Tomorrow's Troubles

Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow . . . (Matthew 6:25-34).

Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.” (Exodus 16:16-21)

So many of the worries we live with today aren’t about today; they are about days yet to come. Jesus said tomorrow would take care of itself – but it doesn’t hurt to get a jump on things, or so we think.

When God provided manna in the desert he gave his people some clear instruction on how it was to be gathered. They were to collect only what was needed for that day, no more, no less. The manna could not be stored overnight; they could not carefully ration out one day's allotment so as to be sure that there would be breakfast the next morning. The story is thousands of years old, but little has changed. God still does what he said he would do. And we still do what God told us not to do.

As for God, he has forever been and always will be our provider. God knows what you need. God gladly listens to what you want – but he knows perfectly what you need. And what you need will not be withheld. Quite often we express our wants with impatience. We speak of our lack with resentment. Nevertheless, God graciously provides. That’s the way it was in the wilderness. That’s the way it is right now.

And as for us, we cheat. With our worry we scoop up tomorrow’s bread. Gratitude for what we find on the ground today quickly withers in the heat of our anxiety over next week, or next month. We pray on Sunday as Jesus taught us: “Give us this day our daily bread.” But on Monday we break the rules. That’s the way it was in the wilderness. That’s the way it is right now.

God gave these instructions to his people in order to teach them. With every new morning they would learn something about God. Their boldness in his goodness would grow with each sunrise as the dew lifted and the day’s provision lay on the ground. They were learning to trust, to let go.

One can easily imagine that in the darkness of the night, after the day’s manna had been consumed at supper time, after the children were sleeping, some fathers were lying awake and wondering if it would be there again in the morning. Could they depend on what they were learning every day about their God? Could they let go of their anxieties about feeding the family and know that God would provide? Could they sleep?

Surrender is what your soul does in the dark of night that allows you to sleep, at rest in the care of God. We spend a lifetime learning to do this. Every new morning is a chance to learn again or perhaps to learn more.

Next Steps:
Read Exodus 16:16-21. Are any of your worries focused on tomorrow or beyond? What will you learn about the goodness of God today?

Prayer:
Gracious God, you have always been faithful to provide what we need. And yet, we brood over tomorrow as if, for some random and unknown reason, you will forget us. Forgive the fear that keeps us awake at night and the pride that drives us to gather as much as we can each day. Teach us trust you more with every new morning, we ask in Jesus’s name. Amen.

The Pride of Worry

Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life . . . (Matt. 6:25-34)

Why do we worry like we do?

Jesus could not have been more direct in his instruction to us about this. His meaning was plain. Do not worry about your life – about what you’re wearing or where your next meal will come from. God clothes acres of wildflowers and lilies. God feeds birds and chipmunks and every wild creature. God will care for you.

But still . . . we worry. We may be fine with our wardrobe and the groceries that fill our pantry – but our hearts are endlessly creative in finding ways to do the very thing that Jesus told us not to do. We worry about our children and our health. Grown children worry about their aging parents and their health. We worry about the economy and whether we’ll survive another downsizing. Jesus told us not to do this. We really don’t want to do it. But we do it anyway.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus calls us to a life of confident trust in God. And yet, we seem determined not to live that way. Jesus tells that our worrying won’t add a single hour to our life, but we seem to think it will. Perhaps the reason we worry, strangely enough, is that we are proud.

Anxious people don’t look proud. To the extent that anxiety is visible at all, we don’t expect to see the visage of a proud person. What we expect is quite the opposite of that. Anxious people look fearful and fidgety; they seem shrouded in a kind of sadness that shows itself in a preoccupied look or presence. Whereas the proud seem to boast in their strength, the anxious seem burdened in their weakness. But push beneath appearances and what we find is surprising. Consider for a moment the words of 1 Peter 5:6-7.

Humble yourselves therefore under God’s mighty hand so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Notice first that the simple command of these two verses is that we humble ourselves under God’s hand. Of course, humbling ourselves is the exact opposite of pride. Pride wants to be above everyone and everything.

Notice further that this humbling is done in a very specific way. As we cast our anxieties on God we are humbling ourselves under his mighty hand. Knowing that we are loved by God, we cast our anxieties on him and in doing so we humble ourselves before him. When we insist on clinging to and feeding our anxieties, constantly gnawing on what-ifs and maybes, we are not being fearful as much as we are being proud.

Next Steps:
This week we’ll get honest about our worries as we listen to Jesus words in Matthew 6:25-34. For starters, read the text and identify the specific reasons Jesus gives us for not living anxiously. What specific worry do you need to throw off today, casting it on your loving and powerful God?

Prayer:
Forgive us, O God, for living our days as if the things that truly matter depend upon us. Grant to us the humility that works hard while worrying less, casting our cares on you because we know you care for us. We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus. Amen.

Father Issues

Our Father in heaven . . . (Matt. 6:9)

Craig Barnes opens his fine book, Searching for Home, by telling the story of his father’s funeral.

Barnes shares that he rarely, if ever, heard from his Dad. His father had left the family years ago and they never knew for sure where he was. One day someone called to tell them that the father they didn’t really know had died. He had been living in a small trailer in Florida.

After the funeral, Barnes recalls, he and his brother were asked if they cared to look through the trailer to see if there might have been anything that belonged to their father that they wanted to keep. Barnes recalls finding something that he remembered from childhood: a three-ring leather notebook that held his used-to-be-preacher Dad’s sermon notes and assorted reflections. At the back of the notebook Barnes made a stunning discovery.

Across the top of a fresh page was written “Daily Prayer List.” The first two names on the list belonged to my brother and me. A bit further down he even included the name of our mother, his long-divorced wife. I had assumed that Dad has forgotten us, or that when it came to the mental file marked ‘family’ he had somehow found a way to press ‘delete.’ But we were there in his prayers on his last day. (Barnes, Searching for Home, 9-12)

Barnes’ powerful story reminds us that we need to do some work and clear the ground before we can truly pray the words Jesus gave us – especially those opening words: “Our Father in heaven.” There are some ‘Father issues’ that we need to deal with.

First, we’re reminded that the word Father does not always evoke pleasant and endearing thoughts. Father can be a pain-laden word spoken by pain-laden people. The word gets caught in the throat and becomes a block to prayer rather than a help in drawing us to God. But we don’t define God by our life experience. God defines us and helps us make sense of our life experience, both the blessed and the not so blessed.

Second, there are some who hear “in heaven” and think that God is distant and aloof, unavailable and uninterested in us. This isn’t so. Granted, there will be times when we feel that way, but our feelings are not always reliable in matters of prayer.

When you have no idea where God is in your life, when you can’t remember the last time you heard from God, when your efforts to find him seem to come up empty, you can be sure of this: God knows exactly where you are. God will not abandon his children. Your name is in his book and your life is held firmly in his hand.

The word Father may give rise to gratitude. It may give rise to grief. But in the end we only know the Father by looking at the Son. “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

Prayer:
Gracious God, we thank you for fathers who blessed us. We ask you to fill us with grace toward fathers who didn’t. And we pray that you will teach us what fathers and mothers are meant to be as we look to you and your son. Teach us to pray with our eyes on Jesus, coming to you as our good and faithful Father, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Thinking Well

We must break ourselves of the habit of thinking of the Creator as we think of His creatures. It is probably impossible to think without words, but if we permit ourselves to think with the wrong words, we shall soon be entertaining erroneous thoughts; for words, which are given us for the expression of thought, have a habit of going beyond their proper bounds and determining the content of thought. "As nothing is more easy than to think," says Thomas Traherne, "so nothing is more difficult than to think well." If we ever think well it should be when we think of God.

(A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, 22)

Smoldering Embers

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment (Matt. 5:22).

Tragedy and heartache do not recognize holidays; they do not take vacations. Inexplicable pain always seems to make an ill-timed arrival.

So it was on Christmas morning 2011. In Stamford, Connecticut a rambling and impressive home, aged and under renovation, went up in flames in the dark of early morning. On a day when little girls should have been thundering down the stairs to discover what was under the tree, two seven year old twins and their nine year old sister perished in the fire along with their grandparents. Many of us were probably buffered from the grief of the story by the noise and busy-ness of our own celebrations. If we heard of it, we couldn’t dwell on it – not on Christmas day.

We ask but never get an answer as to why such things happen. In the days that followed this event, however, investigators did discover an answer as to how it happened. Smoldering embers from the fireplace had been shoveled out and placed in a container in the mud-room of the house. The fire was dormant, but not extinguished. Eventually what was unseen and smoldering came to life with a flame, and the flame became a conflagration.

The anger we carry within our heart is like smoldering embers. The danger is unseen, no smoke, no obvious threat. But the fire is there nonetheless and if left unattended those smoldering embers will soon become a flame. Our deceptive hearts are capable of masking anger while at the very same time stoking it and feeding it. We smile at the world and perform pleasantries with our neighbors while harboring bitter thoughts and painful memories.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus connects words spoken in anger with the act of murder. The sharp and abusive tongue has its roots in the same soil as the violent hand. Both come from a heart that carries anger. James 3:5 likens the tongue to a small spark. A careless word can do great damage.

The hot glow of embers will usually go undetected unless we look deep beneath what seems to be harmless in order to discover the fire that is truly there. That’s what Jesus is inviting us to do. We can’t get too comfortable in the knowledge that we will never be prosecuted for the crime of murder. When Jesus takes this well-known commandment and makes us culpable of breaking it with our anger, we are being forced to look deep into our own heart.

Next Steps:
Smoldering embers need to be doused in order to no longer be a threat. Does this work with anger? Along with masking our anger and feeding our anger, we are also capable of simply denying our anger. Which of those are you prone to do? Read Ephesians 4:25-27. How do these verses help you understand the words of Jesus about our anger?

Prayer:
Gracious God, help me to be honest about my anger – and then grant me wisdom to know what to do with it. Help me to discover the smoldering embers in my own heart, and keep me from hiding my anger while feeding it at the same time. Guard me and others from the harm that a divided and angry heart can do, I ask in Jesus’s name. Amen.

The Most Important Thing About You

"What comes to our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us . . . For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech. She can never escape the self-disclosure of her witness concerning God."

(A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy) 

Blessed are You

Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . (Matthew 5:1-12)

I was trying to figure out what to do with my life and I needed some help.

I attended church, but I really didn’t know my pastor. Right about that time Mercer University, where I was a student, had brought on a new Pastor to the University and he seemed to be a very thoughtful and trustworthy man. I made an appointment to talk with him.

Looking back, I don’t remember the details of my conversation with Dr. C. Welton Gaddy. What I remember now is the way he listened, his comfort with my angst and his counsel that didn’t tell me what to do. Years later during my doctoral work I came across a book he had written. That in itself wasn’t such a big deal. He had authored several books by that time. However the title of this one provoked my curiosity: A Soul Under Siege: Surviving Clergy Depression.

A quick glance at the back cover summarized the story. This man whose counsel I had sought and whom I admired for his wisdom and pastoral sensitivity had hit a wall in his personal and professional life. He had admitted himself to a psychiatric hospital to get help with his depression. He tells of a public “pastor” persona that didn’t square with his deeper inner realities.

Thankfully, he was willing to share the story.

Far too many of us spend our energies working hard to keep up the persona. In the Beatitudes we hear Jesus’s invitation to stop living that way. Jesus names things in us that we might be inclined to hide, the things we don’t admire in others, and he names them blessed. Everyone finds a place in God’s Kingdom. It took a hospital, not a seminary, for Welton Gaddy to understand this. He writes:

"Strange. Who would imagine that ‘equality under the law’ lauded by our most basic civil documents and the ‘equality under grace’ commended and commanded by Jesus Christ would be implemented most dramatically among people considered ‘not quite right.’ Yet here in the mental-health unit of a hospital, among people sometimes labeled as aberrations of society, was the realization of one of our society’s most elusive aspirations" (p.114)

Gaddy then makes a direct application to the church. He notes that “no person is a member of the church because of superiority to other persons . . . In any community of God’s people two certainties persist – life can be put right for anybody and something is wrong with everybody.”

When we read the beatitudes let’s stop asking “who is Jesus talking about.” Let’s give up on trying to identify with “them.” The best response is simply gratitude, thankfulness that we too are included in this God–ruled reality because of Jesus and his grace.

Next Steps:
Jesus speaks ‘blessed’ over you. The real you. All of you. Live this day in that confidence and be thankful. And show the gratitude by blessing someone else.

Prayer:
We give you thanks, O God, for the kindness that includes us in the community of your people. We give you thanks for the freedom that comes with knowing that something is wrong with everybody and that life can be made right for anybody. We thank you for the gift of your blessing, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.

The First Word

Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . (Matthew 5:1-12)

The one word of the beatitudes that we all know best is perhaps the one word we understand the least.

The word Jesus uses over and over in an almost rhythmic fashion is ‘blessed.’ When the beatitudes are read aloud this word provokes a slight discomfort. Are we to pronounce it as a two syllable word as in ‘bless-ed’ or do we end it with a ‘t’ on the end?

Beyond the minor issue of pronunciation there is the deeper question of meaning. Jesus is telling us who is blessed, but it isn’t clear exactly what their state of blessedness means. Some translators have used an alternative and equally acceptable rendering of the Greek word and given us ‘happy’ in place of blessed.

As for the question of pronunciation, let’s agree that it really doesn’t matter. And as for the meaning of ‘happy’ as compared to the more familiar ‘blessed,’ we’ll come back to that later in the week. What we will observe today is the simple placement of the word in the beatitudes. Nine times ‘blessed’ is used and every time it comes first.

Inevitably, the beatitudes draw us into discussions about who is blessed: Who are the poor in spirit, the merciful, the meek, the peacemakers, the persecuted? These are important discussions because the ‘who’ truly does matter. But each of those designations is preceded by the word ‘blessed.’ Enjoying the favor of God comes first, and in this we see the heart of our good news to the world.

In The Divine Conspiraccy, Dallas Willard carefully and persuasively cautions us against treating the beatitudes like a list of goals, as if by cultivating a particular quality of character we will thereby enjoy blessing. Not so says Willard. “Whatever the point of the Beatitudes, it cannot be that they state conditions that guarantee God’s approval, salvation, or blessing” (p. 115).

We do not become poor in spirit or meek or merciful or pure of heart and then find favor with God. In other words, God’s favor or blessing is not something we achieve or earn. We do not show ourselves worthy of receiving it. It is simply given – and it is given to these who seem least likely to be included among the recipients.

Being blessed is not an achievement; we neither earn it nor deserve it. And yet we spend so much energy trying to do just that. Could it be that it is our striving for blessing, the drive to prove ourselves worthy, that often keeps us from experiencing true blessedness?

Next Steps: 
Who do you typically think of as the ‘unlikely’ or ‘unimpressive’ in your world? Be specific. Who will you encounter today that strikes you as one of the world’s benchwarmers in the game of life? Make a plan to bless them – to show them favor and dignify them with your kindness for no reason at all. Make ‘bless’ the first word in what you do today.

Prayer:
Gracious God, your blessing and favor are given to us freely. Grant that we might give it to others, without regard for their status or smarts or skill, without calculating how we might benefit from the kindness we show. Help us to bless as you have blessed us we ask in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Who Gets In?

 Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . (Matthew 5:2-12)

For at least one more year I’m still driving carpool in the mornings.

Next year my son will be eligible to drive to school and park on campus. The key word in the sentence is ‘eligible.’ Whether he’ll actually have anything to drive and park there remains to be seen, but the possibility exists nonetheless.

What I’m noticing this year is that my route to the carpool line takes me past the other carpool lines of years gone by. I drive by the middle school line, always lengthy and slow, and I’m thankful to no longer be a part of that. After a right hand turn I drive by the lower school line, somewhat amazed at the years that separate me from that experience and how it only seems like weeks now. The final stop is at the upper school where both of my kids are now students.

Having two ‘high school’ students means that the college horizon looks much closer than it used to. Within a year we’ll be making real college visits, something we’re already talking about. With every such conversation there is an underlying theme, constantly present though not always verbalized: “Who gets in?”

What will it take for my child to be a part of that community (name the school)? Do they have the grades to get in? Are schools looking at test scores or leadership potential or personal initiative – and will they find those things in my son or daughter?

Who gets in? This much can be said with certainty: Not everyone.

Living with this reality may explain why we have a hard time with the way Jesus opens his Sermon on the Mount. He begins by pronouncing a series of ‘beatitudes’ or expressions of blessing, telling us what it takes to be a part of a God-governed community. Jesus is telling us that this community is for everyone; those with the least impressive transcripts can get in.

Dallas Willard explains, “The religious system of his day left the multitudes out, but Jesus welcomed them all into his kingdom. Anyone could come as well as any other” (Divine Conspiracy, p. 116)

That sounds nice, but the longer we think on it the less we like it. Deep down we know that this isn’t the way the ‘real’ world works. So we tend to take Jesus statements and make them goals to achieve. As if we get in by being poor in spirit or merciful or meek or pure in heart. But Jesus is not giving us goals or providing us with a checklist for admission.

Jesus’s beatitudes leave no place for our craving to achieve and the pride that comes with it. The doors to this community are opened wide. The hard question: Does that sound like good news to you?

Next Step:
This week we’ll focus on the beatitudes of Matthew 5:1-12. Take time to read them now. Which of Jesus’s statements least stir your admiration or aspirations? And which do so the most?

Prayer: 
By your grace, O God, teach us to see others as you see them; help us to bless those whom you bless; make us willing to embrace all whom you have embraced. And remind us that we ourselves have been included in your blessed community only through Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Foundations

Therefore, everyone who hears these word of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24).

A few months ago one of my neighbors came over and asked to take a look at my basement.

Years ago the previous owners of our home had had some waterproofing work done by a certain company and my neighbor was interested in seeing a sample of their work. His needs, however, went beyond waterproofing. He had known for some time that the basement wall in his home was bowing in. What was once a slight curvature had become a protrusion that needed to be addressed.

Fixing a foundation problem like this is expensive. Ignoring it can be catastrophic.

Experts in foundation repair advise us that problems with a home’s foundation are often indicated by relatively minor clues. A slope of the kitchen counter or floors, more than an inch over 20 feet or so, could suggest a problem. A door that sticks when it is shut or a crack in the drywall – these little things may be pointing to a deeper problem. They may be telling us to look beyond the floors and doors and walls to the condition of the foundation.

Our fear is this: if we look closely we may see something we’d rather not know. Fixing it may be difficult, but ignoring it will be disastrous. Every structure we see is built on some kind of foundation, and the soundness of the structure depends upon the soundness of that foundation. The part that is never is seen is the critical piece to the whole, holding it up and holding it together.

Every life you see is built on some kind of foundation. There are no exceptions. Every person you know and every stranger that walks by you in an airport or on the street is an engineer. Every one of us wakes up each day to an ongoing construction project called “life” and every one of us has chosen something upon which to build.

Jesus, a master teacher, concluded his Sermon on the Mount with a timeless word picture. Contrasting a foundation of rock with a foundation of sand, he invited us to consider the foundations of our lives. Upon what have we chosen to place the weight of our lives? Is the foundation solid, sound, worthy of the life we’ve been given?

Next Steps: Consider the following:
1. What have you chosen to bear the weight of your sense of well-being, your confidence that the life you’re building is strong?
2. And have you ever detected a small indication that the foundation may not be sound? What might these be in your life?

Prayer:
Grant us your wisdom, O God, as we seek to build our lives. With each day’s decisions and actions help us to build well. And give us courage to examine the ways in which we have placed the weight of our lives on something other than you, we ask in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Know Excuses

Therefore, everyone who hears these word of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24).

The city of Atlanta is ringed by a massive interstate highway known in these parts as ‘the perimeter’ – I-285. This highway was supposedly completed in 1969. As best I can tell, they’ve never stopped working on it.

These days along the part of I-285 that is closest to my house mobile electronic signs are constantly flashing a familiar warning: some variation of “Weekend Road Work. 3 Lanes closed.” Interpreted, the sign says “Do not dare come this way between Friday night and Monday morning.” At the very least, the flashing sign is an invitation to do some creative driving. What route will I choose to avoid that stretch of highway? Sadly, the alternative routes I choose are often no better than the highway, but that doesn’t keep me from trying.

In his highly regarded book on the Sermon on the Mount, The Divine Conspiracy, the late Dallas Willard states that “Jesus seemed to understand that we would do almost anything to avoid simply doing what he said” (p. 274). The words of Jesus are widely admired. To a lesser extent, perhaps, they are believed. But the degree to which they are practiced is another matter. Indeed, the believers are often most adept at avoidance strategies.

This isn’t surprising. Before concluding his ‘sermon’ Jesus acknowledged that the way of life he was describing was a “narrow way.” When it comes to the weekend road work near my house, I would do almost anything to avoid the narrow way. That’s why Dallas Willard’s statement gets my attention.

Believing what Jesus says isn’t the problem. Practicing what Jesus says is where we run into trouble. Willard is calling us out, naming our tendency to look for alternative routes. We are good and finding reasons why we cannot do what Jesus has said.

The life to which Jesus calls us is a narrow way – but ‘narrow’ does not mean ‘blocked.’ We are prone to admire the Sermon on the Mount while at the same time dismissing it as unreasonable; rather than discipleship, we practice ‘dismissal-ship.’ Admiration without application.

Here on the threshold of the Sermon on the Mount we would do well to know our excuses. Let’s name them for what they are. Don’t forfeit the game before stepping on the field. Take a step on this narrow way and ask for grace to walk it. That’s the only way this way can be traveled.

Next Step:
As you read through Matthew 5-7, are there specific teachings that seem beyond your capacity to follow or practice? Why do you think so? Be honest about where you’ve come up with avoidance strategies.

Prayer:
How easy it is, O God, to admire the things you say without believing that we can actually live according to your word. Forgive us for our excuses, our quest for alternatives to your narrow way. Help us to obey, living in your power, doing what we could never do on our own. Live your life through us today, we ask in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Where Did He Go?

After leaving them he went up on a mountainside to pray (Mark 6:45).


Jesus told us to seek and we shall find, but there are days when it doesn’t work that way.

Our failure to find God in the rhythms of the everyday isn’t for lack of trying. The seeking doesn’t lead to finding, or perhaps the seeking and finding are separated by long waiting.

Belief is not the problem. We readily affirm that God is at work every day in the everyday. We acknowledge that God is present with us. But in the contour of our everyday living there are barren stretches where God is not found. We conclude that God has left us.

We wouldn’t be the first to come to such a conclusion. Many centuries ago this same kind of experience led the Psalmist to ask “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1). In his dying anguish Jesus picked up the line and prayed it from the cross.

Mark’s gospel provides us with story after story that show us the different ways that Jesus shows up, making appearances here and there, revealing God in the everyday. There are however at least two instances when Jesus absents himself from the scene of what is happening.

He isn’t showing up. He’s taking off.

In one instance, Jesus gets up early and leaves the house where he and the disciples are staying and goes away to a solitary place to pray. Mark uses the same verb twice in the sentence. He tells us that Jesus “went out” and “went away” (Mark 1:35).

The second instance followed the feeding of the five thousand when the disciples were getting in a boat to head to Bethsaida. Jesus didn’t join them. Mark tells us that “after leaving them he went up on a mountain to pray” (Mark 6:45).

Both instances result in anxiety and fear for Jesus’ followers. In the first instance they are searching for Jesus because so many people have needs and want his attention. In the second instance they are caught in a storm and fighting the elements of nature.

And in both instances, while the disciples are in angst, Jesus is at prayer.

To the followers of Jesus it seemed that Jesus had left them to themselves; he isn’t where he’s supposed to be; he isn’t there when they need him. But in both times Jesus is exactly where is supposed to be. He is praying. He was praying then – and he prays even now.

When it’s hard to find God in the everyday these stories are God’s gift to encourage us. Jesus has not abandoned us, even when it seems that he has. The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that even now Jesus prays for us. “He always lives to intercede for them.” That includes us and all who come to God through him. (Hebrews 7:25).

Our efforts to find God in the everyday sometimes leave us perplexed. “Where did he go?” He goes to God for you, intercedes for you. Jesus is praying for you right now – and that knowledge can change the everyday of any day.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, we give you thanks that when we don’t know how to pray for ourselves you pray for us. You have promised never to leave us or forsake us, and we claim that promise today. When we struggle to find you in the midst of our days, strengthen us with the knowledge of your eternal intercession on our behalf. Amen.

Rest . . . A Learned Behavior

Take my yoke upon you . . . and you will find rest for your souls (Matt. 11:28-29)


Jesus told us that his yoke was easy and his burden light.

Perhaps at some point in your life you believed him. You looked to his grace. You took his yoke upon you just as he said to do. But having taken his yoke you find you’re still plowing your own row. You feel the tension when Jesus moves in a direction you’d rather not go, when he plods along at a pace that feels far too slow.

You’ve taken his yoke, but it hasn’t been easy.

When we were children summer was naturally a time for play. Then we grew up and the play became far less natural. Adults have a way of turning their play into work. Our summer pace is often as relentless as it is at any other time of year. To rest takes effort; we have to re-learn what we once knew instinctively.

In our spiritual life we are frequently dismayed when we discover that the rest to which Jesus calls us has to be learned. We are not naturally inclined to move with him as we walk in his power. Taking the yoke is followed by learning the way; rest is found in both the taking and the learning.

In Matthew 11:28-29 Jesus possibly borrowed language from rabbinic and wisdom sayings in Judaism. He knew about the “yoke of wisdom” and the “yoke of the law.” His words bear some similarity to these words of Jeremiah.

This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls (Jeremiah 6:16).

Jeremiah seems to be telling us that the paths that lead to rest are not obvious. These ancient paths need to be sought out. We have to ask about where they are and how to find them. In other words, we have to learn to walk in this good and ancient way. The learning leads to the walking and the walking leads us to rest for the soul.

When it comes to the Jesus way, we are always learners. Jesus uses the raw material of your life to teach you the ancient paths and led you to rest. That includes every detail of this day that has yet to unfold.

Enter the day with an eagerness to learn. Be patient with yourself. Risk making a mistake, and lean hard on God’s mercy and grace. Don’t dismiss anything you have planned or anything that comes up today that didn’t fit into your plans. God is using it all to form the likeness of Jesus in you.

Do just what Jeremiah said: ask for the ancient and good paths that lead to rest. And do just what Jesus said: learn from him. In the asking and learning you will find rest for your soul.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, my prayer today is a quest for the ancient paths. I’m asking you to show me the way that is right and good. By the presence of your Holy Spirit, be my teacher today. Help me to learn your ways as I take your yoke and walk with you. Lead me to the rest you so freely offer. Amen

Not So Great Expectations

So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them (Acts 3:5).


I am married to an optimist. After seventeen years you might think that some of that optimism would have rubbed off on me. It hasn’t happened, much to the chagrin of my dear wife.

My problem doesn’t merit a diagnosis. As far as I know I’m not depressed. But there’s something in the wiring of my brain that predisposes me to see what won’t work, what might go wrong, what won’t happen according to plan.

On most days this sour inclination is simply annoying, to both me and my wife. But there are times when the knee-jerk woes are more than irritating. They are an affront to God. Pessimism is a nest that allows faithlessness to hatch into other things like anxiety and bitterness and lack of trust. None of these make for a life of robust faith.

In Acts 3 we’re told about a man who took a beggar’s post every day near the gate called Beautiful. The story says nothing abut his internal world – hopeful or desperate, optimistic or pessimistic. All we know is that he can’t walk. Never has walked. He lives by the pity and generosity of others. Carried by others, he is placed near the gate and waits for those moving about on two good legs to notice him and be moved to part with their spare change.

His expectations don’t appear to be high. As Peter and John make their way to the temple to pray, the beggar asks for money, but he doesn’t ask with real anticipation. He mouths his request but doesn’t really take notice of Peter and John. Peter has to get his attention. “Look at us,” Peter says.

The beggar looks, and here we get a glimpse into his expectations. He turns to Peter expecting to get alms. He hears Peter’s summons as a call to extend the hand and receive the only income he can manage to collect. The beggar expected a few more coins, but he received so much more than he expected. Peter has no coins to give, no silver, no gold. But what he does have is power, and he gladly gives it. With authority, in the name of Jesus, Peter tells the beggar to walk.

Our expectations, it seems, are often defined by our experience. Faith is not. Faith has veto power over repeated experiences that breed low expectations.

Jesus confronts our low expectations and invites us to live by faith. Perhaps we live far too many of our days like the beggar, content to get what we need to survive, but never dreaming that anything more than mere survival might be possible. Our expectations get conditioned by a handful of coins, but God in his power makes us stand up and leap about and worship. Is this day already defined for you by all your yesterdays? What would it mean to live this day by faith?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, any and every day can bring the unexpected. Give me the kind of faith that is ready and attentive for whatever you might be doing around me. Raise my sights above the routine and familiar. Let the miracles that unfold in ordinary things move me to worship and praise you. Amen.

The Cost of Hurry

The fruit of the Spirit is . . . patience (Gal. 5:22)


Mark Buchanan’s fine book The Rest of God relates a story handed down through several generations of his wife’s family. This piece of lore tells about his wife’s grandmother Alice, who lived in a part of the Yukon known for luring gold-hunters willing to take great risks for the sake of great riches.

Grandma Alice had a garden in which there sat a massive stone. In as much as the stone would never be moved, Alice worked hard to beautify it and make it the natural centerpiece of the garden. She regularly polished the stone, rubbing it down to a smooth shine.

On one such occasion, as she polished the stone, she noted a fine caking of gold colored flakes. Pressing her moist finger to the stone she discovered a powdery gold-dust. Whatever it was that seized men and threw them into the raw elements to strike gold seized grandma Alice that day. She began to rub the stone feverishly, “like it was a bloodstain,” seeing the powdery gold accumulate with every stroke.

As weariness caught up with her she paused to wipe her brow, and then noticed with horror her left hand. Her wedding band was nearly as thin as a wire on the underside of her finger, thick and normal up top. In her eagerness, she had been grinding away her wedding band, chasing a treasure which wasn’t there at the expense of a treasure that was.

Buchanan reflects on the episode this way:

I’ve squandered treasures in pursuit of dust. I’ve eroded precious, irreplaceable things in my efforts to extract something that’s not actually there . . . Here are a few: all the times I never swam in a cool lake with my children, made a snowman or baked sugar cookies with them, lingered in bed with my wife on a Saturday morning, or helped a friend in need all because I was in a hurry to – well, that’s just it. I don’t remember. I was just in a hurry . . . I cannot think of a single advantage I’ve ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things lie in the wake of all that rushing. Through all that haste, I thought I was making up time. Turns out I was throwing it away. Sanding away my wedding ring. (The Rest of God, 43-45).

To live with patience means to live at a pace that allows us to truly experience life. A hurried life, a life lived anxiously, frenetic and impatient, has a price tag. We grind away our treasures as we chase what we think we must have, only to find we haven’t truly lived.

How does Buchanan’s story speak to your life? What treasures are you sacrificing because of hurry? What would it take to break that pattern?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I am too often in a hurry. I feel the push of expectations and demands, of schedules tightly packed. Grant me the kind of patience that resists hurry, and teach me to live the abundant life that you came to give, threough Christ our Lord. Amen.

Help Wanted

From where does my help come? (Psalm 121:1)


Sooner or later we all need help.

All of us know this is true. Some of us are slow to admit it. And when it comes to actually asking for help, that’s a different matter entirely. I have known good people who would do anything thing for me. If their presence was needed, they’d be right there. If something else was needed, they’d give it if they had it.

But the last thing in the world they would ever do is ask for help. To do so would be a violation of some unspoken code of honor. It would be an imposition on others and an embarrassment to themselves. They will give you the shirt off their back, as the saying goes. But they’ll freeze to death before asking for the same.

Very often we gage the largeness of a soul by its capacity to give help. We recognize depth of heart by its willingness to feel compassion and be present to someone who is in need. But perhaps this isn’t an entirely accurate way to assess the health of the human soul. A willingness to receive help may reveal just as much about a person as their willingness to give it.

Here’s the danger: Just as a willingness to give help speaks to our benevolence, the refusal to accept help from others may point to a subtle pride. We love to play the hero, though never overtly seeking applause. But we dread being seen as needy and insufficient. Thus, we gladly go to the rescue. We never call for help.

Psalm 121 begins with the assumption that we need help. The Psalm opens with the Psalmist looking for help – looking around at the hills. Eugene Peterson argues that this ‘looking to the hills’ actually refers to places of idol worship, the site of shrines and Ashera poles that tempted God’s people to faithless disobedience. The sight of these false places of worship gave rise to a question: “Where does my help come from?”

That we need help is never questioned. The only question has to so with where we will find it. The answer is given immediately. “My help comes from the Lord.” This kind of help is constant, faithful, never failing, life-long. This isn’t simply help that we need. This help we want. We seek it every day because we need it every day.

What do you need help with today: A decision, a relationship, a circumstance in your life that will not change, or a change in your life you didn’t want? There is no simpler prayer than “help me.” And the God to whom we pray is an “ever present help in trouble.”

Prayer:
We give you thanks, O God, for your faithful help. Grant us grace that we might humbly seek it, knowing that your sufficiency is demonstrated in our need. Help us today, we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Shade

The Lord is your shade on your right hand (Psalm 121:5)


During August in Southern Oklahoma a light breeze is an epiphany, evidence that there is a God in heaven and that this God is good. Add some shade from a decent sized tree, and you’ve got something akin to the parting of the Red Sea and water from the rock.

On more than one occasion I’ve mentioned the congregation I served in Oklahoma during my seminary days. In this church a “building program” meant more than raising money. It meant that we actually built the building, as in hammering things together. We started our “building program” in August, a time of year in Oklahoma in which the sun can work on your flesh like a convection oven.

Thankfully, the front part of our property was graced by the presence of a rather large tree. That may not sound like such a big deal, but trees of respectable size in southern Oklahoma are a treasure. A small rise in the ground served as a kind of pedestal for the tree, and this is where we would sit when it was time to stop work and enjoy the sandwiches and fried chicken that had been brought to us for lunch. And occasionally, just every now and then, that rise in the ground would catch a breeze, a gift of grace. Whenever I think of the way God guards us and the grace that sustains us I remember that tree. Never in my life have I been so thankful for shade.

However, the presence of that tree and the shade it gave us did not change the reality in which we lived and worked. The tree gave us shade but it did not drive away the heat or diminish the intensity of the sun. The shade gave us a refuge in the middle of the day, but it did not exempt us from the conditions of late summer in Oklahoma.

Psalm 121 says that “the Lord is your shade at your right hand.” Connected to this image is the promise that the sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. But these dangers and the threats they represent are still very real. In his commentary on Psalm 121, John Calvin takes pains to explain that the Psalmist does not “promise the faithful a condition of such felicity and comfort as implies an exemption from all trouble.” We are not exempt, but we are covered.

On those blistering days of work in the flat wide-open spaces of Oklahoma, all it took was one tree. That one tree gave us refuge. Whatever conditions you’re living in today, remember that there is always shade to be found. There is a place to rest and regroup. “The Lord is your shade at your right hand.”

Prayer:
We give you thanks, O God, for the shade you provide when conditions are too much for us. You do not always spare us the pain of what they bring – but you cover us with grace to endure. You are indeed a refuge for us, and we find our strength in the shadow of your wings. Cover us with your grace in all that this day may bring, we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Your Next Move

He will not let your foot slip . . . (Psalm 121:3).


Some people are always looking for the next thing. You may be one of those people. You may be pondering the next trip, the next deal, the next semester, the next date. You may see exactly where you’re headed and you’ve got a pretty good idea of how to get there. Or maybe not.

You may have no idea what’s next. A lack of clarity may have you stuck. Maybe even a lack of courage. Maybe your next move is confronting you with some equally attractive or equally dreadful options. Which one to take?

The movie Searching for Bobby Fischer is the story of a young chess prodigy, Josh Waitzkin. The film follows Josh’s rise to national prominence, culminating in the match for the national title – a match played against another young genius who, in a previous match, had caused Josh to doubt himself and his abilities.

At one point in this national title match Josh loses a key piece, the queen, to his opponent. Josh is clearly rattled. He turns his gaze intently to the board, imagining in his mind a blank playing surface. Everything around him seems to vanish as he calculates his next move and the likely responses from the player seated opposite him.

With each move captured on a TV monitor, Josh’s coach and parents watch nervously from another room. At this critical moment in the match, the coach sees the path to victory. He whispers to monitor: “It’s there Josh. It’s only twelve moves away. Don’t move until you see it.” Josh gazes at the board until those twelve moves unfold in his mind, and then he sees it. You can probably guess how the story ends.

At times, I’ve tried to look at my life the way Josh Waitzkin looked at that chess board. I’ve wanted to see the next twelve moves unfold, a clear path to the win or at least the best outcome. God does grant to some a visionary gift, but most of us cannot see the next twelve moves. Typically life is lived one move at a time. The chess coach urged Josh not to move until he could see the win. By contrast, God asks us not to stand still. We make the next move and trust God for the one after that.

Psalm 121 gives us words to pray when we’re pondering the next move. We are reminded over and over that God will “keep” us. The Psalm makes no promises as to what will come our way as we move ahead. Threats and risks are real. We don’t get twelve moves to the win in Psalm 121.

Take time to look carefully at the blank board. See as deeply as you can into what lies in front of you. But do not expect to see every move. At some point simply make the next move. Step into this day trusting God to do what he has promised to do. He will not let your foot slip.

What next move are you pondering and praying about today?

Prayer:
Guide us, O God, to whatever comes next. Give us grace for the next move, knowing that you make our steps firm. We ask you to confirm the right direction and correct what is misguided. We trust you to do this work in us as we seek to follow you and serve you with our lives. Let our next move – and every move – bring us more in line with your will, we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

He neither Slumbers nor Sleeps

He who keeps you will not slumber . . . (Psalm 121:3).


The things that matter most to you matter to Jesus.

Let that sink in for a moment as you begin this day. Remind yourself of this as the day unfolds. What you care about, Jesus cares about. Every concern is noted, every restless thought registered. There is not a detail of your life today that escapes the notice of the living Christ.

And yet, while Jesus stands with us in our storms, but he doesn’t share our fear. Whatever it is that keeps us up at night doesn’t have God pacing the heavens, wringing hands that formed the earth and sky and sea.

Psalm 121 tells us that “the God who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps” (Psalm 121:4). The same can be said of your life. In this Psalm of eight verses, God is spoken of eight times as a guardian or one who guards. God watches over your life with a constant vigilance. This confident Psalm will be the focus of our attention this week.

God may never slumber or sleep, but sometimes we wonder. There is a story in Mark 4 where Jesus – the word-made-flesh – took a nap. He dozed off just as the threat of a storm was approaching. The disciples couldn’t understand this. How can he be sleeping? Doesn’t he care?

We don’t understand it either. Their questions are our questions. Jesus may be present, but that doesn’t mean much if he isn’t paying attention to what’s happening.

If every good story has some element of tension, Mark creates this by highlighting the contrast between the fearful disciples and the sleeping Jesus. Waves are slapping the boat, pounding with a spray that stings; curling up high and spilling into the craft.

So many details are left out. What did they do to help themselves? No doubt, they did what they could to manage the situation. Maybe they bailed water or pulled at the riggings. We do this kind of thing in our storms. “Why bother Jesus with this?” But as our anxieties escalate the sleeping figure of the Christ eventually begins to bother us, even anger us. We reach a point of exasperation where we cry out, “do you not care that we are perishing?” Ever prayed a prayer like that?

But here’s the gospel – good news! Jesus does now what he did then. Just as he spoke peace to the elements of nature, he can speak peace today to broken hearts and fractured homes and war-torn nations. We are sometimes tempted to despair because it seems that Jesus is sleeping, out of touch. He isn’t. We see and feel a threat. Jesus does not. We see catastrophe. Jesus speaks command. We’re eaten up with anxieties. Jesus exudes peace. And he brings that peace to bear on the storm itself.

Our reflections this week will be aimed at putting some steel in your faith. Our God is ever vigilant. He will not let your foot slip. So what is it that robs you of peace today? Whatever it is, Jesus has it firmly in hand. Despite all evidence to the contrary, he who watches over you “neither slumbers nor sleeps.”

Prayer:
Merciful God, at times the storms overwhelm me. The storms seem powerful and active, while you seem distant and sleepy. Remind me today that you command the elements of every storm. Give me a fresh vision of your power, and with it grant peace through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Summer Book Club: John Ortberg's "Who is this Man?"

WHEN: Thursdays at 12:00 noon (ending by 1:00)  beginning this week, June 6th.

WHERE: At "The Lodge" - directly across from the sanctuary of Peachtree Presbyterian Church. Come upstairs to the Appalachian Room. the address of the building is 3417 Roswell Road NW, ATL 30305.

WHAT: We will be reading through John Ortberg's book Who is the Man: The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus.