The Suffering Servant

Today is Maundy Thursday, the commemoration of the last supper Jesus shared with his apostles.  In addition, he revealed his true servant nature by washing all those dirty feet.  Today, re-read this amazing passage written at least 400 years earlier by the prophet Isaiah.  It is one of the Servant Songs contained in the book of Isaiah, and is a spot on description of Jesus, the suffering servant, not the victorious King that people were looking for. Have no fear, that King is coming, but today be blessed as you reflect on the humble, man who came to  serve and save.

Who has believed what he has heard from us?^a
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3He was despised and rejected^b by men;
a man of sorrows,^c and acquainted with^d grief;^e
and as one from whom men hide their faces^f
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief;^g
when his soul makes^h an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11Out of the anguish of his soul he shall seeⁱ and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,^j
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,^k
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.

 Isaiah 54

The One, and Only, God

“Gods “R” Us”, might be the name of this shop I peeked into recently.  Obviously the owners weren’t atheists, and since they couldn’t decide on just one god, why not worship them all!   It reminded me of Paul’s visit to Athens.  Don your togas and travel back with me, to that large, metropolitan city, in the year 40 AD or so.  

The entire ancient world agreed that the Athenians were an intelligent, hip, “in the know” society.  Even judging them by today’s standards they were all that, and a bag of chips.  The goddess Artemis was a particular favorite, but it is my guess that there were stores, similar to this one, on every corner.  In fact, the city as a whole had built a memorial wall where they placed, in individual niches, images of silver, gold and stone, representing all the known gods of the day. In addition they left one shelf vacant reserved for the “Unknown god”.  Not wanting to offend any freelance gods that they might have overlooked. This action, they felt assured, covered all their spiritual bases. 

Enter Paul.  The wise apostle knew that people could never be won to Christ by insulting the religions they were already practicing, so he addressed them respectfully.  “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ “.  At this point Paul has their attention, and he goes in deeper to reveal who this hither to unknown god is. “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”  Acts 17:22-25.  As he continued I’m sure he was treading on some toes, but on he went bringing home his case. 

Fast forward 2000 + years, and as foolish as multi-god or pantheism may seem, believe me it still exists, even within Christianity! I personally know people who claim to be Christians, but put stock in necromancy (talking to the dead),  reincarnation and other non-Christian practices and beliefs.  Why?  I think that many modern day folks aren’t much different than those ancient Athenians.  Some facet of other religions appeals to them, and they don’t want to miss anything, just in case Jesus doesn’t pan out. Perhaps it’s because they belong to a church, but have never made a personal connection with Christ.  Christ came to fill all our needs and niches, and for those who truly, intimately know him, he does.

If you feel the need to supplement God, do so through studying his word, prayer, fasting and meditation.  Don’t be tempted to let foreign doctrines diminish who He is, and MUST be in your life.

“But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life.” 1 Corinthians 8:6

Spiritual Disconnect

I’d like to share a particularly frustrating experience I had the other day.  After editing and uploading some photos to Walgreen’s site, I pushed the submit order button, but instead of a confirmation from the store, I was told that the operation had failed.  Ugh.  It seems that the internet had chosen that moment to take a break, or so my computer informed me.  My trained eyes went immediately to the lower right hand corner of my old Dell, where the internet connection icon was still on, I clicked it and was told that said connection was Very Good.  Very Good my foot!!  Thinking it was perhaps due to the advanced age of my computer, I tried reconnecting only to come face to face with this horrible, fierce-looking tyrannosaurus creature.  Said prehistoric carnivore gloated as he devoured my hopes and photos. 

 How is it possible to show that you are connected, and still not have the power? Since I now had time to think about this, it got me wondering about other similar disconnect situations. We’ve all heard the phrase, “the lights are on, but no one’s home”.  In essence it relates to a person who, from the outside, looks like they’re fully capable, representing a certain position, or even a belief, but when you knock on their door no, one answers.  I’ll use myself as an example.  Years ago, before I came to a personal decision, and accepted Christ, I thought I was a Christian. After all, didn’t I have the exterior icons to “prove” it?  I had been baptized as a child, went to Sunday school, was confirmed and completed other religious requirements, what more could there be?  For many years I was actually content with that arrangement.  I never seriously considered getting “online” with God, unless it was something urgent like a test, or forgotten homework. And after all, no one ever came knocking on my door.  Myself, and the rest of the world believed that my Christian icon was on, but over the years it became very clear that it wasn’t connecting to the source.  Thankfully, I allowed God to repair the problem, and now, having full access to his power is more awesome than the internet any day!

It is my contention that the church, as a whole, and I’m referring to the people not a denomination, is suffering from spiritual disconnect.  Yeah, sure the icon may be visible in the right hand corner, but the terrible lizard has eaten up the power.  When is the last time you truly fell on your face in prayer, or worshiped Him with complete abandon?  Have you fallen in love with his word, or experienced the gifts of the Holy Spirit?  Just because you, and others, think you are connected, doesn’t mean you are, take it from one who knows.  You may display the outward signs, but if there’s no internal connection, there’s no power, no blessing.  If you’ve been frustrated by a weak or broken connection, ask God to hook you up, then let the ultimate web surfing begin! “….Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.”  Colossians 2:18-19.

Fruitfulness

Each time I return from a jaunt to Europe, people invariably ask me what my favorite part of the trip was.  That’s a difficult question for me to answer, because I, and especially the photographer in me, absolutely adore everything.  You only have to take a look at my camera’s full SD card to confirm that!! But, this time I gave it some serious thought, and there was one thing that really impressed me, the fruitfulness of Italy. 

Many years ago I had visited Italy, but had never been to the southern section, and had always longed to go.  Flying into Naples, a big city, we traveled by bus to the much smaller city of Sorrento.  Along the way, with Mt. Vesuvius in the background, we climbed up into the rugged hill country that rose vertically from the Mediterranean coast.  For centuries, hearty Italians have built their homes into this beautiful, but inhospitable landscape. Why, I wondered?  It became clear as we passed by grove after grove of lemon and orange trees.  Even the tiniest parcel of ground was sufficient enough to allow the heavy, fruit laden trees to flourish.  Perhaps it was the rich volcanic soil, the mild Mediterranean climate, or the industrious nature of the farmers, but the whole area reminded me of an overflowing cornucopia.  As if that wasn’t remarkable in itself, I looked closer and saw that the soil beneath the trees had been tilled, and planted with onions and other vegetables.  Olive and grapes were squeezed in too. Every square inch was producing fruit, nothing went to waste.

  Living in the Midwest, with its vast, seemingly endless acreage, the vision of those fruit-filled, postage-stamp sized plots had quite an impact on me.  As you might expect, God set my mind on meditation mode, and started filling me up. Scripture, both old and new testaments, encourage us all to be fruitful. Beginning with Adam and Eve in the garden, who were told to be fruitful and multiply. I’d always thought of that fruitful as strictly applying to bearing children, and while that is part of it, there is so much more.  God has designed us, not unlike that rocky Italian ground, to be fruitful, as well.  We are fertile gardens, untilled ground able to produce much fruit, but do we?  We, too, are rocky and resist God’s plow.  Another similarity is the debris of past personal, volcanic eruptions. We justify our barrenness, arguing that we have no talents, or anything useful.  No talent, no fruit.  

God knows the potential within us, and our debris only adds to the richness, but our enemy, Satan, keeps reminding us of what we lack.  It seems illogical that anything, other than weeds could survive in our dinky plots, and so we miss out on the bountiful harvest God intends.  I’m here to tell you, that if such amazing fruit can be picked from trees on those cramped lots, then every one of us should be producing bumper crops!! Is it easy?  No! Any farmer will tell you that.  Is all that nurturing, cultivation, weeding, bird and pest control worth it? If you had seen, and eaten, the luscious results that I saw, there would be no doubt. 

Are you willing to let God’s Holy Spirit start turning the soil in your personal garden?  Relax, he has green thumbs, and the results he gets will astound you, and all those who can see your bounty, as well!!  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,…” Galatians 5:22

Seeing Only Jesus

  While we were in England I had the opportunity to attend church in the town where my sister lives.  I have to admit, ashamedly, that I wasn't expecting much from the service, but God had something to reveal to me.  The gospel reading, from the book of Mark, recounted the Transfiguration.  

As you may recall, the quality time that Jesus had to spend with his disciples was decreasing rapidly.  The cross loomed ominously before him. He had to be certain that these men, the ones who would carry his word to the world, truly knew who he was. "Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make them. Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus." Mark 9:2-4. 

The men were awe-struck as you might well imagine, and hustled around to set up memorial tents to honor these two old testament superstars.  "Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, 'This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.' Suddenly, when they looked around, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus with them. " Mark 9:7-8.  God, in his Shekinah glory, spoke to those humble followers, just as he did to those at Jesus' baptism, proclaiming who Jesus truly was, his Son. 

 I can relate to how the disciples first reacted, they were doing what they had been taught when they set up the memorials.  Sometimes doing a good or ritual-religious thing can seem so right, but it may take our eyes off of the one God wants us to see alone, Jesus.  Moses represented the Law and Elijah was the great prophet, and while what they accomplished for the kingdom was marvelous, it fades in comparison to the saving work of Christ on the cross.   

The purpose of the transfiguration  was to confirm the divine identity of Christ, to those men, and ultimately to all of us.  The verse that literally jumped out of that scripture were the words, "Suddenly, when they looked around, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus with them." Mark 9:8.  They saw only Jesus, how awesome is that?  Can we say the same?  There are so many man-made facets to Christianity, and while they are not wrong, they tend to take our focus off of Jesus.  Today, re-read this eye-opening story, and when you look up I pray that you see only Jesus.

Longing to serve God in the worst way.

We’ve all used, or heard others include the phrase, “in the worst way” numerous times in conversation. For example, “I need a vacation in the worst way”, or “I could use a drink  in the worst way”, etc.  It has always struck me as an odd combination of words.  If  I’m planning a trip, or fancy a libation, I’d sincerely hope it was going to be in the best way, not the worst!  But, somehow or another it has wormed its way into our language, and we use it without giving it much thought.  It got me thinking about Christianity and, ultimately, my life as a Christian. 

Over the centuries, the church set out to follow Christ, but sadly, often in the worst way.  The Inquisition and the Crusades come to mind immediately.  In what was intended as a noble attempt to uphold and defend the faith, Christians tortured, murdered and forcibly “persuaded” unbelievers into “salvation”.  Believe or Die!! How strange that the same heinous methods that had been used to persecute the early church,  now became acceptable to use on others.  If anyone had taken time to read the Bible, before setting out to win converts, it would have become very clear that Jesus never employed this system.

Although we don’t go about presenting the gospel in exactly that way any more, isn’t it true that the fear element is still in use?  “If you don’t join a church, or believe in God you’ll burn in Hell for eternity” is still used as a motivational tool.  Or perhaps you’ve noticed the intolerance that some Christians have for anyone living outside of their personal belief system. Instead of lovingly presenting a better way of life through Christ to them, they badger, belittle and in some cases attack the “offenders”. My guess is that these Christians probably say that they want to follow Jesus in the worst way, and they are succeeding.  

Jesus himself came face to face with many folks who lived apart from God, and correct me if I’m wrong, but I can’t recall a single time that he forced any one into the Kingdom.  If people weren’t drawn to the way of life that he lived, then that was their loss.  In fact Jesus told his apostles to shake the dust from their feet and move on, never to use force.  The life of Christ should speak for itself.  The church should still be adding believers not by the force, but by personally, lovingly representing Christ in such a delightful way that people are drawn in, not dragged.  

Think about it, do you long to serve Jesus in the “worst way”, or the Best, Christ-like Way? “ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” 1 John 4:7-12

Why Blood?

A skeptic friend of mine commented on my Ash Wednesday blog recently.  Here's what he said. "Shedding blood to pay off a sin debt just seems like some kind of harsh primitive street justice. Like a mafia thing or something. Surely a reasonable re-payment schedule could have been worked out. Jesus should have found himself a good Jewish sin lawyer or sin accountant. Maybe witness protection if he was willing to testify against the shyster who wanted his blood. Wait... who exactly was leaning on him? Who wanted his blood spilled on the streets of Jerusalem? His Father you say? Well, that's really creepy! Even pervy."  I have to be honest, his way with words had me chuckling.  Good Jewish lawyer, witness protection, LOL.  What isn't so funny is the fact that many people view Christ's sacrificial death as barbaric, certainly not anything that a loving god would require as payment for our "sin debt".  For those of you who are Christians, I ask you to step outside of your spiritual identity  for a while as we investigate these allegations.  

  If we go back to the book of Genesis we find that after Adam and Eve incurred the debt in question, the first sacrifice took place.  "The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them." Genesis 3:21. Without specifying how to perform the ritual, that would come later, a critter or two must have been offered up to provide the garments of skin for the "sinners".  Blood was shed, and in so doing, the sin itself was covered with the animals hide.  Not removed permanently , or atoned for fully, merely  concealed until it showed itself again.  Sacrifice  must have caught on because we have historical evidence that numerous ancient cultures practiced it, going beyond the use of animal blood  to that of humans.  So, why blood?  Even ancient folks knew that life ebbed away when blood left the body.   Life was precious,  blood was what sustained life, hence it was the most valuable thing they could offer to appease their gods.  Perhaps the element of removing sin was not at the forefront, but placating god, and receiving his protection and blessings were.   God knew that people were familiar with sacrifice, and the idea of placing his own son on the altar would catch their attention. Does this seem harsh, primitive and mafia-ish, let's be honest, YES! Did Jesus ask for a defense attorney, or sin accountant to find some kind of loophole for him?  Satan offered his services, but Jesus with  scriptural authority, dismissed him.  "No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily." John 10:18.  Does that sound like the basis for an insanity plea, well, YES!  Not that he was looking forward to the cruel cross, but being one with the Father, he knew it was the only acceptable course.  God could have used someone or something else, but he didn't, remember it was his mind in Jesus, and his blood that flowed through his veins. He choose to prove his love, by paying the debt and sacrificing himself! 

I'll be honest, I don't understand it all, and I sure don't have all the answers,but I have faith.  Everyone of us puts faith in all kinds of thing we don't fully comprehend.  I eat food that I didn't grow, could I get sick, sure, but I trust the producers.  I'm getting on a Boeing 777 and flying 3500 miles to London, and yet I can't tell you exactly why that humongous craft stays in the air, but I trust that the pilot and engineers know. We put ourselves in life and death situations on a daily basis.  Heck, just driving my Toyota takes a certain amount of faith.  To be honest, I haven't studied up on about any of these examples, I blindly trust.  Is that intelligent?  Probably not,  my faith in them is based on the reports of others, some blind like I am, and some informed.  The point is, I've studied way more about Christianity than I have aeronautics, and I still don't understand it all, but I have faith that God does, so I choose to believe.  Just like getting on that airplane, I trust that God will get me to my final destination.  And let's not forget, Jesus may have died on that cross, but he didn't remain in the grave.  There in, for me, is all the proof I need.  

That outstanding debt is now paid in full, removed once and for all for those who put their faith in  that shed blood, no matter how cruel, unjust or pervy it may sound.  I can't change anyone's mind, that's God's area of expertise, and crazy as it may seem to those looking in, I choose to trust his method. 

"For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus27Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. Romans 3:22-28.