TO WHOM SHALL WE GO?

During this time of remembering Jesus’ death and celebrating His resurrection, we often want to give the crucifixion honorable mention and quickly move to the victory of the empty tomb. When we allow ourselves to pause and consider the pain and agony of His death, it is hard to get pass the horror of the physical torture that Jesus suffered for us. But what about the mental agony of “He who knew no sin”, bearing our sins? Consider His anguish as the One who “so loved the world” looked down from the cross and saw only a handful of followers watching from afar. After 3 1/2 years of preaching, miracles and sacrifice, was this His entire congregation? Had they gone in search of a more exciting program, a more dynamic speaker or a more “seeker-friendly” message? What had happened to the multitudes that came for the loaves and fishes?

The beginning of the exodus of Jesus’ followers is recorded in John 6:66-68. “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” Jesus could continue His ministry with the assurance that there would always be His mother and at least 12 men or 11 since as God; He knew Judas would betray Him. Jesus could always depend on Peter. It was Peter who recognized that Jesus was the Son of the Living God. Peter who said, “I have no other place to go.” We hear from Peter again assuring Jesus that he would “NEVER deny Him.” The same Peter who was given the Keys to the Kingdom. Now, jump ahead to “Trial Day” and where is Peter? We find him outside with the other spectators loudly proclaiming, “Don’t look at me, I don’t know Him.”

Jesus looks down from the cross expecting to see some of the 5,000 that were fed from a little boys lunch, or maybe Blind Bartemaeus, surely at least 1 of the 10 lepers would come to mourn, John 19:25-26 explains Jesus’ view from the cross, “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!"  Only 4 people? During His final hour, Jesus had more accusers than followers. The loneliness must have been overwhelming.

Would I have been at the foot of the cross? Like Peter, I assure myself that I would never leave, where else would I go, He has the words of eternal life. But what happens when life gets tough, when my plans and dreams get shattered, when it seems there is no harvest after years of sowing seed and watering tender plants? Am I like Peter standing afar off warming his hands or do you find me kneeling with John and the 3 women; faithful to the end? Lord, I want to be a Simon of Cyrene carrying your cross or a Joseph of Arimathaea, ministering to your Body. In the good times and bad, during harvest or famine, whether it rains or the sun shines, “To whom shall I go, You have the Words of Eternal life.”

BEYOND HOPE

I prefer to spend a little time with God early in the day. There are fewer distractions and my thoughts are clearer. I am guilty of doing most of the talking and as the Bible states it, “making my petitions known.” About 4:00 in the morning is when God likes to talk to me. God, in His infinite wisdom, knows that it takes about 5 hours to clear the clutter of the previous day from my mind and that he has a couple hours so speak with my mouth shut. I am constantly amazed at the things that I see and hear so clearly the first thing in the morning. That’s when I know God’s been working. Sometimes it is the words of a song, or a Bible verse or as it was this morning, a phrase. As I slowly came out of the pre-dawn haze, the words, BEYOND HOPE, imprinted themselves into my consciousness with startling clarity.

The dictionary defines hope as “to feel that something desired might happen.” That is not a definition a Christian can accept. The same dictionary listed their “archaic” definition;” to have confidence or trust.” I am 59, which is approaching archaic, so I will accept the last definition. As one unknown author said, “Man can live about forty days without food, three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only one second without hope.” Hope is much more than just a feeling that something might happen.

 Hope is a confidence that the something will appear at just the right moment.

I am, in general, an optimistic person. I usually see the glass as half-full, unlike my Diet Coke-aholic husband who is cracking open another can as soon as he has emptied the first into his glass. To clarify, that is about the only thing Steve is pessimistic about. Together, we are a sickeningly sweet, optimistic couple. I have found the best antidote for pessimism, depression, fear, or worry is just go to bed and about 4:00 in the morning, God will start talking. Now you can understand why I was a little puzzled to wake up to the phrase, BEYOND HOPE, which would be the antithesis of my optimistic philosophy.

 What was God speaking to my heart?

I have been praying for someone that most people would describe as “a hard nut to crack.” Now I admit that I can’t figure out how God will get through to this person, but I stubbornly refuse to stop interceding. Was God trying to tell me to move on, have they passed beyond hope? That did not compute, so I dug a little deeper. What lies beyond hope? For the Believer, hope is more than just a feeling, it is confidence or trust. There are times, however, even for a Believer, when it seems we have come to the end of hope.

 That is when we press Beyond Hope.

Beyond hope, there is a quiet assurance that God is faithful. Beyond hope is a peace that I am His child. Beyond hope is a confidence that God loves me with an everlasting love. Beyond hope I rest in the knowledge that my Heavenly Father’s plan for me is beyond my understanding. Beyond hope I cling to the promise that “All things work together for good to them that love God and are the called according to His purpose.”

I have family members facing life threatening illnesses, friends wondering if they will ever find a job, and many who are dealing with wayward children. They have been faithful to God; “done all the right things,” yet the answer hasn’t come through. During this time of extreme apprehension, uneasiness, and worry, I have watched these same people move Beyond Hope into a place of Absolute Confidence. If you are facing an impossible situation, reach up a little higher. God has the answers and He is waiting, just Beyond Hope.

IT IS FINISHED; NOT ENDED

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished:” and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. John 19:30

Sunday we will celebrate with Christians all over the world the most important day in history. Many, who have not been to church since last year’s Easter or Christmas service, will sit on our pews and hear the story of the resurrection. To all of us who have experienced redemption through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it isn’t just a story of an event long ago; it is the culmination of the plan of God that was set in motion from the foundation of the earth. Man had sinned, been judged guilty and sentenced to death. God loved His creation so much that He did not want to wipe us off the face of the earth. So God robed himself in flesh, came to earth as a baby, took all of our sins upon himself and died in our place; the story of Easter.

The Resurrection is such a personal event to me. My life has been dramatically changed because of the blood which flowed from Calvary. Jesus came to alter the destiny of mankind and no one who has a personal encounter with Him can remain as they were.

Lives were affected from the moment He was conceived. Mary and Joseph had all their life’s plans dramatically altered. No longer just another giddy engaged couple; they accepted the awesome responsibility of nurturing and raising the Son of God. Priests, scribes and Pharisees marveled at the wisdom of a 12 year old boy. The Bible mentions some of the women who were touched by Jesus in a time when women were overlooked by most of society. An encounter with a woman by the well in Samaria resulted in a testimony that brought many Samaritans to belief in Jesus Christ. Several came to Jesus because of a need and went away healed and made whole. Who can forget the woman who had been diseased with an issue of blood for 12 years? After spending all that she had and going to every physician she knew, a mere touch of the hem of His garment made her whole. There were many who were forever changed during the last week of Jesus’ life. Sadly, some would never accept the hope that he offered.

All through their lives, each of these individuals could not escape what may have been a momentary encounter with Jesus, God robed in flesh. Some may have been haunted by the memory while others rejoiced in new found freedom, but all were changed.

I am so thankful that though the plan is finished, it didn’t end at Calvary or the empty tomb or with the death of the disciples and apostles. The final chapter hasn’t been written. Jesus is still changing lives, setting captives free and healing sick and wounded people. I had my personal encounter with Jesus Christ 51 years ago. I can tell you the day, the hour and the place where my life was forever changed. Let this be the Easter that you allow Him to touch you and change your life for all eternity.

SACRIFICED OR RESURRECTED JESUS

The disciples had walked with Jesus for over 3 years.  They had listened to His teachings, witnessed unbelievable miracles and now the end had come.  Just as He had warned the disciples, His mission was not to set up a Kingdom in this world but to become the sacrifice; the Lamb of God.  Matthew records that Jesus talked to them 3 times concerning His death, but always ended with the assurance of resurrection. 

Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

Matthew 17:22-23 Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, ²³ and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful.

Matthew 20:17-19 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, ¹⁸ “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, ¹⁹ and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”

Just as Jesus had told them, the authorities led Him away, sentenced Him and crucified Him.  They watched Him die; the Lamb of God. They heard the thunder, saw the lightening and felt the great earthquake.  Perhaps they even saw the High Priest run out of the temple as the veil was torn in half, once again, giving all mankind access to the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies.  The women, who had followed him faithfully, looked on as a disciple named Joseph of Arimetha, claimed the body, wrapped it in linen, laid it in a tomb and sealed it with a stone.  They would be faithful; they would spread His teachings; they would continue to worship a Sacrificed Jesus.  But Jesus wanted to be so much more than just the sacrifice in their lives.  The sacrifice was just a means to bridge the broken relationship between God and man so that man could live a life full of power and abundance. 

His desire was and is to be worshiped as the Resurrected Jesus.

For 40 days, after the resurrection, Jesus appeared, talked and walked with the Disciples. Then it was time for Jesus to depart, but He was not leaving as the Sacrificed Jesus.  He wanted his disciples to see Him as the Resurrected Jesus who was sending back the Promise of His Holy Spirit so they could worship and live in Resurrection Power.  Acts 1:4-5 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; ⁵ for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”  

Many have turned to Him in repentance, have accepted His forgiveness, had their sins washed away through baptism and may have even received the gift of the Holy Spirit, just as the disciples did on the Day of Pentecost, yet they continue to live a powerless life, serving a Sacrificed Jesus.  We trust Him as the substitute on the Cross for our sins then we leave Him in the tomb, when He wants to become the Resurrected Jesus in our lives.

  Acts 1:8 promises that we can live a resurrected, powerful life; “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  

 If you have not yet received the gift of the Holy Spirit, it is available and Jesus is waiting to fill your life totally with His power.  If you have received the Holy Spirit, allow it to become active in your life.  The price has been paid; your sins have been forgiven.  It is time to move forward from the Sacrificed Jesus and begin to live a life of power and abundance in the Resurrected Jesus.

I WANT TO BE FREE, BUT WHAT IF....

It was Sunday morning, time for service to begin.  The Worship Team was in its place and the leader had just stepped to the pulpit, when suddenly a woman, whom nobody knew, walked down the center aisle and fell on her knees at the altar.  For just a moment, I sat in stunned silence; what should I do?  WHAT SHOULD I DO????  Sadly, I realize this type of thing doesn’t happen enough in our churches for me to shift into automatic. The Worship Leader knelt beside her and I came out of my daze enough to make my way up the aisle to slip an arm around her and begin to pray as another dear sister joined us.  The church reached a hand toward her and prayed as she wept from the depths of her need. 

She was addicted to Meth and was so ashamed; she wanted to be free.  At 35 years old, her face was marked by the ravages of her addictions.  There were scars and open sores where she would sit through the night, high on speed, picking and scratching her face.  She kept her eyes hidden behind large sunglasses, protecting her eyes from revealing the evident pain portrayed there.  She apologized for her appearance because her addiction had destroyed her teeth and she hadn’t taken the time to put her false teeth in; she wanted to be free!  She didn’t want her husband and children to find out about her addiction, she was so ashamed; what if they took her kids away; she wanted to be free.

It seemed that she had awaked at 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning and looked up our church address so she could come and pray.  Her family didn’t even know she was there but Jesus was calling her name.  We prayed, we pleaded the Blood; we rebuked the powers of darkness, in the Name of Jesus.  At times the smell was so strong, I had to back away; sin is so ugly and she wanted to be free.  After talking and praying with her, I told her I felt God wanted her to come back up to the sanctuary, sit with me and let the Word of God do a work in her heart. The Holy Spirit desired to completely deliver her.  Today was her day; she could be free!!!

The tears roll down my face, I want this story to have a victorious ending but a war is raging inside this dear lady.  She wants to be free but she cannot see past today enough to trust God for tomorrow.  I took her name and address, gave her a hug and promised to pray for her as she walked out the door.  God called her name; she wanted to be free but what if?

Every one of us has a battle raging inside of us.  God calls our name and Satan presents us with all the “What Ifs.”  What if I fail again?  What if my friends, husband, children find out?  What if my trust is betrayed again?  What if they laugh at me or lie about me?  What if I’m all alone? And Jesus answers, “What if you would trust me?”  What if today you were delivered?  What if I filled you with joy?  What if you never had to be alone because I walked beside you and my Spirit lived inside you?  What if you answered my call; What if?

SPIRITUAL THERAPY - Allowing God to Stretch You

“Your range of motion has been affected but with a few weeks of physical therapy, it can be restored.”  These were my Doctor’s recommendations after I demonstrated that I could no longer reach backward with my arm or extend it straight over my head due to shoulder inflammation.  My arm was still helpful in balance, carrying a load or pushing forward but for some things, I had learned to compensate.  Actually, I was so proficient in compensating that I had lost the ability to move my arm in certain directions; thus began my journey into the world of Physical Therapy.

I quickly learned that Physical Therapy was NOT a relaxing massage. Oh No, Physical Therapy = stretching = pain = sweat; ice packs became my friend.  During every session, for about an hour, I performed “Therapeutic Exercises.”  These exercises were all based on my effort; stretching, lifting, pulling, and pushing, using various machines, straps and isometrics.  Although, I stretched until the sweat popped out on my forehead, I quickly found that my willingness to push through the pain was limited.  For that I needed “Manual Therapy” from my Physical Therapist.  The only involvement required from me was submitting my entire arm to the therapist as he stretched it past the limits I was willing to go.  At first the pain was unbearable, I begged him to stop and vowed I would not return for the second session; but I did.  As the sessions continued, the pain became more bearable and my range of movement became closer to normal, until I suddenly found myself easily performing the tasks that had been impossible just a few weeks prior.

There have been times when my Spiritual “range of motion” has become affected for various reasons.  Perhaps the inflammation has come from the load of trying to “fix things” on my own instead of trusting in the Lord.  Or maybe my spirit had been bruised by a thoughtless comment or action. Scar tissue may have resulted from being unappreciated or ignored; whatever the cause, due to my proficiency in compensating for the pain, my zeal and desire to be of use to the Kingdom had deteriorated.  Oh, I wasn’t completely useless.  I was still faithful in church attendance, I still worshiped, smiled and offered a word of encouragement; I still loved God.  But God desires more.  He is merciful and is always reaching and drawing us unto Himself.  So one day it happened; I decided to submit to Spiritual Therapy.

The Spiritual Exercises became refreshing to my soul.  Once again I found fresh revelation in His Word and I allowed the healing flow of His presence to cover me during prayer.  There were areas, however, I could not or would not allow myself to push through; that is when Jesus, my Spiritual Therapist took over and the stretching began.  At times the pain was unbearable.  On my knees, I begged Him to stop.  “Dear God,” I cried, “I can’t do this anymore.”  But God never let up on me.  The gentle stretching continued until I found myself once again overflowing with joy, sharing His love and making myself vulnerable in service to the King.  I never again want to lose my Spiritual Range of Motion.  It takes daily stretching and spending time in His presence.  It means facing my humanness and letting God deal with the things in me I would prefer to ignore.  But it also means enjoying a free flow of His Spirit through me with no compensation.  Don’t allow yourself to become atrophied in the spirit but allow God to stretch and bend you to His will.

IMPATIENCE WILL ALWAYS BIRTH AN ISMAEL

REPOST FROM FEB 2010

Gr’ma, Gr’ma, Gr’ma, GR’MA!!!! Caleb’s impatience was coming through.  I had promised him that we would go downstairs and play after I put Baby Nathan down for his morning nap.  Caleb has the patience of a 3 year old and although he may understand the word “later,” later occurs to him much sooner than it does to Grandma.  He did not want to wait until I had given Nathan his bath and bottle and snuggled him into bed for a couple hour nap.  Caleb’s experience tells him that Grandma has never broken a promise and in just a little while he will enjoy all the fun and personal attention that Grandma wants to bestow upon him, but there is one minor detail missing, Grandma is still upstairs. His little mind reasons, Grandma has promised to play with me downstairs maybe I can help make her promise a reality.  Caleb has a plan.  He will open the basement door, turn on the light, go down the stairs and then he will receive the promise.

PROBLEM!!! Caleb has birthed an Ishmael!!  By taking matters into his own hands, he has what he perceives to be the most important ingredient;”being in the basement.”  Caleb is downstairs in the play room but the JOY of the promise was spending time, playing with Grandma and she is still upstairs.  The predictable response of a 3-year old is a loud cry for Grandma to join him, which I did after Nathan was soundly asleep.  Have you ever become focused on the “missing ingredient” of a promise and birthed an Ishmael?  You are not unique; faithful Abraham tried to assist God before “natural circumstances” would prevent even God from performing what He had promised.

In Genesis 12:2-3, at the age of 75 years, God promised Abraham that he would make of him a great nation and that in him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. In verse 7, God promises to give all the land to Abraham’s descendants. In Genesis 13:16, the promise expands from a great nation to so many descendants that they could only be numbered if one could number the dust of the earth.  A few years pass and Abraham becomes a little anxious.  In Genesis 15, he reminds God that he still has no offspring.  God replies by showing him the stars and assuring Abraham that his offspring will be in number as the stars. The years continued to roll by until finally Abraham and Sarah, at the age of 85 and 75, decided to help God out with the missing ingredient and Ishmael was birthed.

I have heard it preached that Abraham sinned, but sin is rebellion against the Word of God and it was not out of rebellion that Abraham acted.  We read where God bestowed a blessing on Ishmael and God will NEVER bless sin.  I believe that Abraham was so full of faith in the promise of God that he convinced himself that God had just opened the door of opportunity to the fulfillment of that promise. The missing ingredient was not a son, as Abraham supposed, but a much more important detail.  Abraham had forgotten who “I” was!!! Ten years prior to the birth of Ishmael, God had promised, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you; I will make your name great.”  The only input God required from Abraham to fulfill His promise was Abraham’s faithfulness.

Many times, I have impatiently or impulsively attempted to fill in a few details that seemed to be missing in the plan God was working in my life. I convinced myself that the action I was about to take was a door of opportunity that only God could have opened.  Every time I have forgotten that while it may be MY life, it is GOD’s plan, an Ishmael has been birthed.  My life has been blessed and often God continues with the plan to bring the promise to fruition, but not without negative consequences to my actions.  Like Caleb waiting in the basement, I have felt the frustration of having all my plans in place only to realize God didn’t have His plan in place yet.  As Abraham and his descendants have lived with the consequence of Ishmael’s birth, I have lived with regret over the results of my impatient actions.  Oh, I was still saved, I was still blessed, the promise would still come to pass but I had to carry all the baggage of my Ishmael along the journey toward the promise.  When God makes you a promise, learn to wait patiently for Isaac, you will not only have the blessing of God birthed in you but you won’t have an Ishmael to deal with before you achieve victory.