Discipline in Walking . . .

     We drove on and on this evening on a road that felt as if we were Indiana Jones going deeper and deeper into the rainforest of mystery. The purpose of our pursuit, to drive our day guard to his new residence. However, this road was not to be a fun daily stride, but a long, daily walk for our guard. The more time we spend here, the more the reality of life here is felt. We have now driven down the road our guard will daily walk upon to come and complete his daily task of work protecting our home. He will leave his home each morning around 6 to make it to ours by 7:30. A convicting thought, when so often we all trip up on the common struggle to get ourselves out of bed by 6 in the morning. Imagine in that time to be walking the uneven red dirt roads in route to begin your work day. Mile upon mile. This is just a single wheel spin into some of the reality of life here in Uganda. Bringing me to thoughts of the walk of life, and deeper, the walk of ministry--answering Paul's plea when he penned, "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called..." (Ephesians 4:1). Jesus, may we remember such experiences when we begin to complain about the tasks set before us or the disciplines required of us as we walk in servanthood for You.

Leaning or Scheming? ? ?

"Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. 

And it was night." John 13:30

     One disciple is found leaning, while one is found scheming. Sitting around the table, Jesus with the twelve men He had chosen to assist Him in His earthly ministry. Silence and heaviness fill the walls as the brisk air of what is soon to come, and the warmth of sweet fellowship with the Savior clash together in this upper room. John, keeping himself warm with the nearness of Jesus, leaning against Him as they sit in fellowship. Yet across the way, one remains in the cold air, the evil of betrayal brewing within, Judas. 

     It was at such a supper that Jesus revealed deep things to the hearts of these men. Before their eyes, He represented the role of Christians amongst men, to serve one another by washing the feet of others. In the form of bread and wine, He revealed Himself to them in a most moving way. Jesus had already declared that He is the Bread of Life, but He was taking them deeper now, asking them to take part in Him. "This is My body which is given for you; Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19). He said this, revealing to them the cost of following, that in the remembrance of Him, in the following of Him, they were to take His body, take the example He set for them in the body. This example had already been shown to them in the humility of washing, in the patience of ministry to people, in the boldness of confronting sin, in the pain of rejection and misunderstanding, in the risk of stoning, but this was the bodily example they were called to follow. How much deeper their commitment had required from the first day they committed to follow this Man, to the present hour within this upper room!

     With this being said, I can sense the environment of that room. The mixed feelings, the confusion, and than the distraction as Judas Iscariot receives the bread and than quickly rises from the table. A conversational exchange between Him and the Bread of Life, "What you do, do quickly." And with the bread still within his hands, he leaves that room to enter in to the cold night, to betray the Giver of Life.

     I cannot read through this and not notice that it was after Judas had received the piece of bread that he went out immediately. How often we have entered into times of sweet fellowship with Christ, felt the warmth of His presence and than He asks of us something bold, to partake of something, and we listen, we may even receive, but than so soon as we receive the piece of bread, we quickly leave, the brisk night overtaking us, and we betray our Savior in disobedience. Have you ever gone to church, heard Him speak clearly, you receive, but as you exit the church door, so act as if your commitment to follow what you received has exited too?

     Oh let us not be found as Judas! Let us not receive a part of Jesus, but not all of Him! If we are to follow, may we follow. We can no longer pick and choose the parts of Jesus we want to receive. Judas thought he could, and a grave mistake this brought upon him. Has Jesus asked of you something this day? Then follow. Commit and follow. Jesus gave a bold request, but in the warmth of His strength, all could carry out His call, it is those who walk away after receiving who find themselves alone in the cold night. Stay near to Him! Lean upon Him as John! Whatever the request, His Spirit will give you what you need to carry it out. In remembrance of Him, follow the voice of your Savior.

Passion Provoking Action . . .

"As soon as she heard that,
she arose quickly and came to Him." John 11:29

     She was misunderstood many times, but beloved by readers of the Bible. Who is she? Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. She sat at Jesus' feet, she anointed His feet with what cost her the most, and wiped His feet with her own hair. She trusted Him in the midst of trial, she loved Him passionately. Her passion provoked her actions. This Mary, in John chapter 11, is found in the midst of sorrow, her brother had died. Martha goes out to met Jesus, but we read that Mary remained in the house. I think of when times get tough how the "house" seems the safe place to be, away from the outside world. We commonly tend to isolate ourselves or remain in the comforts of our "houses" when we face hard times. She was weeping over her loss. She was struggling. She would of stayed in that place all day, be it not for her sister telling her that the Teacher, Jesus was calling for her. With that word we read, "As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him" (John 11:29). Hearing His request for her, she immediately got up, left her comforts and came to Him. This act, beautiful, the picture of a lover responding to the call of her Beloved, beautiful to the reader, but in the midst of the story, this act was misunderstood. Supposing that she was going to weep, she was followed by the mourners. The next scene finds her at Jesus' feet weeping. Her ears had heard the call and were running to obey her Master, but the others assumed she was going to weep. 

Have you ever been misunderstood as you are quickening your heart and self to respond to the Lord's call? Perhaps He has asked you to leave your home or your comforts and go do something, you hear, you go, but others are as the characters in this story, misunderstanding, assuming, accusing. She was accused of going to weep, but really she was going to worship. She was going to fall at the feet of the God she loved. 

Are you in this place at this time in life? Are surrounding characters misunderstanding? Remember that the character's misunderstood, but to the eyes of the reader of this story, this act is beautiful. It is the act of genuine surrender, of unashamed love, of immediate obedience. What view do you choose?

Your God sees things from all points, He knows what is being said, He knows the truth, He sees the heart.

Rest in that, and cease not to hasten your obedience when you hear the approach and the call of your Teacher calling for you. May the character of Mary be seen in you, and all other characters will fade.

Discouragement's Heights. . .

"And everyone went to his own house. 

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives." John 8:1

     When all the crowds went away after arguing with Christ about who He is and who He claimed to be, we read that everyone returned to their home, except Jesus. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. That is all the text says, that He "Went to the Mount of Olives", what do you think He did there? The common guess would be that He went there to be alone with the Father, to be with the One who had sent Him. Do you think His heart was discouraged by the present reaction of the people? Their ignorance and lack of faith? I do. I see here, my example, in the times of discouragement in ministry, getting alone before the Father, and not only just to turn His eyes to Him in discouragement, but the place He went, so powerful…the Mount of Olives. It is not the only time we would find Him there in the face of rejection, a foreshadow of the beloved self-sacrificing, laborious prayer within a garden on that mount, the night Jesus journeyed to the cross. He did not just count the cost moments before the cross was to be born upon His shoulders, but He labored for the cross all His time upon earth. He knew the cost that would be required of Him within such a garden, for such a people months down the road; yet still, He would resort to that very place in the midst of discouragement. 

Do i need to say anything more? His example speaks the lessons for us this day.

Where do I turn in the midst of discouragement? Do I get down and begin to entertain thoughts of giving up, walking away, dwelling in the rejection?

Or do I turn it into prayer, recognizing the cost I committed to, because of what He first committed for me, turn to the I AM and continue in the work He has set before me to do?

Ministry is hard, laborious, costly, and can hurt, but He who cannot lie has promised us that it is only a momentary light affliction that is not worthy to be compared to what awaits those who labor in and for Him (2 Cor. 4:17, Rom. 8:18). Eternity is coming…we will soon see Him face to face, see Him return upon such a mount, and establish His kingdom forevermore.

A WORSE Thing...

"Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well…Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him,

 "See, you have been made well. 

Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." " John 5:8-9a, 14

     I imagine those words lingering in this man's head, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you". A worse thing? He probably thought to himself, "Worse than having spent the last thirty-eight years unable to walk? laying by a pool aimlessly hoping for healing, all in vain, until I met Jesus? A worse thing?" That Christ would relate his sin in such a context to "a worse thing" must of alarmed this man of the detriment of sin in a life, and so it should warn every reader this day.

     In our day, sin has been dressed up, made up, advertised, socialized, disguised, in all of it's fame I think we have lost fear of its tragic consequences. However, despite our false view of sin, it remains the cancer to our soul, the death of our lives, the destroyer of our fellowship with God. The end of any sin, although pleasurable in the moment, is death. Yes, the results of sin are worse than being crippled in feet, it is being crippled in heart and unable to be near to Jesus. It is not just broken legs, or a broken heart, but broken fellowship with God. "A worse thing". 

     Some would argue that this verse shows that God allows awful things to happen to those who have sinned. As if, a warning, do not sin or else something worse than being crippled will be your punishment. But this is only the thought of one who does not understand the heart of God. If this was God's heart, why would He of sent His only Son, to pay the punishment for sin? If He could punish with diseases and difficulties the consequences of sin, He would of, but there was only one way for sin to be removed, by the blood of a spotless Lamb, by one perfect, holy, sinless, by Christ. Yes, sin still has consequences, but they are not brought in repay, Jesus already took the repay, He took the sin for you and I, because the heart of God desires nearness to us. He knows the grave result of sin, and so He sent His own to the grave to keep us from such worse consequences.

     Do i understand how "worse" sin is in life? Do i understand how it grieves the heart of God? Do i understand what it cost Christ to redeem us from such a thing?

The cross is not just a pretty sight, but it is " a worse" thing than we will ever have to bear, because Agape, Eternal Love bore it, and all its "worse" for us, to end sins dominion over us, to heal our disease, to call out from the tree, "Rise, take up your bed and walk"! 

Do you hear it? The echo still rings…WALK!

"Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh…If we live in the Spirit, 

let us also walk in the Spirit." Galatians 5:16,25

As those words must of resonated within the heart of this man, may they resonate within us today, and may that phrase "a worse thing" keep us from sin this day, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, beckoning us to walk on, to walk in healing, to walk in truth, to walk in fellowship with Him.

"For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face,

 but in the time of their trouble they will say,

 "Arise and save us". 

But where are the god that you have made for yourselves?" 

Jeremaih 2:27b-28a

     I wonder how many times this can be said of me...turning my back but not my face to the Lord. A shameful act, but one we are all guilty of. Prayers that are nothing more than pleas for ourselves. Prayers uttered in the midst of unconverted sin, yet coveting blessing. Turning from righteousness with the back, with the doing, but turning the face, the mouth, to seek blessing. God's word promises to withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly and to hear the prayer of the righteous, but nothing is promised to those who seek for their own gain (Psalm 84:11, James 5:16b). When we describe someone putting all they have into something we commonly say, they put their "back" into that. Having one's "back" involved shows one's self being involved in something. I can set my face toward something, i can lock my eyes upon a prize, but it remains unattained until my back has undergone the necessary training and doing to attain the goal. The Lord utters in these verses the state of the nation, they had foolishly turned to false gods, forsaking Jehovah. Those whose backs had once set themselves to serve the Lord, the God who brought them out of Egypt, had now turned their back to Him and sought after foolish gains. The following verses describe the multitude and complications they brought within their lives, having many different gods..."For according to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah" (vs. 28c). How foolish, we think, to turn to a life of having a different god for different things, when they had all they needed in the One true God, Jehovah Himself. However, that same foolishness is often seen in our own lives. True, it may not be in such a blatant form, but similarly we allow the desires, the responsibilities, and the distractions of this world to become rivaling gods in our life, rivaling our time and our position before Jehovah. 

     What is your position before Him this day? Is your back set to the work He has placed before you? Or is only your face toward Him? Are your prayers for strength to endure in the work for His kingdom, or for selfish gain? Are you just looking to Him or are you running toward Him? If the nation was so easily able to be rightly accused of turning their back on Jehovah, may I take it as a warning to consider the position of my back. It would be a shame to live as only a face or only a voice, apart from a back ready to work, hands ready to do, feet ready to go. 

     Lord, may we never be found with backs turned toward You, but may our bodies and our lips be one in our work unto You. May our prayers be for the establishment of Your work completed through our backs, our bodies, being poured out for Your service. May the world see the foolishness of the gods of this age, as we turn their eyes to walk on to see Jehovah's holy face.