Romans 12:17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to what is honorable in sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."
Most surveys reveal that at least 80% of Americans consider themselves Christian. It should strike us as odd that there are 80 million lawsuits filed in America each year. We are only 4.6% of the world's population, yet we have 70% of the world's lawyers. The stats drive me to ponder the question why? If we are walking in Grace which is something we did not merit and were forgiven based on another's work then why are we so quick to sue? What about Christ's words about turning the other cheek? What about Paul's words above? To get to the core of the tension we must address this vital question: Is revealing Christ's grace more important than our stuff and money?
Paul is charging the church at Rome, and all Christians in turn, to walk as Christ walked in forgiveness. Why? It baffles people and makes them evaluate how in the world can this guy or gal just be done wrong and be content. As that unveils, our dialogue is in fact preaching the Gospel to them: I can forgive and go on in peace because I have a God that will provide and I know that He will square all debts and judge with perfect justice in the end. Paul says think of Christ on the Cross sacrificing His life for us rebels. That is the epicenter of Grace and our praise of Him will be the fuel for the fire of forgiveness. Vengeance will fuel an unforgiving heart and freeze it cold. Why then is America the epicenter of self preserving litigation when we should be the epicenter of Grace filled, praise fueled forgiveness?
So how do you walk today, even if you aren't suing someone? Do you walk focused on gain for yourself? Do you feel the need to fight for your stuff so that you can get what you deserve?
Christ fought for us brothers and sisters so that we in fact can get exactly what we DO NOT deserve! Let's pray that God would lead us to be change agents of Grace!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Mockery
Mark 15:16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
What does it really mean to mock something? The dictionary says it means to ridicule, deride or imitate. From a broad perspective, mockery occurs when someone or something pretends to be something when it is not. Like a mockingbird. Mockingbirds earn their name as they steal songs from other birds and sing them as if they were that bird, yet they are not. When humans mock others, it is usually dripping with cynicism with an aim towards belittling other people. I am ashamed to say I have done this way too many times and hurt people.
When I look at the account of the soldiers mocking Jesus in Mark 15, my thoughts go immediately to the images of brutality burned in my brain of the physical mistreatment of Christ that I have seen in movies. The harsh reality is graphic and heavy. It often leaves me wondering, "How could people really do that to Jesus?". Two days ago God challenged me in my quiet time with a new perspective on these verses. The soldiers were unknowingly playing their role in God's plan of redemption by sinfully abusing him and mocking the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They dressed Him up in royal robes, as they made fun of Him and put a crown of thorns on His head as if to say, "yeah, you are a king alright", just before they spit on Him with disgust and abused him physically. They even cynically mocked Him by kneeling down and paid fake homage to Him having fun tearing Christ down. It is one of the most striking displays of gross sinfulness as rebels cut down the Messiah that came to redeem them from the sin that was driving their evil actions.
Now obviously I wasn't there, and neither were you physically when all of this went on, but before we sit back and throw stones at these soldiers we need to a heart check. Did Jesus pay for your sins on the Cross? If so, let's not miss the fact that even though God willed it, our need of a savior to redeem us from sinful rebellion had a part in Jesus death on the Cross as our sin was atoned for. None of us are innocent from this scene. If we were, the scene would have been unnecessary. The Cross is quite necessary.
We also need to stop and see how we interact with King Jesus. Do our lives deny His Kingship over them just like the actions of the soldiers? Do we know His commands and obey them as we aim to be satisfied by delighting the Father's heart? Do we obey the King as we walk out the Great commission while over 2 billion have never heard of Christ, or do we ignore Him? Does our heart break for what breaks His to the extent that we sacrifice for His sake as we serve others? Do we nourish the physically and spiritually impoverished? Do we care? Do we defend the 100 million + helpless orphans as he gracefully instructed? Do we care?
Do we love justice, seek mercy and walk Humbly? Do we love Him with all of our strength mind and soul? Do we obey him when he says don't fall in love with stuff- you don't need it, I am enough for you? or do we just keep on shopping and working ourselves to death in capitalistic pursuit?
Honestly there are times when I fail here. I know grace and mercy are extended to cover my faithlessness, but let's not miss the fact that Grace and Mercy are extended to those who walk with Him as Lord. So as you examine your hearts, does the testimony of your life mock or honor Christ the King and his commands? We are all too quick to measure our "goodness" against those around us and rationalize ourselves and actions so please don't do this. Ask yourself this question: Is Christ my King directing my life or am I my own King driving my own ship and simply dressing up Jesus as I like just like the Roman soldiers. There is a heaviness in my Heart friends. This is serious business. In Matthew 7:21 Jesus tells us "Not everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." This is a Holy, heavy word. Doing His will displays the Lordship over our lives and is evidence of His redemption of our souls. We can not work our way towards His will outside of His Grace. It just happens. When you fall passionately in love with someone you trust, you joyfully want to delight their heart.
Our words are cheap. Pray through the words of Christ and examine your soul openly.
What does it really mean to mock something? The dictionary says it means to ridicule, deride or imitate. From a broad perspective, mockery occurs when someone or something pretends to be something when it is not. Like a mockingbird. Mockingbirds earn their name as they steal songs from other birds and sing them as if they were that bird, yet they are not. When humans mock others, it is usually dripping with cynicism with an aim towards belittling other people. I am ashamed to say I have done this way too many times and hurt people.
When I look at the account of the soldiers mocking Jesus in Mark 15, my thoughts go immediately to the images of brutality burned in my brain of the physical mistreatment of Christ that I have seen in movies. The harsh reality is graphic and heavy. It often leaves me wondering, "How could people really do that to Jesus?". Two days ago God challenged me in my quiet time with a new perspective on these verses. The soldiers were unknowingly playing their role in God's plan of redemption by sinfully abusing him and mocking the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They dressed Him up in royal robes, as they made fun of Him and put a crown of thorns on His head as if to say, "yeah, you are a king alright", just before they spit on Him with disgust and abused him physically. They even cynically mocked Him by kneeling down and paid fake homage to Him having fun tearing Christ down. It is one of the most striking displays of gross sinfulness as rebels cut down the Messiah that came to redeem them from the sin that was driving their evil actions.
Now obviously I wasn't there, and neither were you physically when all of this went on, but before we sit back and throw stones at these soldiers we need to a heart check. Did Jesus pay for your sins on the Cross? If so, let's not miss the fact that even though God willed it, our need of a savior to redeem us from sinful rebellion had a part in Jesus death on the Cross as our sin was atoned for. None of us are innocent from this scene. If we were, the scene would have been unnecessary. The Cross is quite necessary.
We also need to stop and see how we interact with King Jesus. Do our lives deny His Kingship over them just like the actions of the soldiers? Do we know His commands and obey them as we aim to be satisfied by delighting the Father's heart? Do we obey the King as we walk out the Great commission while over 2 billion have never heard of Christ, or do we ignore Him? Does our heart break for what breaks His to the extent that we sacrifice for His sake as we serve others? Do we nourish the physically and spiritually impoverished? Do we care? Do we defend the 100 million + helpless orphans as he gracefully instructed? Do we care?
Do we love justice, seek mercy and walk Humbly? Do we love Him with all of our strength mind and soul? Do we obey him when he says don't fall in love with stuff- you don't need it, I am enough for you? or do we just keep on shopping and working ourselves to death in capitalistic pursuit?
Honestly there are times when I fail here. I know grace and mercy are extended to cover my faithlessness, but let's not miss the fact that Grace and Mercy are extended to those who walk with Him as Lord. So as you examine your hearts, does the testimony of your life mock or honor Christ the King and his commands? We are all too quick to measure our "goodness" against those around us and rationalize ourselves and actions so please don't do this. Ask yourself this question: Is Christ my King directing my life or am I my own King driving my own ship and simply dressing up Jesus as I like just like the Roman soldiers. There is a heaviness in my Heart friends. This is serious business. In Matthew 7:21 Jesus tells us "Not everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." This is a Holy, heavy word. Doing His will displays the Lordship over our lives and is evidence of His redemption of our souls. We can not work our way towards His will outside of His Grace. It just happens. When you fall passionately in love with someone you trust, you joyfully want to delight their heart.
Our words are cheap. Pray through the words of Christ and examine your soul openly.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Couch Coaches
Mark 7:1 Now when the pharisees gathered to Him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of the disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is unwashed 5 and they pharisees and scribes asked Him, Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of elders but eat with defiled hands?
It is fall in the heart of Dixie. That means football is front and center of media airwaves and supper table conversations. I always think it is funny when people who have never played one snap of football try to give advice to coaches who not only played, but obsessively study techniques and their players to make a living. These folks who have all the right theories, at least in their minds, can be rather convincing in their advice as they opine on the airwaves, blogs or columns. What these "coaches from the couch" don't have is actual experience, true involvement in the team's practice, and the advantage of knowing each player intimately and therefore understanding the reality of their capacity. These couch coaches only have ideas, theory and their perception of what happened in the last game. In other words, they have nothing to offer except unproven and untrained opinions. A.k.a. Hot air.
When you look at the Pharisees, they look a lot like couch coaches as they try to help Jesus "get it right". Jesus has just returned from a place called Gennesaret where He has poured himself out 24/7 doing the Father's will as He preached the Gospel, healed the sick, and cast out demons. All Jesus knew how to do was joyfully obey the father's will as he walked through the messiness of life. Upon His return, He sits down to eat with some of His disciples and the Pharisees, who by the way haven't been doing anything about the poor, the needy nor the Advance of Yahweh's kingdom try to "correct" Jesus' efforts. They literally ask "why aren't you following the tradition of men". Jesus rather sternly replies, " I didn't come here to obey rules and traditions of men. I came to obey my father and you guys should give that a whirl" (paraphrased).
The religious tradition of men will always be to try and use worship of God to consolidate and leverage power to elevate yourself. Religion without truth and spirit will never be messy, it will be pristine with a polished appearance. The problem is, just like the couch coach who isn't experiencing the reality of the football game, people like the Pharisees aren't experiencing a relationship with God. Their religion is limited to theory and intellectual ascent, other people's opinions and a desire to fit in with "good people".
The truth is that carrying the cross is a messy endeavor. God never allows us to map out exact plans on when and where we can expand His Kingdom. He moves at His pace, not ours. The end game of what He is after is not our polished appearance, participation on certain committees or simply our tithes. God is after exactly what Jesus was demonstrating that the Pharisees missed. Joyful obedience to the will of the Father that sprang out of Joyful communion with His Dad. Jesus experience with God lit up and radiated the Holiness of God outwards from Him and it looked awkward to those who where simply trying to "play church".
So where are you? Are you in the game? Do you enjoy experiencing God in communion? Do you enjoy being obedient to the will of God? Or are you a couch coach, a Pharisee, who doesn't serve others but would rather debate over little issues while the needy and the lost of the world waste away?
God wants you to enjoy Him as Lord, Savior and Treasure. The Cross is proof thereof.
It is fall in the heart of Dixie. That means football is front and center of media airwaves and supper table conversations. I always think it is funny when people who have never played one snap of football try to give advice to coaches who not only played, but obsessively study techniques and their players to make a living. These folks who have all the right theories, at least in their minds, can be rather convincing in their advice as they opine on the airwaves, blogs or columns. What these "coaches from the couch" don't have is actual experience, true involvement in the team's practice, and the advantage of knowing each player intimately and therefore understanding the reality of their capacity. These couch coaches only have ideas, theory and their perception of what happened in the last game. In other words, they have nothing to offer except unproven and untrained opinions. A.k.a. Hot air.
When you look at the Pharisees, they look a lot like couch coaches as they try to help Jesus "get it right". Jesus has just returned from a place called Gennesaret where He has poured himself out 24/7 doing the Father's will as He preached the Gospel, healed the sick, and cast out demons. All Jesus knew how to do was joyfully obey the father's will as he walked through the messiness of life. Upon His return, He sits down to eat with some of His disciples and the Pharisees, who by the way haven't been doing anything about the poor, the needy nor the Advance of Yahweh's kingdom try to "correct" Jesus' efforts. They literally ask "why aren't you following the tradition of men". Jesus rather sternly replies, " I didn't come here to obey rules and traditions of men. I came to obey my father and you guys should give that a whirl" (paraphrased).
The religious tradition of men will always be to try and use worship of God to consolidate and leverage power to elevate yourself. Religion without truth and spirit will never be messy, it will be pristine with a polished appearance. The problem is, just like the couch coach who isn't experiencing the reality of the football game, people like the Pharisees aren't experiencing a relationship with God. Their religion is limited to theory and intellectual ascent, other people's opinions and a desire to fit in with "good people".
The truth is that carrying the cross is a messy endeavor. God never allows us to map out exact plans on when and where we can expand His Kingdom. He moves at His pace, not ours. The end game of what He is after is not our polished appearance, participation on certain committees or simply our tithes. God is after exactly what Jesus was demonstrating that the Pharisees missed. Joyful obedience to the will of the Father that sprang out of Joyful communion with His Dad. Jesus experience with God lit up and radiated the Holiness of God outwards from Him and it looked awkward to those who where simply trying to "play church".
So where are you? Are you in the game? Do you enjoy experiencing God in communion? Do you enjoy being obedient to the will of God? Or are you a couch coach, a Pharisee, who doesn't serve others but would rather debate over little issues while the needy and the lost of the world waste away?
God wants you to enjoy Him as Lord, Savior and Treasure. The Cross is proof thereof.
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