Published – Page 31 – Pressing On In His Footsteps

On Who Would Have Thought

Isaiah 53:1-12 MSG Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?

2-6 The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field.  There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look.  He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.  One look at him and people turned away.  We looked down on him, thought he was scum.  
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.  We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures.  But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!  He took the punishment, and that made us whole.  Through his bruises we get healed.  
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.  We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.  And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on him, on him.

^7-9He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn’t say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence. Justice miscarried, and he was led off—and did anyone really know what was happening?

He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people. They buried him with the wicked, threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he’d never hurt a soul or said one word that wasn’t true.

¹⁰Still, it’s what God had in mind all along, to crush him with pain. The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life. And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.

^11-12Out of that terrible travail of soul, he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it. Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant, will make many “righteous ones,” as he himself carries the burden of their sins. Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly—the best of everything, the highest honors—Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch, because he embraced the company of the lowest. He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep.

Observation

“Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?…it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed…He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people…Even though he’d never hurt a soul or said one word that wasn’t true. Still, it’s what God had in mind all along, to crush him with pain. The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.”

The popular image of Messiah in Jesus’ time was a warrior king who would set His people free from the oppression of Roman rule. This chapter was obviously ignored and/or misunderstood. How often do we do the same thing? We look for scripture passages that reinforce our fix for the circumstances we deem need to be changed, telling God how we think He should move in a situation, and ignore the ones we don’t understand, don’t fit our plan or might be taxing emotionally or physically. I am sure the followers of Jesus would not have understood or agreed with the Savior-On-A-Cross plan as a way to salvation and deliverance. Because their insight, like ours, is limited (temporal, short-sighted by eternal standards), they (and we) often forget that God has an eternal perspective and a plan that is not shaken or adjusted or challenged by circumstances or what people might think.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross was the pivot point of history. How difficult it must have been for His disciples to be faced with the enigma of a crucified Savior, something so incongruous, so mutually exclusive. Yet, this was and continues to be God’s one and only plan carried out to perfection.

Impact on Me

Good Friday, the day we commemorate the sacrifice in this chapter of Isaiah, is such a holy day for me. I am so grateful, forever grateful, that God made a way to restore the relationship He established in the Garden of Eden through paying a price none of us could pay. I am overwhelmed by the love, the undeserved grace and mercy available because of Jesus’ willingness to suffer and die for all those who embrace this sacrifice!

It is so astounding to me that God’s plan made Jesus the sacrifice – the innocent dying for the guilty. My mind cannot fathom the depth of that kind of mercy. Then, to add to the staggering nature of His grace, He adopts me as His child rather than holding me as His servant until I could pay the price of my freedom. All for free because Jesus took the redemption price on Him, on Him. Will I be asked to sacrifice, to change, to leave my sin habits behind, to walk by faith into unknown places with unknown consequences, YES, but I will also know that Jesus goes with me always.

I know that you cannot separate the Crucifixion from the Resurrection, the crucified from the risen Savior, because both are key to God’s plan to redeem, restore and reconcile humankind to Him. However, if you are looking for me, go to the Cross. I want to embrace the Cross in such a way that I become bloody so that when I hug someone else, they become bloody, too. I want them to be changed and redeemed, forever grateful as am I.

Prayer

Father God, You are so merciful, so wise, so loving, so gracious. How many times I have questioned Your ways, Your response in desperate and destructive situations, Your seeming slowness to respond! Forgive me for thinking that I can fix anyone or any situation without getting in sync with Your plan first. Help me to understand and surrender to Your will and Your purpose for me so that You can use me as an instrument of redemption. Thank You for the Cross and the Resurrection. May I always be grateful and respond in kind with Your mercy and love. Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

On Forgiving My Enemy

Matthew 5:43-48 MSG ^43-47“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. ⁴⁸“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

Luke 23:34 MSG Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they’re doing.”

Observation

The Word of God was given to us not for what it would mean to us (trying to rationalize through human experience), but, rather, for what it would mean for us in revealing the Lord’s perspective. In other words, His words are not to be interpreted from my “humanly possible” perspective, but, rather, to give me insight into His “nothing is impossible” one. These passages are a perfect example of how God’s perspective challenges me to be less human and more supernatural – trusting in Him and allowing the Holy Spirit freedom to make me more like Jesus so I function as He intends in the Body of Christ.

So, returning love to those who hurt, attack, despise and use you (or someone you care for) seems impossible from a human standpoint. It is incredibly difficult to look past the face and actions of an enemy to see the chains that bind him or her. But Jesus did just that on the Cross. “Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they’re doing.” Jesus said this about the man who drive the nails in His hands, the man who held the whip, Pontius Pilate, the religious leaders, those who yelled, “Crucify!” and all of us who were yet to come.

Loving our enemies does not mean submitting to physical abuse or enabling them to avoid the consequences of their actions. “When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves.” Loving them requires us to forgive them and pray for their healing and deliverance – a nearly impossible feat without choosing to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s perspective in our most human moments and choosing in His strength to journey in that direction. The road may seem long, steep and treacherous, but it is worth the taking.

Impact on Me

I confess that there are people that I find hard to forgive because of the wounds they have created by word and deed. I have rationalized wishing harm on someone who hurt me (or others for whom I care dearly) and clothed it in my mind as justice. I am sure there are people that feel the same toward me. We are none of us without fault. But, if we want to be more like Jesus, then we need to see others through God’s perspective. “He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. “

So, I want to learn to look past the visible or invisible wound to me and attempt to see the soul, gaining compassion for those so wounded that they would choose to attack or harm another – verbally or physically. I want to be to others as Jesus has been to me – so gracious and generous when I did not deserve it. “Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” I have not yet arrived at this place, but I sincerely want to go there.

Prayer

Good, gracious, generous, loving God, how easily I forget the undeserved grace I received when I am wounded by another. How difficult it is for me to forgive those who make themselves my enemy and spitefully use me, but You say this forgiving, this grace and mercy, makes me more like Jesus, more effective in His Body, more beneficial to Your kingdom. So, I ask You to search me and find those ungracious and stingy thoughts, those wounds that need to be healed, so I may allow the Holy Spirit to do His work in me so I can fulfill Your will and purpose in my life. Make it so, in Jeus’ name.

On Recognizing What We Already Have

Ephesians 6:10-18 PHILLIPS. In conclusion be strong—not in yourselves but in the Lord, in the power of his boundless resource. Put on God’s complete armour so that you can successfully resist all the devil’s methods of attack. For our fight is not against any physical enemy: it is against organisations and powers that are spiritual. We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil. Therefore, you must wear the whole armour of God that you may be able to resist evil in its day of power, and that even when you have fought to a standstill you may still stand your ground. Take your stand then with truth as your belt, righteousness your breastplate, the Gospel of peace firmly on your feet, salvation as your helmet and in your hand the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Above all be sure you take faith as your shield, for it can quench every burning missile the enemy hurls at you. Pray at all times with every kind of spiritual prayer, keeping alert and persistent as you pray for all Christ’s men and women.

Ephesians 6:10-18 MSG. 10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. 13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.”

Observation

Webster’s defines armor as a (1) defensive covering for the body; (2) a quality or circumstance that affords protection; (3) a protective outer layer; or (4) armored forces and vehicles (as tanks). It defines weapon as (1) something (as a club, knife, or gun) used to injure, defeat, or destroy or (2) a means of contending against another (using a special/unique talent or skill). We may think of medieval knights, bulletproof vests or Ironman’s indestructible suit when we see the word “armor”. Weapon may conjure up mind pictures of swords, guns, laser beams, light sabers, missiles or battle vehicles. All of these are only effective against tangible, visible enemies in the only warfare we humans understand.

Paul is telling us that our conventional armor, weapons and methods of warfare won’t cut it on the spiritual battlefield. God’s adversary and our invisible Enemy:

is too wily and strong for us to defeat on our own,
fights by different rules/methods than our physical battles,
uses entirely different weapons, such as fear, hate, resentment, doubt et al. (that have historically been highly effective in defeating us), and
battles on an entirely different (spiritual & internal) battlefield.

We are up against and the target of “the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil.” BUT, God has provided us not only with protective armor, not only His “well-made weapons of the best materials”, but also His presence which commands victory (“In conclusion be strong—not in yourselves but in the Lord, in the power of his boundless resource.”). All we must do is follow Him while putting on the armor and using the weapons He has provided – “Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare.”

These seem strange “weapons” to us because they are not destructive in the normal physical sense; they are protective/defensive for us because they provide an impenetrable armor against the weapons of our Enemy – deception, temptation, sin, chaos, fear, greed, doubt/unbelief, corruption, and every other evil work. How can the Enemy overcome or defeat or destroy us if we stand firm on truth, righteousness, peace, faith and salvation? What defense does he have against the Word of God and prayer? How can we even fathom the devastating damage to evil we do by allowing the exercise in and through us of such weapons of warfare as love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, meekness, faithfulness and self-control? Paul is asking us to exchange the natural – what we touch, what we can see, what we can do in our own strength, and our limited understanding of what really matters – for the supernatural – God’s eternal and indomitable power, insight, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding made available to us in Christ.

Impact on Me

Early on in my Christian walk as I was praying down the list of what I had determined were my needs and how – in my vast and perfect wisdom – God should fix the world, it occurred to me to ask if I had missed anything that should be on the list. I did not hear an audible voice, but the response was as clear and loud as if it had been. “The only thing you really need is to learn what I really did for you on the cross and apply it in your life.” I began to read the Word looking for what was already mine in Christ and pray for the courage and faith to live in a way that reflects Whose I am and Whom I serve.

Not too long after this incident, I read an excerpt from a prayer warrior’s journal that truly arrested my attention by its simple powerful truth in the light of Jesus’ victory on the Cross – “We do not have to hold out against the Devil; he has to hold out against us.” So, this passage in 2 Corinthians is key for me. It is one of the truly strategic instructions in spiritual warfare.

First, submit to and be strong in the One Who has already secured the victory.
Second, wear the protective armor He provides – truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, His Word and prayer.
Lastly, use often and liberally the weapons against which the Enemy has no defense – love, mercy, grace, forgiveness and all the other graces provided through the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.

Prayer

Lord, Eternal, Invisible, All-Powerful, Wise God, may I always seek to find my place in Your plan and be faithful to stand therefore in it regardless of the cost to me. May I be simple, courageous, bold and obedient enough to faithfully submit, put on Your armor and use only Your weapons as I learn to live the victorious life in Christ.

On Help Me With My Doubts

John 9:17-27 MSG A man out of the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought my mute son, made speechless by a demon, to you. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and goes stiff as a board. I told your disciples, hoping they could deliver him, but they couldn’t.”

^19-20Jesus said, “What a generation! No sense of God! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring the boy here.” They brought him. When the demon saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a seizure, causing him to writhe on the ground and foam at the mouth.

^21-22He asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been going on?”

“Ever since he was a little boy. Many times it pitches him into fire or the river to do away with him. If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!”

²³Jesus said, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.”

²⁴No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, “Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!”

^25-27Seeing that the crowd was forming fast, Jesus gave the vile spirit its marching orders: “Dumb and deaf spirit, I command you—Out of him, and stay out!” Screaming, and with much thrashing about, it left. The boy was pale as a corpse, so people started saying, “He’s dead.” But Jesus, taking his hand, raised him. The boy stood up.

Observation

This father came to Jesus out of desperation, hoping against hope that Jesus could heal and deliver his son. We don’t know how old the son was or how many years the parents had watched their son suffer, but we can hear the desperation in his reply (“help my unbelief”). I am sure he had tried everything else available before resorting to searching out this unconventional itinerant rabbi.

I am reminded of the woman with the issue of blood who had become impoverished and desperate in searching out healing until she broke the rules to find her answer in touching only the hem of Jesus’ garment. What about Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, whose daughter was dying while Jesus delayed to engage this unclean woman who dared to appear in public? (Mark 5:21-43 NIV) Desperation drove them to extreme measures, moving outside the acceptable cultural and safe box, to believe for what seems impossible. In doing so, they found that nothing is impossible with God.

Impact on Me

I don’t want to wait until I am desperate to take my needs to Jesus. However, I find that I sometimes get caught up in the urgency of a situation and immediately set out to do everything in my own power to fix things. At some point, I am arrested by my overwhelming inadequacy to effectively fix much on my own. Some things are just not humanly fixable.

My only daughter was in a car accident at 15 that resulted in a broken back when she was thrown from the car which then rolled over her. I am so grateful for all those medical professionals did to bring healing, but ultimately I came to understand that the extent of her healing was in God’s hands. So many times we cried out, “we believe; help our unbelief,” as we received bad news from the doctors about how her life would be limited. Then God would surprise them with impossible healing to take her past those limits. We saw many miracles along the way – spiritually, physically and financially – that changed our understanding about God’s possibilities.

You would think that an experience like that would prevent me from turning to my own devices in crisis, but I am so very human and forgetful. So, when I find myself trying to fix things on my own, I repent again for trusting first in my own ability, strength, wisdom instead of the Holy Spirit’s, bow in prayer and ask Jesus for His solution, His power to flow, His plan for how I can assist Him. Never discount the power of prayer on behalf of yourself and others. Your prayer may give others the courage and wisdom, like this father, woman and ruler, to put their lives and the lives of their loved ones into His hands and care.

Prayer

Lord, I put my faith in You, Faithful One, Gracious God, Loving Father, the One Who Sees All. Lord, I believe; help my dispel my doubts with Your perfect peace when crisis and fear ramp up the urgency and tempt me to run off on my own to fix what only You can fix. Give me the courage to allow You to pull me aside for time with You so I can be comforted, encouraged, listening to Your plan and my part in it. Remind me that prayer is powerful, You have defeated our Enemy, and that Your Holy Spirit is at work 24/7 to bring about Your will and purpose in all circumstances. Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

On Human Nature

Matthew 26:36-39, 41 (Phillips). Then Jesus came with the disciples to a place called Gethsemane and said to them, “Sit down here while I go over there and pray.” Then he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be in terrible distress and misery. “My heart is nearly breaking,” he told them, “stay here and keep watch with me.” Then he walked on a little way and fell on his face and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from me—yet it must not be what I want, but what you want…Watch and pray, all of you, that you may not have to face temptation. Your spirit is willing, but human nature is weak.”

Observation

This passage always reminds me that Jesus was fully a man of flesh while also fully God. I don’t believe it was the God nature in Him that asked, “My Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from me,” nor was it the human nature that insisted, “yet it must not be what I want, but what you want.” He experienced first-hand the life-long struggle of our souls – choosing between the insistent selfish, my-way-or-highway demands of our human nature (control, fulfillment, recognition, pleasure, survival, significance before Men) and the selfless urgings of the Spirit (submission, self-sacrifice, obedience, trusting in God regardless of the circumstances, joy, peace, significance before God). He never sinned, so He always made the right choices when temptation arose. He knew we would not and, so He endured to drink the cup that provided redemption for us.

Impact on Me

“Watch and pray, all of you, that you may not have to face temptation. Your spirit is willing, but human nature is weak.” I am so grateful for repentance and forgiveness, for the right and privilege to be in Christ redeemed! I am also grateful that these do not expire or have a lifetime limit on number of uses or duration. Jesus understands me because He experienced life being tempted as I am tempted, choosing between right and wrong, selfless and selfish, pleasure and pain, sacrifice and survival, being faithful or faithless. He knew that there would be times when my human nature won the argument, when I would rationalize that I have human rights that supersede His or that the Spirit’s request was unreasonable, unsafe or impossible for me to do.

So, He chose to drink a cup of sacrifice, suffering, sorrow and love for me so I am able to:

choose to be in Christ, submitted to His will and purpose,
recognize and confess my failings and my weakness knowing I will not be rejected,
choose to sincerely return and repent knowing I will receive grace and be reconciled to Him again, and
have the opportunity to make a better choice the next time the temptation presents itself.

Each time I do this, my soul learns the wisdom of letting the Spirit win the argument about what to do rather than my selfish human nature, and the joy of submitting my will to His. Hopefully, I will choose to watch and pray so I will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Prayer

Lord God, what a giver You are – wise, loving, beautiful in Your holiness and faithfulness. I pray that Your Holy Spirit will work within me to make me wise enough to submit my wants and ways to Your will, just as Jesus did in the Garden. His faithfulness to be that sacrifice gave us the right to be again in Your Presence, even become Your children, restoring Your original purpose for our relationship. May I watch and pray so that I will hear on that day that I fulfilled Your will and purpose in my life. Make it so! In Jesus’ name.