Power to Choose

In the last couple of days I have been thinking about the bad rep that God gets. What I mean is that He gets blamed for a whole lot of stuff that people choose to do, whether done by the ones who say they believe in Him ... or not.  

Found through Google Images at
http://indianajones.wikia.com/wiki/False_Grail

I am a self-admitted Indiana Jones fan.  Especially the first and third movies.  There are so many images in those films that are supremely symbolic - they remind me of important lessons that often get either overlooked or pooh-poohed. There is such a thing as right and wrong. There are things that are beyond our understanding.  Actions have consequences.    And people are responsible for their own actions. 

One poignant scene is the one in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" where Donovan, the bad guy, gets dibs on choosing a cup from which to drink the water from the fountain of youth.  The knight warns both Indy and Donovan to choose wisely, for only when the water is in the Holy Grail does it bring life to the drinker. The same water in a false Grail will bring death.  With the help of an expert, he chooses a beautiful chalice which he deems "befitting the King of kings" - and drinks.  The results are not pretty (click here to see this classic clip and I hope you've turned up the volume; the video will open in a new window).  Some call this scene funny or corny.  For me, it's a reminder.


When Indy chooses the correct Grail, things are not suddenly sunshine and roses for him either.  Yes, he doesn't die - and yes, he's able to save his dad's life as well.  But his struggles are not over either.  Neither are his temptations to choose poorly.

We were created with the ability to choose, something upon which God places a great deal of value.  We could have been automatons, but what would have been the point? He wanted us to WANT Him. 

Sometimes bad stuff happens to us and there seems to be no reason for it.  Bad things - and good things, for that matter - do happen to ALL people.  But much of the bad stuff that happens to us is of our own making.  Many of us make bad choices and the consequences are ... let's say they're unpleasant. The irrevocable law of the harvest, "You reap what you sow," kicks in.  The tendency we have at those times is to question God, to question His goodness or His love, when in fact it is our own choices that have led to the outcomes and ... God is just a handy scapegoat we use to avoid taking responsibility for "choosing poorly." I've heard people do it all the time: blame God for for famines and poverty, for wars, for religious persecution. But in most cases whatever horrible thing for which folks blame God arises out of a poor choice, or a series of poor choices, made by people who have the power to choose.

That 1989 movie reminds me that choosing wisely MIGHT bring consequences I might not like.  Yet it is still preferable to choosing poorly. 

Under the Armor

I like to read stories from the Old Testament.  It's full of colorful yet very profound examples of how God worked in the lives of the people who dared push past their preconceived notions and seek Him.

This morning I was reading in the book of Second Kings, and I came across a well-known story, one I learned in Sunday School.  It was of Naaman the leper, the one who had a little servant girl who told his wife (her mistress) about a prophet in Israel who could cure him of his leprosy. Yes, the photo to the right (above) is a fellow who has leprosy, a debilitating disease, and in those days, there was no cure. 

I relaxed and let the story pull me in.  I wondered what God was going to teach me that I didn't already know.  He's funny like that.

Naaman was a high-ranking military official, like a general in our culture.  He was second only to the king, and when he heard of a possible cure for this disease, he asked permission from his boss (the king) to go to Israel.  And he told him why.  The king (being a bureaucrat) heard what he wanted to hear and sent a letter not to the prophet, but to the king of Israel to have him either take the credit for the healing (or the blame in case Naaman wasn't cured.)  He sent plenty of money, obviously bribe money to try to entice the king of Israel to do as he was asked.  ("What's in it for me?" is a very old question.)  

When Naaman got there, the king of Israel read the Aramean king's letter and was very upset.  He thought it was a trick to get him to displease the sender, and worried that there would be an attack.  After all, before him stood the general of the foreign king's army AND his significant entourage, enough to attend to all the animals that carried the bribes he brought with him.

The prophet Elisha heard what had happened and he sent a message to the king of Israel.  "Send him to me.  Then you will know there is a prophet in Israel."  When Naaman got to the prophet's house, his servant came out with a message for him.  "Wash seven times in the Jordan River and your leprosy will be cured."  Naaman was furious!  The Jordan was a muddy river, prone to flooding, and there were rivers far more clean even in nearby Samaria.  He was about to leave in a rage, when his servants talked some sense into him.  "If this prophet had asked you to perform some great and difficult feat, you would have done that, wouldn't you?  How much simpler it is to just 'wash and be clean'!" 

How much simpler indeed.  It was the simplicity of it that offended the great man.  He had come looking to buy his way, to impress his way into the good graces of whatever god this nation served.  He expected to at least speak to the prophet in person, perhaps to have the prophet wave his hand over him and - puff of smoke and abracadabra - his leprosy would be gone.  But he hadn't counted on this.  This was too simple.  Yet his servants were so earnest - and what they said did have some merit ...

Naaman relented.  And this is the picture that struck me this morning.

General Naaman had to take off his armor to go into the Jordan. This armor was head-to-foot and up until now, he had been able to hide the extent of his deforming disease from all but his family and close friends. 

But this, this was different; this was humiliating.  He had to strip down to his underwear, and expose the repulsiveness of his disease to anyone who might just happen along, as well as to his entire entourage. He had to submit his will to the will of another.   He had to let go of his preconceived notions of a god who expected some give-and-take. He had to become vulnerable in his area of deepest weakness.

When he got up for the seventh time out of the muddy waters of the Jordan (excuse the artist's rendition) his skin was like that of a child.  All his leprous spots were gone, just as his wife's servant-girl had predicted! 

Better than that outward healing, a transformation had taken place on Naaman's insides.  He had come to know a new God.  A "God of his understanding" - one who met him at his point of need and touched him where nobody could touch him before, who was no respecter of persons and who cared about him personally.

Naaman made a decision in his grateful heart, right there and then.  He had to say thank you - not just to the prophet but to God - and for the rest of his life.  

He went back to the prophet and tried to pay him.  No dice, came the response.  This is free.  Overwhelmed, Naaman then made a request (which was granted!) and the request itself and his reason behind it is how we know his heart had changed.  

He wanted DIRT. (Dirt??)  Enough dirt to load up two mules with it - so he could carry it back to Aram with him.  Why in the world - ??  

He wanted it because he wanted to use it as a reminder, possibly as a base to create an altar back in Aram to worship this God, and NO OTHER god, for the rest of his life.  As I was reading the story, I noticed that he even asked forgiveness from God (through the prophet) in advance for his duty to fulfill a ceremonial function in the line of his work:  having to accompany his boss to the temple of his former gods - having to bow his head when the king of Aram worshiped.  He wanted there to be no mistake - his heart belonged to his new God and to Him alone. 

This new God had gotten under his armor.... under his physical armor and under his intellectual armor.  This God had touched his heart, had proven His power, had ripped away his prejudices and his objections in a simple, miraculous act of generosity.  

He would never be the same.  

Random Images of Love - or are they?

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.  

When I consider the heavens, the work of Your hands, the moon and the stars which You have ordained, what is man, that You are mindful of him?  or the son of man, that You visit him?  You set him a little lower than the angels, and crown him with glory and honour.... 

He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

And when she had given birth to her firstborn Son, she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, for there was no room for them at the inn.

Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men."

They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.  And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand, and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!"  They spat on Him, and took the reed and beat Him on the head.  After they had mocked Him, they put a scarlet robe on Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to be crucified...    

For Christ has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive through the Spirit... 

... and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the [angels] said to them, "Why do you seek the Living One among the dead?  He is not here, for He has risen, as He said."

When you were dead in your transgressions... He has made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, and has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to His cross.  When He had disarmed [spiritual] rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

In Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.

... that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

He said to me, "Do not be afraid.  I am the First and the Last, and the living One.  I was dead, and see!  I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of hell and of death. 

... the Lion of the tribe of Judah is worthy ...

I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne ... and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands upon thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing."  And every created thing ... I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honour and glory and power forever and ever!"    

Blown Away

I love to watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. There's something amazing to me about how someone can be in such a desperate situation and then they get something they never expected and could barely dream about. The first thing that happens after the family is safely away on vacation is that what is old has to come down. And come down it does. It seems they're always finding new ways to bring down the old house.

The old house represents stress, limitations, worry, fear, anger, and a whole host of other nasty things that the family experiences. In the following clip, those emotions are demolished in a moment of time and leave room for the above house to be built.
 
There's something though, about this type of show that sort of bothers me. I could never really put my finger on it until just recently, and then it all became clear as I heard our pastor talk about what Jesus did for us while we were still in our darkness, when we were still rejecting Him.

What about the person who ISN'T taking in handicapped kids and adopting them, but is just working faithfully to pay the bills for the spouse and kids he/she has? What about the one who ISN'T fund-raising for Multiple Sclerosis or the Heart Foundation, or who DOESN'T have terminal cancer and up to their eyeballs in medical debt, or who ISN'T making a huge impact on their community in some way, but just slogs away, day after day, dealing with all kinds of insults and ingratitude even from people in their families, and keeps on because it's the right thing to do? It appears that the TV show only has the budget to help those who "deserve" the help. I know that ABC only has so much money and that they are looking for a good story. It's good television. And I do like the show for a lot more reasons than just the family getting a new home.

What I'm trying to do is use this as a springboard to talk about something even more important than a nice home.

The Bible tells us that we might hesitate to die for a righteous man, and that some of us would even dare to die for a good man. But Jesus went way above and beyond.

He died for us when we were still spitting in His face.

In His great love, He did it anyway, without regard to how we would take it, whether we would accept it, or whether we even deserved it. He knew we didn't deserve it.

And yet the Great Carpenter offers a new life, a totally radical makeover - complete with demolition, design, construction ... and a final Reveal that's out of this world.

That's Extreme.

Peril to Passion

We watched a 2007 documentary this morning on the Learning Channel about the 1982 British Airways Flight 9 - which flew through a volcanic ash cloud and eventually lost all engines. It was the first time anything like this had ever happened. Nobody knew what was the matter as the cabin slowly filled with smoke, and the engines glowed with what appeared to be a blue flame - and eventually cut out.

Every person on board KNEW he or she was going to die. People were writing notes to their loved ones in case the salvage crews would find them. When the pilot and crew descended under 6,000 feet and were able to restart the engines, the sense of relief on board was obvious. And when they landed the plane in Jakarta in spite of not being able to see through the wind screen (the ash had sand-blasted the glass), and everyone realized they were all going to be okay, there was cheering, clapping, and more. Much more.

Perfect strangers were brought together through a shared peril and knowledge that they were saved from certain death. They hugged, laughed and cried together. And twenty-five years later, they were still meeting once a year to maintain contact. People from different walks of life, with varying abilities, beliefs, and plans, in those few hours, became - a family.

It was beautiful.

It got me to thinking. (I guess I think - a lot.) Perhaps the reason why so many Western churches are powerless, floundering in backbiting, gossip, power struggles and lovelessness, is because we've lost our first love : Him. We've forgotten the very basic reason we're all together in the first place.

We were all facing certain death. There was no escape. But He brought us to safety - to a place of hope, peace, and love where before, there was none of these things. That place is called Golgotha!!

We all share this marvelous deliverance, in spite of our own powerlessness to save ourselves. BECAUSE of our own powerlessness to save ourselves. Our Deliverer loved us so much that He brought us out of the place of despair and hopelessness into His Father's presence. Have we lost sight of that? where is our gratitude? has it all become about our comfort, our agendas?

Perhaps it's time to go back to the place of the Skull. To take a good, honest look at the One willingly dying there... for us : to rescue us from a fiery eternal death, just to open up a way for us to have intimacy, relationship with Him. Being able to commune with us was that important to Him! It's time to remember our utter hopelessness. To revisit our amazing deliverance. To refocus our faltering attention. To recapture our First Love. To overflow with gratitude, with joy!

Appearances, agendas, and position mean nothing. He means everything.
Gaze with me upon the Lamb. (click the link to read the story...)

Letting Go

I don't usually give a second thought to birds in flight - until I see one that can't fly but which is supposed to be able to fly.

I remember a song I wrote when I was a teenager. I'd been to a wildlife park and had seen an eagle there. It bothered me so much to see such a magnificent bird dragging its feathers in the dust, hopping from foot to foot, looking miserable.

Anyway, the song was about an eagle who had been captured, tethered to the ground amid the dust, and made to live a lower life to satisfy the curiosity of its captors. He looks up to the skies and sees a sparrow, flitting from bush to bush outside his enclosure.

Part of the lyrics went like this:

I know that I, an eagle, was more majestic than he
But now he owns more power, simply because he is free.

Was I sixteen when I wrote that?? Wow.... But I digress.

He was powerless to free himself. But someone who had enough money to buy him, could come in at any time and loose the bonds. (When that happens with a slave, they call it redemption). Then it would be the eagle's choice whether to stay, still considering himself to be tied to the ground, or move past those fears, let go of his previous mindset, and leap into the sky.

So with us. Jesus has freed us, but many of us are still hopping around on the ground, believing in the limitations to which we've become accustomed.

There is such liberty in letting go.

We let go of our old way of thinking, of thinking that we can fix people, control them, manipulate them, rescue them. We let God rescue them - that is His job, after all. He's the One who does it best. And we just concentrate on our own spiritual journey, our own relationship with Him.

We let go of the lies we were fed all our lives, and we embrace His truth: He loves us, He accepts us just as we are, He wants the best for us (that's HIM), and He will never give up on us. He considers us worth knowing. He gave everything to make sure we had that opportunity!!

With His empowerment,

• We let go of the self-doubt those lies led us to.
• We let go of the guilt for past deeds - He died to take that away if we would just give it to Him.
• We let go of the shame we feel for being ourselves, and we begin to see ourselves as He sees us.
• We let go of the resentments we have harbored against those who have kept us in bondage. Those resentments themselves have kept us bound even more than our oppressors did.

We look only to Him, and let Him look deeply into us with an unconditional love like we've never known or ever will know. In that love-relationship, as we let go of the things that tie us to our old selves, we find the very thing we have longed for all our lives.

Joy.

In His Hands

Today we had a baby dedication in our church. The church has been having a "baby boom" of sorts; this was the 3rd or 4th in the last few weeks.

We've been using the story of Samuel being brought back to the Temple by his mom Hannah, who prayed for a son and promised God that if He gave her a son, she would give the child back to Him. God did - and she kept her word.

We also refer to the presenting of Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem. The Briss- or circumcision - was a time to name the child and to dedicate him to the Lord.

But did you know that there was a special ceremony for the first-born male child? The first-born child, if it was a son, was considered "holy unto the Lord" and by rights should have been sacrificed to God. But God made provision in the Law for such a child to be redeemed: rescued from death. His parents made a sacrifice to God in his place. If the parents were poor, they sacrificed two turtledoves, so that the child could live. Yes, Jesus had to be redeemed...so that He could redeem us. How's that for humility after knowing ultimate glory and majesty??

Few things in life are more vulnerable and totally dependent than a baby is. Yet Jesus - the Creator of the universe - not only became a human, He arrived as a squalling, wriggling bundle of need.

Just one more proof of the lengths to which God was willing to go, so that we could know Him - and allow Him to permeate our hearts with His love and make them clean.

But that's not all. In coming to us like that, He gave us the perfect picture of how to come to Him.

Naked. Needy. Helpless. Vulnerable.

He wraps His arms around that kind of honesty. And then He reaches for His pen - the one that writes in the indelible ink of His blood - and writes our names one by one in the Lamb's Book of Life.

We can rest assured - in His hands.