The death and resurrection of Lazarus is found in John chapter 11. The story is remarkable on many fronts and there are many lessons to learn from it so I will retell the story in my own words and let the reader learn all they can.
Jesus and His disciple chums had left the region of Judea because of the frosty reception He received there. By frosty I mean the religious leaders wanted Him dead. They went to the region around Judea that was not so populated so the Lord could get a break from everything.
Meanwhile, back in Judea a dear friend of His had fallen ill. The man’s name was Lazarus. Lazarus’ sisters, Martha and Mary, sent word to Jesus that He better high tail it back to Bethany soon, or the next time He sees Lazarus’ name it would be in the obituary column. Jesus used to hang out at their house and pork out with His disciple chums, so the news of Lazarus’ illness affected Him deeply. Even so, He stayed put in the remote area outside of Judea for two more days. His disciples figured He was doing this because He was afraid to go back to Judea. They remembered seeing all the wanted posters of Jesus and knew the religious sheriffs there did not want Him back.
Then after the two days Jesus says, “Ok guys were headin back to Judea.” One of his disciple chums says, “Is you mad?” “Last week the religious leaders there wanted to give you cement sandals and take you water skiing. “Maybe we should go someplace else, like Madagascar for example.” Then Jesus said to them, “Our friend Lazarus is sleeping, but I will go and wake him up.” One of the disciples said, “What’s the big deal? “If the dude is snoring he’ll get up when he feels like it.” Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus kicked the bucket.” So they all headed back to Judea to the town of Bethany.
At Martha’s house everybody was crying and wailing because Lazarus was dead and everything. Then somebody told Martha that Jesus was headin back into town with the boys. Martha says to Mary that she is gonna meet Jesus and asks her to come along. Mary, still steamed about Jesus’ tardiness, stays in the house. Martha meets Jesus on the road and says, “Better late then never. “Ya know we were hopin you would get here sooner and heal your so called friend so he would still be around.”
Jesus said to her, ”Lazarus will rise again.” Martha says to Him, “Yea I know on the resurrection day, a lot of good that does me now.” Jesus looks at her and says, “I am the resurrection and the life, anyone who believes in me shall live even if he dies. And anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Martha, not quite getting it says, “Yes, I believe you are the Messiah.” Then Martha turns and goes back to the house to see Mary. Martha tells Mary that the teacher wants to see her. So Mary gets up and all the people in the house go with her thinking she is going to the grave to morn there.
Mary walks straights up to Jesus and in a huff says to Him, “Lord, if you were here Lazarus would still be here.” Then she starts crying and I mean a real cry of anguish. Jesus looks at her crying and sees everybody with her crying and He is deeply concerned and troubled in His spirit. So He says to them, “Where have you laid him?” So they all go over to the grave and stand there. Then Jesus weeps. I am going to cut the story off here to make my point about what Jesus was crying about. If you are not familiar with the story the punch line is Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead and they all live happily ever after.
The Lord is not crying because Lazarus was dead. Why would He cry over a man He is going to raise from the dead in two minutes? He is crying because no one believes He is able to raise Lazarus from the dead. Jesus already asked Martha if she believed Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead. Martha skirted the question by saying she believed He was the Messiah. That was not the correct answer to the question Jesus asked. Now He is standing with Mary and all the friends of Lazarus who are crying and obviously believe they will never see Lazarus again.
That is why Jesus was troubled in His spirit; no one there believed He could raise Lazarus from the dead. They believed He could have healed Lazarus, but now that Lazarus is dead there is nothing Jesus can do. Clearly, their understanding of the Messiah was one of limited power.
The real issue here is one of faith. Jesus may have wept for more then one reason, but His real concern was their lack of faith. If His followers could not believe He was able to raise Lazarus from the dead, how would they ever believe that one day He would rise from the dead?
Friday, February 15, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
The Prosperous Christian
Walk into any Christian bookstore (or any secular bookstore with a religious section) and you will find myriads of books on prosperity. There are books on how to improve your financial status, books on how to improve your health (through faith, not diet), books on how to live a joy filled life by merely acknowledging certain scripture verses exist and making them part of your spiritual life. A simple stroll down the aisle and you will be convinced that with only a little faith you too can live like Donald Trump today and reap the riches of heaven in the afterlife. Sign me up for that program. In fact some books go so far as to say that if you are not prosperous it is your lack of faith that is the problem. But is this true?
Books aren’t the only source of prosperity teaching as there are a number of television programs that preach prosperity from faith. The television programs are often referred to as ministries, but the on air personalities are only ministering to their own wallets. Aside from the obvious fact that Jesus was born, raised, and died in utter poverty we need to determine if any of his disciples lived a more faithful life than He did and if they reaped the rewards of their faith.
Lets consider Acts 5 when Peter and John are called before the religious leaders of their day to account for their speaking about the resurrection of Jesus. The religious leaders who had Jesus crucified were not going to tolerate any of His disciples talking about His resurrection. The leaders listened to Peter and John and wanted to kill them, but a man named Gamaliel suggested they back away from that idea, as it seemed to rash to him. I will continue with verses 40,41. “40 They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them.
41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. “
They went on their way rejoicing because they had been flogged. Flog means to beat severely with a whip or a rod. Know any Christians in this country who would rejoice at being flogged? Either do I. There really aren’t too many ways of looking at this. One either Peter and John did not have very much faith, or two they had a very different understanding of what walking with the Lord meant. Come to think of it they probably did have a different understanding of what walking with the Lord meant because they did walk with the Lord for three years.
But that was Peter and John so maybe there are other Christian views on this subject. Lets consider Paul for example. Paul was not a follower of Jesus when Jesus walked the earth, as were the other apostles. Paul became a follower some time later. He may have a different perspective on this prosperity thing. He may have more faith then the other apostles.
During Paul’s journeys he wrote to many of the churches that he had planted in an effort to encourage them in their daily walk. While writing to the believers at Corinth, an ancient Greece city, he informs the believers what being a Christian has cost him. I am quoting from the New American Standard Bible.
2 Corinthians 11:23 “Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.
24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,
26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.
27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?”
Wow, maybe Paul needed to find a way to increase his faith because he sure wasn’t having a very prosperous life. Peter, John and Paul are just a few of the stories that are found in the bible that illustrate the hardships the early Christian church faced. Their hardships had nothing to do with faith, or trusting God. Truth be know their hardships were the result of their faith.
The mind of God is often complex and confusing to those of us who try to understand His reasoning. Some Christians are very prosperous while others struggle to make ends meet. This is also true of non-believers. Nevertheless, we know from what the bible tells us that Jesus did not live a prosperous life. If Jesus did not live a prosperous life, and the disciples did not live prosperously either then why would we conclude that His desire for us is to be prosperous?
Books aren’t the only source of prosperity teaching as there are a number of television programs that preach prosperity from faith. The television programs are often referred to as ministries, but the on air personalities are only ministering to their own wallets. Aside from the obvious fact that Jesus was born, raised, and died in utter poverty we need to determine if any of his disciples lived a more faithful life than He did and if they reaped the rewards of their faith.
Lets consider Acts 5 when Peter and John are called before the religious leaders of their day to account for their speaking about the resurrection of Jesus. The religious leaders who had Jesus crucified were not going to tolerate any of His disciples talking about His resurrection. The leaders listened to Peter and John and wanted to kill them, but a man named Gamaliel suggested they back away from that idea, as it seemed to rash to him. I will continue with verses 40,41. “40 They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them.
41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. “
They went on their way rejoicing because they had been flogged. Flog means to beat severely with a whip or a rod. Know any Christians in this country who would rejoice at being flogged? Either do I. There really aren’t too many ways of looking at this. One either Peter and John did not have very much faith, or two they had a very different understanding of what walking with the Lord meant. Come to think of it they probably did have a different understanding of what walking with the Lord meant because they did walk with the Lord for three years.
But that was Peter and John so maybe there are other Christian views on this subject. Lets consider Paul for example. Paul was not a follower of Jesus when Jesus walked the earth, as were the other apostles. Paul became a follower some time later. He may have a different perspective on this prosperity thing. He may have more faith then the other apostles.
During Paul’s journeys he wrote to many of the churches that he had planted in an effort to encourage them in their daily walk. While writing to the believers at Corinth, an ancient Greece city, he informs the believers what being a Christian has cost him. I am quoting from the New American Standard Bible.
2 Corinthians 11:23 “Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.
24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,
26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.
27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?”
Wow, maybe Paul needed to find a way to increase his faith because he sure wasn’t having a very prosperous life. Peter, John and Paul are just a few of the stories that are found in the bible that illustrate the hardships the early Christian church faced. Their hardships had nothing to do with faith, or trusting God. Truth be know their hardships were the result of their faith.
The mind of God is often complex and confusing to those of us who try to understand His reasoning. Some Christians are very prosperous while others struggle to make ends meet. This is also true of non-believers. Nevertheless, we know from what the bible tells us that Jesus did not live a prosperous life. If Jesus did not live a prosperous life, and the disciples did not live prosperously either then why would we conclude that His desire for us is to be prosperous?
Friday, February 1, 2008
Who is the Greatest Giver?
There is an interesting story in Mark and Luke that reveals the value Jesus placed on money, or more importantly on giving. The story is that of a poor widow who walks up to the temple treasury and makes her financial offering. The story is found in Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4. Just to give you a little background I will explain some of the events of the day.
At the temple in Jerusalem there are a number of “courts” and “gates” where various activates take place. Jesus walks up to “The Treasury” and sits across from one of the thirteen receptacles where people were placing offerings (Tithes). The receptacles are there to collect the temple tax as well. Because the receptacles are in the open everyone can see who is giving and they can also get a good idea of how much each person is giving. In other words, there is a great opportunity here for this part of the temple to become a sideshow.
I will tell the story in my own words:
Jesus and his disciple chums walked up to the treasury and sat down across from where the people were giving so they could watch. This was during the Passover feast so the place was packed and a whole lot of rich guy types were walking up and making donations. Every time a person put money into the receptacle everyone could hear the coins slide down. When a super rich dude put in his stash the place echoed with the sound of the coins sliding down the receptacle.
The people standing around were sayin OOOOOOH and AAAAAAAAh whenever the coins made a lot of noise. After a super rich guy made his contribution an average middle class guy would walk up and only made a modest contribution. Since the coins did not make very much noise nobody would say anything. The whole thing was pretty embarrassing. Unless, of course, you were a super rich guy.
Then all of a sudden this old lady walks up and puts in two small copper coins and then walks away. One of the temple guards looks over at his partner standing beside him and they start chuckling. Some of the people standing nearby also start chuckling as well. Even some of the Lord’s disciples look at each other and make faces because they knew the contribution was worthless.
Then Jesus, seeing the time was right for a Sunday school lesson tells his chums to gather round. Jesus said to them, “Did you see what just happened?” One of the disciples said, “Yea nothing happened, nothing at all.” Some of the other disciples start laughing. Then Jesus says to them, “Tell me you who are so wise, who gave the most money today?”
Some of the wiser disciples sense a trap and keep their mouths shut. However, some are obtuse and begin thinking of a few of the rich people who came in an dropped a stash. One disciple said, “I think the guy dressed in purple, you remember he had a long robe. “Yea he gave the most. “I can still hear the coins hitting the bottom of the receptacle in my head. “Man that guy was loaded.” Some of the other disciples agreed.
Then Jesus said, “Wrongo reindeer, the one who gave the most was that poor widow.” The disciples look at each other in disbelief. One says, “Are you tryin to tell me that the old geyser lady gave more than the super rich guy? “This sounds like the new math kids are learnin in school these days and I’m not familiar with it so maybe you can help me out here.”
Jesus says, “Gladly.” “You see the rich guy is a gazillionare and gave about two percent of his earning for the year. “The poor woman is penniless and gave everything she had to live on. “Now she must trust God to provide her next meal. “In God’s eyes she gave the most of all the contributors today.” The disciples looked at each other and had to agree that the poor woman left the temple with nothing, but her faith. As a result she had to have given more than anyone else.
The moral of the story is not just that the woman gave all she had, it is that she was completely trusting God to provide for her immediate needs. The wording Mark uses in his description of the woman is far deeper than poor; it is destitute. The woman was probably homeless.
By temple law she had every right to keep one of the coins for herself. The fact that she was willing to donate everything to God shows her to be a committed Godly woman. When I look at myself I do not see a committed Godly man, certainly not in comparison to her.
The story reveals another aspect into the mind of God and how different His thinking is from our own.
At the temple in Jerusalem there are a number of “courts” and “gates” where various activates take place. Jesus walks up to “The Treasury” and sits across from one of the thirteen receptacles where people were placing offerings (Tithes). The receptacles are there to collect the temple tax as well. Because the receptacles are in the open everyone can see who is giving and they can also get a good idea of how much each person is giving. In other words, there is a great opportunity here for this part of the temple to become a sideshow.
I will tell the story in my own words:
Jesus and his disciple chums walked up to the treasury and sat down across from where the people were giving so they could watch. This was during the Passover feast so the place was packed and a whole lot of rich guy types were walking up and making donations. Every time a person put money into the receptacle everyone could hear the coins slide down. When a super rich dude put in his stash the place echoed with the sound of the coins sliding down the receptacle.
The people standing around were sayin OOOOOOH and AAAAAAAAh whenever the coins made a lot of noise. After a super rich guy made his contribution an average middle class guy would walk up and only made a modest contribution. Since the coins did not make very much noise nobody would say anything. The whole thing was pretty embarrassing. Unless, of course, you were a super rich guy.
Then all of a sudden this old lady walks up and puts in two small copper coins and then walks away. One of the temple guards looks over at his partner standing beside him and they start chuckling. Some of the people standing nearby also start chuckling as well. Even some of the Lord’s disciples look at each other and make faces because they knew the contribution was worthless.
Then Jesus, seeing the time was right for a Sunday school lesson tells his chums to gather round. Jesus said to them, “Did you see what just happened?” One of the disciples said, “Yea nothing happened, nothing at all.” Some of the other disciples start laughing. Then Jesus says to them, “Tell me you who are so wise, who gave the most money today?”
Some of the wiser disciples sense a trap and keep their mouths shut. However, some are obtuse and begin thinking of a few of the rich people who came in an dropped a stash. One disciple said, “I think the guy dressed in purple, you remember he had a long robe. “Yea he gave the most. “I can still hear the coins hitting the bottom of the receptacle in my head. “Man that guy was loaded.” Some of the other disciples agreed.
Then Jesus said, “Wrongo reindeer, the one who gave the most was that poor widow.” The disciples look at each other in disbelief. One says, “Are you tryin to tell me that the old geyser lady gave more than the super rich guy? “This sounds like the new math kids are learnin in school these days and I’m not familiar with it so maybe you can help me out here.”
Jesus says, “Gladly.” “You see the rich guy is a gazillionare and gave about two percent of his earning for the year. “The poor woman is penniless and gave everything she had to live on. “Now she must trust God to provide her next meal. “In God’s eyes she gave the most of all the contributors today.” The disciples looked at each other and had to agree that the poor woman left the temple with nothing, but her faith. As a result she had to have given more than anyone else.
The moral of the story is not just that the woman gave all she had, it is that she was completely trusting God to provide for her immediate needs. The wording Mark uses in his description of the woman is far deeper than poor; it is destitute. The woman was probably homeless.
By temple law she had every right to keep one of the coins for herself. The fact that she was willing to donate everything to God shows her to be a committed Godly woman. When I look at myself I do not see a committed Godly man, certainly not in comparison to her.
The story reveals another aspect into the mind of God and how different His thinking is from our own.
Friday, January 25, 2008
The Letter of the Law
I suppose there is a bit of a hypocrite in every one of us, at least if we are honest with ourselves. Jesus confronted this vice on a number of occasions usually with the religious elite of the time. On one occasion in Matthew 15:1-9 some Pharisees confront Jesus because his disciples did not wash their hands before eating. Most mothers have these same opinions about their kids however; this was different because the Pharisees wanted the disciples to wash their hands for the sake of tradition and not as a germ control issue sponsored by the CDC. Jesus immediately confronts the Pharisees because of their hypocrisy with regard to the law. When it comes to the letter of the law that sword cuts two ways.
I will tell the story in my own words;
One day when Jesus and his disciple chums were traveling down a dusty road some pesky Pharisees confronted them all with a challenge. The Pharisees did this so often the disciples expected to see it almost every day. One of the Pharisees, a high falutin type, walks up to Jesus and says, “Why is it that your disciples transgress the traditions of the elders? These traditions have been handed down to us for generations and we know the value of paying homage to them.”
Jesus says to them. “What, pray tell, are we talking about now? The grand poo baah Pharisee says, “The one about washing your hands before you eat bread.” Jesus takes a small loaf of bread from the bread bag, with unwashed hands of course, and then takes a great big bite out of it and begins talking with His mouth full; another thing the Pharisees hate. Jesus says to them. “Don’t you guys ever get tired of being hypocrites? “I mean come on get a life. “You Bozos have got to be kidding me. Can’t you find some real issues to come after me with?”
Jesus continues, “Oh by the way, speaking of transgressing the law why do you make a mockery of the law by your distortion of it. God said that children should honor their father and mother and anyone who does not honor their father and mother should be put to death. “However, you say that children are permitted to pay tithes to the synagogue with money that might have been used to help their parents. “In other words a child could say, ‘Hey mom and dad I would love to help you pay for the groceries this week but I gave the money to God. ‘If you don’t like it take it up with Him.’ “So you see you are telling a child not to honor their father and mother and they can dishonor their father and mother by filling your pockets.”
No doubt the Pharisees were steamed by what Jesus had pointed out to them however it reveals the painful side of pointing the finger at another’s transgressions. The simple fact is we all transgress at least some of God’s laws and pointing out one person’s faults will invariably lead to someone else pointing out some of our own.
Hypocrisy is a street that runs both ways. I find myself walking the hypocrisy line if I am watching a ball game on TV and I see a call made that goes against my team. I might say to the referee, who can’t hear me of course, “Yo ref why are you calling that a penalty? Are you kidding me that wasn’t roughing the quarterback.” Now to be fair, the grounds crew is on the field with a backhoe trying to dig the quarterback’s helmet out of the ground. While the entire city’s paramedic squad has surrounded the player with several priests administering last rites. So the officials may have seen something I missed.
When my team’s offense is on the field and one of the opponent’s defensive linemen so much as breathes in the direction of my quarterback I scream at the official for not making the call. I tell the ref that a visit to the optometrist is in order and I demand that he admit to the National Football League authorities that he is on the take for the other team. You see even I can be a hypocrite at times.
What Jesus was trying to point out to the religious leaders of the day was that the letter of the law is too difficult to live by and living by the spirit of the law is more practical. The instructions about washing hands before eating is more of a ceremonial gesture not a command punishable by death if not obeyed. Jesus later points out to his disciples that the body is not contaminated by what goes into it but, rather what comes out of it. The evil words we say to one another and the slanderous statements we make are not the result of our unwashed hands, but rather our unwashed hearts.
Remember, the letter of the law kills but the Spirit of the law gives life.
I will tell the story in my own words;
One day when Jesus and his disciple chums were traveling down a dusty road some pesky Pharisees confronted them all with a challenge. The Pharisees did this so often the disciples expected to see it almost every day. One of the Pharisees, a high falutin type, walks up to Jesus and says, “Why is it that your disciples transgress the traditions of the elders? These traditions have been handed down to us for generations and we know the value of paying homage to them.”
Jesus says to them. “What, pray tell, are we talking about now? The grand poo baah Pharisee says, “The one about washing your hands before you eat bread.” Jesus takes a small loaf of bread from the bread bag, with unwashed hands of course, and then takes a great big bite out of it and begins talking with His mouth full; another thing the Pharisees hate. Jesus says to them. “Don’t you guys ever get tired of being hypocrites? “I mean come on get a life. “You Bozos have got to be kidding me. Can’t you find some real issues to come after me with?”
Jesus continues, “Oh by the way, speaking of transgressing the law why do you make a mockery of the law by your distortion of it. God said that children should honor their father and mother and anyone who does not honor their father and mother should be put to death. “However, you say that children are permitted to pay tithes to the synagogue with money that might have been used to help their parents. “In other words a child could say, ‘Hey mom and dad I would love to help you pay for the groceries this week but I gave the money to God. ‘If you don’t like it take it up with Him.’ “So you see you are telling a child not to honor their father and mother and they can dishonor their father and mother by filling your pockets.”
No doubt the Pharisees were steamed by what Jesus had pointed out to them however it reveals the painful side of pointing the finger at another’s transgressions. The simple fact is we all transgress at least some of God’s laws and pointing out one person’s faults will invariably lead to someone else pointing out some of our own.
Hypocrisy is a street that runs both ways. I find myself walking the hypocrisy line if I am watching a ball game on TV and I see a call made that goes against my team. I might say to the referee, who can’t hear me of course, “Yo ref why are you calling that a penalty? Are you kidding me that wasn’t roughing the quarterback.” Now to be fair, the grounds crew is on the field with a backhoe trying to dig the quarterback’s helmet out of the ground. While the entire city’s paramedic squad has surrounded the player with several priests administering last rites. So the officials may have seen something I missed.
When my team’s offense is on the field and one of the opponent’s defensive linemen so much as breathes in the direction of my quarterback I scream at the official for not making the call. I tell the ref that a visit to the optometrist is in order and I demand that he admit to the National Football League authorities that he is on the take for the other team. You see even I can be a hypocrite at times.
What Jesus was trying to point out to the religious leaders of the day was that the letter of the law is too difficult to live by and living by the spirit of the law is more practical. The instructions about washing hands before eating is more of a ceremonial gesture not a command punishable by death if not obeyed. Jesus later points out to his disciples that the body is not contaminated by what goes into it but, rather what comes out of it. The evil words we say to one another and the slanderous statements we make are not the result of our unwashed hands, but rather our unwashed hearts.
Remember, the letter of the law kills but the Spirit of the law gives life.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Barnabas and Paul
An old friend of mine who is serving in the mission field in the Middle East made a comment recently about some personality problems among fellow staff members. The mission field generally has personnel issues because of the strong personalities that tend to end up there. Only very strong and determined people survive living for years in foreign countries. The same thing was true in Jesus’ day.
In the early days of the Christian church within a few years of the Lord’s resurrection, missionary journeys were started to promote the gospel of Jesus. On one of those journeys two men appear in the book of Acts. They are Barnabas and Paul. In Acts chapter thirteen both men are called together by the Lord to go on a missionary journey (Acts 13:2-4). They take along a young man called Mark (Acts 13:5). Theologians generally agree this is the same Mark who wrote the Gospel of Mark.
At one point in their travels Mark decides that the missionary life is not for him and chooses to depart for Jerusalem alone. We do not know why he left Barnabas and Paul but some time later Barnabas wants to bring Mark back so he can continue to work with them in their travels. Paul rejects this idea and, as a result, a great argument ensues and Barnabas and Paul separate and go their own ways. Barnabas takes Mark with him to Cyprus and Paul takes Silas with him and continues the Lord’s work (Acts 15:36-40).
There is much to learn about how different personalities impact the church. The story of the separation of Barnabas and Paul can teach us how to better handle difficult situations. There is also much to learn about how God intervenes in these matters. The story is not a total loss, as I will explain later. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that what the Lord brought together (Acts 13:2) man separated (Acts 15:39).
I will tell the story of Acts 15:39 in my own words.
Barnabas and Paul are sittin around shootin the buffalo when Paul says, “Yo dude, why don’t we go back to the churches we started and see how they are fairin? Barnabas says, “Cool beans. I’ve been wonderin how some of those guys are holdin their own with all this persecution and everything. I want to take Mark with us.” Paul says, “No can do dude. After he bailed on us in Perga I don’t think he can handle all this missionary stuff. I know he’s a relative of yours and everything, but that kite won’t fly.”
Then Barnabas said, “Mark is a reliable and everything he just needed some space, a chance to clear his head. He’s cool now that’s why I want to take him with us.” Paul responded, “Don’t you remember what him leavin cost us? “We had to take money out of our own stash to send him back to Jerusalem. “Not to mention all the food and blankets. “He pretty much stripped us clean.” Barnabas said, “He’s a young guy, these things are gonna happen with young guys.”
But the stage was set and both men were digging in their heel for the next round. The next round of any argument generally brings out other issues that may not have anything to do with the original argument, but have to do with personality problems that were not addressed earlier.
Barnabas says, “Ya know you have been givin orders since we started out and I for one am getting real tired of all your yappin. “You need to take a chill pill and learn a thing or two about humility.” Paul graciously responded, “Look Mr. Potato Head, I know a thing or two about people and I know what they can and can’t do and I am tellin you Mark can’t hold his water on the mission field.” Barnabas responded with a level of diplomacy that is still spoken about today. “You snore so loud the camels are complaining.” Paul, not wanting to be outdone responded in kind. “Yea, well your cooking stinks.” Barnabas says, “Well if that’s the way you feel I’m outta here.”
Fortunately, none of this came to blows I mean after all how much Christian love can the world handle. Nevertheless, the story does reveal a great deal about human emotion and pride. Maybe more to the point, the story reveals the cost of human emotion and pride, as there is no record of Paul and Barnabas ever seeing each other again. It is interesting to note that Paul eventually has a change of heart about Mark and works with him on future assignments.
Mark is apparently with Paul during his first imprisonment (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24). The next time we see Paul in prison he tells Timothy to send Mark to him because he needs him, or more precisely he needs Mark’s knowledge of the Old Testament (2 Timothy 4:11).
What a shame it was for Barnabas and Paul to separate the way they did especially since Paul works with Mark during his future ministry years. How many of us can look at a foolish argument that resulted in a permanent separation; a separation that a little humility could have prevented.
One ounce of humility will bring far more success then ten pounds of arrogance.
In the early days of the Christian church within a few years of the Lord’s resurrection, missionary journeys were started to promote the gospel of Jesus. On one of those journeys two men appear in the book of Acts. They are Barnabas and Paul. In Acts chapter thirteen both men are called together by the Lord to go on a missionary journey (Acts 13:2-4). They take along a young man called Mark (Acts 13:5). Theologians generally agree this is the same Mark who wrote the Gospel of Mark.
At one point in their travels Mark decides that the missionary life is not for him and chooses to depart for Jerusalem alone. We do not know why he left Barnabas and Paul but some time later Barnabas wants to bring Mark back so he can continue to work with them in their travels. Paul rejects this idea and, as a result, a great argument ensues and Barnabas and Paul separate and go their own ways. Barnabas takes Mark with him to Cyprus and Paul takes Silas with him and continues the Lord’s work (Acts 15:36-40).
There is much to learn about how different personalities impact the church. The story of the separation of Barnabas and Paul can teach us how to better handle difficult situations. There is also much to learn about how God intervenes in these matters. The story is not a total loss, as I will explain later. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that what the Lord brought together (Acts 13:2) man separated (Acts 15:39).
I will tell the story of Acts 15:39 in my own words.
Barnabas and Paul are sittin around shootin the buffalo when Paul says, “Yo dude, why don’t we go back to the churches we started and see how they are fairin? Barnabas says, “Cool beans. I’ve been wonderin how some of those guys are holdin their own with all this persecution and everything. I want to take Mark with us.” Paul says, “No can do dude. After he bailed on us in Perga I don’t think he can handle all this missionary stuff. I know he’s a relative of yours and everything, but that kite won’t fly.”
Then Barnabas said, “Mark is a reliable and everything he just needed some space, a chance to clear his head. He’s cool now that’s why I want to take him with us.” Paul responded, “Don’t you remember what him leavin cost us? “We had to take money out of our own stash to send him back to Jerusalem. “Not to mention all the food and blankets. “He pretty much stripped us clean.” Barnabas said, “He’s a young guy, these things are gonna happen with young guys.”
But the stage was set and both men were digging in their heel for the next round. The next round of any argument generally brings out other issues that may not have anything to do with the original argument, but have to do with personality problems that were not addressed earlier.
Barnabas says, “Ya know you have been givin orders since we started out and I for one am getting real tired of all your yappin. “You need to take a chill pill and learn a thing or two about humility.” Paul graciously responded, “Look Mr. Potato Head, I know a thing or two about people and I know what they can and can’t do and I am tellin you Mark can’t hold his water on the mission field.” Barnabas responded with a level of diplomacy that is still spoken about today. “You snore so loud the camels are complaining.” Paul, not wanting to be outdone responded in kind. “Yea, well your cooking stinks.” Barnabas says, “Well if that’s the way you feel I’m outta here.”
Fortunately, none of this came to blows I mean after all how much Christian love can the world handle. Nevertheless, the story does reveal a great deal about human emotion and pride. Maybe more to the point, the story reveals the cost of human emotion and pride, as there is no record of Paul and Barnabas ever seeing each other again. It is interesting to note that Paul eventually has a change of heart about Mark and works with him on future assignments.
Mark is apparently with Paul during his first imprisonment (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24). The next time we see Paul in prison he tells Timothy to send Mark to him because he needs him, or more precisely he needs Mark’s knowledge of the Old Testament (2 Timothy 4:11).
What a shame it was for Barnabas and Paul to separate the way they did especially since Paul works with Mark during his future ministry years. How many of us can look at a foolish argument that resulted in a permanent separation; a separation that a little humility could have prevented.
One ounce of humility will bring far more success then ten pounds of arrogance.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Answered Prayers
I find myself a much bigger fan of the New Testament than the Old Testament for several reasons. One, many of the prophecies of the Old Testament are difficult to understand. Two, some of the stories told are fascinating i.e. Joseph, Abraham, Moses, Job yet there are many that are difficult to understand and some just don’t make any sense at all.
Take Jephthah for example (Judges 11 and 12) who makes a vow to God for a victory in battle even though God had already promised him a victory. Then we have David (2 Samuel 11) who has wealth, women, and power, yet takes the wife of one of his most trusted military leaders and then has that military leader killed. Finally Solomon who, after being granted one thousand wives and many other things to be sure, commits apostasy. Someone explain that to me. If God had granted me a thousand wives I think I would remain faithful to Him. My reasoning is simple. What other god is going to give me more?
That said, there are other things that appear briefly in the Old Testament that raise more questions than answers. Take Daniel 10 for example. Daniel prays for interpretation of a vision, which had troubled him. He fasted and prayed for twenty-one days and grew weak while waiting for an answer. Then the angel Gabriel appears (Daniel 10:12,13) and informs Daniel that the Lord had heard his prayer and from the first day dispatched Gabriel to Daniel to explain the vision.
However, Gabriel found himself waging war against “the kings of Persia.” The “kings of Persia” is a reference to demonic forces that were attempting to prevent Gabriel from accomplishing his mission. Then Michael an archangel is dispatched to assist Gabriel. Michael begins battling the demonic forces and that in turn allows Gabriel to go to Daniel and inform him of the interpretation of his vision.
The text is not clear as to what exactly had happened to Gabriel after he was dispatched to Daniel. Did demonic forces ambush him while on his way to see Daniel? Or, was Daniel surrounded by demonic forces that prevented Gabriel from communicating with him? The text appears to indicate that Gabriel was intercepted while on his way to see Daniel and fought for three weeks against the demonic forces.
There are other questions that need to be addressed. How did Satan know that Gabriel was on his way to see Daniel? Are there spies in God’s kingdom? Why didn’t God know that Gabriel would encounter demonic forces on his way to see Daniel? If God did know then why didn’t He send Michael with Gabriel on his mission?
The story offers a fascinating glimpse into the spiritual world. Here we see our friend Daniel praying and God answering his prayer immediately. Yet Daniel does not see the answer for three weeks. This causes me to ask how often our prayers are answered immediately yet, not revealed to us for some time. Unfortunately, glimpses like this passage in Daniel are rare and we just don’t know what God is doing. That makes the entire subject of answered prayer esoteric as only God and maybe a few angels are aware of what is going on.
The New Testament offers other clues to the tantalizing world of metaphysics. At the time of Jesus’ arrest just before He was crucified He told Peter that He could appeal to God for help and twelve legions of angels would come and rescue Him (Matthew 26:53). The word “legion” was used by the Roman military and means six thousand. The word is used to identify a specific unit of soldiers. Today the military uses terms like “squad, platoon, company, division, etc.”
Jesus is saying to Peter that He had at His disposal seventy two thousand angels. My question is this. What were all those seventy two thousand angels doing at that time? If they were actually on an assignment then they would have been pulled away from that assignment to help Jesus. Which means they would have not been able to help whoever they were assigned to help, unless of course they were just hanging out at a local pool hall.
This takes us back to the ultimate question of why things happen. In the case of Daniel we are provided a glimpse of the reason why Daniels prayer was not answered for three weeks. However, this is one of the only times we are granted access to the metaphysical world. Unfortunately, there are too many times when things happen and we simply do not know why.
Paul, when writing to the church at Thessalonica, tells the brethren that he had desired to visit them many times before, but was stopped by Satan (1 Thess. 2:18). How could Satan stop one of the foremost missionaries of all time? Why would the Lord allow Satan to stop Paul from visiting a fledgling church that needed encouragement? Paul eventually sends Timothy to the church to strengthen them (1 Thess. 3:1-2).
These verses give us some understanding as to the struggles the giants of old dealt with and that while times have changed spiritual military strategy has not. Satan appears to spend considerable military effort attempting to hinder prayer. He knows the fastest way to defeat believers is to convince them that God does not care, or worse that God doesn’t exist. As believers we should take solace in the knowledge that the same spiritual warfare that disrupted Daniels life and caused stress for Paul is at work against us today.
Apparently, God wouldn’t have it any other way.
Take Jephthah for example (Judges 11 and 12) who makes a vow to God for a victory in battle even though God had already promised him a victory. Then we have David (2 Samuel 11) who has wealth, women, and power, yet takes the wife of one of his most trusted military leaders and then has that military leader killed. Finally Solomon who, after being granted one thousand wives and many other things to be sure, commits apostasy. Someone explain that to me. If God had granted me a thousand wives I think I would remain faithful to Him. My reasoning is simple. What other god is going to give me more?
That said, there are other things that appear briefly in the Old Testament that raise more questions than answers. Take Daniel 10 for example. Daniel prays for interpretation of a vision, which had troubled him. He fasted and prayed for twenty-one days and grew weak while waiting for an answer. Then the angel Gabriel appears (Daniel 10:12,13) and informs Daniel that the Lord had heard his prayer and from the first day dispatched Gabriel to Daniel to explain the vision.
However, Gabriel found himself waging war against “the kings of Persia.” The “kings of Persia” is a reference to demonic forces that were attempting to prevent Gabriel from accomplishing his mission. Then Michael an archangel is dispatched to assist Gabriel. Michael begins battling the demonic forces and that in turn allows Gabriel to go to Daniel and inform him of the interpretation of his vision.
The text is not clear as to what exactly had happened to Gabriel after he was dispatched to Daniel. Did demonic forces ambush him while on his way to see Daniel? Or, was Daniel surrounded by demonic forces that prevented Gabriel from communicating with him? The text appears to indicate that Gabriel was intercepted while on his way to see Daniel and fought for three weeks against the demonic forces.
There are other questions that need to be addressed. How did Satan know that Gabriel was on his way to see Daniel? Are there spies in God’s kingdom? Why didn’t God know that Gabriel would encounter demonic forces on his way to see Daniel? If God did know then why didn’t He send Michael with Gabriel on his mission?
The story offers a fascinating glimpse into the spiritual world. Here we see our friend Daniel praying and God answering his prayer immediately. Yet Daniel does not see the answer for three weeks. This causes me to ask how often our prayers are answered immediately yet, not revealed to us for some time. Unfortunately, glimpses like this passage in Daniel are rare and we just don’t know what God is doing. That makes the entire subject of answered prayer esoteric as only God and maybe a few angels are aware of what is going on.
The New Testament offers other clues to the tantalizing world of metaphysics. At the time of Jesus’ arrest just before He was crucified He told Peter that He could appeal to God for help and twelve legions of angels would come and rescue Him (Matthew 26:53). The word “legion” was used by the Roman military and means six thousand. The word is used to identify a specific unit of soldiers. Today the military uses terms like “squad, platoon, company, division, etc.”
Jesus is saying to Peter that He had at His disposal seventy two thousand angels. My question is this. What were all those seventy two thousand angels doing at that time? If they were actually on an assignment then they would have been pulled away from that assignment to help Jesus. Which means they would have not been able to help whoever they were assigned to help, unless of course they were just hanging out at a local pool hall.
This takes us back to the ultimate question of why things happen. In the case of Daniel we are provided a glimpse of the reason why Daniels prayer was not answered for three weeks. However, this is one of the only times we are granted access to the metaphysical world. Unfortunately, there are too many times when things happen and we simply do not know why.
Paul, when writing to the church at Thessalonica, tells the brethren that he had desired to visit them many times before, but was stopped by Satan (1 Thess. 2:18). How could Satan stop one of the foremost missionaries of all time? Why would the Lord allow Satan to stop Paul from visiting a fledgling church that needed encouragement? Paul eventually sends Timothy to the church to strengthen them (1 Thess. 3:1-2).
These verses give us some understanding as to the struggles the giants of old dealt with and that while times have changed spiritual military strategy has not. Satan appears to spend considerable military effort attempting to hinder prayer. He knows the fastest way to defeat believers is to convince them that God does not care, or worse that God doesn’t exist. As believers we should take solace in the knowledge that the same spiritual warfare that disrupted Daniels life and caused stress for Paul is at work against us today.
Apparently, God wouldn’t have it any other way.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
God and the Touchdown
Have you ever seen football players point up to heaven when they make a touchdown catch, sack a quarterback, or recover a fumble? I am talking about things that take place every week in the National Football League and many other sporting events to be sure. Some of the athletes point up to heaven when they accomplish a big play, one that they are paid to do I might add.
I have never seen an interviewed player asked why they point up to heaven. Common sense would dictate the players who do this are thanking God for the accomplishment. However, I cannot be certain, as I have not heard for myself the reason why any player would give God thanks for a touchdown. Some of you are wondering where I am going with this. To them I say, “Patience whippersnappers, all things in time.”
Thanking God for something good happening is a good thing, isn’t it? Aren’t we commanded to be thankful? Indeed we are. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple; nothing scriptural ever is. Lets take a look at some scripture and see what the Lord is instructing us about being thankful.
Always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus (Ephesians 5:20)
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of our Lord Jesus giving thanks to Him through God the father. (Colossians 3:17)
Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication let your request be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)
In everything give thanks for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Some of you will say, “There, that settles it, so it is a good thing when a player points up to heaven when he does something good on the field.” However, if you notice, the scripture verses make it clear that we are to be grateful for all things. All things; now that is a big pill to swallow. In other words we cannot pick and choose when we are going to point to heaven and give God an acknowledgement of thanks.
All things means all things, its just that simple. If a football player, or anyone else for that matter, chooses to acknowledge God when they do something great they also need to acknowledge God when something bad happens. Not just the touchdown catch in the end zone, but also the dropped pass in the end zone, the fumble that was recovered by the opposing team and of course all the players must point to heaven when the other team wins the super bowl and begins taunting the losing players right on national TV. Remember; give God thanks in all things.
The pitcher who strikes out the opposing team and wins the game can only point to heaven if that same pitcher agrees to point to heaven when someone blasts a grand slam against him and his team looses in the bottom of the ninth inning.
To be fair, I am not picking on professional athletes, as we are no different than they. Walk up to any Christian at church and ask them how things are going and they will invariably praise God for some event that has turned in their favor. Yet, I don’t know of any Christian who gives God praise when they lose their job. Have you ever heard of a Christian who said, “Praise God my company is closing and I will probably be out of work for many months?” Either have I.
Some Christians claim that the verses instructing us to praise God mean we should give God the glory only when things are going good, and accept the bad things but not necessarily praise God for them. However, that flies in the face of the verses I have listed and it raises other questions. When a Christian football player catches a touchdown pass to win the game he may have been covered by a Christian cornerback on the opposing team who failed to keep his opponent from catching the ball. What is the determining factor in God’s logic here? Does God love the Christian player who caught the ball more than He loves the Christian player covering him?
It is easy to see how complex and confusing things can become when we try to determine God’s reasoning. A Christian can ask, “Why is my child sick when other Christian children are healthy? Does God love them more than me? Fiddlesticks. One can never measure God’s love by what we see as blessings. If that were true then God would have never allowed Jesus to suffer and die in the manner He did. And if there was no crucifixion then would be no complete demonstration of God’s love for us, as there would be no atonement for sin.
So the next time you see a football player, or any athlete for that matter, praising God for a great on field play remind the TV set you’re watching that the Bible says “all things.” If God is in the touchdown catch, He is also in the fumble. As Job said, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)
That’s easy for Job to say, he didn’t have to deal with all the problems we have.
I think you get my point.
I have never seen an interviewed player asked why they point up to heaven. Common sense would dictate the players who do this are thanking God for the accomplishment. However, I cannot be certain, as I have not heard for myself the reason why any player would give God thanks for a touchdown. Some of you are wondering where I am going with this. To them I say, “Patience whippersnappers, all things in time.”
Thanking God for something good happening is a good thing, isn’t it? Aren’t we commanded to be thankful? Indeed we are. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple; nothing scriptural ever is. Lets take a look at some scripture and see what the Lord is instructing us about being thankful.
Always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus (Ephesians 5:20)
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of our Lord Jesus giving thanks to Him through God the father. (Colossians 3:17)
Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication let your request be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)
In everything give thanks for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Some of you will say, “There, that settles it, so it is a good thing when a player points up to heaven when he does something good on the field.” However, if you notice, the scripture verses make it clear that we are to be grateful for all things. All things; now that is a big pill to swallow. In other words we cannot pick and choose when we are going to point to heaven and give God an acknowledgement of thanks.
All things means all things, its just that simple. If a football player, or anyone else for that matter, chooses to acknowledge God when they do something great they also need to acknowledge God when something bad happens. Not just the touchdown catch in the end zone, but also the dropped pass in the end zone, the fumble that was recovered by the opposing team and of course all the players must point to heaven when the other team wins the super bowl and begins taunting the losing players right on national TV. Remember; give God thanks in all things.
The pitcher who strikes out the opposing team and wins the game can only point to heaven if that same pitcher agrees to point to heaven when someone blasts a grand slam against him and his team looses in the bottom of the ninth inning.
To be fair, I am not picking on professional athletes, as we are no different than they. Walk up to any Christian at church and ask them how things are going and they will invariably praise God for some event that has turned in their favor. Yet, I don’t know of any Christian who gives God praise when they lose their job. Have you ever heard of a Christian who said, “Praise God my company is closing and I will probably be out of work for many months?” Either have I.
Some Christians claim that the verses instructing us to praise God mean we should give God the glory only when things are going good, and accept the bad things but not necessarily praise God for them. However, that flies in the face of the verses I have listed and it raises other questions. When a Christian football player catches a touchdown pass to win the game he may have been covered by a Christian cornerback on the opposing team who failed to keep his opponent from catching the ball. What is the determining factor in God’s logic here? Does God love the Christian player who caught the ball more than He loves the Christian player covering him?
It is easy to see how complex and confusing things can become when we try to determine God’s reasoning. A Christian can ask, “Why is my child sick when other Christian children are healthy? Does God love them more than me? Fiddlesticks. One can never measure God’s love by what we see as blessings. If that were true then God would have never allowed Jesus to suffer and die in the manner He did. And if there was no crucifixion then would be no complete demonstration of God’s love for us, as there would be no atonement for sin.
So the next time you see a football player, or any athlete for that matter, praising God for a great on field play remind the TV set you’re watching that the Bible says “all things.” If God is in the touchdown catch, He is also in the fumble. As Job said, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)
That’s easy for Job to say, he didn’t have to deal with all the problems we have.
I think you get my point.
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