Where the Storm Leads You

“The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). 

 

You won’t find the phrase ‘spiritual warfare’ in the book of Job. But you see it in every chapter, start to finish.

 

The accuser, Satan, unleashed a quiver full of flaming arrows at Job. With one crushing loss after another Satan reduced Job to heap of grief and anguish. In English you’ll likely notice three verbs of lament as Job absorbs the reality of what has happened to him and his family: He tore his robes, he shaved head, he fell on the ground (1:20). He looks to us like a defeated man.

 

And then in the lowest moment of his life Job worshiped God. He blessed the name of the Lord.

 

How Is This Possible?

To bless the Lord’s name means to praise, to honor, to hold up as worthy. It has been said that God’s ‘name’ is his ‘fame’ and when we bless the name we extol God’s reputation. We affirm that God is good. That’s what Job did in his storm, in his loss and grief and confusion. He blessed the name of the Lord.     

 

This is stunning. How is it possible for anyone to really do that? How is it possible for you to do that?

 

The clue is in Job’s conviction that all of life – absolutely everything – comes by grace. The Lord gives as he wills and he gives freely. He is right and just in taking the same way. Something in us resists this. We may even resent it. That’s why we find it hard to bless the name.

 

If we trade grace for a life built on what we earn or what we deserve we’ll rarely bless the name. Every good thing that comes our way will be because we worked hard or did right. We earned it or deserve it. Hard working well-behaved people rarely bless the name. Too much self gets in the way.

 

But when we live by grace, life is different. It’s all a gift. We bless the name when we receive (thanksgiving) and we can bless the name when we lose the same (trust). 

 

When it’s All Said and Done

Of course Job had other things to say. He had questions and he voiced them. He was hurting and he cursed the day of his birth. He had friends who said things to him that he couldn’t accept and he pushed back. He wrangled with God in the storm. You can do that and still bless the name.

 

But when it was all said and done, Job worshiped God. The book of Job ends in worship. After all Job’s questions God has a few questions for Job. Those questions leave Job repentant, silent before God and the mystery of God’s ways. There is a sense in which the book of Job ends where it began. Job worships God.

 

As you reflect on the struggles and storms you’ve lived through, maybe you can cling to this basic truth: Storms come to us to lead us to worship.

 

Such a journey may not happen quickly or follow a straight line. We may have to wait a long time to see the connection between whatever storm we’ve lived through and the goodness of God in it. But if we’ll deal with God – in doubts and questions and cries for help – eventually we’ll come to a place of worship. Eugene Peterson is right in saying that “all prayer pursued far enough, becomes praise.”

 

“The Lord gives.” How has this been true in your life? Give God thanks for his gifts.

 

“And the Lord takes away.” Trust him with your storm.

 

“Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Every anguished prayer eventually becomes praise; the storm can lead you to worship. How will you bless His name today?

 

Prayer:

“Blessed Be Your Name

In the land that is plentiful

Where Your streams of abundance flow

Blessed be Your name

 

Blessed Be Your name

When I'm found in the desert place

Though I walk through the wilderness

Blessed Be Your name

 

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

 

Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Amen

(Matt Redman, “Blessed be the Name”)

Uncle Screwtape

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:11).

 

In a letter to his brother dated 20 July 1940, C. S. Lewis shared the spark of an idea for a future book.

 

According to Lewis biographer Allister McGrath, the occasion for Lewis’s brainstorming was a dull sermon at Holy Trinity Church. Lewis explained the moment like this:    

Before the service was over—one could wish these things came more seasonably—I was struck by an idea for a book which I think might be both useful and entertaining. It would be called As One Devil to Another, and would consist of letters from an elderly retired devil to a young devil who has just started work on his first “patient.”

 

Fame and Scorn

The letters began to appear in a weekly church magazine called “The Guardian” in May

1941. They attracted the interest of a publisher and came out as The Screwtape Letters in February 1942.

 

Lewis said he “had never written anything more easily” and yet he also remarked later on that he was “never very fond” of the book – a statement that caused some consternation for his friend and colleague J.R.R. Tolkien, to whom the book was dedicated.

 

Most of us associate Lewis with Mere Christianity, a work that was not published until 1952. A decade earlier it was Screwtape that launched Lewis to fame in the United States - “a popularity for which he was ill prepared,” according to McGrath.

 

In 1943 Oliver Chase Quick (Regius Professor of  Divinity, Oxford) wrote a letter to William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, urging that Lewis be recognized by being awarded an Oxford Doctorate of Divinity. At the same time, oddly enough, Screwtape was earning Lewis scorn among the academic fraternity at Oxford. They regarded Screwtape as a lightweight piece of Christian writing identified openly with a teaching fellow of Magdalen College.

 

In some ways this grievous sin, repeated with other popular writings that followed, stained Lewis’s entire tenure at Oxford. What was held in derision by the elites at Oxford remains a treasure among so many Christians. It is noteworthy that today we cannot name a single one of Lewis’s detractors, and the book they despised is still in print.  

 

True Then, True Now

Maybe one of the reasons Screwtape has endured is simply that it tells something we know to be true about our lives but usually fail to see. Blogger Andy Naselli took every chapter of the book and summarized the devil’s ‘scheme’ in one sentence. Here’s a sampling of Uncle Screwtape’s strategies:

• Make him disillusioned with the church by highlighting people he self-righteously thinks are strange or hypocritical.
• Don’t underestimate the power of ‘very small sins’ because the safest road to hell is a gradual one.
• Make him live in the future rather than the present.
• Keep him from any serious intent to pray.
• Annoy him with daily ‘pin-pricks’ from his mother.
• Encourage him to be a church-hopper.
• Defeat his courage and make him a coward.

Things haven’t changed much. What Lewis saw and imaginatively described in 1942 remains true of us today. Maybe one of the most interesting pieces of counsel is Screwrtape’s advice that Wormwood carefully guard the life of his patient so that he lives long and grows old. The Reason? “Because real worldliness takes time,” writes Screwtape.

 

This is a sobering insight. As long as we live we are engaged in spiritual warfare. Our adversary is relentless. So pay close attention to your life. How might Screwtape coach Wormwood if you were the ‘patient?’   

  

Prayer:

Merciful God, we are in continual need of your grace, making us aware of the schemes of our adversary. Since the enemy is relentless, give us your power that we might not grow weary or lazy in the struggles that erode our faith. Open our eyes to his ways and our hearts to your strength, we ask in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Schemes

Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil (Eph. 6:11).

 

“Rommel . . . I read your book.”

 

So said George C. Scott playing the role of General George Patton in the 1970 academy award winning film Patton.  The historicity of the statement has been challenged and it may be that Francis Ford Coppola took some liberties with his script. However, in 1937 German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel did publish a work titled Infantry Attacks. A planned sequel on tank tactics was never completed.

 

In the movie, Patton’s units are engaged with Rommel’s forces. Patton stands viewing the battle through field-glasses. Out-maneuvering his opponent, Patton utters the movie’s oft-quoted line: “Rommel . . . I read your book.” The actual line is somewhat more colorful than that, but you get the idea.

 

Victory belongs not only to the well-equipped, but also to the well-studied.

 

The ‘Wiles’ of the Devil

In Ephesians 6:11 Paul states plainly his reason for urging his readers (us) to put on the whole armor of God. We are to equip ourselves for battle so that we “may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

 

The word ‘schemes’ is a rendering of the Greek word methodia from which we obviously derive the English ‘method.’ The King James Version translates Ephesians 6:11 with the more devious word ‘wiles.’ The basic thought behind all of these words is craft and cunning. The devil works with deceit and trickery. A strong defense requires more than the right gear and the right weapons. We must understand with our minds how the enemy works.

 

To speak of the devils ‘wiles’ or ‘schemes’ assumes that our adversary works deliberately and with intent. We are inclined to think of evil as an abstraction. We treat it as a large and vague ‘force’ of some kind, drawing us or luring us away from what is good and right and true. This isn’t entirely wrong – but there’s more going on. Our adversary’s schemes are tailor-made. His attacks are not abstract, they are personal.

 

Maybe we need to know our own weaknesses if we want to stand against the devil’s wiles

 

Study Up

The details of how the devil’s schemes work on us will vary from person to person. But there are some common maneuvers that our enemy is fond of using, and they work effectively on most of us, even if in different ways. Paul urges us to stay alert (6:18). Here are a couple of things to watch for.

 

First, beware your own fatigue. When we are weary and worn out we are easily annoyed with other people. We have no patience. We are not disposed to grace. Also, in our fatigue we turn to other comforts, anything we lightly name a guilty pleasure. Some of these may be harmless, but many are not. And besides, we find our comfort in something other than God. The ‘wiley’ one wins.  

 

Also, stay on top of your own busyness and distraction. Busyness and distraction keep us from prayer and dull our interest in God’s word. Paul names the word and prayer as our primary weapons, so to be busy and distracted means to be defenseless. The adversary will gladly tolerate a regular church-attender who lives a prayer-less life the other six days of the week.

 

Unlike Patton, we do not read the enemy’s book. We read God’s book to understand ourselves and the devil’s schemes. But there is a book by an imaginative Christian thinker that focused on the wiles of the devil. Tomorrow we’ll take a look at the Screwtape Letters.

 

For today, stay alert. How have you detected the adversary’s schemes in your life?

 

Prayer:

So often, Lord God, we dismiss the ‘wiles of the devil’ as silliness. Wake us up to the reality of our enemy and the malicious intent of his schemes. Make us wise, always alert to whatever pulls us from you. And give us strength to stand firm in the power of Christ, through whom we pray. Amen.

Equipped but Not Ready

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day . . . (Eph. 6:13).

 

Being equipped and being ready are not the same thing.

How many sets of golf clubs are tucked away in the corner of a closet, acquired with enthusiasm and the best of intentions, now neglected because there’s just never enough time? How many tents and backpacks are up in the attic or shelved in the garage, still waiting for the hike of a lifetime that just never quite came together.

 

Buying clubs is one thing. Becoming a golfer is quite another. Being outfitted for the trail is one thing. Becoming an outdoorsman is quite another. And yet, how can we ever become what we aspire to be unless we are equipped?

 

The Drum Kit

For me it was a set of drums. I was in the eighth grade. A couple of years earlier I had decided to give band a try, having never really found my place in the world of sports. My instrument of choice: a snare drum. As it happened, I enjoyed hitting a drum. I decided I would probably enjoy hitting an entire assemblage of drums.

 

This was the era of Paul McCartney and Wings, and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Those drummers sounded very cool. Of course, to play like that would require a drum kit. The solitary snare just wouldn’t do. And so, for my birthday my parents presented me with my first set of drums. I was equipped. But I was no drummer, at least not yet.

 

I had no idea what to do with multiple drums. I was awkward and stiff. What’s more, I had no context for actually using a drum set. I put the drums in my room, listened to the radio and tried to mimic what I heard. Years would pass before I played with enough competence to accompany other musicians.

 

Desert Road

The difference between being equipped and being ready shows up in the Bible in the book of Exodus. After ten plagues that display God’s power, Pharaoh relents and allows Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. Exodus 13 tells the story this way.

 

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." ¹⁸ So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle. (Ex. 13:17-18)

 

There was a well-traveled trade route that would have taken the Israelites to their intended destination. It was the shortest, most obvious way to get from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’. But it traversed some dangerous territory. While the road seemed best, the way fraught with obstacles.

 

God did not lead the people in that direction. They would too soon face war and in the fight they would become fearful and discouraged and decide it was best to go back to Egypt. And yet we are told that “the Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.”

 

They were armed, but not yet ready for the fight. It would take some time in the wilderness to get ready for what was ahead.

 

Test the Armor

The whole armor of God is available to you today, every piece of it. You are equipped. But there may be some battles for which you are not yet ready. God may have you in a difficult place, a wilderness place, but his purposes there are to train you for what Paul calls “the evil day.”

 

Spiritual Warfare sounds large, ominous and cataclysmic. And it can be. But there are small ways today that God may be getting you ready, preparing you for things you cannot see and may not expect.

 

Not every day is an “evil day” – but Paul tells us that such days will come. And when they come, God will give you what you need to stand firm.

 

So test the armor of God in the place where you are right now. Test it in seemingly small ways, knowing that God goes before you and behind you, always at work in barren and hard places to get you ready for what lies ahead.        

 

Prayer:

Merciful God, use whatever this day brings to build our faith, to teach us to trust, to move us to prayer. And in all things prepare us for the time when we will need to stand firm in struggles we do not yet see. We will follow you faithfully as you lead us, through Jesus our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.

On the Mat

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood . . . (Eph. 6:12)

 

Throughout middle school and early High School I watched and cheered as my son participated in a sport that I didn’t understand. At all.

 

Wrestling is not for the faint of heart, neither the student competitors nor their parents. For one thing a wrestler steps onto a mat alone. Yes, there’s a team, guys wearing the same colors from the same school. But when it’s really time to play there is no team. Just a wrestler and his opponent. When one of those happens to be your kid you can feel something happening inside your skin. Your stomach knots up and maybe your temples throb. This could go on for minutes. It could be over in seconds.

 

Another factor that makes wrestling tough on the average parent spectator who never donned a singlet is simply the scoring. Crossing a goal line or throwing a ball through a basket are easily grasped ways of winning. With wrestling, things are not quite as clear. Beyond basics such as a ‘take-down,’ ‘reversal,’ and ‘pin’ I never really understood what was going on. The competitors looked like a tangled writhing mess. Over time I came to understand that there was much more going on than my untrained eye could sort out.          

 

Done right, every move on the mat is designed to seize an advantage and exploit a weakness.

 

Mixing Metaphors

Paul’s coaching in Ephesians 6 is designed to encourage us to fight spiritual battles. Paul wants us to understand that these battles are real and the opponent we face is deliberate in his tactics. His every move is calculated to seize an advantage over you and exploit your weaknesses.

 

In the course of his admonition Paul mixes his metaphors. Most of his language is militaristic. He tells us to put on armor. He speaks of shields and breastplates and swords and helmets. We might say that he spends most of his time talking to us about our gear and our weapons.

 

But at verse 12 Paul switches to a different word picture, mixing his metaphors to make sure we know what we’re getting into. The NIV Bible gives a rather weak translation with “our struggle is not against flesh and blood.” A better rendering is found in the ESV’s “we wrestle not against flesh and blood.”

 

Paul uses a Greek word from the world of athletics. He wants us to know that we are wrestling, grappling with our adversary in close combat. John Calvin’s commentary on Ephesians 6:12 includes a footnote that cites Plutarch’s explanation that

Wrestling was the most artful and subtle of the ancient games, and the name of it was derived from a word which means to throw a man down by deceit and craft. And it is certain that persons who understand this exercise have many fetches, and turns, and changes of posture which they make use of . . .  to trip up their adversary.  

 

In Your Face

As strange as wrestling may seem to the uninitiated spectator, a suit of Roman armor is even more alien to us. Thankfully Paul blended a picture from sport with his guiding image of a soldier. If nothing else, the truth that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood” tells us that this fight is close and that the opponent is deliberate in his moves.   

  

Don’t miss the implications of this. You are wrestling today, not flying a drone.

 

The fight is close up, even in your face. Spiritual battles are neither abstract nor distant. They don’t happen to someone else while you stand afar. And your adversary is working with the details of your life to get a hold of you, to immobilize you, to throw you down.

 

By God’s grace every move has a counter-move. You are not defenseless. Maybe you’ve never set foot on a mat. But you are a wrestler.

 

Where are the vulnerable places in your life? What will you do to engage the adversary?

 

Prayer:

Grant us wisdom, O God, to see and to know how our opponent moves against us. And make us ready to engage the fight, staying on our feet and standing firm by the gift of your mighty strength, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Things Unseen

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood . . . (Eph. 6:12)

 

Spiritual warfare. If we’re honest we might admit that there’s something about the phrase that we don’t like.

 

Maybe it’s the word ‘warfare.’ These days anything that blends religion with war talk offends our sensibilities. That’s no surprise. We’re living in a day when the ravages of militant religion are regularly displayed on social media and cable news channels. People who mix faith and fighting are dangerous people. We want nothing to do it.

 

For generations they hymn Onward Christian Soldiers was sung with gusto in American churches. In recent years that hymn has fallen from favor, the militarism prompting its removal from a number of hymnals. The hymn was written in 1864 specifically for use as a processional for a children’s Sunday school program in Yorkshire, England. But marching children conjured pictures of Hitler Youth. We have little interest now in teaching children to march. Farewell beloved hymn.

 

Know Your Enemy

We’ll have plenty of opportunity to talk about ‘warfare’ in the days ahead. For today, instead of jumping straight to the noun ‘warfare,’ we’re going to linger with the adjective ‘spiritual.’ We are thinking these days about a particular kind of conflict. If we don’t understand this, if we fail to grasp the nature of the fight, then there won’t be a fight at all. We’ve lost right from the start.

 

In his letter to the Ephesians Paul is very clear as to the nature of what we’re up against.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph. 6:12).

 

We don’t have time here to sort out all the language of that verse, but don’t miss the opening phrase. We are not fighting flesh and blood. The most formidable enemy of your faith is not a human enemy – neither your boss nor your ex, neither Hollywood nor the media, neither Republicans nor Democrats.

 

John Calvin commented on the text by saying “Let us remember this when the injurious treatment of others provokes us to revenge. Our natural disposition would lead us to direct all our exertions against the men themselves; but . . . the men who annoy us are nothing more than darts thrown by the hand of Satan.” 

 

Game Over

One of the most insidious things about spiritual warfare is that the fight often comes to us in familiar and plain wrapping. We fail to identify the enemy. We live blind to the spiritual nature of the conflicts that eat us alive. We live our days angry about politics, worried about our children or about money, guilt-ridden with past failures.

 

Having failed to see the enemy, we lose the fight. We don’t know joy. We forfeit our peace. We carry shame. Game over. 

 

C. S. Lewis said that one of the devil’s most effective strategies is simply getting us not to believe that he exists at all. American Christians are particularly vulnerable to this strategy. So early on, get honest about this: Do you know the nature of the fight you’re in as you seek to live a life of faith? There are unseen realities around you, what Paul called “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Do you believe this?

 

As you look at this day, what are you up against? What do you see – and what might be unseen in the struggles you’re facing?

 

Prayer:

Gracious God, help us to see beyond the obvious in the things that confront us and threaten us today. Keep us from living fearful and angry lives and make us equal to the struggle that threatens our walk with you and out witness in the world, we ask in Jesus’s name. Amen. 

You Have an Adversary

Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:11).   

 

Pastor Erwin McManus, in a sermon titled Seizing Your Divine Moment, shares the following story about his son Aaron.

One summer Aaron went to a youth camp. He was just a little guy and I was kind of glad because it was a church camp. I figured he wasn’t going to hear all those ghost stories, because ghost stories can really cause a kid to have nightmares. But unfortunately, since it was a Christian camp and they don’t tell ghost stories . . . they told demon and Satan stories instead. And so when Aaron got home he was terrified.

 “Dad, don’t turn off the light!” he said before going to bed. “Daddy, could you stay here with me? Daddy, I’m afraid. They told all these stories about demons . . . “Daddy, Daddy, would you pray for me that I would be safe?”

I could feel it. I could feel warm-blanket Christianity beginning to wrap around him, a life of safety, safety, safety. I said, “Aaron, I will not pray for you to be safe. I will pray that God will make you dangerous, so dangerous that demons will flee when you enter the room.”

And he goes, “All right. But pray I would be really, really dangerous, Daddy.”

Spiritual ‘Snuggie’

I know too well the lure of “warm-blanket Christianity.” The phrase reminds me of those TV commercials for something called a “Snuggie” – basically a blanket with sleeves so you can literally slip it on and wear it around your house.

 

When we slip on our spiritual “Snuggie” our prayers become a means of increasing our comforts. We want good health for ourselves and those we love; we want adequate income and meaningful friendships; we want to be shielded from what can harm us; we want the American dream and everything that comes with it, and we appeal to God to help us attain it.

 

Such prayers are not intentionally greedy or fearful. After all, a much-loved Psalm tells us that the Lord, our good shepherd, will lead us to green pastures and still waters. His rod and staff will comfort us (Psalm 23:1-4).  

 

Prayers that seek solace are not bad prayers. But neither are they complete. God wants to make us dangerous and not merely safe. God promises to give us courage, not just comfort. God will fill us with his power in addition to his peace.

 

Clever and Relentless

1 Peter 5:8 tells us that we have an enemy. There is a personal presence at work in the world, actively seeking to diminish and ultimately destroy your faith in God and your life as a follower of Jesus. Peter likens this adversary to a lion, prowling and hungry, eager to devour you.

 

For the next three weeks we’re going to be thinking about “spiritual warfare” – what is it, how do we know we’re in it, and how do we engage it rather than hide from it. This topic may be a familiar one to some of you. Others of you may come from traditions that regard such matters as belonging to the pew-jumpers and Bible-thumpers.

 

Regardless of what you call it, this is true of every person who seeks to live a life of faith: you have an adversary. This adversary is clever and relentless. And the point of struggle or conflict that occupies your thoughts today has a spiritual dimension – whether you know it or not.   

 

What will it mean for you to put on the full armor of God and to ready yourself for a fight? How will you seek something more than safety, living dangerously as you follow Jesus through this day?

 

Prayer:

Too often, O God, I ask for what will make me comfortable and keep me safe. Today I’m asking you to make me dangerous – a threat to the presence of evil in this world and the brokenness it brings about. Use me today as means of blessing. Empower me to carry your light into places that are dark. Make me bold to live as one called to engage the adversary, and give me what I need for the fight, I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Things Treasured

And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart (Luke 2:51)

Every heart treasures something.

What we treasure may truly be good and valuable and worthy of being treasured. Just as often we treasure things in our heart that we would do well to get rid of.

Closets and Wallets 
About a month ago my wife decided it was time to go through our closet and see what we needed to unload. We both knew that we had things hanging up in the closet that we hadn’t touched in years. Embarrassing, but true. I was stunned at what we gathered to be given away. How and why had we managed to hold on to these things for so long? Nothing about that chore was fun, but once we were finished it was very freeing.

But there other things we treasure that have real value, even if only to us. A certain credit card company ran an ad campaign not long ago with the tag-line “What’s in your wallet?” That’s a good question. What I treasure in my wallet may say something about my heart.

Of course, most wallets hold monetary treasures, but there are other more meaningful treasures too. In my wallet I have pictures of my family, my health insurance card, my driver’s license that serves as my official picture ID, a library card, a card from the Presbyterian Church that says I am a minister of word and sacrament in good standing (not useful in airports), my Skymiles # (which is useful in airports but which I’ve never memorized). I guess there are things that I keep or ‘treasure’ in my wallet go beyond purchasing power and say something about who I am.

Three Words 
In the opening chapters of his gospel account, Luke uses three different words to tell us how Mary gradually made her way to an understanding of who her son was. As we noted earlier this week, even after Gabriel’s announcement to Mary, she didn’t have Jesus all figured out. At his birth and as he grew, Mary would see things and hear things with which she had to grapple.

When the shepherds arrived just after Jesus’s birth they told what the Angels had said to them about the infant Jesus. Mary ‘treasured’ and ‘pondered’ these things in her heart. When the boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem, found three days later by his parents, Mary treasured in her heart her son’s words about being in his Father’s house.

In these stories Luke uses three Greek words: Pondered, treasured, kept. The three words are very close in meaning, sharing a similar sense. Mary grappled with words and events by thinking, holding close, remembering and cherishing them.

Our Treasure
We do this too. We treasure things in our heart, pondering with the mind, remembering and cherishing and holding close. What we treasure in the heart may reveal who we are, or they may shape us into who we become. What we ponder and treasure may draw us closer to Jesus. What we ponder and treasure may be an obstacle to knowing who Jesus is and why he came.

A heart can treasure things that are not good and worthy. We can keep resentments and bitterness. We can hold on to painful memories and mistakes we’ve made. We can dwell on our regrets and hurts. None of these do us a bit of good, but we keep them nevertheless.

We can keep a different kind of treasure. Pondering and treasuring the gift of God’s grace to us has a way of shaping who we are, making us merciful and gracious. As we dwell on the words Jesus spoke and the life he lived, we begin to become like him. As we cherish and treasure his blessings to us, we become grateful people.

At Christmas we will sing “Let every heart prepare him room.” Maybe you can start preparing him room today.

What’s in your heart? What are you treasuring?

Prayer: 
We ask, O God, that our hearts would treasure and dwell on those things that draw us closer to you. Where we have held on to things that are not worthy, cleanse our hearts by your Spirit. Make us ready for you and cause us to treasure who you are, we ask in the name of your Son. Amen.

The 'BLT'

And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them (Luke 2:50)

When you order a ‘BLT’ sandwich you shouldn’t have to think too hard or work too hard to explain what goes on it.

That was my assumption a couple of months ago when I took a lunch-break and went up the road to a favorite and often frequented sandwich place. I stood in line and scanned the menu up on the wall. The drill is familiar. You order your sandwich and get the basic stuff on it – and then someone else takes that basic sandwich and dresses it up for you with whatever heathy veggie-type items you choose.

On this day I ordered a BLT. Bacon. Lettuce. Tomato. That’s pretty simple.

But as my sandwich progressed to the next stage of the assembly line, the person serving me stood there looking at me, waiting. I stood there awkwardly looking back at her, silently wondering “What’s the problem?” After a moment it dawned on me that she was waiting for me to ask for lettuce and tomato on my BLT. I finally caught on and explained that, yes, I did indeed want lettuce and tomato on my BLT.

I guess what happened there was a good ole’-fashioned failure to communicate. I’ll take my share of the blame for that. But the whole transaction baffled me. I assumed that when you order a BLT, the L and the T come de facto with the B. That’s obvious. No explanations or clarifications required. No need to ask, “Sir, what would you like on your BLT?”

But between the two of us there was a lack of understanding. What seemed so obvious to me was not so obvious to her.

Did You Not Know? 
After three days, Mary and Joseph found their twelve year old son in the Temple. He was sitting among the teachers talking theology and offering commentary on scriptural texts. Mary was clearly perturbed. “Young man, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been half out of our minds looking for you” (Luke 2:48 The Message).

Jesus’s answer to his mother is the climactic moment of the story, confronting us with who this boy is. “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be in my Father’s house?” This the first time Jesus speaks in the gospel of Luke, and he calls God his ‘Father.’

At this point Luke adds this very significant statement: “And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.” Eugene Peterson renders the verse, “They had no idea what he was talking about.”

Every Christmas the story is told of Gabriel’s appearance to Mary. We hear how she was told that she was ‘with child’ by the Holy Spirit, that she would bear a son who would be called holy – the Son of God. The Angel’s message to Mary could not have been clearer.

And yet, twelve years later, Mary does not seem to grasp who this boy is. Twenty years later, as Jesus began his earthly ministry, the gospel writers make it plan that his family still did not understand what he had come to do (See Mark 3:21).

Not So Obvious 
During Advent and Christmas we tend to speak of the infant Jesus as if it is obvious to everyone who he is. We use phrases like ‘God incarnate’ and ‘Emmanuel, God with us.’ But these things, while very familiar, are not obvious as to their meaning. They are not simple ideas that are easily grasped and casually accepted.

There are plenty of people who celebrate Christmas but still do not understand who Jesus is.

To say so is not a criticism, but rather an acknowledgement that many people come to Jesus gradually, step by step, slowly coming to terms with what his birth means. You may be one of those people. If so you’re in good company. Mary, the mother of Jesus, did not fully understand her son – even after a message from an angel. Your slow journey to Jesus is hardly exceptional.

But don’t avoid the journey. Yes, Christmas celebrates an event in history – but the event has meaning, and the meaning is tied up with the identity of the child who is born.

It may take you a while to get there. Advent is the perfect time for getting started.

Prayer: 
Grant, O God, that during this Advent season we would make a journey to your Son, moving beyond the fact of his birth, to what it meant, and who he truly was. We ask this in his name, Amen.

The Search

Behold, your Father and I have been searching for you in great distress (Luke 2:48).

Years ago I lost my son in East Cobb Park.

Who knows how these thing happen? But happen they do – and they seem to happen so quickly. I guess I could have been paying closer attention at the moment. My kids knew this park well, so it never occurred to me that finding an uninhabited park bench and reading a book was a bad idea.

Until I looked up from the book and couldn’t see my son.

Panic in the Park
Closing the book I started walking the play area where he had been. Seconds passed. No John. I moved a bit quicker, investigating play structures where he might be hidden from my sight. Still no luck and more seconds are passing. And with every passing second my anxiety is rising. My thoughts are racing to very dark places, imagining an abduction, news reporters and police reports.

My fruitless search soon had me running about, scanning the wide field adjacent to the play are. A few Mothers who are naturally dialed in to this type of crisis were kind enough to offer their help, asking me questions about what he was wearing and where I had last seen him.

After what seemed like an eternity someone casually mentioned that a couple of kids were down in Sewell Mill Creek. Deep in a ravine, the creek was not visible from the main part of the park. And there, standing in that ditch with mud caked shoes, was my son.

Outwardly I was all rebuke and reprimand. Inwardly I was sobbing with gratitude.

Losing Jesus
There was a time when parents allowed their kids to have free reign of the neighborhood, often not hearing from them for hours at a time. They may not have known precisely where their child was – but they knew the neighborhood and the neighbors. A child’s extended absence was no cause for alarm.

That kind of thing is probably what was happening in Luke 2:41-52. Mary and Joseph had taken their twelve year old son to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When it was all over they set out for the eighty mile trip back to Nazareth, assuming that Jesus was among their friends and relatives, never imagining that he had stayed behind in Jerusalem. They traveled a full day before they discovered that he was nowhere to be seen.

While Luke is telling us about “the boy Jesus,” the story is nevertheless significant for the season of Advent. Far too easily, we too lose Jesus. This is not to say we lose our faith or that we abandon our belief in Jesus. Not at all.

The problem is not renunciation. The problem is alienation.

Retracing our Steps 
The Advent season can be an especially painful time when we sense that Jesus is absent. We sing the joyful songs but we aren’t especially joyful. Somehow, somewhere, we lost Jesus. Maybe we left him behind while working long hours. Maybe we lost him in the dullness of familiar routines. Perhaps Jesus is lost in the midst of financial pressures or a family crisis or in a fight against illness. Very often we can lose Jesus at church, of all places. The Christ child is eclipsed by our busy celebrations of his birth.

Advent is an excellent opportunity to retrace our steps. This season is an invitation to go on a journey to Jesus. To go back and search for him and ponder who he is and what he came to do.

There’s still plenty of time. Maybe the journey can begin for you right now.

Prayer: 
Lord Jesus, even those who love you can lose sight of you. In these days of Advent we would seek you in a fresh way. Guide us on this journey that we might discover afresh who you are and the power of your presence among us. Amen.

The Praying

“Do not be afraid Zechariah. Your prayer has been heard.” (Luke 1:13)

Author and speaker Nancy Ortberg says she experienced a spiritual breakthrough in her life when she came to the realization that Jesus never kept a journal.

She’s exactly right. Jesus never journaled and no one gets to heaven by keeping a journal. But thankfully many followers of Jesus have labored to put their spiritual journey in writing. In doing so they have given us a great gift.

Several years ago I came across The Journals of Jim Elliott. Jim Elliot, missionary to Ecuador, was killed with four colleagues by the Auca Indians on January 8, 1956. His story inspired a generation of missionaries, and continues to do so today. The entries I read were written in 1948 when Elliot was a student at Wheaton College. At the time, he was reading through the Old Testament, a chapter a day it seems, and writing a paragraph or so of reflection and prayer on his daily scripture readings.

Praying More Than We Know
I was especially challenged by something Elliot wrote on February 16, 1948, a reflection on the opening chapter of Exodus. Elliot was observing how Israel flourished under persecution. How the people increased in Egypt, even as slaves. Elliot rightly observed that God’s kingdom advances through affliction. God’s people grow in their suffering.

And then Elliot wrote these words: “Send persecution to me, Lord, that my life might bring forth much fruit.”

Elliot prayed more than he knew. He could never have imagined how God would answer that prayer, what God intended to do with and through his life, and how his violent death would bear much fruit. Sometimes we may pray things we don’t mean. But perhaps, just as often, we pray more than we mean.

Our words to God say more than we know, and God hears more than we say. Paul spoke of the Spirit interceding on our behalf, praying from deep places that lie beyond our vocabulary, uttering things before God that we could never speak. There is a mystery to prayer, far more happening than we know or speak.

Answers Unseen
Prayer provides the context for the story of Zechariah and his encounter with the angel Gabriel. As Zechariah is performing his once-in-a-lifetime sacred duty, the people are standing outside praying (1:10). The ritual itself is built around prayer. As Zechariah burns incense at the altar, the prayers of the people are given texture. The sight and smell of incense capture the prayers of a nation.

And of course Zechariah and Elizabeth have prayed. As devout and righteous people they have prayed the Psalms in worship. As husband and wife they have prayed for a child; they prayed about that for many years until it became clear to them that God’s answer was ‘no.’ They struggled to understand that answer, struggled to accept it but accept it they did.

And then Gabriel showed up and greeted Zechariah with “Your prayer has been heard.” Scholars debate exactly which prayer Gabriel is referring to – the prayers for the nation or the prayers for a child. As it turned out, one prayer was integral to the other.

As Zechariah prayed more was happening than he knew. His priestly prayer for the people was being answered in the gift of a child. His prayer for a child would be a part of God’s plan to redeem the nation.

What are you praying about today? Who are you praying for? Whatever it is, whoever it is, don’t stop praying. And don’t worry whether you’re doing it right. Just keep praying.

With every petition, you ask more than your words speak and God is doing more than you know.

Prayer:
Merciful God, hear my prayer. Hear the words I speak and the silent yearnings of my heart. Do more than I can imagine, and in all things – the people I love, the situations that concern me – make me confident that you do indeed hear the prayers of your people. I pray this in Jesus’s name. Amen.

The Weight of Your Expectations

Both of them were upright in the sight of God . . . but they had no children (Luke 1:6-7).

Christmas Eve just isn’t Christmas Eve without a candlelight service. Or so it seemed to me.

That’s why I was determined to create a new tradition in the church that I served years ago before coming back to Atlanta. They had never done a Christmas Eve candlelight service. Fortunately my congregation was patient with me. They seemed willing to give it a try.

The Icy Rain 
One need not be a genius to plan a candlelight service. The hymns for Christmas Eve are fairly obvious, so crafting the order of service was not hard. Candles were purchased. The bulletin was printed and folded. Everything was ready.

And then around mid-morning on that highly anticipated Christmas Eve an icy rain began to fall in our part of eastern North Carolina. The trees took on a glassy sheen, and that was pretty. But the same thing was happening to our roads, and that was dangerous. All over Raleigh churches were cancelling their Christmas Eve services. The list grew long and ran across the bottom of my TV screen.

I resisted doing the same, holding out for yet another miracle on that most sacred of nights. The miracle I wanted was not to be. That first Christmas Eve candlelight service was cancelled.

We stayed home that night. I sat in my house and stewed. To be perfectly honest, it took some work to get over my anger, my sullen indignation that the creator of the universe had the audacity to ignore my will. My expectations had not been met. And those shattered expectations had me ripped up inside.

Few things are more crushing than the weight of your expectations. The longer you carry them, the heavier they become, and those expectations can be especially burdensome during this season of the year.

Expectatrions v. Expectancy 
Pastor and Author Mark Buchanan has observed a helpful distinction between having expectations and being expectant. Expectations can subtly become demands. We have an idea of how things ought to go, how people ought to be, how plans should unfold. These expectations are expressions of desire, and when our desires are thwarted we feel robbed.

But being expectant is more like a posture toward your life. Expectancy is an eagerness and openness to whatever may be. It is not expressed as a specific desire, but rather as a sense of excitement and anticipation.

Advent is a season that thrives on expectancy. And it as just as easily ruined by the weight of our expectations.

The pain of disappointment is what we feel in the gap between life as we’d like it to be and life as we actually have it. And when that disappointment follows repeated prayers and pleading with God, God becomes the focus of our disappointment. We cease to be expectant. To quote the late theologian Elizabeth Achtemeier, “we still believe in God, we just don’t think God actually does anything.”

"Your Prayer Has Been Heard" 
We might wonder if that’s what had happened to Zechariah. He’s a faithful priest, obedient to God’s law. He carries out his religious duties. He is devout, but disappointed. And maybe in his disappointment he had stopped being expectant.

But God has a way of showing up in our disappointments. This is the good news of Advent.

Perhaps today your crisis of faith isn’t about disbelief in God, but disappointment with God. You have some expectations that have not been met – and possibly may never be. In this you’ve slowly lost any sense of expectancy. The angel’s word to Zechariah is our hope in this season. Our prayers are heard. God sees and knows. In fact the name Zechariah means “Yahweh remembers.”

What expectations might be sitting heavy on your soul today? What disappointments have dulled your sense of expectancy? Keep praying. And stay alert. God may be at work in those hard places, doing far more than you know.

Prayer:
By your grace, O God, grant that we would bring our desires honestly and boldly to you while holding our expectations loosely. And make us an expectant people, eager for what you are doing in us and around in these days of Advent, we ask in Jesus’s name. Amen.

The Table

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. (Psalm 23:5)

Few things speak of love and grace and deep affection like a table prepared: prepared with you in mind without the slightest effort on your part. You simply show up, and there it is. It is one of the most thoughtful gifts you can receive. Just come, arrive at the stated time, and all will be ready.

“What can I bring?” we ask.

We feel like we really do need to contribute something. But invariably the answer is the same. “Nothing – just bring yourself.”

That’s the problem. We don’t believe that bringing our “self” is enough. We know that self too well. We know its flaws, its dark impulses, its pettiness. To bring nothing but my own unadorned self seems so inadequate. If I can show up with something in my hands I prove myself, even if only a little. I say with my contribution, “You see, I’m fairly capable in my own right; I can make something; I’m worthy of my seat at the table. After all, I prepared part of what’s in front of us.”

But the host means it. We’re not being consulted about the menu. These preparations leave no room for our input. Just show up. It will all be ready.

Just Dropping By 
Few things say home like a table prepared: prepared for you without the least little bit of warning. You didn’t need an invitation. You simply drop in, unannounced, and someone gets up and pulls things out of the refrigerator or the pantry. Nothing fancy or elaborate. But it’s there for you just because you’re there. No other reason is necessary.

Are you hungry? Can I get you something to eat?

When my family moved back to Atlanta from North Carolina nearly thirteen years ago we came home. Marnie was born and raised here. I had lived my high school years in the area. My in-laws were (and are) close by. My Mom and Dad are also living in one of Atlanta’s far north suburbs.

I regularly have a table prepared for me. Sometimes it’s planned. Other times not. Sometimes at my parents’ house I show up and there’s something there to be set out for me. At the very least I’m free to just help myself. I graze their abundance without apology. That’s what it’s like to be home.

Everything is Ready 
From time to time it is my privilege to serve early communion on Sunday mornings in our 8:20 a.m. service. Over the years I’ve heard and adopted some language at the communion table that I picked up from my friend and colleague Vicki Franch. After breaking the bread and pouring the cup there is a short line of invitation.

“Friends, these are God’s good gifts for you, the people of God, and everything is ready. Come to the table.”

“Everything is ready.” I love that line. Indeed, our shepherd God prepares a table before us. In the Psalm this may be a poetic image. Phillip Keller says that shepherds did in fact pasture their sheep on high flat lands known as “mesas” or table lands.

But the real table was prepared in Jesus. We bring nothing to this table. It’s all grace. Everything is ready.

Today is a day for giving thanks. And even now, as you read this, no matter what time it is, a table is being made ready for you. You will have all you need. You will have more than enough.

Just show up.

Prayer:
We give you thanks, O God, for the table you make ready for us each and every day – for your faithful provision and abundant grace. We come to this day empty handed, relying entirely on your grace. Thank you for making everything ready in the gift of your son, through whom we receive your abundance. Amen.

Tested

“. . . The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions” (Exodus 16:4b).

The tests and exams don’t stop after school.

If you’re out of school you know this. Those still in school may know it, but aren’t ready to believe it. Even after we earn that final degree, life has a way of giving us the “third degree.” We’d like to think that someday the tests will end. But they don’t; professional certifications tests, annual reviews with a supervisor, blood tests and eye exams as we age. Every test bumps our anxiety up a notch. At every stage of life, in every setting, the same old question lingers. Did I pass?

Tested in Blessing
We associate testing with struggle, even pain. The exertion of sustained mental energy involved in study, the mixture of affirmation with blunt feedback about our work – tests are generally unpleasant. And when it’s God testing us, we assume this means suffering. God tested Job and we know what happened to him.

But God surprises us as we join the Israelites and make the wilderness journey out of Egypt. There in the desert God tested his people by “raining” blessing upon them. Literally. God told Moses “I will rain down bread from heaven for you.” Part of the surprise, as we’ve already seen, is that God responds this way to a crowd of grumbling malcontents. But even more surprising is the fact that this shower of blessing is given not simply to ease their hunger; it is more than a cause of joy and relief and celebration. It’s a test.

Sometimes God tests us with blessing. Sometimes God tests us not by inflicting pain, but by providing for our comfort. Sometimes we are tested not by loss and deprivation, but by the abundance we receive. So it was in the desert. God rained down bread for his people. “In this way I will test them.”

The Real Question 
Every good gift that God gives us brings with it a test. With every blessing something is at stake. The test is basically this: will we treasure God more than we treasure God’s gifts? Sounds simple, but this test isn’t easy. In fact, most of us will fail it a time or two, maybe more. Our hearts have a hard time with this test, the same way our minds might have a hard time with organic chemistry.

This test isn’t asking us about our thoughts or our beliefs or our worldview – it’s asking about our hearts and what we truly love. Do we love God or do we love what God gives us? Will we honor God by being obedient to his word, or will we simply rush out and cram our tents full of food so we won’t get hungry again?

God tested his people with bread in the desert. When your stomach is growling, shriveled and empty, that’s a hard test to pass. Will the bread simply be a way for me to sate my hunger? Will the bread move me to love and worship God, the bread maker, the bread giver?

Prayer: 
We give you thanks, Gracious God, for the abundance of blessing that you rain down on us. Your gifts speak to us of your goodness and the depths of your love. May our love for you grow with every blessing we receive. Guard our hearts from becoming attached to the comforts of this life – as if you owe us these things or as if we deserve them. Make us a people who treasure you and worship you above all earthly gifts, we ask in Jesus’s name. Amen.