Category: Jesus

47th Greatest Invention . . .

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Though the printing press was deemed the number one innovation since the invention of the wheel by The Atlantic magazine’s group of scientists, historians, and technologists; it was number 47 on the list that caught my eye. Don’t get me wrong, we as Christians understand God’s hand in the development of the printing press, for God chose to reveal Himself through a book! However, check out the succinct description of the 47th greatest breakthrough since the wheel according to The Atlantic: “The nail, second millennium B.C. ‘Extended lives by enabling people to have shelter.’ -Leslie Berlin”

Wow. The nail enabled people to have shelter. Though Leslie Berlin was probably thinking of the physical shelter nails help to provide when they are pounded into wood and concrete, my mind went immediately to the spiritual shelter we find because of the three nails used by Roman soldiers two thousand years ago. And actually, those three nails were in the “hands” of God the Father, who willingly sacrificed His Son so you and I might find shelter from the justly deserved wrath of a Holy God. The ultimate effect of my own sin cannot rain down upon me, because I am under the shelter of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on that old, rugged Cross.

The Atlantic says that nails “extended lives by enabling people to have shelter.” Again – no doubt – the extension refers to earthly years. Physical life could go on longer because our bodies were better protected from the elements, wild animals, and enemies. But we as children of God apprehend the measureless value of spiritual life. No matter the year or day of our physical demise, salvation ensures eternal life. As Peter so beautifully records, “You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable” (I Peter 1:23, ESV). The nails that pierced the body of Jesus on Mount Calvary have brought to us an endlessly extended life!

Just as those nails of long ago punctured the physical body of Jesus, they will also help bring to our physical bodies the new and glorified existence we shall enjoy forever and ever. I Thessalonians 3:20b-21 (ESV) proclaims, “We await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” The crucifixion of Jesus – aided by nails – ensures our safety in an incalculable and everlasting sense.

A thank you to The Atlantic for reminding us of the importance of nails. We take much for granted. And the biggest thank you to our God who gave humans the capacity to invent the nail, which He knew would be used to crucify His own Son. No doubt, God was thinking of sheltering us when He created trees and inspired the invention of nails.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'” (Psalm 91:1-2, ESV)

Reference: Fallows, James. “The 50 Greatest Breakthroughs Since the Wheel.” The Atlantic. Nov 2013. 56-58.

Comparing Your Life to Someone Else’s Life: The Problem and the Answer

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“Lord, what about him? Why is his life easier than mine?” or “Lord, what about her? Why is she so healthy while I suffer?” or “Lord, what about him? Why does he live in a big house with lots of things and I don’t” or “Lord, what about her? Why is her family so functional and mine dysfunctional?” or “Lord, what about him? Why is he so successful in his pursuits while I seem to fail at so many?”

Comparisons. Questions about why things are different for other Christians. We all tend to measure our circumstances against those of other people. However, this aspect of fallen human nature can lead to all sorts of problems. We waste our time contemplating and comparing, and we cease following Jesus as He intends. We are too busy looking side to side rather than to our God in front of us.

Jesus counseled Peter in comparing and contrasting. Immediately following Peter’s restoration as beautifully outlined in John 21:15-17, we find our Lord preparing Peter for a great sacrifice. Jesus was reassuring his dear friend of forgiveness for the denial of a lifetime. Remember when Peter swore after the arrest of Jesus, “I do not know the man”? Recall that three times poor Peter denied His Savior. (Matthew 26:69-75) What a deep peace must have descended upon this disciple as Jesus now commissioned him three times to serve God. What a flood of hope must have swept over Peter as he walked again with His Savior. Yet, in the midst of the rejoicing, Truth called Peter to understand a difficult part of the future.

Jesus looks at His precious disciple and says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (John 21:18, ESV) The Bible makes clear in the next verse what Jesus meant by these words: “(This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this [Jesus] said to him, ‘Follow me.'” (John 21:19, ESV)

Our Lord here tells Peter that he will be crucified for Jesus’ sake. He allows Peter to see that he will be a martyr for the Kingdom of God. And yet, this tough information was followed by Jesus’ command to “Follow me.” Christ did not tell Peter of the unbelievable task he would face in order to discourage him. Jesus did not reveal this part of the future and then say, “Give up” or “Turn back, Peter, because it will be too much for you.” No! Christ says, “Follow me!” In other words, Jesus knows that Peter will make it. Although crucifixion seems too much, our Lord knows the Source of His child’s strength. Perhaps Jesus here had in mind the words of Hebrews 12:2 (NIV, 1984), “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” You see, Jesus set our salvation before His eyes as He accomplished the unfathomable task of deity dying for sin. He looked to us as His motivation. Now, we look to Him as our motivation and strength.

Next, we encounter the great comparison. After hearing this news of his own martyrdom, Peter “turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved [John] following them . . . When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, what about this man?'” (John 21:20-21, ESV) I chuckle as I read these words because I can hear myself. “Jesus, what about her? What about him? Why is my life more difficult or my way not as prosperous?” Can you hear yourself too? Oh, how blatantly human were the disciples of Christ! Peter has just had an intimate and healing encounter with Jesus and then heard of his high – but challenging – calling. No sooner did Peter turn around than he was comparing his lot to that of John! “Lord, what about him? Is he going to have to be crucified?”

Now, Jesus is the God of Truth – not psychological babble. He deals with the human tendency of comparison in a very direct way. He pointedly says to Peter, “If it is my will that he [John] remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:22, ESV) Wow! “What is that to you?” This rhetorical question of our Savior rings in my ears and resonates in my heart. I have heard Jesus speak it to me a thousand times since studying this passage of Scripture. If someone else’s way seems easier, what is that to you? If some other Christian’s life seems to make more sense, what is that to you? If someone else seems more successful, what is that to you? If someone else is healthier or more materially prosperous, what is that to you? If someone else seems to be more blessed than you according to your understanding of things, what is that to you?

In other words, we should not compare. On this, Jesus is abundantly clear. In essence, Jesus says, “Peter, don’t look at John’s way. Look at ME!” In following Jesus and not the lives of others, we find our peace and our fulfillment. In living out Hebrews 12:2 (cited above), we find our true joy.

In fact, Peter died a martyr’s death, having been crucified under the reign of emperor Nero. John, however, was the one disciple to die of natural causes after having been exiled to the Isle of Patmos and writing the book of Revelation. Nonetheless, despite the difference in their lives’ ends, both Peter and John had God’s joy and God’s reward. We hear the words of Peter as he writes to the people of God being persecuted in Asia Minor, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, . . .” (I Peter 1:3, NIV, 1984).

No doubt, we will talk with Peter and John in Heaven, and both will say what a marvelous thing is salvation! Both will recount the faithfulness and love of God. Both will testify to the goodness of God, though their lives were very divergent.

Do not look to the circumstances and lives of others. Do not look to the left at one person or to the right at another. Look straight ahead – at Jesus. And hear Him say of any potential comparison, “What is that to you? You follow me!”

Mark of Distinction

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No room for bragging exists when it comes to people of God. There is no place for self-righteousness and no room for human credit when it comes to genuine Christianity. Nothing marks a follower of God as distinct from anyone else except for one thing: God is with him.

Our clever actions, seemingly selfless sacrifices, moral position relative to others, or regular church attendance do not truly separate us from the masses of people. One thing makes a Christian unique – and one thing only – God is with us.

Let no Christian be deceived into thinking that she is special because of her own performance. Let no man of God rest in his own talents, personality, or possessions. We have only one hope for being set apart from all others, and that hope does not originate with us. We are only and marvelously distinct because God is going with us wherever we go. Hear the words of Moses as he prays on behalf of the Israelites he is leading, “For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:16, ESV)

God’s people were not chosen because they were particularly great or better than others; they were chosen and, therefore, made great. It is God’s abiding with a man or woman that makes that person a work of wonder. What we need is God with us. We desperately require His presence at every turn and in every moment. If He is with us, for us there shall be no demise. He conquers all.

No wonder the Gospel of Matthew proclaims of Jesus, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).” (Matthew 1:23, ESV) Jesus is the grand fulfillment of God’s plan to be with His people. Because of Jesus Christ, we both see God in the flesh and are able to be reconciled to God. That reconciliation provides the means for God to take up residence in my body, His temple (I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19). Because of dear Jesus, I am assured that God is always with me, for my sins have been covered with the blood of Christ; and they are no longer able to separate me from my Creator.

“Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct?” asked Moses. The resounding answer is, “Yes!” We are marked for hope and eternal life – made different from the world – because God has willingly chosen to be with us. It is not our doing; it is His doing . . . and it is wonderful beyond words.

Question for Reflection: What stands out to people about you? Is it some quality of yours? Or do people remark that you are special because they sense God’s nearness when they are near you?

Don’t Shrink Back

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“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” – Hebrews 10:35-39 (NIV, 1984)

“Do not throw away your confidence,” “You have need of endurance,” and “We are not of those who shrink back.” These three phrases packed into a small passage of five verses remind us of a need to persevere. God here brings to our immediate attention the fact that utter discouragement is a very real possibility. Our defense against this weariness is to look forward to the coming future that is completely ensured by our God. Rather than a magical formula or a work of sheer human effort, God’s Word provides the Truth on which to stand. Though currently unknown and presently not experienced by us, we will receive the ultimate promise if we hold on.

“Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay.” Though we wait for the Lord’s return and the justice He will bring, He is actually coming without delay. His timing is impeccable, and He does all things right. Though it feels long to us humans, the time until His return is short – just a little while. With that in mind, be warned by the next phrase of God’s Word.

“But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” Shrinking back is an action of fear. I shrink back from big spiders and powerful thunderstorms and scary noises in the night when my husband is travelling. However, shrinking back from my faith in Jesus Christ is unacceptable. He is one hundred percent reliable. Furthermore, my shrinking back from faith in Jesus causes God Almighty to have no pleasure in me. Now, none of us likes for any particular person to avoid us because he or she finds no joy in relating to us. But multiply that feeling by infinity to apprehend what it would be like to know that God finds no pleasure in you. The one Person I want to rejoice in my existence is my Maker, Provider, and King. If He does not rejoice over me, I am doomed.

This is precisely why the distinct and direct connection is made between shrinking back and being destroyed. “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed.” If I walk away from my confidence in Jesus, I walk directly to my doom. True faith is equated with my preservation. Therefore, despite hardship, I will endure. Come what may, I desire to do God’s will now in order to receive what He has promised. In just a short while, I will see Him . . . If I don’t shrink back.

Staircase to Heaven

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God wants your eyes opened to a dynamic, spiritual world that both coincides with and transforms the physical universe. He wants you to live extraordinarily in the context of the ordinary. He wants you in on the secret – the supernatural is accessible. Yes, God desires to live with you, despite the infinite distance between the two of you. He wants you to see the unseen and build the eternal, even while stuck in moments of time.

The unveiling of this awesome, spiritual realm can happen at any point, in any place. Consider Jacob, son of Isaac. Running from his brother, Esau, whom he had deceived, Jacob finds a place in which to rest one night. “Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep” (Genesis 28:11, ESV). Then God gave Jacob a dream about a staircase set up on the earth that reached to Heaven. Angels of God were ascending and descending on this glorious staircase. To me, one of the most amazing parts of the dream was what the Lord said as Jacob watched angels travel from Heaven to earth and from earth to Heaven. God promised, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and your offspring . . . Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land” (Genesis 28:13, 15, ESV).

Did you catch it? God is interested in even the dirt beneath our feet! God is in the business of bringing His presence to this earth and His promise to the very real and practical places of our lives. The Lord does not beckon Jacob to somehow climb into a spiritual-only realm way out “beyond the blue.” Our God shows Jacob that He connects the earthly and heavenly. The Lord tells Jacob that the very ground on which he rests with a stone as a pillow will be the land that is blessed – the land where God will be with us. Our Creator has not forsaken us or the earth His hand fashioned. No, our Maker reveals to Jacob – and to us – a portal to the spiritual realm of blessing. Through God’s supernatural working, the ordinary stuff is transformed into the utterly amazing.

When Jacob awoke, he proclaimed something that resonates in our own hearts, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it” (Genesis 28:16, ESV). Yes! We need awakened to the reality that God is right where we are – working and moving. Your house is more than just a house; it is a place where God lives and moves and comforts and grows you. The stoplight at which you sit in your car is contained in no mundane intersection; it is a location where angels dwell and where God’s Spirit speaks. Do you see the staircase? Is your heart open to that portal between the regular and the miraculous? If not, I can tell you why.

That staircase – that Way – to the spiritual realm . . . is Jesus. He said to Nathanael one day, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:51, ESV). Jesus here declares that He is, in fact, the staircase of Jacob’s dream. Jesus Christ is the Gate through which we enter the supernatural world of God’s blessing. Jesus is the Way to see what truly matters in the midst of the ordinary. He paid the price for our sin, in order that we might experience the miracle of God working right here where we are.

Ultimately, God will bring His dwelling place to us. The apostle John declared in a vision from God of the future, “And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God . . . And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them” (Revelation 21:2, 3, ESV, emphasis mine). Until that day when God surrounds us with His fullness, we thank Him for Jesus, the staircase that opens the way for us to the things of God even now . . . as we walk this “ordinary” terrain.

The Merging of Human and Divine Suffering

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Human misery abounds. We endure pain that comes in many shapes, sizes and ways. The heart aches, the body hurts, the mind is torn; and all the while life goes on. The questions beneath the surface are, “Does God understand?” and “Does God care?”

In teaching an adult class in Christian apologetics (a reasoned defense and articulation of the biblical faith), I was moved deeply in one moment of time as we recognized the profound message of God through one of the Psalms. We were studying the miraculous fulfillment of prophecy (against mathematical odds) as evidence of the Bible’s credibility. In particular, Psalm 22 is a psalm of David, written c. 1000 B.C. And yet, we find much of its content fulfilled in the suffering and death of Jesus Christ c. A.D. 30. God stays true to His Word over the span of a millennium. The Spirit of God worked through David’s life and mind as the words of Psalm 22 were written, and the same Holy Spirit was at the Cross of Calvary as Jesus suffered.

Striking me in our class that one particular day, were the beauty and comfort of the merging of the affliction of both man and God. You see, David was a mere human. He was a brave shepherd who became a king, but he was also a person who committed adultery and murder. David was a man of flesh and bone. He knew success and he knew failure. He prospered at times, but he also endured great loss. Hated and pursued by King Saul, having watched his baby with Bathsheba die, betrayed by his own son, and regretting deeply His sin; David was a human who knew anguish. That anguish pours from his pen in Psalm 22.

Hear David’s first lament in verse one, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” (Psalm 22:1, ESV) Have you ever felt this way? Forsaken by God? As if God is distant and not hearing your groans? Perhaps we perceive a distance because our distress is so great, or because our sins against God are so palpable. In either case, we at times feel that the Lord has thoroughly forgotten us. We understand David’s grieving.

Ah, but do we understand God’s grieving? Do we recognize that for however intensely we sink into sorrow, God sinks even deeper? Though David asked and recorded these dark questions 1,000 years before Jesus came to earth, the Son of God Himself uttered the same words as He languished on the Cross. Yes, I at times feel like God has abandoned me. The sinfulness of me and the whole world has shattered the framework of peace and right as originally intended. That invasion of brokenness as the result of sin leads us to sense that we have somehow been deserted. Though the feeling is very real to us, the truth is that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was actually isolated as His Father substituted Him as the offering for our sin in the grueling moments of the Cross. Jesus did, in fact, endure the unimaginable darkness of being abandoned by the Father. With incredible determination, Jesus willingly took the hit of “being forsaken.” We hear Him call out loudly from the Cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, ESV)

Would you look to the dovetailing here of human and divine misery? What David feels, God fulfills. The hurt we humans face is met directly by our Creator. His love is so profound that He dives even lower into the hurt than we can go. Never believe that God does not understand. Place one finger in your Bible at Psalm 22 and another in Matthew 27, and then ask God to comfort your heart with His immeasurable and tangible understanding of your pain.

The entirety of Psalm 22 is filled with allusions to Christ’s suffering. Amazingly, God parallels the hurt of Jesus with the feelings of David. David cries, “My heart is like wax, it is melted within my breast” (Psalm 22:14b, ESV). We know that misery. We have experienced our heart “melting” in despair. Incredibly, this outpouring of David by God’s Spirit is surrounded by words we again can tie directly to God’s Son: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death” (Psalm 22:14-15, ESV). Jesus’ body was hanging on a cross – bones out of joint – but not broken. He suffered unbelievable thirst. Ultimately, God laid His Son in the dust of death, as no human took His life. Following the death of Jesus, water and blood poured from His side at the strike of the Roman spear. All these details correspond to the feelings and prophecy of David’s Psalm. Do you see the merging of how we sometimes and temporarily feel with the actuality of God’s suffering?

Take comfort! The last verses of the psalm confirm the glorious end result of God’s work in the midst of greatest distress. God was in control even as Jesus died. God raised Him up! God accomplished His goal; the suffering had purpose! So does yours. “For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him” (Psalm 22:24, ESV).

God knows. Your greatest misery merges – just as David’s – with the suffering of God. He did not have to, but God chose to enter into pain more profoundly than we can imagine. When you pray, He understands.

How to Have the Best Thanksgiving Ever!

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I recently read a story concerning a thief who operated in movie theaters. With a female accomplice, he would visit movie theaters when “girl movies” were showing. Sitting in the back of theater, the burglar would scope out places where women with purses were sitting. As soon as the lights went down, this robber would slither on the theater floor in order to reach under the seats of unsuspecting victims and take their purses. While on the floor, he extracted wallets and took out credit cards from them. The thief would then replace the wallet in the handbag and leave the purse in its original spot. Surely, many victims did not even realize that they had been stolen from until hours or possibly days later.

Similarly, the enemy of our souls is stealing meaning from our lives. Culturally speaking, the lights have been dimmed, and we barely realize the danger. Our grave situation is made clearer at the holidays. As the deeper meaning of the holidays decreases, our level of anxiety increases. So it is with life in general. This inverse relationship – the rise of anxiety with the decline of true meaningfulness – is plaguing us. Let us, therefore, use the microcosm of the Thanksgiving holiday as an example of how to view the vital nature of life as it should be according to God’s perspective. Perhaps we will recover meaning and eliminate much of our growing anxiousness. No one knows the needs of the human heart better than the Designer and Builder of the heart. God understands what the greatest focus of thankfulness should be. He realizes why we are so often left empty and fretting after a season that should produce joy. He recognizes our shortsightedness. Our God wants us to press past the shallow waters and swim into the sea of meaning that sustains the soul.

When it comes to Thanksgiving, for what are you thankful? Let’s discuss a couple typical, good answers:

1) Food. Many of us are thankful for turkey, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. In fact, we are rightfully grateful for God’s provision of food each day. This status of heart is biblical and good. However, we must be thankful for something deeper. While perusing the sad memoir of avowed atheist, Christopher Hitchens, as he outlined his thoughts during his final months of earthly life; I was reminded of the frailty of the human body and how easily our appetite can be crushed by sickness. There will come a day for everyone when we will take our last bite of earthly food. No wonder we read the amazing words of Jesus to a seeking crowd in John chapter six. After Jesus fed a group of 5000 people, some from the crowd took efforts to follow Christ to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They had obviously been impressed by His ability to fill their stomachs, and they crossed a sea to get back to Him. As the crowd approached, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you” (John 6:26-27, ESV). Jesus is not here the seeker-friendly Savior some might expect Him to be. Rather, he chastises people who are looking for Him because of a temporary, physical blessing. He targets the core of their desires by declaring they should have interpreted the miracle of the multiplied bread and fish as a “sign.” A sign points to something else; it is not the destination. The physical bread for bodily hunger was meant to show people their need to be filled spiritually with the gift of eternal life in exchange for an insatiable spiritual hunger that – when left untreated – results in spiritual death. Jesus clearly demonstrates that our hope lies in a God who is bigger than the food He provides. This is a God who can take care of the body even when it is no longer physically able to consume food – even when it dies! This God will resurrect the physical body of those who have eternal life. We will eat again in Heaven, because we have “eaten” of Jesus, the Bread of Life! (John 6:48).

If literal food is all for which we are thankful, our hope is negated and our life is dismal; for eating in this body will come to an end. If we are grateful for literal bread because it points to the Bread of Life, then life is rich beyond description! We eat now and are reminded of the blessings of living in the new heavens and the new earth; as Jesus proclaimed, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” (John 6:51, ESV).

2) Home and country. We are thankful for our homes and our country, as we should be. Many do not have this blessing. However, we must remember to recognize and believe all of God’s truth found in His Word. One of Jesus’ closest friends, Peter, said by the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit in II Peter chapter three that this world and every place therein will one day be dissolved. As great as is the United States of America and as precious as is your warm and inviting home and its accompanying yard, these will not survive the intentional and glorious destruction and re-making of the world! As people must be remade in order to fit the holy plan of God (II Corinthians 5:17), so, too, must the universe. God’s mysterious working will take place with fire. As gold is refined and perfected in fire, so the cosmos will be perfected – set free from the misery it endures under the curse of sin (Romans 8:22). We cannot rely on this current world; we must count on the God who is the only continuum between this world and the next. Hear God’s Word: “By the same word [of God] the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men . . . The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare . . . Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (II Peter 3:7,10-13, NIV, 1984).

While we are grateful for our shelter and our place of existence in this universe, we are most thankful for a God who is greater than the sum total of all the cosmos. Not only so, but we rejoice in the fact that God has chosen to deposit in our very being a spiritual kingdom that cannot be shaken or dissolved! Listen carefully to the promise of Hebrews 12:26-28 (NASB), “But now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.’ This expression, ‘Yet once more,’ denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude . . .” Wow! we are thankful because we have inside of us the kingdom of God. Jesus has made the way for you and me to survive the shaking, undoing, and re-making of all His creation. Never will we disappear or be hopelessly destroyed. Though food and places may perish, we remain to enjoy the new place and the new food Jesus is preparing.

Please allow Thanksgiving this year to point to a greater truth – a deeper meaning than the temporal blessings humans enjoy to greatly varying degrees depending on their socioeconomic status and geographical location on this earth. Let this season be one that lifts your soul to an amazing God full of grace to give us such promise. He alone is unshakeable; but – amazingly – He deposits that hope in us. If today you took your last bite or enjoyed your last day in your home your God is still holding you. He is still holding the world. And while He is re-making both, He will let go of neither. Tenaciously, faithfully, and triumphantly; the plan of God goes on. Thank you, Jesus, for allowing me to enjoy the “Bread of Life” and the “Home of Righteousness.”

Happy Thanksgiving, unshakeable kingdom recipients!

Isn’t He Just a Carpenter?

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“What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter? And he could do no mighty works there.” (Mark 6:2,5; ESV)

Jesus walked the dusty path to His own hometown, Nazareth. Demons had been running from people’s lives at His word. He was setting the oppressed free and delivering hope where none had been. Diseases and afflictions were disappearing all over the place as Jesus healed so many. He had been bringing dead people back to life and preaching a message that was unlike any that had ever been heard. He was – in a completely wonderful way – out of control! Jesus was shaking up the sad and hopeless paradigm. He was bringing life and healing . . . and truth.

On the heels of all this amazing, other-worldly stuff; Jesus enters Nazareth. The people who had known Him since childhood now asked some pointed questions about Christ: 1) What is the wisdom given to Him? 2) How are such mighty works done by His hands, and 3) Is not this the carpenter? (Mark 6:2-3, ESV). They ask the questions from a perspective of familiarity and unbelief. Startled by the “neighborhood boy’s” ability to shake up the world, they demonstrate their heart’s dilemma by asking these questions. How could it be that a carpenter’s son from the simple town of Nazareth could heal the sick and boss around demons? How could this man who grew up like others as an earth-bound human actually perform miracles – do the supernatural? Isn’t He just natural, like the rest of us? “How are such mighty works done by His hands?” What a question! These neighborhood folks were throwing away their chance at real life by refusing to acknowledge the greatest miracle behind all the miracles – God in the flesh!

A person must see Jesus as Creator – as God – in order to see Jesus as He truly is. Jesus is God. And to talk about mighty works on earth . . . well, that is an understatement, indeed! The earth only exists because Jesus made it. His contemporaries could not grasp the origin of His healing and life-giving power because they refused to believe His work as God. Though walking around in human flesh 2000 years ago, Jesus is God’s Son, “Through whom also [God] created the world . . . and [Jesus] upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:2-3, ESV).

Dare we talk about His carpentry work? Let’s do so! Jesus not only grew up learning to measure, cut, and build with the wood of trees; He brought all trees into existence and causes them to grow! He waters the earth and brings forth life. He laid the foundations of the universe itself – measuring both galaxies and molecules. He skillfully designed and put together the world itself. And yet, the people of His hometown could ask, “Is not this the carpenter?” They only saw Him as a common worker in wood from a family in Israel. They did not see Him as the Builder of Life.

The incomprehensible miracle of Jesus is the intersection of the divine and the regular – the supernatural and the natural. He is God, but He chose to experience humanness in order to save us. The very fact the Nazarenes took offense at is the very thing that saves us. Jesus is fully human and fully God. His real work is traced even to the creation of the universe and continues through the annals of time. He is the Master Carpenter, the Architect of people and of their salvation. Ever in the business of building and doing mighty works, Jesus told His followers before He departed the earth, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2, KJV). Abraham of the Old Testament days was living and looking forward to his best home yet to come. As this life could not fully satisfy Abraham, Hebrews 11:10 (ESV) says, “He was looking forward to the city that has foundations whose designer and builder is God.” Yes, Jesus is building a city for us, a perfect home.

The problem with which we must grapple is the one we find in Mark 6:5. Because the people of Nazareth refused to believe the true nature of Jesus (as they revealed in their questioning), the Bible says, “And [Jesus] could do not mighty works there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them” (Mark 6:5, ESV). The people could receive no mighty work of God because they refused to believe the true reason Jesus was able to do great works. They saw Him only as a regular carpenter – not the Builder of Life.

Do you need a mighty work of God in your life? How do you view Jesus? Do not be blinded by familiarity as the Nazarenes were, having heard His name so many times. Believe in Him completely. Trust in Him as the Carpenter you need to construct your life. He is waiting to forgive you, build you, and do mighty works. And one day, we shall walk in that city whose Designer and Builder is God.

Reality Just Beyond the Glass

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I sit behind a polished windowpane
Hearing the hum of heated air through vents.

On the other side of the glass
Lie trees in autumn splendor on a hillside.

The gentle breeze takes yellowish foliage
To a carpet of gold and green below.

Wafting in every direction under sunlight,
Drop beautiful leaves.

On goes a gorgeous shower of what was,
Making room for what will be.

The sunbeams on the shimmering trees
And the continual dance of the season proceeds;

As I sit behind glass panes in a building made by man,
Peering out at the artistry of God.

On the wall beside me hangs a framed photograph
Of an autumn scene.

While beautiful the picture is,
It does not compare to the reality just beyond the glass.

What comes directly from God
Cannot be adequately reproduced by man.

Chairs, buildings, heating systems, automobiles,
Framed art, calculators, tennis shoes, cherry pie, basketballs.

All these reflect the mind of our Creator,
Who designed our minds to design these things.

Yet, for all we make,
Nothing compares to what God creates!

Galaxies, mountains, antelopes, apple trees,
Sunshine, emeralds, sharks, bluebirds, waterfalls.

I appreciate the comfortable library in which I sit.
I enjoy looking out its windows when the ice of winter comes.

But my soul longs for the day
When I will not be separated from any of the handiwork of God.

I wait for the day when the city in which I walk
Will not have been manufactured by the hand of people.

Come quickly the day when everything about existence is as beautiful and rich as God intended,
Untainted by the messiness of humanity.

I wait for . . .
“The holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.”

A city that comes from Heaven, right down from the throne of God!
This will be my home!

In that day, nothing will be unsatisfactory
Because nothing will be “once-removed” from God’s perfection.

All will be as He desires,
Which is – in our heart of hearts – what we, in fact, desire.

We will work beside Him then,
For He will finally and fully dwell with us.

The work of men will be the work of God,
For then we shall completely please Him.

All creation will be new – and uncursed –
Never wearing out, never growing old.

We will create and enjoy and explore forever
Because of the grace of precious Jesus . . .

When we finally enter the reality just beyond the glass.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.” (I Corinthians 13:12, KJV)

“I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” (Revelation 21:2, ESV)

Are Christians Praying Humanist Prayers?

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Paradigm shifts. They are often necessary. In the case of much prayer within the church, it is time for a paradigm shift. Our consumer-driven, self-absorbed culture has pushed prayer into a veritable humanist corner. Humanism claims that the reasoning of humans is to be valued above any divine thinking or supposed supernatural working. Although most Christians do not intend to function from a worldview antithetical to biblical Christianity, we may be doing so by default. As with any practice, prayer must be measured against God’s holy Word. We must do what Romans 12:2 commands us and ensure that our patterns of thinking do not simply flow with the culture at large, but rather press upstream against ungodly currents.

While recently teaching a Bible class, I was suddenly struck with a reality to which I had not previously paid much attention. We were considering the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:7 (ESV) about Jesus’ amazing condescension from Heaven to earth two thousand years ago, “But [Jesus] made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” We honed in on the fact that Jesus made a willful decision to serve His Father even though Jesus is Himself fully God. Jesus chose not to grasp at His own rights (Philippians 2:6), but He elected rather to do the Father’s will . . . no matter the cost. In doing so, He demonstrates to us the proper attitude for genuine Christian living (Philippians 2:5).

What hit me the hardest was Jesus’ approach to His Father’s will; Jesus always submitted Himself to the Father’s plan and glory. Though fully God, Christ worked the blueprint of the Father in order that the perfect will of the blessed Trinity be accomplished. Most notably, we remember Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane on the eve of His arrest as He contemplates the degree of suffering He is facing. Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39, ESV).

Wow! Jesus was God in the flesh, and He actually says that He would rather have the Father’s will accomplished than gain what the humanity of Him desired – to escape suffering. Hence, the dramatic difference between Jesus’ prayer and Peter’s “prayer.” Peter had not wanted Jesus to suffer either, but he allowed no room for God’s mysterious will and thus boldly declared about Jesus’ explanation of His own future crucifixion, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You” (Matthew 16:22, NASB). No sooner had Peter uttered His disgust with the plan of God than Jesus turned to Peter and proclaimed, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16:23, ESV).

Notice the underlying similarity but weighty and stark difference between the petition of Peter and Jesus. Both Peter and Jesus were troubled by the thought of the Son of God suffering so horrendously. However, the difference is critical. While Peter acted completely out of human flesh and thinking without giving room for God’s unfathomable will, Jesus submitted His pain and reluctance to His Father in order that God would get His way – which is the best way by infinite measure!

When I thought about the prayer of Jesus in the Garden, I pondered my own prayer life. So often we Christians begin prayers like this, “Dear God, I ask you to . . .” And then follows a list of items we present to God – things or circumstances we desire. We often give no thought to whether these things are God’s will, sometimes even foolishly believing God intends to spare us from all pain. We ask for relief as we see it and expect it. Instead, we ought to express our sorrow and anxious thoughts to God, and then we need to ask God to dominate any plan of ours with His perfect and mysterious will. If the Son of God prayed that God’s plan would override the desires of His humanity when the two were in disagreement, then we certainly should as well!

When Jesus instructed His disciples on prayer, He expressed at the outset in definitive terms that three things are priority for sure: God’s name is great above all and to be held in highest honor, God’s eternal kingdom is to come and take priority over human plans, and God’s will is to be done on this earth where our feet tread each day (see Matthew 6:9-10). We are not taught by Jesus to pray for human passions unless these longings glorify God’s name and press His kingdom forward in a world of much darkness. Prioritized over all is the ongoing will of God.

We must ask ourselves a difficult but essential question, “Am I praying for the glory and will of God or for the avoidance of anything my flesh deems difficult? Humanists place people above any supernatural being. Humanists trust in the thinking of people to solve our every dilemma. Christians place God above the will of humans. Christians trust in God’s sovereign plan to make life what it should be – even when pain is part of the picture. So I ask myself, “Am I praying as a humanist? Or as a Christian?”

Do All Good Things Really Come to an End?

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I recently attended a picnic that included a fun “bouncy house” with a slide for kids to enjoy. Squeals of delight accompanied the antics of the children as they jumped and played. The picnic also included cookie decorating for kids and the time-tested water balloon battle.

As I was leaving the picnic and walking to my car in the evening, I heard a young voice about one hundred feet behind me begin to complain and then cry. This little girl wanted her mom to know that she was not at all ready to leave the bouncy house and all her friends. As the girl entered into a tantrum; I heard her mother say, “All good things must eventually come to an end.” At those words, I stopped in my tracks. I literally paused in the parking lot and thanked God that the mother’s statement was not true. Though countless people throughout the years have uttered the same sentence as this caring mother, it is simply false.

Oh, to be sure, we have all felt the pangs of good things seeming to come to an end: the last day of a great vacation arrives, darkness settles in after a glorious sunset, bad news follows a time of laughter with friends, sickness hits after a long stint of health, discontent invades after a great success, a beautiful flower fades, a loved one moves away, a friend dies, a season of life passes and only memories are left. Yes, in this life we experience loss and grief. The glimmers of goodness are invaded by a pervasive tendency toward disappointment, sadness, and loss. However, the good we experience is not a temporary blip on the computer screen of life, but rather a deep and meaningful reminder of original intentions that will be gloriously restored. Good is not flimsy and of a temporary nature; good is ultimately enduring and victorious.

Recall God’s original pronouncement of His work on the sixth day of creation, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31, NASB). Before our human nature turned against God and His plan for the cosmos, the world was very good. Of course! For, it came from a good God. This God is eternal; His goodness goes endlessly back before the start of the world. In the same way, His good will go endlessly forward at the re-creating of this world. When God finally makes His dwelling place with us (Revelation 21:3), we will experience the reality of Psalm 16:11 (NASB), “In Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”

Did you catch the all-important words? “Fullness of joy” and “pleasures forever.” This is not the stuff of fairytales. This is truth from the Word of God. As true as John 3:16 is Psalm 16:11. God will once-and-for-all vanquish evil and allow good to prevail unhindered. Imagine! No end to righteous enjoyment! No watching the clock to see when the end of a good thing comes. No incomplete moments. No “having to leave the bouncy house.” No separating of right relationships. No goodbye. No regret. No end to good.

I urge you, then, to consider the way to be a part of God’s plan. In the first century A.D., the Apostle Paul identified the heart of the problem when it comes to goodness and our own, individual hearts. He knew the pain of goodness interrupted – of the seemingly triumphant evil. He said in Romans 7:18-20 (NIV), “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”

So we see that good has its limits and end in people, too. But this is not the final chapter of the story. Even in the case of our own, human heart, “All good things do not have to come to an end.” Paul found the answer to our dilemma. When he recognized the sin himself (and, by the way, sin is the absence of good), he cried out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (Romans 7:24, NIV, 1984). Paul saw that sin brings the death of all hope and goodness. He recognized his desperate need to be delivered from sin and death. The answer reverberates through the annals of time, “Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25, NIV, 1984). Unequivocally, Jesus is the One who rescues us from sin and the death of good. Because of Jesus Christ, I will one day experience “fullness of joy” in God’s presence and His divine “pleasures forever.” (Psalm 16:11)

Hold on, my friend! Allow the glimpses of good you experience now to remind you of the ultimate and enduring reality, “All good things do not come to an end.” In fact, all truly good things will go on forever when our God comes back to vanquish evil and make all things good again. No more tears of sadness then. No more tantrums or frustration. Thank you, Jesus!

Splattered Spaghetti and the Heart of God

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“Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” – Psalm 51:7 (NIV – 1984)

The other day I made for myself a simple plate of spaghetti. Of course, spaghetti is not inherently simple when you consider the red tomato sauce in which it is covered. My dinner was fully prepared – spaghetti drenched in sauce with some added mushrooms and parmesan cheese. I loaded the carbs onto my plate after a day of activity and exercise. My husband was out of town, so I grabbed my dinner from the kitchen counter to take it to the living room. My spaghetti was in one hand; my iced tea was in the other. Before I got past the edge of the kitchen, my balancing act proved unsuccessful, as the spaghetti slid off one side of my plate and splattered everywhere as it landed. The four-foot drop produced quite a mess! The white linoleum in that corner edge of my kitchen was covered in wet noodles, red sauce with cheese, and various mushrooms, which – just seconds ago – looked very appetizing. But now, it looked like someone had gotten quite ill. The dinner hit the floor with such force that sauce splattered onto the surrounding walls and carpet. In fact, I found sauce on the front door of my house, a half-story down and seven feet from the accident!

Though I was hungry, tired, and much wanting to eat; my immediate concern was to clean up the mess before stains set in. I went to the carpet and painted walls first, scrubbing with a good cleaning solution. The more I cleaned, the more I recognized additional spots of the sauce in unbelievable places. Finally, after picking up large heaps of the mess and dumping it into the garbage can, I got down on my hands and knees and started wiping away at the linoleum.

As I cleaned and scrubbed while kneeling on the floor, I thought, “What an inconvenience. What a dumb thing I just did. What a waste of time. This is annoying.” My busy arm came to a standstill as God dropped this beautiful reminder in my heart, “Shelli, this is what I do all the time – clean up the messes of the people I love. My heart is a heart of restoration. Though I don’t have to – for I have no obligations – I choose to be in the business of cleaning up messes, both big and small. People sin and turmoil comes; I forgive and I restore.”

Suddenly, my whole perspective changed. I was no longer bothered by the work I was doing. This inconvenience was now a hint of God’s unfathomable grace. He does not have to, but He willingly works continually to clean up our hearts and make them like new. He will even apply His heart to the restoration of this entire universe one day; though the sum total of its current pain, disaster, confusion, and messes seems insurmountable. God’s love and power are infinite and far-reaching. Just as I went to the farthest places spaghetti sauce splattered, so God goes to the furthest and deepest places human sin wreaks havoc. Projecting into the future, the Bible boldly declares, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…He will wipe away every tear from their eyes…And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.'” (Revelation 21:1, 4, 5, ESV)

In the meantime, our God gets down “on the floor” where we are to clean things up. He sent His Son to live here, suffer here, and pay for sin here. God continually works in the business of cleaning and restoration. Out of pure and unbelievable love, He keeps cleaning and restoring.

Do you see nothing in front of you but a terrible mess? Do you see nothing in you but a disaster? Do you see nothing around you but wreckage? Hear the heart of God, the One who cleans so much more than splattered spaghetti:

“Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” – Psalm 51:7 (NIV – 1984)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” – II Corinthians 5:17 (NIV – 1984)

“You will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.” – Isaiah 58:12 (NIV – 1984)

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted.” – Isaiah 61:1 (ESV)

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases.” – Psalm 103:2-3 (ESV)

“I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me.” – Jeremiah 33:8 (NIV – 1984)