The Burn of the Words of Christ

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”   (Luke 24:32).

Have you discovered what these men have as they walked along the road with the risen Jesus Christ?  I love Luke chapter 24; it unveils, not only the resurrection of our Lord, but a mysterious drivenness that Jesus orchestrates in the hearts of men with just a few words.  Few people in this life can cause others to stop and evaluate where they are and turn towards some direction with power and passion.  THIS is what Jesus drew out of these two disciples as he revealed what Moses and the prophets had proclaimed centuries before – PASSION.  DRIVE.  

I love to put myself into the shoes of these men…

They had seen events that they never believed they would, the death of their great teacher and master who they KNOW is dead, but the mystery now remains as to where his body must be.  They know they and their fellowship of disciples had not taken the body.  Nor could it be Judas Iscariot, he was found gruesomely hanging from a tree jutting out over Potters Field.  Peter and John couldn’t have done it, they ran to the grave themselves and discovered only the clothing and the napkin there, and were just as shocked as the women who discovered the empty tomb.  Then there was this “angel” business these women spoke of.  Is Mary hallucinating in her grief?  Could she have seen a ghost?  What do these things mean?

A stranger approaches and inquires what they are talking about, and they fill Him in on all the news of Jerusalem, questioning whether or not he’s been hiding in a cave to not hear of these strange happenings.  And this stranger begins to speak of the things of old, the prophets and Moses!  He intricately and carefully begins to fit the events of their missing Lord’s life into the prophesies of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.  Pieces begin to fall into place like a jigsaw puzzle and their hearts begin to burn.  The prophets spoke not just of deliverance from oppressive governments like the Babylonian or Roman Empires, but spoke of deliverance from sin and death!  Man’s way isn’t God’s Way!  EMMANUEL MEANS “GOD WITH US – JESUS!”  Though this man has such vast knowledge of the scripture, it still has not dawned on them they are walking and talking with their Lord.  But can’t you see the look on their faces as he speaks?  The lights coming on over their heads?  The goosebumps rising on their skin?  And then, as the stranger begins to leave off from them, they invite Him in to their home and as He speaks to the Father, blessing the bread, Jesus Christ their Lord is revealed!  Unfortunately, He disappears as quickly as they recognize Him.  They turn to eachother, knowing the other has never felt so alive, and so full of purpose, their hearts BURN within them!

When was the last time you felt alive?  Full of purpose?  I remember the first time I made a true decision for God, it WASN’T when I was saved, it was a decision based on being sick of myself and who I’d become.  Nothing else had worked for me, but I knew that God had promised in His Word that if I draw near to Him, He would draw near to me.  That if I searched for Him with all my heart, I would find Him.  So I decided to test Him, to truly throw my heart into Him.  And that decision (as far as I knew then) meant attending church and serving faithfully, and also reading His Word.  I would start there….I would believe Him that much…I would draw near to Him (the only way I really knew how then), and Jesus drew near, not revealed immediately, but He was there, and when He was recognized, as my Lord, my Savior, I was set on FIRE and haven’t been the same since.

 

   

When Peter Forgot Worship

Yesterday on the way to work, I heard the song “Voice of Truth” by Casting Crowns.  It reminded me of a time when the movie “Facing the Giants” had first come out.  The ideas both the movie and the song conveys helped me to meditate on Peter, as he stepped out of the boat towards the Lord Jesus Christ amidst a storm.  Isn’t it amazing how we can hear a sermon or a Sunday school lesson so many times but never get the point?  God uses Life experiences to drive home the lessons that will make us just a smidge more like Jesus.  Come to think of it, that’s how Jesus taught His disciples…through real life experiences, but that’s for another blog.

There are situations we dread aren’t there?  Situations come up in life that we fear, or that make us nervous, or we would just rather not face altogether.  These experiences may not always be the same for everyone.  Me admitting to my boss that I jacked a project up scares me to death, but to another person, admitting mistakes to their boss might just be another part of their job.  I hated the feeling of cowardice I felt when friends or family pressured me to ride an amusement park roller coaster; but someone else might just blow off the jeers and teasing and go ride the Himalaya without a second thought.  In Matthew 14:22-33, Peter and the apostles of Christ were all facing something they’d rather not deal with – a storm which threatened to sink them.

I tried to put myself into Peter’s sandals as wave after wave crashed into their boat, threatening to sink them.  Perhaps he is doing his best to secure a sail when he looks up and sees what he believes must be a ghost coming toward the boat on the surface of tempest waves.  Then the ghost shouts over the waves, “Do not be afraid!  It’s me, Jesus!” 

I don’t imagine Peter believed this at first, but he had seen great things from Jesus before.  Back on the shore he had just witnessed and helped Jesus Christ feed at least 5000 people with two fishes and 5 loaves of bread, he had never expected this miracle as he began to pass his basket of fish or bread on to the next hungry person, and the next, and the next, until he finally lost count and the laws of supply and demand were completely defied.  If Christ could do that, surely he could walk on water.  Peter decided it was worth his life to see if it truly was Jesus; he would rather be with Jesus, his master and teacher who he loved, then be in this boat, afraid of sinking.  “Lord!  If it really is you!  Tell me to come to you!”

“Come!”  Christ commanded.

Peter is thrilled!  It is the Lord!  I must be with Him, I must go to Him now!  He throws a leg over the stern of the boat and feels solidity under his toes.  He throws the other leg over and lands flat footed on a foamy wave dissipating into a larger sea.  His eyes fix on Jesus, and he begins to walk, one foot in front of the other into the darkness where only Jesus is. 

Peter’s teacher is out there, making this possible.  He is waiting for Peter to take his hand in fellowship, loving Peter so much because Peter trusted him enough to do the impossible – walk on water – just to be with Him.  Peter is worshiping God through this act of faith.

Then perhaps a wave slaps Peter in the face - cold, wet, and shocking - and he begins to examine his surroundings, looking distracted.  Peter looks down at his feet, among waves of darkness, he looks back and sees the boat which is being tossed like a toy in the water, waves continue to slap his body and fear suddenly grips his heart. Peter realizes he is no longer standing, he is sinking!  And like so many of us do when we realize we are in over our heads (whether we believe in God or not), Peter screams  ”Save me, Lord!”

And Jesus is there…

What would have happened if Peter would have made it to Christ, undistracted by the chaos about him and just desiring the satisfaction, pleasure and glory of Jesus?  We may never understand what we do so many times in our frantic attempt to observe and solve our problematic situations (or ordinary everyday situations for that matter).  We would be so much better off if we would just seek the solutions through the heart of our God; look for His pleasure because He is God and He loves us, and just wants our love in return.  What would happen if we found a solution and asked ourselves, “Would this please Jesus?  Is there another solution that would please Jesus even more?”  This glorifies Jesus, this magnifies His greatness:  When we take what seems big to us, and make it small through our love (our worship) for our bigger God.

 

 

Worship – Who Has the Time?

Wake up late, fix pot of coffee, go pray, get coffee, read bible,  take a shower, get dressed, shave – no, there’s no more time, and I could probably go one more day anyway, eat bran flakes, brush my teeth, grab the rest of the coffee, grab Bible, journal and book (just in case there’s more time later) and head out the door to drop the kids off by 8:10 am so I can be at work by 8:25, my truck time, not the time clock time, because it’s usually 3 minutes fast.  “Whew,” made it.  So far this hasn’t been a bad day, the only thing that would’ve made it a little better would have been waking up earlier so I could pray and read the bible longer.  Scarcely would I think anything to be missing in this fine morning (this type of morning which happens A LOT).

For anyone who has seen the movie “One Night with the King,” you would probably be interested in the book “Finding Favor with the King” by Tommy Tenney, also author of the “God Chasers” series which I heard was great, though not necessarily my style.  Like the movie, this book is based on the biblical scripture of Esther, a story of a young Jewish girl who was taken and forced into a beauty pageant of sorts for the hand of King Xerxes of Babylon (and Queen of his kingdom).  She took a bad situation that she wasn’t able to escape and made the best of it, winning Xerxes heart and eventually becoming the salvation of the Jewish race.  Tommy breaks this story down into detailed principles and gives lessons which ultimately teach us how we should worship the King of Kings as Esther worshiped her would be husband and King.

I never knew there were so many lessons in the book of Esther.  Though many very good principles, which could be preconceived opinions of the author rather than biblical fact, the basic premise is that we must worship the King for who He is.  The King of Kings is looking for those who love HIM; rather than His royalty, His riches and His blessing. 

I think so many times we get so busy that we do things just because we’ve always done them.  Even “church stuff” like reading our bibles, attending Sunday worship services, praying, singing with raised hands are often for us to satisfy OUR spiritual taste buds for the week, check off our church checklist and move on to whatever is next on the agenda.  Very seldom do we consider that God has this crazy idea that church is for HIM.  We are for HIM.  Mission work is for HIM.  Reading our bibles is for HIM.  It is He who is glorified when we start to do things just because we love Him.  

In the Bible we see the church as Christ’s bride.  I love my bride.  She is my wife, my love, my beloved.  I love to do things for her just because of that love I have for her.  I also love when she does things for me just because too.  In fact, I love her most when she honors me with her actions, it could be anything (cleaning my truck, rubbing my back, saving her money to buy the best grill she could find, etc) I would give her the world when she seemingly does nothing except for the sheer fact that she loves me.  So too should we do just because we love our Lord.  On the other hand, if my wife comes in and showers me with kisses every time she sees me just to grab some money from my wallet so she can go blow it on whatever (kind of like we do when we do our daily bible reading and pray just so we can hopefully cash in on His blessings) I would be deeply disappointed, and probably even feel a bit used.  Now I’m sure my wife would never admit to using me in this way (would we admit it to God?), but facts are still facts, especially if it happens on a consistent basis. 

How many times do we run to God when we get ourselves into trouble or need some kind of boost in confidence?  When was the last time we loved God just because He is who He is?  He is the church’s husband, maybe the church should start acting like a good wife instead of an adulteress who only comes home when she wants something.  Maybe we should give God something of our time like devotions FOR Him, instead of doing our devotions for getting FROM Him?  Think about it.

Banjara For Christ 2007-2008 (Day 8)

Our teaching sessions ended this evening.  I almost hated for them too, the lessons I mean.  I’ve had so much fun teaching the Pastors of Banjara.  They are so attentive to what I have to say.  To what we ALL have had to say.

Steve has taught all his lessons on church planting, and they are not what a person might expect.  I know I was surprized at what he is teaching; though I don’t know why, all he taught we’ve discussed before.  I guess I had just forgotten what I once had learned.  Steve taught starting churches “the Master’s Way.”  Through a “person of peace” and then after that, theach them to observe those things that I was teaching about, disciplines through the wheel. 

“The Master’s Way” of discipleship is what we called my portion of lessons.  These were ALL methods in which Jesus showed his disciples during his time with them on earth.  Taking in the Word, praying, fellowship, and witnessing centered around the person of Jesus Christ.  All of these of course come after we surrender our lives to Him.  I went through a wheel illustration made up by Dawson Trotman, teaching the four very basic disciplines that every follower of Christ should have.

Richard’s been teaching personal evangelism, “witnessing the Master’s Way.”  He showed us how to use the Ten Commandments as a school master to show us our sin and how to use tracts as a witnessing tool.  He was nervous, but he did just great…I was nervous too.  We found that most of our lessons came across really well any time we involved the men in our exercises in a role playing fashion.  They played in skits, they drew pictures, they laughed and at one point I cried.  Once I had 5 of them laying in the floor piled on top of eachother to tell a parable Jesus taught about prayer.  These times were so precious and the Lord provided so much to say.  I can’t express my joy at these new and old friends we have made.  They are so open and honest and lively.  I love their culture.

Tonight was a night for singing and dancing.  Steve got some of it on video.  It was a lot of fun.

We just finished dinner with a Catholic priest who owns the hostel we’ve been staying in.  It was a fine meal but our normal Indian friends were not around.  Tomorrow we get to sleep in, which is a blessing, and then we have one last service to say farewell and then we are heading home.  I’m ready.

Banjara For Christ 2007-2008 (Day 5)

Today is the last day of preaching in the villages (thandas).  It’s also Sunday, which means worship services will be going on.  Lisa and I stop with our group to preach in a thanda before going to a church service.  An old Banjara friend of ours is pastoring the church we visited.  I met Pastor Baloo Naik in Khammum last time we came to India.  It thrills my heart to know this man is still following the Lord, and his congregation is growing.  I asked our interpreter on the way to the service how many people he was expecting.  He said only a few, there weren’t too many believers out there; but when we turned the corner and saw at least 30 people sitting waiting for us, he said “Oh!  There are many Banjara believers in this area!” 

The church service went great.  Anand, our interpreter who has informed us his name means “Happy” in Hindi, explained to us that “where two or three are gathered together” there the Lord is with them.  So these 30 men and women, began to pray, very loudly, all at the same time.  Some shouted, some whispered, some chanted, but there was no doubt that the Lord would be there.  Later I heard someone from our mission trip say about the experience that it might have been what God hears when he listens to all of us pray.  It was wonderful to see them taking the scripture so literally.  A Banjara woman evangelist gave a long testimony after that, and then I preached to them…I gave my “3rd spoke” lesson a trial run and found that the lesson on fellowship was a pretty clear message.  People understood it and appreciated it.  Not that I was the one who put this together.  The Lord did that.  I sometimes forget that it’s through Him that a message is communicated. 

Pastor Baloo and his wife were so sweet to us.  After the service they provided a bed for us to sit on and rest for a few minutes before they took us inside their home to pray.  Then we went to their church building which seemed so small for the size of the congregation that had gathered today.  The size of that room couldn’t have been any bigger than the bathroom we had back at the hostel.

I tried to call Karen again tonight, again she didn’t answer.  I wondered where she was and looked at my watch to realize I’m 12 hours ahead of her, it’s 9:45 AM back home, she’s in church!  Duh…it’s Sunday for her and the boys right now and they are in Sunday school.  She’s a good wife.  I miss her and the boys very much but also realize my wife is capable of handling just about anything, so I don’t worry.

During our share service tonight I found there were about 6 or 7 people who came to know the Lord in thandas today.  It’s always hard for me to tell.  Nageesh, a huge Indian pastor who I got to know some last year, kept track of names of those who were new believers.  They do this so they can go back and follow-up and feed the new born Christians.  Note for myself next time though – ASK how many are coming to know the Lord and keep track throughout the days we’re preaching.  Write it down even.  Damodar is asking the Americans how many were saved and I’m finding I have no clue who’s accepting the Lord and who’s not.  The very presence of Damodar seems to be one of a gentle nature but also one of respect and authority.  I almost felt ashamed that I didn’t know how many were saved just because I respect the guy so much.  I’ll make sure and know the the next time I come.

Why ask “Why”?

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.

2 Corinthians 13:5

“Why ask why?”  Because it could be the most important question you ask in life.  As I’ve tried to share in my testimony, I grew up in church.  There was always so much “do and do not” I very rarely asked why I was doing and not doing.  Before too long, I got the right “dos” and I got approval.  I loved it!  Approval from parents, family and friends.  I loved being a good kid, so I continued doing the right thing.  My intentions were not to be doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, but somehow, life just turned out that way.  About two years ago, I started getting convicted everytime I heard or read (later I just ended up dwelling on) the scripture Matthew 7:21-23.  By that scripture I realized that you can be in Heaven and still be rejected by the Lord and be SURPRIZED about it!  I began to wonder if I was one of those who the Lord would reject, saying He never knew me.  I imagined myself, standing there, saying, “I’ve done so much for you Lord.”  And the Lord saying, “depart from me, I never knew you.”  I had to examine myself, my heart, my motives, and I realized that none of what I had ever done (no matter who thought what I did was good) was ever for the Lord, it was for me.  I made myself the “hub” of the Christian wheel.  I realized, quite suddenly that the “why” I was doing things was so much more important than WHAT I was doing and how I was doing things.  Doing the right thing just because it was the right thing was no longer right.  I was a pharisee, a hypocrite, and I would have died and went to hell had I had an accident that night.  At that moment, driving home from work, I asked the Lord to please save me, please forgive my empty, petty, motives for “doing right” in life and to please help me from that point on, and to finally, once and for all, be my Lord.  Wherever He leads, I’ll follow.

I ask these questions because I went through them in life myself:  Did someone tell you, “all you have to do is say this prayer and you’ll go to Heaven?”  Did you get saved at a church camp maybe or at a church alter when you went to the front and said a prayer because your friends or family were around and they wanted you to “accept Jesus into your heart”?  Did you make some kind of emotional decision?  Maybe you should examine yourself too?  I did, and I have no doubts who my Lord is, and I think if more Christians would see Jesus as Lord and “examine themselves” they’d finally start seeing themselves as God wants them too.  Truthfully, honestly, in need of Him. 

The Wheel Part 1 “Christ the Hub”

We’ve heard it before….

“It is absolutely essential that Christ is the center of our lives.”  Yes, we know that, we acknowledge it, we may even say it is the absolute essential truth in our lives…but do we believe it?  I read a quote from TallyHo, the Fox! by Herb Hodges not long ago, it simply stated “you behave what you believe.”  Think about it.  You believe a semi truck is going to kill you when you stand on the freeway - what do you do?  You move off the freeway!  Life is the same way, even in all it’s subtleties.  The question is, what’s your motivation?  What keeps your wheel rolling?  What or rather, ”who” is the hub of your wheel?  Is your hub Jesus Christ?

My first car was a 1981 Buick Regal.  I drove that car for years, I wrecked it 2 or 3 times, nearly turned it on its side; it refused to die!  It was far from perfect condition before I was though with it.  In fact, one of the imperfections, was a faulty wheel.  There were several times I was told by family and friends that the wheel appeared to “wobble” as I drove down the road, and it wasn’t just when I was speeding down the highway, it “wobbled” as I pulled out of the drive!  What was the problem?  The wheel wasn’t centered on the hub.  A couple of lugnuts were missing and caused the tire to be WAY off where it should’ve been.  I was lucky I didn’t kill myself driving around like that.  Such is the Christian life if it is not “centered” or ”mounted and balanced” on Jesus Christ himself.

Paul said, “For me to live IS Christ….” (Philippians 1:21)  What did he mean?  Every single day of his life, every moment of his life was built around and for Jesus!  What he ate depended on the grace of Christ (Paul was a devout Jew who enjoyed a ham sandwich with Gentile convert buddies).  When he chastised His disciples, it was for Christ.  When he was persecuted, beaten, shipwrecked, bitten, stoned and thrown over a cliff it was because of Christ; and Paul couldn’t be happier.  Paul was so devoted to Jesus and the mission that the risen Savior had given him every decision he made was a reflection upon Jesus.  Are we this way?  Is Christ the motivation for our decisions?  Do we live for His glory?  How can we?  Here’s a few examples in my own life lately….

What time do I go to bed?  Ouch, well, lately it hasn’t been so great, but I’m working on it.  I’m kind of convicted about it.  Why you ask?  Because when I go to bed at midnight thirty, I am NOT going to wake up at 6:30am to have my quiet time with the Lord.  That’s soooo important in my life as a Christian who loves Christ.

What do I eat?  Whether we like it or not, food effects mood.  Eat junk food, you don’t feel as well, you are tired, and more often than not, easily pushed over the edge.  All I need is to offend someone who knows I’m a Christian and there goes my testimony…and possibly other Christians as well…and what in the world does that say about Jesus.

What do I talk about?  My neighbor?  My things?  Whoa, I HAVE TO KEEP A BRIDLE ON MY TONGUE!  That’s not always an easy thing to do, (especially when you are tired and unaware of what you are saying…do you get the picture I’m not a morning person?) 

All of these, as well as several others, are decisions that can be made because to live IS Christ!  I think throughout the week I will share some daily examples of how I made decisions because I endeavor for Jesus to be my “hub”.  I encourage all who read to leave some comments on how they have made decisions because Christ is their hub.  Little decisions, or big ones, doesn’t matter.  I look forward to hearing all who will contribute.

 God bless.