Attitude

"...they all complained saying, "Look, this man has gone to eat with a man who is a sinner." Luke 19:7

An item in the news recently was of interest to us as reasonably new residents in NZ.  The Inland Revenue Department is considering making it compulsory to submit a tax return.  That's an interesting concept for we have mainly lived in countries where submitting a tax return was a requirement.  Colin had submitted one last year (which turned out to be to our benefit), and was surprised as how easy it is to do it online.

Anyway.....the point I am getting to is really that tax collectors have generally been unpopoular since early times.  In Palestine in Jesus' time they were doubly unpopular because 1) they were collecting taxes for the Romans who ruled over the land and 2) they were often cheats and took extra for themselves.  Such was Zaccheus, a man not blessed with height, but one who was so eager to see Jesus that he climbed a tree along the roadside to get a better view of him.  Never for a moment did he think that Jesus would see him and his life would be changed that day, but he was a man to whom salvation was on its way.

For those of us who have heard this story since Sunday School days and sung the song about him, we know that Jesus looked up and said, "Come Zaccheus, I'm coming to your house to eat!"  So accustomed as he was to rejection from his fellow man, that acceptance from this controversial man called Jesus took him by surprise and did something to Zaccheaus' heart.  He changed, gave half his money to the poor and committed to repay monies he had wrongfully taken - fourfold!  All the religious people outside could do was complain that Jesus could eat with a sinner.  Their attitude would ensure that they would receive nothing from Jesus.

It is so easy for some of us to have a wrong attitude towards people we don't agree with, especially those who have a reputation for doing the wrong thing.  Yet Jesus' attitude towards Zaccheaus shows us what can happen if we show God's love and acceptance to them.  Let's allow God's grace and unconditional love flow through us to the unlovely.  It may be that God is drawing them to himself and just needs a vessel to use.  Let's see potential for change in everyone and write no one off as beyond help.  God's unconditional love is life-changing.

PRAYER:  Lord, forgive me for the times I have neglected to see potential for good in people.  Help me to tune into your Spirit and allow your unconditional love flow through me to those who you are drawing to yourself.  Amen

Wisdom

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My son(daughter) be wise and make my heart glad.  Proverbs 27:11

We all want our children to be wise and to make good life decisions.  We often offer them more wisdom than they want.  Sometimes they listen and heed us but more often they probably think we are weird or just not up with the times and don't understand, so they go ahead and follow their own wisdom,  what they think will work.

But what about us?  God's vast wisdom is available to us freely (James 1:5), do we seek him, our heavenly Father, when making life decisions, even small ones, or do we lean on our own limited wisdom? That is quite an important question to ask.  One of my favourite verses is found in Proverbs 3:5-7 and it says this, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you the path to take."   It's pretty clear advice to God's people.  So often we don't do that because when passion is involved we can make some really poor choices.

Earlier this year we were thinking about how we wanted to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. We thought a European river cruise would be great but then we saw the struggles going on in Europe  with refugees etc and we decided against it.  HOWEVER, we recently received a brochure from one company offering really good deals, we got excited, even went to the travel agent and began to lock some things in, but we did involve God.  We prayed that God's wisdom would prevail: if details all fell into place over the weekend we would go ahead, if not, we would cancel.  Well, details did not fall into place and we cancelled.  We were a little disappointed, until two days later terrorism reared its ugly head again, this time in Belgium, and we felt glad to have followed God's wisdom.

In reading details surrounding Jesus' trial we see clearly how passion can cause people to make very wrong decisions. They put Jesus before Pilate who found no wrong in him but sent him to Herod to make sure.  Herod found no wrong in him and sent him back to Pilate.  He put it to the crowd, "I find nothing worthy of death has been done by him.  I will therefore chastise him and release him.  .....And they all cried out at once saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas." Luke 23:13-24.  Three chances were given, three choices made...."crucify him".

In their passion they chose Barabbas, a terrorist; one convicted of insurrection against the government  and murder.   They chose instead to crucify Jesus, the most innocent man of all time.  Yes, we know God's hand was in this to bring about our salvation but it is a clear example of how passion can cause us to make very crazy decisions.

Will you choose to commit your decisions to God and follow his wisdom to make his heart glad?

Prayer:  Father God, forgive me for the times I have gone my own way, relying on my own wisdom.  Help me to remember to hold things loosely and ask your wisdom in life decisions. Amen

Crisis

But you O Lord God are a God full of compassion...Psalm 86:15

Do you ever wonder how you would react in a crisis? In this lead up to Easter I am thinking again of how the disciples and other followers of Jesus reacted and asking myself "what would I have done?"

Jesus had made no secret of the fact that he was about to be betrayed and given over to hostile authorities to "go the way that had been determined" for him (Luke 22:21-22). Peter swore that he would be loyal, stand with him through thick and thin but he had a lot to learn about himself.  Jesus knew that Peter would fail and he pre-warned him but he also said "I have prayed for you that your faith would not fail" (Luke 22:33-34).

So what did Peter do in the ensuing crisis?  At first he was 'strong' and brash. When the arresting party came he took a sword and cut of the ear of the servant of the high priest.  Jesus healed the ear said "Permit this (to happen)." He knew his time had come.  Peter followed on and watched from a distance in the courtyard.  He was recognised as a follower of Jesus by three people over the course of an hour or two and each time he denied that he even knew him.  It was a dangerous time, others had fled but he stayed.  He thought he was the strong one. When he realised his weakness in standing with Jesus, and his utter failure, he went from that courtyard and wept, a broken man.

At the cross were John with Mary the mother of Jesus and 2 other Marys.  No doubt lost in grief over the events of the past few hours and now watching the agony of his death on the cross.  The worst kind of death imaginable and to a man who was blameless in every way.  They stood close enough to hear Jesus speak, committing the care of his mother to his friend John.

On the first day of the week, after the sabbath had been kept, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb where Jesus had been laid to anoint his body but the tomb was empty.  She ran to tell the others and Peter and John came running to see if it was true, and seeing that it was they took off again to report back to the others but Mary stayed in the garden near the tomb and there she had her own special encounter with the risen Lord.  In her crisis she pressed in, stayed close and Jesus met with her (John 20).

In times of crisis, grief and sorrow we have different reactions and Jesus understands.  Some are angry in their pain and loss, accusing God of not caring and "How could he do this?" Others, like Mary stay in a place where Jesus is able to comfort them and speak to them.  She had questions, she didn't understand it all, but she lingered to be near him and he met with her.

What will you do?  No matter what your response is, Jesus will still love you, but if you tuck in to him you will have the benefit of his comfort.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that even in my darkest times you will come to comfort me. Help me to stay humble, trusting you in my pain.  Amen

Underneath

The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms...Deuteronomy 33:27

Recently I  took a weekend trip to Christchurch with my sister, my niece and great niece to see Cirque du Soleil's final ever performance of Quidam after 20 years of performing around the world.  I spent a lot of the evening shaking my head in unbelief at the feats of strength and acrobatic skills that would have taken hours and hours to perfect.  The most heart-stopping act came close to the end when men stood on shoulders, three high then a team that I call a 'human trampoline' hurled a girl into the air and she landed upright on the shoulders of those men never missing a beat.  Prior to that she had been tossed to and fro, hither and yon by so many different people it was difficult to keep up.

(No photography allowed in Cirque so this picture is not them but something similar.)

As I watched all of this I thought about the absolute trust these acrobats had to have in each other in so many ways; not to mention the equipment that they used and the behind the scenes people who worked the equipment.  Such an exercise of total and fearless trust - in their fellow man.

This is the kind of trust that our heavenly Father would like to see from us as we put ourselves in his hands. Perhaps you are facing what seems to be an insurmountable hurdle or a huge disappointment, maybe you feel God challenging you to step out into a new area of ministry and you are so afraid to fail.  He is our refuge, the eternal God, the one who is in us and with us and all around us.  He has promised that he will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), he has said that if we need wisdom we are to ask and it will be given liberally (James 1:5).  He is all we need and if we fall, then underneath are the everlasting arms.  He gives us a soft place to fall and a place to hide while we heal.  His faithfulness is so amazing as written in this wonderful old hymn by Annie Johnson Flint

His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men,
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.

Will you think on the truth of His word and trust yourself afresh to His promises and find the joy of scaling new heights with Him who has called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.

Prayer:  Mighty and faithful God, thank  you that I am your child and you are my Father.  Help me to return to full trust in your wisdom and faithfulness.  Amen

Get Real

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.  Hebrews 4:13

It's funny what one thinks about at times.  I was sitting looking at the units behind us and remembering how, not many months ago, I was watching this building under construction and now it's occupied by lovely new neighbours.

I was particularly thinking about the roof and the layers that are now hidden beneath the iron.  The trusses went up, pre-formed and then each was secured firmly by builders.  Later it was covered by layers of insulation, and what looked like plastic wrap, and then the roofers came and covered it up.  Later the electricians came and threaded an incredible maze of wires, not only for power and TV,  telephone and internet but also for call buttons in case we ever need help.  Yes, lots is hidden under that roof!  It will keep out the rain and the cold and offer protection from the sun.

We humans have something in common with roofs.  We have a nice clean 'roof' that we show the world, yet hidden underneath may be hidden many layers of 'stuff' that protect us from really being seen for who we are.  Why do we hide?  Usually because we are afraid that "if they really knew what I was like" or if they knew what I had done", they wouldn't like me.

If you find yourself thinking these kind of thoughts I have a question for you.  Do you really think that you are unique in having 'a past'.  I have news for you!  We all have things that we are ashamed of to one degree or another because God says that we have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and if we say we have not sinned the Bible says we are calling God a liar (1 John 1:10).

Trying to hide things from people and from God is such a useless waste of energy.  People can often see through us and mostly love us anyway (if they are walking in the love of God), and God knows all about us and loves us anyway.  Remember what he sent Jesus to suffer and shed his blood for?  So that we might have his righteousness and not have to worry about our own 'goodness' any longer.  So let's get real with God and with others and save all that energy we use on keeping up appearances.  Your honesty and transparency about your past may just help someone else get free of their big cover up too.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, forgive me from trying to hide my shame from you, thank you that you know me inside out and love me anyway.  Forgive me for being afraid to be known for who I really am with others.  Help me to get real and be free from trying to be something I am not. Amen

Sleeping in the Storm

As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.  Luke 8:23

As I read this story of Jesus sleeping in the boat that was filling with water while the disciples battled to keep the boat afloat in the raging waters, I am reminded of how we can so easily think that God is asleep in the midst of our troubles, and we have to keep things afloat.  Our problem is often that we feel we need to be in control or at least have things looking like they are in order.

How difficult it is for us ,(read me).  to watch a situation occurring and to just let it happen.  It's not in my nature,  I want to fix things.  Actually that means I want to be in control.  It is so interesting that God allows things to get messy sometimes in order to bring about His purposes.  If we try to fix things, we can actually prevent him from being able to bring about the best solution to the issue.

Let's face it, a lot of us are 'fixers'.  Would we have allowed Moses to spend 40 years minding sheep in the desert?  A clever young man like him, such a great upbringing, such leadership capabilities.  Shepherding??  What a waste!  Yet God was using that time in the desert as a character-building exercise for Moses.  There was a time for his leadership skills to be used......actually the time was when he had no confidence in himself. (Exodus 4).

In Ecclesiastes 3:11 the writer says that "there is a time for everything....".  That time is the right time, God's time and his timing is perfect.  Have you noticed how many stories and prophecies in the Bible demonstrate the absolutely perfect timing in what God does.  I have to tell you he IS in control.

As we watch world events seeming to move from critical to chaotic, we Christians can rest in the peace of knowing that God has perfect timing in it all.  Man thinks he has to work it all out but just when he thinks he's got it sorted something else will happen to show that he doesn't.  We don't just do nothing, we pray earnestly for the things we see!

God is not asleep in your situation, he maybe waiting for you to hand things over to him and leave it in his hands for his purposes and his timing.  Yes, there are times when we need to act, but let's allow God to tell us when that is, and not to just assume that it's our responsibility to resolve something or make it happen. Hand your situation over to him with the confidence that he has it in his control then you will be able to get some sleep in your storm.

Prayer:  Father, forgive me to wanting to be the fixer in situations.  Help me to see that you may have a special purpose in allowing things to happen.  Help me to commit things to you and trust you to work them out.  Amen

The Fear Factor

And all the people in that region begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear had swept over them.  Luke 8:37 (NLT)

One of the most effective weapons of Satan, our arch enemy, is fear, and in Christian circles we probably don't address 'the fear factor' often enough.  We need to bring things into the light and take a look at them in different ways so we don't get 'the wool pulled over our eyes'.

In this story in Luke 8 we see Jesus arriving by boat in the area of the Gadarenes and being immediately confronted with  a very demon possessed man. He works an amazing miracle of deliverance on him the result of which, for the man, was great joy, and a desire to follow Jesus.  On the other hand, the people in the region were overcome with 'a great wave of fear' and they begged Jesus to depart from them.

What were they afraid of?  After all hadn't they been afraid of the mad man who had run naked among the tombs? Now that threat had gone you would think they would be pleased.  No way!  They just saw Jesus as a threat to their livelihood because a herd of pigs had been 'sacrificed' in the course of the deliverance (read the story).  In begging Jesus to depart and leave them to their 'safe and comfortable' environment they were robbing themselves and their community of a much greater  blessing through the teaching and ministry of Jesus.

How often do we deny Jesus entrance into a part of our life because we fear that he will make changes that we won't like, or ask us to do something we feel we are not able to do, or we think he will deny us things that we really, really want?   When we do that we are operating in fear and doing the same as these Gadarenes did.  We are actually depriving ourselves of great blessing because Jesus  said that he came so that we might have the best kind of life (John 10:10).  He also promised to give us grace to do whatever he asks of us (2 Corinthians 12:9) and he will help us (Hebrews 13:6).  Jesus came to show us exactly what God, our Father, is like, loving, affirming, safe, able to be trusted, willing to give His very life for us?  Why do we believe Satan's lies that He only wants to deprive or harm us?

Why do we fear?  Because we lack faith.  When the disciples were fearful in the storm on the lake Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith (Matthew 8:26).  Fear is the opposite of faith, there is no way around it.  Faith and fear cannot exist together, one has to go.  You get to choose which one you will entertain.  If you find yourself fearful you need to read your Bible and get to know the One who is faithful and true and will protect you as you put your trust in Him. Then step out of the boat!

As we see all kinds of terrible things happening in our world we have an opportunity to exercise our faith in God who is still the creator and sustainer of all things and in whom all things hold together.  Our times are in his hands, his control, and that gives me peace.  I pray you will escape the clutches of fear and put your faith in your wonderful heavenly Father.

Daniel 11:32b says, "..the people who know their God shall be strong and do exploits." They know Him by personal experience, that He can be trusted so they put their trust in Him. Do you know Him?

Prayer:  Father God, you long to see me walk in faith, trusting in you as I face the challenges of life and not turn away from you in fear.  Help me to return to the trust that a child has toward a good earthly Father.  Amen