True Greatness

And an argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But when Jesus perceived the thought of their hearts, he took a child and put him by his side, and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me; for he who is least among you all is the one who is great." [Luke 9: 46-48]

I once attended a conference with a group of attorneys and the speaker, a psychologist, asked "What group of people has the best insight in how to live life?" Several participants answered, "Lawyers" and the speaker broke out in laughter exclaiming "You have to be kidding!". Some suggested "counselors", others "people of wealth" and yet no one seemed to be able to answer his question with the right answer. When the group was done guessing, he revealed his answer:

" Young Children! " At first, everyone seemed taken aback. But, then he went on to explain: What group of people live in the moment without fear of tomorrow? Young children run from one place to the next to celebrate the exburence of life. Young children don't worry about "what if" because they have not developed their "self-image" yet. That usually begins around the age of 13 when they transmutate from child to young adolescent. Then what follows are the bad hair days and the fear that if a pimple blemishes one's face no one will like them. Young children are oblivious to those things.

When Jesus "perceived" the thought of his disciples' hearts, I do not think this was due to his diety. Rather, I believe that it may more attributed to his unmarred humanity. Scientists are intrigued with the concept of Extra Sensory Perception ("ESP"). There are demonstrable tests to suggest that there are empathic ways in which some people can communicate thoughts. Even when one travels to a foreign country and has no knowlege of the foreign language it is amazing how much communication can be gleaned by listening to someone's tone, body language, gestures and eye contact. When we learn to suppress the "self" and truly listen for another's person's heart and soul, not just the words, we gain true meaning and insight into another. So often when someone else is speaking, we are already thinking about formulating our response to the argument such that we don't really "hear" what the other person is saying. Or, if we hear it, we only perceive a fraction of what the communication is all about. Learning to listen to a person's heart is a rare experience. It is a process that can be used to create deep lasting relationships. When you think about your best friend, it is usually someone who is willing to listen to you. I believe that we were all born with ESP. Sin mars that ability in each of us. When we focus on "self" we lose our ability to see others about us. Some people naturally retain more of that ability than others. But, it is the way that God designed us to be. Jesus's abilitiy to read his disciple's thoughts shows us how we should be able to discern others based upon our common humanity. Little children are like sponges. They too seem to be able to "read" people and their emotions far beyond their ability to understand or comprehend oral communication.

Authority in the kingdom of God is turned on its head. The one who wants to be the greatest must become the least of all. It is counter-intuitive. Much like "dying to live". If you want to be great, become like a child and think small of yourself. Enjoy the moment and cast your worries about the future aside. Worrying won't change anything. If you believe that God is your father and he is going to take care of you, then life is good!

On Giving Thanks

And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then said Jesus, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well." [Luke 17:12-19]

Today God answered a prayer of mine. I feel so humbled by the response that I fear that I am not as thankful as I need to be. The above story reminds me that people who were given their request by Jesus to be cured of leprosy forgot to say "Thank You" to the God who healed them. How could that be? I fear the ratio of 1:10 probably applies to many of us today.

My daughter, Rachel, suffered a traumatic brain injury due to a strep infection in August. She had to have part of her skull removed and she came very close to dying. She lost some vision before the surgery. We had hoped that her vision might be restored following the surgery; but, to date she continues to suffer loss of peripheral vision on the right side. Two days ago the opthamologist she visited told her that the vision was so impaired that she would never drive again. The reality of that diagnosis came crashing in on her. As a mother of a 10 month old who lives on the outskirts of the metropolitan Detroit area, not being able to drive was a crushing blow. I specifically prayed and asked God, that if were His will for her life, to restore her vision so that she could at least pass a driver's test and be able to drive again. But, I also prayed that if she could not drive, that He would use her blindness for the sake of the kingdom. I really felt like I put this one request front and center.

Today Rachel visited with a neuro-opthomologist at the Henry Ford Medical Institute in Detroit to get a second opinion. She had called yesterday and they just happened to have had an opening this morning. She called me late morning and I could hear the excitement in her voice. This doctor told her that it might take months, and special therapy, but that in his opinion, he thought she could qualify to pass the Michigan's driver's test to get a driver's license! God is so good!

I know that not all of our requests are so dramatically answered in such short time. However, I want to fall down at the feet of Jesus and say "Thank you Lord for your gift of healing". How does one say "Thank You" to God? I think it is by doing His will and loving God first and your neighbor second. It sounds so easy. Yet 9 out of 10 lepers failed to say "thank you" after experiencing a miracle. We all experience miracles of birth, healing and answered prayers every day. Learning to live life in appreciation and gratitude is the way to obtain joy and celebration. Tonight I am celebrating an answered prayer. Blessed is the name of the Lord!

The Fall Feasts

"Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD... Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God." – Leviticus 23:34, 42-43 The Feast of Tabernacles, or Succoth, begins on the 15th of Tishri and lasts for eight days. This year Succoth began on October 18th. The word Succoth (also spelled Sukkot) means "booths", and refers to the temporary dwellings which are built and inhabited during the festival. This feast commemorates the 40 years that the nation of Israel wandered in the desert before entering the Promised Land. The Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths, as it is sometimes called, is a joyous holiday and a time of feasting. If one were to visit Israel at this time you would observe them building their temporary "booths" in the traditional way, leaving deliberate gaps in the branches to view the stars at night, and for the wind to blow through during the day. This is intended to remind them of the wilderness wanderings. At the end of the eight days, they leave their temporary dwellings to return to their permanent homes. (This is one of the reasons some suspect that this feast, rather than the Feast of Trumpets, is suggestive of the Rapture of the Church.) This day, traditionally, is the day that Solomon dedicated the first Temple. This feast also involved a daily processional to the Pool of Siloam to fetch water for the Temple. This ceremonial procession is the setting for the events of John 7, where Jesus offers them "living water." This procession involved four types of branches: the willow, the myrtle, the palm, and a citrus (Leviticus 23:40). The willow has no smell and no fruit. The myrtle has smell, but no fruit. The palm has no smell, but bears fruit. The citrus has both smell and bears fruit. This sounds reminiscent of the four soils of the first "kingdom parable" of Matthew 13, doesn't it? As Christians we may not celebrate many of the traditional Jewish holidays. Yet they hold great spiritual and prophetic significance. In Colossians 2:16-17 it says, "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come."
Most observers note that the first three feasts, in the first month of the religious year -Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, and Feast of First Fruits - are prophetic of the Lord's First Coming. They each were also fulfilled on the day they were observed. Between these three feasts and the final three feasts is the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, which is predictive of the Church. (It is also the only feast in which leavened bread is ordained!) It is believed that the last three feasts, in the 7th month, are prophetic of the Lord's Second Coming. That is why many are particularly watchful in the fall of each year.

Justice and Grace

In the opening chapter of the book of Nehemiah 1:5 we read about Nehemiah's prayer:

And I said, "O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments;

Nehemiah's description of God as "terrible" struck me. The word can also be translated "AWESOME". Either way it should grab one's attention. Much the same way that Moses told the children of Israel [Exodus 19:12] when they encamped at Mount Sinai:

12 And you shall set bounds for the people round about, saying, 'Take heed that you do not go up into the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death; 13 no hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.'

God is who he is and we don't really have to worry about defending him. When we truly see God for who he is we will be like Job when he stood before the Lord to question him. As a result, Job fell to his knees and repented in sackcloth and ashes.

Proverbs 1:7 teaches us that:

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. "

When King Jehoshaphat charged his judges in 2 Chronicles 19:7 he told them:

Now then, let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed what you do, for there is no perversion of justice with the LORD our God, or partiality, or taking bribes."

Only when man fears God is there a hope that justice will not be perverted.

Without an understanding of who God is and what he demands, mankind is left adrift in a sea of relativism that makes the meaning of grace incomprehensible. Without justice we cannot understand grace.

The Wolf Within

In the book of Genesis we read about Cain's problem with Sin before he murders his brother. God asks Cain in Chapter 4 starting at verse 6:

The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it."

The reality of life is that each of us is born into a world where sin is within us and it always wants to master us. LIfe is about learning to master sin in each of our lives. I listened to the news this morning about a mentally ill woman in San Francisco who "heard voices" telling her to feed her children to the sharks. So, she dropped her three young children off a pier and murdered them. While she may suffer from the effects of mental illness, as a victim of domestic violence there was enough sin in her world to cloud her mind to do something that a normal person would see as horrific. Yet, I believe, that same potential to do evil and to allow sin to take over one's life lurks in every human being who has ever walked the face of this earth. None of us immune from the effects of the desires of the human mind that says " I am important" and that life is all about "me"! Theologians would describe this as something called "original sin" or man's "depraved mind". I like to think of it as the wolf within. Ocassionally I have helped out in the nursery at church watching over the little ones during services. I have always enjoyed observing the interaction of toddlers as they interact with one another. One child can be sitting on one side of a room that is filled with toys and all kinds of interesting diversions. Another child will be playing with a toy across the room. Invariably, the first child will spot the toy in the hand of the second child and then crawl across the room to rip that toy out of the hand of the second child. When that happens there is a flash of understanding that is not even articulated by the first child that says, "IT IS ALL MINE!" We are all born with a desire from within to see the world and everything in it as an object for us to grasp and control. Our natural proclivity is for selfishness. It is all about "me"! I know this subject well as I recognize how selfish I am. There are times when I try very hard not to be selfish; but, then that wolf from within will rear its ugly head and cause me to do things that I later regret. Those actions later fill me with remorse. The apostle Paul described this condition in Romans 7 this way:

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17 So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, 23 but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members.

This is the condition that surrounds each of us every day of lives. There is only one who can forgive sin and can offer us a way out of this captivity. I wish I could rid myself of the wolf within; but, I am convinced that as long as I live in a human body this is not possible. My only hope is built on nothing less than a faith in Jesus Christ as my personal savior who can offer me help with this battle. It is only through faith in what Jesus did on the cross that I can ever hope to escape the ravages of the wolf within. I may not have ever physically dropped my children off a pier into the ocean; but, I have at times spiritually ravaged my family by letting the wolf within control my actions. Before God we all stand guilty and condemned by the selfishness of own actions. I have never committed murder; but, when I hate someone I am just as guilty in the eyes of a holy God. Our battle cry has to be what the apostle Paul concluded:

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

The paradox of salvation is that we must die to live. We can only overcome the wolf within by the power of the Holy Spirit which is given to those who are born again into the kingdom of God. The best promise of all is found in Acts: 2:38! Following our baptism we are promised that we shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is only by concentrating on spiritual matters that we can ever hope to begin to master the wolf within.

It Shall Not Be So Among You!

And Jesus called them to him and said to them, "You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10: 42-45

Authority in the kingdom of God is stood on its head. When Jesus heard the disciples arguing over who would the greatest in the kingdom, he gave them the above teaching. The greatest is the one who becomes a slave to all. From the world's perspective, greatness is achieved by attaining the pinnacle of the pyramid. Take a look at the back of a dollar bill. What symbol do you find on our money? A pyramid topped by an all seeing eye. When one becomes the President of the Company, he or she gets to tell everyone else what to do. That is why people claw their way to the top of the heap only to discover when they get there that it is a hollow experience. Fame, wealth and glory can never fullfill the inner need for what we all crave. What is it that we really want? To be loved and appreciated by someone. How do you gain love and appreciation? By becoming a servant to all. It is another of one of those paradoxes!

As an elder at church I struggle with this concept daily. Sometimes the demands of people can just overwhelm me. And, that is when I have to turn towards God and put it in his hands. My selfish nature wants to be served; but, my spiritual nature realizes that only when I become like Jesus and serve the needs of others that I truly discover joy, peace, love and happiness.

How about you? I would love to hear from some of you on this subject!

On becoming "MORE NOBLE".

"Acts 17:11 - Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessaloni'ca, for they received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so. "

Several dear friends and brothers in Christ have suggested that we have a dedicated blog for discussion purposes on matters of spiritual interest. I tried a half dozen names and finally my 7th choice worked for a blog spot. I took the name from the above verse. I want to be more noble. How about you?

I believe that truth is a personality. That personality was revealed in Jesus Christ who was both fully human and divine. That is a paradox. I find many paradoxes in faith. For example:

Deuteronomy 6: 4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD".

Yet, in the New Testament we have God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. My logical mind wants to do a computer model that says 1=3; but, that does not work in my arithmatical model. Yet I believe that both statements are true.

How do you approach the paradoxes of faith?