Clean Closets...and Other Myths

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”  Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”  But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home.  Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.  I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers.  I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come.  And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”  When Jesus heard this, he was amazed.  Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!  And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven.  But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home.  Because you believed, it has happened.”  And the young servant was healed that same hour.  Matthew 8:5-13

I guess it was inevitable; that closet had been crying-out for years to be cleaned.   I could no longer pretend that disorganized heap of stuff would heal itself.  Besides, what else do retired preachers do?  Since Monday the task has begun to include two other rooms in the house; it will be a little while before this project is concluded.  What was I thinking?

The Roman officer may have had the same thought.  That servant of his was sick.  That presents two possibilities (at the least) as to why he went to the Nazarene preacher.  This officer may have been uniquely-compassionate for an important man, and was anxious to help him, or perhaps it was just that the servant couldn’t serve if he was bedridden; the officer’s “compassion” was more self-serving…a healthy servant would make the Roman’s life easier.  Jesus identified the officer’s request as sincere faith, so we must attest to his compassion as no less.

However, if we take into consideration that this Roman soldier’s prayer is lodged in the presence of a largely Jewish audience, we understand they were probably wondering why Jesus bothered healing the servant of a Gentile “dog”.  But Jesus, grasping this teachable moment, holds-up the humble, authentic trust of this Gentile, in contrast to the treachery of the Jewish religious leaders masquerading as faith which he would have to shortly endure.  Jesus’ teaching here was a gut-check for not just the crowd following at that moment, but for all of us…every day.   Sometimes that which we assume is our genuine faith, is just what we’ve hung in our religious closet for so long, we cannot see how crowded our “faith” is with stuff that doesn’t belong…

·       An attitude that won’t budge

·       A secret hate for an arrogant co-worker

·       Claiming a pure life, while hiding impure desires

·       …and so the myths keep rolling.

For You Today 

We all have that closet-cleaning thing to which we must attend.  Life is messy, and it creeps into our thoughts, attitudes, and selfish ways telling us the damning, but enduring myth, that we are put here on this planet to do what makes us happy. 

Like the Roman soldier’s compassion for his servant called-out his duty to do something, and my clothes closet called to me to come clean, so we are compelled to look deep into our faith, and how we’re called to be IN this world for God’s purposes – not part OF this world to serve our own desires.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library. 

Title Image:  Russell Brownworth (own work)  Images without citation are in public domain.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

Declaration of War - Declaration of Peace

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Monday, September 23, 2019

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees.  These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead.  They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning.  But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000.  The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem.  Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest.  They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”  Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man?  Do you want to know how he was healed?  Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.  For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’  There is salvation in no one else!  God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:1-12

The confrontation between the Apostles and the governing body of Israel was what Charles Dickens must have had in mind when he wrote A Tale of Two Cities, it was the best of times; it was the worst of times.[2]  In Jerusalem just a few months after the resurrection the church was a newborn emerging kingdom.  The case of Peter and John vs. the religious rulers was a Declaration of War – Declaration of Peace.

The prophet Isaiah pointed to the coming of the kingdom.  And every time a kingdom is established, of necessity there will be a king.

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6

Wherever there is a king crowned, there are those who would dethrone him.  For every declaration of peace in a kingdom, there is a corresponding declaration of war. 

In the case of Jesus, the threat perceived by the Sadducees and Pharisees was to their earthly power.  Christ had said His kingdom was not of this earth[3], but, for those in power, even the perception of a threat is enough to declare war.

I love Peter’s statement…let me say it clearly for you and anyone else….  This was the gauntlet of peace.  Of course, the powerful rulers who led the people of Israel to pray for peace daily had eyes only for their own continued power structure.  They didn’t live by, or even believe their own doctrine and prayers, so naturally they couldn’t imagine God’s peace showing up in a lowly carpenter from Nazareth.

But the straw that broke this camel’s back was two words that pierced the religious rulers’ balloon of power:  Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.  Thinking to defend their position the rulers had declared war on their own eternal souls!  They had put to death the Prince of Peace.

For You Today

Despite how Jesus was treated, His offer of peace still stands.  It’s that peace that passes all understanding[4], offered without reservation to anyone who will come into His kingdom.  It’s a daily, living, cornerstone of faith that never fails.  Ever!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com     Unless noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©

[2] For a well-crafted article by John Piper summarizing how to live in such a time go HERE

[3] John 18:36

[4] Philippians 4:7

Marrying Wisdom and Faith

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Monday, November 12, 2018

Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.  One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh.  Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women.  Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”  The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home?  Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?”  “No!” Abraham responded.  “Be careful never to take my son there.  For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants.  He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son.  If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath of mine.  But under no circumstances are you to take my son there.”  So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham.  He swore to follow Abraham’s instructions.  Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim.  There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled.  Genesis 24:1-10(NLT)

It is possible to act in faith without wisdom; it is also possible to use wisdom without faith (although it isn’t wise to do so, and is worse than being faithful, but not wise).  There are times when you don’t know which way to turn.  You sit and consider all the possibilities.  You want to trust God and be faithful, as well as wise.  But it’s confusing.

The culture in which Abraham lived was patristic, and the custom was for him to choose a bride for his son, Isaac.  This old man had walked with God for many decades, and the Lord had given him much wisdom.  In this most important decision as leader of his family – a decision that would affect his household name for generations to come, Abraham wanted to be faithful, and he wanted to be wise.  He proved to be both.

Abraham was unable to travel, and the faith of his household demanded a choice for Isaac that would fertilize that faith.  That meant helping Isaac choose a faith-filled wife, who would help him cultivate a family of faith.  In Abraham’s judgment, that meant going back to the place of beginnings.  Abraham wisely chose his faithful servant to carry out this plan, giving clear instructions to bring back a willing match for his son.  God was in this faithful wisdom, and so, it worked out well as God led the servant to Rebekah. 

The question that normally arises out of this story is:  How does just following the cultural norms equate with being faithful and wise?  After all, there are plenty of Biblical passages that teach God’s people to be anything but “normal”.  We are to come out from [amongst sinners], and we must live in the world, but not of the world.[2]

The answer is found in the last part of Abraham’s instructions to his servant. 

Abraham is reasonable

He tells his servant what to do, and then tells him if it doesn’t work out, he is released from his obligation. 

Abraham also acted in faith

He tells his servant in unmistakable words to make certain his son is to live in the land God promised.  In this Abraham is willing to abandon the cultural norms if culture contradicts God’s way.  This is the essence of faith; we trust God more than culture.  God, whom we cannot see is our promise; He is leading us to evidence unseen but hoped-for. 

It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance.  He went without knowing where he was going.  And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents.  And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.  Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.  Hebrews 11:8-10(NLT)

If the servant couldn’t secure a bride for Isaac in the culturally-accepted way, Abraham was willing to back off and await God’s revelation.

I have tried to force situations before with my controlling nature; I can say with absolute certainty – that was not wisdom or faith; it was unbelief.  Anytime you can’t bear to stand still and see God’s salvation, you’re not willing to have faith marry wisdom; you’re more interested in having your own way.

For You Today

If you’ve got a big decision to make, make the biggest one first – that you’ll do your best, but you are committed to God’s way above your own.  That’s how to marry wisdom to your faith.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] 2 Corinthians 6:17 & John 18:36

Paradox; Illusion of the Heart

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

You’ve probably seen a movie or TV show that included someone in the desert, trudging along, weary and thirsty.  Suddenly there is an oasis, a bright hope of water and cool refreshment.  But it’s a mirage; it’s only an illusion.

In yesterday’s post we looked at Chuck Colson’s life of chasing mirages by the truckload, only to have it all fold back-in on him when he was convicted for his part in the Watergate political scandal.

He was sent to prison where you have a lot of time to examine the paradox which is life’s mystery.  Here’s how Colson described how what he thought was the “Good Life” turned out to be the cancer of a false oasis:

Prison turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me, which is why, on the 60 Minutes program marking the twentieth anniversary of Watergate, I told a startled Mike Wallace, ‘I thank God for Watergate.’  Not only did prison radically transform my view of life, but the experience also gave me the one thing I thought I would never have again – an opportunity to serve others in significant ways.  In my case that service has been a ministry to prisoners around the world.

My experience vividly illustrates that paradox lies at the very heart of life’s mystery:  What we strive for can often be what we least need.  What we fear most can turn out to be our greatest blessing. [1]

For Chuck Colson, who rose to the lofty heights of political power, only to be trampled by life’s less-than-gentle reminder that self-serving rulers and their kingdoms have only an illusion in their hands – it was a great awakening that the God who is really in charge loves you in spite of your arrogance.

Ever been run-over by that kind of cold shower?

Has life sent mixed-messages, luring you to grab for the brass ring, only to cut off your fingers in the process?

Paul’s message to the Corinthian church – a great group, but a little puffed up; legends in their own minds, so to speak – was to stop the pushing and shoving for the highest honors and control.  They needed to seek the best gift – love.

This message was not lost on Chuck Colson.  He was released from prison and spent the next 30+ years working to significantly change the prison system.  Charles Colson left prison, but returned in real power.  He came not by human wisdom and power, but in the power of God’s Spirit to lift and heal broken lives.  He got the message of love; he lived into that message by loving the least of these, his brethren in prison.

For You, Today…

Jesus said:  seek first the kingdom of God ^{(Matthew 6:33)} and my kingdom is not of this world. ^{(John 18:36)}

What is it that you’re seeking?  What kingdom are you looking to build?

Think hard and continually on that, because in your prayerful consideration of that is the answer to the heart’s paradox:  a life well-lived is a life given away in Jesus’ name.

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[1] Colson, Charles, The Good Life, (Carol Stream, Ill, Tyndale House, 2005), page 23