Strangers in a Strange Land - Pt. 3

 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV).

 

I’ve written about the final destination of our journey through this “strange land.” Today our reading gives us some instruction of how we are to take the journey. The writer of Hebrews tells us to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and run with endurance” (v. 1). Like any journey there are always different obstacles along the way. This requires that we be “in shape” for the challenge. Just as our physical bodies need daily exercise and activity, so do our spiritual lives. If we rarely stretch, exercise, do physical work, or play sports, our bodies will grow inflexible and heavy. In the long run we will risk all sorts of health problems. By midlife we will feel the aches and pains of old age prematurely. So it is in our spiritual life. We need to exercise our souls and do faith-building exercises.

 

These are not exercises we do by our own strength, however. Through Jesus Christ, God has given us a “new nature” that needs to grow up and become strong. The apostle Paul explains that Christians together are like a body that needs to be attached to Christ as their Head, and “the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow” (Colossians 2:19). There are three things (exercises) that we can use to keep fit for the journey: prayer, Bible reading, and worship.

 

I know the latter of those is more difficult today; however, with technology we can safely worship with others. Additionally it is very important to develop a circle of friends who are like-minded in their faith and use the measures you are safest with to stay connected. As we grow in Christ, we need to exercise all the muscles of our faith. As our text tells us, we must “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” We are called not to shuffle or trudge along in our spiritual life, but to press on, with exertion, for God’s glory.

 

 

Strangers in a Strange Land - Pt. 2

 

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:1-6 ESV).

 

The picture I’ve attached today is from several years ago. Pictured are two of my brothers standing in front of the grocery store/home I grew up in as a child. It is located in Galveston, Texas. Surprisingly it has been kept up fairly well. It was a two bedroom/one bath structure. There were five of us who lived there. My brothers and I shared one bedroom that had little more than the three single beds and a closet in it. There are many memories associated with this house, good and bad. We worked together in the store where my Dad taught me how to butcher, “just in case.” He believed in a strong work ethic, but wanted me to go to college so that I wouldn’t need to struggle in life. Strangely, it was the education he gave me that allowed me to have so little struggle in life.

 

Mary and I have lived in much bigger homes. We’ve had all the conveniences and luxuries needed in these homes. I think that has made it more difficult to remember none of them were really home. Our reading today was spoken to the disciples just hours before Jesus was arrested and led off to his death. It was intended to encourage and strengthen them in the face of their grief.

 

I am always drawn to the mention of the statement that there are many rooms in the Father’s house being prepared for us. Jesus tells us that his Father has prepared a place for us: we are expected. Though the older translation might make us think of grandiose buildings, we should not minimize the reality Jesus is promising to us. The “rooms,” or “living spaces,” are being prepared by God himself. It seems clear also that Jesus is not simply talking about a dwelling that is being built for us sometime in the future. He speaks of going there, after his death and resurrection, to prepare a place for us. This means that today we can have the joy of knowing that our living space is already prepared, even though we are still on the Christian pilgrim journey in this world. And, he’s going to be the one to take us there. Knowing this gives me the strength to walk through this life’s challenges. That home is worth the trip!

 

Strangers in a Strange Land - Pt. 1

 

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. (Hebrews 8-10 ESV).

 

Some years ago I was privileged to travel to the Ukraine. I was enlisted to be a part of a group of ministers to do evangelism and pastoral training. My specific task involved traveling to five different “districts” to train local pastors in family/marriage counseling. I was also able to preach in several of the local churches. Since I have no familiarity with the language, a seminary professor from the Odessa Baptist Theological Seminary accompanied me to translate. Since he was formally educated in Great Britain, he was fluent in both languages. We had a free day and walked the “business” district of Odessa. Coming to the corner you see in the picture included today I saw a semi-familiar sign. Yes, there was a McDonald’s in Odessa. There were no golden arches and I was told the menu was significantly different than here.

 

We also visited a grocery store to get bottled water to take with us to the districts. The more we walked the streets and looked at the surroundings, the more I realized how different I was from everyone around me. I was a stranger in a strange land. There were many other differences I won’t detail today, though I did find it easier to adapt to my surroundings as the week progressed. In some cases I made some minor changes to fit in a bit better.

 

Today’s reading recalls the same experience through Abraham. He was a strange, a traveler through the land looking for the “home” he had been promised by God. In many ways we are such a people as believers. We are a people who cross borders as strangers in this world. We are strangers or sojourners here, moving toward a destination beyond this world. While we are created to live here and care about the creation God has given us. We are called to be in the world, though not of the world. Jesus said: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19 ESV). In the coming days I will be using the devotionals to remind us what that looks like in our daily lives. Today, I hope you will be encouraged in your journey. We do have a home waiting for us. The trip is often a struggle, but the final destination is more than worth the trouble!

The Path to Forgiveness - Pt. 5

 

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4 ESV).

 

The final step in this path to forgiveness is the release from emotional prison. It begins by forgiving yourself. Self-forgiveness is not about letting yourself off the hook nor is it a sign of weakness. The act of forgiveness, whether you are forgiving yourself or someone who has wronged you, does not suggest that you are condoning the behavior. Forgiveness means that you accept the behavior, you accept what has happened, and you are willing to move past it and move on with your life without ruminating over past events that cannot be changed. It also focuses on the truth that our reading today expresses: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (v. 1).

 

We should also realize we are not alone in our suffering. Others have experienced similar hurts. It may be helpful to reach out to a support group. There are groups for every tragic circumstance in life, from being the adult child of an alcoholic to being a parent of a murdered child. Your suffering may be deep and terrible, but it is not unique. You do not have to be alone.

 

You should also consider how you have grown and changed as a result of your life experiences. You would never have willingly chosen them, and I wish you could have been spared that pain, but they have shaped you and contributed to making you the person you are today. That person is worthy and lovable. God did not send His only begotten Son to die for you because He was somehow obligated to dos. He did that because He loves you (cf. John 3:16). Think on that… God knows all of you, and loves you enough to sacrifice that much on your behalf.

 

And, God has also promised to oversee every experience and bring good to you from it (cf. Roman 8:28). I often don’t understand how He does that; however, I am always amazed that He never fails to do precisely that. I can tell you from my personal experience that everything has given me a good gift of life and understanding. Let yourself go from the prison of the past, whether your making or not.

 

The Path to Forgiveness - Pt. 4

 

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. (2 Corinthians 10:3-6 ESV).

 

The third step in the path to forgiveness is an approach called “reframing.” Reframing allows you to look at the original offense in a new way. The Apostle Paul says this is taking “every thought captive” (v. 5). I have often used the illustration of “unloading your train.” Perhaps your father yelled at you and otherwise ignored you. You feel he never loved you. You feel you can’t forgive him, and he doesn’t deserve your forgiveness. But there may be circumstances you have never considered. Maybe your dad was raised by a father who yelled at him and ignored him. Maybe that was the only parenting model he had. Perhaps he really wanted to do better, but he didn’t know how. Maybe when you were a kid, your dad had a lot of stress in his life. Maybe he was brought up to think children are the mother’s job, and making money was his job. Perhaps he didn’t understand how much he was hurting you. Those things don’t change the circumstances of your childhood, or your experiences. But they may enable you to see your father in a slightly different light. Perhaps they can help you begin to let go of some of your anger.

 

It could be that the injury done you was itself an unforgivable act. Perhaps you were seriously physically abused, or sexually molested. Maybe you were the victim of a terrible crime. I will not trivialize your injury by suggesting anything will ever make it all right, or make you able to forget it. The person who did that does not deserve “a pass.” Adults are always responsible for their own behavior. But it might help to consider the possibility your offender was him or herself a victim at some time. Molesters were often molested. Violent criminals were often subject to violence in their own lives.

 

This “reframing” allows us to let go of the thoughts that would justify our punishment of the offender and deliver it into the hands of the only One able to truly know every circumstance. It allows us to get rid of the burdens we carry unnecessarily. Getting rid of these makes room for the blessing of the good God intends to deliver to us through every experience. Unloading all this excess baggage frees us from our captivity to these thoughts and experiences. It may require help for you to do this. However, your commitment to begin the process only requires your decision to do so. Do that today!