One More Thing

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:17-22 ESV). Our reading today contains one of the saddest verses in the Bible. The rich young ruler has it all, or at least almost all. He has wealth, youth, power, yet he feels an inner emptiness. He knows he is lacking something. Jesus acknowledges the truth of that feeling. He says, “You lack one thing.” Unfortunately the solution for the young man is too great for him to accept. Mark recalls for us: Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. How tragic that his possessions kept him from eternal life. Naturally we ask if the same admonition applies to us. Are we supposed to sell all our possessions and give the money to the poor? The answer is not necessarily. The answer to our need is not in what we do, but what Jesus has already done. Nicodemus wasn’t told to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor.” Nor was Levi; nor the woman at the well. Jesus sees in the rich young ruler a potential for discipleship that is being impeded by the love of wealth, so he says, in effect: “If your wealth causes you to sin, get rid of it!” The difference between the doing of good works and the resting in the provision of God is often subtle. In this case it had much more to do with the young man’s inability to believe he could be okay without his possessions. I suppose I am learning that principle more so in these past few months than ever before. You may recall that we sold our home in Tennessee almost a year ago. When we moved we anticipated a brief time before moving into our home in Texas. Through a series of unavoidable circumstances we are yet to be in that home. So, most of our “stuff” is still in storage in Smyrna, Tennessee. We have a bit of a joke around the house now. Anytime we need to do something and we don’t have the exact tool to do it with, we now have a new “curse word.” We just simply say, “Smyrna!” I am reminded that while it might be easier to do things with my “stuff,” it certainly is not necessary to get the job done. In fact, it has been helpful to learn reliance on others. So Jesus teaches us that our reliance is not centered in anything or anyone but him and his work of grace. After all, that is the one more thing we need!

Like Children

And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. (Mark 10:13-16 ESV). Children can be both wonderfully positive and terribly challenging. The disciples must have felt more of the latter as the children were being brought to Jesus in our reading today. I have often seen both sides. It is true that children present both the best and worst of human nature. That may be one of the great frustrations of parenting and working with children. Jesus makes it clear that children are the standard we measure our faith. That’s how we are to receive the Kingdom of God. That’s an incredible declaration. To understand it we should do a little digging. Perhaps Jesus is referring to the sense of wonder children possess. Or maybe Jesus was thinking about how children are dependent. Children look to their parents to fulfill their needs. Of course we are to look to God to meet our needs as well. And, there is also the thought that Jesus was referring to the spontaneity children often exhibit. Most adults strangle their impulses with calculation and caution, but children are so wonderfully impulsive. Granted, there are times when we wish our children would look before they leap. But isn’t it true that if you always look before you leap, you’ll never leap? When Jesus saw Simon and Andrew on the seashore and said “Follow me,” the brothers dropped their nets and followed (cf. Matthew 4:18-22). What an impulsive, childlike thing to do. Can you imagine just walking off your career to follow a man who you have never met before? You’ve heard of this teacher, but you’ve never met him; and, now he asks you to drop everything and follow him. What a leap of faith that would be! And there is the key to understanding why the Kingdom of God belongs to such individuals. God doesn’t ask us to be qualified. He does not demand that we know the future. He doesn’t even require that we do anything other than trust to follow Him. That is incredibly freeing to a world that requires so much from us for so many things. Our world of bigger, better, faster is a terrible taskmaster. I know I often feel so inadequate for the path I am walking. It is during those times that remembering I am only asked to be a child in the care of my heavenly Father. Trusting him will get me where I need to be every time and on time. Like children we have success in our lives. How’s your trust today?

At the Summit

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. (Mark 9:2-8 ESV). You may be aware that Mary and I have taken a little vacation to visit with friends and family. In a day or so we will travel back to Tennessee and visit with some of our friends in Middle Tennessee. Then, we will travel to the Smoky Mountains to spend a little time in our favorite destination. Mary has been exercising a great deal since her retirement. We have talked about taking an easy trail through the mountains. One of those will not be the Alum Cave Trail. While it is the most hiked in the mountains, it is also one of the most difficult. To reach the 6,593-foot summit of Mount LeConte (third highest peak in the Smokies) from the parking area on U.S. Highway 441, you'll climb 2,853 feet and 5.5 miles on the Alum Cave Trail. If you hike to the two great viewpoints on top of Mt. Le Conte, that will add almost two miles to your hike, so you're up to a 13 mile roundtrip hike. It typically takes 8-9 hours for the hike. I know we are not ready for that kind of excursion! Perhaps one of the “easy walkways” will better suit our ability and stamina. Mountaintops are often like that. They are hard to get to, but so worth it when you do. Often you do not want to leave. Jesus’ mountaintop transfiguration is a moment of majesty and mystery, and Peter doesn’t want it to end. “Let us make dwellings,” he says. Peter wants to stay on the mountaintop. He wants to prolong the experience. It is natural to want to freeze our mountaintop experiences and make them permanent. Instead of moving on to new achievements, new growth, we spin in a tight orbit around one certain event. I have heard it said this is the “halting of the parade.” Instead of being pioneers, always moving forward, always making new discoveries, we become settlers. A mountaintop is a nice place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there. For Jesus to fulfill his mission he had to go back down the mountain and continue his ministry. So should we. Even when this means going through difficult times, the way forward is better than the alternative.

Hand in Hand

And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. (Mark 6:7-13 ESV). Happy Independence Day! I hope you will be enjoying a holiday with loved ones. While I am not specifically writing about “freedom” today, I do want to follow up yesterday’s devotional a bit. In that devotional I wrote about the need we have to take some responsibility in our healing by encouraging you to reach out to Jesus just as the woman who touched Jesus’ garment did. Today I want to add another dimension to that principle. We are not alone in our journey. In our reading today the disciples are sent into the world in pairs. Aware of the importance of their mission, and aware, perhaps, of their feelings of inadequacy, Jesus pairs his disciples. It is strange to me that we often swing from one end of the spectrum of relationship. On the one hand we exercise fierce independence doing our best to stand alone to face our challenges. That often is commendable. At other times we seek the help of community. We find our help in the group at large. It seems to me, because we jump from the one to the many, from self to congregation, without ever forming a solid, soul-deep relationship with one other believer, we suffer for it. There are times when a Christian must stand alone. And there are times when it is good for us to gather in lavish numbers, reminding us that we are not alone in the Christian life. But the Christian life also rests on teams of twos. This allows a deeper knowledge of each other that our prayers might be more specific and efficacious. It allows for a greater degree of support and accountability. We may encouragement one another from a perspective unattainable otherwise. I hope you have someone like that in your life. I know that it is easier said than done. I have known many people to travel their journey never being able to “find” that common disciple to walk through life with; however, I am convinced that the Lord desires us to have such a person in our life. It is true that these two-by-two arrangements cannot be structured or programmed. It is also true that God desires to make that happen in our lives. They form by his mysterious work in our life. So, let me encourage you to look for that person. Be intentional in your search. Pray diligently that Gods would show you that person. Your journey will be much the better for having someone to walk hand in hand with through life.

A Healing Touch

And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” (Mark 5:24-34 ESV). It has been a long time since I have been able to wake to a pain free day. I don’t say that to gain a sympathetic word, it’s just the way that it is. It also helps to see the perspective of the principle character in our reading today. The truth is some people just seem to enjoy good health, while others don’t. The woman in our reading had a recurring hemorrhage. I am told that this is one of the most painful conditions a woman could endure. It certainly is not a problem anyone would want to have for 12 hours, much less the 12 years she had endured. I like to think I’m the kind of person who takes responsibility for my health. She certainly was such a person. She had spent all her money seeing every physician she could find to help her cure her condition. I can imagine she had tried every recommended treatment as well as all the home remedies she had been given by various well-meaning people. Had Web-MD been a part of her culture and experience she would have exhausted every possible diagnosis and treatment! She now hears of one more possibility. There is a young rabbi who has been traveling through the area. His teaching has been revolutionary; and, he has been reported to have worked many miracles, healing some and even raising others from the dead. It may have been a last resort for her; however, she would not be deterred from trying to reach Jesus. She finds where Jesus would next be and makes her way through the pressing crowds to get close enough to touch him. Notice that the woman doesn’t ask Jesus’ permission. She doesn’t tell him what she is going to do, nor did she plan on telling him about it afterwards. I am convinced this is not an example of false humility or deviant behavior. She simply believes that if she can get close enough to just touch the hem of his garment, she would be healed. Jesus seems to acknowledge this when he speaks to her, saying: “Your faith has made you well.” Of course it was a complete work of Jesus. It was his power that healed her; however, she was participating with her faith. I wonder how many times I’ve missed his power just because I thought it was too hard to reach out to him. How about you? He has the comfort we all need. Reach to him today!

Fluff

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:4-10 ESV). Recently I heard someone say that Pluralism was the new reality of our world. I wondered if they were correct in that assertion, so I did a little research. We certainly do live in an age of pluralism, where, in fact, the Christian church no longer holds a position of power and influence in the culture. Further, we can see the changing of the philosophy of a broad spectrum of religious leaders and organizations. Today the watchword seems to be inclusivism. The worldview to which one’s religious belief is not the sole and exclusive source of truth is prevalent in our culture. Religious tolerance has become the mantra of virtually every denomination and organization. Ecumenism and the promotion of unity regardless of belief are prominently held in our culture. And, there exists a multiplicity of religions in our nation as never before. Many Christians, “What can we do to keep our children in church and walking in our faith?” Some change their worship style to incorporate new music. Others try different methods of programming. There’s the remnant who stick to the ways of old. In all of this chaos lies the opportunity for compromise. We would do well to listen to the warning of James in our reading today. He simply says, “Don’t be friends with the world!” In this same conversation where the individual I was talking with lamented pluralism, they offered the simple solution of returning to “the good old days.” I wondered aloud what that looked like. They said we needed to retake our churches and schools with a return to strict discipline and remove ourselves from any worldly activities. In fact, they said the root of the loss of a fundamental belief in the “truth” was the development of technology. Their exact words were, “If we didn’t have a computer in every home and the internet, our country would not be in ruin.” Well, let me be quick in dismissing either that path or the one that says every path leads to the same goal of eternal life. Neither of those is correct. The answer is in the simplicity of the Gospel. God took on human form in Jesus; he died, was buried, and rose from the dead for the remission of our sin; and, He is coming again to judge the living and the dead. There is only one way to escape condemnation and that way is through the redemptive work of Christ. Forget all the other stuff; that’s mere fluff. Keep your eyes on Jesus. You won’t go far wrong from that perspective. That will certainly keep you from becoming a “friend with the world.”

Directions

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9-14 ESV). Technology is wonderful for those of us who are directionally challenged, which is a politically correct way of saying I’m lost most of the time. When I learned how to use the maps and Siri on my phone it made my life much easier. However, it has made the old method of giving direction relatively obsolete. I’m sure that you will remember this method if you are older than thirty. With a GPS mapping system you merely input an address, or better, let Siri do it for you, and then press “start”. A relatively pleasant voice will begin giving you turn-by-turn directions. You’ve heard this, I’m sure. The feminine voice says, “In 300 feet, turn right.” And, of course, if you miss your turn, the same voice, condescendingly says, “Recalculating.” By the way, I hear that a lot. I also miss the “old way.” Directions were a bit easier for me then. If I needed to go to an unfamiliar location I would ask for various landmarks by which to indicate a turn. “Go down the road and top the hill. You’ll see a big oak tree on the right hand side. Turn right into the gate and follow it to the house” was a familiar route in those days. I think that same kind of principle exists when we think about Paul’s instruction in our reading today. He desires that we “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.” That becomes a landmark pointing others to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is those times when others are able to see what we do as a result of the change Christ has made in our lives that point them to the same grace we have been given. This may sound as if I’m advocating good works as a means of being justified. Nothing could be further from the truth. Good works are merely “signs” of our relationship with our Savior. Paul is clear about that following this verse. Grace does not exempt us from doing what is pleasing to God. It gives us the power to do so. Grace begins, continues, and finishes the work that produces the markers of the Christian life. It is not a passive experience. It is active and dynamic. So, how’s your landmarks?