WIlderness

 November 12, 2024

In one of my Scripture readings recently, I found these words:

“Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.” —Mark 1:12 

Upon his baptism, Jesus had just been affirmed by his Father who said, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased” (1:11). You would think that such a verbal affirmation would be followed by some demonstration of that blessing, but IMMEDIATELY Jesus was (I love the way Mark puts it) DRIVEN into the wilderness. His choice of words imply Jesus was reluctant to go. If so, I don’t blame him. I would be reluctant to leave the blessing of affirmation to enter the desert of temptation.

 

But that is often how God works. Just when things are going swimmingly, God pulls the rug out from under our feet. We must be careful here: we often see these desert experiences as attacks from the Enemy instead of as gifts from God. In a way, they may have a demonic component, but never forget it was God who drove Jesus into the desert. Why? And why does he do this to us?

Because there are lessons that we can only learn there. If you pay attention to the Biblical narrative, you’ll find we are a desert people. God led his people through the desert. He appeared to Elijah in the desert, he drove Jesus into the desert. Don’t underestimate the love of God nor the power of God when he drives you into a desert. It’s not necessarily because you’ve sinned; it might be because he wants to magnify his power through you.

Veteran’ Day

 November 11, 2024

On this Veteran’s Day, I honor my father with a tribute I wrote back in 2014.

It’ s hard to imagine when the people we've known as mom and dad were young. This is my folks' wedding photo, taken when dad was stationed in San Antonio during WWII. Dad died at 91, on Father's Day in 2012, frail and worn out with the years. Mom lasted another eight years, passing into the arms of Jesus a month after her 98th birthday. Mom kept the photo albums of dad when he was in basic training, pictures taken of him with his Army buddies. Dad was scheduled to be deployed in the European theater during the war, but a routine physical detected a heart murmur that kept him stateside while his buddies went over the pond, some of them never to return.

One day about thirty years ago when mom and dad were visiting on Memorial Day, he and I happened to be watching a movie on the Turner Classic Movies channel. It was "The Fighting Sullivans," a film about the five Sullivan brothers who were stationed on the USS light cruiser Juneau in the Pacific. The ship was torpedoed during the action at Guadalcanal, and all five of the brothers were lost, along with 682 other sailors. As we watched the movie, I became aware of a snorting sound off to my side. I turned and saw my father in near total meltdown, sobbing like a little child. When I questioned him, he told me of boyhood friends who served and never came home. It was fifty years after the war, and as fresh as the day he first received news of his friends' deaths. 

I've talked with other vets, one who had been a crewman of a WWII bomber that was shot down in Europe and became a POW in Germany. I asked him one day about how it affected him. He came home, raised a family, became a successful local businessman, and even mayor of our little village. He told me of nights when his wife would wake him up to stop his thrashing around from the nightmares he had thirty years hence. 

We are more aware of the tragic effects of PTSD than people knew back then. Everyone then knew ex-soldiers who became alcoholics, abusive, suicidal, but no one seemed to make the connections until Vietnam. Now we are seeing (mostly) men coming home with injuries from which they would have died even thirty years ago to a VA system fraught with fraud and incompetence.  

Today we remember and honor those soldiers who never had the chance to live, raise families, enjoy the peace they fought to preserve. And we honor those who came home possessed by demons that haunt them every day. My father came home, leaving many of his youthful friends behind. I am grateful he lived a full life, and honor the other fine men never had the privilege to know because their sacrifice was as Lincoln said, “the last full measure of devotion,” men who answered the call of duty and served, bequeathing to us through their blood, sweat, and tears the freedoms we enjoy today. It is a gift easily squandered; may we instead value and guard it for the treasure it truly is.

True Worship

 November 10, 2024

How do you know when you come to church you are actually worshipping God? Have you ever thought about that? What does genuine worship look like? Is it emotional? Does it make you feel happy, moved in your soul? Does it involve singing, praying, shouting, dancing, listening? We are told how important it is that we worship, but aren’t often told exactly what worship is, or how to do it. Listen to these words:

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” —Matthew 2:1-2, 11 

The wise men came to worship the newborn King, but notice what they did when they worshipped him. They GAVE him their treasures. The rest of this story has Herod asserting his desire to worship, but he made no effort to seek out the baby, but instead let others do the work. When he finally got around to it, his idea of worship was to make sure that he was in charge and that there was no contesting his authority. 

I have seen worship dragged down to this level when people insisted on having everything their own way. The songs are too repetitive, too loud, too mellow, it’s too liturgical or too loosey-goosey, the preaching is too long, too short…the list goes on and on. True worship doesn’t dwell on what I want from God, but what I can give to him. So…when you come to church, are you actually worshipping God?

Hard Promises

 November 9, 2024

Yesterday I wrote of the difference between questioning God’s ability and questioning his method. The first is unbelief, the other is doubt. Unbelief is universally condemned in the Bible because it questions the character and power of God. Doubt is more subtle. It’s our usual human response to things we cannot fathom. It’s OK to doubt as long as we don’t let it degrade into unbelief.

Today I want to look at a verse that follows the visit of Gabriel to both Zechariah and Mary. Mary has been told she would have a baby and has gone to visit her cousin Elizabeth who is six months pregnant with the baby Gabriel had promised to her husband. As Mary enters the room, Elizabeth’s baby suddenly jumps in her womb, provoking these words from Elizabeth:

“Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” —Luke 1:45 

This is a promise to Mary, but not only to Mary, but to us also. There is no “maybe” with God. When we pray in faith according to God’s will, there WILL be a fulfillment. You don’t have to wonder when you pray for someone’s salvation. You don’t have to wonder if you pray to be more like Jesus. There WILL be a fulfillment.

That being said, we must also be ready for all that fulfillment entails. Mary visited her cousin as a virgin, and came back home pregnant. You don’t have to imagine Joseph’s reaction. Matthew tells us all about it. And you can bet if Joseph wondered, so did others. When nine months pregnant, she had to travel, gave birth in a stable, and some thirty years later watched her son die a cruel death on the cross. When God fulfills his promise, it isn’t always sugar and cream. But it is good. Never forget that.

Not if…How

 November 8, 2024

There is a big difference between doubting God’s ability and questioning his method. In Luke 1:18, Gabriel appears before Zechariah to tell him he and his wife will in their old age have the son they’ve been praying for. Zechariah asked, “How shall I know this?” Or as a more modern version has it, “How can I be sure of this? After all, I’m an old man, and my wife is an old woman.” 

Later in the chapter when the angel appeared to Mary, she asked a similar question: “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” It sounds like the same question Zechariah had, but it’s not. Zechariah doubted God’s ability; Mary questioned his method. 

You may not know how God is going to accomplish what he promised, but don’t doubt his ability. I am constantly praying prayers that I have no idea how God will answer, but I am sure of his promises, and as long as my prayers line up with his promises, I’m content to watch him answer in any way he chooses.

Stagehand

 November 7, 2024

Recently in our discipleship group meeting we had a time of silence, just listening to what God might be saying to us. Silence is a strange thing; a picture formed in my mind of a curtain on a stage being pulled back. Usually when I think of a curtain being pulled back, I am in the audience, waiting to see what’s about to unfold on stage. This time however, I was the stagehand, the one pulling the cords to reveal to the audience what was about to transpire.

We were considering Hebrews 11:1—“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” What occurs to me is that where we stand determines what we see and what part we play in the whole scenario.

If you’re in the audience, you’re waiting to see what adventure God has already worked out and will be displayed on stage. Sometimes I’m the audience. But I wonder about being the stagehand. Who is in the audience waiting for me to open the curtain so they can see what God has in store for them? And am I paying attention to God’s cues so I am opening the curtain at the right time? 

Which are you today? Audience, waiting for God to reveal your future? Or stagehand, attentive to God’s cues so you can pull back the curtain for someone else?

Open the Door!

 November 5, 2024

It’s possible to believe what the Bible says about salvation being in Jesus without actually taking that step and putting your trust in Jesus. James reminds us that even the demons believe in Jesus, but that doesn’t save them because they’ve missed one critical step. That step is found in Revelation 3:20.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” —Revelation 3:20 

That door is the door of your heart. Jesus stands there waiting, knocking. But he won’t turn the knob. He waits for us to take the initiative and open the door, inviting him in. If we do this, he will come in. That’s a promise! We don’t have to wonder. If we open the door, he will walk into our lives. But only if we open it. He’ll keep on knocking, but if we refuse to open the door, he’ll remain outside. So there is but one question: Will you open the door? If you already have, you can trust God’s promise that he is inside you. If not, you can trust his promise to come and give you life. It’s a deal we can’t beat.