Heaven's surprising kingdom

Crown of thorns - Image from RGBStock.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 21-22; Psalm 119:97-128

 TO CHEW ON: " 'And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.' " Luke 22:29,30


Jesus talks a lot about His kingdom (also referred to as the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God). In His teaching and parables about it, we discover some interesting things.

• Here we see that it doesn't operate by society's usual rules of prominence. Its prominent ones are those who distinguish themselves, not by their sophistication and worldly wisdom but by their "youngest" qualities. I take that to mean their complete, innocent, and unquestioning faith.

• They are also willing to serve (Luke 22:26).

• The kingdom is not fair but unfair in the wonderful way of elevating those who, by the class and status into which they're born, aren't candidates for elevation. Jesus confers entry into and prominence in the kingdom. It's a gift (Luke 22:29).

In other places Jesus gives more clues about His kingdom:

• Luke 14:15 describes more unlikely kingdom recruits. It's not who we would expect but the poor, crippled, blind, and lame; all those who respond to the Master's invitation.

• In Matthew 25:34+, Jesus describes the unusual way its makeup will be determined. He talks of a day "When the Son of Man comes in his glory"  (Matthew 25:31) as a day of sorting when He'll admit those who, unbeknownst to them, passed the kingdom's entry test by their compassion on earth (Matthew 25:35,36).

• In 2 Timothy 2:12 the kingdom is given to those who "endure."

Though we are probably well familiar with these descriptions of the Kingdom, we do well to ask ourselves, have we internalized them? Does knowing them change our behavior?

Or, despite what we read in the Bible and hear expounded from the pulpit and elsewhere, will we still be surprised when, someday, we see the answer to what we've prayed thousands of times: "Your kingdom come..."?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, You've left us with plenty of information about your kingdom—which is already and which we hope to see in its fullness someday. Help me to order my life here on earth by its principles. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 119:97-128


********
Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted in this meditation are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Practical piety

Shopping carts of the homeless - Photo V. N.

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Zechariah 5-8; Psalm 61

TO CHEW ON: "Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts." Zechariah 7:12


The people's representatives Sherezer, Regem-Melech, and his men came to the temple priests with a question: "Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?"

It is likely that they were inquiring about commemorating the destruction of the temple in 587 B.C. (according to the writer of my Bible's study notes, D.W. Shibley - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1255).

God's message back to them through Zechariah may have come as a surprise. It contained no congratulations for their past piety. Instead, it pointed out things they had left undone: practicing true justice, showing mercy and compassion, treating widows and orphans well, and acting with integrity toward their neighbors (Zechariah 7:9,10).

These lacks, God said, were proof of the actual condition of their hearts—stubborn, refusing to hear, and hard ("hearts like flint") toward what really mattered to God (Zechariah 7:11,12).

I think there is a warning in this vignette for us too. We also easily reassure ourselves with spiritual activities and practices even while we may be glossing over the hard but practical aspects of obedience and what it means to love God—that is, to love our human brothers and sisters. Often our lack of love comes out in how we treat the poorest.

For me right now, I think of the homeless that trek the streets of my town. For the last few years I've seen them outside, summer through winter. The places they call home remind me of the tent city ghettos I've seen in the photos of faraway cities. I must admit these scenes stir up mixed feelings in me... not all of them positive.

I often ask myself—how do I show justice, mercy, and compassion to these, whose problems are complex (mental illness, addiction, poverty)? Is our household doing enough by supporting the local Salvation Army and the home missions arm of our church? May God never have to say to us (to me) "they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders and stopped their ears… yes, they made their hearts like flint."

PRAYER: Dear Father, I bring to You the homeless and poor in my neighborhood. Please give me creative ideas of how to show mercy and compassion to them. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 61

 *********
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.

Second-chance Aaron

Worshiping the Golden Calf - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Exodus 32:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool and made a moulded calf. Then they said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt.' " Exodus 32:4


The difference between the brothers Moses and Aaron shows up in stark contrast in the incidents of the exodus. While Moses repeatedly stood firm against the multitude, his older brother Aaron was more of a people pleaser.

In our story today, he offered not a whisper of resistance to the people's demand for a new god. In fact, the calf statue seems to have been his idea. (The irony is that even as this was playing out, God was dictating to Moses the details of Aaron's priestly uniform - Exodus 28:1-12.)

Another time when Aaron and Miriam insisted that they were God's mouthpieces as much as Moses was, God struck Miriam with leprosy but spared Aaron. Some commenters suggest this was because she was the instigator and Aaron the influenced.

Still, God never put Aaron aside but continued to use him despite his character flaws and failures. When the Levite Korah questioned Aaron's high priestly position, God confirmed His choice of Aaron with censer fire that did not kill and a budding rod (Numbers 16 & 17).

We can take encouragement from Aaron's life. Even if, like him, we've blown it, with God there are second chances—though there may also be consequences to pay (in the Golden Calf incident, thousands died - Exodus 32:28; Miriam and Aaron's rebellion led to Miriam getting leprosy - Numbers 12:10-16).

Asaph's psalm does a good job of describing our God of second, third, and fourth chances:

"But He, being full of compassion,
forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time He turned His anger away,
And did not stir up all His wrath;
For He remembered that they were but flesh,
A breath that passes away and does not come again." - Psalm 78:38,39.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for mercy toward my weaknesses and grace in forgiving sins and giving me more than one chance. Amen.

 *********
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.

Trademarked by compassion

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Matthew 9:27-38

TO CHEW ON: “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” Matthew 10:36

Matthew here goes from zoom-in closeups of Jesus responding, questioning, touching, healing, and casting out demons from individuals (Matthew 9:27-34), to the general effect of His presence and ministry (Matthew 9:35-36).

He was everyone’s as He traveled around visiting the synagogues in big places and small. His work was preaching good news and doing good things for everyone—healing “every sickness and every disease” - Matthew 9:35. His trademark was compassion (Matthew 9:36).

We see this side of Jesus at other times too—like when He wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44) and at the grave of His friend Lazarus (John 11:35). A sidebar article in my Bible about Jesus’ compassion suggests facets of it.

It was compassion for hard human hearts and vulnerability to death. “Love sees beyond the immediate and the personal and compassionately relates to the lost, the hurting, the needy, the distressed” - Fuchsia Pickett, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1307 (emphasis added).

That’s my challenge. Perhaps it’s yours too: to see beyond the immediate and the personal, to look past offensive, off-putting behaviours to the very human person behind the actions.

For this we need more than human empathy. To attain real Christlikeness we need the Spirit that lived in Jesus:

“Christlikeness calls us to learn Jesus’ heart of compassion, a depth of sensitivity that can be worked in us through the Holy Spirit, reconditioning our hearts to be able to sense the pain of human bondage (Hebrews 13:1-3) and to weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15)” - Fuchsia Pickette, Op. Cit (emphasis added)

PRAYER: Dear Holy Spirit, please work the compassion of Jesus into my outlook and actions today. Amen.

 *********
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.

One Shepherd

"Separating Sheep from Goats"
(Matthew 25:32) from
Treasures of the Bible

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 34:16-31

TO CHEW ON: "I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My Servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd." Ezekiel 34:23


By Ezekiel's time David had been dead for hundreds of years. So what does Ezekiel mean here, speaking about God's servant David being their shepherd?

Bible students interpret "my servant David" non-literally to mean the promised Saviour or Messiah that would descend from David's line (2 Samuel 23:5; 1 Kings 2:45). It was a line God promised would never end (Psalm 89:3-4).

"This is clearly fulfilled in Jesus Christ" writes Roy Edmund Hayden in my Bible's notes on Ezekiel.

How wonderfully Jesus fulfills this prophecy. When we study His life, ministry, and teaching, we see that He is everything the irresponsible shepherds are not:

• He is compassionate with the helpless - Matthew 9:35.

• He is a seeking shepherd of both flocks—the Jews and Gentiles - Matthew 15:24; John 10:16.

• He knows His sheep - John 10:14-15, 27; Matthew 25:32).

• His sheep know Him and His voice - John 10:3,4, 5, 16, 27.

• He provides for and protects them - John 10:9,28.

• He lays down His life for them - John 10:17,18; Matthew 26:31.

• He is their just judge - Matthew 25:32-46.

Those of us who believe in Jesus all these many centuries later are also part of His flock—a flock made up of peoples from all nations (Ezekiel 34:11-13; John 10:16) and added to over centuries.

Our pastors and leaders are His under-shepherds now (John 21:15-17; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:4).

And we look forward to a day when the beautiful scene Ezekiel paints, the peace and security (Ezekiel 34:25), the plenty (Ezekiel 34:26,27,29), and the freedom (Ezekiel 34:27,28) will be realized in real time (Revelation 7:16,17).

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for Your shepherding of people over the centuries. Help me to hear Your voice and follow You through my life till the time I see You face to face. Amen.

 *********
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.

Good works - what and why?

Image: Pixabay

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Titus 3:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us .... those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works." - Titus 3:5,8


If Titus has any question about the role of good works in a Christian's life, Paul clears it up in this bit of his letter.

He says, first, that doing good works is not a way to earn salvation. That comes through God's mercy and the supernatural new birth where He washes us clean (signified so beautifully by baptism) and renews us with the Holy Spirit.

But good works are important. Paul says we are to be careful to maintain them and that they are good and profitable. Other Bible passages shed more light on what good works are and their role in our lives.

What are good works?

• Isaiah gives us some broad good work categories: seeking justice, rebuking the oppressor, defending the fatherless, and taking up the case of the widow - Isaiah 1:17.

• Jesus describes a future time when God will praise those who fed the hungry, took in the stranger, clothed the poor, and visited the sick and prisoner as if they had done these things to Him - Matthew 25:35-36.

• Paul describes good works as being ready to give and willing to share - 1 Timothy 6:18.

Why do good works?

• Jesus tells us our good works point people to God - Matthew 5:16.

• Paul links good works with God's process of purifying us for Himself - Titus 2:14.

• James makes a powerful case for good works being the evidence that our faith is real - James 2:17-18.

• To the writer to the Hebrews, good works are a kind church fellowship glue when members think about how to stir up love and good deeds in each other - Hebrews 10:24.

Over the Christmas season we'll probably get lots of chances to do good works—contribute to food bank drives, sing carols at nursing homes, put together boxes of gifts for children in faraway lands, assemble hampers for needy families... The needs are legion and all around us. Let's not give in to mercy fatigue that shuts its heart to doing good works because of the multitude of appeals. Rather, let's let good works characterize us because that's who believers in Jesus are. 

PRAYER: Dear God, please grow compassion and generosity in me. May my life be known for good works that are an asset to You and Your reputation. Amen.

************
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.

Jesus' soft side

Son of the Widow of Nain - A. Bida

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 7:11-17

TO CHEW ON: "When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, 'Do not weep.'" Luke 7:13


Jesus had a beautifully soft side. The gospel writers speak of his "compassion" and of Him being "moved with compassion."

[to be "moved with compassion" - splanchnizomai means to be moved with deep compassion or pity.The Greeks regarded the bowels (splanchna) as the place where strong and powerful emotions originated.  Hebrews regarded splanchna as the place where tender mercies and feelings of affection, compassion, sympathy and pity originated." - Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1317.]

A brief look through the gospels show Jesus' compassion:

• For the crowds who were spiritually lost and leaderless - Matthew 9:36.

• For the spiritually hungry (and, after three days of teaching, physically hungry) crowds that stayed with Him. His compassion instigated the miracle of feeding 4000 with "seven loaves and a few little fish" - Matthew 15:32-38.

• For the sick - Matthew 14:14; 20:34; Mark 1:41.

• For the demon oppressed.
• A father begged for compassion for his demon-possessed boy, and Jesus responded with compassion, casting out the demon - Mark 1:22, 25-27.

• As part of His teaching.
• Jesus pictured the compassion God has in forgiving all of us undeserving ones in the parable of the Unforgiving Servant - Matthew 18:27.
• Jesus illustrated the compassion we are to feel for any "neighbour" who is in trouble in the compassion showed by the Good Samaritan - Luke 10:33.
• Jesus depicted God as a Father who welcomes His prodigal home in the story of the Good Samaritan - Luke 15:20.

• For the living, left behind after the death of a loved one.
• After the death of His friend Lazarus, "Jesus wept" - John 11:35. Even though He knew He was going to raise Lazarus, I believe it was His compassionate, empathetic heart that roused Him to tears.
• And in our story, the weeping of a bereft widow, now also about to bury her son, moved Him to act in compassion by raising her son from death.

I ask, do I, do we similarly let ourselves be moved with compassion? In a world that is full of images of the unfortunate (from multitudes of faraway people fleeing war to those closer to home running from wildfires) it's easy to get compassion fatigued—to begin to feel calloused to the deep needs and hurts of the crowds around us.

Maybe Jesus showed us one of the remedies for this in His attention to individuals. Though in a few instances we're told He was compassionate toward crowds, mostly it was individuals who moved Him to compassion. Perhaps it's also not the crowds we're meant to respond to with compassion but the one person God brings across our path today, tomorrow, next week...

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to feel Your compassion toward the ones You bring across my path with needs. Amen.

 *********
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.

Liquid prayer

Image: AndersAndersen / pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 126:1-6

TO CHEW ON: "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy." Psalm 126:5


We could call the crying in this psalm the "ministry of tears" or "liquid prayer" (C. H. Spurgeon). In a sidebar article in my Bible, Dick Eastman has identified six aspects of the ministry of tears that are pictured in the Bible ("Tears and Brokenness in Victorious Warfare," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 787):

1. Tears of sorrow or suffering:
King Hezekiah was at death's door. He pleaded with God for a longer life. God's answer:

" ' I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Behold I am healing you…" - 2 Kings 20:5 (AMP).

2. Tears of joy:
Twin brothers Jacob and Esau had been estranged for years following Jacob's deceiving their father over the birthright. Now Jacob needed to pass through Esau's territory with his family and possessions. Did Esau still want to kill him? How would their meeting go? Jacob spent the night before, wrestling with a heavenly Being. In the morning they met this way:

"But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and hugged his neck and kissed him, and they wept [for joy]" - Genesis 33:4 (AMP).

3. Tears of compassion:
Jesus' friend Lazarus had died. As Jesus approached the home of his friend he was met by Mary and friends, all weeping. Even though he knew what He was going to do, in the moment Jesus was overcome by emotion—empathy, compassion:

"Jesus wept" - John 11:35.

4. Tears of desperation:
Haman had convinced King Ahasuerus that it was a good idea to wipe out the Jews. The reaction of Mordecai (Queen Esther's relative) and other Jews in Shushan and throughout the land:

"… He cried out with a loud and bitter cry … And in every province where the king's command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews with fasting, weeping and wailing" - Esther 4:1,3.

5. Tears of travail:
In Isaiah 42, the LORD promises to again provide help to His people. He describes the breakthrough as the the tears a mother cries when in the throes of labour pains:

"I have held My peace a long time. / I have been still and restrained Myself. / Now I will cry like a woman in labor" - Isaiah 42:14.

6. Tears of repentance:
Turning from our sin to God is often accompanied by tears:

"“Even now,” says the Lord,
“Turn and come to Me with all your heart [in genuine repentance],
With fasting and weeping and mourning [until every barrier is removed and the broken fellowship is restored]" - Joel 2:12 (AMP).

Whatever kind tears we are shedding right now, we know that God sees, cares, and takes notice. In our times of weeping, we are comforted, for:

"You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
Are they not in Your book?
When I cry out to You,
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because God is for me" - Psalm 56:8,9

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me in my times of weeping to turn to You for ultimate help.
Amen.

 *********
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.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Extending mercy to your Nineveh

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jonah 1:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Ammitai, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.'

But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord." Jonah 1:1-3a

Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria—Israel's longstanding enemy. Various times in the Old Testament we see the Assyrians raiding Israel, ravaging the countryside, and taking its citizens captive. There was no love lost between Israel and Assyria.

Jonah, nationalist that he was, was obviously aghast at God's assignment. Perhaps his reluctance was tinged with fear for his own well-being. The Assyrians were not noted for their humane treatment of enemies.

But one gets the sense that he was mostly outraged that God wanted to share any part of Himself with his nation's rank enemy. That he, Jonah, would be an instrument in bringing such an intention to pass was, to him, unthinkable. And so he ran the other way.

It's worth stopping here and asking, but wouldn't God's righteousness and justice demand that the Assyrians be punished for their harsh treatment of Israel—the apple of God's eye? However, God, thankfully for us all, is not only just and righteous but also merciful. He wanted to give the Assyrians of Jonah's time an opportunity to repent.

It's easy to shrug off the story of Jonah as one of another era and so irrelevant to us. But wait. Is it really?

I'm reminded of Corrie Ten Boom, the Dutch women who, years after her imprisonment in a German concentration camp, came face to face with one of her former captors—her Nineveh, so to speak. That day God asked her to extend mercy and forgiveness to him. She did, and came to a place of new freedom and understanding of God, who is not only just and righteous but also merciful.

I ask myself, what is my Nineveh? What is yours? Will we answer the call of God's heart to extend His mercy to it?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your mercy to me. May my heart echo the merciful thrum of yours as I interact with those who have treated me badly. Amen.

MORE: Man Overboard by David Denny

California poet David Denny has written a wonderful book of poems about just this story. Man Overboard: A Tale of Divine Compassion (Wipf & Stock, 2013) does a wonderful job of exploring God's compassion (on Nineveh, the Assyrians and Jonah), and Jonah's outrage. My review of the book is HERE.

************
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.

When your heart breaks for the world—PRAY

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 9:27-38

TO CHEW ON: "Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.' " Matthew 9:37,38


Gary Wilkerson tells the following story in the book David Wilkerson: The Cross, the Switchblade, and the Man Who Believed.

In 1957 David Simmons was pastoring the Brooklyn Presbyterian Church. But the glory days of the beautiful old structure seemed in the past. The neighborhood had become the headquarters for the feared Mau Mau gang and weekly church attendance was below 100.

One morning Simmons saw the police right outside his building, loading two bleeding men onto stretchers after a shootout. The neighborhood violence and bloodshed sickened him and he began coming to the church early in the morning to pray. " ' My prayer,' he says, 'was that God would thrust worthy laborers into the harvest field' " David Wilkerson, Kindle Location 1030.

Meanwhile in a small town in Pennsylvania, young David Wilkerson was restless and dissatisfied with pastoring his predictable, self-absorbed church. He began spending his afternoons in prayer, asking God to show him the more he hankered for. One day when he took a break from praying, he glanced at a Time Magazine that told the story of the Michael Farmer trial. Michael Farmer was a defenseless white kid with polio who had been senselessly murdered by a bunch of teens on a New York street. 

Wilkerson felt anguish: "Anguish over the senseless murder of a defenseless boy. Anguish over the seething hurt and deprivation that had boiled over in the boys who had committed it. And, finally, anguish over their fate, the waste of every life involved" - David Wilkerson, KL 1246.

That day was a turning point in Wilkerson's life. He ended up moving to New York, becoming an evangelist to New York's drug addicts and gang members, and founding Teen Challenge. In other words, he became the answer to a praying pastor's prayers.

I find it interesting that in our reading today, Jesus didn't say to the disciples, "You go and be laborers in God's harvest" but " '…pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers.' "

Sometimes we're not the people for the job on the ground. But we're always the people who need to respond to the burdens of this world, its weary scattered sheep that move our hearts to compassion, with prayer.

PRAYER: Dear God, I need Your tender compassionate heart that weeps over the world's heartbreaks and finds its most effective release in prayer. Amen. 

MORE: Photos that move to tears

A photo gallery from Boston.com illustrates the current plight of Syrian Kurdish refugees flooding into Turkey.




*********
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.