It’s Okay. He’s One of Us

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We were halfway back to Jerusalem on our tour bus.  Fifty of us had been down to Ein Ghedi visiting the Dead Sea.  It was hot, the scenery was desolate, and we were tired. 

Out of the bushes stepped a soldier carrying a machine gun in front of our bus.  Rather than swerving to miss him, our bus driver pulled over to the side of the road, opened the door and let the soldier on the bus.

As our bus resumed its movement, every eye was on the young soldier who now stood in front of us.  He flung his rifle over his back and made his way to the rear of the bus and sat down.  His uniform had the Star of David on it, which meant he was a part of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Sensing everyone’s nervousness, our tour guide got on the intercom and said,


“It’s okay, he’s one of us.” 
 

Interestingly enough, that phrase actually defines the basic IDF structure.  When young people first serve in the military, they are put in a squad of twelve others just like them.  They will be in this squad for the rest of their military service. 

Their training is intense and brings out the best and worse in all of them.  Prior to the squad’s first assignment they select a leader from among themselves.  This man becomes the squad Sergeant, or Samal.  They all agree that he will be the best and most trustworthy leader in the heat of battle.  They have seen him under pressure. They know him.  He’s one of them.

King, Priest, and Prophet were the three main offices of leadership in the Old Testament.  When God gave guidelines for who would fill these roles, there is a striking parallel.


“One from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.” (Deut. 17:15)

“The Lord your God has chosen Levi out of your tribes to minister as priest in the name of the Lord, him and his sons forever.” (Deut. 18:5)

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren.” (Deut. 18:15)

The leader must come from within the people.  He must be one of them.  This would create a bond of trust.  The people knew their leaders understood what they needed because he was one of them. And it prevented the leader from getting prideful.  Israel’s best leaders were those who remained humbly dependent on God, never forgetting they were just people.  The Book of Hebrews illustrates it this way,


“For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men…he can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness.” (Heb. 5:1–2)

A leader must be able to identify with the people.  To know what they are facing. To know their fears, their needs, and their hopes.  And this is what makes Jesus’ ministry to us so powerful and so effective. 


“In all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest.” (Heb. 2:17)

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4:15)

Jesus understands what you are facing, because he’s faced it.  He knows what it is like be attacked by the enemy, because he’s been attacked.  He knows what it’s like to be afraid, to be uncertain, to be angry, to be tempted, because he’s also been.  But what’s more amazing, is that Jesus knows how to face everything and anything without falling, and He wants to help you do the same.


“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16)

So what’s stopping you?  Go to him.  Tell him anything.  He’ll understand.  There’s nothing to be afraid of.  It’s okay.  He’s one of us.

It’s time to bring people around you who you feel secure with and reaffirm your circle of love…then from that place of emotional stability we can embark on the arduous task of sorting out how we really feel about what happened.

Then planting what I call “a new normal,” because the old normal is gone. You’ll never be able to get that back again. It’s very, very important that you begin to replant a new normal. New traditions in the family. New ways of expressing the family. This is a huge task that you will spend many many years trying to do.

TD Jakes on CNN with Soledad O’brien discussing how to move forward in the wake of the Newtown shootings, 0545PST Dec. 18, 2012

But I Know His Heart

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They were telling a small group of us what had happened. We could sense their hurt and frustration. We sympathized with them. What made it more personal was that we all knew the person they were talking about. Then someone in our group, who knew the person very well, spoke up,


“But I know his heart. You’re misunderstanding him.”

That simple statement changed the whole conversation. And as it turns out, there was a huge misunderstanding that was eventually worked out.

It’s one thing to know who someone is, and another thing to know his or her heart. When someone says they know a person’s heart, it means they have an intimate understanding of how the person thinks, feels, reacts, what they value, what they like or dislike, etc., and therefore are able to predict what the person would do or say.

Who knows God’s heart?

God’s power is revealed in creation. His holiness is revealed in the law. His awe and splendor are revealed in such descriptions as Isaiah 6, or Revelation 1. But God’s heart is revealed in Jesus.


“No one has ever seen God. But [Jesus], who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.” (John 1:18, NLT)

The Jews knew who God was, but they only understood God as distant and unapproachable. The letter had rule. Law, regulation, and sacrifice, were the operative words. But Jesus comes and reveals the grace, love, and tenderness of the Father.

Paul puts it this way,


“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’” (Romans 8:15)

When people talk about why Jesus came to earth, answers often include statements about the “sin problem” and fulfillment of the law, which are true. However, what Paul is describing in Romans 8:15 is something so personal, so compassionate, so incredible, that it causes the recipient to cry out, “Abba Father,” or, “Papa God.”

Jesus called his disciples and he did incredible things with them, but he also ate with them, slept with them, walked with them, talked with them. He then told his disciples,


“I’m going to prepare a place where we can be together forever…and if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father” (John 14:3, 9)

The truth is that Jesus came to earth because it’s God’s heart to be with us, eat with us, sleep with us, walk with us, and talk with us, to live with us!

We need to be reminded of God’s heart because there’s a tendency for us to let law, regulation, and sacrifice creep back into our lives. Things start to become routine and religious, rather than relational and heartfelt. Soon God seems distant and unapproachable. It’s possible to know God and to serve God, but to loose the kind of fellowship He wants to have with you.

So if you’re being tempted to feel like God has distanced Himself from you, you’re misunderstanding Him…I know His heart.

God Has Not Forgotten About You

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The elderly pastor noticed a group of long-time members of his church talking before a Sunday morning service.  Something seemed wrong.  Nudged by the others, one of them approached the pastor.  “Pastor,” he said, “we were just discussing the fact that something must be wrong with your ministry style or ability.  Only one person has come to Christ in the whole last year, and he’s just a boy!”

The old minister listened.  His eyes moistened as he considered what was being said. “Yes,” he replied, “I feel it too.”  On that day the minister’s heart was heavy as he stood before his flock.  As he finished the message, he felt a strong inclination to resign.

After everyone else had left, that one boy came to him. The pastor’s face brightened as he saw the young man standing in front of him.  “Hello Robert,” the pastor said.  “What can I do for you?”  The boy replied, “Do you think if I could ever become a preacher, or perhaps a missionary?” Again the old minister’s eyes moistened, but this time for a much better reason.

Many years later an aged missionary returned to London from Africa.  His name was spoken with reverence.  Nobles invited him to their homes.  He had helped many people come to Christ, reaching even some of Africa’s most hardened tribes.  His name was Robert Moffat.  It was the same Robert who years before had spoken to the old pastor that Sunday morning.

F. B. Meyer once said, 

“Don’t waste your time waiting and longing for large opportunities which may never come. But faithfully handle the little things that are always claiming your attention.” 
 

John the Baptist’ father was a man named Zacharias.  An angel appeared to him and told him of God’s plans to give him and his wife a son and how great he would become.  And this came to pass.  John the Baptist was born and became the one God chose to announce the coming of Jesus as Messiah.  Jesus himself said that no person ever been born was greater than John the Baptist.

Yet you would’ve never predicted John’s greatness by looking at parents.  They were not impressive people.  They were not successful people. They were old and unable to have children.  But one thing can be said about them: they were faithful.  Luke records, 


“Zacharias and Elizabeth were godly folk, careful to obey all of God’s laws in spirit as well as in letter.” (Luke 1:6, TLB) 
 

Zacharias and Elizabeth are a picture of a people who might not believe what they are doing is even noticed, let alone making any difference.  But they’re also a picture of people in whom the seed of God’s next step lies waiting.  People who will see the reward for serving faithfully.

So the next time you run into someone who doubts you, your style, or ability; or the next time you feel like what you are doing is futile, unnoticed, and ineffective, remember these two names: Zacharias and Elizabeth.

The name Elizabeth means, “God is a God of His oath, to complete it.” In other words,
God will keep His Word to you! 


“There has not failed one word of all His good promises.” (I Kgs 8:56b)
“For all the promises of God in Him are yes, and in Him amen.” (II Cor. 1:20)


And don’t forget the name Zacharias, which means, “The Lord remembered.” In other words,
God has not forgotten about you! 


“God is not unjust to forget your labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” (Heb. 6:10)
 

How We Heat the Church

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The greatest preacher alive during the 19th century, perhaps of all-time, was a man named Charles Spurgeon.  He pastored a church in London, England called the Metropolitan Tabernacle.  His sermons held thousands of people spellbound, and brought many to faith in Jesus Christ.

There were five young men who wanted to hear the famed Spurgeon preach, so they travelled to London.  They arrived early for a Sunday morning service but found the doors locked.  While waiting for the place to open, they were greeted by a man who asked, “Gentlemen, is this your first time hear?”  They told him it was.  “Well, let me show you around.” The man then brought them inside the church.  He then asked, “Would you like to see how we heat the church?”

They weren’t really interested because it was a hot day in July, but they didn’t want to offend the stranger, so they consented.

The young men were taken down a stairway, a door was quietly opened, and their guide whispered, “This is how we heat the church.” Surprised, the young men saw 700 people throughout the room kneeling in prayer.  They could hear people calling on the Lord and asking for His blessing on the service that was about to begin in the auditorium above.  Softly closing the door, the man put out his hand then introduced himself.  It was none other than Charles Spurgeon.


“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jer 33:3)
 

Prayer is the most valuable, most powerful, and most far-reaching thing we can do.  God’s child can conquer anything by prayer.  Oswald Chambers said:

“The prayer of the feeblest saint who lives in the Spirit and keeps right with God is a terror to Satan. The very powers of darkness are paralyzed by prayer; no spiritualistic séance can succeed in the presence of a humble praying saint.  No wonder Satan tries to keep our minds fussy in active work till we cannot think in prayer.” (My Utmost for His Highest)

The Welsh revival, which saw more than one hundred thousand people come to Christ, was greatly due to a man named Evan Roberts who had been praying for eleven years.   The Azusa Street revivals, which resulted in one of the greatest outpourings of the Holy Spirit in recent history, began in a house prayer meeting.

Is it any wonder that Satan does his best to take this weapon from the Christian, or to hinder him from using it? 

The Bible teaches that we are always either drawing nearer to God or falling away.  There is no holding pattern.  The presence of prayer signals revival.  The lack of prayer signals backsliding.  The prophet Isaiah sadly observed,


“There is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You.” (Isa 64:7)
 

Sitting safely in the shelter of Bible discussions among ourselves, or complaining to one another about the horrible state of today’s society or the church, does nothing to unleash the power of God. 

The first century church, and all other overcoming believers throughout the ages, had one instinct: pray.  When in trouble, pray.  When intimidated, pray.  When uncertain, pray.  When persecuted, pray.


“Revive us, and we will call upon Your name. (Ps 80:18)
 

As we open up our lives and gatherings to God’s power, things will not always follow a predetermined schedule or order.  Who can outline what God might have in mind?  However, one thing’s for sure, God has not changed.  He is still superior to anything the enemy can throw against us. 

No situation is too hopeless for the all-sufficient power of the Holy Spirit. God will be no more eager to act tomorrow than he is right now.  He is waiting for us to take his promises seriously and go boldly to the throne of grace.

Devil Music

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AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Nine Inch Nails, Megadeth, are the kinds that always make the “Devil Music” list.

The Oak Ridge Boys, The Statler Brothers, The Bill Gaither Trio, Tammy Wynette, and a few other notables, don’t ever make the list, but they should. One of the songs they sing is as demonic as you can get. It is radical and rebellious.

Check out these lyrics:

Now let us have a little talk with Jesus
Let us tell Him all about our troubles
He will hear our faintest cry
He will answer by and by
Now when you feel a little prayer wheel turning
He will know a little fire is burning
You will find a little talk with Jesus makes it right

It’s true we can go to God in prayer; that we can take our troubles and burdens to him. We like the idea of pulling Jesus aside and having a little chitchat with him. But when it becomes a time of informing God of what we think is wrong, what he should’ve done, and what he should do, something’s wrong. When the “prayer wheel is a’turnin’ and fire is a’burnin,’ watch out! Here are some examples:

  • Abraham reminded God that he and Sarah were too old to have kids.
  • Martha alerted Jesus to the fact that if he had been in Bethany Lazarus wouldn’t have died.
  • The Disciples on the Road to Emmaus told Jesus how what they had been hoping for wasn’t going to happen.
  • The Apostles after the Ascension asked Jesus if he was going to finally establish his kingdom.
  • Peter pulled Jesus aside and rebuked him for talking about going to the cross.

Here’s how God responds:

  • “Abraham and Sarah, is anything too hard for the me? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” (Genesis 18:14)
  • “Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25)
  • To the disciples, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” (Luke 24:25–26)
  • To the Apostles, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” (Acts 1:7)
  • And to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Matthew 16:23)

He wants us to trust him. He is aware of everything. He’s seen what happened. He knows exactly how it affects us. Nothing escapes his attention, nor has caught him by surprise.

Others may seem to have forgotten you, but God hasn’t. Your life is a total open book before the All-Knowing God. He knows every detail because he wrote it. He knows how you’re doing, what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it. Anything that suggests otherwise, is the makings for some “Devil List” music.

Joshua and Jean Knew What to Do… Unfortunately

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Faith. Maturity. Growth. Breakthroughs. Miracles. Victories. It’s exciting to see God at work!

Think about Israel. They had come through the wilderness. The Jordan River parted before them as they crossed over it. Then they conquered the walled city of Jericho by simply walking around it. They were God’s people coming into the land that he had given them. Nothing could stop them.

Until Ai.

3,000 confident men from Israel went up to conquer the city of Ai, but were soundly defeated. Instead of a swagger in their walk, Israel retreated like cowards. They were paralyzed with fear. Although the focus of blame was on a man named Achan, there was another more serious reason they had lost.

Before going into Jericho, we are told that Joshua fell on his face and worshiped God, and then said,


“What does my Lord say to His servant?” (Josh. 5:14)

But there is no record of him doing anything like this before going on to Ai.

A pioneer Foursquare missionary to South America named Jean Firth, used to tell a story about a flight that her and her husband were once on. They were flying over the Andes Mountains in old rattletrap of an airplane. What made matters worse, there was horrible turbulence. The old plane was being shaken to pieces.

Frightened to her core, Jean prayed, “Lord, I wish you would stop this turbulence the way you spoke calm to the storm on Galilee.” The Lord gently replied to her heart, “You speak to it.” So she did. “In the name of Jesus I command this turbulence to stop!”

Immediately it was calm.

She and the rest of the passengers were enjoying the smooth air, but then the turbulence started again. Jean knew what to do. “In the name of Jesus I command this turbulence to stop,” she said confidently. The turbulence continued. She prayed again, “In the name of Jesus I command this turbulence to stop!”

The turbulence got worse.

“Lord, earlier I spoke to the turbulence and it stopped. But now it’s not working. What’s wrong?“ Jean asked. To which the Lord, again in a gentle way, replied to her,


“It’s because you didn’t ask me this time what you should do about it.”

Although we may see God do incredible things in us, through us, and around us, one thing that will never change is our need to constantly seek his face and rely on his spirit. Prior victories don’t guarantee success. Moves of God’s Spirit last year, last month, last night, are not enough to keep us strong and refreshed spiritually for this moment. We need revival and it only comes through a child-like dependence on God that refuses to trust in our own abilities.

Does Your Kisser Work?

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There’s something special about a kiss. 

The first kiss.
The goodbye kiss.
The reunited kiss.
The last kiss.

All of these bring some type of picture to our minds.  For some people kissing, or any other kind of physical affection for that matter, is uncomfortable. But for people who love each other the kiss is essential.

After a facial surgery that had cut a tiny nerve to her lips, the young woman asks the surgeon, “Will my mouth always be like this?”“

“Yes, unfortunately it will,” answers the surgeon. “It’s because the nerve was cut.” She nods and remains silent.  

But her husband looks at her and smiles.

“I like it,” he says. “It kind of looks cute.”

He then bent over and leaned in towards his young wife.  As he did, he twisted his own lips to accommodate her now crooked lips, and then kissed her.

“See! Your kisser still works.”

The image of the young husband contorting his mouth and twisting his lips to kiss his palsied wife’s lips grips my heart. 

God symbolically has done the very same thing for us when He transformed Himself and became human.  The God of the universe bent down from Heaven, leaned toward mankind, and expressed His love to a very disfigured people.

We are told many times in the New Testament,

“Greet each other with a holy kiss”
(Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess.
5:26; 1 Pet. 5:14) 
 

In most churches this has been toned down to just hugs and handshakes. Kisses (notwithstanding the awkwardness), hugs, and even handshakes, when given with real love break down walls in our cold hard hearts, and affirm the love of God in and through us. 

Think about Joseph.  After being sold into slavery by his own brothers, he is reunited with them years later.  Here’s how he responded,


“Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and after that they began talking freely with him.” (Genesis 45:15, NLT)
 

Think about the prodigal’s father.  After his own son had rejected his love and ran away from home, then returned with nothing.  Here’s how he responded,


“And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20, NLT)
 

Think about Mary the prostitute.  After years of being paid to show physical affection, and being cast away for doing so by society and the church, the Son of God himself came to her and showed an affection like she had never known.  Here’s how she responded,


“Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.” (Luke 7:38, NLT)
  

Like Joseph, we can have our hearts warmed for those who have betrayed us.  Like the prodigal father, is how we should see God embracing and loving us.  And like Mary the prostitute, our hearts ought to be overflowing with gratitude for the what Jesus has done for us, causing tears to flow from our eyes, and kisses from our lips. 

Does your kisser still work?