Most things are not what they seem on the surface. I love artichokes! Even as a child, I enjoyed them. Mom would pop those green gems into hot water and boil them for about an hour. A little garlic butter or mayonnaise and you’re good to go. My friends and family who don’t like artichokes can’t get past the hard outer leaves. Those outer leaves are very tough and have sharp barbs that need clipped! The outer leaves and barbs protect the inner, tender leaves and heart. You have to peel off six to eight layers before you reach the tender, juicy leaves. Then pure heaven when you get to the heart. What a treat!
Gee, almost sounds like us human beings. Layers. The outer layer that others see. With this layer people makes judgments about us. They think they know us because of the surface layer. But it is tough and contains barbs for our protection. You don’t really get to the good stuff until some layers are peeled off. We are careful who we let in, and that’s as it should be. We need to be careful, people need to prove themselves. But we’re Christians, we should be different, or so they say.
And we are different! We are, or should be, open to be a witness to what Jesus has done in our lives. We are, or should be, open to minister to the needs of others. But it doesn’t mean that we should bare our souls, reveal our innermost core to every Tom, Dick and Harry. Ministry and witnessing are one thing. But our mentor’s, mentee’s and close friends need to be tried, tested before we reveal all. If we bare our souls to the wrong people, we are likely to be eaten by the wolves.
We do need those people with whom we can share everything. People who we hold ourselves accountable to. Our propensity to sin makes this accountability a must! But in the same breath, we need to say that there are people who cannot be trusted. They are too immature to hold a confidence. A person once said to me, “What good is there in knowing something if you can’t tell it.” Not everything needs to be told!
When Jesus was preparing to send the disciples out he said “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. Be as wary as snakes and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16, NLT). Jesus knew that there would be people who wanted to destroy them just as they tried to destroy him. In our lives we need to learn to balance wisdom and vulnerability to accomplish what he has designed, prepared us to do. We are his sheep, we follow the great shepherd.
John 10:9-10 (NLT), “Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. Wherever they go they will find green pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.” Don’t withdraw, go forward. Be gentle and wary. Be open yet guarded. "Be gentle as doves but wary as snakes" Trust and obey - - there really is no other way.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Gentle Care
The other day, between appointments, I was listening to Alistair Begg on his program Truth for Life. He was speaking of Christ’s gentle care for his sheep. I thought about my daughter and a friend of hers, who are both in the midst of difficult times. One because of the birthday of a loved one who had died and the other the anniversary of the death of a loved one. The heartache and pain are real. None who care for these two ladies, can be untouched by the hurt they feel. Those who love them are “touched with the feelings of their infirmity.” Both of these ladies are working through their grief.
In the message, Rev. Begg said, “All Christ’s sheep are diseased, so He takes gentle care of them.” Many people think He cares for His sheep because they are good or perfect. This is nowhere near the truth. In our personal lives, as well as our church life, we have put up a “false” storefront. That storefront causes people to make assumptions about what is inside. (Perfect, Sound, having no worries or troubles.) When you open the door you see the “real” structure. (Imperfect, diseased, in need of a friend, a savior.) You and I, including the church, are merely imperfect human beings trying to become what Christ intended us to be. As Christ followers, we have the same questions, trials, sufferings and heartaches as those who do not believe. So what’s the difference? The difference is that “He takes gentle care of his sheep.” When we have the heartaches – He is there! When we have the suffering – He is there! When we have the questions and trials – He is there! And just as important, He is there during the joys and victories of our life.
I am not against the Church. I am Pro-Church. What I am against is the perception of what the Church is. It IS NOT a “gathering of the gods”. It IS a “trauma center” for the lost, sick, and suffering whose heartaches are beyond human healing! One time the Pharisees asked Jesus (Luke 5:30, NLT), “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?” His answer is found in verses 31 and 32 “…Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do. I have come to call sinners to turn from their sins, not to spend my time with those who THINK they are already good enough.” (Emphasis mine.)
Are you one of His sheep? If so, religious people may consider you “scum”, but Jesus sees your heartache, pain and disease and is there to “take gentle care of you”. It doesn’t mean he leaves you alone, or doesn’t cause discomfort. He helps clean the wounds – that hurts. He asks, and helps, you change things in your life that need to be changed. His love and care are active not passive. He will not leave us where he found us. He will bring us, at our speed, to the place he has designed for us. We can’t get there by ourselves. He accomplishes it, but we have to be willing to do what He asks.
If you are not one of His sheep, is there any hope for you? Most assuredly! He wants you. Searches for you. Seeks you. Why does he want you and me, the “so called” scum? “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.” John 3:16-17 (NLT).
He wants you!! Not because of anything you have done but because of what He has done. He wants you to become one of his sheep. All you have to do is ask, and he will begin "caring gently for you".
In the message, Rev. Begg said, “All Christ’s sheep are diseased, so He takes gentle care of them.” Many people think He cares for His sheep because they are good or perfect. This is nowhere near the truth. In our personal lives, as well as our church life, we have put up a “false” storefront. That storefront causes people to make assumptions about what is inside. (Perfect, Sound, having no worries or troubles.) When you open the door you see the “real” structure. (Imperfect, diseased, in need of a friend, a savior.) You and I, including the church, are merely imperfect human beings trying to become what Christ intended us to be. As Christ followers, we have the same questions, trials, sufferings and heartaches as those who do not believe. So what’s the difference? The difference is that “He takes gentle care of his sheep.” When we have the heartaches – He is there! When we have the suffering – He is there! When we have the questions and trials – He is there! And just as important, He is there during the joys and victories of our life.
I am not against the Church. I am Pro-Church. What I am against is the perception of what the Church is. It IS NOT a “gathering of the gods”. It IS a “trauma center” for the lost, sick, and suffering whose heartaches are beyond human healing! One time the Pharisees asked Jesus (Luke 5:30, NLT), “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?” His answer is found in verses 31 and 32 “…Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do. I have come to call sinners to turn from their sins, not to spend my time with those who THINK they are already good enough.” (Emphasis mine.)
Are you one of His sheep? If so, religious people may consider you “scum”, but Jesus sees your heartache, pain and disease and is there to “take gentle care of you”. It doesn’t mean he leaves you alone, or doesn’t cause discomfort. He helps clean the wounds – that hurts. He asks, and helps, you change things in your life that need to be changed. His love and care are active not passive. He will not leave us where he found us. He will bring us, at our speed, to the place he has designed for us. We can’t get there by ourselves. He accomplishes it, but we have to be willing to do what He asks.
If you are not one of His sheep, is there any hope for you? Most assuredly! He wants you. Searches for you. Seeks you. Why does he want you and me, the “so called” scum? “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.” John 3:16-17 (NLT).
He wants you!! Not because of anything you have done but because of what He has done. He wants you to become one of his sheep. All you have to do is ask, and he will begin "caring gently for you".
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
What about the questions-----
Recently I was asked a question that took me by surprise. “How and why do you believe in God?” It’s not that I don’t know what I believe and why, it’s more an issue of thinking like a seeker of God. I accepted Christ as my personal savior in 1970. There was a time when I, like the prodigal son, went my own way. Since returning to Him in 1980, I have focused on trying to grow in faith, love and peace. Throughout those years, I’ve done the things I’ve known to do. I was involved in the church . . . teaching – both individuals and Sunday school classes, joining the Hospital Ministry Team and visiting the sick, participating in foreign missions, and as we had the ability, giving to the needy. The problem? I had slipped into the “so heavenly minded no earthly good” category of Christendom. I have always believed that if we live our lives as “Christ-followers”, showing his love, concern and compassion we will be asked by those who are watching us “What about this God you serve?”
In 1970 I was stationed on Crete with the US Air Force. I remember a man, who served at the same base, stopped me one day and asked why I was always so happy and friendly. I didn’t know him but it was a small base so we saw each other often in the mess hall, post office and other places around the base. I had the enthusiasm of the new believer and it spilled out over everyone who came near. That’s as it should be. I wasn’t surprised at his question, because the questions were fresh in my memory.
I have lost sight of the questions. I could blame it on the hardships of life I had to endure, or be religious and say it’s because of the “so called” maturity I have attained. Or we could say, like my toddler granddaughter says, “Grandpa’s Old”. How about being honest? I, like a lot Christians, got comfortable in the Church environment. All our activities are at the church. All our friends are at church. Everything we do is centered on the church. I’m not saying that is bad. We need that fellowship and learning. We need to be around those like-minded people, but there comes a time when we need to around “seekers” also. If we believe Jesus is the only one who can love and save us, we should be around folks who need to know that. How will they know to ask if we don’t display His love in their presence?
I’ve started thinking about the questions and the framework again. While I know the questions, since the dawn of man, have been the same, today’s world has a different context, and framework. In his book The Reason for God, Timothy Keller says in part ”…I had never experienced God’s presence personally. This required not so much knowledge of techniques for prayer, but a process in which I came to grips with my own needs, flaws, and problems. It was painful, and was, as is typical, triggered by disappointments and failures. … but it needs to be said that faith-journeys are never simply intellectual exercises.” I think the questions and answers are part of the process. Viva la process!
A few things in closing. Keep the enthusiasm you had as a new believer, you’ll spill over. Don’t get so caught up in “church life” that you don’t rub shoulders with unbelievers. Show the love and compassion of Jesus in your daily life and you will be so refreshingly different that those around you will be compelled to ask, “What about this God you serve?”
Don’t be surprised with the questions, expect them!
In 1970 I was stationed on Crete with the US Air Force. I remember a man, who served at the same base, stopped me one day and asked why I was always so happy and friendly. I didn’t know him but it was a small base so we saw each other often in the mess hall, post office and other places around the base. I had the enthusiasm of the new believer and it spilled out over everyone who came near. That’s as it should be. I wasn’t surprised at his question, because the questions were fresh in my memory.
I have lost sight of the questions. I could blame it on the hardships of life I had to endure, or be religious and say it’s because of the “so called” maturity I have attained. Or we could say, like my toddler granddaughter says, “Grandpa’s Old”. How about being honest? I, like a lot Christians, got comfortable in the Church environment. All our activities are at the church. All our friends are at church. Everything we do is centered on the church. I’m not saying that is bad. We need that fellowship and learning. We need to be around those like-minded people, but there comes a time when we need to around “seekers” also. If we believe Jesus is the only one who can love and save us, we should be around folks who need to know that. How will they know to ask if we don’t display His love in their presence?
I’ve started thinking about the questions and the framework again. While I know the questions, since the dawn of man, have been the same, today’s world has a different context, and framework. In his book The Reason for God, Timothy Keller says in part ”…I had never experienced God’s presence personally. This required not so much knowledge of techniques for prayer, but a process in which I came to grips with my own needs, flaws, and problems. It was painful, and was, as is typical, triggered by disappointments and failures. … but it needs to be said that faith-journeys are never simply intellectual exercises.” I think the questions and answers are part of the process. Viva la process!
A few things in closing. Keep the enthusiasm you had as a new believer, you’ll spill over. Don’t get so caught up in “church life” that you don’t rub shoulders with unbelievers. Show the love and compassion of Jesus in your daily life and you will be so refreshingly different that those around you will be compelled to ask, “What about this God you serve?”
Don’t be surprised with the questions, expect them!
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