was tempted as one of us, and became sin for us.  He rose and conquered death, so that we too could overcome.

            Too often we choose the wrong weapons with which to overcome our world.  We fight with willpower, with words or anger, or strength of sheer determination.  God says not my might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.  He tells us to overcome with love and by the life we live.  To be overcomers, we must do things His way, with His weapons, even when it seems foolish and weak to us and to those around us.  To be overcomers we must learn to value the things He values, and to think in a way that is contrary to our nature.

To be overcomers, we must take on the mind of Christ.

“To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.”  Rev. 2:7b

Our Passover

Today is the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. Millions of Jews and Messianic Christians worldwide will prepare their homes and will gather for this eight-day celebration. The Passover is a celebration of remembrance for the events of the first chapters of Exodus.

The people of Israel, the sons of Jacob and their families, had settled in Egypt to escape the famine that had nearly killed them. Joseph had ensured that they had land to graze their sheep on, and that they were cared for and largely left alone. Years had passed. Joseph had died, and a new Pharaoh had come to power, a Pharaoh who didn’t know anything about Joseph. He looked at his people and he looked at the Israelites, and he became afraid. God had blessed the Israelites, and they were now a great nation in and of themselves, to some estimates of over two million people. Pharaoh began a governmental program to ensure his power over Israel. He made them slaves. The oppression of Israel was so intense that she began to call out to God.

God raised up Moses as their reluctant deliverer. Moses was raised in the palace of Pharaoh himself but also probably knew his heritage, as his nurse was his own Israeli mother. He had the best of everything, including education and healthcare, and then spent forty years in the desert learning humility and hard work. God gave him a clear calling through the burning bush, and empowered him for the work he called him to. Moses went before Pharaoh and demanded that Pharaoh let God’s people go.

Pharaoh was not so inclined. His “NO!” was firm. Moses and Pharaoh engage in a tug-of-war that left the Egyptians smarting. God sent a series of plagues that assaulted and defeated a number of the Egyptian gods. Flies covered the land. All the water turned to blood. Frogs filled their kitchens and beds. They were covered with boils. The land was covered with a darkness that could be felt. Some of the plagues affected both the Israelites and Egyptians alike, but the most oppressive were for Egypt alone. The last of the plagues was the death of every first born, both animal and human. It would be a clear sign to Pharaoh that God was sovereign. It spoke a few things to the Israelites as well.

God told his people to take a perfect, defect-free lamb, one per household. They were to slaughter the lambs together at twilight and take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses. They were then to roast the lamb and eat it, along with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. They were to eat the whole thing, and any that was left was to be burned in the fire. They were to eat it in their traveling clothes, sandals on and staff in hand, ready to depart. On that night God would pass through Egypt and strike down every first born as an act of judgment. The blood would be a sign, and where the blood was, God would pass over that house. No harm would touch them.

And that’s exactly what happened. The people ate in obedience, with the blood on their door. God traveled through the land of Egypt, taking every first born as his own. There was loud wailing in Egypt, and Pharaoh let the people of God go.

The feast of Passover has been celebrated ever since as a remembrance of God’s deliverance of his people from slavery and oppression.

Passover has great symbolic significance for the Christian. We were in slavery to sin. We were oppressed and unable to free ourselves. The Lamb was slain, the blood shed to cover us, the wrath of God now passes over us, and we are free, delivered!

Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth. I Cor. 5:7-8

Just as the Israelites were to eat the lamb in their traveling clothes, so we are to be prepared to leave. Jesus will return and take us home. Just as the Israelites ate the unleavened bread, so we are to be rid our lives of the leaven of sin. Just as only God could deliver the Israelites, so only God can deliver us. We must place our faith in him and live for him.

This is the beginning of Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter. My prayer is that I will remember this week, and always, of the sacrifice of our Lamb.

Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth ad wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:

To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever! Revelation 5:12-13

Palm Sunday

The electricity in the air was palpable. Jesus had sent his disciples to a farmer to borrow a donkey and her foal. He then climbed up on the donkey and rode it into the city of Jerusalem. The people reacted with excitement! This was a clear political statement, as the King was the one who would ride a donkey, coming in as a conqueror in peace. The people cut palm branches, another symbol of the zealot party, signifying their choice of him to be their king.

“Blessed be the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in Heaven and glory in the highest!”

Luke 19:39

The emotionally charged scene made the Pharisees nervous. Rome wouldn’t like this at all.

“Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

I tell you, he replied, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out!” Luke 19:39-40

This was a small preview of what will happen when Jesus returns to claim the throne. For now, it was a strange precursor to the events that would happen in over the next week. At this point, the people were excited to be a follower of Jesus. They thought that he would be an earthly ruler, taking the throne as their king and throwing out their Roman oppressors. He would bring peace and prosperity, returning Israel to her former glory.

They were wrong.

As they read their scriptures, they focused on the view of the Messiah that prophesied strength and an earthly, physical success. They overlooked the prophets who told of the suffering servant, who talked about weakness and pain.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isaiah 53:3

We are not so different from those people who only wanted a strong and triumphant Messiah. We read our Bibles, and we like the parts that talk about God’s love for us, that promise us peace and strength. We are not as fond of the parts that require obedience, that tell us to take up our crosses and follow Jesus. We’re okay with following him, until we remember that following him leads us to sacrifice ourselves.

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” Luke 9:23-24

There is a cost to following Jesus. There is also great reward. Most of those who followed Jesus on the donkey into Jerusalem, waving their palm branches and declaring him king, had no idea that in just a few days they would call out for his death. As we proclaim him our King, we need to be aware of what that means. We need to remember that the cross is just ahead.

But so is the empty tomb.

In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39

There is a cost to following Jesus. But the payoff is worth it. We are secure in his love. He is a King worthy of our praise.

The toothpaste sneeze

Have you ever sneezed while brushing your teeth?

Stop for a minute. Close your eyes. Let this picture play across your mind.

It’s like snow globe exploded.

Go ahead and laugh. It’s OK. I have allergies, and mornings are a virtual snot-fest. It’s gross, but it’s my reality. Until the allergy medicine kicks in, there is no telling when I am going to sneeze. This morning, it was while I was brushing my teeth. At least now the bathroom is clean.

Living with a sin nature feels a lot like living with allergies. I would never choose to sneeze while brushing my teeth, and yet there was the toothpaste sprayed all over the mirror. When I am thinking rationally, I don’t choose to sin. And yet, all too often the results of sin are sprayed across my life.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. Romans 7:15

Like Paul, sometimes I just don’t understand what I do, or what I think, or what comes out of my mouth. Like Paul, “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” Fortunately, Paul doesn’t leave us scratching our heads, without any help in sight. He reminds us whose we are.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2

He also gives us the key to living a life that is free from slavery to sin and instead lives in love with our Abba, Father, our loving and perfect Daddy.

Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:14-16

God does not abandon us to our sinfulness. He gives us his Holy Spirit to guide us, to help us make choices that align us with him, and to whisper in our ear the reminder of how precious we are to him. We are not left adrift, helpless to spew sin and its effects all over our lives like so much toothpaste propelled by a sneeze.

Go ahead and laugh at the image of my bathroom mirror. I did. God loves us and calls us his children. He loves us even when we sin. He helps us not to. Lean deep into his love, remember his delight in you, and go forward in freedom!

What are you teaching?

            Our society values a good education.  We send our children to school when they are little more than babies and expect them to stay there well past adolescence.  We know the importance of math and science for technology, and how important it is that they read well.  Somehow, however, teaching God’s word and the things of God has been relegated to one hour on Sunday morning and perhaps an hour on Wednesday evening. 

            This is not enough.  A new study reported that most (over 80%!) people who accept Christ as Savior do so before the age of twelve.  We know that most of our attitudes and values are in place before we start school.  Yet for many children, two hours (or less) a week is all the spiritual training they get.  Un-churched children get none.

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.”  Deuteronomy 6:5-7

            We are told to teach the children diligently.  We are told to talk of God when we sit in our house.  Time to turn off the T.V.  We are to teach of God when we walk by the way.  Hang up the cell phone.  We are to talk about God and our love for Him when we lay down and when we get up.  Sounds like more than two hours a week to me.  The command was given to the whole nation of Israel, not just parents (vs. 4).  Everyone was to be involved in teaching the children, whether they had children of their own or not. 

If you are a parent, a grandparent, if you have nieces and nephews or if there are children in any aspect of your life, get involved.  Volunteer for Kid’s Creek, teach Sunday School, help at your midweek youth program, mentor a young person, or invite a backyard Bible school to be taught in your home. Invite Child Evangelism Fellowship to conduct a five-day club for the kids in your neighborhood this summer (http://www.cefonline.com/index.php?Itemid=100050&id=14&option=com_content&view=category). Start a Bible study. Volunteer at the local coffee house.  Get involved.

My children often remind me that I should be nice to them because they will be the ones choosing my nursing home.  Good training is important!  Our children are our future.  Our involvement can have eternal significance.

Dear Jesus, help me to remember the importance of the children in my life.  Regardless of how tired I am, or how many hours I’ve worked, regardless of how important the project I’m working on is, help me to be available.  Help me to invest in things of eternal significance. 

Eagles Wings!

            Wait.  We’re not very good at waiting.  We seem to do a lot of it.  We wait in traffic during our daily commute.  We wait in grocery lines, for our computer to get on-line, in bank lines, and in buffet lines.  We spend countless hours waiting, and still we fuss and fume and our blood pressure rises.  Yet wait is exactly what God tells us to do.

“Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings as eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”  Isaiah 40:31

            Waiting involves sitting still.  It involves inactivity.  At its best, it’s restful.  Waiting on the Lord means staying where we are until He makes His action or His word clear.  Waiting on the Lord means bypassing ethical shortcuts to success and allowing God to provide.  It means doing things His way, in His timing.  Like Jacob, we want to manipulate circumstances to our benefit and allow the ends to justify the means.  Waiting on God necessitates knowing that, to Him, the means and methods we use are just as important, maybe more important than the ends.  Waiting on God implies listening.  Only when we wait, when we get quiet and cease our striving, can we open our spiritual ears to hear what God is saying. 

            It is interesting that the progression in this verse has us slowing down.  When we gain new strength we begin by soaring like eagles.  Often new Believers are filled with a zeal and spiritual energy that older Christians covet.  As we mature we slow down to a more sustainable, consistent run.  As we wait on Him and His direction we gain new strength by doing those tasks He has called us to rather than trying to do every good thing in our own strength.  Older Christians have often slowed to a walk.  As our bodies age we come to understand that who we are is more important to God than what we do.

            Waiting on the Lord takes enormous faith.  We must believe that He is personal enough to see us waiting, and to give us direction when His timing is right.  It’s much easier to rush off, doing whatever seems right in our own eyes, following our own understanding than to take the risk of never hearing God’s clear voice.  It can seem like too much of a gamble, too much to risk our faith on.

            We can trust God.  We can wait and know that our strength will be renewed.

 He who promised is faithful.

Fear God

The writer of Ecclesiastes begins his book by questioning the very point of life.  There is nothing new to discover, and all of life seems vain and temporary. He is very jaded. Twelve chapters later he tells us his conclusion; the only thing that lasts or has any real meaning is the fear or reverence of God and obedience to Him.  We would do well to listen.

“The conclusion, when all has been

heard, is; fear God, and

keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.”  Ecclesiastes 12:13

The fear of God is a rare commodity in our society.  Most people rarely think of God at all.  His name is used casually, as an expression of surprise or shock, or profanely, as an expression of anger or irritation.  Even among Christians, there is little reverence for the name of God.  One Christian leader routinely says “God bless America” to keep himself from swearing.  He doesn’t see this as profanity. 

I wonder if God would agree.  The Old Testament Jews certainly wouldn’t.  They held the name of God to be so sacred they would neither say it nor write it down.  Proverbs 9:10 reminds us that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.  God Himself spends four chapters reminding Job of his position in comparison to God.  Job remembered to fear God! 

We do not fear God because we’ve forgotten or chosen to ignore the characteristics of God that are holy and righteous.  We choose to dwell on the characteristics of God’s nature that are love, that provide for us and give us peace.  We like to remember that God loved us so much that He died for us, but choose to forget that His death was necessary because in His very nature He cannot overlook or wink at sin. 

God has not changed.  He no more ignores sin now than when He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness or exiled Israel because of their unfaithfulness.  Ananias and Sapphira died because they lied to the Holy Spirit, and Herod was struck and eaten by worms for not giving God the glory that he was receiving. 

We have a wonderful intimacy with God because of the work of Christ on the cross.  Let’s not cheapen it by taking sin lightly, and forgetting God’s opinion of our sin.  Remember to fear and obey God, because He is God.

Father God, forgive us for taking You lightly.  Forgive our casualness with sin.  Help us to live with a right regard of You.  Help us to be holy, as You are holy.