Keep Your Rock

John 8: 3 – 11

And the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” And they were saying this, testing Him, in order that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And when they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the midst. And straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no on condemn you?” And she said, “No one, Lord” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go your way. From now on sin no more.”

The moral of this story may be “Take care at whom you throw rocks.” This woman (and presumably her partner) was caught in sin. They violated one of the Ten Commandments. Borrowing a bit from David Letterman, I like to call the Commandments God’s Top Ten List. So, there was no gray area here. They had broken the letter and the spirit of the law. But Jesus’ coming ushered in a new way of thinking about sin and grace.

Take care when you begin to throw rocks at others. Be careful about judging them for you may find all too quickly that Jesus is taking you to task over your judgment. He gave us one commandment and that is to love. I doubt you can stand in judgment and love at the same time. Besides which, none of us has been called to sit on the throne of judgment. That is God’s job alone. So even if someone is in such an obvious sin as adultery, mind your attitude. Pray for them (not about them). Ask God to save them and rescue them. Ask for his grace and mercy to cover them at the same time. Before you cast the first stone remember the times that God’s mercy has covered you because you weren’t perfect either. Pray people into grace rather than condemning them to hell or you may find yourself in the same shoes as these Pharisees; standing in opposition to Jesus.

And finally, if you are the one in sin, there is great grace and mercy for you but take note. Jesus’ last comment to the woman was to “sin no more.” He didn’t just turn a blind eye towards her behavior. Don’t use God’s grace and mercy as an excuse to keep on in sin. Don’t kid yourself. Get yourself right and thank God for his everlasting mercy.

Stay and Rest

Matthew 11: 28

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Did you know you need rest for your body, your soul and your spirit? In the very next verse Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls,” (v. 29). Jesus understood that we get tired down in our souls. It is a weariness that is even more pervasive that physical fatigue. Mentally you are drained and emotionally spent. This kind of weariness, indeed, comes from being heavily laden. Worry, anxiety, stress, these are the contributors to being wrung out in your soul. Jesus’ remedy was for us to give all those things to him. He instructed us to take his yoke onto our shoulders. That does not sound restful, does it, but Jesus said that his yoke is light. His teachings will unburden you rather than adding to the seemingly endless worries of life.

Paul revealed that we can even get tired in our spirits. “I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I went on to Macedonia,” (2 Corinthians 2: 13). Who would have thought that your spirit could get overtaxed? Well, actually, I would. I remember when my dad was dying of cancer. There was a great and continuing need for prayer and for spiritual support. One day I just ran out of juice. Physically I was fine. Emotionally I was okay, but down in my spirit I felt like I did not have one prayer left. I felt like I had no more to give to anyone. A friend recognized that I was drained spiritually and advised me to get alone and pray so that I could reinvigorate my spirit. She was right and I have never forgotten that lesson. When you are giving out a lot from your spirit, you have to feed it with the Word and with personal prayer. After spending time with Yahweh, I felt renewed and could go back to supporting others.

Then, of course, we need rest for our bodies too. Paul wrote, “For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within,” (2 Corinthians 7: 5). He revealed that his flesh needed rest but there was none. We are familiar with this sort of fatigue, but we don’t always pause to give our bodies the rest they need.

Jesus used to slip away to the wilderness or to a mountain to rest and restore. The Sabbath was given to us by God explicitly for rest. We love to live life full throttle, but the scriptures teach us that our minds, spirits and bodies need rest, a time of rejuvenation. This Sabbath rest, which can happen any day, at any moment is designed as a time of communion with the Lord. He is our rest. He is the source of rejuvenation for all three parts of us. The most effective rest isn’t lying in the bed all day. The best rest is getting your full 8 hours of sleep and then arising gently and spending the day hearing the Father. The Word is manna for your spirit, but you may be surprised how effective it is for your soul.

You can have a bit of Sabbath every day and that is great and advisable. Sometimes you need several days’ worth of restoration. That is good too. Enjoy it. The deepest rest, though, comes from abiding in Jesus. As we abide in him, he fills us. That is the restorative piece that is most effective and nothing else will do. So, don’t just have that week vacation of rest. Don’t even limit yourself to daily Sabbath time. Have that time, absolutely, but also let us learn to abide in Jesus all day. He becomes our Sabbath every minute of the day. Stay in his presence and rest.

Abiding Freedom

John 8: 31 – 32

Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

I wish to draw your attention to the two statements Jesus makes in this one sentence. Although there are two thoughts, he tied them together in one sentence. That is because He wanted us to understand that the two ideas are tied together.

First, if you want truly to be a disciple of Christ, then you must abide in his word. Now abiding is not a casual once in a while visit to his word. To abide in his word means to take residence in, to remain. Another definition is to submit to. If you want to be his disciple, then you are going to have to take up his word and live in it.

Secondly, if you are his disciple, then you will know the truth. Now, how do you suppose you are going to come to know the truth? Through his word, of course. The Lord will lead you to the truth and wisdom you need through his word. Then you will be set free because you will have the truth as it relates to your particular situation.

So, since these are causal statements let us look at this backwards going from the effect backwards to the cause. The end effect is that you will be free. Do you want to be free? Free from the burdens that have tormented you? Freedom comes from knowing the truth. Truth comes by being his disciple. You are his disciple if you abide in his word. Therefore, the beginning of your freedom is HIS WORD. It all begins and ends there because he is the living word.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring those who died in the line of duty protecting our liberty.  I would also like to thank all those who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States.  May our blessed Lord be with you and keep you.

 

Photo by Carol Colman        Taken at Arlington National Cemetery

The Believers’ Rest

Hebrews 4: 1

Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.

I find this language interesting. Why should there be any fear related to God’s rest? Verse 3 reveals that God was angry and in His anger He swore that “they” would not enter into His rest. Look at verse three from the Passion Translation, “For those of us who believe, faith activates the promise and we experience the realm of confident rest! For he has said, ‘I was grieved with them and made a solemn oath, ‘They will never enter into the calming rest of my Spirit.’”

Rest comes by faith. God was angry at the disobedient ones (Hebrews 3: 18). The Tree of Life version of Hebrews 4: 1 illuminates the disobedience. It says, “For we who have trusted are entering into that rest.” Their disobedience, then, was that they did not trust God and that is what angered Him. Selah – pause and consider that.

Rest is a matter of faith and trust. People who believe, enter into the promise of rest that the Father gave, and they do so with confident trust. They are persuaded that God will not let them down. Failing or refusing to enter into God’s rest is a slap in His face. It says that we do not trust Him. Instead, we trust our own abilities. We are focused on all we need to do and thus, abandon the idea of a partnership with the Divine.

The Holy Spirit was sent to be our “go along.” His intent is to walk with us, side by side, go along with us everywhere we go, assisting us in all we do. Actually, he is supposed to be our guide. He wants to stand shoulder to shoulder but lead us from that position. That is why I call it a partnership. He wants to intertwine with us in every activity rather than run over us or dominate us. And he will gently step aside if we do not choose to partner with him. However, we cannot enter God’s rest if we do not receive the aid of the Spirit. God grieves when we fail to enter into “the calming rest of my [His]Spirit.” His anger is kindled when we try to do everything in our might. “Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience,” (Hebrews 4: 11). Our job is to enter into His rest. Our task is to seek His face. He has people for all of the “work” but there is only one person who can spend time with God for you. Guess who!

Let this sink in today. Ponder these verses and ideas. Can you find the way to let God do the heavy lifting for you at your job? What about all those tasks on your list, can He somehow help those to get done more efficiently? I think you will find the time you spend with Him, seeking His advice and guidance, will more than pay for itself. Find your place of rest. I will give you a hint. It’s in Him.

You Owe me!

Romans 13:8

Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

Or do I owe you? Perhaps you have heard this verse taught before. If so, great! Most of the teaching I have heard on it focuses on being debt free, i.e. owing no one. Except we do owe and the debt we owe is love. Paul really wrote a blockbuster statement at the end, but I think it may have slipped by us. He said that all the obligation of the law is met if we love our neighbor. Does that even make sense? Can we really fulfill the law by loving one another? Seems crazy to me.

Let’s look at the Passion Translation, “Don’t owe anything to anyone, except your outstanding debt to continually love one another, for the one who learns to love has fulfilled every requirement of the law.” Wow! We have a continuing debt to one another. Ooops, that means I owe you, doesn’t it? Watch out though, you owe me too. This translation points out that love can be learned. It must be a skill then because you cannot learn emotions or characteristic traits. That is encouraging. Even if you are not a person naturally given to loving others, you can learn to be like God in this respect.

I want you to see the amplified version of this verse too, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love and seek the best for one another; for he who [unselfishly] loves his neighbor has fulfilled the [essence of the] law [relating to one’s fellowman].” Embedded within this expanded view of the Greek words, we see a definition of love arising. It is the significant piece which has run through these several days of “love” focus. Here is where we learn, specifically, what God has in mind when He tells us to love others. God only deals in agape love (see yesterday’s Word of the Day). Jesus’ actions gave practical meaning to the word love and he told us, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you,” (John 15: 12). In other words, we are supposed to emulate Jesus and his love the same way he copied the Father. The question arises, however, “How did Jesus love us?” The answer is in the Amplified version where it reads, “seek the best for one another.” That means putting the other person’s needs in first place, ahead of your own. Love is not selfish. Jesus loves us sacrificially. He gave what we needed rather than what he needed. Most of us love as is convenient to us. We love enough to get what we want or need. As long as the other person is supplying our needs, we love them. Jesus showed us a different way. Even when no one stood with him, when his closest friends denied him and betrayed him, when the people he came to save stood in the marketplace and cried out for his crucifixion, even then, Jesus put himself on a cross. Jesus prayed for the people who strung him up, prayed for their eternal souls. That is what love is. Love is not selfish or self-seeking.

We have an eternal debt to each other. It is never filled, never satisfied. I owe you a debt of love and I want what you owe me. The Father is the source of love, so we only need to take from Him and spread it around. It sounds easy enough, but it is a challenge. I believe, though, if we will take our minds off of ourselves and put them on Father, Jesus and the sacrifice they made for us, the love they have poured out to us, then we too will be able to spread His love. It sounds gooey. It sounds a bit weird, but we need to get used to this idea that you are supposed to love me. I am supposed to love you. God said that is the only debt we are to have between us. It is an ongoing one, though. If we will learn to love one another we will not need to fear the condemnation of the law.  Love will also give us the power to evangelize the world.

Trifecta Love

John 15: 9

Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.

We all know that Jesus is our model, but do we ever consciously consider that he modeled love? Yahweh God is love; His composition is love. So, Jesus emulated His father and showed humanity what real love is.

There is a key in this verse to which I alluded in yesterday’s Word of the Day. Notice that Jesus received love from the Father. What he received, he gave, and in the same measure. He says, essentially, “What I received from the Father I gave to you in like manner.” So, where does that leave us? We must receive the Yahweh Father kind of love and then love others as He has loved us. The potency of God’s love is tripled towards us, though, because we have the love of the Father, the Son and the Spirit. They have poured out Agape love into our very being. “The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us,” (Romans 5: 5).

Wikipedia defines Agape love as “unconditional love that transcends and persists regardless of circumstance. It goes beyond just the emotions to the extent of seeking the best for others.” This love does not depend on any external factor. It isn’t an emotion. It is a choice, a determination of spirit, though not by works or by strength. Giving Agape love comes from receiving it. God has an infinite capacity for loving us and His love is never predicated on what we have done right. As the definition reads, it is beyond circumstances. As He pours out His love on us, if we will receive it with appreciation and mindfulness, our capacity to love will be enlarged. As we revel in God’s amazing gift to us, we overflow with gratitude resulting in a thankful heart which is better able to give love, even where it is not deserved.

Jesus tells us here that even as God loved him, so he loves us. He doesn’t stop there though. He adds the phrase, “abide in my love.” What do you suppose he meant by that? In a practical sense, how does one abide in his love? When I think of the word abide I think “hang out there.” It is stronger than that though. He means to set up your residence. Pitch your tent in Jesus’ love which is easily said but more difficult in practice. It is not as if we can literally make our physical home in his love, so what does this mean. I believe Jesus is telling us that emotionally, spiritually and even mentally we should stay right here in the midst of his love. The world is too much with us, as Wordsworth warned us. We get so swept up in the things of the world that we stop abiding in his love. We mentally, spiritually and emotionally vacate that space. Jesus wants us to allow his love to be pervasive in our lives and throughout our day. Abiding in his love means that it is constantly with us. We are continually reminded of his great love for us, a love deeper than the deepest ocean, higher than the highest mountain more expansive than space. Keep that in the center of your thoughts, and in the center of your heart. Let your life be absorbed in the love of Jesus, the love of the Father and the loving passion of the Spirit. Then, give some away. Sending you some of His love today.