by RobertCummins | Oct 21, 2014 | 43. Questions
John 5:1-9
“When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition (he could not move himself), He said to him, “do you wish to get well?”
Why are there a multitude of sick, blind, lame and withered persons? Is it because God foreordains it? Is it because a person or their parents have sinned? Is it because these were the unlucky ones in a world where disaster randomly claims its victims? How does your belief system lead you to answer this question?
It is truly amazing how adaptable humans are. Like proverbial frogs in a kettle we seem to adapt to environments (and ideas), no matter how lethal they may be, especially if the conditions grow worse in manageable increments. Even after we are in dangerously hot water, we often opt to stay there just because things become familiar. (Think of people who remain in abusive relationships.)
Jesus might have well asked, “Do you wish to get well – or – would you prefer to remain here in this familiar place as a disabled victim with these familiar faces, sounds and smells?” After the man explained his own limited understanding of his circumstances, Jesus simply said to him, “Arise, take up your pallet, and walk” and he did. This frog was delivered from his fate as he traded the familiar for the impossible.
As humans we live in the midst of the greatest battle ever fought. If this is not a part of our conscious experience we are already in very hot water. The conflict is between light and darkness; truth and lies. I mentioned above that we can adapt to ideas (and theologies) that are lethal. We can become so familiar with them that we would prefer them to reality even while we are slowly being boiled to death.
Let’s return to the original question. “Why are there a multitude of sick, blind, lame and withered persons?” Is it because God in His sovereignty ordains it? As painful as it was to acknowledge it, my theology three years ago would have demanded a “yes” response from me. I was concluding that if it had happened it must have been God’s will. It is interesting that at the same time I was embracing that theology, I also viewed my identity as just a sinner save by grace.
In this place I spent a great deal of time in an introspective repentance where “my sin was ever before me“. Not surprisingly, from this place I also was struggling with receiving and enjoying God’s love. And, as I reasoned further (from insecurity), if I were to ever know righteousness, depraved man that I was, discipline and judgement would be God’s best option for me. In retrospect, I believe I had grown comfortable with ideas about God and myself that were based on half-truths, also known as lies. I was getting cooked alive.
In my story, events transpired that led me to reconsider my essential identity. Eventually, after God did some gracious things in my heart, I was able to see that I was more than just a sinner saved by grace. I was a saint. On top of that, I was also a son and a friend of God’s. From this place it became easier to acknowledge and receive God’s love. That is a BIG DEAL! Since that time a great deal of shame and guilt have been edited out of my thought process. I feel as though God plucked this frog out of the pan and began helping me to renew my mind so that I might prove what the will of God is, that which is good, acceptable and perfect.
It was as if Jesus had come to me and said, “Rob, do you wish to get well or do you prefer to remain a prisoner to familiar half-truths (such as your identity as just a sinner)?” The Lord had to pose this question because he knew I had developed a theology that had become familiar to me. My theology explained my reality. That reality was the foundation of all my reasoning. To have our reality – our explanations of why things are the way they are altered is the equivalent of a psychic earthquake. So, the question became would I trade the familiar for the impossible (yet scripturally true) idea that I was truly a new creation in Christ, a temple of the Holy Spirit and a son in whom the King of the Universe delights.
In the context of the larger battle, I could imagine the enemy delighting in any theology that he could sell to saints that would discount how they saw themselves. What a brilliant master stroke to limit the saints involvement in the battle by entrapping them in some theology that would breed insecurity and passivity.
One day, when all the enemy’s half-truths that we have embraced (and even celebrated) are exposed and we see the kingdom of God more clearly, I see the Church becoming agents of healing. Through an enlightened Body of Christ who has grasped her identity and assumed the authority Christ gave her, the sick, lame, blind and withered will be set free. That is what I believe (at least in part) it will look like when God’s will is being done on earth as it is in heaven.
Father, strengthen our hearts. Help us to be bold and courageous in our faith. Lead us to the place in our belief where we anticipate, in all arenas of the battle, to see you doing good exceedingly above and beyond our understanding and expectation. Please show us where we may be bound and constricted by any half-truths, however comfortable we have become with them. May our beliefs grow to be in-sync with the God to whom nothing is impossible. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Oct 20, 2014 | 43. Questions
John 1:35-42
After Andrew and an unnamed disciple heard John the baptist point Jesus out as the Passover Lamb, they walked away from John to follow Jesus. As Jesus became aware that He was being followed, he turned and asked them point blank, “What do you seek?”
What do you think Andrew and company were seeking? Do you think they really just wanted to know where Jesus was staying that night? Perhaps, but these were two men who were hanging out with John the Baptist, a man who was at odds with the religious establishment. John was one who, in the context of dramatic change, was preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The citizenry had concluded he was, at the very least, a great prophet and possibly even the Messiah.
One thing about these two new Jesus-followers was that they for sure knew they were sinners. The expanded and meticulous Law they lived under and its stewards, the Pharisees, made sure they did not forget that. That surely accounts, at least in part for their association with John – one who was announcing forgiveness. No doubt these men were also familiar with King David’s Psalms. I think it’s likely God had used the Psalms, and other parts of the Law and the Prophets, to provoke and awaken a fundamental question in their hearts; “Is there not more?”
In their search for “more” they found themselves in the company of men who the establishment, and even the citizenry (in Jesus’ case), would not ultimately tolerate. Yet, the idea that this Jesus could somehow enable them to stand clean before their God made the risk of associating with Him worth it. I believe a living seed was pushing up through the soil in Andrew and his friend’s heart and presented itself on this day in the form of a question, a question first experienced as a weariness with religion and a hunger for authentic relationship with God.
I believe questions within our hearts are signs that God is drawing us. Note: It is a troublesome thing though when our questions are leading us outside the boundaries of established religious customs and the assumptions that underlie and drive them. For those who continue to follow Jesus, it is probable that this will happen for them too because one thing establishments do not handle well are “questions”. The right hand of fellowship is usually not extended to question-askers. They will be censored or ushered to the back door of the establishment and shown the broad opportunities that await them outside.
If God is changing His Bride from what she is today to who she shall be when He reveals her as the glorious reflection of Christ, it seems probable that much change is slated. Generally, I believe questions precede transformation. While minor changes might result from questions asked from within the establishment about itself and its organization; the larger new wineskin -level changes will come from men responding to the same question Jesus asked the first disciples and continues to ask old disciples, “What do you seek?”.
I watched a Russian film with english subtitles called Stalker. A “stalker” was leading two men into a place where their very innermost desire would be met. It caused me to think that our innermost desire is also the main thing of importance between us and God. Isn’t it this very thing that will be revealed when we ultimately stand before Him and give account of our lives; where nothing that was hidden will remain so? This leads me to the assertion ; Why we do what we do is a BIG deal. That is why I believe God continually asks us, “What is it that you want?”.
As the essential questions arise, which the expansion of God’s kingdom inevitably provokes, may we not spend our primary energies pointing our fingers at the establishment for its failings, rather let us each learn to listen to the questions God is asking us personally, so that when we we give Him our answer it will simply be, “I have done these things because I have loved you and simply could not bear the thought of separation from You”. In the “school of Christ”, which meets daily in the context of our hearts, with all its current relationships and circumstances, our Teacher, the Holy Spirit is endeavoring to tutor us into a passionate experiential love affair with God.
Father, may Your Spirit succeed in this tutoring of our hearts – exposing us where we are doing good things for our own inferior reasons. May we be those who are willing to pay the price if we find ourselves at odds with the establishment. May we persevere in this education You are offering where our heart’s motivations are revealed and refined to reach an eternity-grade of quality. Amen.
Warning; if you are looking for a movie that gives you that warm You’ve Got Mail kind of feeling, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT watch “Stalker”.
by RobertCummins | Oct 27, 2013 | 43. Questions
Mark 10:46-52
The story of Jesus and a disabled outcast has provoked my imagination…
If my kids were interviewing me for posterity and they were to ask, “Dad, why do you believe that Jesus still heals people?” I would first say;
“Kids, thank you for not making a common understanding of God’s mysteries, which include healing, a basis for our love for each other. Our unity of spirit is larger and stronger than any bonds an intellectual synchronization of doctrine could ever create. Trust me, I appreciate and respect your question. It is one I have asked myself often. In all honesty, for many years, this question haunted me.
“Why did it haunt you Dad”
“I suppose, putting it bluntly, it is because deferred hope had made my heart sick. As I have told you, my life in Christ began in 1976 like being shot out of a cannon. Because of the immediate changes Jesus did in my heart and the love that He inundated me with, I had every reason to believe that He was the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8). I had every reason to believe that what I read in the new testament was something close to what God’s will in heaven looked like when it was done on earth. I had every reason to believe that God was still in the business of healing people.
As I told others the story (and I could not shut up) of my transformation and my encounter with the Lord and my expectations to see this awesome Jesus setting other captives free and restoring sight to the blind, I noticed a cloud forming between myself and other (more mature?) Christians. What’s up with this!? Upon hearing my story, some abruptly walked away; other mentor types seem to try and gently break the news that Jesus really isn’t doing that healing thing like that anymore. Really!! This was quite disorienting to me as a young impressionable Christian.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I had stumbled out onto one of the larger fault-lines that separate believers from each other in the body of Christ. On one side of the divide there were those very composed Christians who believed miracles and the gifts were dispensed with after the death of the apostles. Sola Scriptura was there mantra. The bible was the only source of divine inspiration for them. The Holy Spirit’s job seemed to be solely to interpreter the scripture.
I sincerely didn’t want to be rude to this segment of my new found family but I knew God was still revealing Himself to men and personally speaking to them because I had encountered Him (or He had encountered me) and I had heard His voice. As I would attempt to explain what I meant, I watched the cloud that had formed frequently become stormy and even threatening. The right hand of fellowship had been withdrawn. When this happens in your family, it creates a sick feeling. At least it did to me.
Then, on the other side of the fault line there were those who seemed a bit less composed, especially when they expressed their worship in song. This group appeared to be excited (like myself) that Jesus was the same now and forever and they were zealous and engaged in exploring (with the gifts of the Spirit) new testament expressions of life together. Although there were plenty of things to raise an eyebrow (or even a scripture-based question from time to time), this was the context where I first encountered Christ. And,..since it seemed they were pursuing a biblical reality, and that they were the only ones who would accept me, I threw my lot in with them.
However over time, my heart became a bit sick in this context as well after I saw hundreds of prayers for healing go unanswered, many of which were prayed in behalf of my body. I also had good cause to loose faith in the character of many charismatic leaders. Who is steering this ship?! That was not only disheartening. That felt scary.
Eventually, I became so disheartened theologically that I could not pick up either Charisma magazine or Christianity Today, which generally represent the views on either side of the divide. Each seemed to write with smug satisfaction that theirs was the only spiritual reality. The more prideful and insecure would even aim their gospel guns across the line in attempts to pick off who they believed to be the more obvious heretics . I have been caught in many a crossfire and, to be honest, doctrinal arguments whizzing through my brain and over my head have effected my heart.
As I have continued to trek along the fault lines, how often I have thought I would love to have a systematic “air tight” theology that removed the mystery and answered the myriad questions that presented themselves to me. But, the Lord, I believe, has prevented that. It seems that “mystery” is the context where faith, hope and love must grow. In my personal experience, the absence of certainty is the odd yet fertile place where faith has grown best.
I have made a choice in my walk with Christ that I am not going to be offended when I do not always see healing how and when I want it. I am going to live presumptuously that Christ is still a healer and pray accordingly as opportunities present themselves. I am going to persevere through the barriers in my mind and within the body of Christ that would suggest Jesus no longer heals and that the gifts of the Spirit no longer exist. Just because I, or others, haven’t seen something does not prove it does not exist. Who Christ is, in the essence of His Being, a healer, is not altered by our incomplete embrace of His ongoing ministry. We want outcomes to hedge our faith bets. God wants faith to precede outcomes and says that “faith” itself is the assurance of these things we hope for.
Faith has always been about laying hold of unseen things; things from another more enduring reality than the one we are attempting to measure and quantify from our temporal vantage points. I believe the One who “did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life a ransom for many” is still asking, “What do you want Me to do for You?”
Perhaps, like Bartemaeus, we too have issues with our vision. Perhaps, the cry from our hearts should be the same as his, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us !” If we feel some heartache in regard to the divisions within the Body of Christ or we find a longing for a deeper reality that includes miracles, perhaps in the midst of our deferred-heart pain, if we will bear it for a while, we will hear Jesus asking us, “What do you want me to do for you?”
It is my belief that the spirit of this prayer for His intervening mercy is growing in the Body of Christ and its many expressions are reaching our unchanging God who touched Bartamaeus. I believe we too, if we will persevere and not feint by giving into disappointment, will one day, perhaps very soon, hear Jesus say to many, “Go your way; your faith has made you well“.
“Kids, thanks for permitting me to tell my story. I know I tend to ramble on.”
Father, open the eyes of our hearts. Grant us the spiritual courage to ask questions and the intentionality to lay hold of that for which we were laid hold of – things which eye has not seen nor ears have heard – these good works that You have prepared for us to walk in. Lord, may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Oct 26, 2013 | 43. Questions
Mark 8:1-30
This passage is laden with questions such as; “How many loaves do you have?” “Why does this generation seek a sign?” “Why do you discuss the fact you have no bread?” “Do you not yet see or understand?” “Do you have a hardened heart?” “…And do you not remember…how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” “Do you not yet understand?” “Do you see anything?” “Who do the people say that I am?” “But who do you say that I am?” We might be thinking…Wow.. for an omniscient Being, He sure asks a lot of questions! Since He suffers no knowledge deficit He must have been using His questions to stimulate their thinking toward some good end. Perhaps God likes to watch us use our brains.
Often, a Christian is thought to be maturing as a servant by their ability to hear God’s statements and to heed them. I would not want to dispute the legitimacy of this style of spirtuality. However, I do want to consider another way God interacts with us. Instead of just giving commands to servants, I believe He asks questions to His sons and to His friends.
I am a grandfather to some amazing little kids. While their parents give them commands, they also ask them questions. Everyone is far more interested, and entertained, by watching a question engage the brilliant, agile and creative mind of a child. I love watching their wheels turning, assembling from their limited experience and knowledge, answers which make perfect sense to them. It seems that their learning is accelerated more by questions than commands because they have to live with the outcomes of their precious half-baked little thoughts until their experience reveals there is something amiss; “OK…. I guess cutting my sisters hair was not a good idea.” (a recent half-baked little thought)
“Thinking” is often viewed with suspicion in circles where God is expected to speak with clarity and detail. It is presumed in some circles that this is “the” prerequisite to God’s will being accomplished on earth as it is in heaven. For me, I believe that approach is “a” way, “one” of the ways God gets things done. I also believe He is in control sufficiently of human affairs to ask us how we would approach a situation and give us the latitude to explore and experiment in finding answers. I believe in this way the lesson learned becomes a part of us. I also believe God is quite entertained as we endeavor to follow Him and answer His questions from our very limited thoughts and experiences. Is God big enough to accomplish His will while allowing us to grow as children best grow – through exploration and experimentation?
Perhaps the reason we are frustrated in hearing His voice is that we are listening for commands when He is in fact asking questions. Perhaps the reason our progress is often limited is that we are speaking when we should be listening. By provoking thought and dialogue, questions promote connection between us and God and each other. Questions are appropriate for us as His agents of free will who are learning to walk in His ways. Questions reveal humility and hunger. Questions become us. And, the ensuing dialogue connects us.
“Unless you become as little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
Father, permit that our hearts would become childlike yet mature; flexible yet resolute; meek yet courageous; humble yet bold and innocent yet wise. Help us to hear the questions you are asking us. Help us to ask the right questions of You. Help us to ask the right questions of each other. Raise up an army of people whose brilliant agile and creative minds function in harmony with the Holy Spirit within them. May we hear in our spirits both Your living commands and Your questions. And..may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Oct 25, 2013 | 43. Questions
John 21:1-19
Jesus had come and gone. His life on earth had begun as a divine embryo and concluded at His ascension as a glorified resurrected human. The offering of His sinless life met the demands of God’s justice, giving any human being who would believe in Him the power to also become a son of God and ultimately enjoy a glorified eternal body. John, the disciple of whom it was rumored that Jesus especially loved, explains his motives for recording his account;
“…these things have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and in believing you may have life in His name.”
So, the first question God asks us is, “Do you believe in me?” An honest “yes” reply is our part to the laying of the foundation stone; the human spirit is awakened (regenerated) and the possibility of spirit to Spirit communion with God is restored. Eternity in heaven is also secured for those born anew. The next question however will determine what will be built on the new foundation, “Do you love Me?”
How do you respond to this question when He asks? For many years this question deeply troubled me. I wanted to say with Peter, “Lord, you know that I love You” but that response would get hung up somewhere in my conscience which was incorrectly informing me that my life did not meet the criteria that would permit such a reply. My foundation was firmly in place and I enjoyed God’s favor in many ways but I was still troubled, being concerned that nothing was being built on that foundation that would last for want of being able to freely say, “Lord, I love You”.
During this season I was burdened with a sense of non-compliance – of just not quite measuring up. I was devout; reading, praying, studying, serving, etc., holding out for myself a faint hope that one day I might get it together; that I would turn that corner and that I might finally qualify and break into that place of abiding, freedom, intimacy and power.
Ultimately God, in His kindness, which I will note felt severe at times, led me to repentance for my works– oriented heart. He had heard my repeated cry to “search me and know my heart; to try me and know my anxious thoughts and see if there be any hurtful way in me and lead me in the everlasting way“. (Psalm 139:23,24) To those who have said their “Yes” to the Father, I can testify that the idea circulating in our minds, that we are not measuring up; that there are unmet criteria in our lives, can exist without our really even being conscious of it. This qualifies as a hurtful way. It is hurtful because attempting to comply undermines grace.
Today, because God exposed and dealt with my heart which had become conditioned to laboring in a vacuum of grace, I freely can say back to the Lord, “I love You”. Today my conscience informs me correctly that I am My beloved’s and He is mine. More has been built on the foundation of my “belief” in Christ as my savior since this change than I could have ever imagined possible. It really IS FINISHED! Jesus’ sinless life met all the criteria for acceptance that I would ever need to concern myself with!
My guess is that John not only out-raced Peter to the empty tomb but he also was the first to personally find rest in God’s love. He rested his head on Jesus chest as a friend who did not labor for His approval. He was just enjoying God’s immediate presence. I do not believe that Jesus had any greater love and preference for John than He did for the other disciples or us for that matter. I believe John’s confidence in God’s love for him just naturally set him apart and the rumors followed.
My walk with Christ began with a literal inundation of God’s love after I first believed; then I alienated myself from that place of rest – compensating for deep-seated insecurities by attempting to meet what I believed was the criteria for discipleship. For some that criteria may be the observance of religious rites or rituals; it may be the disciplines you have subjected yourself to; perhaps it is adherence to the code of life you have constructed. Congratulations for your compliance efforts! Enjoy the brief applause because you have just received your reward in full.
If we must have a criteria for discipleship, I would suggest a simple one – a heart that is steeped so thoroughly in God’s grace that it is continually saying to Him, face to face, “Lord, I love you. I love you!! I love you!!!” The declaration would not be made because we think we are scoring relatively high in regard to compliance, production or performance but because God has loved us first and with His cross, has permanently destroyed the basis for our guilt-laden introspection.
Note; I can testify that a heart laboring for approval paints a huge works-shaped bullseye on us for the enemies fiery missiles. When the missile hits, the result is initially condemnation, then our response; either depression or more typically for the devout, a redoubling of religious resolve that is driven more by fear of God than love for Him. Working instead of resting produces religion – perhaps the most deadly cancer that could be planted in the heart of a man. Religion that is based on the idea that something man can do could ever win God’s favor might look impressive but it will just be a noisy “gong” of a sound if it is not born of love.
Father, we pray that you would assault the strongholds of religion in our hearts – these places that are always teetering between either self- condemnation or self-congratulations; these places where we measure our worth by our compliance to human standards of moral performance. Destroy this type of “religion” and teach us to instead rest our head confidently back onto Your chest and live in rest and serve You out of an authentic love. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Oct 25, 2013 | 43. Questions
John 13:1-15
“….Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world….” -and-
“….the devil having already put into the heart of……”
Coupling the light in these two verses can shine an intense beam on our lives if we will allow it. The reality this light exposes is that we live temporarily in a world inhabited by the devil. The wisdom we might gain from this revelation is to live daily with 1) the knowledge that our hour too will one day come when we will depart out of this world. And 2) While we are in this world there is a devil whose mission it is to plant lies into our hearts.
It is often at funerals that most of us get an inkling of our transient existence. The service provides a solemn hour of long overdue reflection and consideration of other’s pain. Then, we step outside the door of the church or funeral home and step back onto the treadmill of a world that is busy dying and trying hard not to think about it.
I’m sure the devil meets us at the door and happily assists us in our denial. Has it occurred to us that many, if not most of the lies he has planted in the hearts of men are designed to aid them in avoiding, as long possible, the fact that they will soon depart out of this world? What lies do you see at work around you in society (and in yourself) that might be sponsored in hell in behalf of this satanic mission?
So, what can we do if we are surrounded by lies and immersed in a world that is asleep at the wheel? We can follow Jesus example;
“If I then, the Lord and The Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”
I have friends who engage in spiritual warfare at high levels. They are conscious of the battles, like the one between opposing spiritual powers, where Daniel’s prayers hung in the balance for 21 days. These are people who wage war as intercessors in prayer. I am grateful for their faith and their prayers. While they are heavenly oriented, I believe they would agree with me that we are all called as well to a primary battle where we are walking out our brief lives on this earth in the company of others.
Where our feet come into contact with the wounded and defiled earth and its masses living in denial, we too, as agents of free will, are at risk of contamination. As a primary form of spiritual warfare the Lord said,
“For I gave you an example that you should also do as I did to you…If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”
The funeral home experience gave us a brief glimpse of the pain and loss that are all around us. If our eyes could remain open a bit longer after the last respects have been paid, we would discover we are surrounded by lonely, hurting and confused people – most of whom are pursuing the American dream as the means to their happiness and mode of denial. Jesus would have called them confused and aimless, sheep with no shepherd.” And He would add, “What a huge harvest!” (from Matt 9:36 MSG)
While the American dream has been lauded as the hope of mankind it is at best, in light of eternity, a temporary arrangement. One of the problems with the American dream is that it breeds independence. While the teamwork of capitalism and democracy, at least so far, has generated more material blessing than any other team it has also proven without a doubt that it does not insure peace and happiness. Sadly, most use their wealth to create additional space between them and their neighbors. It is very difficult for us to serve each other as the Lord has instructed if we are isolated from each other. I know the religious right will try me on counts of treason here but I believe there are some lies embedded in the utopian American dream. It would behoove us to identify them and root them from our hearts.
Ours may be the best ideology so far in world history but it is not the Kingdom where God has called us into community and connectedness and serving one another. The New Testament is absolutely crammed with instruction on being together. Even this very moment you and I are connected to various networks of people at work, in leisure, and family. Someone right next to us is needing us. God’s Kingdom will one day displace the temporary reign of the “father of lies” as we connect with our networks and our networks connect with each other. Momentum and growth in the Eternal Kingdom will be fostered as we identify the lies Satan has planted in our hearts and in society and we repent of our association with them. Our minds will become renewed and we will prove the will of God – that which is good acceptable and perfect.
So, let’s look around. Let us find the soiled feet nearest us. Let us gird ourselves with our towels, and let us begin to cleanse things down here on earth in the lowest places; knowing that we are fighting the good fight at a very high and strategic level; one that, because of God’s unique design and placement, only you and I can reach. Remember Jesus promised;
“If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”
Father, we pray that You would awaken us from our slumber. Expose the enemy’s stratagems and trump them with the Eternal Seed of Truth that You have planted in our our hearts and are nurturing for a day when the Word of God will cover this earth as an ocean – displacing every lie that has held humanity in bondage since the Garden. Beginning with us today, connect the army you have strategically located for the great and final battle. Teach us to number our days that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom and help us to resist the devil that he might flee from us in terror. Amen.
