Thinking in 3’s: Luke 11:9-10 - Ask, Seek, Knock (1)

Thinking in  3’s: Luke 11:9-10 - Ask, Seek, Knock (1)

Luke 11:9   “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 

These are familiar verses. They are more practical than theoretical, but let’s try to make them even more practical.

What is involved in asking? 

1. Something desired worth asking for
2. Access to the One worth asking
3. Willingness to be a supplicant

What should I ask for? Is there anything in my heart that I cannot already accomplish myself? Have I been still enough, though enough, to be able to frame a request as it should be? We tend not to be very good at this. The Holy Spirit has this specific ministry, of helping us to pray when we don’t know what to say. Be quiet, and ask, for what should I ask.

Do you have access to God who alone can answer our requests? Access is available through faith in Christ. That is foundational. But it is not the end of the question. Are we living in relationship with God in such a way that there is ready communication between you and Him? Is there an obstacle, an offense that must be addressed and cleared to open fellowship with Him? This may require a re-ordering of attitudes, behaviors, and priorities. When we are estranged from God, access is hindered.

Am I too self-sufficient to ask? Am I too proud to ask? Have I adopted the attitude that God, who knows all, should know what I need or want without me having to tell Him. All of these are an indication of an un-willingness to be a supplicant, an ask-er.

We do these things because God has ordained that we should do them. This is the system that He has established. He wants us to be personally involved, and to be asking, seeking, and knocking. The promise is sure to those who obey. The promise is not promised to those who refuse to obey.

So what is involved in asking? Actually asking. Think about it. Write it out, and submit it to some examination. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide and correct. Remind yourself of the greatness, and grace of God; His majesty and mercy. Examine your life and attitude. Think about your walk with God. Draw close to Him. Humble yourself before Him, and ask.

What Stays the Same when Everything’s Changed?

It only seems as though everything has changed. Otherwise, the question in the title doesn’t even make sense. Is there anything that stays the same? You already know the answer to that, but we’ll get to that at the bottom.

Some things have changed for the good. Different people will have differing view of this. Some have mentioned appreciating the time spent at home with family, and the inability to run kids to activities 6 days a week. I have found that the disappearance of college and pro sports has been a blessing, and think that I should ignore it in the future, even when it comes back. I also don’t miss seeing the “rich and famous” travelling, preening for cameras, and pontificating.  

Many of us are spending more time in our Bibles. That’s a good thing. Many are spending more time reading. I hope we are reading good things. Many are watching more TV shows and movies. I haven’t. I’ve decided that these things don’t help my soul. They do more damage than good. Not everything is bad, but it sure seems to me that you have to dig through a lot of garbage to find anything good.

But I miss seeing people, and it makes me regret not spending more time physically present with people when we were free to do so. And, I expect that many of us will purpose to do more of this in the future. Nothing beats face-to-face. I miss church gatherings. I miss the children’s Sunday school class. I miss the W. Hickory and American House; Men of Action and Wednesday nights.

So what stays the same? Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” God has not changed, and His purposes have not changed. God’s plan that centers in Christ does not now have to resort to Plan B because of a pandemic. In God’s providence, He has allowed this, and He is perfectly capable of accomplishing many of His purposes through this experience.

And so, one last question. It’s implied in the title: what stays the same when everything’s changed? This last questions is this: “will you stay the same, or will you change?" I think the answer for Christians is “yes” to both. In areas of faith, we must stay the same. And, by God’s grace, we will also learn and change.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace,” (Hebrews 13:8–9 NAS95)

Mark 10:35-45 In Search of Greatness

In our last section, we saw how Jesus was focusing specifically on the cross. The disciples couldn’t fathom it; they refused to hear it. And this section proves it.

I have never thought of James and John, brothers who were formerly fishermen, to be notably ambitious. But they show some ambition here. “Jesus, grant that we may sit, one on Your right hand and one on your left, in Your glory.” 

They desire to bypass the cross, and go straight to the glory. And that’s what we all want, isn’t it. We want Jesus to bless our life now, as it stands, and then even better later. But the disciples at this point, as followers of Jesus, were tasked with following Jesus. That is, they were supposed to follow Him to Jerusalem, and they were to follow Him to the trial, and they were follow Him to the cross. They did not. They abandoned Him. 

It is difficult for us to catch what this means today. As followers of Jesus, we are not to seek greatness, but to be servants (the word “slaves” is probably more accurate). We are not to seek our own, because we are not our own. We are bound by another, and our calling is to serve. We are not to make a name for ourselves, but we are to make the name of Christ known. We are not to seek to be first in line, but rather to continually give our place to others.

The other disciples were disgusted with James and John because they asked first. It was not because they were committed to the cruciform life, and were disappointed that James and John were not. No, they were all dreaming of being in the King’s court, and were frustrated that they did not have Jesus’ ear at this moment in place of James and John.

Jesus is not commending one group of disciples over the other. He is seeking to teach them all, that the Christian life is not to be lived in search of greatness. And so He does not use any particular disciple as the good example. He can only use Himself.

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45 NAS95)

Here is the King, granted, a very different kind of King. He will not be served, because He is here to serve. His service will take on a particular character. It is not merely doing nice things for people and making them feel better about themselves. Rather, this service has more to do with getting to the heart of the matter; with dealing with their deepest problem and need. And so He says that He came “to give His life a ransom for many.” “To give His life” means just that, to give up His life. He is willing to die for people like us, and in fact He did.

Thinking in 3’s: Psalm 145:3 An Adjective; an Adverb; and a Noun

Thinking in 3’s: Psalm 145:3 - An Adjective; an Adverb; and a Noun

Psa. 145:3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,

and his greatness is unsearchable.

It is good for us to think about the greatness of God. One of the benefits is to resist our natural (sinful?) tendency to whittle God down to our size. We like to imagine that He is a lot like us. But no, He is great.

The other benefit is that it reminds us of our smallness. As this psalm goes on to demonstrate the greatness of God, it does so by showing His thoughtfulness and tenderness to those who are small, to “all who are falling,” and “all who are bowed down” (v.14).

But back to verse 3! First, God is described, with an adjective. God is great, or, as it reads in our text, “Great is the Lord.” All that is packed into that word, “great,” would take a lifetime to draw out. But what is not allowed by this word is to ascribe anything to God that is un-great. That would be a contradiction of terms. God is great.

So how then should this great God be praised? Well, with an adverb. He is “greatly to be praised.” The problem, then, for us, is that we are too small, too small-minded to praise God greatly. We are more apt to praise Him small-ly, pitifully. And so, when God established in very material ways the order of His worship for His people, the Israelites, He was careful to give great detail so that they would worship Him properly and well. And yet, even then, they did not always worship Him “greatly.” Oftentimes, they were very selfish (“what’s in it for me?”).

Thankfully, God is His grace has given us help from above in order to praise Him greatly. His Holy Spirit is our companion and enablement, provided through faith in Jesus, to help us worship greatly. We couldn’t do it without Him.

Finally, we have a noun. Greatness. It’s a thing, or better, an idea. It’s real, though it’s rare. In fact, in the sense used in this verse, this kind of greatness can only be found in one place: in God. And therefore, if anyone does not know God, he cannot know greatness. Oh, I know that there are different standards of greatness, for instance, soccer players who achieve greatness. But that falls so far short of what we are talking about, a different word should really be used. Greatness is found in God, in God alone, and our lives are very poor if we do not find that greatness in Him.

Mark 10:32-34 Hearing what We Want to Hear

Mark 10:32   They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, ³³ saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴ “They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”

Jesus speaks in this paragraph with amazing clarity and specificity. He speaks, not to a huge crowd, but gathers around Him just the Twelve. He is speaking to a small group. They can all hear him. They can ask questions (but, no questions are recorded). 

He tells them exactly what is happening, and what is going to happen. Where are we going? To Jerusalem. What is going to happen? The Son of Man is going to be handed over (delivered, used often in judicial settings) to the chief priests, and then to the Romans, or Gentiles. The Jewish leaders will condemn Him.  The Gentiles will mock, spit, scourge, and kill. Then, this Son of Man would rise again. When would that happen? Three days later. 

The next paragraph, that we will treat separately, proves that the disciples did not hear what Jesus was saying. The only confusing question that I can imagine for why this did not penetrate the thinking of the disciples is the identity of the Son of Man. To whom is this going to happen? Does this Son of Man refer to Jesus, or to someone else? Could they have been confused about this?

The answer, I believe, is “no.” The first reference to Son of Man in this Gospel is 

Mark 2:10 “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” — He *said to the paralytic, … “Get up.”

Jesus is teaching in a house, and friends lower this “paralytic” on a bed, down through the roof, since all other access to Jesus is blocked. Jesus says to the man, “Your sins are forgiven you,” and, of course, the religious leaders object, because only God can forgive sins. And Jesus says for the man to get up, and he does. 

Jesus’ explanation for his words are for a purpose, “so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Now, the disciples were there, and it seems that there could be no mistaking that it was He, Jesus, who made the statement about forgiving sins, and who healed the man, and who, then, made the reference to the Son of Man doing the very action that He Himself had just enacted. No I don’t think the disciples were confused.

I think the problem is that we hear what we want to hear. Or, perhaps more importantly, we don’t hear what we don’t want to hear. There is a huge subjective element to our hearing. There is nothing wrong with the speaker. There is nothing wrong with our eardrums. It is our brains, our minds and hearts, that filter out what doesn’t set will with our desires.

It seems that the appropriate prayer is that God would help us (cause us) to heed even that which we don’t want to hear.

Mark 10:17-31 With Whom are we Most Disappointed?

The story of “the rich, young ruler” is one of the most familiar in the Bible. It seems not to be a parable, but a real story with a real character who comes to Jesus with a most important question: “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 

The question sounds good on its face. Not so much when we really think about it. We inherit from our parents. What shall I do to inherit? Well, being born into the family is not so much your doing as theirs (though they surely didn’t know what they were going to get when they got you). And, the actual act of inheritance, as opposed to the right of inheritance, depends on the death of your parents. And so what do you do? Well, you can wait it out - the usual, moral approach. Or, you can do the immoral if you really want to speed things up.

It’s really not a question of “doing” at all, which Jesus exposes by his reference to the commandments. He then to mentions several of the 10 commandments explicitly, #’s 6, 7, 8, 9; then the command “do not defraud,” which is not formally part of the 10 commandments; and then Jesus jumps back to #5. The young man says, “all these I have kept from my youth up.”

Really? In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he addresses the more far-reaching implications of several of these commandments. Have you ever hated someone, and been hateful toward them? Then you are guilty of murder. Have you ever looked at another person with lust, so that you desired to use them for your own purposes? You are guilty of adultery. Have you ever stolen, whether something material, or immaterial - as in stealing credit that belongs to someone else, or stealing glory that belongs to God? Then you are guilty. (This last case, concerning stealing, is not part of the Sermon. But I think my interpretation of the far-reaching implications accords with what Jesus did with “murder” and “adultery”.)

The young man says, “All these things I have kept,” meaning he has carefully guarded each of these things. But has he? Has anyone really kept all these things. Psalm 143:2 admits “for no one living is righteous before you.” It seems that in this instance, the young man has broken the 9th command concerning bearing false witness, with reference to himself!

So then Jesus challenges him to divest himself of his possessions and follow Him. This invitation calls into question the young man’s commitment to obey the 10th command, which so far has not been mentioned: “Thou shall not covet.” And the young man leaves, saddened, disheartened, disappointed, “for he was one who owned much property.”

My question for application is this: With whom was he most disappointed? I am quite sure he should have been most disappointed in himself. I suspect he was rather more disappointed in Jesus. He confuses two very important thing. We often question whether or not God meets our expectations. Instead, we should ask if we meet His. And if not, and we certainly do not, then, then we ask, “How shall I inherit eternal life?” And the answer is not, “what shall I do?”, but rather, recognize what God has done in Christ to make this possible, and then, humbly ask how it is that you might begin to follow Him. (Hint: the apostles made it quite clear: repentance and faith.)

Thinking in 3's: Psalm 119:161-168

Thinking in 3's: Love, Love, and Love

This is another "3" that I found in Psalm 119, this in the next to last section of this long psalm. The psalmist affirms his love for God's Word three times.

Let me offer just a note about how I see "covenantal shift" happening in the Bible. As we read the Psalms, Jesus has not yet appeared on the scene. His coming has been predicted in a number of ways in many Old Testament passages, but these readers have not yet seen Jesus, the Living Word.

And so, for followers of Jesus, in at least some important ways, Jesus the Living Word is the the One whom we love. Yes, we continue to "love Your law," and the Old Testament text is not out-dated or discarded - but in a more full sense, we have a relationship, not with a book, but with a Person. It makes me want to sing along with the children: "Oh, how I love Jesus, because He first loved me."

Verse 163 says: "I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law." This world is full of lies and liars. Even people who intend to tell the truth do not have all the facts, and so their good intention-ed statements still end up being lies. Further, many in our world intentionally mislead for evil ends. But God is not like that. His Word is not like that. And we love Him, and His Word for it.

Verse 165 says: "Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble." We find in this second reference to "love" the benefit of loving God's Word: peace and stability. We can infer from this that those who do not love God's Word, and thus live according to it, rob themselves of peace and stability in their lives. Many people wonder at their lack of peace when the reason for it is quite obvious. We tend to look for it in all the wrong places.

Verse 167 says: "My soul keeps your testimonies; I love them exceedingly." This kind of love does not come to us naturally. The Spirit of God is required if anyone is to love God exceedingly; to love Jesus exceedingly; to love His Word exceedingly. We cannot do it on our own. To really grab hold of God, and to be grabbed hold of by His Word, requires the Spirit's acting. And how does this happen? Only through faith in Christ. Apart from Christ, we cannot know God, and apart from Christ, we cannot receive the benefit of the Spirit. 

And so, finally, come to Christ; and love God's Word.

Thinking in 3's: Psalm 119:153-160

Thinking in 3's: "Give me life"

Three references occur in this 8-verse section of the Bible's longest chapter: "Give me life." These references may have a physical aspect to them, but the life that is most clearly in focus is spiritual life. We all face the prospect of physical death until Jesus comes again, but the promise of eternal life is directly tied to the possession of spiritual life that is freely given by God.

Each "give me life" is followed by "according to."

1. Psalm 119:154 "Give me life according to your promise." This is the only way that we receive this life: by faith in in the promise of God. This is so different than "life according to prediction." It is not "life according to actuarial table." Notice the phrase from Titus 1:2: "in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago." 

2. Psalm 119:156 "Give me life according to your rules." When we receive the gift of eternal life from God, it is not merely a gift that stays in storage until it's needed at physical death. We experience the blessings of that life right now. Things like divine provision and protection; peace and contentment; joy and purpose. These are experienced, according to the promise of God, but also according to our walking in His ways: "according to your rules." We receive eternal life as a gift. We can forfeit immediate blessings by wandering away from God. "Give me life according to your rules."

3. Psalm 119:159 "Give me life according to your steadfast love." Ultimately and finally; at the beginning of each new day and at the end of one that's just been used up - this life, eternal life, depends, not upon me, but upon God who is rich in mercy and grace. My life is dependent, not upon my love, but God's; not upon my faithfulness, but God's; not upon my good intentions, but on God's unchangeable promise. 

Praise God for the gift of life, that blows open the definition of life as biological existence; that guarantees a forever-fellowship with Him and His kingdom; and that invades our present lives even today, even at this moment, and makes us glad.

Thinking in 3's: Psalm 119:145-147

Psa. 119:145 With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD!

I will keep your statutes.

146  I call to you; save me,

that I may observe your testimonies.

147  I rise before dawn and cry for help;

I hope in your words.

As we seek to walk with the Lord, we must beware of those "besetting sins." And, true, they must be dealt with. But those sins are but an expression of a larger, unhealthy condition. Perhaps a part of that condition has to do with a neglect on our part to regularly "cry" or "call" to the Lord in prayer for specific help with our spiritual infirmities. Three times in these verses, the psalmist "cries" or "calls." He does so to the LORD, to Yahweh, our covenant God; he does so with a whole heart, not half-heartedly; he asks for salvation and help; it's the first thing he does in the morning. Let's do the same. Let's be those who cry out to the Lord.

Social Distancing

 “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” (1 Peter 2:16–17 ESV)

Christianity is, in large part, communal. Therefore, it has a social aspect to it. It is not primarily social, but it certainly is not primarily individualistic. The “love your brother/neighbor” commands help to establish this fact, as well as the many “one-another’s” of the New Testament. And so, in an environment where government officials are advising “social distancing,” we have to think about how to be good citizens while at the same time acting Christianly.

As we would expect, public statements advising “social distancing” have to do with the material and physical. There is a new virus afoot, and they are concerned to slow its spread (see the graphic above) so that the health care system can keep up with needs. As Christians, we also have concern for material and physical needs, but in addition, we place a priority on spiritual needs. 

Out of love for others, we do not want to spread COVID-19 to others. We limit social circulation, and we are especially wary of spreading to the elderly who may be susceptible to more severe cases if they contract the virus. This seems backwards. Normally, as we love others, we move out in order to engage. In this case, out of love, we stay home, we practice social distancing, - but, as Christians, we can still engage.

Christians can pray. We can pray for others. We can pray for the elderly. And it is not, “if you can’t do anything else, pray.” We should always pray, and pray first, often followed by action. Perhaps in this situation we might learn something about the priority of prayer in all cases, whether or not we are able to act.

And Christians can use their phones. Oh, I know, non-believers can use their phones as well. But what if, during this time, we took opportunity to visit via phone with people that we will not currently visit in person. Can I say that I am speaking now of a conversation, and texting is not a conversation? I’m talking about a real phone call, when you converse with someone, and listen, and think, and respond, with your voice. This is not only good pastoral care; it is also good Christian care.

And if you are healthy, check out who in your neighborhood needs supplies that you might be able to pick up. What single parent doesn’t have someone to look in on their kids home from school? And come to church. But only if you’re healthy.

To be Happy, Healthy, and Holy

This triad of “h”-words has no special importance, other than they are easy for me to remember and they have provided me some food for thought. They certainly don’t stack up with “faith, hope and love.”

I’m a little embarrassed about the first word: happy. Good and sour Christians aren’t supposed to think too much about being happy, or so I tend to think. I’ve always been a little bothered about that phrase in the old hymn’s chorus that says: “Trust and Obey, for there’s no other way - to be happy in Jesus - but to trust and obey. Is that really what we are supposed to obey, in order to be happy. It seems a little shallow and self-centered. 

But the math changes when we apply it our offspring. Even Calvinists want their kids and grandkids to be happy. But what do we really want when we want their happiness. The Bible word would be “Blessed.” I hope that’s what we mean. And since the opposite of “blessed” is “cursed,” it seems to be a good thing to want for our kids, and even for ourselves.

We also want health. We know there are strings attached. We know that we can’t eat garbage and also demand that God protect us from heart disease. But we also know that we can eat carefully, exercise diligently, and still be prone to breakdowns of health. What’s more, health is not limited to our bodies, but also our minds and emotions and relationships. So yes, we want to be healthy, and don’t forget about that desire to be happy.

But all is basically lost if one is not holy. Oh, you can be temporarily happy, or healthy, at least superficially so. You can live for today, so long as you don’t allow yourself to think about tomorrow. But it is this “holy” concern that forces us to think about tomorrow, about meeting the One Person who is absolutely holy, and who has placed a demand of holiness upon each of our lives. On that day of accounting, happiness and health will hinge completely on the presence, or absence, of holiness.

And here is the Good News: God gives holiness in His Son, Jesus, who has taken our sin and given us His righteousness. We accept this Great Exchange by faith in Him and in what He has done. What’s more, there is the promise of eternal happiness and health at that time when we see Jesus and are made like Him.

Disruption

“Disruption” is a big word these days. I suppose that there have always been disruptions. Now everything gets talked about more. But perhaps we can think about this word Biblically. God is a God of disruptions.

A disruption is something that interrupts what we regard as normal. If the stock market has been going up for a period of time, we begin to regard that as normal. But if the stock market then goes down, we assume that there has been a disruption. But are we a good judge of what is normal? Not very. But God is - He is a good Judge.

In Genesis 6 when things were going on as normal (or so humans with bad memories and poor perspective so thought), God sent a disruption, called the Flood. It was geologically and globally disruptive. Only 8 individuals were spared. This was a disruption of an unacceptable normal. It was a return to God’s normal - to people living lives centered in the worship of God.

Years later, the people of Israel were getting by, but not so well. They would face enemies and opposition, which they came to regard as normal. But actually, the hardships were “disruptions” sent by God to get their attention, that they might reform their ways. But these local disruptions were followed by big ones: the Assyrian captivity for the northern tribes, and the Babylonian captivity for the southern, and they faced national disruption. God was going to turn their hearts back to Himself. He was bringing them back to normal. But only so far. It was preparatory.

Climactically, God acted to bring about another Disruption: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son.” He sent Jesus into the world, to walk in our shoes, and to die in our place. He placed the sin of the world on His shoulders, and offered forgiveness in Christ. Deep Disruption. Upside-down and Inside-out Disruption. He did all this to make possible a right relationship with Himself - fellowship with God. 

And now the world goes on, many with no consideration of what God has done in Christ, developing theories of what, for each day, is the new normal. There continue to  many more disruptions, but then, predicted in Scripture, a Final Disruption, when Jesus comes again in His glory. Are you ready?

     “For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.” (Revelation 18:8 NAS95)

Mark 10:13-17 Children are Always and Everywhere

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 10:13-17 Children are Always and Everywhere

There may be some areas where children are not allowed. But those are artificial areas, not real life; or, they are areas where the dying go to gather and wait. Otherwise, children are always and everywhere.

This must have been so in Jesus’ day. The culture may have not catered to kids the way we do today. But every time Jesus spoke and crowds gathered, kids must have been present. But they were rarely front and center.

So this passage is remarkable, thought-provoking, and convicting:

Mark 10:13   And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” ¹⁶ And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

There are two key phrases that we need to wrestle with: 

“for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these”

“receive the kingdom of God like a child”

What are the characteristics of children that we need, or, that we have lost? And how is it that a child ‘receives’? I assume that the answers are closely related. I also assume that we can find some clues in how adults had been (not) responding to Jesus. That part is easy to answer.

Adults, especially religious adults (and remember, just about everybody in this culture was religious) had all kinds of arguments and evasions. They would argue about a technicality in order to avoid the obvious. They were often defensive and suspicious. And, things haven’t changed much. Today, adults are much the same way.

On the other hand, children are much less complicated. They can approach a subject, or a person, much more simply. As a child, either you like them, or you don’t. You either come close, or, you run away. You either accept what they say, or get distracted and do something else. 

But there is more. There is also a sense of innocence, not yet ‘graduated’ to suspicion. And wonder. Children have a sense of curiosity. And acceptance. And trust. 

Can children be easily taken in? Yes. And adults will miss an opportunity because of fear and distrust. It seems, when it comes to Jesus, as though we need to be open to that which is not normal; curious enough not to immediately object; will to accept something unfamiliar. And, as we find in the story, there is a blessing in it.

Jesus, the Branch

Of all the titles that are ascribed to Jesus, it does not seem as though “the Branch” is the highest or best. And yet it reveals something to us about the nature of  God’s plan of redemption, and how it is structured.

We have Old Testament texts referring to "the Branch"; references that point to Jesus in the New Testament, who “fleshes out” this image for us. So let’s see what we can learn. 

Isaiah 4:2 says that “In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious.” But “that day” was anything but glorious. The preceding verses show how the people would be stripped of all dignities due to their sins, and that “instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction; Instead of a belt, a rope.” This branch would actually be a shoot, a sucker that grows from the stump of a tree that has been cut down. The house of David appeared to have fallen.

And so this little shoot, which would grow into a great Branch, can be called, in advance of its appearance, “beautiful and glorious.” Those qualities are expanded in Isaiah 11, where the picture is political, and the reigning term seems to be “righteousness,” alongside “wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength.” Take the time to read through Isaiah 11.

But that “beauty and glory” are not even apparent to all in the earthly life of Jesus. While those who were touched by His words and deeds saw something of this, many, in their hardness of heart, did not. Isaiah 53 portrays this theme, where “the root out of parched ground” did not have an “appearance that we should be attracted to him.” We often base our expectations on appearances, and Jesus’ rejection by people made many think that He was “stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” 

But no, He was not stricken and smitten because of Himself, but rather, for us. Read Isaiah 53, and notice the emphasis on what was “ours” borne by “Him.” It is fitting, then, that we find another reference to “Branch” in Jeremiah 33, a new covenant context.

Jesus gave His disciples, and us, a beautiful picture of what the Branch has become. He said in John 15, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” By faith in Christ, we are united to Him, and in that relationship with Him, our lives are enabled and equipped to be fruitful. Apart from Him, lifeless, like the stump of a discarded tree.

Fake Stamps

THE POSTAGE STAMP LOOKS LIKE a postage stamp is supposed to look: white, perforated edges, and part of a circular cancellation mark in the corner. It also has the country and postage clearly printed, though its depiction of the pirate Blackbeard during an attack might be more dramatic than most philatelic subjects. But it’s not a postage stamp, not really, because its country of origin is Sealand—a metal platform about the size of a tennis court, off the English coast. Sealand is one of the quirky, strangely numerous states known as “micronations,” or self-proclaimed polities with no legal recognition. Some of them, to simulate legitimacy or at least make a little money, have issued their own flags, passports, coins, and yes, postage stamps. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/micronation-stamps

Put one of these stamps on your letter, and it will get returned. But we are not primarily concerned about letters and stamps. We are concerned with Christians who live out their faith. The warning in this illustration is that there are some who seem to be “micro-“ Christians; “self-proclaimed” Christians; lacking “legal recognition.” 

The rule is, if you have to put an adjective in front of it, then it is probably not real. There is no such thing as a “micro-“ Christian; nor a “self-proclaimed” Christian. The “legal authority” in this case refers to the only way one becomes a Christian at all: through justification by faith, not of works, by which we are declared righteous by God and accepted into His presence. Without that legal standing, accomplished by Christ, one is not a Christian.

Paul writes to Timothy, and warns him to beware of those who have an appearance of godliness, but in practice, they deny it’s power. They are like fake stamps, treasured by some, but worthless before God. They are not merely empty place-holders, pew-sitters who are unable to contribute to the health of the Body (congregation). They are actually detrimental, in that the Spirit of God is not active within them, and therefore all that they have to offer is resourced from their own selves, or, as the Bible says, from their flesh.

Christians who live out their faith do so by living faithfully according to the Gospel; according to Christ’s death and resurrection; living dead to sin and alive to God. That faithfulness is made possible not by pretending or play-acting, but through the working of the Spirit of God within them, who is forming the character of Christ in their lives. They do not merely look like Christians. They are Christians.

Really, Really

If a TV show is good, we don’t say it’s interesting. We say it’s really interesting. If we have a bad toothache, it’s not just bad. It’s really bad.

The Old Testament of the Bible, written largely in Hebrew, has some interesting ways of intensifying language. It seems a bit more sophisticated than repeatedly using the word really.

One way is to repeat the verb. The first occurrence of this is early in the Bible, in Genesis 2, when God speaks to Adam about not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because, “in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” The rendering “you shall surely die” is actually the repetition of the verb “to die” in two different forms, back to back. It happens often with many different verbs.

Another instance of this same thing is in Jeremiah 7, where Jeremiah is warning the people not to think that they can go on living in sin and yet presume to claim the promises of God as their own. Jeremiah calls on them to “Amend your ways and your deeds.” He goes on to say, “if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, …” then God’s impending judgment will be stayed.

In this case, the rendering “truly amend” is a repetition, as before, of a particular verb in two different forms. But it also something else. It is an intensified form of that verb. This verb in “normal” form would be “to do good.” But in this intensified form, it is “to make to do good.” It is to take charge of the situation in such a way that good comes about. It is not letting good happen. It is making good happen.

“Letting good happen” wasn’t working so well. The people were involved in stealing and lying. Actually, #’s 6-9 of the 10 commandments are mentioned: murder, adultery, stealing, and lying (bearing false witness). Good doesn’t seem to just happen on it’s own. Which is why just letting kids express themselves is a far cry from “train up a child in the way he should go.” After all, they tend to take after their parents.

We are to pray and plan for how we can make good happen. How can I be a good neighbor? It probably won’t happen on it’s own. You need to pray/plan for it. How can I avoid that particularly sticky temptation? It probably won’t happen on it’s own. You need to pray/plan for it. You need to “amend your ways,”  “to make good happen.” Put a prayer/plan to it. Really.

Mark 10:1-12 Marriage is Hard

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 10:1-12 Marriage is Hard

Marriage is hard. Jesus’ teaching about marriage and divorce is hard. Our attempts to explain around His teaching is hard also. So let’s try and make some sense of this.

It seems that the Pharisees already knew that there was a problem here. Moses’ law made a concession for divorce  under certain circumstances, but the ideal has always been in place - marriage between a man and a woman “’til death us do part.” Let’s be clear what this means. Sexual relationship, according to God’s design, is to be practiced only within the marriage relationship. That means that each man and each woman, if they get married, would only have sexual experience with that one person, unless their spouse died and they remarried. This whole experience of multiple partners is far removed from what God designed.

But marriage is hard. Why? The Bible teaches that we are all sinners from birth. So, whether follower of Jesus or not (and God’s design for marriage is for all of humanity, not only for Christians) we are still sinners. Our progress toward holiness is progressive, and nothing exposes one’s selfishness like being married and being called to put the other person first.

Also, divorce comes naturally to us. All of humanity is already divorced from God through Adam’s sin. There has been a fracture, a rupture in that relationship, and only through God’s act of reconciliation in Christ is that divorce resolved. Divorce is not just a “bad” marriage problem; it’s a “bad” humanity problem. We need God. And our marriages need God. And, we need to learn to practice in our marriage relationship what God extends to us in the Gospel.

So marriages are to be characterized by love and sacrificial service for the other person. We are to seek to grow in our ability to understand the soul of the other person. We are to forgive, and forgive, and forgive. We are to pray for one another consistently. We are to want the best for the other, even above what seems to be best for us. Marriage is hard.

Jesus says, “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” Don’t get divorced. That’s a tough one, isn’t it. I think the exception clauses still apply, though not as a necessary action, but as a permission. But the general rule, the reigning principle is: don’t get divorced.

“Don’t get divorced” never made it into the top tier of God’s Law (if that is how you think about the 10 commandments). But any sexual relationship after divorce does make it into that top tier: #7, no adultery. And, adultery, or fornication, is rampant in our world, and total avoidance seems impossible.

Let’s put this in perspective. We are all sinners. Sinners sin. We are not to lie, but we have all deceived ourselves and have attempted to deceive God. We are not to steal, but we have all stolen glory from God as we have tried to put ourselves at the center. We have all loved something more than God, turning it into an idol (the Bible calls this, at times, spiritual adultery). And, we are all divorced, and many people have experienced that divorce not only in their relationship with God, but also in a marriage relationship. And in each of these cases, God offers forgiveness in Christ. 

Two more things. Divorce is different. I can like, repent of my lying, and be a former liar. But if I divorce, I can repent of my divorce, but I may not be able to reconcile, since it depends at least on the willingness of the other person, and so I will continue to be a divorcee, and not free to marry and enjoy marriage relationship. Be careful who you marry, and be careful to stay married.

The last thing is this: the promise of forgiveness in Christ is never to be a license to go ahead and do what you know is displeasing to God, but you will do it anyway because you know that forgiveness is available. That forgiveness is only available, in the first place, to believers, and a person expressing that kind of callous “using” of forgiveness is not demonstrating faith at all, and has no assurance of being a believer.

Did I say marriage is hard? It is humbling. And there are many, many people who have already failed in this area, have proceeded into more areas of difficulty, and who continue to feel the pain of their past and present actions. Here is what the Bible says, to all of us: “God justifies the  ungodly.” It’s people like you, like us, that God reaches out to, as we admit our sinfulness and ours sins, and as we purpose to walk in obedience, starting today, scars and all. The scars don’t disappear, but God’s grace is sufficient.