Tender Mercy

On March 19, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Samuel 16: 7             (NCV)

“God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

I just watched the movie Saving Mr. Banks. It is about Walt Disney’s trials and efforts in acquiring the rights to make the movie Mary Poppins. By all indications, the author of the Mary Poppins books was difficult and even unreasonable. Disney was committed to turning the Mary Poppins book into a movie. It took him 20 years of cajoling, negotiating, and pleasing Mrs. P.L. Travers in order for him to finally do so.

I said Travers was unreasonable. For example, she told Disney she was “off” the color red, so she didn’t want to see any red in the movie. Disney was pretty astounded explaining that the movie is set in London where phone boxes and mailboxes, are all red. He figured out that she was testing him but when confronted she, nonetheless, stuck to her position. It was a test. She was looking for an excuse to deny him the movie rights. Disney, who was very influential by this time, agreed to bar the color red from the movie. He did not berate her, did not point out that she was being unreasonable.

The real climax of the movie is when Walt Disney flew to England to have a cup of tea and a conversation with Travers. He spoke to her heart without judging her and without criticism. He shared part of his own story showing Travers compassion rather than condemnation. He asked for her trust but more than that, he earned it by being trustworthy, insightful and kind.

This movie moved me for a number or reasons but predominantly because I so admire the way Disney interacted with Travers. I know me well enough to realize that I would have failed her tests, and the Lord’s, tragically. Travers wanted someone to believe in. She wanted Disney to be who he made himself out to be, but her heart didn’t believe anyone could be who she needed him to be. In fact, she set Disney up to fail. Though she wanted to believe, she set stumbling blocks in front of him for 20 years trying to get him to reveal his true colors. It turned out, though, that the fruit on his tree was consistent with the words of his mouth. He was true to the pledge he gave her.

It would have been the easiest thing in the world, normal even, to have been very critical of Travers. It would have been tempting to try to bully her into a more cooperative attitude. You might even think Disney justified in taking issue with her and calling her on her unreasonable demands. Instead, he looked beyond the outer symptoms pondering what it was within her that made the process so challenging for her. He looked from her perspective rather than becoming judgmental. In the end, not only was the movie Mary Poppins made as Disney imagined it, but it turned out to be a source of emotional healing for Travers who went on to write five more Mary Poppins stories. It is hard to imagine a more difficult person than Travers. In the end, though, she and Disney made a movie which has brought joy to generations of movie goers and blessed their own hearts to boot.

The moral of the story is pretty clear. People have a tendency to judge others based on actions and words and that seems fair. We are to be fruit inspectors. There is a line between judging someone’s fruit and judging them. If you are asked to invest financially in someone’s project, wisdom dictates that you inspect the fruit on their tree. That is not to say that we should succumb to the temptation to judge them. We can decline their project without rejecting them. Only God truly knows what is in a person’s heart. All too often we assume we know and then we judge people as unworthy. If we follow Walt Disney’s example, we can tenderly engage others without getting embroiled in the chaos and dysfunction. We can choose to believe that there is a good person beneath the outlandish demands and negative outbursts. This is hard to do, no doubt, but I think if you watch this movie you will find that you are drawn to the way Walt Disney worked with Travers. Ultimately, he helped her and though the movie Mary Poppins is, and was, a towering success, what he did for Travers was an even greater accomplishment.

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Ebullient Praise

On March 18, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 45: 1         God’s Word

My heart is overflowing with good news. I will direct my song to the king. My tongue is a pen for a skillful writer.

This psalm is written about Jesus and his bride, which is the church. The psalmist saw into the spiritual realm and was overwhelmed by the gloriousness of Jesus. Jesus’ grandeur and beauty caused his heart to overflow with the good news which bubbled up from within his own spirit.

When Jesus walked the earth in human form, he was not the most handsome of men. When, however, you see who he is, see his spirit and his grace, then he is the most beautiful of all people. His form is elegance and grace is in his every move. His words are nectar and his eyes hold all the world’s seas. He is lovely in all ways.

The root of praise is easily seen in reading this psalm in its entirety. The psalmist overflows with affection and admiration for the king, our king. As his heart overflows with the good news, he gives vent to it in a song for the king. He is so enamored with this vision of Jesus that he describes the flow of words coming from him as lyrics fit for a skilled writer. He may have even been amazed by his own eloquence. That’s the way it happens when your spirit and the Holy Spirit get intertwined. You become more than you were, see more than you could see, and are given expression beyond your normal ability.

The good news bubbles up everywhere in your life. The psalmist saw it evidenced in his songs. You might see it bubbling up at work, in workouts and in relationships. Who Jesus is and who he is in you begins to show up everywhere. Perhaps all of a sudden you are kinder than you were. Maybe at work you’ve begun to get really great ideas. When you tap into this and realize that it is the anointing of the anointed one within you, then praise is a natural outcome. And, who knows, maybe you will overflow with a song that makes children dance and saints weep. Maybe you will see gifts flowing out of you which you have never seen before, and, why not? After all, the greater one is in you!

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Fruit Tree

On March 15, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 13: 23

And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.

We often talk about the thirty, sixty, and hundredfold return. One most commonly hears it in relationship to sowing seed into the Kingdom of God and in anticipation of the kind of harvest one can expect. God is in the multiplication business so everything we do with Him or for Him does get multiplied. Therefore, I have no problem with the use of this multiplier effect in relationship to seed money.

It is important, though, to realize that the context in which Jesus introduced this concept is in measuring the quantity of fruit you and I would produce. He has sown into our lives. What have we done with that seed? Is it producing a crop? How large a return is he reaping?

All week we have looked at the verses which lead up to this one. Jesus has shown us a variety of reactions people have to his Word seed. Finally, the seed has found good soil and produces a crop. There are two parts of today’s verse I would like to discuss; the good soil and the understanding. Let’s begin with good soil.

Most of us are generations from an agrarian past and therefore don’t know very much about farming and crops, but good soil doesn’t just happen. The Bible even taught about crop rotation and letting the ground lie fallow so that it could be restored. The nutrients in the soil are expended in growing crops. Therefore, it must be nurtured and restored. The same holds true of the soil of our heart. Living in this toxic environment uses up the nutrients in our heart so they must be replenished. How do you prepare your heart to receive Jesus’s Word seed? There are a number of things you can do. The two keys ones are Bible time and prayer. Those are essential nutrients. Let me add some others you might want to till into your soil. Meditation – I actually think of this as going with both Bible time and prayer. Meditatively read your Bible, pray in a meditative state but also take time to think about what you have read in your Bible. Roll around in your mind thoughts about what heaven is like or what Jesus’ life on earth looked like. Simply engage your wondering curiosity in imagining and considering ideas about the Bible, your Father, big-brother and the Holy Spirit.

Another way to prepare your soil is musing, pondering, day-dreaming. This is closely allied with meditation but go even further down the spectrum to just looking out the window and day-dreaming. Just let your mind relax and be at peace. God can use that time, and He does. Consider, also, the effect music has on your heart and play some uplifting, Christian tunes. Even recreation that involves Father can help restore balance to your heart. For example, I love to go bike riding but even more, I like to ride with my Father and Jesus. I talk with them, sing and just generally enjoy their presence. No matter how tired my body is afterwards, my spirit and heart are re-energized.

The second topic is understanding. Jesus said that the person with the good soil understands and therefore, produces a crop. It does not say, however, that he magically understands. In other words, sometimes understanding comes at a cost. Sometimes it involves effort. It is wonderful when revelation lights upon our mind and even a complex matter becomes plain and obvious. This, however, is not always the case. Mostly, this is not the case. The person who is producing thirty, sixty and hundred fold fruit is the one who is working that seed down deep into the soil. The precious seed is not being allowed to lie on the surface where birds and squirrels can pick it off. Then they water the seed. How do you do that? With prayer, study and meditation. Those who understand and thus bear fruit are those who spend time with what they have heard. Perhaps they took notes at church or at a conference and then look up all the scriptures when they get home. Maybe they buy the recording and listen to it again, and again. They might put those scriptures on index cards or maybe they look at the footnotes and look up all the other scriptures related to these. So, of course these people have gained understanding. Of course they bear fruit. They have worked for their revelation and it produces fruit in their lives and for the glory of God.

We’ve been told since we were children that everything of value requires work. Why do we think that now that we’ve met the maker that everything is simply going to rain out of the sky? It doesn’t work that way but . . . He is here to help us with everything and there is nothing He likes better than revealing Himself and His Word to us. So, if you are not daily finding some time to hang out with Him, do it. Don’t worry about it only being a short time, just make time. Take your Bible to class with you. What I mean by that is spend some time with the book. Put it on your phone and you can even read it while waiting for your doctor’s appointment or haircut.

Speaking of “cuts” there is no shortcut in becoming a fruit yielding Christian. You have to put in some time, but hanging out with the creator of heaven and earth isn’t such a bad way to work. And, His Word gives you revelation for a successful life. Prepare the soil of your heart so that you are ready to receive what God has to offer you and then water and nourish that precious seed. Then you will be that fruit tree which is firmly planted by fresh streams which produces thirty, sixty or hundred-fold.

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Choked

On March 14, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 13: 22

And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Today we learn about another response people have to the Word which is sown in them. Some are deceived by what the world has to offer and full of fear and worry. These people choke on the Word because it stands in opposition to the lure of the world’s pleasures and troubles.

We confronted, earlier in the week, the need to consider Christians as we read these passages; not only Christians generally, but specifically ourselves. Today the question might be, “Is the Word getting choked off in my life?”

In my own mind, I read this even a bit broader than we read here. The reason is that there is another part of our culture which chokes the word. That is the “wisdom” of the world. So, there is the deceitfulness of riches, the worry of the world, and the information we are fed through worldly outlets. This latter is a large category. We are bombarded with information. Much of that information contradicts the Word of God. So, as we assimilate all this data directed at us, it pushes out the Word. We believe the doctor’s report, are terror filled by the evening news, are co-opted by television shows, besieged by advertisements and all of that doesn’t even consider the internet and our friends and family. We see that there is a constant cavalcade of input which denies the Word of God. It doesn’t take long before we believe what we hear day and night from the world instead of believing the Word. The Word gets choked so that it withers.

To compound the problem, most of us don’t get enough of God’s Word to begin with. For example, how long do you expect to live? What does the Word say? You see, it speaks to that. Are you healed or are you sick? Is prosperity your destiny or merely a distraction and a deception?

I will tell you another source of misinformation. Our churches. I say this because some well-meaning congregation member may quote you this scripture concluding that having financial wealth is a sin or against the Word. That is not true, and their conclusion is not supported by scripture. It’s what you think about riches, or wealth, that is problematic. The deceitfulness occurs when we conceive money as our means of support. When we consider it the answer to our financial problems, we have just run afoul of the Word. God is our source. Period. We may trade in dollars, Yen or Euros but our beloved Father is the one who provides.

The point Jesus intends us to glean from today’s passage is that we can be separated from the Word and secondly, when we do, we become unfruitful. I am sure no one wants to be called unfruitful by Jesus. Therefore, we must guard our hearts because, as we learned on Tuesday, the soil of which Jesus speaks, is our own heart. We must filter this endless salvo of information through the filter of God’s Word. That means we must read it. There is no getting around it though we try. We need to know what the Word says so that we can stake our tent on that ground and then everything which contradicts it, we can reject. In this way, we protect ourselves from being deceived.

We are meant to produce fruit but there is no fruit apart from the Word. Our Lord sows the Word in us. What we do with it determines how fruitful we shall be.

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Reeds and Oaks

On March 13, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 13: 20 – 21

The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.

Here is the second category of people Jesus identified. These are people who listen to a teaching and are immediately overjoyed. Perhaps they went to a conference, heard a guest speaker at church or even read a book. There initial response to the Word they heard is to embrace it gleefully. They are the one’s saying how good the speaker was. The test will be to see if the Word imparted has any effect in their life or upon their life.

These people don’t have deep roots in either God or the Word so when they hear good teaching, they recognize its value but because their foundations are shallow the Word never takes root in them. Every time a guest minister visits, they get excited, but they never mature because they never do anything with the Word they hear. Because they have no roots, as soon as things become difficult, they fall away. This doesn’t mean they are not people of integrity. They just don’t have a root structure. We have had a lot of rain where I live; I mean a lot of rain. Trees are toppling over because their roots just can’t hold them up in this challenging time. That is what this group of people is like. They begin with enthusiasm but since they are not firmly grounded in the Word, any wind which blows can take them out.

They can also be like reeds in the wind, blowing this way and that with every new wind. Compare the reed with an oak tree. The oak is well rooted, firm and sound. It knows its place and sends its roots deep down. It is anchored and solid. You build tree houses in it and tie swings on to it. It strong and dependable.

Strong roots can only grow in good soil. When the Word finds good soil, then it has stability and permanency. It can withstand the gales of affliction and persecution. People who are not well grounded in the Word will falter when the storms blow. We each must be well-grounded in Jesus. Then we will be able to stand strong and firm.

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Word Seed

On March 12, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 13: 19

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.

This is from the Parable of the Sower. Jesus told the Parable of the Sower to the crowd but later explained it when his disciples questioned him about it. Although foundational, it is important we understand this parable and its implications for each of us. We know the Word has power. It is equally true, though, that few of us are living in the power that Jesus walked in. We have the same Word as he, even more than he had. So where is the problem?

The beginning point is here, “The sower sows the word,” (Mark 4: 14). Jesus is talking about the Word being sown. The first example is seed which falls on the side of the road. Immediately, birds came and ate the seed. Jesus used this parable to explain about people. He sowed the seed of the Word to many people. The first group of people he compares to seed which fell at the side of the road and was quickly gobbled up. It never even took root. Before it could ever be watered the fowl of the air consumed it.

Don’t forget, Jesus is talking about the variety of people he gave his words to. The first group are these upon whom the seed of God’s Word had absolutely no impact. Jesus gave them God’s Word; His wisdom and revelation, but the evil one immediately and successfully stole it from them. Jesus said the reason the devil was able to steal the Word was because they did not understand. The soil didn’t receive the seed. In other words, these people were not prepared to hear.

The soil is our heart (Luke 8: 15). But we have hardened our hearts. We have not cultivated the soil and nourished it so when Jesus sows his seed into our heart, “immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them,” (Mark 4: 15). Jesus told the disciples that Isaiah foretold this:

‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand;
You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they would see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.’
Matthew 13: 14 – 15

One may say, this has only to do with new believers and the evangelical message but I tell you, though often and routinely applied in that context, this is not the case. Isaiah called to Jews. He urged them to turn their hearts back to God, to soften their hearts, open their eyes and ears and receive understanding in their hearts. This is exactly the message that Jesus spoke that day and indeed, is speaking even until today. If you, dear reader, have ears to hear, receive what the Spirit of the Lord is speaking to you today.

Jesus explained that the Word he spoke to his people was quickly stolen by Satan because they lacked understanding. Then, quoting Isaiah, he said they lacked understanding because the hearts of the people become dull. They, we, don’t see and don’t hear because our hearts have become numb to the Word and, truly, even to Jesus. What was once good soil is no longer. Because we fail to prepare the soil of our heart, the Word of God preached to us takes no root. We are blind and deaf to what the Spirit of God is saying to us.

This is so tragic. As I type these words, my heart grieves. Jesus knew this would happen, yet it grieves him no less. His people, those who he preached to when he walked the earth and us, all of us who call him Lord, have turned away. We give him deaf ears and blind eyes. We give him hearts of stone and arrogance. Who shall turn to him with humility and hunger? Who shall receive the word he is preaching in the earth today? Do you hear the cries of those who say, “I don’t understand” as you watch the Word stolen immediately from them? Does your heart grieve too! Pray God will remove our hard hearts and restore us to Him in all humility, with a devout hunger for Him and His Word.

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Literal Truth

On March 11, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 44: 3

Our forefathers didn’t win these battles by their own strength or their own skill or strategy. But it was through the shining forth of your radiant presence and the display of your mighty power. You loved to give them victory, for you took great delight in them.

The writer of this psalm seems confident in his statement that their forefathers’ victories were not the result of their own strength, skill or battle strategy. The triumph was not the result of their own wisdom, experience or knowledge. Instead, the psalmist would have us believe that victory came through God’s presence and might. Can we believe this? And, if their victory really was the result of Father’s presence can we enjoy the same kind of outcomes?

This is a little hard to believe, isn’t it? I mean, at a philosophical level, no. It is easy to accept philosophically. We can rationalize that it is God’s strength within us which leads to victory. It is the gift of wisdom which He gave us that results in triumph. The psalmist seems to differentiate from this analytical conclusion though. Is it possible that when he wrote this psalm he was being literal? The psalms are songs. Might he have written these lines in celebration of a literal truth?

I believe the answers to these questions can challenge us at a very deep, almost primal level. If we believe the psalmist meant for us to take these words at face value rather than as a poetic nuance of real events, then it presents for us a dilemma of faith and trust. If it really was the presence of God which carried the day, then we need to understand and appreciate this kind of faith walk. Most of us don’t have enemies shooting at us, or armies bearing down on us but we have challenges pertinent and relevant to our day and time. However, let us not forget that while most of us are safe, we do have sisters and brothers who actually are in danger for their lives and some of them, like the ancient Israelites, specifically in danger because of their faith. Selah – pause here and consider and maybe even offer a prayer of safety for them.

One might conjecture that we are better equipped to walk in the power of God’s grace, mercy and power on this side of the cross than our faith forefathers. We have the testimony of Christ and his example of a life lived in the manifested wisdom of God. We also are on this side of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit is the power of God. We are better positioned to live in his power than the generations which went before. Jesus ushered in a new way of living with God. Have we, though, actually learned what this means and found how this life is lived? Are we still stumbling in Old Testament theology unversed in the revelation of Christ?

I fear this is the case. It seems to me that we live a hermetically sealed life where our reach is stunted. Nothing seeps into our box and we do not extend ourselves in exuberant faith, risk or trust. We live safe lives but not passionate lives. We live within limited boundaries so that we do not have to extend ourselves. We are not forced to trust God because we take life in this limited capacity. We don’t listen to the voice of God within us because he may ask us to do something that is risky. We don’t believe the Bible and don’t take it at face value because we may have to face some uncomfortable truths. Best if we rationalize away these uncomfortable passages, relegating them into the province of fantasy.

We should be living above the miracles of the Old Testament. We should be experiencing works beyond what Christ did. That’s what he said anyway (John 14: 12). We should be a people unlike the world has ever seen. The mighty hand of God ought to be evident in our lives and infecting all we come in contact with. I want this life. I want to know what the life Jesus anticipated for us looks like. I want to be a Christ disciple and actually walk as he did and live according to his faith in me. The life Jesus died to give us must be grander than the life most of us Christians live today. What is necessary for us to live our destiny? Our God is so much bigger than our lives. His plan for us is full of His faith.

Our Father, be our mighty warrior; be our strength and wisdom today as we turn to you. Teach us to walk in faith and trust. Lead us in your ways and create us to be a people who bring you glory.

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