by RobertCummins | Oct 23, 2013 | 43. Questions
John 11:17-44
Probably the most important question a person will ask in this life is, “How can I become a Christian?” I hear this question answered frequently this way, “You just have to ask Jesus into your heart”. I actually think many have come into the kingdom having asked Jesus to do just that. But…, the ones who continue to walk with Him, either on the front end, which I think is best, or in their experience along the way, discover and adjust to the fact that the One they invited into their hearts is a jealous Lord aspiring to be involved in every aspect of their lives. The ones that follow Him discover He is definitely not a just-on-Sunday kind of God.
If someone were to ask me this important question today, I might just refer them to John 11:25-26 and let Jesus tell them spirit to spirit;
“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die……..”
I might invite them out for coffee in a week or so and ask them the same question Jesus did, “Do you believe this?” If George Barna, the author of Revolution, were given permission to look into the spirit realm and interview all those who have ever been authentically “born again”, I think his polls would reveal that all authentic conversions shared this one simple common denominator, “THEY BELIEVED IN HIM”.
After we follow Him for a while, more challenging aspects of having a Lord living in the center of our being vying for our hearts enter into play. We learn that we have our opinion on how things should transpire in our lives and that God has His. In three different places in this passage this inevitable impasse is seen. (Check out 11:21, 32 and 37.) The pattern of reasoning, even by Martha and Mary, who believed He was the Messiah and had inherited eternal life, went like this: “IF ONLY ……..”
That innocent sounding phrase, if only, betrays their dissatisfaction and ours. Listen for it, in its different forms, as it surfaces in your thoughts and words as , “Oh man!”, “That’s not fair!” or “What’s the deal!”. Isn’t our sarcasm, “Oh, that’s just perfect!, also just another thinly veiled form of “if only” ? I heard a very wise statement to this effect, “As those who are filled with His Spirit, we are no longer obligated to react to our circumstances, rather – we are invited to respond to a Person”. That is a nice restatement of Hebrews 4:13;
“…..it is with Him whom we have to do.”
This is what all who learn to follow Him discover; it is every aspect of our life He is interested in. He has a way that is better than our opinion. Learning that the Holy Spirit is indwelling us and has actually become our life is the essence of relating to Jesus as our Lord.
Father, thank You that you persevere with us even in our insistence on living our lives on our own terms. Let this folly run its course and let us be those who truly walk in the Spirit. May our lives serve as living proof to those around us that You indeed have sent Jesus, One who is not only worthy of our belief in as Savior but also worthy of our dependency on and submission to as Lord. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Oct 22, 2013 | 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 we have become familiar with that environment. (Think of men and women 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 explaining 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 consciousness, we are already half-boiled. 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 when they are costing us dearly.
Let’s return to my 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. 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 it seemed, if I were to ever know righteousness, as depraved as I was, that 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.
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. My reality is 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, what 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 21, 2013 | 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; 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 the living seed within Andrew and his friend was presenting itself on this day as a weariness with religion and a hunger for relationship with God.
I believe questions within our hearts are signs that God is drawing us. Note: it is a fearful thing though when such questions are starting to lead 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 are often marginalized or ushered to the back door of the establishment and shown the broad opportunities that await them outside. (A discussion of “wineskins” seems appropriate here but there is not time.)
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 the establishment rejecting us. 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”.
