- God has the freedom to answer our prayers in ways that we don’t anticipate or understand. Jerry Sitser reminds us that prayer does not normally “send an arrow straight to the target” but rather more often than not “shoots an arrow that curves and ricochets and even appears to fall short.”2 Because of a recent move, his family has been praying for the home that he own in Ohio to sell for more than a year. Then, he finally received an offer, had a contract, and our prayers were answered. While waiting for the deal to be finalized, a rain storm flooded the lower level of his house and now his house is back on the market.
We can pray for God to deliver a friend from an addiction and observe the addiction grip them more tightly. We can pray for God to meet our needs and watch our bank account get smaller.
We become frustrated or resentful (or perhaps even stop praying) in these situations because we believe that God’s promise to answer prayer is our guarantee of a smooth and easy life with no bumps in the road. We trust God and he fills the orders. The reality is that God sometimes responds to prayer by bringing more difficulty into our lives. That adversity deepens character, develops faith, and drives us to more desperately seek God. The difficulty may even become the means by which God answers our prayers, just like it was for the Hebrew slaves down in Egypt.
IV. We need to remember that unanswered prayer is not an indication of God’s lack of power.
The delay in Israel’s answer to prayer had nothing to do with God experiencing a power outage. God’s power is all over the book of Exodus. I like to envision the exodus story as a real-life “smackdown” between God and Pharaoh, not like those of the fake variety that you see watching wrestling on television.
In this contest, there is first of all a battle of dueling words. In Exodus 5:1, Moses goes to Pharaoh and announces, "This is what the Lord says ? 'Let my people go.'" Then in 5:10, the slave drivers announce, "This is what the Pharaoh says ? "No more straw to make bricks for these lazy Hebrews.'" There's a challenge here ? whose word is going to stand?
The next thing we see is a battle of dueling snakes in Exodus 7. Aaron's rod becomes a snake in front of the Pharaoh, but the Pharaoh isn't all that impressed because his magicians perform the same trick. But then, . . . Aaron's snake eats up the Egyptian snakes. What's the point? The cobra was the symbol of the Pharaoh's power, and the Egyptians worshipped cobra-deities that were supposed to protect them. The Pharaoh isn’t ready to admit defeat, but Aaron’s snake had the first “power lunch” in history.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Answers For Unanswered Prayer...Continued page 2
Answers For Unanswered Prayer.. page 1
II. We need to remember God’s care and concern even when our prayers are not being answered.
God’s complete answer to Israel’s prayer in 2:23 doesn’t come for twelve long chapters, but notice what follows immediately in verse 24 ? a reminder of God’s concern for his people. As soon as Israel “groans” and “cries,” God “hears.” God is immediately touched by the cry of his people.
The name of “Yahweh” is prominent in the book of Exodus. When Moses asks for God’s name at the burning bush, God answers that his name is “I AM” (the first-person form of Yahweh) (3:14). What does that name mean? Why does the disclosure of the personal name of the God of the universe sound like the old Abbott and Costello routine “Who’s on first?” This name “I am” could mean self-existence; it could mean eternality, but those ideas are really too abstract for what is conveyed in this story. Yahweh is God’s covenant name, and it means that He is the ever-present helper who is there for his people. It means that God hears the cry of His people as soon as the cry goes up.
You don’t have to use a magic formula to get God’s attention. You don’t have to build up enough faith to earn his answer. You don’t have to weary God into giving in. God is concerned at the very moment we come to him with our needs and requests because we belong to him.
III. We need to remember that when we pray, things may get worse before they ever get better.
In the story of the exodus, the children of Israel prayed and things got a lot worse before they ever started to get better.1 In Exodus 5, Moses tells the Pharaoh, “Let my people go!” The Pharaoh’s response was not to say, “Thank you, Moses, for bringing this gross injustice to my attention. I’ll start the paperwork to expedite their release right away.” His response was to take away the straw that the Hebrews had used to make bricks. Moses’s career as a labor union negotiator did not get off to a brilliant start. The Pharaoh became more hard-hearted and oppressive than ever. Right before the ultimate deliverance at the Red Sea, Israel was between a rock and a hard place ? the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian army behind them. God chose not to answer fully and finally until things were as bad as they could possibly be.
God’s complete answer to Israel’s prayer in 2:23 doesn’t come for twelve long chapters, but notice what follows immediately in verse 24 ? a reminder of God’s concern for his people. As soon as Israel “groans” and “cries,” God “hears.” God is immediately touched by the cry of his people.
The name of “Yahweh” is prominent in the book of Exodus. When Moses asks for God’s name at the burning bush, God answers that his name is “I AM” (the first-person form of Yahweh) (3:14). What does that name mean? Why does the disclosure of the personal name of the God of the universe sound like the old Abbott and Costello routine “Who’s on first?” This name “I am” could mean self-existence; it could mean eternality, but those ideas are really too abstract for what is conveyed in this story. Yahweh is God’s covenant name, and it means that He is the ever-present helper who is there for his people. It means that God hears the cry of His people as soon as the cry goes up.
You don’t have to use a magic formula to get God’s attention. You don’t have to build up enough faith to earn his answer. You don’t have to weary God into giving in. God is concerned at the very moment we come to him with our needs and requests because we belong to him.
III. We need to remember that when we pray, things may get worse before they ever get better.
In the story of the exodus, the children of Israel prayed and things got a lot worse before they ever started to get better.1 In Exodus 5, Moses tells the Pharaoh, “Let my people go!” The Pharaoh’s response was not to say, “Thank you, Moses, for bringing this gross injustice to my attention. I’ll start the paperwork to expedite their release right away.” His response was to take away the straw that the Hebrews had used to make bricks. Moses’s career as a labor union negotiator did not get off to a brilliant start. The Pharaoh became more hard-hearted and oppressive than ever. Right before the ultimate deliverance at the Red Sea, Israel was between a rock and a hard place ? the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian army behind them. God chose not to answer fully and finally until things were as bad as they could possibly be.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Answers For Unanswered Prayer
Exodus 2:22-23
Chaplain Max Helton prayed beside the car of Dale Earnhardt prior to the start of the 2001 Daytona 500. Earnhardt told Helton, "Just pray that I'll be wise in putting the car at the right place at the right time . . . and be able to drive with wisdom.” Holding hands, they prayed for wisdom and safety. In that very race, Earnhardt lost his life in a final lap crash.
We have all had the experience of unanswered prayer. We pray for God’s healing for a loved one. We pray for God to bring revival and renewal to our churches. We pray for the suicide bombings to end and for our troops to come home. Why does nothing seem to change when God has promised us, “Ask and you will receive”? Is Jesus being totally truthful when he tells us, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it”?
We will never have all the answers to unanswered prayer, but the story of the exodus in the Old Testament provides us with some important perspectives when we are struggling with the silence of heaven. In Exodus 2:23, Israel cries out for God to deliver them from their bondage in Egypt. The people waited for twelve long chapters, a wait that must have seemed like forever, before God completely answered their prayers. What we learn from their waiting will help us the next time we are struggling with unanswered prayer or God’s answer is not what we have asked for or expected.
I. We need to remember that God is answering our prayers even before we pray them.
Before the people ever pray for deliverance, God has already begun the process of providing a deliverer. A baby at the beginning of chapter two is the unknown answer to the prayer at the end of chapter two. Even when Moses goes from being a prince in Egypt to a fugitive in Midian, there is a reminder that God has a special purpose for Moses’s life. In Midian, Moses drives away a bunch of bullies who are harassing the daughters of Jethro and he waters their sheep. It foreshadows precisely what Moses is going to do for Israel ? he’s going to confront the biggest bully of all and then spend 40 years of his life taking care of God’s sheep.
When you’re waiting for an answer to prayer it helps to remember that God already has the answer worked out before we are even aware enough to know our need or articulate the words of our prayers. God knows the beginning, middle, and end of every circumstance and situation. Jesus reminds us that “your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Israel needed a deliverer and the Lord knew about it before Israel even asked.
Chaplain Max Helton prayed beside the car of Dale Earnhardt prior to the start of the 2001 Daytona 500. Earnhardt told Helton, "Just pray that I'll be wise in putting the car at the right place at the right time . . . and be able to drive with wisdom.” Holding hands, they prayed for wisdom and safety. In that very race, Earnhardt lost his life in a final lap crash.
We have all had the experience of unanswered prayer. We pray for God’s healing for a loved one. We pray for God to bring revival and renewal to our churches. We pray for the suicide bombings to end and for our troops to come home. Why does nothing seem to change when God has promised us, “Ask and you will receive”? Is Jesus being totally truthful when he tells us, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it”?
We will never have all the answers to unanswered prayer, but the story of the exodus in the Old Testament provides us with some important perspectives when we are struggling with the silence of heaven. In Exodus 2:23, Israel cries out for God to deliver them from their bondage in Egypt. The people waited for twelve long chapters, a wait that must have seemed like forever, before God completely answered their prayers. What we learn from their waiting will help us the next time we are struggling with unanswered prayer or God’s answer is not what we have asked for or expected.
I. We need to remember that God is answering our prayers even before we pray them.
Before the people ever pray for deliverance, God has already begun the process of providing a deliverer. A baby at the beginning of chapter two is the unknown answer to the prayer at the end of chapter two. Even when Moses goes from being a prince in Egypt to a fugitive in Midian, there is a reminder that God has a special purpose for Moses’s life. In Midian, Moses drives away a bunch of bullies who are harassing the daughters of Jethro and he waters their sheep. It foreshadows precisely what Moses is going to do for Israel ? he’s going to confront the biggest bully of all and then spend 40 years of his life taking care of God’s sheep.
When you’re waiting for an answer to prayer it helps to remember that God already has the answer worked out before we are even aware enough to know our need or articulate the words of our prayers. God knows the beginning, middle, and end of every circumstance and situation. Jesus reminds us that “your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Israel needed a deliverer and the Lord knew about it before Israel even asked.
Second Coming Of Christ
Did you know that the type most newspapers use for astounding events is called "second coming" type? These are large, heavy, black letters reserved for only the most stupendous, amazing, front page news - such as the return of Jesus Christ. Many will remember seeing this banner headline used to announce the surrenders of Germany and Japan, marking the end of World War II. It also told the news of the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the shooting of President Reagan. This blood heading style has proclaimed successful flights into space, presidential election winners, and other dramatic events of universal importance.
One day mankind will witness the great event for which the "second coming" type was named for - the return of Jesus Christ. Yes, the savior will literally come back to this planet He left so long ago. He will fulfill the promise He gave to His disciples before He ascended to heaven. And when He does, it will command the attention of all earth's inhabitants. The whole world will know that the Lord Jesus is alive. Truly it will be a headline event"!
One day mankind will witness the great event for which the "second coming" type was named for - the return of Jesus Christ. Yes, the savior will literally come back to this planet He left so long ago. He will fulfill the promise He gave to His disciples before He ascended to heaven. And when He does, it will command the attention of all earth's inhabitants. The whole world will know that the Lord Jesus is alive. Truly it will be a headline event"!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
An Alphabet of Grace
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
A 26-word parade of hope: beginning with God, ending with life, and urging us to do the same. Brief enough to write on a napkin or memorize in a moment, yet solid enough to weather two thousand years of storms and questions. If you know nothing of the Bible, start here. If you know everything in the Bible, return here. We all need the reminder. The heart of the human problem is the heart of the human. And God’s treatment is prescribed in John 3:16.
He loves.
He gave.
We believe.
We live.
The words are to Scripture what the Mississippi River is to America?an entryway into the heartland. Believe or dismiss them, embrace or reject them, any serious consideration of Christ must include them. Would a British historian dismiss the Magna Carta? Egyptologists overlook the Rosetta stone? Could you ponder the words of Christ and never immerse yourself into John 3:16?
The verse is an alphabet of grace, a table of contents to the Christian hope, each word a safe-deposit box of jewels. Read it again, slowly and aloud, and note the word that snatches your attention. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
“God so loved the world . . . ” We’d expect an anger-fueled God. One who punishes the world, recycles the world, forsakes the world . . . but loves the world?
The world? This world? Heartbreakers, hope-snatchers, and dream-dousers prowl this orb. Dictators rage. Abusers inflict. Reverends think they deserve the title. But God loves. And he loves the world so much he gave his:
Declarations?
Rules?
Dicta?
Edicts?
No. The heart-stilling, mind-bending, deal-making-or-breaking claim of John 3:16 is this: God gave his son . . . his only son. No abstract ideas but a flesh-wrapped divinity. Scripture equates Jesus with God. God, then, gave himself. Why? So that “whoever believes in him shall not perish.”
John Newton, who set faith to music in “Amazing Grace,” loved this barrier-breaking pronoun. He said, “If I read ‘God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that when John Newton believed he should have everlasting life,’ I should say, perhaps, there is some other John Newton; but ‘whosoever’ means this John Newton and the other John Newton, and everybody else, whatever his name may be.”
Whoever . . . a universal word.
And perish . . . a sobering word. We’d like to dilute, if not delete, the term. Not Jesus. He pounds Do Not Enter signs on every square inch of Satan’s gate and tells those hell-bent on entering to do so over his dead body. Even so, some souls insist.
In the end, some perish and some live. And what determines the difference? Not works or talents, pedigrees or possessions. Nicodemus had these in hoards. The difference is determined by our belief. “Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Bible translators in the New Hebrides islands struggled to find an appropriate verb for believe. This was a serious problem, as the word and the concept are essential to Scripture.
One Bible translator, John G. Paton, accidentally came upon a solution while hunting with a tribesman. The two men bagged a large deer and carried it on a pole along a steep mountain path to Paton’s home. When they reached the veranda, both men dropped the load and plopped into the porch chairs. As they did so, the native exclaimed in the language of his people, “My, it is good to stretch yourself out here and rest.” Paton immediately reached for paper and pencil and recorded the phrase.
As a result, his final translation of John 3:16 could be worded: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever stretcheth himself out on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Stretch out on Christ and rest.
Martin Luther did. When the great reformer was dying, severe headaches left him bedfast and pain struck. He was offered a medication to relieve the discomfort. He declined and explained, “My best prescription for head and heart is that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”7
The best prescription for head and heart. Who couldn’t benefit from a dose?
A 26-word parade of hope: beginning with God, ending with life, and urging us to do the same. Brief enough to write on a napkin or memorize in a moment, yet solid enough to weather two thousand years of storms and questions. If you know nothing of the Bible, start here. If you know everything in the Bible, return here. We all need the reminder. The heart of the human problem is the heart of the human. And God’s treatment is prescribed in John 3:16.
He loves.
He gave.
We believe.
We live.
The words are to Scripture what the Mississippi River is to America?an entryway into the heartland. Believe or dismiss them, embrace or reject them, any serious consideration of Christ must include them. Would a British historian dismiss the Magna Carta? Egyptologists overlook the Rosetta stone? Could you ponder the words of Christ and never immerse yourself into John 3:16?
The verse is an alphabet of grace, a table of contents to the Christian hope, each word a safe-deposit box of jewels. Read it again, slowly and aloud, and note the word that snatches your attention. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
“God so loved the world . . . ” We’d expect an anger-fueled God. One who punishes the world, recycles the world, forsakes the world . . . but loves the world?
The world? This world? Heartbreakers, hope-snatchers, and dream-dousers prowl this orb. Dictators rage. Abusers inflict. Reverends think they deserve the title. But God loves. And he loves the world so much he gave his:
Declarations?
Rules?
Dicta?
Edicts?
No. The heart-stilling, mind-bending, deal-making-or-breaking claim of John 3:16 is this: God gave his son . . . his only son. No abstract ideas but a flesh-wrapped divinity. Scripture equates Jesus with God. God, then, gave himself. Why? So that “whoever believes in him shall not perish.”
John Newton, who set faith to music in “Amazing Grace,” loved this barrier-breaking pronoun. He said, “If I read ‘God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that when John Newton believed he should have everlasting life,’ I should say, perhaps, there is some other John Newton; but ‘whosoever’ means this John Newton and the other John Newton, and everybody else, whatever his name may be.”
Whoever . . . a universal word.
And perish . . . a sobering word. We’d like to dilute, if not delete, the term. Not Jesus. He pounds Do Not Enter signs on every square inch of Satan’s gate and tells those hell-bent on entering to do so over his dead body. Even so, some souls insist.
In the end, some perish and some live. And what determines the difference? Not works or talents, pedigrees or possessions. Nicodemus had these in hoards. The difference is determined by our belief. “Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Bible translators in the New Hebrides islands struggled to find an appropriate verb for believe. This was a serious problem, as the word and the concept are essential to Scripture.
One Bible translator, John G. Paton, accidentally came upon a solution while hunting with a tribesman. The two men bagged a large deer and carried it on a pole along a steep mountain path to Paton’s home. When they reached the veranda, both men dropped the load and plopped into the porch chairs. As they did so, the native exclaimed in the language of his people, “My, it is good to stretch yourself out here and rest.” Paton immediately reached for paper and pencil and recorded the phrase.
As a result, his final translation of John 3:16 could be worded: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever stretcheth himself out on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Stretch out on Christ and rest.
Martin Luther did. When the great reformer was dying, severe headaches left him bedfast and pain struck. He was offered a medication to relieve the discomfort. He declined and explained, “My best prescription for head and heart is that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”7
The best prescription for head and heart. Who couldn’t benefit from a dose?
Monday, May 19, 2008
At Wit's End
"At their wit's end, they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out" (Ps. 107:27, 28).
Are you standing at "Wit's End Corner,"Christian, with troubled brow?Are you thinking of what is before you,And all you are bearing now?Does all the world seem against you,And you in the battle alone?Remember--at "Wit's End Corner"Is just where God's power is shown.
Are you standing at "Wit's End Corner,"Blinded with wearying pain,Feeling you cannot endure it,You cannot bear the strain,Bruised through the constant suffering,Dizzy, and dazed, and numb?Remember--at "Wit's End Corner"Is where Jesus loves to come.
Are you standing at "Wit's End Corner"?Your work before you spread,All lying begun, unfinished,And pressing on heart and head,Longing for strength to do it,Stretching out trembling hands?Remember--at. "Wit's End Corner"The Burden-bearer stands.
Are you standing at "Wit's End Corner"?Then you're just in the very spot To learn the wondrous resources Of Him who faileth not:No doubt to a brighter pathwayYour footsteps will soon be moved,But only at "Wit's End Corner"Is the "God who is able" proved.
--Do not get discouraged; it may be the last key in the bunch that opens the door.
Are you standing at "Wit's End Corner,"Christian, with troubled brow?Are you thinking of what is before you,And all you are bearing now?Does all the world seem against you,And you in the battle alone?Remember--at "Wit's End Corner"Is just where God's power is shown.
Are you standing at "Wit's End Corner,"Blinded with wearying pain,Feeling you cannot endure it,You cannot bear the strain,Bruised through the constant suffering,Dizzy, and dazed, and numb?Remember--at "Wit's End Corner"Is where Jesus loves to come.
Are you standing at "Wit's End Corner"?Your work before you spread,All lying begun, unfinished,And pressing on heart and head,Longing for strength to do it,Stretching out trembling hands?Remember--at. "Wit's End Corner"The Burden-bearer stands.
Are you standing at "Wit's End Corner"?Then you're just in the very spot To learn the wondrous resources Of Him who faileth not:No doubt to a brighter pathwayYour footsteps will soon be moved,But only at "Wit's End Corner"Is the "God who is able" proved.
--Do not get discouraged; it may be the last key in the bunch that opens the door.
Footsteps in the Garden: Guilt and Grace
Genesis 3:7
"Then the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked" (Genesis 3:7a)
Let us look inside this human experience . . . this first experience with guilt and shame.
Although Adam was fresh in human experiences, he knew he had never felt like this. While he had no name for it, he knew he didn't like it. His stomach was fluttering, his face felt tight. His cheeks were hot, throat and constricted.
It was difficult to look at Eve. The former feeling of delight was gone. Instead he felt some repulsion, a slight edge of nausea. She looked at him as though she could see through him and didn't like what she saw.
Their relationship had all seemed so natural and comfortable. Now they couldn't talk to each other. He had felt free and safe and now he felt bound and vulnerable, exposed. He felt the need to cover himself, to hide. From what? From whom? So, quietly, without any discussion of what they were doing, he and Eve made a covering for their bodies and hid.
God would be taking His early evening stroll. Adam who had delighted in seeing His creator now found himself gripped with human feelings he would learn to call fear and guilt. The expected happened. "They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden." What a fearful sound that must have been. Quiet steps on soft grass can be as shattering to the guilty as a slight sound to a migraine sufferer. The steps were jarring to those sensitive and wounded spirits. Although it may have been a call of friend to friend, " Where are you?" It must have caused Adam to leap from his hiding place like a startled rabbit.
It the meeting of downcast eye with searching eye Adam was now in the presence of the One he had betrayed. The full intensity of the feeling came. The face tightened even more, feeling as though it would split.. The constriction in the throat made speech almost impossible. The words sounded dry and raspy. Adam had an instinctive desire to throw up his hands to ward off a blow he knew he deserved. "I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."
"Who told you, you were naked?"
The loss of innocence, when does it come? When do you know you are naked? I remember as child, if you innocently appeared without your clothes on in the presence of those other than your parents the adults would say," Shame, shame!" For the first time you knew you were naked . . . You felt shame for what you were because of others discomfort. You were robbed of your innocence by the shame of others. This is not the guilt and shame of which I speak.
"Who told you, you were naked?" The real loss of innocence comes when we are legitimately responsible for circumstances in which we find ourselves and genuinely ashamed of our behavior. It is when the sense of nakedness comes from self-awareness, from within. Our moral weakness has been exposed, our true motivation has been revealed, a character deficiency has been made transparent. Suddenly, we are known for what we are, what we really think, how we really feel.
"Then the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked" (Genesis 3:7a)
Let us look inside this human experience . . . this first experience with guilt and shame.
Although Adam was fresh in human experiences, he knew he had never felt like this. While he had no name for it, he knew he didn't like it. His stomach was fluttering, his face felt tight. His cheeks were hot, throat and constricted.
It was difficult to look at Eve. The former feeling of delight was gone. Instead he felt some repulsion, a slight edge of nausea. She looked at him as though she could see through him and didn't like what she saw.
Their relationship had all seemed so natural and comfortable. Now they couldn't talk to each other. He had felt free and safe and now he felt bound and vulnerable, exposed. He felt the need to cover himself, to hide. From what? From whom? So, quietly, without any discussion of what they were doing, he and Eve made a covering for their bodies and hid.
God would be taking His early evening stroll. Adam who had delighted in seeing His creator now found himself gripped with human feelings he would learn to call fear and guilt. The expected happened. "They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden." What a fearful sound that must have been. Quiet steps on soft grass can be as shattering to the guilty as a slight sound to a migraine sufferer. The steps were jarring to those sensitive and wounded spirits. Although it may have been a call of friend to friend, " Where are you?" It must have caused Adam to leap from his hiding place like a startled rabbit.
It the meeting of downcast eye with searching eye Adam was now in the presence of the One he had betrayed. The full intensity of the feeling came. The face tightened even more, feeling as though it would split.. The constriction in the throat made speech almost impossible. The words sounded dry and raspy. Adam had an instinctive desire to throw up his hands to ward off a blow he knew he deserved. "I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."
"Who told you, you were naked?"
The loss of innocence, when does it come? When do you know you are naked? I remember as child, if you innocently appeared without your clothes on in the presence of those other than your parents the adults would say," Shame, shame!" For the first time you knew you were naked . . . You felt shame for what you were because of others discomfort. You were robbed of your innocence by the shame of others. This is not the guilt and shame of which I speak.
"Who told you, you were naked?" The real loss of innocence comes when we are legitimately responsible for circumstances in which we find ourselves and genuinely ashamed of our behavior. It is when the sense of nakedness comes from self-awareness, from within. Our moral weakness has been exposed, our true motivation has been revealed, a character deficiency has been made transparent. Suddenly, we are known for what we are, what we really think, how we really feel.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Born Of The Virgin Mary...Continued from page 5
The bottom line is that the Bible says the God of all creation broke into human history in a supernatural way in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God Incarnate. The preexistent God took human form, conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit. This is just one of many miracles in the Bible.
To deny it is to declare that Jesus was a bastard child of a promiscuous Jewish teenager from Nazareth who, according to her culture, should have been stoned to death for her behavior. Or, at the best, Jesus was the love child of an engaged couple who lied to cover up their activities, coming up with a fantastic story of angel annunciations and a virgin birth. Or, it happened just the way the Bible says it happened.
I believe in the virgin birth, not because I understand how it happened, but because I trust the witness of Matthew and Luke. I believe in the virgin birth because I find this consistent with believing in "God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth." I find it easy to believe that the early church was so morally pure and so righteous in its teaching that it would not have perpetrated upon the world such a doctrine if it had not been true. I also believe in the virgin birth because I find it extremely difficult to believe the contrary ? that Mary was a morally loose woman and that Jesus was a bastard. I cannot believe that. In light of the life and ministry and teaching of Jesus Christ, and in what we know of the gospel record, I find it much easier to believe that Jesus was indeed "conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary."
III.
Question three: So what practical relevance does this have for me today?
Answer: This miracle of the Incarnation, of which the virgin birth is a significant part, has multiple practical implications for you.
Let me mention three.
The first: You have a God who empathizes with you.
Some of the people I most admire are my alcoholic friends who are engaged in AA.
The other day I ran into a fellow who found out I was a Christian ,He shared how he no longer goes to church. He didn't find spiritual reality in church. Religion wasn't for him. He said he was in a twelve-step program, engaged in AA, and was claiming the help of his "Higher Power" to get him through, one day at a time.
My response was, as it always is, "That's fascinating. Are you aware that every one of those twelve steps came straight out of the Bible? And are you aware that the name of your 'Higher Power' is Jesus Christ?" You should have seen his jaw drop.
I went on to tell him of my personal knowledge of Reverend Sam Shoemaker, the pastor who had come to him with the steps to help alcoholics, but somehow the steps didn't seem to work. Together they sat down and opened the Bible and came up with these working biblical principles and the notion of a "Higher Power," which made help in addiction available, even to atheists, based on biblical spiritual principles.
To deny it is to declare that Jesus was a bastard child of a promiscuous Jewish teenager from Nazareth who, according to her culture, should have been stoned to death for her behavior. Or, at the best, Jesus was the love child of an engaged couple who lied to cover up their activities, coming up with a fantastic story of angel annunciations and a virgin birth. Or, it happened just the way the Bible says it happened.
I believe in the virgin birth, not because I understand how it happened, but because I trust the witness of Matthew and Luke. I believe in the virgin birth because I find this consistent with believing in "God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth." I find it easy to believe that the early church was so morally pure and so righteous in its teaching that it would not have perpetrated upon the world such a doctrine if it had not been true. I also believe in the virgin birth because I find it extremely difficult to believe the contrary ? that Mary was a morally loose woman and that Jesus was a bastard. I cannot believe that. In light of the life and ministry and teaching of Jesus Christ, and in what we know of the gospel record, I find it much easier to believe that Jesus was indeed "conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary."
III.
Question three: So what practical relevance does this have for me today?
Answer: This miracle of the Incarnation, of which the virgin birth is a significant part, has multiple practical implications for you.
Let me mention three.
The first: You have a God who empathizes with you.
Some of the people I most admire are my alcoholic friends who are engaged in AA.
The other day I ran into a fellow who found out I was a Christian ,He shared how he no longer goes to church. He didn't find spiritual reality in church. Religion wasn't for him. He said he was in a twelve-step program, engaged in AA, and was claiming the help of his "Higher Power" to get him through, one day at a time.
My response was, as it always is, "That's fascinating. Are you aware that every one of those twelve steps came straight out of the Bible? And are you aware that the name of your 'Higher Power' is Jesus Christ?" You should have seen his jaw drop.
I went on to tell him of my personal knowledge of Reverend Sam Shoemaker, the pastor who had come to him with the steps to help alcoholics, but somehow the steps didn't seem to work. Together they sat down and opened the Bible and came up with these working biblical principles and the notion of a "Higher Power," which made help in addiction available, even to atheists, based on biblical spiritual principles.
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