Approachable Jesus

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 9-10; Psalm 99

TO CHEW ON: "Then they brought little children to Him that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased .... And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them." Mark 10:13,16


Jesus' disciples had their boundaries in place. When they saw children coming to Jesus, they ordered them and their parents to leave. It seems they saw children as an inconvenience and an unwanted interruption not worthy of Jesus' time.

But Jesus didn't join His disciples in scolding the parents. Instead, He scolded the disciples for sending the little ones away (at least we read He was "greatly displeased").

I wonder what the parents expected Jesus' touch to do for their kids. I wonder after He had taken them in His arms and blessed them, were they forever changed?

Gary Chapman in his book The Love Languages of God holds out the idea that there are five main ways people express and understand love. (He calls them Love Languages. They are: words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, gifts, and physical touch). At one point he comes to this conclusion:

"It is my premise that the love languages observed in human relationships are a reflection of divine love. If man is indeed made in the image of God, then we would expect to find all five love languages expressed in the character and nature of God. It is also my premise that God speaks all five love languages fluently and that people tend to be attracted to God most deeply when they sense that God is speaking their primary love language" - Gary Chapman, The Love Languages of God, pp. 28, 29 (republished under the title God Speaks Your Love Language).

In the chapter on touch, Chapman points out how often Jesus touched people. He often touched them when He healed them (John 9:11; Matthew 8:2-3, 15; Matthew 9:27, 29-30). He touched His disciples to revive them on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:7). He washed their feet (John 13:1-4). And here He touched the children.

Touch is certainly the first communication of love that children get. And it can remain a powerful communicator of love throughout life. So what do children 'hear' when we touch them with our hands and our voices? Gentleness? Respect (in that we don't force ourselves on them if they are wary of us)? Purity? Love? What do we communicate to the adults we touch?

May our touching be Jesus' hands, extended in love to touch the world through us.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, what a beautiful picture of You touching, holding, and blessing little children. Help my touch to be Your hand extended in love to whomever You send into my life to touch today. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 99

MORE: Perverted touch

Josh McDowell in the book Undaunted, tells of how he was sexually abused by a man his mother had hired to help with housework. From ages six to twelve this man touched and caressed Josh in impure ways.

That perverted touch left its mark. In an interview with Jim Cantelon on 100 Huntley Street, McDowell told of how to this day (he's now in his late 70s) he cannot stand to be touched. When people put their hands on his shoulders or back when praying for him, he stops and asks them to remove their hands. His reaction shows how long-lasting the effects of wrong, perverted, and impure touch can be.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

To whom do we pay homage?

"Mordecai Scorns Haman" by Ernest Normand

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Esther 3:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "And all the king's servants who were within the king's gate bowed and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai would not bow or pay homage." Esther 3:2

The author of Esther doesn't spell out why Mordecai wouldn't bow to Haman—only that he refused to pay homage because he was a Jew. I think we can assume that in this he was taking God very seriously in obeying especially the first of the ten commandments:

"You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image .... you shall not bow down to them or serve them" Exodus 20:3-5.

The pressure mounted as his fellow servants questioned, then reported him, and finally King Ahasuerus, under the influence of Haman, passed a decree to kill not just him, but all the Jewish people. We can only imagine the soul searching Mordecai went through as he faced this horrible consequence of his actions to not only him but thousands of people. Yet he never wavered in his resolve.

Most of us will never face such an ultimatum for giving God first place in our lives. But we will come across the temptation to stray from it along other lines. Josh McDowell, for example, tells how he planned to become a lawyer. Yet one day God came to him and impressed on him that he was to spend his life witnessing to young people. McDowell says in the Epilogue to his autobiography:

"I never saw my early dream of becoming a lawyer come true. Instead I am still fulfilling the call to ministry that I answered more than fifty years ago .... I am in constant awe of what God has done in my life" - Josh McDowell, Undaunted, p. 245.

Mordecai's unshakable resolve and McDowell's modern example prompt me to ask myself, am I refusing to bow to anything but God and His will for my life? Or do I "pay homage" in one way or another, to things like success, personal ambition, money, comfort...? What about you?

PRAYER: Dear God, I have a lot to learn from Mordecai and his determination to give You first place, no matter what it cost. Help me to understand how to do this in my circumstances and then do it. Amen.

MORE: I'd Rather Have Jesus - George Beverley Shea

"'I’d Rather Have Jesus' is a song written by Rhea F. Miller with the tune written by George Beverly Shea. This poem, written in 1922, was left on a piano in the Shea home by Bev Shea who wanted her son to find it and change the course of his life. 



The words, I’d rather have Jesus, moved George so much and spoke to him about his own aims and ambitions in life. He sat down at the piano and began singing them with a tune that seemed to fit the words. Shea’s mom heard him singing it and asked him to sing it at church the next day. 

George’s life direction did change. 

He was offered a popular music career with NBC, but a few years later chose to become associated with evangelist Billy Graham and sang this hymn around the world."   (Read the entire article including the lyrics to "I'd Rather Have Jesus.")

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Forgive plain and simple

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 11:20-33

TO CHEW ON: "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses." Mark 11:25

Some time ago I heard a local talk show host speak with great indignation against the idea that the way to handle Jerry Sandusky, the former football coach and child predator, was to forgive him. I only heard a snippet of his argument so I don't know whether the call was for law enforcement to let him go free for his crimes, or for the individuals wronged by him to forgive. But the man's rant got me thinking.

What is the way, the Jesus way, to handle people who have wronged us in a deep, life-altering manner—the investment counselor who has absconded with our life savings, the father or mother who never loved us, the coach, teacher, or family member who stole innocence?

Jesus' words are unequivocal: "...if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."

Of course on a societal level, the government should enforce its laws against criminals and see that the penalty is paid. An orderly society demands that people live by standards and that law-breakers be dealt with. The Bible supports that - Ezra 7:26; Matthew 22:21; Romans 13:1; 1 Peter 2:13,14.

However, personally, according to Jesus, we need to forgive. It sounds unfair and unrealistic, another example of the upside-downess of the Kingdom of God lifestyle. Leslyn Musch says about this passage (along with Matthew 6:14,15):

"Understand that God forgives us our sins as we forgive others who have sinned against us. Adopt the forgiveness of others into your prayer life as a daily discipline" - Leslyn Musch, Truth-In-Action Through the Synoptics, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1439.

PRAYER: Dear God, something inside me balks at giving forgiveness—until I look at what You've forgiven me. Help me to measure every act of forgiveness on my part against Your forgiveness of me. Amen.

MORE: Forgiveness in action

Josh MacDowell tells the story of his struggle to forgive several people who had wronged him in his book Undaunted. Here is his account of how he forgave the man who abused him as a child (ellipses enclosed in square brackets indicate words left out of the quote, other ellipses are in the quote):

"It didn't happen immediately; in fact, it took several months and a lot of counseling with Pastor Logan. [....]

"He lived in a drab apartment in Jackson, Michigan. I knocked on the door, he opened it, and I walked inside. [....] I looked at the greying, worn-looking man with troubled eyes and started in without preliminaries: 'Wayne, what you did to me was evil. Very evil! But I've come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. And I've come here ... to ... tell you ...' My carefully rehearsed words failed me. I prayed for strength and realized that what I had to say had to come from my heart, not my head.

"I sighed deeply. 'Wayne, all of us have sinned, and no one measures up to God's standard of perfection. We all need redemption and, well, I've come here to tell you something you need to hear.' He looked at me his pale eyes unblinking.

"For a moment, I wished it weren't true, but it was, and I had to say it out loud. 'Christ died for you as much as He did for me. I forgive you, Wayne.'

"[....] I walked out to the parking lot and got into my car. Where is the emotion? I asked myself, starting up the engine. Where is the euphoria I should feel having stared down the demon—and the demons—of my past? [....] And then it hit me. There was peace in my heart. A peace unlike anything I had experienced before. I had chosen to forgive an enemy out of obedience to God's command, and I had the steady, full peace the Bible describes as surpassing human understanding" - Josh MacDowell, Undaunted pp. 140-142 (Kindle edition).

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.