Oct 28, 2009 | Stories, The Good Word
When we left off Monday, we were looking at the first of the three interactions described in the Cost of Discipleship section of Luke 9. I hope you’re enjoying it so far — if you missed the first post, you can check it out here. Let’s dig into part deux!
In the second interaction, Jesus does call someone. Real simple. “Follow me.†The hearer of this call replies with, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.†Mmmkay…? As they often are prone to disagreement, scholars have not come to a decisive conclusion about what this meant exactly. It is open to a couple of possibilities. This could mean this guy’s father had just died, or was sick and very close to it and he wanted to attend the services and be there for his family. However, it could also have meant that his father was perfectly well at the time, but he was waiting for his father to die, because he would then be coming into a good inheritance. He wanted to first receive his inheritance, felt like the call of God “came at a bad time†and therefore did not answer the call.
Image by Paul Bowman @ flickr
There’s also a third possibility, that his father was at home, and very sick, and he felt it his duty at that time to take care of him, and once that work was done, he would then set about the business of following the Lord. Whether he was waiting on an inheritance or not, consider this guy similar to any other person who might desire to obey the Lord in some thing the Lord has told him or her to do. The Lord might tell us to forgive someone. By His Spirit He might prompt us to speak to someone some word of encouragement or correction: but we in our own “wisdom” see it fit to wait a while, before doing the thing the Lord tells us to do.
Jesus responded to the guy’s excuse with, “Let the dead bury their own dead…you go and preach the Kingdom of God.†Does anybody else hear this and think, “Gosh, Jesus…a little harsh there.†?? Maybe it’s just me. Why should the dead bury their own dead? Well, we are continually instructed to care for our Mother and Father, to love our neighbours and our own relations. Jesus isn’t contradicting this — we simply are not to care for our relations to the point that it is a duty we place in front of our service to God. Even our service to our family cannot be an excuse for our non-service toward God. Perhaps if the guy followed Jesus, Jesus would’ve led him to his own house, healed his Dad, and they would’ve been on their merry way. Perhaps the guy had six brothers and sisters, also totally able to take care of their Dad on his deathbed. One way or another, we can trust that in the sovereignty of God, the issue was all worked out.
What does this mean for us? Well, it doesn’t sound like there are very many good excuses for not obeying the call of God. If God calls you to do something and you choose not to, perhaps because you care about what people think or you know there will be a cost involved, or because you’re waiting on some finances coming your way, or there’s something else on your plate that you think is more important, you are disobeying a Holy God. Each day has enough trouble of its own — and some new excuse will always be available, which will make us think we have just cause for not obeying. But we should obey God, (and seek His kingdom first) not because He will bless us or there will be a great reward (though the reward is great in heaven and I believe we will see God’s goodness in this lifetime as well). We should obey God because He is God. End of story. He has already shown us how much He loves us, in sending His Son to die for us. Obedience is a reasonable response! And though this potential disciple may have received his inheritance in his lifetime, or just pleased his family by sticking around instead of following Jesus, he missed his eternal reward as a result. Whether or not that was a good decision, I think you know the answer.
Considering the amazing goodness and exceeding mercies of God, and considering the sacrifice He made to give us life in Him — we have no excuse but to respond with thankful hearts, love and obedience. And the old hymn surfaces again! Trust and obey, for there’s no other way…
So we learned from part one, just because the call doesn’t sound the way you think it should doesn’t mean you don’t have a calling from God for your life. And from part deux, there is really no reason that will hold up in the day of judgement, as a suitable excuse for you not following Jesus. Now we can put these lessons together, quite simply:
1. You have a call. 2. You should answer it.
We will dig in to Part Three tomorrow! Feel free to read ahead. 😉
Oct 26, 2009 | Stories, The Good Word, Uncategorized
There’s this really intriguing moment recorded in Luke 9, often titled ‘The Cost of Discipleship.’ In it, Jesus has conversations with three people whom I suppose you could consider potential disciples. At first it all seems a bit cryptic, but with some deeper thought about it, there is so much richness to it! Care to dig in?
In the first conversation, Jesus and the disciples are journeying along the road, the usual, and someone says, “Lord, I will follow you wherever you go.†Jesus responds with “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.†Seems a little out there, but to me I think Jesus is basically saying, “Brother, I don’t think you really have a clue what you’re signing up for. It’s not as glamourous as it looks.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote about these conversations in The Cost of Discipleship, and he reads this as a person showing up to follow Jesus without any respect for the call of Jesus. He doesn’t wait for Jesus to call him to follow Him, and he lacks respect and understanding for what it means to follow Christ.
What does this mean for us? I think one lesson we can learn from this is that following Christ may not always look the way you think it should. You may desire to follow Him to teach English in China. He may desire you to be faithful with your work and life in Tennessee. Perhaps the call of God will be for you to go to China next year, but for now, you are called to be faithful where you are. This might mean being faithful to the Lord at a Pawn Shop when you want to be out on the field as a missionary. (For a season, that’s what it meant for me). Some of the people Jesus healed asked to follow him and He told them no. This didn’t mean He didn’t want them to follow Him in the sense of being believers and walking in faith, it simply meant their call was not to leave their village and travel around with Him like His disciples.
There’s a good example of this just one chapter earlier in Luke 8. Jesus heals a demon-possessed man, and the man begs Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sends him away, saying, “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.†So this man’s calling was not to follow Jesus in the physical sense — to go with Him to the places where He was teaching and healing, but he still had a calling from God — to go and tell people about what the Lord had done for him. For whoever listened, this guy would be preparing the way for the Gospel, and for the preaching of Jesus’ death and resurrection, in the hearts of those with whom this man shared his testimony.
Back in Scotland, when we went out for fish and chips, instead of getting “take-out” we were going out for a “take-away.” And in all of this I see an incredible take-away. Many of us might say “I’m not called to go and share my faith in Africa. I’m not called to be a pastor or a youth minister or an evangelist.†That may well be true. But that does NOT mean you do not have a calling from God. If you are in Christ, you are still called to tell people about the good things the Lord has done for you.
The Great Commission was not just a suggestion for the people who would step into full time vocational ministry. By God’s grace, you know Him now, and you are still on this earth, so you have work to do! And little doves don’t need to fly out of the sky and deliver this calling to you on a scroll in order for you to know it’s yours. If you are in Christ, He has good works prepared in advance for you to walk in. Whoever you are. Wherever you are. (Ephesians 2:10) You are called to preach the Gospel, make no mistake. And those neighbours of yours, and those coworkers of yours, at the Tax Office, in the Pawn Shop, or wherever you may find yourself, are people who may not hear the Good News unless you share it with them. In the wise words of Gwen Stefani, what you waiting what you waiting what you waiting what you waiting what you waiting… for?
You may have noticed, dear reader, I am coming to a close and we’ve only covered the first of the three interactions. Fret not! This post is “to be continued†and we’ll look at the next conversation very soon. Until then, start asking yourself, am I walking in those works Christ prepared in advance for me? And if not, hop to it! He could be back any minute!
Oct 24, 2009 | Stories, The Good Word
You may have heard it said, As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. There is an excellent illustration of this principle in Luke 9 that caught my attention this morning. Jesus and His disciples passed through a Samaritan city, but the people there did not receive Him. When James and John saw this, they asked a question that revealed a lot about what was in their hearts: “Lord, how ‘bout if we pray some big ol’ fire down to blow this sorry ol’ village full of unbelievers up, just like how Elijah did that one time?â€
I hope I don’t cause offense, but the suggestion that they ‘blow the place up’ just felt a little good ol’ boy, Dukes of Hazzard style to me — I mean who gets so ticked off at a town they think about blowing the place up when they leave? But seriously, what their statement reveals is the disciples’ inadequate understanding of the kingdom of God. They are still under the impression that Jesus is after world domination. They hope (and think) His kingdom will deliver them from the oppression of the Roman Empire. They are looking forward to ‘ruling the joint’ with Jesus, and they’re all bidding to at least be riding shotgun in the General Lee.
Jesus rebukes them for their suggestion and says, “You don’t have a clue what’s going on in your hearts, guys. I am not here to destroy people — I am here to save people.â€Â We can remember from 2 Peter 3: 8- 9 that God doesn’t desire that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And we should understand that the Kingdom Jesus came to preach and to live had nothing to do with earthly governance and ‘ruling the joint.’
Our challenge today is to ask God to continually renew our minds. Our generation has a vast amount of information at our fingertips, and some of it is knowledge. Some of it might even include some wisdom. But where knowledge puffs up (and can make us arrogant) love builds up. Without being transformed by the renewing of our minds, and asking God to put His love for others in our hearts, our actions will simply be based on our own reasonings, and will produce fruit contrary to the will of God.
The Sermon in a Nutshell: wrong thinking produces wrong acting. Let God transform you by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12: 2) Hopefully the next time you get ticked off, your prayers won’t head in the direction of blowing stuff up.
Oct 24, 2009 | Stories, The Good Word
It is often the case that when I am waiting for something to happen, for example, if we are trusting God for the finances we need, I want to know how it is going to come about. I even pray specifically, let it be that… a gift shows up today, or this happens or that happens. And sometimes I am reminded who I am…and that I am not the great I AM.
When Moses was being called by the Lord to deliver the people from Egypt, he had a lot of fears, and a lot of questions. He didn’t understand how he could be used to deliver the Israelites who were enslaved to the Egyptians, because he wasn’t a very good speaker, in his own opinion. (See the first few chapters of Exodus for more.) But God didn’t answer him by saying, “Okay so first I’m gonna sort out your speech impediment. Step 2, I’m gonna harden Pharoah’s heart. Step 3, we’ll do some miraculous stuff…†You get the idea.
Instead of giving Moses the play by play, the Lord answered by reminding Moses, “I am the Lord.†Similar to his first encounter at the burning bush, when the Lord told Moses. “I AM WHO I AM.†The possibility of deliverance for the Israelites had nothing to do with Moses’ resume or skill set — it had everything to do with God, being the Lord, Who intended to keep His covenant and redeem His people. And all that is necessary for something to become possible is for the Lord to set His heart to do it.
We are often afraid of stepping out to do something we know we ought to do, even something we sense the Lord telling us to do, because we fear we don’t have the skills and abilities to do it. It is not our skills and abilities, but the work of God in us and through us, that will make anything possible.
I wonder if things would have been different if Moses had been more willing to trust God. The Lord conceded to give Moses a ‘spokesman’ in Aaron, which meant that God would speak His will and words to Moses, Moses would share them with Aaron, and Aaron would speak to Pharaoh and to the Israelites on his behalf. Perhaps Aaron got “too big for his britches†in taking such a role in fulfilling a part of the call that Moses was supposed to answer. Not too much later, the story finds the Israelites delivered from the Egyptians, Moses on the mountaintop with God, and Aaron down with the people, making idols for them. I digress on that point, really.
The Sermon in a Nutshell: Don’t be afraid to step out and do what I AM has called you to do. The Lord is the Lord, and when He is at work, though you may not see how, anything is possible.
Oct 23, 2009 | South Africa, Stories
While Mark and I were back visiting his parents in Bloemfontein, we visited a big church there called CRC (Christian Revival Church). The place was packing out as we arrived for the mid-morning service, and we slotted in sort of to the left of centre in this big building with a huge stage and big TV screens and lights and effects and cameramen. The worship started off similar to what we’re used to in non-denominational churches in most parts of the world – the charismatic, joyful, powerful voices and drums and keys and guitars so on, and then there was a transition, for just a single song, where we were singing in a language which was … I think Ndebele or Tsonga. I obviously had absolutely no clue what the heck we were singing about, other than I was fairly sure we were singing about the Lord.
The Words were on the screen and I just followed along and did my best with:
WA NYAMALALA NGANA
UMTHWALO WAWA SIZE
Or something of that sort. But then the joy broke loose! The rest of the congregation began getting into it, doing dance movements associated with the lyrics, singing with such joy and passion (and an occasionally what I would call a Latino tongue trill, which I had to join in on). I was overjoyed to join in wholeheartedly, although I still had absolutely no clue what we were singing about. Mark and I did our best at our white-folk-can’t-dance version of the dance movements, I was adding in a Latino trill or two, and we were just singing and smiling and joyful to worship God with a couple thousand complete strangers in a language we didn’t understand.
Afterwards I asked Mark if it was perhaps Zulu we were singing in, but his best guess was that it was Sesotho. (Googling the lyrics I remembered didn’t bring about much success. Shame! But we think we’ve concluded it was probably Ndebele or Tsonga.) The guest speaker for the morning was, funny enough, from Seattle, Washington, and we were encouraged by his message. I occasionally felt like I might be one of the only ones there who got the jokes, but everybody laughed. It was altogether such a special and delightful experience, and I hope the next time we’re in Bloemfontein, we can enjoy the fellowship at CRC again. It is a blessing to know that if you are in Christ, wherever you are, if there are believers there, you can feel right at home.
Sing it with me now…
WA NYAMALALA NGANA
UMTHWALO WAWA SIZE!
Oct 22, 2009 | South Africa, Stories, The Good Word
After arriving in the country, Mark and I began the difficult task of trying to find a church to call home. It’s really really strange to suddenly feel like you’re “church-hopping” when two months ago we staff members at a church back in Scotland. During our explorations so far, we had a good experience at one church but weren’t sure if it was the right one. (We were bummed they didn’t have a creche/nursery).
I cried as we left another church because I was overwhelmingly bummed that NO ONE talked to us or welcomed us the whole time. And then we visited a third church this Sunday, and the theology and message being preached was so stinking dodgy Mark wanted to stand up in the middle of the service and say, “You’re wrong! That’s not what the Scripture says!”
That is a long long story that probably deserves its own blog post, but for now, the short of it is, it was not a church that was faithfully preaching the Word of God. I don’t really know what exactly they’re preaching. Something from the Book of Second Opinions I guess. It is funny that one of my recent posts discussed how God’s Word can be misconstrued to say what people want it to say if they come to it with an agenda, and and not with the desire to understand the Truth. Anyway, we left the whole ordeal with a rather yucky taste in our mouths, so to speak. And then we had some realisations.
One simple commandment that is easy to forget is “Seek first the kingdom of God.” As Mark and I left the service and began to talk about the experience we’d just had, we realised we should’ve first asked the Lord… “Where do you want us?” And then listened for His leading. How simple is that? Seek His kingdom first. Seek His will first. Seek His way first.
Instead, we just started floating around visiting churches on the recommendations of others and on personal whims. We were just looking at things based on our own opinions. This church doesn’t have a nursery. Nobody spoke to me at this one and it made me cry. (Mind you guys — moving to a new country might give you a few tough moments here and there!) This one is preaching heresy. Ugh…great.
We probably could’ve saved ourselves a lot of hassle and heartache if instead we’d first said, “Jesus, please direct our steps. By Your Holy Spirit, please lead us to the church where You would have us added.”
While I don’t think the Lord will be leading us to settle in at the church that is preaching heresy, I do think He has a way better idea than we do of the right way, and the best way, which is His will. If we’re not listening to Him, then we’re just choosing based on our own measuring sticks. We might as well be asking, Do I feel comfortable in the seats at this church? Does their carpet match most of my church clothes?
It is GOOD to be reminded that His ways are higher than our ways… So now instead of using our own measuring devices to figure out what we think is best, we have asked God to forgive us for not seeking Him first, and we are going to actively seek Him, and ask Him where He would have us put down our roots. I’ll let you know how it goes. 🙂
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