What Are We Waiting For?

There are a few things that I’m pretty sure everyone does.  One that everyone does on a regular basis (besides sleeping) is waiting.  Here are just a few things that we wait for.

1.      Child to be Born (talk to 9 month pregnant woman)

2.      In line at places like the Bank or MVD (Anger Management may be needed)

3.      Christmas / Birthday (watch kids)

Waiting is in the Bible a lot also.  Look at how long Abraham and Sarah waited to have a child! Think about how much God repeatedly waits for His people to return to Him!  He calls out to them again and again and waits for them to respond.  God is slow to anger (Psalm 86:15).  He is willing to wait on us even when we are hard headed (Makes you think about how you wait at the MVD).   Or, what about the 400 years of hard times and silence Israel endured waiting for the gift of Messiah!

And speaking of Messiah…what about the day in between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday?  This day that is labeled “Holy Saturday” on calendars.  The disciples were unsure of the resurrection.  While the possibility was most likely in their heads, they weren’t expecting it.  So Saturday I assume they were in the upper room waiting and feeling confused.  They were probably praying and meditating on what Jesus said to them the night He was betrayed.  They hadn’t dispersed yet. 

You see God uses waiting to grow us into mature believers.  Think about how much time you spend waiting for something or someone.  Now take a moment and think about how much of that time you waste. 

When Jenny and I were waiting for Sophia to be born we were constantly praying for her.  We were asking God to prepare us to be parents as much as possible.  I was getting her room ready putting all her furniture together.  We began to read books about parenting babies.  I read and meditated on scripture that speaks to being a good father (including what makes our heavenly Father good).

When I am in a line I take the time to pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17) or read a book that’s point fits into this list:

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” (Philippians 4:8, NASB95)

When I am waiting for a holiday such a Christmas or Easter I seek God with a more focused energy than usual.  On Holy Saturday I pray for people in my life and in general who are unsure about the resurrection of Jesus.

We do a lot of waiting in this life.  Let’s use the time well and remember that good things come to those who wait…

Jesus Never Stops Caring!

I have an undergrad in Bible and a Master of Divinity and I have read The Gospel According to Luke several times.  I say that only because as I was reading the book Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas he quoted a passage in Luke that takes place during the Passion narrative and I didn't remember this passage AT ALL!  As I examined the passage in my Bible God spoke to me reminding me that I don't know it all, that it is a life long and everlasting (heaven) pursuit of getting to know Him...and that JESUS NEVER STOPS CARING FOR US!

The passage is Luke 23:26-32.

   “And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.” (Luke 23:26–32, ESV)  

This section begins and ends with Jesus being "led away" to be crucified.  It continues with Romans conscripting Simon to carry the cross for Jesus because He no longer has the physical strength to carry it.  This is a beautiful look at how we are called to carry one another's burdens and to mourn when our brothers and sisters in Christ mourn.  After this moment the other three gospels are silent regarding what happens next.

Luke tells us that there were a bunch of people following Jesus, mourning and lamenting His imminent death.  This is where something strange happens.  Jesus stops, turns towards them, and tells them to stop weeping for Him.  Instead, they are to weep for themselves and their children.  He explains the reason for this is that the day is approaching when judgement will fall on the nation of Israel.  (This is why He refers to them as Daughters of Jerusalem.)  In that day the judgement will be so fierce that the women who were once called accursed for their barrenness will be called blessed.  The reason is that they will only have to fear for themselves and not for their babies.  Jesus then quotes a section of Hosea regarding how people will welcome death in exchange of having to stand before God's wrath.  (While I believe that this is a further prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by Titus in 70 A.D., this truth can also be applied to those who do not know Christ today.  For when He comes again and all eye's have the Truth appear.  They will fear the coming destruction.)

Verse 31 can be a bit confusing.  Jesus is the green wood and the people are dry.  He is communicating in word pictures here.  Think about it...Jesus is the only righteous one to ever walk on this earth.  Now at the hands of the Romans through the blessing of the leadership of Israel He is being handed over for death.  But how easily does green wood burn?  It is extremely difficult to burn fresh wood.  On the contrary a nation that is filled with a works based righteousness and is far from God will be consumed easily.  

Now comes the beauty of this passage.  Jesus in excruciating pain and at His physical limitations is still concerned for the people around Him.  He lets them know that there is no need to weep for Him because He is in charge.  He is going to the cross willingly for their benefit.  And now for their benefit He preaches repentance to the nation once more.  

What I see in this passage is that JESUS NEVER STOPS CARING ABOUT US.  That while we still have breath on this earth it is never to late to repent and turn to Him.  So to mom's and dad's when you are at your physical limits you will be amazed at what your spiritual limit is.  Because no matter how good or bad my daughter behaves I will always do everything in my power to help her.  And we have the Good Father  That is the type of caring that Jesus continually has for us.

So when life isn't fair and you are physically and emotionally spent...rejoice in the trials and let family, friends, and co-workers know why you can rejoice.  Let them know about the hope that is in you.  The reason is, it may be the only way someone finds out that JESUS NEVER STOPS CARING ABOUT US.

Good Friday...Not Just About Jesus

Holy Week contains many significant days within it.  One of those days is Good Friday.  It’s called “Good Friday” because of the amazing act that Jesus did on the cross on our behalf.  So we focus on the work of the cross and the pain and sacrifice that Jesus endured.  This is a good thing to do.  As a result, we often forget about the pain that our Triune God experienced. 

We get so focused on Jesus that we forget that God exists as three persons in perfect unity within the Trinity.  So how was the Trinity affected by this momentous occasion?  For a brief moment in time Jesus became the embodiment of our sin.  In that brief moment the perfect fellowship found in the Trinity was disrupted.  Matthew describes the event in this way:

“Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him. Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.” (Matthew 27:45–56, NASB95)

As a result, the Father grieved over His Son, The Spirit was unable to be Comforter (Acts 9:31, 2 Cor. 1:3), and Jesus felt forsaken and completely alone.  All that agony and pain was experienced by God.  He knows what it feels like to be helpless, rejected, and completely isolated.

So fathers and mothers out there God knows what it feels like to be completely helpless while watching His child suffer to the point of death.  So when you see your child going through a difficult time that you can do nothing about take your cares to God the Father for He can sympathize with your pain.

Friends and Siblings when you are far from a friend in need and you can’t hold them in your arms and share their pain know that the Holy Spirit is able to be there in your absence.   Pray that the Holy Spirit would come and give them peace and comfort.

To those who are suffering and feel as though you are all alone, know that you have a Savior who can sympathize with what you are going through.  That Jesus surrendered His life when He was at His lowest and loneliest point in His life.  Go to Him and cry with Him for He truly understands your pain and what you are going through.

We have a God who is not far off but desires to be in community with us.  He desires to be with us through our pain.  And though Christ felt forsaken while He bore our sins, the Father promised that as long as we are in Christ that He will never leave us or forsake us. 

Remember this Good News on Good Friday!

**Inspiration for this post came from the book 

Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas: Chapter 2, page 31.**

Sophia...God's Teacher Sent For Me

On Sunday morning I got up at 5 am so that I could go to the church and have quiet time with God and prepare for the day.  In the meantime Jenny was amazing because she took the time to give Sophia a bath because we had let time slip away the night before.  That day went quite well and we were able to start Holy Week off quite well.

That evening we went over to my in-laws home and had dinner with them.  Afterwards, Jenny and her mom took Sophia to the nearby park to play while her dad and I talked about books that we had been reading lately.  Eventually they came back and like we left to go home at about 8 so that we could get Sophia down by 8:30. 

When we got back Jenny washed Sophia’s hands from playing in the park and I got her into her pajamas.  As Jenny began nursing her before putting her down for the night she remembered that she had forgotten that Sophia hadn't been wearing socks at the park.  As a result, her feet were pretty dirty.  So I got a wipe and began to clean my little girl’s feet.  

While doing this the Holy Spirit brought to mind how on the night of Jesus’ betrayal He washed His disciple’s feet.

                                                

 “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”” (John 13:3–11, ESV)

  

The reason why I told you the story with this passage is that Sophia is my child there is nothing that will ever change that fact (even stinky feet).  Similarly when Jesus told Peter that he was already clean, He was making a similar statement.  Once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord & Savior we have been cleansed by His blood and will never need to be completely cleansed again. 

However, that does not mean that our sin nature has been completely eradicated.  We are still prone to get a little dirty because we live in a fallen world.  So as we walk through this world we are bound to get a little sand on our feet.  So we need to approach Jesus and both ask and allow Him to clean the dust of this world off our feet.  This is the process of sanctification.  The process of slowly but surely looking more and more like Jesus as we grow our relationship with Him.

So, when you sin take it to Jesus for He is faithful to wipe you clean.  And when someone does wrong to you don’t be afraid to go up to them in love and offer forgiveness and cleansing to them.  Because Jesus does this for us we need to be willing to do this for others in our life.

Lastly, if you have children in your life and you hear God speak to you, don’t forget to share it with them.  These are excellent teaching moments that God gives you as a parent.  Even if you don’t do it in the moment don’t be afraid to come back to it and explain to them what God said to you.  If you don’t share God with them…who will?

Here We Go Again

As I was having a conversation with someone the other day I mentioned how Palm Sunday was approaching and her response was that it came quick this year.  I don't believe she meant that it was early this year.  Last year it came about as early as it can come on the calendar.  What I believe she meant is that she was looking forward to this day happening so it kind of caught her off guard.

How often does this happen to most Evangelical (protestant, non roman catholic) believers.  In my opinion it happens way to often.  The reason is that we spend an entire month preparing for the celebration of the birth of Christ.  However, when it comes to the death, burial, and Resurrection of Christ we only spend a week.  Sometimes less if we ignore Palm Sunday.  

So tell me...which is more important to our faith: His birth or His death & resurrection?  While the former is important to get the latter I believe that we should spend more time preparing to celebrate His death & resurrection than we do His birth.  It is the cornerstone of our faith!  It is the reason that we have hope!

So my encouragement is that this year you take at least this full week to prepare your heart to celebrate what Christ has done.  This means a lot of reading!  Read the different accounts of trial, execution, and resurrection this week.  You can even watch two of them.  Both Matthew and John are on DVD.  

The second this is praying.  Talk to God.  Let the Father know how thankful you are for sending down His Son to take your rightful place on that cross.  Ask Him for forgiveness of your sins and ask the Holy Spirit to point out an area of sin and weakness that He will help you start to overcome.

Third, take time to fast this week.  Even if it is just a single meal.  Take that time and the time until the next meal to really seek God.  Deny self for a short while to seek God and His Kingdom first.  Ask Him to show you where He is at work around you.  Then ask Him how you can join Him in His work.  

Lastly, look for opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus.  Be intentional this week.  If the hope in you is real than let your light shine before all that are around you.  Announce the goodness of God!

Don't let this Easter slip away like others by attending Church hearing a similar sermon and going home with family to eat ham and hard boiled eggs.  Instead, use this week to build your relationship with Christ our LORD and Savior. Make this a week of contemplation and celebration capped off with a big party at your church with your brothers and sisters on April 20th. 

God be with you!

Hugging A Dirty Kid

Often we allow our sin to keep us from God.  We know that our God is a holy God who cannot stand the sight of sin.  So we fall into the lie that we have to clean ourselves up before we can go before God.  Meditate on this illustration. 

We are God’s children.  What do kids do from time to time?  They go outside and play in the mud and the muck and get dirty beyond belief.  Now a toddler knows no better when she sees her daddy standing there and runs up to give him a hug covered from head to toe in mud.  A good father does not back away and tell her to go get herself cleaned up and then come and offer a hug.  Instead, he offers himself, arms wide open, and gives her a big bear hug.  Afterwards, he takes her inside helps her get the muddy cloths off, puts her in the tub and scrubs all the icky grime off, dries her off, and puts her into a clean pair of cloths.

Likewise, our heavenly Father knows that we cannot become clean without His help.  So He eagerly listens to us and holds us in His arms.  He then takes us and cleans us.  It may hurt a little getting the dirt off but when He is done we will look like His child again.  That is until we need another bath from Him.

So now that we know our dirtiness won’t keep us from God what will?  The answer to that is our stiffness.  Sticking with the idea of being God’s child, think about the last time you tried to hug a kid that was stiff and didn’t want to be hugged.  Our stiffness and unwillingness to be hugged by God is what destroys our prayer life, not our sin.

Now one of my favorite hymns has always been Come, Thou Fount by Robert Robinson.  Take a moment and listen to it by clicking on the video to the left.

Now this song has a sad story that accompanies the author.  Robinson came to faith in Christ when he was 17 years old after hearing George Whitefield preach.  A few years later he became a minister and wrote this hymn among others.  Years passed and later in his life he reverted to many of the sins of his youth.  Then one day while riding in a coach he heard his hymn being sung and a woman riding with him asked his thoughts on the hymn.  His response was that he was the poor wretch that wrote the song and that he would give everything he had to experience the peace that he felt when he wrote it. 

It is so sad that he allowed himself to not experience the peace of God because He was unwilling to swallow his pride and fall on his knees before God.  Some of the greatest prayers ever prayed have been prayers of contrite hearts asking God for forgiveness and help to live under His strength!  Don’t allow pride and stiffness to keep you from God.  God doesn't need your righteousness, He doesn't need anything from you.  But what He does desire is childlike love, given without hesitation no matter our state.

“The Scriptures assure us: ‘A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench’ (Isaiah 42:3).  David, in the midst of the most horrible of sins, understood that ‘a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise’ (Psalm 51:17).

**Much of the insight for this post came from the book

Approaching God: How To Pray by Steve Brown

in the chapter with the same title as this post.**

Unanswered Prayer

Anyone that knows me understands that I really like country music.  When I was growing up almost everyone who liked country music also liked Garth Brooks. One of his big hits was the song titled Unanswered Prayers.  At the time I really liked it.  Although nowadays I don't enjoy it as much.  The reason for this is that while it might sound nice in a song, I don't believe that God does not answer prayers.  I believe that God always responds to us when we ask Him questions.  The only kicker is that it may take a little longer than we desire and/or it may not be the answer that we want.

As a result, I believe what we call unanswered prayer is a result of us being so focused on how we want God to answer our prayer requests (usually very self centered) that we are unable to hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit talking to us.  We drown out His voice with our own desires and expectations.  We are not truly seeking God.  As a result, we don't have ears to hear His word.

This is the moment when you have to decide if you are going to take your walk with Christ to a deeper and more fulfilling level or not.  Now while this walk is more fulfilling it does not mean that it is easy.  You have to start to die to yourself daily...and it hurts to die.  But that is the path that Jesus walked.  I would personally rather hurt with Him than to go through life and experience pain without Him.  You see when we walk with our Lord it is suffering with purpose.  Without Him there is no purpose to our life and we will live and die a meaningless existence.

So if you want to start hearing God speak to you and begin to die to yourself I suggest a time of prayer and fasting.  Say no to the necessities of life (food) for a day and chew on the word of God.  I also find this helpful when I am faced with a major decision in life and I need to know what God's desire is for me and my family.

You will also find that the more you get into the Bible and study who God is, that your prayers and desires will fall more in line with His desires.  I encourage you to meditate on this passage this week as you seek the will of God.

   “Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1–2, HCSB)

 Remember that our Heavenly Father loves you and won't leave you questioning whether what you are doing is right or wrong if you seek His guidance.  If you want help on learning how to fast and pray let me know and I will walk you through the process.  

Until next time.

   “The Lord bless you and keep you; 

the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; 

the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” 

(Numbers 6:24–26, NIV84)