As If

When proposed an idea that just doesn't resonate, a generational response might be "As if!"  As if I would even consider that a possibility or would possibly consider it.  There are some things that are so incongruent with who and what we are that "as if" is just the appropriate response.

While you are probably aware of this modern idiom, you may not have realized that it is a biblical construct with deep theological meaning.  No way!  Yes way!  In Romans 4:17, the Spirit reveals that "God who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which are not as though [as if] they were" (KJV).

The proposition advanced by the apostle Paul was that not just the Israelites, who had the Law of Moses and the bloodline of Abraham, were sons of Abraham.  The designation of Abraham's offspring was not limited to birthright but extended to belief, to those who accepted the promise of God through faith: "In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring" (Rom 9:8).

Am I truly a child of God?  Am I an heir of righteousness?  As if!  Yes I am, for God, through the blood of Jesus, has justified me and now it is as if I were righteous and holy.  As it has been said, "Being justified in Christ, it is Just As If I'd never sinned."  The writer of the book of Hebrews plainly states, "we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (10:10).

Yes, we "all sin and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23) but, in Christ, it truly is as if we had never sinned and now stand before God's throne as heirs not outcasts.  Jus' Say'n.

Travel Arrangements

Having inherited the prisoner Paul of Tarsus from the previous governor, Felix, governor Festus heard his case and asked the apostle if he would agree to go to Jerusalem to face his accusers.  Paul, not trusting the Jews, claimed his right as a Roman citizen and appealed to Caesar.

Festus agreed to send Paul to Rome but was not sure what to put in the transit letter to Caesar as there didn't seem to be any evidence of a high crime or anything worthy of the Emporer's time.  Since King Agrippa was visiting in Cessarea, Festus asked him to hear Paul's case.

After speaking with Paul, Agrippa said that he found nothing worthy of death or real crime himself and that Paul could have been set free except that he had already appealed to Casesar's Court.  So, the apostle Paul, playing his trump card, winds up being sent to Caesar for judgment when he could have been set free: "Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar" (Acts 26:32).

Big mistake, huh?  No, blessed motion!  You see, through it all, God had a plan for Paul of reaching out to through Caesar's Court to the Roman people.  Despite the Jews efforts to kill him and all the trouble at sea that seemed to be bent on keeping him from Rome, the Lord was very clear in his plan: "Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar..." (Acts 27:23-24).

And upon arriving at Rome, God's plan unfolds: "For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ---with all boldness and without hindrance!" (Acts 28:30:31).  And, listened to this salutation Paul sends from Rome to Philippi: "All God's people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household" (Phil 4:22).

Paul was not held in Rome by his chains, Rome was held to Paul.  What appeared to be a wrong move put Paul on the right path.  Paul's travel arrangements were not in the hands of the Empire as one might have supposed, they were in the hands of God.  If you are in Christ, yours are as well.  Jus' Say'n.

Giving and Getting

In the apostle Paul's farewell address to the Ephesians elder, the very last recorded words were a quote from Jesus Christ in which he said, "‘It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).  Interesting that of all the things he said to the elders about the work of the Spirit and the calling of shepherds, he chooses to end with such a generic admonition.

But was it so much generic or was it not more a general call to arms - a call to act at the heart of the Christian Faith, which is not to gain something for oneself butt rather to give to others?  Is that not the basis for Jesus himself being sent into the world, that "God gave his one and only Son" (Jn 3:16)? Did not Jesus say, "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matt 20:28)?

If one's Christianity is all about getting a pass on hell and a ticket to heaven, then the core of the Faith is missed.  If a church is chosen based primarily on what I can get out of it and it's worship is judged mostly on what I got out of it, I am missing the heart of the matter.  Christianity is a call to give up selfish interests, the church is an assembly of servants and worship is an opportunity to give honor to God and encouragement to others.

The goal of our faith is not to become grand receivers of blessings, but rather to grow in the grand blessing of giving.  Our specific goal is to "become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Eph 4:13).  That measure, that fullness inspires one to discover ways of giving not ways of getting.

If your Christian Faith is focused on receiving rather than giving, you need to get over it and adopt a servant's heart, which seeks to give rather than get for this is the heart of our Lord and therefore to be the heart of his followers.  Jus' Say'n.

Divine Appointments

The apostle Paul and company had been traveling through Asia Minor, preaching as they went.  They came to the border of Mysia and intended to stop in the city of Bithnyia to share the Gospel but were prevented from entering by the Spirit of Jesus (cf. Acts 16:7).

On the surface, it seems odd that Jesus, who commissioned his disciples to "go and make disciple of all nations" (Matt 28:19) would stand in the way of evangelism to any particular city or region, but there he was, drawing a line.  Why would he do that?  Why wouldn't he want the citizens of Bithnyia to hear the Gospel?

Becasuse there was somewhere else Paul needed to be, someone else who was ready right then to receive the Truth - a divine appointment had been made that must be kept.  While Paul didn't know it standing at the border of Mysia, later it was revealed to him in a vision of a man in Macedonia begging them to come: "After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them" (Acts 16:10).

Early on in my preaching ministry, I came to know a young couple and was told that the wife would be interested in studying the Bible but her husband would be a hard nut to crack.  Concluding that the church members who had lived in that town knew what they were talking about, I set up a Bible study with her.  We studied to for weeks but she wasn't budging.

One day, I heard that her husband was visiting his sickly father in a hospital 35 miles away.  I felt compelled to join him there and did.  After visiting with his dad, the young man asked if we could talk and a couple of hours latter, he was asking to be baptized.  Later, following the lead of her husband, Mary was baptized as well.

Despite how certain I was of whom I should be reaching, God knew better.  He knew the condition of their hearts and when the time was right.  God set up a divine appointment 35 miles away in a hospital I had never set foot in heretofore.  Bu, accepting the leaning upon my heart instead of the deduction of my brain, I kept that appointment, God was faithful and a family was brought to the Lord.  By the way, later he became a deacon in the church.

You may feel frustrated in trying to reach out to someone or attempting to accomplish some good thing, wondering why God isn't blessing your efforts, why he isn't listening to your prayers.  I would suggest that it is not God who needs to pay closer attention but it's  is you that needs to be prayerfully listening for the Spirit's assignment of a divine appointment.

Your efforts to do good may often be frustrated because the timing is not right.  But God is faithful and if you continue to seek after Him, you will have success: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Gal 6:9).  Jus' Say'n.

This Generation

In reading from the Book of Acts this morning, I came across this reflection on King David, "Now when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed" (13:36).

It is important to note that while David was not perfect, he was someone about which "God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do'" (Acts 13:22).

So David, imperfections and all, served God faithfully "in his own generation."  It is critical to note that faithful service to God has the component of doing so in the generation God calls you to serve.  In my work as an Arkansas Hospice chaplain, I daily minister to individuals of an advanced age, people from an earlier generation.  People who resonate with references to farm life, individuals familiar with the sayings of Will Rogers and those who light up when I sing classic hymns.

Those folk are my generation when I'm on the job.  Most of my patients are well beyond my six decades.  They are open to and respond well when I speak in the language of their generation.  And, since I am called to work with them, I have to step out of this generation and into one from a former time.  That is my generation for those visits.

However, when I'm working with veterans who are often younger than myself, I step into a different generation for which urban references replace farm talk, Will Smith over Will Rogers and contemporary Christian music connect much better than classic hymns.

Do you see my point?  If you're going to minister to residents of a nursing home, that is one generation into which you are stepping.  If you are attempting to do outreach in a retirement village, that is another one.  If you are trying to connect with Millennial families, you have entered into a different generation again.  And, if you are going to reach today's Generation Z (AKA: iGeneration, Post Millennials, Centennials or Plurals), you are entering into an entirely new and different world.

We are faithful to God not by clinging to the rituals and idioms and patterns of our past, but by taking the ageless, eternal message of God and presenting it in the language and idioms and music of the generation into which we are called to serve - that is our generation for the purposes of ministry.

In considering whom to serve, your ability to speak their language, understand their thinking and idioms should weigh heavily.  If you are not familiar with one group or another, it is better to move on or determine to learn how to connect and communicate.

Specifically, to serve God in your generation requires that you are equipped to serve there, which may come naturally if you are serving in your own age group.  Or, it may require retooling if you are reaching out to those born in a different time than yourself.  To serve God in your own generation is to serve those of the generation you are choosing to own or adopt.  That may require a rather radical change in your personal outlook and communicative style.  Jus' Say'n.

Faith In My GPS

I was heading to an address to which I had never been before in a town I had only ever been once.  I had no idea of the landscape or any identifying markers.  But, I had my trusty iPhone GPS, which I use several times a day on the job.  Normally it takes me right to the place I want to go, so I followed its directions without concern until it told me I had arrived.

Well, I had arrived somewhere but not the somewhere my new patient lived.  In fact, the somewhere it took me turned out to be nowhere near where I wanted to be.  Instead, it turned out to be twenty some odd miles in the opposite direction.  To be fair, it was on the right road just the wrong spot on that road.

When people tell me that it doesn't matter what you believe in as long as you believe in something or that it doesn't matter what road you take religiously because they all are going to the same place, I have to wonder if they ever faithfully followed their GPS to an empty lot.  What I have learned is that not all roads arrive at the same place.  Even the right road won't arrive at the right place if you travel the wrong direction on it.

When Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life.  And no man comes to the Father except through me" (Jn 14:6), where does that leave followers of Muhammad or Buddha or Krishna?  Will they indeed come to the Father - will they indeed by saved?  Sadly no, for "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).  The Bible is clear: Jesus is the Way, there is no other way.

Well, that's pretty narrow thinking isn't it?  Yes and no. Taking the right path is narrow, choosing the right direction is narrow, finding the right answer is narrow.  You can't just take any bus or train or plane to a particular place.  You will find that you have to take the one that is going where you want to go.  You can be broad-minded and take another one, but you will wind up somewhere else.

But, it is not narrow-minded to accept the "one and only who came from the Father" (Jn 1:14) to the exclusion of all others, it is right-minded because it is true.  Is it narrow-minded to insist that one woman is your wife to the exclusion of all other women?  No, it is true and factual,

It is not narrow-minded to insist that "God is one and there is no other but him" (Mk 12:32), it is true and factual.  To insist that one's faith is personal and all are equally valid is not broad-minded, it is wrong-minded.  There is only one God and he "gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3:16).  Jus' Say'n.

The Journey's End

My wife and I went to see a very dear friend yesterday who is in an a hospice inpatient unit.  She was frail, she was weary and she was just a slip of her former self.  But she was not defeated, she was victorious.  She did not talk of coming to. An end but of reaching her destination.  Rather than someone who was finished, she was someone who was crossing the finish line.  Our dear friend was not going away, she was arriving home (2:19).

As we prepared to leave, we did not say goodbye, but instead said, "We'll catch up with you later.  We know where you're going."  We know, as she knows, that her death is very close but that only means that her life is finally about to begin in earnest.  She is about to leave the battle field and return home to receive a victor's crown (Js 1:12).

There was a sweet sadness as we were leaving because we knew that we would be staying behind for now and be deprived of her presence for a time.  Even though we know the glory awaiting her, there is still the journey ahead of us.  It is a little bit like sending your child off to college.  As happy as you are for them to be able to go, you are sad that you will be separated from them.

But, in the end, there is no doubt that going is much better than staying and for that we rejoice.  Our friend and we can rejoice in a time like this for one simple reason: We know Jesus Christ as Lord.  Because of that relationship, we know where she is going and we know the way there.  This is the promise upon which we all, as Christians rest:

John 14:1-4 NIV
[1] “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God ; believe also in me. [2] My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. [4] You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jus' Say'n.

Washing Feet

Before eating a Passover meal with his disciples, Jesus took a towel and basin of water to wash their feet.  When he finished, he said to them, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you" (Jn 13:15).  This is, in point of fact, the only thing Jesus ever said was an example we are to follow.

Interestingly, it is not generally among those things most Christians do today as following a biblical example.  While we talk about the need to follow the biblical examples of attending worship services, taking communion, giving contributions and such,  we feel quite free to pass on the one thing that was actually set forth as "an example tht you should do."

Why is that?  Why do we simply ignore this very specific imperative of following the example of washing feet?  Is it because we find touching other people's feet icky?  Is it because we find touching other's feet a little too intimate?  I think both of those reason weigh in on our reluctance to even consider feet washing as an ongoing part of our Christian witness.

But the real reason it is passed on, by and large, is that we know feet washing was a cultural phenomenon that has little relevance in the modern Western churches.  We simply don't trudge around in dirty, dusty places with sandaled feet and then show up to a church gathering or a common meal with dirty, smelly feet.

In response to, “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” (Jn 13:9), Jesus said that the rest of their body was clean, only the feet needed washing.  The cultural relevance is clearly implicated in those words.  The need of foot washing really doesn't take exist today.  The opting out seems legit, don't you think?

Yes and no.  Washing feet that don't need washing generally has little place in today's church.  Although, it can be a very moving experience.  However, the example that must not be left out is the example of servant hood Jesus gave:  Read verses 13 - 17 of our passage, where Jesus points out the servant hood factor and concludes, "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."

The ritual is not the example, it is the relational posturing of serving one another freely, regardless of one's place in the church or in society.  The example that we should follow is in seeking to serve rather than being served.  Jus' Say'n.

Set Free By Truth

If you have been a Chirst follower for any amount of time, you no doubt have heard or read John 8:32, which says, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free."  Typically, when that verse is applied, we point it toward those who do not know or accept Jesus as Lord.  And rightly we say that in knowing Jesus, who is "the way, the truth and the life" (Jn 14:6), they will be set free.

However, as true and vital it is fro unbelievers to come to a knowledge of the truth in a personal relationship with Jesus, they are not alone in the need to be set free by truth.  Far too. Many follower of Jesus, fail to walk in the freedom his blood purchased for them.  Instead, they are held captive by their regrets of the past, inprisoned by their desires of the present and held down by their fears of the future.

Instead of fully embracing the truth that God's love brings grace and freedoms from sin, so many seem to endure the trauma of legalism that brings judgment and restriction.  Instead of welcoming the Spirit of Truth into our hearts that brings peace, they wither under the hand of the Liar who says they are alone and in over their heads.

How many, who call on the name of Christ, still cry out in fear?  How may who have been baptized into his death in order to be raised into new life (cf. Rom 6:4) still live as prisoners of their old life?  How many are ruled by their addictions instead of being release by their attraction to Christ?  How many drudge through life instead of dancing in the light?

Do you get my point?  That we who are born again of the Spirit ought to be bursting out in spirit, "shining like stars" (Phil 2:15).  Our lives should burst out in "songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts" (Col 3:16).  The truth of God's love, Christ's sacrifice and the Spirit's I dwelling power ought to cause us to face life with confidence not confinement.

The truth is that Christ set us free.  The truth is that he will never leave us to face life alone.  The truth is that he has already won the victory.  The truth is that, in Christ, we are already in kingdom territory, heaven bound not bound by the law of sin and death (Rom 8:2).  Jus' Say'n.

Faith in a Fog

For three years the apostles traveled around the Holy Land with Jesus, watching as he healed the sick, cast out demons and raised people from the dead.  They witnessed first-hand him taking a lunch baker of fish and bread, multiplying it to feed thousands.  The saw him walk on water and were spellbound as he commanded the winds and the waves to be still.  They even bore witness to him carrying on a conversation with the long-dead Moses and Elijah.

During this time, he told them that he must go to Jerusalem, be put to death and then would rise on the third day.  Peter tried to talk him out of it while Thomas encouraged the other to go to Jerusalem so they could die with him.  His plan was not a secret.  His power was clearly displayed.

However, after he died and the women who saw the Risen Lord told them about and the apostles went to the empty tomb, their response was more than a little dim: "Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened: (Lk 24:12).

Really?  He wondered what had happened?  Yep!  Miracle after miracle, proof and proof, and yet Peter's best was to wonder what might have happened.  To say that his faith was in a fog is to be generous.  He was straining to see what was clearly shown to him for years.

It is so easy for us to see how foggy Peter's faith was, and even to question how it could have been so dim.  And yet, are we really so different?  Haven't we all witnesses the Lord's provision and protection, been blessed time after time and still struggle with believing he will see us through this latest problem, whatever it might be?  Isn't our faith in a fog as well?

Absolutely it is.  But, take heart for just as Peter;s faith developed despite the fog, so can ours.  Our dim, mustard seed little faith does not disqualified us, it is enough to propel us.  Don't get hung up on the dimness of your humanity, instead be challenged by the brightness of your calling. Just keep on wrestling with your faith hang ups and hang your salvation on his power to save completely instead of your power to see clearly.  Keep walking by faith, even in the fog.  Jus' Say'n.

Words

Jesus once told his disciples, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Lk 21:33).  The stark reality of that notion is mind bending.  The world in which we live, indeed the entire universe in which we exist and even the heavenly realm will come to an end, but his words will never be unspoken or even changed.

Of course, some debate the fact that he actually meant that heaven and earth will pass but I see no grounds for modifying the straight-forward meaning, especially since His Spirit, through the apostle John, said, "Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away" (Rev 21:1).

That his words will never pass away ought to give us as Christians great comfort as it means that his promises will never expire and his truth will never be changed.There is also the flip side of reality in that his warnings and his judgments will never pass away either.  Therefore we ought to listen to him alone just as the Father proclaimed on the mountain top, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him" (Lk 9:35).

The never ending, unalterable nature of the words of Jesus is an awesome thought indeed.  But did you know that your own words are also permanent and impervious to change?  Did you know that once you say a word that it takes on a life of its own and remains said forever?  "I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken" (Matt 12:36).

Given that words have permanent, unalterable weight, should we not weigh them out very carefully?  Ought we not take great care as to what we say?  If you tell a child that he is bad, when does that image disappear from his psyche?  Never!  If you tell a little girl that she is beautiful, when does that image go away?  Never!  What we say, good or bad, remains said forever.

Other words, from within or without, can begin to outweigh those original words but those words are still there and can only be affected by the counter-balance of new words.  But those words will not disappear and can always rise back up to help or harm an individual.

So, given that your words will echo eternally, even until Judgment Day itself, and that their impact on others cannot be retracted, perhaps we should "quick to listen [and] slow to speak" (Js 1:19).  Jus' Say'n.

Faith Enough

The response Jesus received from his statement that disciples ought to forgive someone seven times for the same offense when asked was very interesting: "The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” (Lk 17:5).  The call to forgive without limit was so daunting all they could say was, "Wow!  We need a serious boost in our belief factor to pull this off."

Jesus' response to them was equally interesting.  He did not comment on the enormity of the call or the deficiency of their faith.  Instead, he simply challenged them to use the faith they had to deal with the call they received: He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you" (v. 6).

What Jesus was saying to his disciples was that the standard of the cross was not too high nor was the measure of their faith too low.  Neither factor needed to be changed as God had not over burdened them or under empowered them.  What needed to be changed was their use factor.

Jesus, dismissing their call to create a level playing field, told them to simply use the faith they had.  Even if it were true that you posses the smallest amount of faith and the task was of the greatest magnitude, just put the faith you have into practice and watch it work.

A mustard seed is about the size of a flea but the plant that it produces when put to work in the soil is the size of a shed.  The thing is that we are not the source of power behind our faith, God is.  And even when we are facing an impossible challenge considering our weakness, it is not impossible for God to bless our feeble efforts.

Matthew adds a sub note when he talks about the power of a  mustard-seed faith, which affirms this very point: "Nothing shall be impossible for you" (Matt 17:20).  Whatever it is that God is calling you to do, regardless of the amount of faith you feel you have, it is enough for God is more than enough.  Jus' Say'n.

Roadblocks

Yesterday I was scheduled to speak at a Disabled American Veterans Post in a town more than an hour away from where the last of five patients I would be seeing across a fifty-mile corridor.  The heavy rains and thunderstorms that made traffic slow to a crawl prevented me from getting to the office early and being Monday, there was a lot to deal with before I could get into the field.

One of the new patients I saw yesterday lived on a gravel road that looked like a driveway and the street sign had been knocked down to a point I did not notice it passing by and when I finally discovered where it was, heading down it I found it split off in three directions (I, of course, chose the wrong one at first).

My next house was in a rural area where no one seemed to have heard of house numbers, causing me to pass by the home a couple of time before being able to deduce which one was my destination.  The final house was down a gravel road that led to another gravel road, which led to another gravel road before coming to long drive with no markings.

Despite all the challenges, I was left with 1 1/2 hours to travel a 1 1/4 hour journey to my speaking appointment.  I was making good time as the rains had slowed up and the traffic was light - until, of course, I saw the tire warning light come on.  Pulling over I saw that my back left tire was going flat. I was able to use the pump and tire-flat fix that came with the car and get on my way to a place my GPS would take me that was not where the DAV was located and my smart phone was not smart enough to find a listing for it.  By the way, the phone number I though I put in my wallet - not.

There I was, completely depleted of time and resources to get to my destination.  But then there was God.  I simply prayed for his help and began driving toward home believing that He would get me there if it were his will.  My phone rang and it was the DAV commander asking if I were OK, who gave me directions that included "Keep driving the way your heading, it is about five miles on down that road."

Sound familiar?  Not just being lost and having one setback after another but facing life's challenges and coming upon one roadblock after another.  When you are at your wit's end, time running out and no answer in sight - have you not found God to be there when you call?

Although God does not always answer in the way you might have imagined, he does answer.  Have you not found it to be true that when you turn to God in faith and wait upon his timing that you can "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matt 7:7)?  Jus' Say'n.

Housekeeping

When attending a church conference, seminar or retreat, where the budget doesn't allow for hired help to take care of setting up or cleaning up, it is necessary that the attendees work together to take care of those things.  Someone will usually get up one or more times during the event to let everyone know of the housekeeping needs that must be attended to.

However, could you imagine that while the keynote speaker was talking, attendees started getting up to move chairs, sweep the floors or set up tables instead of listening?  "Oh, sorry for the commotion, Dr Jones, we know you've got a lot to say about spiritual renewal but we've got these housekeeping chores..."  Really?

And, could you imagine a group of Protestants doing that if Billy Graham was the keynote speaker or a group of Catholics choosing to do housekeeping while the Pope was speaking?  Not hardly.  But, what if the keynote speaker was Jesus Christ himself?  Who would pass on hearing him speak to attend to housekeeping?  No one right?  Wrong!  Martha did.  And Marthas still do.''

In Luke 10:38ff, Martha goes about attending to housekeeping needs while Mary sits, listening at Jesus' feet.  Not only does Martha pass on the opportunity to sit and listen, she complains to Jesus that Mary isn't helping her out instead of listening.  Martha could not believe Mary's misplaced priorities.  They were the hosts, hospitality rules required they make preparations.

The things is though, physical needs really do not outweigh the spiritual ones.  As important as housekeeping might be, it pales next to hearing words of life.  Jesus realigns Martha's priorities in saying, "Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed---or indeed only one" (Lk 10:41-42).

The point for us is, in the middle of a life with so many demands, will we put housekeeping forever ahead of spending time with our Lord.  Do you ever say, "I just don't have time to study my Bible" or "I just can't work in a quiet time.""  Really?  In the 24 hours you have every day, there aren't any moments you could spend with God?  Is your housekeeping really that pressing, that important?  Jus' Ask'n.

What You Can

Shortly before Jesus would be going to the cross, he was at a supper when a woman came in and poured out a jar of very expensive perfume on his head to anoint him.  While some of the disciples were indignant that she would waste something so expensive when it could have been sold for more than a year's wages and given to the poor.

Jesus told them to leave her alone for, "She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial (Mk 14:8).  This very similar to what he said earlier about the widow who conversely gave a very small amount of money at the temple equaling only pennies:

"Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything---all she had to live on" (12:43-44).

One's gift was of great value, the other's was of very little but he praised them both for their gifts because they did what they could.  Much or little was not the point, but that they did what they could was everything.  Jesus went so far as to say of the woman who poured out the perfume:

"Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her" (Mk 14:9).

The deal is that it matters little what you offer or do for the Lord but rather that whatever you can do from the heart to honor him that you do that.  Do not worry if it is enough as long as it is what you can offer: "For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have" (2 Cor 8:12).  Jus' Say'n.

Listen To Him

One day Jsus took Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain, where he was transfigured before them and entered into a conversation with two long-dead biblical characters, Moses and Elijah.  Peter was so dumbfounded that all he could think to say was, "it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters, one for you, one for Elijah and one for Moses?" (Mk 9:6).

No sooner had the words came out of his mount, a voice for heaven came out of the cloud saying, "Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” (V. 7).  Jesus is not one of many or one of very few, Jesus is The One.  He is "the way, the truth and the life" (Jn 14:6). 

We are tempted to put Jesus along side our families or our jobs when making decisions.  We tend to weigh out what our family will think, what our boss might say and what would. Jesus do as if they all carried equal weight, but they do not.  Only one has any bearing on what is right: Jesus Christ.

To be sure, how we are to treat our family and how we are to regard our employer are both things upon which Jesus puts a premium.  We are to love and take care of our families.  We are to respect and work hard for our employers.  These are things our Lord requires of us (see 1 Tim 5:8 and Gal 3:23).  However,  it is our love for the Lord that ought to determine what we do and when.

What I am getting at is that our devotion to the Lord must be supreme: "This is the first and greatest commandment" (Matt 22:38).  We must not decide what we will do for the Lord depending on what our family or what our employer decides is best.  Rather we should regard and respond to them based on what Christ says is best.

When we put the Lord first, seeking his righteousness, our family needs and our job demands will be in their proper place and God will provide what is good and best (note Matt 6:33).  It is not Jesus along side our family and employment or whatever else, it is Jesus alone.  And, in following him out of singular devotion results in his "working out all things [even family needs and job demands] for the good of them that love Him" (Rom 8:28).  Jus' Say'n.

Looks

It is a good looking little tree, the picture of health and vitality. He trunk looks strong and sturdy, and its branches heavy with drak green palm leaves.  Yes, it looks like it is doing quite well but it is not. For it to grow and develop into the awesome tree it can be, it will need to be dug up and replanted.

Why, everything looks just fine from what can be seen on the surface?  True, but it's problem is not on the surface, it's problem is underneath,  in the soil. The soil wasn't prepared properly and the roots will not get the sufficient nutrient. It may survive but it will not thrive.

Jesus tells a parable of just such a tree that was lacking in soil preparation: “ 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it" (Lk 13:8).  The answer was the same - get down to the root and prepare the soil.

Of course, Jesus was not really talking about a tree and neither am I. He was talking about the unrepentant heart that outwardly may appear to be just fine but inwardly, at the root, there is nothing to draw from and therefore lacks the spiritual nutrition to bear fruit.

My focus is the uncommitted heart, that also appears fine from the outside but inwardly lacks vitality because the soil in which it sits is not being prepared properly for growth. Lacking in devotional time of Bible study and prayer, short on ministry involvement and personal sacrifice, and lackluster in worship and praise, this heart will never be what God has designed it to be.

This heart needs to have the soil dug out around it, fertilized and watered deeply. This heart needs the kind of of cultivation that allows roots to run deep into the Word and the Spirit of God. Looking the part will not sustain us when the storms or droughts of life come. We need to truly be buried in Christ so that just as he was raised up "we too may have a new life" (Rom 6:4). Jus' Say'n.

Timing

You've probably heard the cliche, "Timing is everything."  And, to be sure, if an opportunity is presented before you are ready or after you are no longer able to take advantage of it, it may as well have been withheld altogether.

It is also said that "Opportunity only knocks once," suggesting that we must be ready to act upon it when it is presented.  Of course, that imperative is subordinate to the fact of timing.  When I was 16, I was offered the opportunity to buy a 1970 Chevelle Super Sport but the problem was that I didn't have the money or the credit to make the purchase at the time.

 When I was 17, I wanted to enlist in the ARMY like my brothers did but was not allowed until I was 18, by which time I decided that the Air Force was a better opportunity.   Again, timing trumped opportunity.
To be offered something or to seek after something at the wrong time is to, in the end, to do without that something.  However, when something is presented at just the right time results in having that something.  Timing, in effect, is everything and to be ready when opportunity knocks is important.

But her's the rub: We don't always know when the time is right.  What we want and what is offered to us doesn't necessarily sinc with the right time.  We often fail by striking the iron when it's cold or picking up the potato when it's too hot.

This inability to know the time causes many to doubt God who doesn't necessarily act in accordance with our understanding of timing.  We have the idea that God should answer our prayers when we present them but God presents things when the timing is right.  For instance, Jesus told the disciples, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear" (Jn 16:12).

Jesus even warned his mother not to press him too much about using his power of divinity saying, I “My hour has not yet come" (Jn 2:4).  God's timing is perfect, neither too early or too late.  It has been said that while God may pass on showing up early, he will never show up too late.

My point in saying all this is that God is faithful but acts according to his timing, not ours.  And to trust in God is to trust in his timing. "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly" (Rom 5:6).  This is God's timing, "just right."  Jus' Say'n.

Yes You Can!

Many years ago, a young couple set in my office as I counseled them about their toxic relationship.  In particular, he had been physically abusing her.  In his own defense, he offered, "I just can't help it when she says something to make me mad."

"Really," I replied.  Are you telling me that if you were angry with her right now and I told you that I had a gun and would blow your brains out if you hit her, you couldn't keep from hitting her?  "Well, of course I could under that circumstance," the young man replied.

"So," I then said to him, "it's a lack of adequate motivation to stop that allows you to keep on hitting her."  He didn't say anything in response, he just sat there rolling that thought around in his head.  While he was doing that, I said, "Why don't we consider some really good reasons why you should stop from this minute forward.

What I said to hi was not some counseling trick, it was truth, which spoke to his circumstance and to yours as well.  The righteous things God sets before us are not impossible for us as he assures that, he "can do more than we can ask or imagine according to his power at work within us" (Eph 3:20).  I cannot be we don't have the power, it is more that we don't have adequate motivation.

You probably know of someone who couldn't quit smoking but did after being told by their doctor it was that or die.  Many who just couldn't successfully diet finally did when they finally realized their life depended on it.  I sometimes listen to the Dave Ramsey radio program while driving and get to hear couple after couple give their "Debt Free Scream."  Typically their testimonial contains a moment when they finally had enough of having nothing and then set about paying off a mountain of debt they never though they could.

Motivation.  As Christians faced with doing the right thing but thinking it's much too hard, shouldn't it be motivation enough to know our faith itself may be on the line?  Shouldn't the fact that the souls of people in our community be motivation enough?  Shouldn't the fact that our Lord calls us to righteous living be enough?

When we, as children of God, are ruled by the same temptations as the world around us and constantly give in to the same weaknesses as everyone else, where is the strength of our testimony?  How can we offer the call of Christ to a people who don't see any difference in our lives?

I don't want this question to come across as a judgment as many reading this strive to live very God-honoring lives.  And others truly struggle with demons that are deeply imbedded such a addictions your battling daily.  Rather, what I hope you hear is a challenge to take your eyes off the struggle and set them on the Savior, listening to his call to and promise of victory instead of the voice of condemnation and defeat.

What I want you to hear specifically is, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it" (1 Cor 10:13).  Jus' Say'n.

April Fool's Day

Urban Legend from the Internet insists that a Florida judge ruled against an atheist suing for a special day as counter-balance to religious holidays such as Christmas, stating there was already a day set aside for them.  The story ends with the plaintif's lawyer objecting, saying he was not aware of any such day to which the judge retorted, "Certainly there is, Psalm 14:1 clearly says that "The fool says in his heart there is no God," so April 1st, Fool's Day is it."

Snopes.com,, an Internet fact-check site, insists the Urban Legend is "False."  However, just because it is a myth doesn't mean it contains no truth.  To believe that there is no God, that everything came when no substance and no power suddenly exploded non-existing gasses, causing non-existing dust to fly randomly through a non-existing space creating an endless universe filled with seemingly unlimited planets and stars and galaxies that move together in an orderly way according to laws set by no one or no thing is certainly the a fool's decree.

Although admitting that I am not a scientist, my academic pursuits did include enough for me to become familiar with the First Law of Thermodynamics, which says, in part, "...energy can be transformed from one form to another but cannot be created or destroyed."  This law insists that, in the natural universe, nothing can be created or destroyed and yet here we are looking at everything being created from absolutely nothing, acted on by a power when there was absolutely nothing to act.

Since there is no way, in the natural world, that anything, let alone everything, could have come to be, there is no escaping the fact that the beginning must have come from the Supernatural, something or someone super (above and beyond) what we see in the natural world about us (i.e. God).  To deny this obvious truth is patently foolish and, if a day were to be set aside for those who say there is only the natural, it would seem that April Fool's Day would be as good as any.  Jus' Say'n.