The Gospels are full of interesting side-notes concerning the activities of the Lord Jesus. The address of one of those side-notes is Mark 3:9 (“So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.” NKJV)
Jesus has just accomplished the dazzling miracle of restoring an emaciated and shrunken hand. The audience response, however, is mixed. Many are overjoyed to think that a genuine healer has come to town. But some, mostly religious hypocrites, are angry because Jesus has the audacity to perform the miracle in a synagogue on the Sabbath.
Rather than aggravate this dichotomy, Jesus moves on. But the miracle seekers follow Him. Jesus assesses the situation and gives direction to His disciples. Seeing that His back is against the Lake of Galilee, He asks that a boat be provided to guarantee his freedom from the crush of the oncoming crowd.
Jesus is obviously aware of the importance of preparation and provides a clear lesson for his twelve protégés. He knows that His actions will attract a parade of expectations and opportunities. His preparation now will help guarantee His continued effectiveness.
The gospel writer records that Jesus instructs His disciples that the boat should be “kept ready”. We must diligently maintain what we carefully prepare. It is a fact that most of our world is in a continuous state of decline. If not maintained, most things, including our preparations, will eventually become defective and ineffective.
Preparation demands that we anticipate what can be as well as what will be. Because our minds respond best to the things they can see we must raise our line of sight above the immediate and evident. See beyond the present moment and activity. Like Jesus, we must visualize the details of the variety of pictures that are yet to develop. So, look ahead and keep a boat ready!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Overcoming Doubts
I have yet to figure out how doubt can find its way into some places. You know what I mean … into places where there is irrefutable and overwhelming evidence that something is real.
For example, in the closing verses of the Gospel of Matthew (28:17) we learn that some of Jesus’ disciples still doubted Him. At this point, the events of Calvary were several weeks behind them and Jesus had repeatedly been fully visible and accessible. He had spent time, walking, talking, and eating with His disciples. And yet the Scripture says, “but some doubted”. What was their problem! Did they doubt that He was a real person? Did they doubt that it was the same Jesus they had known? Did they doubt that He was the Son of God and the Messiah?
And the timing could not have been worse. Jesus is ready to give His disciples their mandate. On His lips are the words of “the Great Commission”, to go and make disciples of all the nations. And in the very moment of this historic event, doubt shows up. How incredibly frustrating it must have been for Jesus to have to deal with such immaturity and foolishness!
Apparently, some of Jesus’ followers simply could not get past the circumstances and certainty of His death. They chose to doubt in spite of clear evidence of the Lord’s authority over death. They had, after all, seen Jesus restore life to Jairus’ daughter, the Nain widow’s son, and Lazarus. And Lazarus had been dead for 4 days!
It’s easy for me to get frustrated with the disciples until I remind myself that I was not there. I must remember that doubt has eyes, ears, and even a nose. What I mean is that doubt is awakened and strengthened by the senses. The fact is, my senses did not witness the horrific details of the death of Jesus. I did not personally experience the first-hand reports of those who braved the events of Golgotha. But the disciples did. And now these same disciples are experiencing the tangible presence of the risen Christ. Their senses are telling them that He is real and true. But the images, sounds, and reports surrounding His death still seem to be overwhelming. And this “sense knowledge” gives life to their doubts.
My point is that as long as we give superiority to what our senses tell us, we will be bombarded and overtaken by a constant parade of doubts. Only those who, by faith, embrace the present Truth overcome the challenge of doubt. Senses will tell you that a situation may be difficult, near-impossible, or even hopeless. True faith does not ignore the message of the senses; it simply believes the Word of Truth anyway!
For example, in the closing verses of the Gospel of Matthew (28:17) we learn that some of Jesus’ disciples still doubted Him. At this point, the events of Calvary were several weeks behind them and Jesus had repeatedly been fully visible and accessible. He had spent time, walking, talking, and eating with His disciples. And yet the Scripture says, “but some doubted”. What was their problem! Did they doubt that He was a real person? Did they doubt that it was the same Jesus they had known? Did they doubt that He was the Son of God and the Messiah?
And the timing could not have been worse. Jesus is ready to give His disciples their mandate. On His lips are the words of “the Great Commission”, to go and make disciples of all the nations. And in the very moment of this historic event, doubt shows up. How incredibly frustrating it must have been for Jesus to have to deal with such immaturity and foolishness!
Apparently, some of Jesus’ followers simply could not get past the circumstances and certainty of His death. They chose to doubt in spite of clear evidence of the Lord’s authority over death. They had, after all, seen Jesus restore life to Jairus’ daughter, the Nain widow’s son, and Lazarus. And Lazarus had been dead for 4 days!
It’s easy for me to get frustrated with the disciples until I remind myself that I was not there. I must remember that doubt has eyes, ears, and even a nose. What I mean is that doubt is awakened and strengthened by the senses. The fact is, my senses did not witness the horrific details of the death of Jesus. I did not personally experience the first-hand reports of those who braved the events of Golgotha. But the disciples did. And now these same disciples are experiencing the tangible presence of the risen Christ. Their senses are telling them that He is real and true. But the images, sounds, and reports surrounding His death still seem to be overwhelming. And this “sense knowledge” gives life to their doubts.
My point is that as long as we give superiority to what our senses tell us, we will be bombarded and overtaken by a constant parade of doubts. Only those who, by faith, embrace the present Truth overcome the challenge of doubt. Senses will tell you that a situation may be difficult, near-impossible, or even hopeless. True faith does not ignore the message of the senses; it simply believes the Word of Truth anyway!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Ministering to the Lord
I would love to have been part of the church at Antioch (Acts 11 and 13).
It was an out-of-the-box type of church that was started by a group of displaced believers who were away from the immediate oversight and influence of the leadership in Jerusalem. These Antioch believers made Jesus the focus of their message, and Jesus, in turn, made them the beneficiaries of His presence. The Bible says that “Jesus was with them”. The immediate result of their strategy and the Lord’s presence was that a “great number believed and turned to the Lord”.
Bad news travels fast, but good news does get around. And the good news of what was happening in Antioch made its way to Jerusalem. The headquarters gang dispatched Barnabas to check it out. Barnabas went to Antioch and was excited by what he saw. Not since the days immediately following the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost had any church experienced such explosive growth. The only advice Barnabas could offer was simply that they keep on doing whatever it was that that they were doing.
During his visit to Antioch, Barnabas also realized something of great importance. He just knew that his discouraged friend Saul (Paul) needed to be involved in this church. So, Barnabas brought Saul to Antioch and together they became a part of the church’s ministry-team.
Of the ministries in the church at Antioch, one in particular has caught my attention. The Bible says that they “they ministered to the Lord”. Jesus was not only the focus of their message; He was the focus of their ministry! When they taught, they taught about Him. When they sang, they sang to Him! And as the church received what they were taught and spent time in praise and worship, the face of the church changed. They increasingly resembled the One who was the Center of their focus. And even unbelievers recognized the growing resemblance so much that they called the members of the church CHRISTians.
One of my daily goals is to minister to the Lord. To somehow do or say something that brings joy, honor, and blessing to the heart of my Savior. Every day I count on His ministry to me. Should He expect anything less from me?
It was an out-of-the-box type of church that was started by a group of displaced believers who were away from the immediate oversight and influence of the leadership in Jerusalem. These Antioch believers made Jesus the focus of their message, and Jesus, in turn, made them the beneficiaries of His presence. The Bible says that “Jesus was with them”. The immediate result of their strategy and the Lord’s presence was that a “great number believed and turned to the Lord”.
Bad news travels fast, but good news does get around. And the good news of what was happening in Antioch made its way to Jerusalem. The headquarters gang dispatched Barnabas to check it out. Barnabas went to Antioch and was excited by what he saw. Not since the days immediately following the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost had any church experienced such explosive growth. The only advice Barnabas could offer was simply that they keep on doing whatever it was that that they were doing.
During his visit to Antioch, Barnabas also realized something of great importance. He just knew that his discouraged friend Saul (Paul) needed to be involved in this church. So, Barnabas brought Saul to Antioch and together they became a part of the church’s ministry-team.
Of the ministries in the church at Antioch, one in particular has caught my attention. The Bible says that they “they ministered to the Lord”. Jesus was not only the focus of their message; He was the focus of their ministry! When they taught, they taught about Him. When they sang, they sang to Him! And as the church received what they were taught and spent time in praise and worship, the face of the church changed. They increasingly resembled the One who was the Center of their focus. And even unbelievers recognized the growing resemblance so much that they called the members of the church CHRISTians.
One of my daily goals is to minister to the Lord. To somehow do or say something that brings joy, honor, and blessing to the heart of my Savior. Every day I count on His ministry to me. Should He expect anything less from me?
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Facing the Furnace
Quick answers. That’s what we want. And easy answers with no contingencies. The kind of answers that require no thinking or personal evaluation. Unfortunately, life seldom delivers this luxury. Events tend to tip and topple our sorted, categorized, and boxed collection of answers and conclusions. And this is especially true in the realm of faith, healing, and miracles.
The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego (Daniel 3) seems to assault the established platforms of both the sides of the faith, healing, and miracles issue. These young men spoke words that confidently affirmed their faith that God was not only able, but in fact, would deliver them from the furnace. But they then continued on to declare the possibility that their deliverance just might not happen. According to modern thought, these two statements should cancel one another out! You can’t have it both ways. When these young men stated their lack-of-faith revealing words, “But if not”, they surely cancelled the power of their prior statement of faith.
Examine, with me, the normal use of the words “But if not” – “But” is used to form the bridge between two opposing certainties; “if” is used to recognize the potential of an alternative; “not” is used to acknowledge the acceptance of a denial.
According to the requirements of present-day easy answers, true faith is founded on absolute confidence that God is not only able and willing, but that He is going to come through with exactly what we want. True faith refuses to accept any uncertainty, alternates, or denials.
Our quick answer world has divided Pentecostal/Charismatic believers into two opposing camps. There is the “God will” Camp and the “But if not” Camp. The “God will” Camp believes that the “But if not” Camp is without faith, while the “But if not” Camp believes that the “God will” Camp is hyper-faith. Well, whatever kind of faith the 3 Hebrew young men had, it was the kind that moved the Hand of God!
Somehow, they saw no conflict between their two statements. Unknowingly, they put one foot in one Camp while putting their other foot in the other Camp. Yet God never saw one foot in a place of presumption and the other foot in a place of doubt. He just saw 3 young men standing together with both feet firmly established in a place of absolute trust in Him.
For Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, “But if not” was not a sad admission of doubt, but instead it was a strong declaration of trust. Trust in the faithfulness, the wisdom, and the plan of God.
The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego (Daniel 3) seems to assault the established platforms of both the sides of the faith, healing, and miracles issue. These young men spoke words that confidently affirmed their faith that God was not only able, but in fact, would deliver them from the furnace. But they then continued on to declare the possibility that their deliverance just might not happen. According to modern thought, these two statements should cancel one another out! You can’t have it both ways. When these young men stated their lack-of-faith revealing words, “But if not”, they surely cancelled the power of their prior statement of faith.
Examine, with me, the normal use of the words “But if not” – “But” is used to form the bridge between two opposing certainties; “if” is used to recognize the potential of an alternative; “not” is used to acknowledge the acceptance of a denial.
According to the requirements of present-day easy answers, true faith is founded on absolute confidence that God is not only able and willing, but that He is going to come through with exactly what we want. True faith refuses to accept any uncertainty, alternates, or denials.
Our quick answer world has divided Pentecostal/Charismatic believers into two opposing camps. There is the “God will” Camp and the “But if not” Camp. The “God will” Camp believes that the “But if not” Camp is without faith, while the “But if not” Camp believes that the “God will” Camp is hyper-faith. Well, whatever kind of faith the 3 Hebrew young men had, it was the kind that moved the Hand of God!
Somehow, they saw no conflict between their two statements. Unknowingly, they put one foot in one Camp while putting their other foot in the other Camp. Yet God never saw one foot in a place of presumption and the other foot in a place of doubt. He just saw 3 young men standing together with both feet firmly established in a place of absolute trust in Him.
For Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, “But if not” was not a sad admission of doubt, but instead it was a strong declaration of trust. Trust in the faithfulness, the wisdom, and the plan of God.
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