Just One

On my way home from work yesterday, my preacher and I were talking about how important it is that we use whatever avenues we can to teach the non-negotiable truth that Jesus is the one and only way. This morning my Bible reading took me to two places that express that same truth.

First in John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

And then, Matthew 26:39,42,44-45, "Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'  He went away a second time and prayed, 'My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.'  So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.  Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, 'Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.'"

The message is clear: Jesus was sent into the world to suffer death because there was simply no other way for man to be saved. Apart from him, we stand on our own and that foundation will not support us. There is no other way: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

If there was another way, God the Son would not have went to the cross. If there were another way Gd the Father would not have sent him. If there were another way, God the Spirit would have revealed that instead of the singular truth: "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (Jn 14:6). Jus' Say'n. 

Praying To Hear

I was reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes this morning and was struck with the words found in the first verse of chapter 5: "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong."

The beginning words, "guard your steps," is much the same as us saying, "watch where you are going."  The prophet is warning us, as we approach God, to be considerate of where we are going - before the very throne of God.

So why warn us about going before God?  Doesn't His Word invite us to "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence..." (Heb 4:16)?  Certainly it does but not a confidence that comes from ourselves, rather one that comes from the Lord.

The point then is not to be fearful in approaching God but rather to be mindful.  Specifically, the prophet is warning us not to come before God with preconceived ideas of what is good and right or already having determined what God should do.  Instead, approach Him with an open heart, seeking what is good and best and right.

Consider how we approach God in prayer, telling him what we need and what others ought to have instead of seeking to find out what God wants from us and/or for us.  The difference is in calling for the Lord and calling on the Lord. Calling for is how one address a servant while calling on is subservient.

God is not a genie in a bottle for which we summon to do our bidding. Goes is the Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer and Judge of the universe. We need to approach Him with a humble spirit, asking for his guidance, for his will, for his answers to our needs, our desires, our direction.

So, the point is to be careful to,approach God with an open heart rather than an open hand.  We need to come before him asking where and how we are to go rather than telling him where and soliciting his help in getting there.

It is not that should never ask God for those things we want but rather we ought to approach him with a humbleness that "seeks first the kingdom of God..." (Matt 6:33a)  knowing that  "...all these things [earthly needs] will be given to you as well" (Matt 6:33b).  Jus' Say'n.

Thanks For That?

When I was young, my mom would tell me to be thankful in hard times that we had food too eat, that we had clothes to wear, that we had a roof over our heads.  During the hardest of times, she would point out that there were others around us who would gladly change places with us.  Regardless of the hardship, she encouraged us to be thankful.

What she said made sense and I had no doubt that she was right.  She was, after all, Mom.  And, I had heard of the starving children in Africa as well as the ones in China who were responsible for the fact that I had to eat everything on my plate.  How could I not be thankful when I had what others were dying without?

However, what God calls us to is deeper than just being thankful for what little we have, He calls us to be thankful even when that little is taken from us, even if we should be the desperate and starving ones for whom we were told to remember when we felt sorry for ourselves.  The Bible tells us to, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thess 5:16-18).

More than that even, the Bible tells us to even be thankful for difficult times and the very difficulties themselves: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds" (Js 1:2).  Be thankful to the point of joyfulness for times of trials and the very hardships themselves?  What is the sense of that?

The sense is 1) God said so and 2) hard times enrich us with good character: "because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance" (v. 3).  And, the character developed in this hard times serves to mature and complete us: "Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (v. 4).

We can and ought to be thankful in all circumstances, to be thankful even for the challenging circumstance, to be content regardless and to joyfully face whatever the world may throw at us, even when life seeks to take away our joy.  As Paul tells us in Philippians 4:4-13, we can rejoice and be content in all circumstances because "Christ strengthens us."

In the difficulties, even due to the circumstances, Christ is with us and gives us strength to take what the world gives and find reason to give thanks to God - even for that, that thing you are facing that seems too much to bear.  Yes, even that.  Jus' Say'n.

Enough

I remember the old Popeye the Sailor Man cartoon character getting fed up with the abuse of one bad character or another (usually Brutus) and decrying, "Enough is enough and enough is too much!"  Sometimes that is precisely the case where one has had enough of something to reach the "I can't or will not take this anymore!" state of being.

However, generally speaking, enough, is the state of being adequate in which one has enough food to eat or enough gas to make it home or enough money to make it through until next payday.  Enough generally meets the required need sufficient for the cause.

To go beyond enough can bring us into abundance and that can be a wonderful thing.  Having enough money to make it to payday is a good thing.  Having additional money to put aside for a rainy day is even better.  Having enough food to feed your family is wonderful.  Having enough food to share with others is more than welcome.

On the other hand, going beyond enough can reach a point of diminishing returns or even disastrous outcomes.  Eating enough food to satisfy hunger is a good thing.  Eating beyond enough that amount can lead to discomfort, weight gain and even a disease like diabetes.

The point is having an awareness when enough has been has been provided and stopping before one has had enough.  Yesterday, I was talking to a young couple trying to come to terms with a terminal diagnosis.  At one point, the wife said, "Thank you so much for saying that.  It has really helped me." Hearing those words and seeing that her husband was beginning to look very tired, I replied, "And there is where I will leave it for today."  I wrapped our time up with prayer and she walked me to the door again expressing how much she appreciated my visit.

I had more stuff to share with them but to have done so would have risked moving them getting from having enough to having had enough.  There is a big difference.  In Luke 22:36, contrary to what many might believe, Jesus insisted that his disciples arm themselves for self-defense as he sent them out.  When he told them to make sure they had a sword, "The disciples said, 'See, Lord, here are two swords.' 'That's enough!' he replied" (vs. 38).

Their two swords was enough to provide an acceptable level of self-defense.  For them to have carried more could have marked them as armed for a rebellion caused people to suspect them being up to no good.  Enough discipline provides needed training in a child's life but to go beyond enough can cross the threshold of abuse.  Enough is enough but having had enough is too much.

Well, have you had enough of this blog or did I give you enough to help?  I think I must stop here and allow you to reflect on that very notion.  I hope you always have enough but seldom reach the point of having had enough.  'Nuf Said."

Different But One

In response to something I said a while back regarding the "Black Lives Matters" movement, an African-American individual I've known for some time told me that I'd never understand what it was like to be a black man in this country.  My response was that I agreed but that he would never understand what it was like to be this white man.

He and I come from the me generation but our color gave us different experiences.  He faced some hardships that I did not have to face, but I have faced loses that he has yet to face.  I don't know what it means to grow up in an inner city ghetto but he doesn't know what it's like to live in the country without electricity or indoor plumbing.

I didn't grow up having to depend on government assistance.  He didn't have to hoe a garden, wring chicken necks and chop wood for survival.  I'll never quite understand black life in the hood; he'll never quite understand white life in the woods.

I will never know what it's like to sit in an over-crowded class in an under-funded school with an over-worked and frazzled teacher trying her best under some of the worst conditions.  He will never know what it is like to sit in a one-room school with one overwhelmed teacher trying to teach eight separate grades at one time without even the convenience of an indoor toilet.

The simple fact was that both of us had our own difficulties and challenges that the other will never quite understand.  It would be easy to say that one or the other had an advantage.  But the truth is that we both had some advantages and disadvantages not shared by the other.  His life was difficult in ways I'll never understand and mine was equally a mystery to him.

But what we share in common is a Savior that fully understands us both, "who has been tempted in every way, just as we are —yet he did not sin" (Heb 4:15).  We both serve a God who invites us to approach his "throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (v. 16).

Our color and our culture and our childhood do not provide common ground upon which we can stand but our common commitment to the Christ provides a rock foundation upon which we both can and will stand for eternity in a oneness of spirit that the world can never truly understand.  Jus' Say'n.

Too Much

I was talking with a surviving veteran widow yesterday morning, who was asking me what she could do about the fact that Social Security was going to take back some money that was apparently overpaid for a few months and the VA had informed her there would be a change in how they paid her.  She wanted to know what she could do to mitigate the combined assault on her meager income.

I went over her income and allowable deductions and tried to anticipate what the VA would or would not do, but there was simply nothing I could see that she could do to preempt what was about to happen.  She finally said to me, "If they take the full amount out or the VA change is against me, I just don't know what I'll do."

What do you do about something that is out of or beyond your control?  What do you do when nothing within your power is powerful enough to effect the change you want or hope or need to see?  You stop trying to "lasso the moon."  When something is beyond your reach, it's time to stop reaching for it and turn to one who can.

I was in Sam's the other day and a very short woman turned to a very tall man and asked, "Would you hand me that box?"  The box was a good foot or more beyond this little old lady's reach and she wasn't wearing any Nikes, reaching or jumping was simply not going to happen.  She made a better choice than just continuing to stretch or hop, she put it into the hands of someone who could reach it.

When Jesus shared the parable comparing a rich man entering the kingdom and a camel passing through the eye of a needle, his followers asked, "Who then can be saved?” Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God" (Lk 18:26-27).

The answer becomes clear: While it is impossible for you and I to attain the unattainable, it is not for God and therefore we must stop reaching for the unreadable and turn to God, who is always within reach.  As Jesus promised, "Come unto me, all who are heavy burdened [pressed beyond your ability] and I will give you rest [provide the help that gives you relief], take my yoke upon you [let me provide the extra pull that is simply too much]...you will find rest for your souls [I will help you do what you cannot do]" (Matt 11:28-30).

When you've done all you can do, gone as far as you can go, reached the limit of your ability, it's time to turn it over to God who can bless your effort and provide the additional help or strength or resource to accomplish the good He would have in your life.  Jus' Say'n.

A Thorny Issue

A thorny issue for many Christians rises when God isn't answering their prayers or doesn't seem to be or isn't answering them as they deem appropriately.  Facing the death of a loved one, a financial meltdown, a personal health issue, a failing marriage, a job loss, or whatever life challenge lies before you; why doesn't God fix it?

There you are, a child of God, facing a painful situation and your prayers seemingly go unheeded.  Why would God simply ignore you?  The simple answer: He wouldn't.  God does not ignore His children: "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us---whatever we ask---we know that we have what we asked of him" (1 Jn 5:14-15).

God hears and God answers but "according to his will" not ours.  While we may not understand it or like it even a little bit, God determines how your prayer ought to be answered, not you.  You turn to God in your pain or need and ask Him for what you think is the proper remedy but that doesn't mean God agrees.  And God, not you or me, knows what is best, all things considered.

That is where we often times miss the boat.  We pray with our personal circumstances or the circumstances of those we love in mind.  God, however, answers mindful of circumstances we don't have in mind.  Our vision and understanding is limited but God's is not.  While we may be thinking of the pain, He may be looking at the gain.

The apostle Paul prayed three times for "a thorn" to be removed but God refused saying, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9).  Without going too deeply into the theology of the passage for sake of time, Paul's perception of a terrible hindrance was actually an opportunity for God's power to be more fully evidenced in his life.

It wasn't just about Paul but rather how the Lord could bring about the most good in Paul's life, good that Paul might otherwise have missed and benefit he might never have realized.  Whether Paul understood the timing or the reasoning was not the point - God is always good and is always right.

However, his answers reflect all things considered, not just the things near to us, dear to us or clear to us.  Just like a loving parent might refuse to give a child the candy asked for, presenting something green instead.  Or prevent them from running after their ball that is rolling toward a busy street. So God looks beyond the moment, beyond our sight, beyond our ability to fully grasp and answers accordingly.  When God's answers feel thorny, it's because there is a point behind them.  Jus' Say'n.