Sick Folk

When you begin to look closely at a church, you start noticing that the people who make it up are not quite as righteous as you might have thought.  You find that they have attitudes, that they don't always have the best motives, that many of them lack abundant faith, that they look suspiciously human, that some are downright hypocrites.

When you begin to look closely at a church, chances are you are going to be disappointed with much of what you see.  You are going to be disappointed with how many are in need of change, with how many need an infusion of faith, with how many are so infected with worldly thinking, with how many are spiritually sick folk, in need of healing.

You begin to wonder, "Are these people really called by Jesus?"  These people look so much like what I see in society around me, can they really be the Church?  Can these emotionally, spiritually, financially, relationally sick people really be who Jesus had in mind calling together to establish kingdom?

The religious leaders and the Pharisees wondered the same thing when they saw Jesus socializing "with tax collectors and sinners" (Mk 2:16) and questioned the disciples on his fellowship choices. Jesus, on hearing what they said, did not dispute their qualification of the crowd he ate with, instead he said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (17).

The church is not meant to be a gathering place of the religiously elite, a sort of spiritual social club.  The church is rather to be a hospital for the spiritually sick and the religiously in-firmed, a place where they can come for help, a place where wounds are bound and sick folk are invited to seek healing.  All of us, by the way, are in need of healing, "No one is righteous, not even one" (Rom 3:10).  I may be further along in the healing process, but I am not healed.  Neither are you.

The answer to our infirmities is not to withdraw from other sick people in some sort of spiritual isolation room, separating ourselves from those who are obviously more sick then we, but rather to  engage with each other, openly talk about our weaknesses and our spiritual brokenness, "Confessing our sins to each other and praying for each other so that we might be healed" (Js 5:16a)

Oh, by the way, those directed to pray for each other so they might be healed are promised that "the prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective" (16b).  The righteous?  Aren't the sick confessing and praying for each other?  Who are the righteous?  The righteous ones are the sick folk who know they are sick and seek healing from the Lord.  We aren't perfect, just forgiven.

The sick folk are us.  We all stand in need of healing.  We all "sin and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 6:23).  We all need to be praying for one another so that we might be overcoming our sin condition by the grace of God, who assigns us righteousness based on His Son's perfection, not ours.  Jus' Say'n.

Unbelieving Belief

A certain man's son was demon possessed and often went into fits of seizure.  The disciples tried to heal him but were unable.  When Jesus came on the scene, the boy's father recounted the disciples' failed attempts and then said, "'But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us. [to which Jesus replied] 'If you can?  Everything is possible for one who believes.'Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, 'I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!'" (Mk 922-24).

Sound familiar?  Not necessarily the text but the dichotomy of faith - that in between place we so often stand, believing and doubting at the same time.  We believe God is and that he is able to do anything but we doubt that he really will.  Perhaps you have prayed like a certain woman asked God to remove a dead tree from her back yard.  The next morning, looking out her back window, seeing the tree, exclaimed, "Still there, just like I thought!"

Really?  Her doubt laced prayer wasn't answered?  Imagine that.  Better yet, listen to the Lord's warning about that: "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt....That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord" (Js 1:6-7).  Do we not often find ourselves in that same position?  We pray for someone to live and then set about to make funeral preparations.  We ask God to keep our old jalopy running until we can afford another one and then trade it in upside down, making payments that break the bank.  We pray for rain but grab an umbrella on the way out.

Is it just me?  Am I the only one who turns things over to God and then tries to micro-manage the outcome?  Is is just my faith that needs a "shot in the arm?"  No, to one degree or another, we all share this "dis - ease."  But do we have to accept that weakness of spirit?  Can we not ask in faith and step out trusting the Father to grant our request, even when it is not yet evident how he will answer?

Can we not say no to the paralysis of doubt and yes to the launching pad of faith, even though we struggle with fully embracing God's power and participation in our lives?  Can we not also ask, "Lord I do believe; help me with my unbelief?"  Can we not admit our weakness while leaning in for strength?  Yes we can!  We can take our unbelieving belief, lay it openly at our Father's feet and like the boy's dad in the story above, God can bless our exercise of a weak faith.

If you think about it, how do you address weak muscles?  Do you wait until they are strong enough before you begin to use them?  Do you wait until your legs are back to 100% before you trust them enough to attempt walking on them?  NO!  We use them, testing them, trying them, building them up to the point where we freely use them.  Faith too must be exercised.  We must take our unbelieving belief and begin to exercise it so that it might grow to an unstoppable faith that fears not but trusts fully in God's power to save.  Jus' Say'n.

Questions

It is interesting to listen in on a conversation, where both parties are trying hard to get their points across but are hardly tyring to listen to the other.  Over speak, wherein each try to talk over the other as they try to continue advancing their ideas without having to consider what the other has to say, is a fairly common phenomenon.

At the end of a presentation by someone who is an expert on the subject, when questions are solicited, even though you know everyone did not get everything being said - silence, no one ventures to ask for illumination.  And then one hand goes up, not to truly ask a question but to demonstrate his/her knowledge on the subject queries, "Dont you think that...?"

In an effort not to appear foolish or ignorant, we often insure that we remain ignorant by our foolish reluctance to ask questions.  In stark contrast, Jesus, of whom the Bible says "grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man" (Lk 2:52), when left behind at the temple, was later found "sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions" (Lk 2:42).

Here we have 12 year-old, God incarnate Jesus, the source of wisdom and knowledge, asking questions.  Of course, in human form, he needed to grow and develop, but how many almost-thirteen year-old are in to asking questions?  Do you remember when your kids were becoming teens?  Do you remember when you were that age?  We knew so much more than our parents at that age, what could anyone over 30 have to share with us?

But Jesus, who actually was developing well beyond his years, knew enough to ask questions and quietly listen to his elders.  When he was questioned by them, because he did listen and learn, "Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers" (Lk 2:47).

When I began my journey of formal religious and theological education, I was quick to answer when a professor asked a question.  I had all the answers.  By the time I was working   on my doctorate, I had discovered that I had almost no answers and was eager to ask questions.  At the completion of my formal studies, I walked away with more questions than I had answers.  I had finally learned enough to know how little I actually knew.

I'm not saying that I go dumber (more ignorant) as I advanced in my studies.  What I am saying is that I learned to sit dumber (less talkative) as I listened to what was being said and asked question at the end of lectures to insure I had a grasp of what was being shared in order to pursue further study on the subject.

If couples actually asked questions and then listened closely to the answer instead of formulating a rebuttal, their would be so much less divorce.  If politicians would come to the table, ready to hear the other side before coming to a decision, they would have so much more bi-partisan bills moving forward.  If church members asked questions, listened intently for the answer before adding to the discussion, like our Lord Jesus, would grow in wisdom and stature.

Any questions?  Jus' Ask'n.

Seeing Everything

When someone sees something that is incredible, amazing, shocking or beyond the pale, so to speak, it is common to hear them say, "Now I've seen everything!"  Of course, they haven't seen everything, their ability to accept what they have seen has simply been stretched to the limits of credulity.

There are some exceptions, however.  God, for instance, has seen everything: "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Heb 4:13).  That would be something that we should keep in mind the next time we're about to do something thinking, "No one will ever know."

Of course, you're not surprised to hear that God has seen everything, that should go without saying that the Creator of all things has seen everything.  But there is another, a regular Joe like you or me, referred to in the Bible as simply, "a man named Simeon."  This nondescript individual, incredible as it may seem, actually saw everything.

And when he did, finally see everything, said what many have said, tongue in cheek, when they have witnessed something really awesome, "Now I can die happy."  He didn't say it in exactly those words and he wasn't overstating his case employing hyperbole.  He did see everything and he could now die happy: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations" (Lk 2:29-31).

Simeon was there when Mary and Joseph presented the baby Jesus at the temple.  His eyes bore witness to what the Spirit had promised him and that for which all of creation had been waiting, the Coming Christ, God incarnate.  Simeon saw the One "Through [whom] all things were made; without [whom] nothing was made that has been made" (Jn 1:3).  Simeon saw everything.

The Bible is very clear that in seeing and accepting Jesus we have everything, while refusing to do so leaves us with nothing for he is "the way, the truth and the life [and] no one comes to the Father without [him]" (Jn 14:6).

Have you seen Jesus?  Have you accepted him?  Jus' Ask'n.

Leaving Room For Mystery

I am a left-brain, linear thinking, 1-2-3, abc, Missouri show me, kind of guy.  Theologically, I was molded from the 19th Century Restoration Movement, which is often referred to as Campbellism after the leading thinker of the movement, Mr Left Brain himself, Alexander Campbell, who was famous for his capacity to logically work through difficult texts and systematically present biblical doctrine and theology.

I have spent my entire adult life seeking to be a thorough-going biblicist, who "correctly handles the Word of Truth" (2 Tim 2:15).  My religious and theological training extends through college, graduate school and seminary, earning enough degrees to become a thermometer.  My left brain went on an  educational journey of a lifetime.

For a time, I knew everything.  I was the answer man.  If you had a question, I probably had an answer.  If I didn't, just give me a few day to search through my 1,000+ volume personal library and I would uncover the answer, deducing it with laser-focused, left-brain accuracy.  Yes indeed, I had all the answers - Not!

I had all the conclusions my doctoral training could conjure up, but, in actuality, I had only begun to scratch the surface of biblical, divine truth.  The problem with me or anyone fully knowing and understanding divine truth is  “...my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Is 55:8-9).

God's thoughts and his ways are a mystery to be revealed to us, not simply by study alone but require revelation: "The person without the Spirit...cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit" (1 Cor 2:14).  Despite our best academic efforts, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us..." (Deut 29:29).

So, I don't and won't fully understand the nature of God.  I don't understand why everything is the way it is or even what way everything is.  There are some things that I accept just because God said it.  Somethings I don't understand at all.  Sometimes, I just scratch my head and to pursue the topic further just makes my brain hurt.  Some things are just a mystery.  And that is OK for God is not one I am capable of fully deciphering.  I have no choice but to leave room in my theological and religious constructs for the mystery of the Almighty.  Jus' Say'n.

No Way? Yahweh!

There was a cartoon of Jesus talking to his disciples, telling them of their Divine calling to which they replied, "No way!"  And then Jesus responded, "Yahweh!"  While I don't usually like jokes involving Jesus or the Father, this one is really spot on theologically.  The disciples incredulous, "This can't be done!" is being me with Jesus' affirmation, "Yes in God it can!"  Luke 18:27, "Jesus replied, 'What is impossible with man is possible with God.'"

I was reading from Luke 1 this morning, where Zechariah the priest was being informed by the angel Gabriel that his wife, Elizabeth, would have a son and Zechariah's incredulous response was, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years" (vs. 18).  The angel's response was definitive: “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news" (vs. 19).

How can I be sure?  God said it!  And as the Lord himself says, "...my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (Isa 55:11).  There us to be a bumper sticker that read, "God said it, I believe it, that settles it."  I would shorten that slogan to simply, "God said, that settles it."  As we see with Zechariah, it doesn't matter if we believe it or not, God's affirmations are firm and will happen.

So, when God promises, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Mt 6:33),  why do you "...worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. (vs. 25)?  Why don't you relax about tomorrow and rejoice in the comfort of God's promises?

As you look at your circumstances, you may be saying to yourself, "This is impossible, there is no way I can do this!"  And you may be right about your ability.  With you there may be no way, but then there is Yahweh!  With God, impossible is not a barrier.  The only barrier to his blessings in your life is your unwillingness or inability to "believe and receive" for "...whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Mk 11:24).

No way?  Not even close!  Yahweh?  Absolutely!  Jus' Say'n.

Doing The Math

We had our weekend all planned out.  We were going to lower our new portable shed by 6 inches, build a ramp for our motorcycles and wire the out building with receptacles and a light.  With these things completed we could then move our bikes to the shed and finally get my car into our garage.

It was a perfect plan, except for one thing, we didn't do the math.  We decided how big a ramp we wanted and what we wanted wired inside the shed, went to Lowes with our card that had a credit on  it to cover the costs of materials, which we purchased and returned ready to tackle the job.

With the help of a friend who knew how to build a ramp, we decided to get the ramp out of the way first.  However, the first leg of our journey to completing the the shed project, was the last leg we were standing on at the end of the weekend when we collapsed in defeat.  The ramp, which had been laid out by our friend and brought to a point that we could finish it on our own, ran into a snag or two (including burning the motor out of a table saw) but was completed to the dimensions we had decided would be adequate.  Again, however, we didn't do the math.

With the ramp complete, we were ready to take our bikes inside.  Tandie suggested I take mine in first since I she hadn't taken a bike up a ramp in a while, so off I went.  It was smooth sailing until I high-centered on the entrance way due to fact that - What?  Right, I didn't do the math.  Due to the length of my wheel base and the distance of the lowest part of my frame to thee ground, it seemed our ramp was probably about two feet too short to allow clearance.  It was a loud and sudden stop inside the doorway.

The ironic thing about this is that my wife, Tandie, is taking college algebra and knows how to figure slope ratios to allow the needed clearance.  Of course, it would have helped if I had asked her to do the math before I jumped in to build the ramp.  It would have helped if I had spent some time praying and thinking about it before tackling it as I might have been reminded of my Lord's warning to do the math in Luke 14:28, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?

Of course, He wasn't talking about ramps and slopes in particular, he was using an analogy warning us to add up the cost of commitment required to be His disciple before taking that step - do the math. Ha I applied his analogy to my project, I could have spared us a weekend on a project that came to such a disappointing end.  Now, as we do the math, it is looking like it might be be more cost effective to hire someone who  does this kind of thing for a living than spend another weekend tearing up the one we built and trying to build another one.

Sorry Lord, you  warned me to do the math, had supplied me with an algebra-equipped mind but I failed to listen and do the math.  Oh, did I mention I am fighting the urge to jump in and try it again?  How does that even add up?  Will I multiply my losses with another run at it or divide my agony by hiring a professional?  WWJD?  Well, as a carpenter by trade and God of the universe, he would do it right.  What would he have me do?  I believe it would be to use the gifts he has given me, one of which is not ramp-building.  And don't even get me started on possibilities of angst if I were to try to wire this shed.

So, what's the takeaway?  Listen to Jesus.  Whatever you are about to do, take some time to prayerfully and carefully consider the cost.  Do the math before making a mess.  Jus' Say'n.