Changing Course

What does it take to get an object that is not moving, going? What does it take to get an object that is moving in a particular direction to change course or speed? In both cases, you probably already know it takes some other force to overcome the existing force. Newton’s first law of motion, the law of inertia, states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Inertia is the reason we feel a pull in a car as it goes around a corner. Inertia explains why things sitting still do not just take off moving. Probably most important, it is the law of inertia that makes so many theme park rides so much fun.

The truth is that people in a sense have an inertia all their own. People do not tend to change unless something happens that causes them to change. There may be small things that change as time goes by, but to truly alter the course of a person’s life, or change those basic things that make an individual, who they are, often times will not change unless something happens. If a person is selfish, they always tend to be selfish, worriers always tend to worry, control freaks do not usually seek ways to give up control, and planners will always tend to plan. However, there are things in life that can cause our course to change.

Take Peter, Andrew, James, and John, for example. These men were fishermen, probably fairly content in life, yet when they met Jesus, the course of their life was changed. Paul had grown up as Hebrew of Hebrews, but when He encountered Jesus, the course of his life changed. Thomas was not going to believe that Jesus had risen from the grave, but when he encountered the resurrected Lord, the course of His life changed. Many of Jesus’ own family thought he had lost it, but realizing that He was the Messiah, James’, Jesus brother, experienced a change in the course of His life.

How has your course changed? Peter and John were on the way to the Temple one day, when a man who could not walk, stopped them. They did not have any money to give, but they did have the power to heal him, so they did. When the crowds saw this, Peter and John suddenly had a willing audience that had seen God’s power alive in them and that was ready to listen to their teaching. Of course, the religious leaders of the day took offense, challenged, and even arrested Peter and John. The next day when brought before the Sanhedrin, filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter and John confronted these men with the truth of the gospel. The Bible teaches that something very interesting happened.

Acts 4:13 (NIV) 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

The religious leaders took note that Peter and John, ordinary, everyday guys, had been with Jesus. The course of their life had changed, because of their encounter with the living God. Jesus changes lives and the direction they are going. How has your course changed?

Remember

Imagine what Jesus' followers would have been thinking that Saturday morning after His crucifixion. Their thoughts could have been as varied as the people having them. They didn't visit the tomb (Luke 23:55), due to it being the Sabbath, but that can't be said for everyone. It is interesting that those that had pointed at Jesus and called Him a blasphemer and tried to use the law and their traditions against Him, did something very different (Matthew 27:62-67). Today we may have a different view on the world than they did then, but the truth is that we should still remember all that has been done and endured for us. Remember.

Our Suffering Savior and Risen Lord

The Jews had been waiting for their Messiah for generations. They had the scriptures that pointed them in the right direction. They had their traditions and law that they assumed brought them close to God. They had everything they needed to be able to see when their Messiah came, but they were not expecting Jesus. He did not fit their mold. He did not look like the Messiah that they had envisioned, and so they did everything they could to stop Him.

Approximately 700 years before the events of Holy Week, Good Friday, and Easter weekend ever took place; Isaiah sat and wrote of the Messiah. He wrote then (Isaiah 53:1-11) of how the Messiah would not be recognized by the very people that had been looking for Him. He would be the One, but they would consider Him as someone rejected by God, and that is exactly what happened. Jesus did nothing, other than fulfill His role, and yet on this fateful day nearly 2000 years ago, He was hung on a cross and left for dead.

As I sit and think on that day, the day that the one I call Savior hung on that cross, my minds’ eye paints it as a dark and dreary day, a day to be mourned, a day that you wish would have never had to happen. After having seen Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, the image of a beaten, broken, and bloody Jesus hanging from the nails on a rugged cross has been etched into my mind. How it hurts to see Him this way, and know that it was for us that He endured this agony. What a terrible moment it must have been as those who knew Him heard Him say, “It is finished” and saw His head fall over as He died.

Today, while the images can be painted vividly in our mind, we do have the advantage of being able to see what came next. Jesus Christ did die. He became exactly what Isaiah had prophesied. He was pierced for our transgression and crushed for our iniquities. He is our suffering Savior, the Messiah. However, the story did not end there. That was just one stop along the way. Soon, the tomb would be found empty, because He has risen. He is our suffering savior and is now our risen Lord!

It seems to me we are always preparing for something. In the winter, we get ready for spring. In the summer, we get ready for fall. On Sundays, we get ready for church. During the week, we get ready to go to work. In the evenings, seemingly later and later for me these days, we get ready to go to bed. Everyday, we get ready for dinner, get ready to go, get ready for school, the weekend, vacation and on and on. I even spent time getting ready, preparing that is, for this posting. We are always getting ready for something. So, are you ready?

Matthew 24:36-42
36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

Two days before He faced a false accusation, and a trial that was rigged, Jesus told His followers to get ready, to be prepared. Do not miss this. He knew what was coming, and He knew that it was not the end, but only one stop along the path to saving the lost. He also knew His people would need to hear this, because they could not see what came next. They could not know what the future holds, but He wanted them to be ready.

Live your life today expectantly looking forward to His return; it is coming. Trust in Him for your salvation, your future, and this present moment. Be ready, so that if He returns as you read the next word, you will not miss Him. There is no need to try to read signs or figure out what that time will be, just be ready. Should He tarry, leave a legacy that will speak to the people you know and the family that you leave behind that they also need to be ready. When you are laid to rest, will people comment on all that you accomplished, or will they remember you for your life lived in faith?

Of all the things we get ready for, this is one I hope you do not overlook. Are you ready?

From a Fig Tree to a Grapevine

To spring from our last lesson from the fig tree, think of the power, God’s amazing and unlimited power. Imagine witnessing it. Imagine experiencing it first hand. Imagine seeing it with your own eyes. The amazing truth is, you can.

The lesson from the fig tree does not stop with the disciples seeing Jesus demonstrate this power, but it ends with Him telling them, they can connect and use the power as well. Jesus tells them "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Jesus was telling His disciples that they too have access to this amazing power. It is not their power, it comes from God. Yet, through faith and prayer, they are connected to a power that cannot be overcome.

Just a couple of days later, Jesus would reinforce this teaching and bring it full circle. John 15:5-8 relates the teachings of the vine. It is here that we realize that just as a fig tree is to produce figs, grape vines are intended to produce grapes, and we are supposed to produce works that bring glory to God. The great news is, we do not have to do these works on our own or by our own means. The power to do eternal works comes from the living God. The truth is that we have to have this connection to the vine, otherwise everything we do falls short. We have to have the source of power that comes through Jesus.

Just as He told His disciples that through faith and prayer they could be connected to this power themselves, He also helped them to see that their connection is not to some abstract idea, but to Him, and the result of that connection is good fruit. The same is true for us. Jesus is our connection to life, and as we live our lives in step with Him, the fruit begins to appear naturally, because that is what happens with good fig trees and grapevines. As we live our lives in step with Jesus, we will be empowered to do great things that bring God great glory.

Lessons from a Fig Tree Part 2

Matthew 21:18-22 While coming away from the fig tree with a lesson on fruitfulness would not be outside of the realm of Jesus’ teachings, if we stopped there I don’t think we would take away what the author intended to convey. Look again at that passage, Jesus did not stop and teach on fruitfulness. He did not tell them later how to understand the fig tree. As far as we know the disciples did not even ask. What we do know is that they were astonished. They did not ask why, but how.

Now, let’s get this back into the context. In the time that they had been following Jesus, the disciples had seen Him do some astonishing things. They watched as Jesus fed thousands with relatively nothing. He healed the sick, made the blind to see, and enabled the deaf to hear. His followers had seen Him walk on water, and just as recently as a few days before, they had seen Jesus raise a man from the dead. Yet here they are again, astonished at what Christ has done.

How would we react if we had been present when this happened? Would we be amazed, or would we figure out why we could not have seen what we just saw? Would we attempt to give scientific explanations or accept that this man Jesus is more than just a man?

May it never be said of us, that we are not excited and amazed by seeing God do what only He can do. May we never find ourselves in such a rut that we do not stand in awe of the amazing power that God shows us everyday.

Lessons from a Fig Tree Part 1

Matthew 21:18-22 conveys the story of Jesus cursing a fig tree. As many times as I have read this, it has seemed difficult to understand why He would do this. The more difficult thing is that He does not give a specific explanation as to why He would have cursed the tree. So, we tread on dangerous ground if we try to give reason for Him. However, in the events surrounding this incident I think we can easily learn at least one lesson from this incident.

Jesus had come into Jerusalem and found religious leaders, who honored him with their lips but their hearts were far from Him. In this fig tree, He found a tree that gave all the indications of being a tree that should be fruitful, but when examined closely it was found that it was not all it seemed to be. That very same day Jesus would speak to His disciples and the people of Jerusalem warning them of the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders.

Matt. 23:5-7
5"Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long;
6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;
7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'

Going through the motions and putting on an act may fool the people around us, but God will always know. He can see us from the inside out, and He knows our hearts. What do you think He sees leaves or fruit?

Are We There Yet?

I will never forget trips as a child in the car. The worst ones were from my home in Louisiana to Little Rock AR, or Springfield MO. There were several summers in a row that we would drive that stretch. I can remember hoping to fall asleep so that I would not have to endure sitting still and locked up in a car any longer than I had to. I also remember devising all kinds of games to pass the time while I was awake. I wonder how many times my Mom, or my Grandparents had to endure this question or a dozen others just like it.

I find myself today fighting this same urge, as I look down the road to where we are headed as a community of believers. What I must remember is that we are on the journey of a lifetime. Today things will look quite different than they will in a year, ten years, or even twenty. People will come and go, and methods may change. We will make mistakes along the way, experience growing pains, and then sometimes we might even get something right. While there will be changes of scenery along the way, there are some things that should always be the same. At every point , we should find that we are standing on the truth and not tradition.

Which brings me back to the question that led us down this path; Are we there yet?

Have we become the church that God wants us to be? I think that we can honestly say that some of the characteristics we can find in the Bible, shine in this family, but others are just in the beginning stages. Paul wrote that even he, one of the heroes of the faith, was constantly growing and pushing on towards the goal (Philippians 3:12-14). I think we should follow suit. We are on a journey, following in Christ’s way. We do not have to be in a rush or get in a hurry, the trip is part of the process. We just need to remain committed to Him, and I have no doubt that we will become all that He intends us to be, and His work will become evident in the words we say and the things we do.

Why did Jesus have to die?

Have you ever stopped to think about why Jesus had to die? Why did it have to be this way? There is a simple poetry in these words and yet it reveals to me the sweet taste of mercy and love that God has shown to me. So much...that He gave His only son...

The sinner saved by grace is haunted by Calvary, by the cross, and especially by the question, Why did He die? A clue comes from the Gospel of John: "For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." Another clue from Paul's cry in Galations: "He loved me and delivered himself up for me." The answer lies in love.

But the answer seems too easy, too glib. Yes, God saved us because He loved us. But He is God. He has infinite imagination. Couldn't He have dreamed up a different redemption? Couldn't He have saved us with a smile, a pang of hunger, a word of forgiveness, a single drop of blood? And if He had to die, then for God's sake - for Christ's sake - couldn't He have died in bed, died with dignity? Why was He condemned like a criminal? Why was His back flayed with whips? Why was His head crowned with Thorns? Why was He nailed to wood and allowed to die in frightful, lonely agony? Why was the last breath drawn in bloody disgrace, while the world for which He lay dying egged on His executioners with savage fury like some kind of gang rape by uncivilized brutes in Central Park? Why did they have to take the very best?

- The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning

What would Jesus do?

“If the gospel isn’t good news for everybody, then it isn’t good news for anybody. And this is because the most powerful things happen when the church surrenders its desire to convert people and convince them to join. It is when the church gives itself away in radical acts of service and compassion, expecting nothing in return, that the way of Jesus is most vividly put on display. To do this, the church must stop thinking of everybody primarily in categories of in or out, saved or not, believer or nonbeliever.”
-from the book Velvet Elvis

Someone shared this quote with us and we just couldn't help but post it. It challenges us to think outside the box. This talks about a means to the end and focuses on the journey rather than that ultimate goal of salvation. It takes the responsibility of "conversion" out of our hands and places it in God's hands where it rightly belongs. We are commanded to love as Christ has loved...not to save as Christ saves. How arrogant is it for us to assume that we have the ability to do that.