On Becoming Like Jesus – Pressing On In His Footsteps

On Disreputable Characters

Matthew 9:9-13 MSG Passing along, Jesus saw a man at his work collecting taxes. His name was Matthew. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” Matthew stood up and followed him.

^10-11Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew’s house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus’ followers. “What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and misfits?”

^12-13Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.”

Matthew 23:13-14 Phillips “But alas for you, you scribes and Pharisees, play-actors that you are! You lock the door of the kingdom of Heaven in men’s faces; you will not go in yourselves neither will you allow those at the door to go inside.

Observation

Tax collectors, especially Jewish ones, were anathema and traitors to the Jews because they served the Romans by agreeing to extract (and profit from) exorbitant taxes imposed on their fellows. Anyone who associated with a tax collector would be a “disreputable character” in the sight of both Pharisees and fishermen. Jesus regularly engaged in this kind of shock therapy with His disciples to break down their strongholds of prejudice and judgment created by tradition and teaching of the religious leaders.

Jesus also purposely challenged the man-made rules of the Pharisees, but never broke Mosaic Law. Jesus accused the Pharisees of being so obsessed with duty and form that they missed the heart of God – grace, mercy and redemption. He accused them of misinterpreting God’s intended relationship with His creation. In Matthew 23 Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites who played the role of true spiritual men but were really only playacting rather than serving God with a pure heart. Above He accused them of foolishly and jealously (and unnecessarily) guarding the door of Heaven to keep out disreputable characters and missing the blessing of entering in themselves. Jesus came to throw the doors open wide.

Impact on Me

So, I have to ask myself – who do I consider disreputable characters, traitors, unworthy of heaven? Who do I mark as unredeemable, untouchable, crooks and misfits? Where am I playing the role of a spiritual woman to look good when my actions don’t represent what is in my heart? Where are the places in me that I don’t want Jesus to challenge and the Holy Spirit to touch? Hard questions that must be answered if I want to avoid playing a role and start living a holy life.

When I was first saved, my husband and I had a charter sportfishing boat. We spent many hours a day at the docks. The docks harbor many people who lead a rough and raw life – most of us would label them disreputable characters. On our way home one day I was thinking about (and judging negatively) a man on the docks who was coarse, hedonistic and disrespectful to women. In that Pharisee moment, I saw him as filthy and unredeemable. The Holy Spirit in His grace and mercy hit me with the baseball bat of His insight and I heard, “Yes, that is what your soul looked like before you received Jesus.” I wept because I realized that I had so easily forgotten the undeserved and overwhelming grace and mercy I received from the God Who gave His only Son for me and for Whom all is possible. This is why I need to ask myself again and again the questions above, allowing Jesus to examine my heart and the Holy Spirit to change me for the better.

Prayer

O Lord, God of the Impossible, Father of Mercy and Grace, how quickly I tend to judge other’s worth when I need to be judging my response to the grace and mercy I have received. I want to be a Pharisee in diligence, in studying Your Word, but keep me from falling into the trap of thinking that You are performance-based and give more worth by my achievements. Keep my heart soft toward the disreputable characters, the crooks and misfits that I might be an instrument of redemption in Your Hand. May I be one hugging and welcoming those who enter Your gates. Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

On Being the House Jesus Built

Hebrews 3:1-6 MSG So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He’s the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do. Moses was also faithful, but Jesus gets far more honor. A builder is more valuable than a building any day. Every house has a builder, but the Builder behind them all is God. Moses did a good job in God’s house, but it was all servant work, getting things ready for what was to come. Christ as Son is in charge of the house. Now, if we can only keep a firm grip on this bold confidence, we’re the house!

[ESV] Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, ²who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. ³For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. ⁴(For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) ⁵ Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, ⁶but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

Observation

Jesus is the Builder and the Son in charge of the house (which is us when we receive Him as Lord and Savior). He desires to be the designer, builder, remodeler, butler, contractor, Lord of the manor – all of it. As long as we allow, He will do as much as we allow to become what He has designed in His blueprints for us. Everything we do needs to be based on this understanding, this foundation, this submission – whether it is study or service, parenting or being parented, giving or receiving, recreation or daily duties, whatever we do from moment to moment, day to day.

If our foundation is Christ, if we allow Him to be the contractor, as He builds up the house, we should reveal Him to the world in all we do. A difficulty arises when we forget to consult Him and start building on our own without running the plans by Him first. I think of the Winchester House which became a confused labyrinth housing her fears and the ghosts of her past. Building our lives willy nilly, just for the sake of building, accomplishing something, creating curb appeal that impresses others, rather than consulting Jesus’ blueprints for each of us, will end up the same. Whatever He has designed for each of us is our perfect service, our perfect size and shape, our perfect purpose.

Impact on Me

I have been known to identify myself as a recovering overachieving perfectionist who is not always recovering. I struggle to balance putting too strong an emphasis on study and the gaining of knowledge with increased relationship-building, evangelism, outreach, daring to step out into new and bold experiences in faith. While I 100% agree with the necessity and value of teaching apologetics, Christian foundations, and digging out the truth of the Gospel, these things all point inward and are, in their own way, selfish (what I get out of it) and easily controlled by me (my effort and ability determine my success). Walking out the knowledge gained is quite another matter – my success depends on:

my obedience,
my submission,
my willingness to serve,
my faith to step outside a safe environment to take Jesus where I may not be comfortable or accepted,
my trust in what God has promised He will do,
my willingness to risk being a sacrifice and even appearing foolish and a failure.

Even here, I must guard against the temptation to respond out of duty or looking for praise, again controlling my success by creating a checklist of “what is right to do.” The teachings of Jesus were all about how we respond in love and gratitude by walking out our faith in the love and grace of Father God; the passion of Christ was the ultimate model for how I am to live my own life before God, “being faithful in everything God gave Him to do” because He could do no less. Let all the credit go to my Builder, Jesus.

Prayer

Lord, I want to be faithful in everything You give me to do. I want to balance knowledge with action, faith with deeds of compassion, mercy, truth. Speak loudly and clearly to me so that I won’t ever be in doubt about Your wishes, Your will, Your plan for me. I want to be a house built to Your specifications with only Your fingerprints on what is built. In Jesus’ name, make it so.

On Handicaps

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (MSG) Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, “My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.” Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

Observation

Paul considers his “thorn in the flesh” to be a gift because it reminds him that no healing or miracle is done in his own strength. He is reminding us all that no matter what we bring to God’s work (talent, ability, education or ??) or accomplish in His name, we need to humbly give all the praise to Him, recognizing that it all arises from what we allow Him to do and be in and through us. Paul knows that God can give any power, authority, talent, wisdom, strength, ability, words and any other resource to any one at any time to accomplish His will and purpose. We should not consider ourselves special because He chose to give us a few that impress people. Look at the artisans who constructed the Temple – no one is humanly talented enough to beat that elaborate candlestick out of one lump of gold. God must have had His hand in it.

We see God in Scripture reminding us of Who He is (“the Lord High and Mighty) and who we are if we remain meek and humble, allowing Him to be our strength. One of my go-to stories is always Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego thrown into the fiery furnace and coming out alive without smelling like smoke! When I feel completely overwhelmed and insufficient, I am reminded the four lepers of 1 Kings 7, considered worthless by the city and yet the ones who brought salvation from desperate famine. And then there is Jesus, Who drove sickness, disease and demons out with a word or a touch.

Paul is saying that his “gift of a handicap” rescues him from becoming prideful and accepting praise for God’s works. Paul’s handicap is a constant reminder that when he allows God to be strong in his weakness, God comes in like a flood and accomplishes all He has planned.

Impact on Me

I am a person who does not like to be the center of attention. Please don’t hand me the microphone! This does not mean that I do not struggle at times with being unrecognized (which pride translates as unappreciated). I have to burn calories to change the devil’s recording – “That was really bad! No one thinks you are doing a good job! You said what!? You are hopeless!” and so on. I have to replace that recording with what Jesus says about me – “You are a child of God and a temple of the Holy Spirit. I am with you and will never leave you. I love and appreciate you and that will never change. I have called you and will give you all you need to accomplish My will and purpose.”

“I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness.” Pride always exposes weaknesses to condemn and accuse, but Paul is telling me (and you) that God exposes weaknesses so, when I surrender, I can flow in His strength. This is a new perspective for me. I am being asked to ignore the judgment, criticism and culture of my world to accept and see my life, my thoughts, my doings from God’s perspective. As with Paul, my handicaps are meant to expose those hidden pockets of pride, my weaknesses, my “high and mighty” thoughts so I can take my limitations in stride and let Jesus take over.

Prayer

Lord, I want to take my limitations in stride and with good cheer, as Paul did. I want to be surrounded by others who understand and accept limitations as opportunities for You to be strong and mighty. I want to trust You enough to wait until You are ready to do a thing, even if I am getting really nervous or anxious from what I see as urgent. Give me the gift of always being aware of my limitations and how they can be an opportunity for You to be strong. I want to live a life surrendered to You, dependent upon You, listening to You, guided by You, awash in You. Draw me into the garden with You more and more. I love You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, make it so.

On True Worship

John 4:23-24. MSG. “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”

Habakkuk 3:16-19 NLT. ¹⁶I trembled inside when I heard this; my lips quivered with fear. My legs gave way beneath me, and I shook in terror. I will wait quietly for the coming day when disaster will strike the people who invade us. ¹⁷Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, ¹⁸yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! ¹⁹The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.

Observation

Merriam Webster defines worship as (1) reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; (2) an act of expressing reverence; and (3) to adore, idolize, esteem worthy, give homage. The worship Jesus and Habakkuk describe in these verses surpasses the mere visible act of showing reverence by raising hands or singing or even serving others. These verses elevate worship to an attitude of the very heart rooted in faith, trusting in God’s wisdom, His goodness, and His plan, unshaken by circumstances, undaunted by whatever enemies or authorities arise to exert power over or control us.

This worship is one that can “count it all joy” and find God sufficient in all circumstances.
This worship does not hinge on how blessed we feel or appear, or the godliness or godlessness of the authorities which rule over us, or our physical comfort and well-being or whether we like the way the church looks, the style of music during the service or what else the church provides.
This worship permeates our lives, flows from within rooted in a deep and abiding gratitude, love, hope and trust, and brings us to a place where we can submit completely to being an instrument in the hand of God to fulfill His will and purpose regardless of the cost to ourselves (Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from Me. Yet not My will, but Your will, be done. – Luke 22:42).

If we truly want to be like Jesus, this worship is what we must seek to embrace, allowing it to flow outward from spirit through soul to be evidenced in our lives 24/7/365.

Impact on Me

In 2000, we were in a church that was transitioning from a long-time pastor to a very young new one. We were on the leadership team and many of our members were honestly burnt out, tired, and discouraged. The new pastor chose to find long distance advice and support which encouraged him to reject the current leadership team and go it on his own. This caused a great deal of upheaval, confusion and hurt for all of us who were highly invested in that fellowship. As John and I prayed, the Holy Spirit was firm in insisting we stay in that fellowship without complaining UNTIL we were healed of our offense and able to honestly bless and encourage the new ministry.

During our healing process (we found out that this is really God’s prescribed treatment) we were to pray for the pastor and congregation and ourselves to grow in godliness, continue to bless, edify, and encourage the pastor and others until we came to a place of love, grace, mercy, compassion where we could truly bless the new pastor as we left. May I say that this was not the answer we wanted to hear or the plan we would have chosen on our own!!! However, the Holy Spirit taught me so much in those months about true worship.

I learned that true worship will not be impacted by my circumstances, feelings, surroundings, or outside influences because true worship is between God and me alone; the depth, quality, authenticity, and truth of my worship hinges on my relationship with my Savior, my submission to Him as Lord, and my desire, commitment, and faithfulness to glorify Him in all I do. This requires that I offer up my pride, my plans or need to have my own way, as a sacrifice, trusting in God’s plan, provision, or prescription instead of my own – REGARDLESS of what the cost is to me. The book of Habakkuk is his journey from doubt to this kind of worsip, this unshakeable faith and hope.

I can only speak for myself, but I find that my pride always dies kicking and screaming, telling me that the price is too high or that I will have to give up too much. I hear the voice saying I deserve to be offended at being treated unfairly or being disrespected. I hear that I have a right to hold a grudge or work revenge against one who has wronged me. It is my choice whether I embrace God’s plan or my own. However, when I choose His, as I go through the process and stand over another dead piece of my pride, I find that I feel lighter, cleaner, freer, more peaceful, more hopeful, more grateful, more joyful, more secure in Christ. After 5 months, we were able to ask the pastor to release us without any rancor in our souls and move on. While I really don’t desire to walk that path again, I treasure the lessons learned, the depths of relationship gained.

Prayer

Lord, may I learn to rejoice in You always regardless of my current circumstances, regardless of what the future seems to hold, regardless of those who rule over me, regardless of how I feel or the results I want. When I am tempted to listen to the voice of my pride and my selfish desires, remind me of Your prayer in the garden as You faced the horror of the Cross for my sake and the sake of all mankind. Give me the courage, wisdom, strength and grace to worship You 24/7/365 so You may be glorified in all I do. I pray that others may come to know You because they meet You in me. I pray this all in the name of Jesus. Make it so.

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.