Believe it or Not

Praying til Pentecost Day 17

"And they went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either." Mark 16: 13 (Luke 24:33-35)

When we moved to Long Island, New York in 1960 my father made sure we got off "The Island" drove often into Manhattan to see the sights of "The City." This is what the people in the area called New York City. You didn't have to be any more specific than that. Everyone knew what you meant when you said you were going to "The City."

I went to school with friends on Long Island who had lived in the metropolitian New York area all their lives, and still had not been to "The City." I will always be grateful that Dad wouldn't let us cocoon up and hide from one of the more intimidating cities of the world. He generated in us a spirit of adventure that still remains in me today.

We hit the hot spots on our first few trips to New York City. This included the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Trinity Church, Battery Park, Broadway, Time Square, Macy's, Central Park, Grand Central Station, Madison Square Garden, and many other tourist destinations. One of the visits that appealed to me the most as a young boy was one that took us to "Ripley's Believe it or Not" Museum. WOW! I could have stayed there for days. It was an incredible menagerie of man made cons and unusual natural discoveries. It was sensory overload. Even seeing these things with my own eyes, I struggled with unbelief. I had never seen anything like it. It was way out of my range of reference and personal experience. The proof was set before me, and I had a choice. Just like Ripley said, "Believe it or Not!"

Mark's Gospel account is a fast read. He writes with the heart of a breathless sprinter gasping and grasping for the finish line. He is intent on cutting out the non-essentials and one of his favorite words is "IMMEDIATELY."

With this in mind it is important to notice that Mark places huge importance on the issue of belief. This is the keystone to citizenship in the Kingdom of God. Every person must hear the Word of God, and make a personal response to it. Christianity is just one generation away from extinction, if the story of salvation is not passed down from one generation to another. Each person who hears the story of Jesus must choose to accept or reject His message. Those who hear it regularly and reject Him often do not deserve another chance to hear it while there remain so many around the world who have never heard the story once.

One of the most stunning passages of Scripture is reported by him. He quotes Jesus after he encountered unbelief from the people in his boyhood home of Nazareth. "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.' And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief." (Mark 6:4-6)

Both Mark and Luke report that "The Eleven" were guilty of unbelief...TWICE. They had heard from the women who had met with Jesus at the empty tomb, and they had received a report from the couple who had been met by Him on the road to Emmaus. Jesus had given them two direct command s from reliable messengers to get their show on the road and meet Him in Galilee. He promised them that He would meet them there, but they were going to have to get moving if they wanted to get in touch with Him again. Their response had been unbelief on both occasions.

From Mark's earlier account (Mark 6:4-6) it is clear that Jesus does not consider healing people to be a great work. The King James Version uses this term for miracle, and goes on to remark that Jesus "marveled" at their unbelief. What a statement! The people had no problem accepting His healing power over their sickness. They just could not believe that a carpenter's son could be The Messiah. They had seen with their own eyes what Jesus could do. They just would not give Him their hearts.

The same remains true today. Very few people in this world will turn down prayers to God on their behalf. They are more than willing to receive the benefits that might come their way. This is called having their bases covered. There may be a God. There may not be a God. So why not give the "Man Upstairs" a chance to throw a little something their way. Prayers of healing are answered all the time, for those who are believers and those who are not. This is a phenomenon of God's grace that He has set in place and is an expression of His Sovereignty. The healing is just not considered to be a great work or a miracle by God. It is belief that is the greatest work that is done in the life of a person.

Initial belief in Jesus is a life-saving event. Continuing to place trust and belief in Jesus with a daily walk with Him is a life-changing process. One of my heroes of faith is "Wild Bill" Stafford from Chattanooga, Tennessee. He always puts this idea of belief down on the bottom shelf where I can reach it. Here is one of my favorite quotes from this great man of God.

• "A glance at Jesus will save you, but a gaze at Jesus will sanctify you." Bill Stafford.

When the Risen Christ walked on earth among His disciples for 40 days after the resurrection, He was teaching them about the Kingdom of heaven. His Presence would be provided to them with the gift of The Promise. To get in on what God had for them they were going to have to learn to obey the first time they heard God speak to to them. Unbelief always hinders the greatest work the Spirit of God can do in the life of a believer.

Quote of the Day: "Is Jesus Christ saying to you, 'My child, when will you believe what I say?' Is there a particular problem in your life that has made you become slow of heart to believe? Do not let the stupidity grow. Seek what the Word of God has to say about it. Oh, there is such a need for people who will search the Bible and learn what God is saying to them!" Oswald Chambers

Stay With Us

Praying til Pentecost Day 16

"...they urged Him, 'Stay with us..." Luke 24:30

The Risen Christ initiated every post resurrection contact with His followers. His true followers desired close, continued, and consistent companionship with Him. The couple on the road to Emmaus had a choice to make. After a heart stirring conversation, they could have politely excused themselves, and let Jesus walk on down the road, and away from them. They chose to invite Him to stay with them and share their evening meal.

Crossroads in life are sometimes seen more easily through the rear view mirror than they are through the windshield of immediate circumstances. Knowing God's will for our lives sometimes feels like a continuous Easter Egg Hunt. Every time we get close to the prized egg someone seems to kick it into the tall grass.

Looking back at choices that have been made in life can be a mixed bag of "What if?" and "Thank God!" There are some choices in life that don't really matter. Mixing a paisley patterned tie with a Madras plaid jacket may be a poor fashion choice, but it probably will not end the world as we know it. There are some decisions that have life changing consequences.

As a six year old boy I found a child sized hunger in my heart for a man sized relationship with God. Through the gentle guidance of my father, I asked all of the Jesus I knew to come in and take over all of the life that I had. This decision was a watershed moment that has had a long lasting impact on every other choice I have made.

The choice to go to East Africa and serve for two years as missionary Journeyman was not made with a great deal of insight or prayer. God used my availability and met me there in Tukuyu, Tanzania. When I was 23 years old, He took my first grade faith and introduced Himself to me with a fresh sense of His power and His Presence. Coming to the end of myself was a great way to come to the beginning of God.

Returning to the States and enrolling at Southwestern Seminary had been a long planned out decision. I had felt God's leading of my life towards Fort Worth as early as October 1973. After my first week of classes, I went to the home of Dr. W. Fred Swank to seek his advice. He told me to find a good church and join it and make yourself indispensable to the pastor. He told me that he only recommended men to serve in churches that he had known to be faithful laymen. He said God would take care of the rest of the details. I joined Sagamore Hill Baptist Church the following Sunday, and met my future wife there the following night. Four months later I was on his church staff. I often wonder what would have happened if I had not taken his sound advice.
So glad I did. Dana and I are in our 34th year of marriage. Good call Bro. Fred!

Over the years the choices in life have been relentless. The one common thread that has run through each of them is my desire to know in some form of fashion WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) I have to confess I was never a fan of wearing the rubber band bracelets imprinted with the letters WWJD. Still, I always appreciated the sentiment behind it. BTW! I found out that during the height of their popularity that the one item shop lifted most out of Christian bookstores was the WWJD bracelets. Got to wonder what was going on in their minds when the five finger discount artists were making that choice!

The two disciples making their way from the scene of a disaster were approached by the Risen Christ. He asked them to tell Him the things that they had been discussing with one another. Sarcastically and resentfully they poured out a laundry list of "What ifs." They were trapped in the pain of the past and the loss of hope for the future. Jesus walked with them and used the Scriptures to unfold what God was about, and as He spoke they had a stirring in their heart that was not there before He arrived. The account in Luke's Gospel says that Jesus acted as if he would go farther, but the couple pleaded with Him to stay and share a meal with them.

I have often wondered what would have happened to them if they had let the moment pass, and let Jesus go on His way. It has become a challenge to me to always make sure I don't ask Jesus to answer my questions about the future, and kick Him to the curb as soon as I find out what I want to know. My walk with God is not so much about knowing about the future, but in getting with Him in the present.

The couple had a choice to make and they chose wisely. They seemed to know instinctively that their future was tied very closely to the continuation of their conversation with this unnamed companion. Their response reminded me of one of my favorite quotes, "Knowing God's will for your life in specifics, comes out of the overflow of a consistent companionship with God." Lloyd John Ogilvie

They did not want the session with Risen Savior to end. When I forget that my walk with Jesus is the next twenty seconds, then I become breathless about the future, and too reflective about the past.

Walking and talking with Jesus brought the couple to one level of God's plan for them. When they invited Him to stay with them, they were taken to a new level of intimacy with Jesus. The power of His prayer over the breaking of the bread seemed to open their eyes to the Risen Christ.

Prayer has the same power today that it did on that evening in Emmaus. Jesus is available to us when we choose to be available to spend time with Him. The life giving power of the resurrection is released through consistent companionship with the One who has conquered death. Spending time in prayer to get answers to our questions about the future is a poor substitute for sitting down and spending time with Jesus and enjoying His companionship in the present. Perhaps we can learn an ancient lesson with contemporary impact on us by repeating the same words to Jesus today..."Stay with us."

The Lord's Day

Praying til Pentecost Day 13

"Now late on the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave." Matthew 28:1

In a few short days, I will turn 60. April 3o, 1950 was a Sunday. My parent's often remind me that I was born on the "Lord's Day." Dad still loves to tell the story about my birth. He had preached his morning message at First Baptist Church of Wilmer, Texas and he and Mom were having Sunday lunch with a family from their church. After lunch they were enjoying a dessert of strawberry shortcake, when it was interrupted by a hospital run to Baylor Hospital in Dallas. Actually, the little hospital was Florence Nightingale on Gaston Avenue. By the mid fifties it had been absorbed into Baylor's expansion. Some things never change.

Over the years my parents have given me a healthy respect for the Lord's Day. They have pointed out that my birth forever changed how they looked at Sunday. They had a son born on the first day of the week, the same day that Jesus rose from the grave. To them, Sunday would always be associated with birth, and all the details that surrounded it. At 88 Dad still loves to recall that he never got to finish his dessert. He says that he drove at a high rate of speed from Wilmer to Dallas, and never saw a sign of a police officer. Fathers did not go to the delivery room in those days, so he waited with the other "expectant" dads in the lobby. After my safe delivery, he left Mom at the hospital and returned to Wilmer to preach the evening message. Did I mention that Dad was a Southern Baptist preacher and this was the fifties? His minister of music surprised him by wearing a special bow tie. Just before the service began, he called for the houselights to be turned off and he turned on his tie. It flashed the message, "IT'S A BOY!"
Dad loves this story!

With the message of the Risen Christ, Sunday is forever marked as a day of new beginnings for all of us. It should not surprise us that God turns the grave into a nursery. He allows the women to return to the tomb, and turns it into a triumph. In spite of their love for Jesus, they could not grasp the concept of the resurrection until they heard Him call their name.

I am so glad that God consistently defies my expectations. One of the first books that helped me begin to see the hand of God working outside of the little box I had placed Him in was, "Your God is Too Small." J.B. Phillips had a way of using the English language that painted a picture of the greatness of God, and the inadequacy of man's effort. One of my favorite Phillips quotes comes from his personal translation of the Scripture. "Don't let the world squeeze you into its own mold." (Romans 12:2) See what I mean?

The world looks at a grave yard as the finale. God defies the odds and turns it into a prelude. Only God would take an instrument of death and turn it into a symbol of hope. When the salve of the cross is placed on the scorched skin of sin, He brings healing and hope that takes away the sting of death.

The Gospel writers all sing the prelude of the Risen Christ's victory song. With beautiful harmony they each add their part to the great message, "He is not here, for He has risen just as He said." All of them sing their part with a unique voice, but they are all on the same song sheet. The prelude beings in Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1, Luke 24:1, and John 20:1. It continues every Sunday in churches all over the world who look to the Risen Christ to walk and talk with them every day of their lives.

Sunday is more of a birthday than a memorial service. The Son of God said, "I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) You have to love the way God takes the sting out of the grave, and invites people to celebrate life.

Sunday is a day of hope, and it has been forever changed by the power and the Presence of the Risen Christ. The Sabbath day culminated the end of a week of work, and was set aside as a day of rest. This was an emphasis on regaining strength by refocusing on the Sovereignty of God. Sunday was the day the work was to all begin again until the day of rest returned. With the resurrection, Sunday's prominence rose in significance. No longer would it be looked upon as the initiation of the work week, but it would become the celebration of the work that Jesus completed on the cross.

Every Sunday is Easter Sunday, and every day is a day of hope through the power of the resurrection. Regardless of the rough seas that we must sail through on any given day of the week, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father and prays for us. He has given us the Holy Spirit to dwell within us and call us to the kind of prayer that creates intimate communication between the Heavenly Father and His children. Regardless of the day of the week, prayer puts us in contact with the power of God, and the Presence of Jesus.

"Prayer is how we set our sails to catch the wind of heaven." G. Campbell Morgan.

What Things?

Praying til Pentecost Day 11

• "He appeared in different form to two of them, while they were walking along their way to the country." Mark 16:12
• "What things?" Luke 24:19

From 1972-1974 I served as a missionary Journeyman to the Baptist Mission of East Africa. My job title was, Field Evangelism Assistant, but the job description was more revealing. I was responsible for the construction of churches in the Rungwe District of Tanzania. This was a beautiful place located in the Southern Highlands of the country where three mountain ranges merged. It was in the rain forest, and total annual rainfall for the area was 120 inches a year. Over 40 of that accumulation came in the month of April. There were a miniscule number of paved roads, and most of my work carried me off road anyway. We made our own bricks, cement blocks, trusses, window frames, and pews. The only manufactured item we could import was the tin for the roofs from Communist China. Gasoline costs in those days were $2.50 a gallon and Land Rover pickups loaded with cement and sand were not very eco friendly.

To maintain proper accounts, and assure clear documentation I had to have contracts written in English, Swahili, and the local tribal language. Progress was slow, tedious, and often dangerous due to the weather and road conditions. I was on my second Land Rover pickup. The first had rolled over the mountain side when the brakes went out on it. I was able to bail out, but my partner was hospitalized. Until it was replaced, I checked on all my projects on a 150cc Yahama trail bike, and carried what supplies I could in a back pack and saddle bags.

My assignment was for 22 months, and the time I had left was slipping away with all the rain and mud. I was in one of the garden spots of the world, but it was very frustrating work. Cross cultural communication, supply shortages, theft of supplies on the projects, cement and lime ruined by the water, and the washed out roads and bridges conspired against any Western concept of time management and project completion. Did I mention 120 inches of rain?

August 20-26, 1973 I took a week off to attend the Annual Mission Meeting in Narobi. We were hosted by the Limuru Conference Center, and 300 missionaries and MKs (Missionary Kids) were in attendance. I was asked to carry a sign from the truck of one of our BMs (Big Missionaries) and take it to the Worship Center. It was a six foot long sign and about two feet high. I balanced it on my shoulder and started walking across the camp ground. Everywhere I went, I caused a ripple of laughter to start rolling across the green commons area. As I approached the dining hall a group of BMs were slapping their legs and laughing and pointing at me. The loudest of all was a guy named Eucled Moore. He shouted out something about type casting, self-fulfilling prophecy, or truth in advertising. He was on a roll. I stopped in front of the group of comedians, and took the sign off my shoulder, and saw that it had printed in huge block letters "F-R-U-S-T-R-A-T-I-O-N!"

This story is a little funnier to me now, but the truth always hurts the first time it hits. Like a salve placed on a sunburned skin, there is an increase in the heat before there is a release from the pain. What I know now is that the guys laughing the hardest had forgotten more about frustration than I would ever learn. They were husbands, and fathers and were seasoned veterans of the AWA Wars (Africa Wins Again!). They may have been laughing at me. I am pretty confident that Eucled was, but they could feel my pain too. They had been there more than once, and they enjoyed seeing a young gun earn his spurs at this rodeo.

When the Risen Christ walked into the lives of Cleopas and his wife Mary on the road to Emmaus, he encountered them at the lowest point of their lives. Their dreams had been crushed at the bloody grounds of the crucifixion of Jesus. Their plans for a future and a hope were frustrated. The account in Luke describes them going down hill figuratively and physically as they travelled the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They were so engrossed in conversation and discussion of their problem that they missed the Presence of Jesus when He came along side of them.

When Jesus asked them what they were talking about, Cleopas sarcastically rebuked Him for His ignorance about "the things" that had been happening the previous three days. Jesus did not take offense. He just asked, "WHAT THINGS!"

These two words were the key that unlocked the door to the pent up frustration of the two travelers. Cleopas poured out a perspective that was totally saturated with all "the things" that had happened in the past. He had failed to bring his past problem to God. He had been overwhelmed by what he had seen, and as a result he missed the Presence of Jesus walking right beside him.

Jesus still asks the question, "What things?" The message of the Risen Christ to us today is still and invitation to bring our frustrations and fears to Him and let Him make sense out them. When we add up what we have seen with our own eyes, but leave Jesus out of the equation, we are in danger of miscalculating the right answer.

What is it that frustrates you? Have you talked to others more than you have talked to Jesus about it? Take the time to place "the things" that are on your back and roll them over onto the shoulders of Jesus. His yoke was designed with you in mind.

Getting something off your chest does not mean that it has been removed from your back. Giving someone a piece of your mind does not give you peace of mind. Jesus still asks the question, "What things?" When "the things" that you have seen begin to choke you and trip you up, stop in your tracks and turn to Jesus. He calls on you to cough up the bone in your throat and the rock in your shoe. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

Hearing

Praying til Pentecost Day 10

"Do not be afraid, go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they shall see Me." Matt. 28:10

Jesus is all about removing the fear, restoring the hope, casting the net, expanding the Kingdom, and delivering the good news. His mission is our mission. His first concern was for fear to be removed, and then he commissioned the women to go find His men and tell them to return to Galilee. They were to go back to the place where they first heard His call on their lives. He promised that He would be there when they arrived.

I have really been blessed by Face Book reunions. On the whole the "blasts from the past" have been very encouraging. One of the common denominators of these renewed connections with people from my past is the unusual things they remember. It is a reminder to watch what you say because people will remember it! I was encouraged recently by a person that I have not seen in 30 years. He said in his "Comment" section on Face Book, "Do you remember when you said, 'God doesn't move parked cars?' "

I had to admit that I was a bit foggy on that one. He went on to say that he had quoted this statement from me for years. He said I shared it within the context of knowing God's will for our lives, and that God has a tendency to guide us best when we are moving towards Him. In other words, you have to be moving to be led.

This really ministered to me. I had become so separated by distance from what I had taught 30 years ago that is really was like hearing it for the first time. This was a unique way of being reminded by God that some things never change, and I would do well to "Practice what I preach!"

In these early hours of the post resurrection world, the Risen Christ was instructing His disciples to operate on faith in His word not by the sight of His Presence. He instructed the women to deliver His word, and He commanded the disciples to return to their roots.

Leaving Jerusalem, the grave of their greatest defeat, and returning to Galilee, the birthplace of their greatest hope would give them a fresh encounter with Jesus. If they remained huddled around the cold ashes of their burned out dreams, they would never know the warmth of rekindled hope that only the Risen Christ could offer to them.

They had to start moving towards Jesus to find out He was already there waiting for them to arrive. A healthy church is not a parking lot filled with people trying to escape reality. It is a mobilized army moving in obedience to the words of their Commander.

The early disciples could hardly believe their ears. They had seen too much. What they had seen had almost deafened them to the voice of the Risen Christ. What a paradox. What we see can often impact our capacity to hear from God.

Whenever Jesus showed up in the lives of His discouraged disciples, He removed their fear and restored their hope. He called them to Himself, and then He sent them out to encourage others with the message of the Kingdom of Heaven. Some things never change. God doesn't move parked cars. You have to be moving to be led.

Have you heard from Jesus today? Remember the Risen Christ knows you by your first name, and is seated at the right hand of God praying for you by name.
 

Seeing

Praying til Pentecost Day 9

• "And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to report it to the disciples." Matthew 28:8
• "And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it." Mark 16:11
• "And these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. But Peter arose and ran to the tomb." Luke 24:11

"Seeing is believing!" The world in which we live scorns the fool who trusts in something he cannot see. Jesus invites His followers to become citizens of a kingdom where, "Believing is seeing!"

"WUDDA! CUDDAH! SHUDDAH!" These words are the vision statement of those who are determined to blast through life politely ignoring God. They use their rear view mirror as a corrective lens for their terminal blindness, and still miss God nine ways from Dallas.

In my first pastorate, I remember George telling me over and over again how this church had missed God four times. He would use every cross road in our church's decision making as an occasion to roll out the ancient scrolls of his impeccable memory and recite once again the horrid details and tragic consequences. It was hugely demoralizing and effectively paralyzing.

After a couple of years, my five year old could mouth the words of his story and almost lip sync it perfectly. The facts were accurate, but the missing ingredient was the lesson learned. In all of the stories, the failure was based upon an inability to "see" God in the present tense. They could always see the result of missing God in the past tense, but they could not see through the cloud of doubt and see the blessing of God in the future, if they obeyed Him in the present.

They had seen it with their own eyes, albeit from a distance. They knew the finality of the cross. They had seen the trauma and smelled the drama of death. The stench in their nostrils was still fresh, and their mind's eye could not erase the recent memory of the crucifixion. Christians have always been intimidated by immediate circumstances. Some things never change.

As a result of what they had seen in the past, Friday was a finale. They were unable to believe the fresh word God had for them in the present tense, because they would not believe what they heard.

The Risen Christ was shifting their eyes from their rear view mirror to their windshield. From this day forward, they would not be called upon to trust what they had seen, but to put their confidence in what they heard. Faith was to come from hearing and "hearing by the word of Christ." (Romans 10: 17)

All they saw ahead was the dark and foreboding future of a life without Jesus. They were about to learn that in the Kingdom of Heaven, "Believing is seeing!" Their first response to what they heard about the Risen Christ was willful disbelief, and scornful derision. They not only rejected the message, but they had to rebuke the messenger for delivering nonsense.

The Risen Christ chose to send a woman to deliver the greatest message the world could ever hear. It may have been that the disciples did not approve of the method as well as the message. In any event, they rejected the message and the messenger. They refused to believe what they could not see with their own eyes. They would have nodded in agreement with the phrase, "Seeing is believing!"

More Christians and churches have been killed by the paralysis of analysis than any leap of faith. The early disciples were faced with the facts of the death of Jesus, and could not bring themselves to put their confidence in what they heard about Him.

Today's lesson is for those who remain faithful in delivering the message they have heard from the Risen Christ. The messenger is not responsible for the reaction to the truth. The messenger is only responsible to the Master to deliver the truth.

T.H.I.S.

Praying til Pentecost Day 8

• "...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering." Philippians 3:10
• "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Romans 10:17

All of us have heard and perhaps even made the statement, "Seeing is believing." It is commonly accepted that when we see something with our own eyes then we can have confidence that it is real or it is the truth. It is hard to believe in the worth or reality of something that cannot be seen.

In the Kingdom of God, Paul's statement sets the record straight for believers, "Faith comes by hearing." Trusting in the word of Christ is not a result of seeing with the eyes of faith, but hearing with the ears of faith.

Sight can be a pretty tricky deal. I remember when I was a ten year old fifth grader at the Main Street School in Farmingdale, New York. I was asked by Mrs. Curtis to write a statement on the board, and then return to my seat at the back of the room, and read it to the class. I didn't think anything at all about what I was writing. I just printed it on the board and walked to my seat. This was my first experience with the public embarrassment that comes from being made aware I needed glasses. I could not see what I had written well enough to read it to the class from where I was seated. I had to get up, and walk closer. The closer I had to return to the board, the louder the giggles became. I could hear the dreaded words begin whispered, "Four eyes!" In those days glasses and braces were not a status symbol or a fashion statement. They were the brands of inadequacy. Whew! Glad that nightmare is over. I am not sure that I have trusted what I can see for the last 50 years. Recent cataract surgery has done nothing but reinforce my skepticism in sight.

Words mean something. Paul wrote to the church at Philippi that he wanted to know Jesus better, and he anticipated that this would be done through the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering. To the church at Rome, he would remind them that placing faith in the Risen Christ was a result of hearing the word of Christ, not seeing the person of Christ. One of my favorite statements of Jesus is the invitation to "Come unto Me...and rest. (Matthew 11:28)

Sunday I invited the children of our church to come forward for a brief teaching session. I held a little guy in my lap that had brain surgery two years ago. He and I have become friends over the past two years, and I have been at the hospital and in his home enough for us to be comfortable with one another. We always play a simple little game. I hold out my arms, and he reaches up to me. I lift him up and he places his little head on my shoulder. I begin to sing, "Go to sleep little Taiden, go to sleep. Go to sleep little Taiden go to sleep." He closes his eyes and pretends to be sleeping. After a brief pause, I will lift him up and say loudly, "Wake up!" He laughs out loud, and shouts, "Do it again!" We demonstrated our little game for the other children and the adults Sunday morning. He was a natural. I pointed out that Jesus is still calling us by name to come and place our head upon His shoulder, and rest.

Jesus invites believers to find rest in Him. They don't really know Him until they rest in Him. Rest can be described as ...

• R - Releasing
• E - Every
• S- Single
• T- Thing

Rest is not found in reclining. It is found in releasing. There is no better way to release what we are suffering than to bring it to Jesus in prayer.

I have often made the comment, "I don't need this!" Another favorite of mine over the years has been, "I'm not going to take this." Perhaps you have heard some others...

• I don't deserve this!
• I didn't sign up for this!
• I didn't ask for this!
• I didn't go looking for this!

Over the years I have tried to come to grip with THIS! What this means for me is to begin with the definition of THIS.

• T-The
• H-Hurt
• I- I
• S-Suffer

When Paul said that he wanted to know Jesus, he may not have known what he was saying. I understand that he was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to reveal the mind of Christ to him. I just wonder sometimes if Paul knew the consequences of his statement when he wrote it. He may have been like a 10 year old fifth grader writing something on a blackboard, and having to come to grips with what he wrote by getting closer to the truth.

Getting closer to Jesus comes through suffering. The power of His resurrection will never be known fully without experiencing the fellowship of His suffering. The same holds true for our human relationships.

Two years ago, I was acquainted with the parents of the little boy I mentioned earlier in my blog. We were friendly, and on a first name basis. I had a respect for the contribution they made to our community, and we were on cordial speaking terms. Our relationship began to deepen when the suffering of their little boy began to worsen. His seizures required brain surgery at one of leading children's hospitals in Texas. I traveled 70 miles with one of our men in the church, and we met them at 5AM at the hospital to pray with them before the baby was taken to surgery. We stayed all day with them until the baby was released from surgery and taken to recovery. It was a long 12 hour ordeal filled with several different prayer sessions. Long story short, our relationship with one another went to another level through the rough sea of suffering. Without that experience together, we would still be cordial acquaintances, but we would not have the kind of relationship that we now appreciate.

The fellowship of His suffering takes place when we bring THIS to Jesus. Can you hear Him speaking to you today? He still says, "Come unto Me...and rest." Release every single thing that is on your mind, and on your back over onto the shoulders of Jesus. Remember, rest is not found in reclining, but it is found in releasing THIS.

Rumors of...

Praying til Pentecost Day 4

"Jesus said, 'Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.' Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, 'You are to say, 'His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep." Matthew 28:10-13

Fear and false rumors have always been obstacles to a great movement of God. Satan is a liar, and those who spread falsehoods and undermine the truth in any form or fashion are under the influence of the evil one.

Recently a malignant reminder of the relentlessness of false rumor has surfaced in our community. Tracing down the source of a lie is more difficult than staying on mission with the truth. The fact of the matter is you just can't keep throwing rocks at every barking dog and still get to town. To cut to the chase, Satan lies, and he has influence on enough people to keep his lies alive. His purpose in lying is to discredit, disprove, discourage or at least delay the people who are on mission for God.

It interests me that the two women were on their way to deliver the truth to the disciples and Satan immediately started lying. He can do nothing else. It is who he is. Matthew's account reads, "Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city..." (Matt. 28:11)

Ron Dunn was often quoted as saying, "Good and evil travel down parallel tracks and usually arrive at the same time." That is exactly what happened when the truth about the Risen Christ was being delivered to the disciples. Satan placed it in the hearts of the elders of the Sanhedrin to conspire against the truth by concocting a story that simultaneously maligned the guards for dereliction of duty and accused the disciples of grave robbing. Stooping to the use of a bribe to seal the deal, the elders of Israel promised to protect their co-conspirators if the governor ever found out the truth. The Scripture records, "This story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day." (Matthew 28:15)

What was the response of the women? They delivered the truth in spite of the lies that were being spread about their message. What was the response of the disciples when they heard the truth? "The eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had designated." (Matthew 28:16)

In other words, they took the high ground. They did not call on the elders to retract their story. They did not have a news conference to alert the city that rumors were being circulated about them. They did not take their offense to the governor. They had seen first hand how much justice Rome was capable of handing out. They obeyed their orders, went to the mountain, and waited for the Risen Christ to show up.

The women did not delay in delivering their message, and the eleven did not hesitate to meet up with Jesus. This is huge. The devil loves to intimidate by false reports and false accusations. His purpose is to put the messenger on the defensive and delay the delivery of the message. He knows the truth better than anyone, and he knows he has no defense against the power of it. His only alternative is to get Christ followers so wrapped up in setting the record straight that they forget their message and their mission.

Thank God the early disciples did not spend all their time chasing down false rumors. They got over their fear, and faithfully delivered the great news about the Risen Christ. They put themselves in the right place at the right time to have an encounter with Jesus. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by Me." (John 14:6) Thank God these two women and the eleven did not put their time into stopping the rumors, but put their trust in the Truth.

The message of the Risen Christ that we share today is a direct result of faithfulness of those who chose to stay on mission and deliver the message. May we be found faithful to do the same in the face of opposition from the "father of lies."

Crash

Praying til Pentecost Day 3

" 'He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where he was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you in to Galilee, there you will see Him, behold I have told you.' And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. And behold Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshipped Him. Then Jesus said to them, " 'Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.' " Matthew 28:6-10

The early disciples were receiving a crash course in faith. Paul would later write, "So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17) It is this gathering of the faithful that was going to change the world. They would be called the church or the "called out" ones. They would be known for their responsiveness to the Word of God. A recent study of groups and gatherings reminded me that a collection of geese is called a gaggle, a group of sheep is called a flock, cattle are referred to as a herd, and a gathering of buzzards is called a committee. I won't go there right now, but that last reference is pretty disturbing.

One author has suggested that a gathering of Christians should be called a "crash." This is what a group of rhinos is called. Rhinos cannot see very well, but their hearing is superb. Once they hear, they are prone to move with great speed and unstoppable power. Nothing can stand in their way, especially when they move as a group or a "crash."

It is an interesting perspective to say the least. Perhaps that is why one of the first things the disciples were told to do was to "go quickly." They were reminded of what Jesus had said, and then given a mission to perform.

The ladies were to trust the fact that Jesus was already waiting for them to arrive at the destination they had been assigned. They had to trust the angel's promise and start out on their journey. The next thing they experienced was the personal presence of Jesus meeting them along the way. This is another great picture of the Risen Christ. He honored their faith in His word by offering them the privilege of His fellowship. Jesus is not looking for any special ability from His disciples. He is watching and waiting for them to be available to Him.

One of the world's greatest misconceptions is contained in the statement, "Seeing is believing!" In the Kingdom of God, "Believing is seeing!" One of the most repeated words in angelic vocabulary in the word, "Behold!" It is rooted in a verb that means "to see, perceive, attend to." When the angels use it they are attempting to get the eyes of their listeners off of them and onto the Word of God. The appearance of an angel always generated fear in the hearts of the people receiving their message. They would often have to repeat the word "behold" and make sure people did not miss the message by being overwhelmed by the messenger. The word carries a more contemporary meaning of "Look! Look here! See here! Pay attention! Get this! Get it? Got it? Good!" The angels were held responsible for not only delivering the message, but making sure that the message was received. The angels reminded the two women that they were just repeating what Jesus had said to them before He died. (see italics)

There are at least 155 verses of Scripture that refer to the 40 days Jesus ministered to His disciples from Resurrection Day to Ascension Day. After His ascension the disciples waited an additional 10 days in Jerusalem, waiting for The Promise of the Father.

These Scriptures contain powerful images of the Kingdom of God, and they unveil the truth of Christ's teaching in the context of 50 unprecedented days. For 40 days the disciples received instruction about the Kingdom of God, and for 10 days they waited and prayed.

The Church was birthed in the labor room of prayer. The Holy Spirit was the answer to the prayers of the people of faith. They could not possibly have known what God had in mind when they gathered for prayer. Still, they were obedient to wait and pray. They were available and God was able. It is through our availability to God and God's ability to transform that the nonsensical becomes the believable.

Take a look at the story of the 50 days through the eyes of the early disciples. It can be found in

• Matthew 28:1-20
• Mark 16:1-10
• John 20:1-21:25
• Acts 1:1-11

Easter Sunday marked the beginning of a new step of faith in the lives of the disciples. Intimidation by immediate circumstances had overwhelmed them with doubts and fears. The absence of Jesus had left them with the bitter after-taste of the dregs of defeat and the death of a vision. God had taken them to the end of themselves to bring them to the beginning of all that He had in store for them. Little did they realize that God was at work bringing about His very best when Satan was doing His very worst.

GOOD Grief

Praying til Pentecost Day 2

"When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?' Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, 'Sir, if you have carried Him away tell me where you have laid Him.' Jesus said to her, 'Mary!' She turned and said to Him, 'Rabboni!' (which means, Teacher)." John 20:14-16

My first encounter with death and grief involved the funeral of my grandmother, Nina Larish Miller. I was 12 years old and remember wondering why I did not react to her passing with the same level of emotion and sadness of the others around me. Grannie had always been a bit of a distant figure. She lived in Pennsylvania, and the first ten years of my life, I had lived in Texas. I had not seen her very often. I had not meet her until I was seven years old, and my most recent visits to her home were difficult. Her last two years on earth, she had been suffering from dementia. Eventually she was secluded from the grandchildren in a nursing home. When she died, I was a little embarrassed that I felt relief for her. She had been such a quiet, and loving person, and watching her battle with memory loss and disorientation had filled me with profound sadness. When death came to her, it did not come as an enemy, but a friend who released her from prison. I learned early in life that there are some things worse than death. One of those is a life that becomes overwhelmed with daily distortions of reality.

Grief is another force in our life that has a powerful way of distorting reality. John's Gospel records this first encounter between Mary Magdalene and the Risen Christ. She was so overcome with the loss of her Lord, that she drew no comfort from angelic messengers. She even missed the Presence of Jesus when He was standing right next to her. Grief can deal out the facts of life, but it does not always add much meaning to life. It has a way of numbing and blinding us to all the good that is going on around us.

The resurrection of the dead moved from theory to reality for Mary, when Jesus spoke her name. He said, "Mary!" He called her by name, and suddenly the fog lifted from her eyes. She saw the Risen Christ, and she responded with a teachable spirit. She called out, "Rabboni!" Jesus was about to start His first class in Kingdom Living 101.

Grief over the loss of a person or the death of a vision often blinds us to the manifest presence of the Risen Christ. Mary was in love with her Lord, but she was just not in touch with her Lord. Death had brought grief, and grief had left the bitter after taste of defeat. When Jesus showed up in the midst of her grief, He called her by name, and offered to make sense out of the senseless.

For forty days, Jesus was going to walk among His followers to restore hope in them and affirm His mission for them. After He ascended to Heaven, they would wait ten days in Jerusalem and pray until The Promise of the Father was sent to them. After Pentecost, the Risen Christ would indwell His followers through the person of the Holy Spirit.

When Mary came looking for Jesus, He was waiting for her. She may not have recognized Him, but He had not forgotten her. He spoke her name like no other person could speak it. He met her in the middle of her grief, and gave her a reason to live and a mission to complete.

Grief still has the power to blind us from the living presence of the Risen Christ. When we are stumbling in the dark everything seems bigger than it really is, especially death. The image of the Risen Christ meeting Mary at the empty tomb should not be lost on us. Jesus still has a way of taking the thing that intimidates us the most and turning it into a victory. At first glance, the tomb looked like a finale of a lost relationship, but it was a prelude to The Promise. When her ears heard her name being called, her eyes were open to the Presence of Jesus. He is calling out to you today. Can you hear Him?