There are times in life when people need courage. The need for courage arises wherever bad leaders wield their strength to oppress regular people. Or, it arises from circumstances: sometimes, people have chosen to face danger, and sometimes it’s because danger has chosen them. We are often inspired by their courage; we hope that we ourselves could stay strong in the midst of adversity. The Bible’s message on this is pretty simple: You, too, can be Strong and Courageous, and it has nothing to do with your strength or resources.
[Moses said, as he handed the reins of leadership to Joshua] “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6, NIV)
An Exhortation We can Make; An Exhortation We Can Hear
As Moses transferred leadership to Joshua, this was his advice. The Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, where the inhabitants appeared to be stronger than they felt themselves to be. They were leaving the familiar and going into the unknown. They were facing uncertainty, hardship, change, and difficulty. So in this sermon, Moses told them to be strong and courageous—and why? Was it because they had a better army? Stronger men? Better logistics?
No. Moses told them they could be courageous, not because of their OWN sufficiency, but because THE LORD was going before them, and He would never leave them or forsake them. Pretty good advice, based on an eternal foundation: don’t be courageous based on self-sufficiency or what you know; be courageous because of WHO you know.
The Source of Courageous
John’s epistle said that perfect love casts out fear, and that God is love. It stands to reason that any time we accept God’s love we can become fearless! Are you entering a season of uncertainty and Insecurity? Be strong and courageous, because the Lord is with you. Dealing with change? Be strong and courageous, because the Lord is with you. Having to battle disease or health issues? Then this is pretty good advice for you, too.
This verse doesn’t promise that the trouble will disappear, or that we can hope in circumstances; it tells us to be strong because GOD is with us. When we appropriate His presence by faith, it offers us calm in the storm and assurance in the valley of the shadow. In the places we feel most alone, He will never leave us.
In our greatest uncertainty, we can be sure of Him. We can take courage, not in our own strength and sufficiency, but in the Lord our God, who goes before us and stands beside us. As David said, “My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26) When your flesh and heart fail, fall in love with God. Be strong. Take courage from your Father, and be encouraged today!
The Cowardly Lion Could Have Used This
If you face uncertain times, and have to deal with fear, The Bible has a word for you. I’m going to write it here: Be strong, and be courageous, not because of what you know, But because the Lord is with you everywhere you go. Whatever happens in your life, wherever it may take you, Your Father’s endless love will never leave you or forsake you. His love is warm and comforting; in fact, it is contagious. Allow His strength to help you to be strong, and be courageous.
The well-known James Allen motivational quote said, “As a man thinketh, so is he.” His little book in 1903 said that our minds are powerful instruments that influence our actions and our destiny. (As A Man Thinketh) About the same time, Henry Ford said, “If you think you can, you’re right. And if you think you can’t, you are right.” The story we’re looking at today says it this way: Think Like Grasshoppers, Play Like Grasshoppers…
How We See It
“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (Numbers 13:30-33, NIV)
When the Hebrew spies returned from viewing the Promised Land, they were called upon to report back about what they had seen. Most of them were intimidated by who and what they saw there. They said they had seen Nephilim, who are defined in Genesis 6:4 as “sons of god and daughters of men”. No one knows exactly who the Nephilim were. You can’t build a race of warriors from a single verse, but perhaps the term was referring to some type of illicit antediluvian offspring of fallen angels and earthly women. Legend had it that these powerful beings descended from demons who impregnated human women.
Bear With Me, here
(This is speculation on my part, but I personally believe that there must have been a possibility that such unions occurred. If they did, there could have been some type of genetic contamination that happened before and during Noah’s lifetime. Although the presence of depravity in and of itself would justify mankind’s destruction, the Nephilim logically suggest another reason for God to exercise such severe judgement. It seems logical to me that part of the reason why God implemented the flood was to eliminate all traces of that genetic contamination from the earth. That logic also leads me to believe that the more men tinker with genetic mutation, the closer we are to God drawing the curtain on His creation. But I digress.)
A Less Than Inspiring Report
The Nephilim were mighty warriors, larger-than life characters against whom ten of the spies they felt they had no chance. (God did not seem to factor into their equation, by the way.) Only Joshua and Caleb believed that they could take possession of the land, but the other spies were unanimous in their insecurity. They said that they felt as small as grasshoppers in their own eyes, and that the citizens of the land viewed them in the same way. Coincidence? Perhaps James Allen nailed it: “As a man thinketh, so is he.”
Think of yourself as small and you will play small. If we feel like grasshoppers, we will act like grasshoppers. Others will see us as grasshoppers. But turn it around! Think of yourself as godly, and you will start to display godliness; if you see yourself as God’s handiwork, others will see you the same way. Put God in charge of things. You will reflect His character and be filled with His strength and courage. Think of it this way: you can go into battle with grasshoppers, or you can go into battle with the Lord of Hosts. Kinda changes the playing field doesn’t it?
Grasshopper Games
If you see yourself as small, then that is how you’ll play. When you think you’re lost, then you will never find the way. If you moan and say you can’t, then you are nothing like that ant Who didn’t gripe and cry and rant But moved the great big rubber tree plant. Israel sent some spies to look into the promised land; Ten of them came back and said, “Oh no! We’re under-manned! We saw some great big Nephilim, and really, we are scared of them, We felt like grasshoppers in their sight, And ran from there in total fright! They’re not the guys we want to fight!”
But Joshua and Caleb stood, and said, “Let’s take this land! We could! The Lord of Hosts is on our side, and we don’t have to fear or hide, Our army can go forth with pride, and we will never be denied!” But Israel was quite dismayed at what the other spies had said: The Promised land was long delayed because their leaders were afraid… When you fear only God and know the work and plans are His, THINK BIG!! And just be confident in who your LEADER is!
Ransom is something we (hopefully) don’t have to think about too often. While it is usually reserved for kidnapping victims today, in ancient times ransom was requested fairly often. It was not unusual for captors to ask about it for prisoners of war, or anyone who was unfortunate enough to fall into the wrong hands. (Lest we think such practices outdated, don’t forget that Hamas kidnapped women and children to use them as bartering chips to trade for terrorists…) However it occurred, those holding the prisoner would request that a ransom be paid to free the captive. Captors commonly leveraged the grief or concern of prisoners’ families to extort money from the victim’s family or government. If the captive didn’t have enough resources to pay ransom, they were usually sold into slavery or killed.
In the Old Testament times, the Israelites were required to pay something like a ransom for sins, in the form of an offering. “And he brought the bull for the sin offering. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering, and Moses killed it. Then he took the blood, and put some on the horns of the altar all around with his finger, and purified the altar. And he poured the blood at the base of the altar, and consecrated it, to make atonement for it.” (Leviticus 8:14-15, NIV)
The Only Way Out
I have wondered about sacrifices, the physical act of slaughtering a bull or a goat and burning it upon an altar. It was a messy, bloody business, certainly an uncivilized way to do church. And yet the Hebrew priests and people participated in all manner of animal sacrifices to atone for sin. Why? Because the justice system of the universe treated sin like a deadly disease (which it was), Sin always ends in death, and sacrifices reminded everyone of that grisly reality.
Very early on, in Genesis 2:17, God warned Adam about the forbidden tree: “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Guess what? Adam and Eve didn’t die that day, but they both experienced the certainty of sin’s penalty thereafter. So have all of their descendants. In essence, mankind was kidnapped by sin in the garden, and Satan demanded the appropriate ransom.
A Harsh Penalty
In Romans 6:23, Paul reminds us that sin has a result: “for the wages of sin is death”. Leviticus 17:11 points out that Life of the flesh is in the blood. Sin is a life and death matter, and sacrifices provided a graphic reminder of sin’s penalty. Every time the Israelites killed an animal they were reminded that only death could satisfy the legal requirements for being disobedient. The ransom had to be paid.
There is no other way to deal with sin, and no way to get around it. Only by being sinless could someone avoid sin’s ultimate penalty, but no one could accomplish that, so God provided a temporary means for men to illustrate how that penalty would be paid until the permanent solution could occur. These temporary animal sacrifices helped prepare the way for the permanent necessary sacrifice that was to come. Sin required death for its participants, and the penalty was acknowledged through the sacrifices that were made.
A Permanent Problem Required a Permanent Solution
But sin required a more permanent solution, one on the cosmic scale that death demanded. It was only by the willing substitution of the perfect man that sin’s debt for mankind could be paid. It’s important to remember that Jesus was a volunteer, not a victim. As he said in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
To bring that statement home, you should take it personally: Sin and death kidnapped you, with the worst of intentions, and demanded that you pay the full price for all that you have done. You and I were held for ransom by death and needed full payment in order to be free from its clutches. But the Bible has some AMAZING NEWS! If you have been captured or held hostage by sin, the ransom has been paid! Your freedom has been secured.
Blood Price
Think, today, as you draw each breath, the wages for all your sin is death! Whatever you think, and whatever you’ve planned Is hostage, held by death’s demand. You pled your case to the Righteous Judge, But He said the Law just couldn’t budge, So Jesus took your ransom cost And satisfied it on His cross: In spite of every mistake you’ve made, When the Reaper swings his deadly blade, In spite of the way you’ve disobeyed, Great news! Your ransom has been paid!
Once there were some people who were never satisfied. They complained constantly and took offense at every slight. They weren’t happy, and they didn’t want anyone around them to be happy either. (Stop Me if You’ve Heard this Before…)
“As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (Exodus 14:10-12, NIV)
Whining is Unbecoming
The Israelites under Moses’ leadership were a study in contrasts, and no matter what happened, it seems they were never satisfied. They were miraculously delivered from slavery, and yet were ready to go back to their old lives at the first sign of trouble. Then the Hebrews reversed their field and went from rejoicing to rebellion in Exodus 15:24 (“the people grumbled against Moses”), and again in Exodus 16:3 (“If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!”). They saw miracles but lived in doubt. Insecurity plagued their every success, and they became unhappy, it seems, mere moments after being completely satisfied.
They followed Moses like [disobedient] children but then were ready to kill him in Exodus 17:4. Moses’ followers wanted leadership but rebelled against it early and often. They saw God’s hand at work in their lives in miraculous ways, and then forgot it almost immediately, expressing themselves in both public and private grumbling and complaining. Whatever the Israelites were intended to become, their constant whining prevented them from achieving it. They were blessed but not satisfied.
Perhaps the unifying characteristic of mankind is never having enough. So far in the Bible narrative, we see it over and over. Adam and Eve wanted more. Cain was unhappy about his status compared to his brother. The people around Noah wanted every evil thing, continually. The builders at Babel wanted a greater name, a higher place. And now, after miraculous deliverance from Egypt, the Israelites demanded more from Moses, and more from God.
Always a Long List
They hungered for the way things used to be, with appetites for things of the flesh rather than things of the Spirit. The Israelites blamed their leaders instead of having faith in the Lord. They longed for the comforts of slavery back in the fleshpots of Egypt, and kept turning away from the adventure of a life of faith. At times they wished they were back in bondage to Pharaoh—a god of this world—instead of walking in freedom with God.
Can you believe these guys? How could anybody be so stupid? They were given freedom; how could people be given the gift of freedom only to misuse it? How could they profess to have God in their lives and then totally forget about Him from time to time?
I’m sure you get it by now, but these guys are us. We are blessed but not satisfied; as God’s children we can walk in freedom with God, but often choose bondage to sin instead; we blame our leaders instead of following them; some vaguely hunger for spiritual maturity, but usually choose instead the temporary satisfaction of old habits and persistent, selfish sin. We criticize and marginalize rather than cooperate and build up. The journey of the inconsistent, immature, worldly, unfaithful Israelites is like a mirror given to us so that we can see how to walk with God. How are you doing? Learn. Walk. Be happy.
Satisfied With Less
There were folks who once received a blessing But still lived life as something just worth messing, Always stressing, transgressing, needing some confessing, never addressing how distressing it was that they were not progressing… They walked with God Himself along the way, And had the chance to see Him every day. Why, they could go right up to Him and pray! And yet they usually treated Him casually, Or intellectually, failing to really see How much He longed to be close to them, personally. They left theology for some debauchery, Sinned with ubiquity, Lived in iniquity– How could this ever be?? Guess what ?! It’s you and me.
My good friend Charlie Henderson worked for years in our company’s manufacturing facilities, and he is well-acquainted with both machine failure and human error. There are funny memes saying, “You only had ONE Job”, and I know Charlie heard that around the manufacturing plants all the time. One of his favorite sayings is, (especially when we see something that is patently ignorant or incredibly ill-conceived) “What could possibly go wrong??” You may be wondering what Charlie has to do with trees in the Garden, so I’ll try to connect the dots.
A Tale of Two Trees…
“Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:15-17 NKJV)
Actually, Way MORE than Two
When you first read the account of the fall, it’s easy to miss the significance of the trees. It’s easy to gloss over the ground rules, thinking yeah there was a test, and man failed. There were good trees and bad trees, and man ate from the bad one. But read the verses again. God told Adam, “You can eat of EVERY tree of the garden.”
How many trees do you suppose that covered? How many good trees could there be? I can picture an apple tree (it never says the forbidden fruit was an apple, by the way), pear trees, macadamia trees, peach trees, banana trees, plum trees, and chestnut trees… and oh yeah, there would be fig, grapefruit, mango, cashew, orange, date, olive, cherry, lemon, lime, pecan, avocado, coconut, almond, etc., etc.
And if the trees weren’t sufficient, God also gave man “every herb bearing seed”, so you’d have melons, berries, wheat, sugar cane, corn, you name it. If you allow for milk and eggs (which might be stretching things a bit) you could have peach cobbler with ice cream, pecan pie with whipped cream, chocolate cake with milk, and all kinds of culinary delights. Sure, there would have had to have been some trial and error (since recipes, ovens and refrigerators weren’t created yet) but the list of appetizing sustenance available to Adam and Eve was almost limitless in possibility.
One Tree, Though…
On the other hand, how many trees did God make off-limits? Just ONE. Just the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Do you see the disparity? God permitted far more than He denied. Human nature always wants to build a case based on the one restrictive thing rather than being grateful for the many permissible things in life.
Man could freely eat of many good things, but was forbidden only the… one… tree… (Charlie might ask here, “What could possibly go wrong?”) If God were just a legalist, there would have been many rules to follow and many bad things with consequences. We see that kind of structure later as man struggled in a fallen world, but in the Garden there were LOTS of good choices, and only one illegal choice.
What outcome for man was the Lord trying to suggest? Did he want you and me to live in harmony with him, walking eternally through His creation, or did He want us to die? God stacked the deck. He weighted the scales of justice in man’s favor. If the Garden of Eden tells us anything about God’s character, it is that He loves to bless His children, He provides abundantly, and He prefers grace and security over disobedience and death. All of that is still true.
Some Things Never Change
Unfortunately, what we learn about man’s character is also still true. We are easily bored, prone to dissatisfaction, willful, subject to temptation, and usually disobedient. Like Adam and Eve, we are drawn to eat forbidden fruit while surrounded by a feast, tempted to partake of temporary tidbits while sitting at a table with eternal bread.
Interesting that temporary and tempt both start with the same 4 letters—the tidbits of temptation are always temporary—and trust me, the tidbits always leave a bitter taste. If you want to live a fruitful life, then focus today on all of the many good things God has provided, and walk with Him. There could be some peach cobbler and ice cream ahead.
All those Trees…
Is religion more than just a bunch of do’s and don’ts? Is God only satisfied with way more wills than won’ts? Are we just a bunch of fools for following a bunch of rules, And is religion any more than God in heaven, keeping score? Consider this: in Eden, for as far as he could see Adam had the right to eat from every single tree. There was no fruit or bounty God restricted or kept hidden; One tree alone from hundreds had the fruit that was forbidden. And so it is with God, who never wanted to distress us: He offers countless choices for the ways He wants to bless us! We can live apart from God, and chase our every whim; Or we can do the simplest, smartest thing by choosing Him.
Temptation comes in many forms, but nowhere has it been depicted any more accurately than in this account in the book of Genesis:.
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Genesis 3:1-6, NIV)
An Archetype Worth Remembering
The account of man’s temptation and fall in the garden packs an incredible amount of truth into a very few words. Here are a few quick observations:
1) “Did God really say?” Twisting the truth is a sure path to ruin. It almost always opens the door to doubt, rationalization, and denial.
2) God gave man hundreds of fruits to say “yes” to and only ONE “no.” Man still chose the one wrong thing. We still do that today, don’t we? In the face of any number of blessings, we like what we like and we want what we want. Put another way, we will often choose selfishness and rebellion over love and obedience.
3) The story doesn’t tell us WHO added “and you must not touch it”. Eve could have been repeating what Adam told her. Men have always added their own burdens and interpretations to God’s command, starting with the first one. But perhaps adding more restriction to God’s statement made it easier to rationalize and therefore easier to break.
Lack of Presence Presents Opportunities
4) Adam was apparently off working or playing golf long enough for Eve to have a lengthy conversation with the serpent. The crafty serpent may have been hanging around for a while, biding his time. We often flirt with temptation a bit before accepting its invitation to dance. People rarely fall headlong into grievous sin; they sneak into it one step at a time, and everyone else is surprised when the marriage suddenly breaks up or the bigger theft occurs. Usually the temptation and response to it have been quietly growing over time…and so has the magnitude of sin. Like Bill Murray in “What About Bob?”, we take baby steps before we can take big steps.
5) The serpent was smart, and he went after both Eve and Adam very strategically. He tempted Eve by questioning the truth; the devious snake also offered her something tasty and “pleasing to the eye”. He attracted Eve with a desirable THING, something that appealed to her aesthetics AND her senses. Kinda like shopping. Or Pinterest. Women rise up in arms if anyone suggests that shopping is a sin, trust me on that one. But it relates to covetousness, and desiring things. Shopping in and of itself isn’t necessarily bad, but coveting something–desiring a thing, say, more than God–certainly is. That’s what drew Eve into sin.
Who’s in Charge?
6) He not only offered her a pretty, tasty snack, he offered her the opportunity to supplant the authority in her life, promising “you will be like God.” No longer would she chafe under Adam’s (or even God’s) control, she could take this shortcut to moral independence. What a temptation! What woman could resist that? I’m sure her new knowledge and worldliness was appealing to Adam as well, since it offered him also the chance to “be like god”. This has been tempting to all men and women under anyone else’s control ever since.
7) Adam was tempted not by a thing, but by a now-knowledgeable, naked Eve who was now able to dangle her fruit in front of him in ways he’d never thought of… what man could resist that? (The biggest selling Sports Illustrated edition every year has nothing to do with sports. Just sayin’.).
The writer of Genesis created a depiction of temptation and sin that has endured not just for centuries, but for millennia! Not only is the Genesis story mythological and archetypical, it is also still applicable. We still get messages that encourage our independence and selfishness more than ever. The next time the crafty old serpent tempts you to question what God has said, be reminded of John 8:32: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”
Aren’t You Tempted to Read This?
Somewhere in the Garden, Eve was left alone to hear The devious, crafty Serpent as he whispered in her ear: “Has God been over-bearing? Has He said you must not eat Of the Tree of Good and Evil? I have heard its fruit is sweet!” Then Eve embraced temptation, and a tiny bite was taken; Her heart and eyes were opened, but eternity was shaken! The Garden trembled that the Word of God had been forsaken…
Then Eve combined the fruit with all the new things that she knew, And Adam fell under her spell, and soon was eating, too! They suddenly knew many things, and suddenly felt shame; And after that, the world they knew would never be the same. Temptation still appears today, and offers us its fruit– That thing on Pinterest that we want, or a beautiful birthday suit– So if temptation comes your way, and craftily deceives, Hold fast to things that Jesus taught, and be one who believes. Sin can change your world just like with Adam’s. And with Eve’s.
Now that we are a couple of days past Passion Week, I’d like to peek back into the Old Testament at the larger narrative the Bible presents us. There are stories about slavery and redemption, conflict and love, and indeed about life and death that are connected to the Easter we just celebrated. For instance, Joseph’s jealous brothers sold him into slavery when he was just a teenager. It might have been better than killing him, but their actions still put him onto a difficult path in life and caused him great hardship. The Book of Genesis tells how Joseph overcame those hardships and grew in many ways beyond his circumstances. (Remember Potiphar’s wife? Prison? Pharaoh’s dreams?) As he languished in an Egyptian prison, do you think Joseph ever harbored bitterness against his brothers? Cursed his fate? Planned revenge, perhaps?
So, when a famine in Judea forced the brothers to Egypt seeking food, the plot thickened. The brothers found themselves under the authority of the one they had dismissed so cruelly. When they realized their position, they rightfully feared for their lives because Joseph had become a powerful man. His logical response would have been cruelty and vengeance, and very few would have blamed him if he had just done the worst things he could think of to brothers who had sold him out. But Joseph had another perspective, one that no one else saw coming…
A Different Perspective
“Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.” Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” (Genesis 50:18-20, NKJV) Joseph’s brothers conspired to kill him, and for Joseph it looked like his worst day ever. But at the last minute they relented and sold him into slavery instead.
Although he began as a slave, he ended up as a powerful man in Egypt. His brothers fell on hard times, and when they traveled to Egypt seeking help, they unwittingly wound up under his authority. The story of Joseph could have easily been one of righteous vengeance. If he had reflected the cultural and moral values of his day, Joseph would have sought to make his brothers pay for what they had done. It would have only been logical for him to take out his anger upon them, and I don’t imagine anyone would have questioned his right to vengeance.
A Larger Plan
After all, he rose to a position of prominence in Egypt, and became a man with power and resources. After years of separation, his brothers found themselves far from home in Egypt, totally at his mercy. They feared the worst, that he would exact his rightful revenge upon them. Instead, he offered them grace because he believed God had a larger plan.
Joseph’s response was another example of the difference between man’s way and God’s way. His answer offers perspective for us when bad things happen in a fallen world. We don’t always see it right away, but God can redeem even the worst things to accomplish something good.
Romans 8:28 says that He works “all things together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to His purpose.” It doesn’t say that only good will happen, or that all things will be ok. It doesn’t even say He will do it automatically for everyone.
Processing Differently
The secret of this oft-quoted verse is the same as the motivation behind Joseph’s statement to his brothers. It says that when you love God, and see yourself as called according to His purpose, you are able to process bad circumstances differently. You can operate in faith that God will turn trials into patience, bad circumstances into intimacy with Him and evil into good. That’s what Joseph believed. It’s also what Paul, James, and Peter taught in the early church.
As the foremost example of this, God took what is arguably the very worst day in human history (the day Christ was crucified) and turned it into the very best day in history (the day all men could be freed from the penalty of sin and redeemed!). Joseph may have been sold into slavery, but the Lord redeemed him for good. Isn’t the same thing true of us? We may have been trapped in the slavery of sin and death, but the Lord redeemed us out of bondage at the cross.
If God is able to transform the WORST day in history to the BEST day ever, then maybe it makes sense to trust Him with whatever happens to you today as well.
Tables Turned
Joseph’s jealous brothers almost had a plot to slay him; Instead they sold him as a slave, just thinking to betray him. When he rose to power, and they fell into his hand, He could have exercised revenge by giving a command. He told them, “Yes I know you didn’t treat me as you should, But what you meant for evil, God has transformed into good. It is the Lord Himself whose grace has given us this chance To see His hand at work for us in every circumstance.”
The Lord, whose grace has given us the chance to live forever, Has offered us eternal love no earthly thing can sever, And turned the very worst of days into the Best. Day. Ever.
How important is contemplation these days? Do you ever spend much time just thinking about meaningful stuff? In a modern world, perhaps that notion seems unrealistic. But today, looking back upon Easter and Passion Week, I thought we should do a little contemplation about contemplation.
Along those lines, Jesus told Philip something that deserves some contemplation. “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.” (John 14:10-11 NASB)
Contemplate The Need for Proof
Philip asked Jesus for proof: “show us the Father, and it will be enough.” It was a moment like in the Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy wanted to go home. The Wizard told her that, really, all she had to do was click the heels of the ruby slippers on her feet and say “There’s no place like home!”. Just do that, and she’d be back in Kansas! It turned out that she really had everything she needed right there, but she didn’t realize it. By asking Jesus for proof, it seems that Philip was in the same situation! He already had everything he needed right in front of him… But he wanted more.
As you contemplate that, it brings up an interesting question: Do WE ever keep asking for an answer when God has already given us one? Do we ever seek more proof when God has already provided more than enough? Two things here:
Reflecting the Spirit
1) Jesus performed the works he did (miracles) not because he had magical super powers, but because he was in the Father, abiding in him. He was so intimately connected to God that He did what God would do. It’s another way of describing “walking in the Spirit”. He was uniquely yielded and empowered, and his life reflected the results of having the Father in him. If what Jesus taught was true, then ours could reflect that as well.
Andrew Murray’s devotional Book, “Abide in Christ” (http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/murray/5f00.0562/5f00.0562.c.htm) offers a 31 day exercise in abiding that teaches how to do just that. Going through it is an enriching exercise that offers an antidote to the hustle and bustle of our “modern” world.
Deflecting the Reflecting
Since contemplation and time alone with God are part of the means to abide in Him, here’s a thought. If I was Satan, I would make contemplation and quiet time a thing of the past. I’d offer distractions to deflect God’s followers from reflection. I would fill the hours that were once available for reflection and connection with music, media and busy-ness.
If I was Satan, I’d provide music 24/7, sound-canceling headphones, 180+ channels on television, plus thousands more on the internet. I’d create fantasy-world games that could distract from real-world possibilities. Perhaps I could present “super” heroes who fight cosmic, cataclysmic battles with arch-villains as the fate of the world hung in the balance. If I were Satan, I’d fill people’s time with Pinterest, social media, Twitter, Snapchat, celebrities, and Facebook. They could argue about politics and extend hate to others they don’t even know… I would provide so much mental distraction that there would be no time for contemplation… I’d do that because I know that busy minds will never be intimately connected with the Father.
Words or Works?
2) What is keeping you from living by faith, and from doing the kind of works Jesus did? I’m sure Philip thought Jesus was an amazing guy, but apparently, he wasn’t yet completely convinced– and his lack of belief was holding him back from being amazing himself. Jesus said in John 14:12, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
I think we often limit ourselves because we aren’t sold out enough. We don’t really believe that Jesus was who he said he was. Put your faith to work, and invest a little quiet contemplation in who Jesus was. So, how do we get that information? I’d say if we want to know about the man John called “the Word”, we might try taking a little journey through THE WORD. Jesus said his words and works proved who he was. Either believe Jesus’ words, or believe his works. Perhaps if you contemplate HIS, it will impact YOURS…
Contemplation Template
Perhaps you could allow me just a small interrogation: How often does your day include some quiet contemplation? Spend some time with Jesus, have some two-way conversation; Allow yourself to feel the Holy Spirit’s inspiration! Search the Scriptures for him; do a small investigation, Reflecting on his character and seeking calibration. Get to know him well enough to do some imitation: You’ll find that Christ in You is a creative combination!
Passion Week: Ten Days that Changed the World, Day NINE (Matthew. 27:57-66; Luke 23:47-56; John 19:31-42):
As Friday came to a close and the Sabbath began, the Gospels report that two somewhat surprising figures step forward to make arrangements for Jesus’ body. “Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night“. (John 19:38-39, NIV)
Unlikely Heroes
The appearance of these men is very surprising, even though we know both of them had been involved with Jesus before. But, as Pharisees or members of the council, they took great risks to bury Jesus. They identified themselves with him on this Sabbath Eve when there was seemingly nothing to gain and everything to lose. They faced ostracism and persecution for taking this action, but their love for Jesus was so strong they did it anyway.
A Good Question
I’d love to know what their stories were after this, what risks they took to go get Jesus’ body, and how it affected them the rest of their lives… (Won’t it be cool to ask them?) And their actions make me question something… How many of us follow Jesus just because we love him, rather than for what he can do for us? I know that’s hard to separate, but it’s a question worth asking yourself on Easter. We can read about the Apostles in Acts, but there was unheralded heroism among so many followers of Jesus in those early days that it will be fascinating to hear their stories.
A Very Tough Day for Some
Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath) was a quiet day, when Israelites did not work or move around much. This Sabbath began with Jesus dead and in the grave. Judas has committed suicide. The disciples are scattered and afraid. Peter in particular must have spent this day completely broken over how he let Jesus down. (John tells us how Peter “wept bitterly”.) The boldest disciple failed to identify with Jesus when it counted most, and I imagine that he spent the day utterly distraught over what he had done and hadn’t done…
You and I have had broken days or moments like that…Just remember that it’s Saturday, but Sunday’s coming! (If you haven’t heard Tony Campolo’s great sermon “Sunday’s Coming!” do yourself a favor and listen to it sometime.)
As you reflect on Good Friday and the cross, there are many things to consider. Sin is a deadly business. So was paying for it. You’ve seen images of the cross. The crucifixion day has been vividly portrayed in songs, films and books that provide context and emotional connection to how Christ suffered and died and what his death accomplished. Simply put, he paid for the sins of the world, for your sins and mine, and offered himself as a voluntary sacrifice. I believe if there werean easier way, God the Father would surely have provided it. Since it was the ONLY way, God the Son carried out his mission.
A Personal Sacrifice With a Cosmic Result
As Paul said, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” (Romans 5:17, NIV).
Caiaphas was obviously not in agreement with nor aware of the true outcome of Christ’s mission. But he was inadvertently spot on when he advocated getting rid of Jesus so that the Romans would not punish Israel for insurrection. “You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” (John 11:50, NIV) One man indeed died so that all could live, just not the way Caiaphas intended.
The day between the cross and Easter is the pivotal day in human history. It offers a chance to reflect on the pivotal statement in all of human history, which came from the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus. You remember him, the man who showed up to take Jesus’ body for burial? When he visited Jesus, Jesus told him: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If that sentence is true, then ALL OTHER SENTENCES pale in comparison. Easter Sunday is the exclamation point on that sentence. What do YOU believe about the cross?
A Little Word About Easter
It’s not about fertility, or lilies in the Spring; It’s not about the things that bloom or little birds that sing. It isn’t Easter baskets, filled with Peeps and Easter treats, Like chocolate bunny rabbits or a bunch of egg-shaped sweets. Easter is much more than children scrambling on a search– It’s even more than Easter Sunday worshipping at church. Easter means that one man sinned, and through that sin we fell, Unable to redeem ourselves or save ourselves from hell! Until on Easter Jesus conquered death, and time, and space, And took my punishment for sin: He died, and took my place.
He bore the scourging and the cross, and Satan’s mocking laugh, And saw his mission to the end. And died on our behalf. Easter saw him conquer sin and death–the scourge of men, And lift us to the heavens with Him when He rose again! So while you hunt for Easter eggs, just please remember this: Jesus died and rose again. That’s what Easter is.
Thursday was perhaps the longest day of Passion Week, since events occurred deep into the night and continued straight on into Friday. Early on Thursday evening the disciples shared the Last Supper and heard Jesus speak about things they didn’t understand. “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” (Mark 14:22-24, NIV)
Little Bible Mysteries
On Thursday Jesus and his disciples ate the Last Supper together. While the disciples were probably still a little giddy over the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus continued to prepare them for what was coming. First, he reminded them that God provides when we do not see a way. In terms of logistics, Mark 14 recounts how he told them to find a man carrying a water pot, who would show them a large room already prepared for their supper. Who was that man? Who prepared the Upper Room?
I have a feeling that in the Kingdom we will get to know many such anonymous heroes of the faith, who quietly worked behind the scenes to fulfill God’s mission and to do what Christ asked of them without seeking credit. How many good deeds would we do if nobody ever knew? Jesus was showing the disciples that there was more about love than public display of affection…
Bittersweet Moments
He knew that Judas was going to betray him and that Peter was going to deny knowing him. Certainly the sacrifice of the Passover lamb was not lost on him, and if you think about how Jesus must have felt during dinner, it is an incredibly poignant moment. At dinner he told them frankly that they would all desert him, and all protested that they’d never do such a thing! He knew they loved him, and he knew they’d fail.
Have you ever had good intentions, and promised the Lord you’d never forsake him? And then you did it anyway? Remember what happened with the disciples and take heart! (During Passion Week they turned their backs on their best friend, and ended the week feeling hopeless and defeated. But something happened that changed their minds and changed the world!)
Human Desires, Heavenly Instruction
In Luke’s account they argued about who would be the greatest in the new kingdom, and he used this time to teach them. If you knew you had but two days to live, what would you share with your family and friends? What final things would you say to them? Jesus told them (and us) to love one another. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35, NIV).
Christians celebrate this day as Maundy Thursday, and I always wondered what that meant. “Maundy” comes from the Latin word mandatum, or commandment, reflecting Jesus’ words “I give you a new commandment.”
In this case, Jesus literally demonstrated his lesson by humbling himself as a servant and washing their feet. (And in a land without indoor plumbing, dust was not the only thing that made feet stinky and dirty—which is why foot washing was such a degrading task.) Jesus told them to serve one another, and to lead through service.
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:14-15, NIV) The church today celebrates this as “Maundy Thursday” as the day Jesus performed this act of service, but the word actually comes through old French and Middle English from the Latin mandatum, or mandate. Jesus said, “a new mandate I give to you, that you love one another”, and demonstrated it by serving.
The Opposite of Congress
Servant leaders are a rare commodity, and you have to believe Jesus thought this was a pretty important concept, since he emphasized it with this very personal object lesson. Imagine having Jesus kneel in front of YOUR chair, looking up and locking eyes for a moment as he cleanses your dirty feet. What kind of person have those feet carried? Where all have those feet been? His eyes see deeply into yours, full of knowledge and forgiveness as he washes the unwholesome residue of your journey away. Along with Peter (that OTHER cowardly denier) we say, “No Lord! I am not worthy!” Still looking compassionately into our eyes, Jesus says, “Yes, my child, you are.”
On Thursday night they go out to the Mount of Olives to Gethsemane, where Jesus prays, and the disciples fall asleep. (We are incredulous that they do, but seriously, have YOU ever fallen asleep while praying? Thought so!) Judas brokers his deal with the Pharisees, and they come out with armed guards to arrest Jesus.
The Impossible Arrest
John’s take on this is interesting, to me one of the most fascinating vignettes about Jesus’ power in all of Scripture: “Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I AM he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.)
When Jesus said, “I AM he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” (John 18:3-5, NIV, emphasis mine). When just the sound of his voice was enough to make a group of tough armed guards fall down, do you think they could have taken Jesus by force unless he allowed it? No way! It would have been impossible for guards to capture Jesus, which he demonstrated over and over.
Up until now, Jesus avoided capture whenever he chose (See Luke 4:30, John 2:4, 7:30, 8:59, and 10:39) but at this point he allowed himself to be taken. He told Peter to put his sword away because he intends to drink from the cup that has been set before him. Again, he is a volunteer on this mission, not a victim of circumstance.
Lots Going On
Thursday is a busy night. Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss. Peter denies knowing Jesus three times, locks eyes with Jesus across an open courtyard, and then goes out and weeps bitterly. John is close enough to Caiaphas’ house to record what transpired there, but technically ALL the disciples betrayed Jesus because there is NO ONE who tries to stand up for him against the Sanhedrin…
It’s easy from a distance to judge these cowards until you stop and think: has there ever been a time when YOU didn’t acknowledge knowing him? When YOU didn’t stand up for him, if even in the quietness of your own heart when temptation to sin beckoned you? I understand the cowardly disciples better when I take an honest look at MYSELF.
All the Way
The high priest’s guards blindfolded and beat Jesus, saying, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” And things were just getting started. This sleepless night initiates an exhausting journey to the cross, which Jesus could have chosen to avoid at any time. The Son of God did not HAVE to go through with this. He had a choice in every moment and could have called upon Angels to minister to him, to end the exhaustion and the pain and suffering. Yeah, we all might have been lost, but HE would still have been the Son of God. So, what made him do it?
One of my favorite verses is tucked quietly into John’s account: “It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” (John 13:1) Jesus went to trial, endured betrayals and beatings and humiliation and the cross because he loved us all the way to the end. May we love one another in the same way, and not just at Christmas and Easter…
The Definition I Can Defend
We love in many ways. We love a pet, a spouse, a friend; We seal love with a kiss in all the love-letters that we send. We offer love to children, and to families when they blend, And recognize that love–true love–is more than just a trend… We measure love in magnitude, in what it may transcend, And hope that it is something upon which we can depend. But, what’s the greatest kind of love which someone can extend? What defines love in a way that we can comprehend? Well, here’s Thursday thought on love that I would recommend: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”
