One Fall from Being in Serious Trouble

My wife Jeanette has walked with a slight limp as long as I have known her. She has had joint issues that required her to exercise caution when moving about. For years some degree of numbness has been present in her hands and feet. Earlier attempts to identify and correct these matters were not successful. So, she learned to adapt, endure, and move forward without complaint. Her aches and pains have not stopped her from taking care of her home, serving as a pastor’s wife, being a denominational servant, or serving as a mission volunteer. But in recent years these issues have become more of a challenge. In the past two years her pain has been excruciating and her mobility has been limited. In the past year she has required a cane and then a walker to move around the house. The pandemic slowed the journey to discover the causes of these problems. Our efforts were further delayed by deaths in the family. But in the course of time, it was revealed that she had spinal stenosis in her lower back and neuropathy in her feet. Medications and physical therapy helped with the pain and enhanced her mobility to a degree but it was obvious that her problems were numerous and complicated. In January we had a consultation with a neurologist who did a thorough examination. He concurred that she had neuropathy in her legs and suffered from stenosis, but these things should not be causing the current level of weakness in her legs, her unnatural gait, enhanced reflexes, and the tingling and numbness in her feet and hands. He ordered a battery of blood test and though he was not convinced of the need for it, determined that an MRI of the neck should be performed. Within a couple of hours, we saw the results of the MRI on line. It revealed severe spinal stenosis in her neck at the C-4 ,5, and 6 area. That very afternoon the neurologist office secured an appointment with the neurosurgeon. The neurosurgeon showed us the MRI images and explained how the spinal stenosis was putting severe pressure on the spinal cord and that surgery to relieve that pressure was necessary. He did not promise that it would correct any of her existing problems but said the surgery needed to be done in order to prevent much more crippling effects.

Jeanette had surgery on February 15. The surgery went well. Later that day the surgeon’s physician assistant was visiting with Jeanette and in the course of conversation asked her “when was the last time you fell”? She replied that it had been 3-4 months. He said they could tell by the bruising on the spinal cord that she had endured a blunt force impact that likely had been caused by a fall. Then he said, “one more fall and you would have been in serious trouble”. When My wife relayed that story to me my soul cried and rejoiced at the same time. The Lord had been gracious, and she had been spared from severe physical injury. She is now recovering from the surgery, we have seen some positive results, and we await to see what the next steps of the journey might be.

But the words of the physician’s assistant keep ringing in my heart and mind “One more fall and you would have been in serious trouble”. There is a spiritual lesson in those words for us as a missionary people. Every day we encounter people who physically and spiritually are on the pericope of death and Hell. They are one fall from an irreversible eternal destiny. You and I stand before them with the healing gospel of the Great Physician. The saving power of the gospel is the only hope they have. We are the ones who must confront them with the truth about the severity of their predicament and we are the ones who must deliver the crucial plea for them to believe the gospel and come to faith Christ. The gospel may sound like foolishness to them, but “one more fall and they will be in serious trouble”.

In Search of the Prince of Peace

 Some folks are so broken, much time and resources they do take

Time with them is exhausting, from such efforts we need a break

There are those who like to argue, they have venom in their veins

Their souls cannot find satisfaction unless they hold the reigns

Some neglect truth and justice, bound by the pace of status quo

Squelching hope and progress, leaving souls to wither and plateau.

 

Yet into this world of darkness came a great glorious light

Illuminating fear and blackness with a beam shining bright

Stepping into the confusion, devilish minds did deploy

Overriding deep division, increasing faith, love, and joy

Lifting burdens from our shoulders, rough and heavy was the freight

Giving courage to the weary as we struggle with life’s weight

 

This strength and light came through a child, from a woman he was born

A son with God’s genetics, heavens gift to a world forlorn

He came to give counsel, teaching us to walk paths that are right

He came as the savior, to forgive and redeem from sin’s might

He gave us this mission, to tell the world of his work and love

Spread the story of salvation, of eternal life above

 

As we continue earth’s journey, filled with sorrow, grief, and death

Dealing with pain and conflict until we take our final breath

When our hearts seem heavy, when there is no jingle in our soul

By grace through faith look to the Christ child, keep heaven as our goal

While on earth love and serve him, until the time of our release

Then We’ll gather in the throne room, and worship the Prince of Peace

Being the Sons of God

The world is in great need of peace. But how do we find it? Do we really even want it? Do we understand the cost of peace? Understanding the cost, would we pay the price? If history is our guide and predictor of the future the answer is no.

The church is supposed to propagate peace. After all, our savior, the one whom we call master and Lord, bears the name Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). But the occupants of the church are also occupants of this world. Thus, we find ourselves caught in a trap, constantly pleading “peace, peace” while all the time peace illudes us.

It was not any different in the days of Jesus. Matthew tells us that Jesus saw the crowds, all of whom were torn and tattered by the concerns of this world.  Needing some distance from the crowds Jesus retreated to a hillside and sat down. But his disciples gathered around him. Redeeming the time Jesus began teaching them about how they needed to live if they were to be his followers. He instructs them about how to live a blessed life. If they really wish to be blessed and truly desire to be identified as being his disciple, they will not just pursue peace but they will seek to be peacemakers. For “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

There not very many peacemakers in the world. In fact, there are not very many peacemakers in the church.

I have discovered however, both outside the church and inside the church, there are a lot of peacetakers. Peacetakers, are those who require a lot of the energy of those who are around them. Peacetakers are not evil. They are also not benevolent. Either out of necessity or out of selfishness their lives are focused on their needs and desires and they are unable or unwilling to be of much help to others. One of the hard facts of life and ministry is that we are going to encounter a lot of peacetakers. We must love and minister to these folks. They are no different than the crowds that Jesus ministered to. They are like sheep without a shepherd. So instead of complaining we ought to understand that God has given them to us to shepherd and we ought to be thankful that we are a sheep that has heard the call and obtained the ability and means to be a shepherd.

We are also going to encounter people who are peacebreakers. These folks have evil intentions. They will destroy peace. They understand the mechanics of dividing and conquering and in their tool box they have the necessary wrenches and screwdrivers and chisels to do the job. Peacebreakers are calculating souls. They will do whatever is necessary in order to propagate their selfish ideas and agendas. Jesus had other names for peacebreakers. He called them broods of vipers and whitewashed sepulchers. We might want to refrain from name calling. But while we strive to be as gentle as doves let’s remember to likewise be as wise as serpents. Because peacebreakers will destroy a family. They will demolish a nation. They will disassemble a church. Peacebreakers need to be identified, ostracized, and immobilized lest they dismantle the good and perfect things God has established in our world.

Then there are those who are peaceseekers. Peaceseekers do not like conflict.  Peaceseekers will try to stay out of the way when things are not going well. They are determined to not incur any wounds and to make it through the war without any scars. They may be your “friends” but when you need their help, they are likely to leave the battle field and in search of a place of peace.

We also come in contact with those who are peacekeepers. Peacekeepers will try to stop the fighting. Yet they will do very little to address the source of the turmoil that causes the fighting. Peacekeepers never resolve anything. They are content with the status quo if that is what is necessary to “keep the peace”. Peacekeepers strive to keep the loudest voices happy even if those voices are selfish voices. They will allow the preferences of a few to take precedence over the priorities of the kingdom. This results in gospel abating policies rather than gospel advancing strategies.

Peacekeepers will try to keep the pot from boiling over but they will not do anything to turn down the flame or get the raging pot off the stove. Peacekeepers will tolerate dysfunction, justify vile attitudes, and cover up sin, all in the name of “keeping the peace”. Peacekeepers will marginalize the victims and protect the villains. Peacekeepers will ignore truth and allow a false narrative to prevail. Peacekeepers will placate the powerful and punish the weak and they will rationalize that it is ok if that will allow the accepted ways and means of our lives and institutions to continue as they are. Righteousness may not prevail but that is ok so long as we “keep the peace”. 

But Jesus did not come to be a peacekeeper! “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household” (Matthew 10:34-36 ESV).

Jesus came not to “keep the peace” but to make peace. Jesus did not make peace by avoiding conflict. Rather, he spent his life stepping into the middle of conflict, ultimately making peace by the blood of his cross (Col. 1:20).

Jesus encouraged his disciples to be peacemakers. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Peacemakers do not relish conflict. They are aware of the dangers of conflict and they approach conflict with fear and caution. Nevertheless, they trust God and seek to make peace in the midst of conflict. They seek to resolve problems rather than continue in chaos. Peacemakers are not just trying to tidy up the house and sweep the ugly stuff under the bed. Peacemakers are not just seeking to negotiate a ceasefire or even to disarm the enemy. Peacemakers realize that lasting peace will become reality only when the heart is changed. Peacemakers know that the only way that peace will come to our broken society is by actively engaging people with the redemptive purposes of Christ. Jesus demonstrated how we should live here on earth and how we can live for all eternity. So, to be a peacemaker we must point people in the direction of Jesus. If we do that, we will be called the sons of God.

If you were to see a picture of my dad and I together you would have no doubt that we belonged to each other. People have often said to me “You look just like your daddy”! I would reply “Well, he was a good-looking man”. We did look alike. My wife would say that we also thought alike and acted alike. That is not too bad either.

Twenty years or so ago I was with my dad and he introduced to me to one of his friends. The friend looked at both of us and said “Well, that nut did not fall far from the tree. You sure could not deny him”. My dad said “I would not want to deny him”. 

I don’t want my heavenly father to deny me either. I want to look like Him, and think like Him, and act like Him. If that is going to happen, I need to be a peacemaker. Because peacemakers are called the sons of God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Influencing the Earth

When we hear the word meek, we picture someone who is weak. But this is not how the Bible portrays a meek person. Numbers 12:3 says “Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth”. The context in which the Lord made that statement was when Miriam and Aaron were speaking against and thinking themselves to have equal status with Moses. Moses did not confront them for this behavior, but God did. He called them into the tent for a private meeting and stood before them in a pillar of cloud. With a stern voice God said “hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord” (Number 12:6-8a ESV). God made it clear that Moses was in charge and was to be followed. God communicated with Moses not in the haze of a vision or the figment of a dream but he put his lips directly upon Moses’s lips. He breathed his very words into the mouth and mind and heart of Moses. God did so because Moses was the meekest man in all the earth. Therefore, he was in tune with God and could be trusted. That is a mural of strength.

Jesus surely considered the character of Moses when he said “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5 ESV). Someone who is meek is tame as opposed to acting wild. They are wise rather than foolish. Insightful, not disruptive. Steady not static. Useful instead of harmful. A meek person is strong yet they possess a gentle demeanor. We might describe the meek individual as being self-controlled. But in a spiritual sense it is far more than that. To be self-controlled assumes that we are in charge and accountable only to ourselves. Yet no matter how much self-control we have we are lessened by our flaws. We are subject to human frailties. Somewhere in life’s journey our self-control will meet its match and our souls will surrender in defeat. To be meek is to be God-controlled. A meek person is one who has been tamed by God. A meek person has submitted themselves to God and has allowed the Spirit of God to shape and mold their character. Moses had been subjected to the arrogance of Pharoah’s household for forty years. Then he spent forty years as a herdsman in the wilderness. In the barrenness of the desert with his nostrils filled with the stench of sheep he discovered the aroma of God’s grace. Submitting himself to God he became a meek man that God could use.

The meek person through his God-tamed strength will inherit the earth. That does mean that he owns the earth. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein” Psalm 24:1 ESV). The meek person may not hold many deeds to property. They may not hold jurisdiction over defined territories. Their names may lack notoriety. But the meek inherit the earth because they are able to influence the earth for God and for good. Leadership is influence. A meek person is able to influence those in their realm and encourage them to move in a Godly trajectory.

The world is filled with statues. Buildings and roads bear the names of powerful people. History books tell the stories of conquests and empires. Some of these great leaders have been agents of good and some have been tyrants for evil. But eventually statues will be torn down. Buildings will decay and roads will crumble. The memorials we erected will just be aging pyramids full of bones. In time the historians usually will expose the complete story.

The meek will inherit the earth because what has preserved the earth for generation after generation is not the conquering tactics of ambitious men. Rather, it is the goodliness and godliness of those who have lived in submission to the principles of our righteous God. This is what brings blessings to our world and blessedness to our own souls.

 

Blessings found in Mourning

 

Mourning occurs because we have lost something. Our losses might be precipitated by mistreatment, misunderstanding, mistakes, mishaps, miscalculations, misplacement, misdeeds, and various other misconstrued events of life. If we lose something of limited value we don’t mourn very much. But if we lose something that is really important to us the grief may seem almost unbearable. The shock factor alone may open a furrow so deep that it engulfs part of our life burying it forever. We are going to lose things as we travel the rugged winding roads of life. Those losses will sometimes rip things from our souls that cannot be replaced. No matter how hard we try there will be pieces of ourselves that we cannot find. When that happens, we mourn.

In full knowledge of this certain predicament Jesus made this promise “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt.5:4). To be clear, this promise is to people of faith. The promise is to people who out of desperation will seek God. Our ears must not be shut to the voice of God. Our eyes must be open in order that we may see the hand of God at work. Our minds must be receptacles willing to receive new insights from God. Our hearts must be permeable so that we can be saturated with the love of God.

We cannot obsess about the unfairness of our mourning no matter how true that may be. Rather we must use our mourning as an opportunity to reflect and readjust and reprioritize for the future God is developing for us. The cause of our mourning occurred in our yesterdays. But the promise of comfort is experienced in our todays and tomorrows. “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5b).

When we mourn, we find comfort through new discoveries about ourselves and God. The Lord corrects aspects of our thinking that are wrong. He tweaks our understandings of truth and solidifies our grasp of his eternal values. We find comfort because the Lord is always doing something brand new in our lives. Jeremiah wrote “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

We find comfort in the midst of mourning as the Lord instills new ambitions within us. Mourning presents us with new opportunities that we should not squander. In our sorrows the Lord may give us visions for new avenues of ministry. In his grace he provides comfort to us and we are able to join his tribe of wounded healers.  

We find comfort because of new perspectives. We come to realize that we are not the only person who has suffered loss. In the process of mourning, we find comfort as we learn to focus less on our pain and more on helping others solve their pain. We become less attached to this world and we grasp for the hope found in the next world. In mourning we are comforted because the past grows dimmer and the horizon of heaven gets closer. The past is bitter but heaven becomes sweeter and sweeter as the days go by.

Benefits of Being Poor

 

Being poor is inconvenient. It limits our choices. It makes it harder to navigate our worlds. Having riches would add a lot of benefits to life. But Jesus said “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:4). Since I have enough resources to get along pretty well in life, I find comfort that Jesus emphasized being “poor in spirit”. Even though I am not a pauper I can still be blessed and have a place in God’s kingdom. But Luke’s version of this teaching says “Blessed are you who are poor” (Luke 6:20). Indicating that physical poverty precipitates the benefits of the kingdom.

If we are poor in terms of physical assets it might make us mean in spirit and drive us from God. Jesus is saying that being poor should humble us and cause us to recognize our need for God and drive us to trust God.  If we possess the riches of this world, we have to find ways to divorce ourselves of the power of riches and recognize our need for God. To be poor in spirit means that in spite of whatever riches we possess we humble ourselves ultimately trusting God for every sustenance in life.  When we cast our cares on God in this fashion, we access the power and benefits of heaven.

Wealth and talent and pride have the power to rob us of humility. They can rob us of eyes that recognize God. They can cause us to have faith in things that diminish and neglect to trust in the eternal powers of God.  

The pains of life are sufficient to make our spirits poor. But we need to embrace that impoverished spirit with enough desperation to put our trust in God. We may lose everything this world has to offer. Our hands may become empty. Our accounts may be dry. But if our fingers cling to Jesus the kingdom of heaven belongs to us.  

Serving the Crucified Christ

Filled with hate, ignorant of truth, lacking in faith, and void of righteousness the Jews had plotted to kill Jesus. Rome took ownership of their plot and made a statement of their authority in the act of crucifixion. In the course of less than twenty-four hours Jesus was arrested, accused, lied about, endured six mock trials, cursed, beaten, and in humiliation crucified naked before the viewing world. As the sun made its downward turn, he breathed his last and hung dead on the cross. As the dark of evening approached there emerged from the shadows a servant named Joseph who was from the town of Arimathea.

Some refer to Joseph as a secret disciple of Jesus. But his thoughts regarding Jesus were not that secret. The gospel writers tell us that he was a member of the council, “a good and righteous man” who was himself “searching for the kingdom of God”. If his attitude regarding Jesus was private it lost its privacy when in a council meeting, he refused to consent to the majority opinion to work toward the demise of Jesus. 

Joseph did not have the power to stop the violent death of Jesus. He lacked adequate information about the meaning of the event. But he had enough theological understanding of the significance of Jesus and enough admiration for Jesus to serve him by administering proper burial.

We think of servants being poor but Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man. One does not need to be rich to be of service to the Lord. But we are to use whatever means we have to serve the Lord and His cause. If we have great means we are called upon to use those means to advance the kingdom and minister unto people. “To whom much is given, much is expected”.

Joseph was a servant with courage. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was a weak ruler, so we might think that did not take much courage. Under Roman law the body of someone who had been executed was considered state property. Pilate could grant that body to anyone he so desired. Or he could refuse to relinquish the body to anyone. In such cases the bodies might be thrown into the nearby garbage dump and burned or at best buried as a pauper in the local potter’s field. Joseph took the risk of requesting the body from Pilate. But his real act of courage was that he, a member of the council, was identifying himself with Jesus. He risked being ostracized by his faith community. He risked trouble with the government. He risked losing business and position.

Joseph was a rich man but he was not afraid of difficult work. He engaged in the gruesome task of taking the tortured body of Jesus down from the cross. He purchased a new linen shroud and with the help of Nicodemus prepared the mangled body of Jesus for burial. Joseph had a heart willing to sacrifice. He took Jesus and laid him in his own tomb that had been freshly cut of the rock nearby. This was the tomb Joseph of had built for his own burial. It had never been used. But now it had been defiled with the body of one who had been executed as a criminal.

In reality Joseph’s tomb was occupied by the one who bore the richness of heaven, the richest of the rich. But Paul reminds us that for the sake of our salvation Jesus “became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (II Cor. 8:9). At the time of his burial Jesus had become the poorest of the poor, stripped of all his wealth by the weight of our sins. Yet by the sovereignty of God and because of Joseph’s servant heart he lay in a rich man’s tomb awaiting the day of resurrection when all the richness of heaven would be restored to him.