We walk through the valley, not around it. The Lord is with us right smack in the middle of our trouble.
Psalm 23: I Have All That I Need
Victory Over the Darkness
Experiencing practical victory over the darkness involves identifying the enemies of every Christian. Bob did some sniffing around the Bible to help us know what we are up against and what to do about it.
The Three Big Enemies
The Christian’s struggle is with sin. Sin is present in three dimensions: the “world” (1 John 2:15-17), the “flesh” or “sinful nature” (Ephesians 4:22) and the “devil” (1 Peter 5:8-9).
The “world” in the Bible has a couple of meanings. God loves the world, that is, the cosmos with its creatures and all creation. However, another use of “the world” are all the institutions and organizations throughout the earth which operate apart from God’s Word and will. A more contemporary way of saying this is “systemic and structural evil.” (Galatians 4:3; Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 2:8, 20; Jude 1:19)
The “flesh” is not the physical body but the sinful nature. This refers to an old life dictated by selfish desires, manipulation of others, and hustling for love. It is a bent toward hiding from and shaming others. The flesh pursues radical independence from God and others. The sinful nature seeks to not be dependent on anything or anyone. A person might want to do good but is unable to because of these base motives. (Romans 7:5, 19; 8:5, 8)
The “devil” or “Satan” is the one who seeks to exploit the world and the sinful nature to tempt and move us into rebellion against God. He is our ancient enemy. Since he’s been at this for a long time, his craft and deceit are formidable. (1 Corinthians 7:5; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:26-27; 1 John 3:8, 10)
The good news is that Jesus Christ has obtained deliverance and freedom for people from each of those enemies (1 Corinthians 15:56-57; Colossians 1:13-14; 1 Peter 2:9). For this deliverance and freedom to be a practical victory over the darkness, each believer in Jesus must know and practice the truth.
The Fall of Humanity
In the original Fall of humanity there was a passive response to the temptation of the serpent, the devil. There was an acceptance of doubt concerning God’s Word, through Satan’s insinuations that God is not so good. The original people made a deliberate choice to follow the suggestions of Satan and disobey the true and living God. (Genesis 3:1-6).
The seriousness of that Fall into disobedience cannot be overemphasized. The Fall introduced sin, lust, depravity, slavery, ignorance, death and every form of evil into humanity. People became alienated from God and enslaved to the devil. (Genesis 3:7-24)
The final effects of this sinful bondage will not be completely severed until the final judgment (Revelation 20:10). The hold of the devil is so profound that it took the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to experience victory over the darkness. (Romans 5:17; 2 Timothy 1:9-10)
Satan
The descriptive titles given to Satan indicate his activity and what he is up to: Tempter (Matthew 4:3); Deceiver (Revelation 12:9); Accuser (Revelation 12:10); Adversary (1 Peter 5:8); Murderer and Liar (John 8:44); the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4); and the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2).
The Bible indicates a Christian can be significantly influenced by Satan through:
- Giving the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27)
- Lying (Acts 5:3)
- Physical and spiritual attacks (Job 1-2; 2 Corinthians 12:7)
- Deception (Revelation 12:9-10; 2 Corinthians 11:3)
- Temptation (1 Corinthians 7:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:5)
- Pride (1 Timothy 3:6)
- Corruption (2 Corinthians 11:3)
- Accusations (Revelation 12:10)
- Hypocrisy (Acts 5:1-11)
- “Fiery darts” (Ephesians 6:16).
Indeed, the Christian ignores the activity of Satan at their peril.
Satan aims to keep every believer in Jesus from spiritual progress and maturity, from the daily experience of living in the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and from victory over the darkness. Unfortunately, the evidence of Satan’s success is all around us. All Christians are under the attack of the enemy in some way, shape, or form.
When well-meaning Christians have trouble in prayer, reading Scripture, witnessing to the truth of Christ, overcoming sins, or maintaining right fellowship with other believers, then this is a tangible reminder of the subtle and powerful effect Satan has in the church, not to mention the world. Such a situation requires that we know and understand the provision we possess in overcoming the evil one.
Overcoming the Devil
The most basic truth to know and practice is that in the crucifixion and resurrection the Lord Jesus Christ defeated Satan (Colossians 2:15). Jesus, through his death and rising from death, destroyed the power of death and delivered those held in bondage (Hebrews 2:14-15). In fact, Jesus, the Son of God, came to this earth so that he might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). What’s more, through the Ascension, Jesus is seated in triumph over Satan. This tremendous victory over the darkness is given to every believer in Christ (Ephesians 1:19-21; 2:5-6).
For this incredible access to become a reality there must be a complete and honest confession. Repentance and renunciation of past and present sins are needed.
“If we admit our sins—simply come clean about them—God won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing.” (1 John 1:9, MSG)
Rejecting Evil and Living the Truth
There must be a complete and honest practice of the truth in the obedience of faith and love through standing with the truth (Ephesians 6:10-18). In addition, there is a need for aggressive resistance of Satan’s work through constant vigilance and standing firm (1 Peter 5:8-9).
When you feel guilty but don’t know why – then be pugnacious about rejecting it. If feeling accused on the inside, i.e. “If you were really a Christian you would not be thinking a thought like that…” then be steadfast about refusing such guilt. If your thoughts, emotions, and desires threaten to get out of hand – then take charge of them and bring them into subjection to Jesus. The truth is that you have all the authority of Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension behind you to reject error and refuse satanic whispers.
Know the enemy’s lies and deceptions. Be aggressive about dealing with falsehood using gospel truth.
May the kingdom of God come in all its fullness as we together learn to renounce evil and practice the truth of Jesus Christ. Amen.
See you on the trail!
“I Have Seen the Lord!”
Bob and I are enjoying our Easter morning tradition. Reading the account of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death from the Gospel of John. “I have seen the Lord!” can be our response, too. Check it out….
On Sunday morning while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran to Simon Peter and to Jesus’ favorite disciple and said, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb! We don’t know where they have put him.”
Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. They ran side by side, until the other disciple ran faster than Peter and got there first. He bent over and saw the strips of linen cloth lying inside the tomb, but he did not go in.
When Simon Peter got there, he went into the tomb and saw the strips of cloth. He also saw the piece of cloth that had been used to cover Jesus’ face. It was rolled up and in a place by itself. The disciple who got there first then went into the tomb, and when he saw it, he believed. At that time Peter and the other disciple did not know that the Scriptures said Jesus would rise to life. So, the two of them went back to the other disciples.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene stood crying outside the tomb. She was still weeping when she stooped down and saw two angels inside. They were dressed in white and were sitting where Jesus’ body had been. One was at the head and the other was at the foot. The angels asked Mary, “Why are you crying?”
She answered, “They have taken away my Lord’s body! I don’t know where they have put him.”
As soon as Mary said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not know who he was. Jesus asked her, “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”
She thought he was the gardener and said, “Sir, if you have taken his body away, please tell me, so I can go and get him.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him, “Rabboni.” The Aramaic word “Rabboni” means “Teacher.”
Jesus told her, “Don’t hold on to me! I have not yet gone to the Father. But tell my disciples that I am going to the one who is my Father and my God, as well as your Father and your God.” Mary Magdalene then went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord. She also told them what he had said to her. (John 20:1-18, CEV)
Mary Magdalene
Although the disciples Peter and John play a role in this story about Christ’s resurrection, the main character is Mary Magdalene. This is significant and symbolic. Mary experienced one of the most profound and deep changes of life due to the ministry of Jesus.
Mary, as a troubled and immoral woman, knew about being spiritually enslaved to the machinations of seven demons. Jesus thoroughly delivered her from her personal hell. Mary expressed eternal gratitude to him for changing her life. She followed Jesus and supported him in whatever ways she could.
Mary came to the foot of Christ’s cross. The other (male) disciples kept their distance out of fear. Yet, Mary boldly stood with the other women for all to see – completely devoted to Jesus. She never turned her back on Jesus. Mary showed up at the grave on the Sunday morning of Christ’s resurrection. The other followers could not be found. Mary, however, came to the grave, still with a heart given to Jesus and grieving over his death.
Because Mary had a second chance at life, she was deeply thankful. For her, everything belonged to Jesus. Mary Magdalene was forgiven much, and so she loved much. Here she is, after her Lord’s crucifixion, death, and burial, at the grave of Jesus. Mary came to the tomb on Easter Sunday still living in a Good Friday world – grieving, sad, and discouraged. She soon discovered, however, that Christ is risen!
Surprised by Joy
Amid your days of disappointment, loss, or sadness, how are you surprised by joy and the presence of the risen Christ? How is your grief been turned to gratitude? Are you seeing the risen Lord?
One day, 34 years ago, I was down sick with the flu and in bed. I barely remember my wife coming into the bedroom after a doctor’s appointment upset and crying. She tried to rouse me with a mix of good and bad news. My wife went to the doctor thinking she probably had picked up my flu. Instead, the doctor gave her the news: she is pregnant with our first child. But there was more….
After the examination, the doctor believed our newly discovered little baby might be in the wrong place – that she was not where she should be. The little bundle might very well be in the fallopian tube and not the womb. So, here I am – barely able to move, getting out of bed – driving my wife to the hospital for an ultrasound.
I felt such a range of emotions within me that all I could do was weep, feeling, much like Mary Magdalene, that my Lord has been taken away from me. It just seemed like I didn’t know where Jesus was at that moment. It all felt so insanely surreal.
I will never forget the words and even the tone of voice of the ultrasound technician as we anxiously stared at a screen we didn’t understand. The technician said, “She is right where she is supposed to be!” The tears turned to joy. And the words were prophetic. No way could the technician know at six weeks in the womb that we were having a little girl. Yet she referred to the peanut within my wife as “she.” And we immediately knew what her name would be: “Sarah,” which is the Hebrew name for “Princess.” God graced us with a precious gift of royalty, coming from the grace of King Jesus.
You Are Where You’re Supposed To Be
I want us to know on this great Day of Resurrection, that we are right where we are supposed to be. It might seem out of place, spending so much time at home because of a pandemic. It may feel weird not working in ways we’re used to, or even working at all. Perhaps we wonder where God is or how the divine fits into this topsy-turvy world of disease and economic uncertainty.
The truth of matter is this: You are right where you are supposed to be. God has you precisely where he wants you. This morning, right now, you are a witness to the resurrection of Jesus. Along with Mary Magdalene there is the astonished declaration, “I have seen Jesus!”
Let Mary Magdalene’s experience be of encouragement to you. Mary experienced new life. She was transformed by the Lord. Yet, on Easter Sunday she did not immediately get what the heck was going on. Jesus rising from death was not anywhere on her radar. The empty tomb and the angels did not immediately lead her to faith – not until she saw Jesus, and even then, she did not recognize him.
He Calls You by Name
Only when Jesus called her name did Mary recognize him and respond, believing it was her Lord. Please know that Jesus is still calling out names, your name, too. Jesus said to his disciples that the sheep listen to the shepherd’s voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out (John 10:3-4). One little word can change our lives forever: our name.
Easter opens a whole new world for us, as it did for Mary – a future of announcing good news and proclaiming resurrection. There is a simple reason why the grave clothes are left in the tomb just lying there – they aren’t needed anymore! We no longer need the grave clothes of discouragement, defeat, and despair. There is no longer a need to weep and wonder because Christ is risen! Jesus is calling your name. Can you hear his voice?
Is It True?
The great twentieth-century Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, said what brings people to worship God – not just on Easter, but any day – is an unspoken question clinging to our minds and hearts: Is it true? Is it true that God lives? That Jesus is alive? Could it be true that I can live a new life in Christ? Is it true I can rebuild my life? Is any of it true? Mary Magdalene approached the tomb and found that, indeed, it was all true.
All over the world, on Easter Sunday, followers of Jesus testify it is all real. Christ is risen, and there is new life in Jesus our Lord. Right now, believers across the globe worship the risen Lord and declare along with us, “I have seen the Lord!”
God is still in the business of changing lives. British author A. N. Wilson used to be known for his scathing attacks on Christianity and proclaimed the death of God. But he celebrated Easter in 2009 at a church with a group of other church members, proclaiming that that the story of the Jesus of the Gospels is the only story that makes sense out of life and its challenges.
“My own return to faith has surprised none more than myself…. My belief has come about in large measure because of the lives and examples of people I have known—not the famous, not saints, but friends and relations who have lived, and faced death, in light of the resurrection story, and in the quiet acceptance that they have a future after they die.” A.N. Wilson
The Power of New Life
The moment Jesus calls a person’s name, the power of the resurrection is enabled—the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. See what you consider as immovable slabs of stone in your life—maybe it’s bitterness, insecurity, fear, self-doubt or cynicism. Those immense rocks can be rolled away. To know Jesus is to know the power of the resurrection. We don’t need to merely hear testimonies of changed lives like Mary Magdalene’s. We can experience new life ourselves through faith in Jesus.
There is one word, one name, which has forever changed the world: “Jesus.” And Jesus wants to change the world by uttering one simple word, one name: your name, so that you can exclaim with great joy, “I have seen the Lord!”
3 Beatitudes the World Needs
The Beatitudes of Jesus are so much more than a Christian thing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Bob the bloodhound rolling his bloodshot eyes when he hears supposed Christians trying to force their brand of righteous living onto others.
The world needs authentic and real relationships from Christians, grounded in Christ’s Beatitudes. (Matthew 5:3-10)
Genuine righteousness isn’t self-righteous and condescending. It isn’t outward showy religion. No, the kind of righteousness Jesus set forth were Beatitudes, inner spiritual dispositions of the heart. The Beatitudes of Jesus care about why we do what we do.
The follower of Jesus hungers and thirsts for righteousness. (Matthew 5:6; Luke 6:21)
God specializes in filling empty hearts and healing broken spirits. The person who hungers for right relationships does not look at righteousness as optional, or something nice to have; they cannot live without it.
Righteousness is a relational term. It is the continuing desire for a right relationship with God, and with other people. Honest relations result in harmony with God and neighbor. The righteousness of Christ’s Beatitudes is how God intended people to live.
People who strongly desire Jesus and his righteousness are not hard to spot. They:
- Crave and devour God’s Word, so they daily read Scripture.
- Can’t talk enough about Jesus, so they pursue fellowship.
- Want to know Christ better, so they pray a lot.
- Desire proper relations with others, so they make things right with others.
God will fill and bring satisfaction to those who seek righteousness.
3 Beatitudes grow out of hearts being filled with righteousness….
The Merciful (Matthew 5:7)
Mercy is a loving response to someone who is in misery due to some sort of hardship, trauma, oppression, or bad decision. The merciful person demonstrates grace and accepts others because he knows that he himself needs mercy. The merciful know God has shown them mercy, therefore they show mercy to others.
Those who are merciful will be shown mercy. If we treat others harshly and unmercifully, we should not expect to receive mercy from God. Gracious folk are gentle folk. They are bent toward offering mercy, not judgment. The one filled with righteousness responds with mercy. (Luke 10:25-37)
The Pure in Heart (Matthew 5:8)
Pure hearted folk are those who recognize their guilt and shame, deal with it, and have a clean conscience before God and the world. Such persons acknowledge their wrongs, limitations, weaknesses, and shortcomings. They keep short accounts with others and are above board in everything.
The pure of heart will see God. They know they cannot make themselves pure, so they keep looking to Jesus for their forgiveness because they hunger for righteousness.
Sin cannot be whitewashed or tossed into the utility closet. It must be dealt with. Sometimes we struggle with purity of heart because we are focused not on Jesus, but on our own performance and perfection. We need to let God fill our hungry hearts with pure divine love.
The Peacemaker (Matthew 5:9)
Peace is more than the absence of conflict. Peace is harmonious relations with God and others. What’s more, Jesus was describing not only the presence of personal peace but of being a peacemaker. They
- Show others how to relate to God because they know the process of being humbled before God and being filled with righteousness.
- Do not create problems but listen carefully and seek solutions.
- Spread good news, knowing that through Jesus there is true harmony between God and people.
Peacemakers will be called children of God because their character reflects who God is.
Conclusion
Arrogant pride keeps us appearances. It avoids authentic feelings and the shadows of one’s heart. It sweeps sin under the rug. The Beatitudes are righteousness which cares about our relationship with God and others.
If we find ourselves rationalizing our behavior rather than owning it; living impure lives; inflicting punishment and not mercy upon others; or creating disharmony instead of peace – the solution is to come humbly to the foot of the cross, letting the presence of Christ fill us. (Colossians 1:19-20)
May you find in Jesus a righteousness of mercy, purity, and peacemaking which is secure and enduring.
See you on the trail.
3 Basic Beatitudes of Jesus
“Poverty of spirit is the inner disposition that allows us to take away our defenses and convert our enemies into friends. We can only perceive the stranger as an enemy as long as we have something to defend.” Henri Nouwen
The Imprecatory Psalms
A few years back, I was a chaplain in a large care facility. One of the residents was a retired Episcopal priest. He developed a brain tumor and had surgery to remove it. However, getting rid of the tumor damaged his ability to speak.
So, when I came to see him after his return to the nursing home, he labored intensely just to get a simple sentence out. And after each struggle to speak he would swear and utter some expletive, then apologize to me.
Finally, I said to him, “There’s no need to apologize. You have spent your life using words to bless and help others and now that has been robbed of you. You are angry. I am angry. Let’s just sit here and swear together about it!”
We raged together about disease. We swore like sailors about injustice. We cried out to God for vengeance on evil. And I was secretly praying that no one would walk into the room while we were doing this.
I adore the biblical psalms – they encompass the complete range of human emotion. In this past year of pandemic, many have recognized the need for lament, like we find in the psalms. However, I have yet to hear anyone mention another type of psalm, the imprecatory psalm (pronounced im-PRECK-a-tory).
Whereas psalms of lament express deep sadness, imprecatory psalms rage with deep-seated anger.
The term “imprecatory” means to call down a curse on a person or group of people. Maybe this surprises you that there is such language in the Bible. In fact, there are eighteen such imprecatory psalms which make a clear petition for God to turn the evil back on the people who inflict it (or try to) on others. For example, consider David’s angry plea to God:
You know full well the insults I’ve received;
you know my shame and my disgrace.
All my adversaries are right there in front of you.
Insults have broken my heart.
I’m sick about it.
I hoped for sympathy,
but there wasn’t any;
I hoped for comforters,
but couldn’t find any.
They gave me poison for food.
To quench my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
Let the table before them become a trap,
their offerings a snare.
Let their eyes grow too dim to see;
make their insides tremble constantly.
Pour out your anger on them—
let your burning fury catch them.
Let their camp be devastated;
let no one dwell in their tents.
Because they go after those you’ve already struck;
they talk about the pain of those you’ve already pierced.
Pile guilt on top of their guilt!
Don’t let them come into your righteousness!
Let them be wiped out of the scroll of life!
Let them not be recorded along with the righteous!
And me? I’m afflicted.
I’m full of pain.
Let your salvation keep me safe, God! (Psalm 69:19-29, CEB)
There is nothing sanitized about imprecatory psalms. They are as raw and real as it gets. Whatever you might think about how a proper pious person ought to pray, imprecatory curses are likely not your first thought. But here they are, out there for us to read in the Holy Bible.
One reason for the imprecatory psalms is that it is not any person’s place to engage in revenge or retaliation. Instead, for people who are genuinely caught in the crosshairs of evil and have terrible trouble dogging them, prayer is their most effective recourse.
Sometimes you must tell it like it is.
There is a time to do your best in putting up a good face and dealing with people who do not ever stop gossiping, slandering, and trying to get their way. But there is also a time to call such behavior “evil” and cry out to God for help.
There are many folks who consider imprecatory psalms a problem because of their detailed expressions of cursing. Yet, such psalms refuse to put a positive spin on malevolent motives, wicked words, and destructive actions. Desperate people utter desperate prayers. Their unflinching sense of injustice will not allow them to sugarcoat the villainous plans of corrupt people.
Evil is never toppled with tepid prayers from wimpy worshipers.
Rather, nefarious agendas are thwarted in the teeth of specific, focused, and intense prayers directed with spiritual precision to the very core of diabolical forces.
We need not be shy about being real with God, even with praying imprecatory prayers. There really are people in this world, maybe even in your own life, that have malicious intent against you or others. Our job is not personal revenge, but to entrust ourselves to the God who fights for the poor, the oppressed, and the needy against the arrogant and the powerful. Let your prayers reflect your life.
With no cursing of disease, sickness, and death, it comes out sideways in an unkind sort of “snarky-ness” toward each other. What I am proposing is that our anger, our rage, even our vengeance needs recognition, just like our sadness does. Our bitterness must have an outlet, not directed toward one another, but toward the evil itself – and even toward God because God is big enough to handle our rage, whereas other humans are not.
Victimization needs a voice, and a bit of raging and cursing is the means to do it.
Giving voice to our deep anger is cathartic and therapeutic. Our speech needs to be congruent with the intensity of our pain because where there are no valued words of assault for victims, the risk of hurting each other becomes much higher. Despair with no voice and no one to hear will eventually transition to harming others.
Spiritual problems require spiritual implements to solve. And the tool of imprecatory psalms is a major way of not only pushing back the dark forces of this world but is the means of spiritual assertiveness against all forms of heinous acts and acerbic words from depraved people, evil systems, and horrible circumstances. God’s wrath is an expression of God’s love because God is not okay with evil taking root in the lives and institutions of humanity.
Prayer is our privilege of coming to the God who upholds justice and righteousness. For if God is for us, who can be against us?
Lent and the Bible: Practicing Repentance
To repent means to turn around, to stop going in one direction and start going in another one. It is repentance that makes all the difference in the orientation of our souls in this life.
Dying to Self and Living for Christ
I used to live across the street from a small cemetery. Each morning, after arising, I would go to the large patio window facing the old tombstones and I was reminded of the brevity of life. Yes, we all shall die. From dust we came, and to dust we shall return. But the daily look at the graveyard, along with each day’s walk with Bob the bloodhound through the cemetery, was much more than a future reminder of what awaits us all; it was also a very present call in dying to self and living for Christ.
One way of looking at our lives is to discern that they are a pilgrimage into the inner depths of our souls. As we move within, there is a great need to put away selfishness, arrogance, and the hubris of settled certainty about everything. When I became an adult, I discovered that life was not all about doing whatever I wanted (as I so naively thought as a kid). Instead, life was also full of responsibilities, stewarding my work, school, and relationships.
I found that if I were to do anything well, it involved a significant degree of dying to self. When I married my lovely wife, I quickly discovered that marriage was a whole lot more than sex and being fed grapes from a beautiful woman while lounging on the couch. Instead, it was a new journey of dying to self, to my expectations, and learning to meet the needs of this other person. And just when I thought I might be getting a handle on this new way of life I became a father. Then my whole life seemed upside-down in caring for this helpless little baby girl who only seemed to scream and poop if she was not sleeping and eating. My goodness, more dying to self and awake to living so that I may care for another.
I could go on and on with this motif of death and dying to self (the Apostle Paul did! Romans 6). Caring for others as a pastor and a chaplain; becoming a grandfather; being attentive to the great needs of society and the world; it all involves being reminded each day that the cemetery awaits me.
As I write this, the Church Year is beginning the season of Lent. Christians across the world are engaging in spiritual practices which remind them of Jesus Christ’s life and death. The coming of Christ is quite the fascinating and gracious reality. If you think about it, Jesus could have just appeared on earth. He could have shown up as a fully developed adult ready for his ministry. Jesus could have circumvented the whole thing about experiencing the pain of growing and learning, especially of facing torture and execution.
But, instead, Jesus came to earth through a woman. The King of the universe gestated in the womb of Mary and was born in humble circumstances. Christ was a baby, a child, a young man, a teacher, and Savior. Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered (Hebrews 2:10-18). And then he died. Yet, death could not hold him in the grave.
When I used to look at that old cemetery I was also reminded of a bigger picture, and a larger portrait God is painting. I would daily learn, and have continued discovering even now, the ways of dying to self so that Christ might live in me. Jesus must grow and gestate within, overtaking me so that Christ’s life might be preeminent. More of Jesus, less of me. He must increase; I must decrease.
However, out of dying to self, something extraordinary and supernatural occurs. Living for Jesus is an extraordinary resurrection to new life. Someday, just as Christ came in his first Advent, he will come again in a second Advent. The graves will open. With the presence of the living Christ in me, I shall rise again, just as he did.
There cannot be a resurrection without a death. All great spiritualities have in common the need to let go in dying to self. Christianity just puts it in the frame of living for Jesus so that the world will be blessed by encountering the great truth that Christ is the great Immanuel, God with us.
The graveyard does not have the last word. It is a daily reminder in dying to self. Yet it is also an abiding picture that new life is possible through that death, both in this life and in the life to come. This is the hope which the Christian has, that there is glory at the end of suffering, an amazing life as the result of dying to self.
The True Giving and Receiving of Love
To be frank, the giving and receiving of love is something that everyone on planet earth needs. Bob the bloodhound knows this, likely better than most people. I can testify that Bob is not shy about making his needs and wants known and letting me know when he wants love in the form of dog food, a walk, or a good old-fashioned pet.
We all require love, in both receiving love, and giving love. But not everyone has a heart open to accepting love, and, so, find it nearly impossible to dispense love. However, the good news is that love is near to each one of us. We only need to reach out and touch it because it is so close.
We have all likely heard the dictum “You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.” Even if we have not used the phrase, the concept is common throughout the world. Perhaps the chief hindrance to receiving and giving love is this reciprocal notion. It would be weird if I expected Bob to scratch my back right after I give him a good scratch.
Much of Western society turns on the wheels of transactions. This is seen in the many words we have for money and financial exchanges: bills; coins; cash; credit and debit cards; stocks and bonds; bank accounts; 401k; paychecks, etc. You get the idea. We can scarcely imagine a culture without putting something into an account so that we can engage in commerce and consumerism.
None of this is neither inherently bad nor good; it just is. A problem arises, however, when people allow the idea of transactions to seep into relationships. When a person chooses to view the world primarily through the financial lenses of a transaction, we set ourselves up for a deficit of love.
It works something like this: A parent invests time, money, and resources into a child’s life. Mom and Dad do everything they can to set up little Johnny for success in this life (which, by the way, is often defined as getting a good paying job someday and being financially independent). But when little Johnny decides to go all avant-garde and does not live up to his parents’ expectations, their reaction betrays the transactional: “Look at all we did for you, and you repay us by not going to college and running off to do only God knows what!?”
Put in the context of a workplace, some bosses are only happy when the employee is producing and making money. Management doesn’t understand why workers are upset. Paying them more money doesn’t seem to do it. They only see the transactional view of the world. Employers often fail to understand that money and wages cannot fulfill the need for giving and receiving within healthy relationships.
In the realm of personal relationships, we might send a card to someone, and they never sent one back, and that makes us mad. When it comes to God, we went to church, kept our nose clean and were ethical in all our dealings, and now something terrible happens in our lives. We believe that God did not make good on us. We invested in this God thing, and then he didn’t follow through with the transaction to give us the good life we were expecting.
But God operates in a different economy. Grace overwhelms transaction and is the currency of God’s kingdom. Grace is the gears and the grease of God’s love toward us. The good news of Christianity is that God loves us, even when we have nothing to give, and even when we are far from the words and ways of Jesus.
“Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful. No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a genuinely good person. But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinners.” (Romans 5:6-8, CEV)
It is likely that all of us, at some time or another, have felt the sting of someone else’s disappointment with us. They “invested” in us in some way. We “repaid” them with a decision or a different direction than what they expected. Or it went the other way. We put time and effort into someone or a group of people, and they didn’t come through for us (ironically, pastors and church volunteers often feel this way).
The first step in awakening to love is forsaking a transactional view of relationships and adopting a gracious approach to people and to God. God is gracious, merciful, and kind. It isn’t just what God does; it is who God is. God gives love because God is love. Until we get that basic understanding, we will flounder in our human relationships because true love will forever be elusive due to the transactional view. It will throw out of whack the true giving and receiving of love.
Grace is the most effective way to the world of love, and the best way to the good life. Yet, surprisingly, this is at no cost to us. So, what are we to do? We are to give ourselves to God, as people who have been raised from death to life. We are to make every part of our lives an offering to God. Don’t let sin keep ruling your lives because you are ruled by God’s kindness and not by the law of the transaction.
Awaken to love because God is love. (Romans 6:12-14; 1 John 4:8-11)
A Conversation with Jesus
Worship is not just us talking, praying, and singing to God. Worship is meant to be a conversation between us and God – a dialogue in which we hear from God and reply to him. Worship, then, is both God’s revelation and the people of God’s response.
Bob likes to sleep. He also likes to walk. Bob loves filling his nose with the plethora of smells in the outdoors. Unlike me, Bob can size up a person quickly before they even open their mouths.
There were two men walking and talking with Jesus along the Emmaus road without even knowing it (Luke 24:13-35). In fact, worship was happening, unbeknownst to them. Bob would have picked up on it immediately, if he were there.
“Liturgy” describes what we do in worship.
Liturgy is a Greek term that means “the work of the people.” Every church has a liturgy. All gatherings of believers have some sort of prescribed ways of moving through their worship. Liturgy is not only a reference to more traditional forms of worship. Contemporary styled worship may have less liturgical elements to it, but it still has a liturgy of several praise and worship choruses (in which the people know when to stand and sit), and an extended time of preaching.
After Christ’s resurrection, it was Jesus who approached the men. In this divine movement of liturgy, God is always the initiator of salvation and worship. If it were not for God approaching us, most fully expressed in Christ’s incarnation of coming to this earth, then we have no hope. Humanity in the vice grip of sin needs someone to help. So, when we begin worship, it is God himself who starts the conversation.
As the two men continued with their conversation, Jesus engaged them in the Scriptures. He went to the Old Testament and explained to them what it had to say about the Christ. They heard from God. To understand Holy Scripture, we too, need to walk with Jesus and converse with him. Liturgy exists to encourage a relationship between us and God. It is designed to create space whereby God and God’s people can be in a meaningful dialogue with each other.
Maybe it goes without saying, this means we must listen well. We cannot listen well if we our minds are wandering, and our hearts are somewhere else. Sometimes we intentionally make our lives overwhelmingly busy so that we either cannot or do not have time to listen to God. We might create noise and keep moving because we are much too uncomfortable with silence. We may not want to hear what is in our hearts.
Getting to the place of relaxing enough to listen can seem, for some, like a daunting task. This is not a plea for you to do more. It is really giving you permission to do less so that you can enjoy a conversation with Jesus. A good place to begin is to practice the Sabbath, and use the day, not just the morning, to connect with God.
Jesus became known to the two Emmaus friends through table fellowship.
It was at the table the two men’s eyes were opened to who Jesus really was. This would not have happened unless they were in meaningful conversation with Jesus. Then, after Jesus left them, the two men were inspired in their going. They went out as witnesses telling others of what they had seen and heard from their conversation with Jesus.
In this liturgical rhythm, this conversation between us and God, the good news of Jesus is presented. God first acts by seeking and desiring fellowship with us; God sent his Son, the living Word, to restore the fractured relationship – Jesus is the divine Word who has accomplished the restoration between us and God. This revelation, this realization of what God has done for us in Christ begs a response from us. We praise him for wanting fellowship with us.
Having glimpsed how holy God is, we realize how sinful we are, and so we confess our sins to him. God, in his grace, forgives us our sin and assures us of our pardon. In our gratitude for that grace, we joyfully listen and live according to his Word. And, so, back-and-forth we go, with the liturgy proclaiming the gospel to us in a divine dialogue that blesses both us and God.
Now, if you think about it, all of life is liturgical. We each have routines, habits, and life patterns that shape how we get things done. For example, in the first year of marriage, my wife and I experienced a clash of liturgies. Her family had their ways of doing things, and my family had theirs. I quickly learned what a proper liturgy was for folding towels.
A worship liturgy is neither only for Sunday morning nor to be always within a church building. We can deliberately build spiritual rhythms and spiritual conversation throughout each day in our homes, at our jobs, and throughout our daily lives. For example, our daily call to worship is when we wake up, realizing that we have been called into wakefulness to enter praise for a new day. My own personal daily prayer when I get out of bed is:
“Almighty God, thank you for bringing me in safety to this new day. Preserve me with your mighty power that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity. In all I do today direct me to the fulfilling of your purposes through Jesus Christ my Lord.”
As we go through our day, we can recognize sin when it happens, and be quick to confess it and accept God’s forgiveness. We can be intentional about hearing from God, by creating space and setting aside time for reading Scripture. When our heads hit the pillow at night, we receive the blessing of God in sleep, until a new day begins.
Whatever way we go about it, we have the privilege of developing spiritual rhythms and habits of approaching God, listening to God, and responding to God.
And we need to acknowledge that something can trip us up in this attempt to live a godly life. There are other secular liturgies that vie for our attention and our hearts. We just might be influenced as much or more by a different competing liturgy.
For example, a shopping website’s version of liturgy is to gather shoppers and develop practices of buying in us. If we shop because we feel that we would have a better life with new clothes, or more stuff, we might have a competing liturgy working in our lives. If we feel we need to shop because there is something we lack in our personhood, as if we are not enough, then we just might have another liturgy that wants our loyalty over God.
The point is not to avoid shopping but to realize there are competing loyalties to God’s kingdom, and that we are to be shaped as followers of Jesus as our primary commitment in life. Our lives are to revolve around the person and work of Jesus, and so we must intentionally cultivate liturgical practices in our daily lives and train ourselves to be godly.
Christianity is not merely a system of beliefs; it is a way of life. The kind of habits we develop in that life will determine what kind of disciples we will be. So, we must choose well the kinds of routines that we need to walk well with Jesus and carry on a delightful conversation with him… and Bob.