BETRAYED

 

The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. Luke 22:61-62

 

If you’re over twenty, you’ve probably had occasion to be betrayed—or you may have betrayed someone close to you. That sense of injustice, of deception, of disloyalty can hardly be matched be any other wound. How can someone who identified as a friend cause so much grief?

When we think of Jesus’ betrayal, we typically look at Judas, but I believe the actions of Peter inflicted greater suffering on our Lord. Jesus knew from the beginning that he would be betrayed—prophecy had revealed this long before his birth. He well knew Judas’ character and failings. But Peter, the one who had acknowledged his divinity (Matt. 16:16); who, in all four gospels had sworn he would go with Jesus to death; Peter, his dear friend and part of the inner circle, was least expected to deny his Friend.

The pain was inflicted, not just once, but three times. Obviously, Peter was thinking of his own wellbeing, knowing that Jesus was already facing execution. But I doubt that he was thinking of Jesus at all – this one who said repeatedly that he’d die with his Friend. And then we see Peter, stunned out of his own self-interest, as he glances up and notices that Jesus has heard and seen his betrayal (Luke 22:61, 62). And he went out and wept bitterly.

I hate injustice—especially when I’m the target. Betrayal hurts. We expect those we care about or with whom we’re associated to treat us with kindness and deference, and then life surprises us with betrayal. BETRAYAL IS A PART OF LIFE in this human, unredeemed world, but Jesus showed us how to deal with the pain and rise above it.

• ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. After his resurrection, Jesus appeared on the sea shore and called Peter aside. Three times—equal to the number of Peter’s betrayals—Jesus asked Peter if he loved him. Jesus, knowing all things, knew the answer, but he wanted Peter to reaffirm those commitments that he had made before the time of testing. Peter needed to search his heart to rediscover his deep and eternal love for his Lord. Yes, his flesh had been weak, but his spirit was given to Jesus forever. Peter needed to see what Jesus already knew.
• BE HONEST. Jesus didn’t gloss over Peter’s failure nor did his rub his face in it. He knew the fear that Peter had experienced in his time of testing, his time of failure. He wanted Peter to know that his disloyalty was not hidden, but it was not unforgiveable.
• RENEW THE TRUST. “Feed my lambs; feed my sheep; take care of my sheep.” Three times Peter had betrayed Jesus; three times Jesus asked Peter to search his heart; and then three times Jesus restored Peter’s commission to ministry.
• RESTORE THE RELATIONSHIP. “Follow me,” Jesus started back at the point where he had first met Peter, but his redemption changed Peter’s life forever.

People who have been disloyal, who have betrayed or wounded us or who have been unjust may not want or be willing to restore the relationship. I once heard Desmond Tutu say, “As Christians, we are obligated to forgive, but those who are forgiven cannot access that forgiveness unless they repent.”

Father, injuries seem to be part of living in an unredeemed world. Help us, as much as lies within us, to forgive and to redeem. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

NEW BEGINNINGS

For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. Song of Solomon 2:11,12

 

Driving around my neighborhood, I see people out in the yard with trays of annuals, pyramids of fresh soil, and garden tools strewn about. There are printed signs in other yards that declare a renovation project is about to begin. It looks like everybody is ready for a fresh beginning.
I don’t know where to start. Should I work on the front courtyard with its large decorative pots? Should I go to the back garden that needs a touch of color? Would I be better served by just giving everything a thorough cleaning? A new season of nature provides the opportunity for us to give everything a fresh look. And any day can be a new beginning in our spiritual lives.
I love Paul’s admonition to “forget those things which are behind and reach forth unto those things which are before” (Phil. 3:13). Our spiritual lives also have seasons—what about moving into a time of spiritual renewal, of letting go of the past (even the good things), to see what God has for us at this time? He has already said that “goodness and mercy will follow” us all the days of our lives. Essentially, our past failures are graced by him, so we can let them go. And in letting go, our arms are open to embrace this new thing that he wants to do in us.
Might God want to heal those wounds that we’re not quite ready to release? Do you remember the man at the pool of Bethesda who had been ill for thirty-eight years? He kept coming to the pool hoping he would be cured, and then Jesus asks him a curious question, “Do you want to be made well?” (John 5:6) Could it be that his illness became his point of identity just as our pain and suffering single us out? The man had to make a choice—give up the known for what faith had to offer. Jesus asks us the same question: “Do you want to be made well?” Do we want to become whole in him so that the attention (and glory) move from our pain to his plan?
In this new season, might God want us to forgive that grudge we’ve nurtured for decades? We all know the futility of unforgiveness, and yet we sometimes cling to wrongs from ancient history. (I remember Catherine Marshall’s writing that she had to forgive Henry VIII for his villainy.) Forgiveness is a good thing to practice in this new season.
Forgetting the past and pressing on to God’s promise for the future… Spring is a good time for new beginnings. We are new creations with the Holy Spirit constantly working in us to make us more like Jesus. Why not put away all those things “that hinder and the sin that so easily entangles” (Heb. 12:1) and joyously move into a new beginning?
It’s about time.

 

Father of all things, we ask that you help us to get rid of everything past that hinders us from moving into this new season with you. We don’t want the tiniest thing to hold us back. Strengthen us with all goodness to live in you and to do your will. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

A THOUGHT

Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life? II Peter 3:11 (The Message)

I woke up the other morning with a thought running through my head: Live in the light of eternity. I’ve been pondering that phrase over and over. What does it mean to free ourselves of the parameters of this temporal life and live as if eternity were already with us, for, in truth, it is. What would it be like to live with abandonment under the reign of Jesus Christ? What alterations would we make?
For starters, I thought of Paul’s determination to “[forget] those things which are behind, and [to reach] forth unto those things which are before” (Phil 3:13). The failures and the successes are all behind. They belong to another time. I am to learn from them; cast them on the stream of time; and let them go. Look forward to the things God has ahead.
I will forgive just as my Father has forgiven me. Eternity doesn’t permit unforgiveness. There’s no place for grudges, bitterness, or demonstrations of pettiness. Instead, I can shower love and pray blessings on friends and foes alike.
God is our Father. I must become even more aware of my brothers and sisters throughout the world who are part of the Family and Body of Christ. God is not exclusive. All are welcome in his Family. Eternity is an opportunity to practice oneness in Christ. I can help to bear someone else’s burdens; weep and rejoice with others; and build others up. And I can find ways to encourage his love to flow through me.
Living in eternity’s light will find me walking in the Spirit and abiding in Christ. I will listen for his every word and watch for his appearances. I will be sensitive to his direction. I will fellowship in his presence and look forward to my times with him.
I will be kind to others, preferring them before myself. I will practice compassion; become a healer; pour myself out for others; and be broken bread for a hurting world. I will intentionally make time and room in my heart for others.
“All things come from [the Lord]”(I Chron. 29:14), and everything I receive comes from his hands. In eternity’s light I will enjoy his blessings and embrace afflictions confident that when he plows, he purposes a crop.
I will crucify everything prefixed with “self-“, e.g. self-conscious, self-made, self-image, self-esteem. The list goes on. I give myself far too much credit and attention while at the same time accept far too much guilt. In eternity’s light I will welcome opportunities to deny the flesh and die to self (Galatians 2:20).
I will live praising, rejoicing, and worshiping. My joy is in the Lord. He is worthy of and inhabits the praises of his children. We rejoice in hope and trust of him and his Word, knowing he does not fail, and his Word is true.
In eternity’s light I will rest in Christ. I trust him. I root out all anxiety. Jesus is peace and speaks peace into our trust and obedience. Trusting his faithfulness dispels fear, suppositions, and anxiety.
I will submit to his discipline. A good father loves and wants only the best for his children. A wise father does what is needed to train and teach his children for maturity. I will welcome his discipline.
I will wait on him trusting that he is always working and that he will “present me faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24).
I will see Jesus everywhere and in everything. The God of the universe is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent.
In awe, I will live with thanksgiving for unmerited blessings, goodness, and mercy that have followed me and brought me to live in the light of eternity.
Now it’s your turn. This is just an introductory list. How would you begin to live in the light of eternity?

Father, we know that once we are born, we have eternal life. Open our understanding of how, then, we should live. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

I DID IT

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.  Psalms 51:4

 

It was a visit I did not relish.  I’d discovered that one of my colleagues had been “unmasked,” and it was necessary to learn the truth.  In my work, calling and integrity are characteristics critical to effective ministry, and the integrity of my friend was being called into question.

There were numbers of troubling factors to consider.  The events had occurred several years ago, but they were just coming to light.  My charismatic friend readily charmed everyone she met.  There seemed no reason to doubt her veracity and professions of repentance.

Here were some things we had to process:  my friend’s confession occurred after the egregious wrong was discovered.  As we talked, I was told that the problems were being exacerbated because “someone was out to get her.”  And then there was the finger-pointing and self-pity.

It was easy enough to find a case with some relevance.  King David lustfully took what wasn’t his when he saw beautiful Bathsheba bathing on the roof of her house.  David was told that she was married but violated her and then sent her home.  When she notified David that she was pregnant, he sent for her husband, one of his outstanding warriors. Faithful Uriah refused to go home to his wife while the armies of Israel were still out in the field.  Finally, David plotted to have Uriah killed and gave Uriah the message that would lead to his own death.

God was angry with David reminding him of all he’d done in and for him.  As the prophet Nathan spoke to him, David was crushed and confessed, “I have sinned against the Lord” (II Samuel 12:13).  David went on to compose the 51^st Psalm in which he writes, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge…  Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow…  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.”

David didn’t blame anyone for his sin; he didn’t make excuses; he didn’t point fingers; and he didn’t try to justify himself.  He accepted responsibility for his behavior and understood the grief his sin had caused God who loved him most.  David repented.  Perhaps he had felt remorse before God’s Spirit confronted him through the prophet, but when faced with truth, David knew he was guilty.

My friend hasn’t yet learned the difference between remorse and repentance.  She is sorry she was caught, but she hasn’t recognized the pride that blocks true confession—“I have sinned against the Lord.”  She doesn’t yet weep over her sin. She weeps over the cost of her “unmasking.”  Until she is able to grieve for her sin, she can’t move forward into truth and freedom.  And there will be no deep healing.

There will continue to be anger at those who exposed her rather than the joy of receiving God’s forgiveness, mercy, and grace.  But God who is willing to forgive will wait and will possibly send friends like me to love and walk with her until she is ready to take responsibility for her sin.  God is good; he can make a way; and he is remarkable in his ability to restore.

 

Father, how much we all need your Spirit to guide us and to convict us when we sin.  Thank you that you are able to keep us from falling.  Help us to live and move and have our being in you so that we walk consistently in your righteousness and bring you glory.  And help my friend; give her understanding and a willing heart.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

UNPARDONABLE

But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.  Matthew 6:15

 

K. Chesterton writes a provocative story in his Father Brown series about an occurrence among a small clique of close friends. One has challenged another to a duel, and when a death results, the killer flees into exile. After many years, the friends learn that the runaway has returned but refuses to reenter society.  There is great talk about forgiveness and the justification of the duel (which was legal in those days).

The well-intended friends discuss how best to coerce their friend to leave his isolation even as Fr. Brown cautions against it.  Finally, they force the recluse’s hand only to discover that the living person is actually the one thought to have been killed while the dead friend was essentially murdered by the living.

The little group is incensed.  Brown chastises them saying that they forgive only those sins that they think aren’t really sins (such as a duel) while tolerating “conventional” wrongs.  Someone protests that what was done was vile, and Brown counters with, “…leave [me] to console those who really need consolation; who do things really indefensible, things that neither the world nor they themselves can defend; and none but a priest will pardon.  Leave us with the men who commit the mean and revolting and real crimes; mean as St. Peter when the cock crew, and yet the dawn came.”  By twos and threes the others left in silence.  In the story Chesterton is not pardoning the killer; he is forgiving him—while pointing out the hypocrisy of his “friends.”

Do you ever quantify sin?  This sin is worse than that—this is nothing while that is heinous and unforgivable.  If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand  (Psalm 130:3)?  And yet, it’s so easy to slip onto the judge’s bench and point fingers.  Let us leave the judging to God and become the best forgivers in the Kingdom.  After all, he forgave us.

 

 

Father, pull me up short whenever I am tempted to withhold your forgiveness from any one.  Love through me and forgive through me.  Heal through me.  Restore through me.  For your Kingdom’s sake and for your glory.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

PAIN

 

Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?  Jeremiah 8:22

 

Nighttime pain seems to go on and on, and the hours seem excruciatingly longer.  But finally, morning comes.

Just before daybreak several weeks ago, I called my son who lives fairly close by, and I told him I needed to go to the hospital.  The pain was becoming as much as I could bear, and I needed help.

Does everyone wait until the pain becomes intolerable before asking for help?  Or to make an appointment with the counselor?  Or to check in with a physical therapist?  Why we wait so long is not the point.  When the pain becomes more than we can bear, we usually ask for help.

So why is it that when we begin to have emotional or psychological angst, we find a way to cover it with distractions or denial, anything that makes the pain subside?  Except that it doesn’t go away.  It’s merely repressed.  Emotional or physical pain DOES NOT GO AWAY.  Time does not heal all wounds.

Just as an elevated temperature indicates infection in the body or unusual discomfort alerts us to abnormal body function, so the pain experienced with certain memories or chance encounters or random happenings should be a red flag about inner sickness.  Those aches that surprise us when we think we’ve moved beyond a hurtful relationship or emotional wounds should be recognized as God’s tender reminder of our need for his true, deep, and total healing.

God knows when we are spiritually mature enough to allow the deep wounds to emerge so that we can be forever healed.  Let us be at peace with psychological pain, even when it surprises us.  It’s God’s way of saying he wants to excise the thing that causes us to obsess on our inadequacies or someone else’s duplicity or any number of injuries that haunt us.  It’s his way of saying It’s time to be healed.

And we are healed by focusing on him, not the pain or ourselves, giving him all the wounds, all the wound-ers, and thanking him for his stripes that bring healing.  Then when we are tempted to revisit those wounds, we gently, again and again, turn our eyes away from the injury and back to Jesus who is our healer and the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Father, we are so engrossed with ourselves, even the worst part of ourselves, that we really need your saving power every single moment of every single day.  May we seek you and your Kingdom above all else that you may be glorified.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

TURNING THE HEARTS

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children…  Malachi 4:6  (KJV)

 

 

I was with a small gathering with friends when someone shared a story about her young grandson.  He was playing ice hockey when another player ran into him and broke his leg.  The little guy was patched up and spent the remainder of the day in bed with a cast.

Some days later, his teacher asked the class to tell about the best day of their lives.  When it came time for this youngster to share, he said, “It was the day I broke my leg.”  The teacher interrupted, saying, “You didn’t understand.  I asked you to tell about the best day of your life.”  Again, the little fellow said, “It was the day I broke my leg.  That was the day my daddy spent the whole day with me.”

To this day, the father cannot tell the story without tearing up.  He says it was a wakeup call.  He had been leaving the house at 5:00 in the morning and coming home when it was dark.  His children hadn’t needed all the things he provided; they needed him.

How many of us can think of the times or events with our children that we could have handled differently?  Of the goals we’ve wanted to reach, thinking those would benefit our children most when all the time they’ve just wanted to be with us, to be loved by us.

Children tend to create the image of their heavenly Father based on what they know of their earthly father.  In all our learning, we move from the concrete to the abstract, and it’s so spiritually.  We learn unconditional love from our earthly father; we observe his character traits and assign those to our heavenly Father; we believe that our heavenly Father accepts us in the same measure as our earthly father.  All the traits, temperaments, dispositions, characteristics, and values that we see demonstrated by our earthly father we transfer to our heavenly Father.  True or not.

It’s no wonder that our children sometimes have trouble relating to God as one who has pursued them with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3), who will never leave nor forsake them (Deut. 31:6), who always keeps his promises (Josh. 21:45), and who has good plans for them (Jer. 29:11).  But there’s no need to despair.  As long as we’re alive, there’s still time to love and to heal.

So what if we weren’t the perfect parent in the past?  Who was?  As we grow, we learn, and we can repent of the mistakes of the past.  Can you imagine the wonder of a grown child whose parent asks his forgiveness?  God had given us the marvelous promise to restore the years the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:25), and we can claim that as we reach out in faith to our children.  With our cooperation, he can heal the wounds we’ve inflicted and turn their hearts to him and to us.

 

Thank you, Father, for showing us your love through Jesus Christ.  Make us into the parents and grandparents you’d have us to be; help us to receive your unconditional love and to lavish it on our children and grandchildren. Forgive us our sins; give us courage to repent; and bring healing to our children and our families.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

COMFORT ZONES

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.  Isaiah 40:1  (KJV)

 

I’ve just returned from a mission trip to Uganda and am chuckling over the many ways “newbies” confess to being pushed beyond their comfort zones:  eating grasshoppers as a seasonal delicacy; participating in vibrant church services exceeding four hours; navigating treacherous Kampala (the capital) traffic with thousands of vehicles and few road rules; sweating through days of work with no air conditioning; and extravagant demonstrations of Christian faithfulness.  These “comfort zones” are usually defined with possessives: my, mine or our.

Yes, more and more we identify comfort as a state of personal entitlement and are disenchanted with those who make us uncomfortable.  Think of college campuses where students must have safe zones and where topics that trigger angst among fragile students are to be avoided at all costs.  Even in public discourse, we tend to shy away from anything that challenges our status quo or that would cause us to entertain new or unpleasant viewpoints.  Political correctness is the order of the day with the exception that PC goes only one way; dissenters are labeled with phobias or worse.  So much for comfort…

A cursory glance at a Bible concordance listing God’s view of comfort mostly flips our selfish comfort on its head.  God speaks of comfort residing in him (Isa. 61:2), in his forgiveness (Isa. 40:2), in his touch (Luke 8:48), in the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31), in the Word (Romans 15:4), and so on. It’s all about him.   Comfort resides in being surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ, his will, and his glory.  It’s not about us.

What an excellent opportunity we have during the holidays to enjoy the comfort of our Father as he guides us through the minefields of difficult relations, command performances, mandatory attendance, last-minute shopping, and all the other aspects of Western Christmas traditions.  Will we retreat to the need for safe spaces rather than moving into God’s grace as we encounter people and events that are not of our choosing?  Will we avoid those annoyances that typically ruffle our feathers or will we see how God’s comfort can stretch us to move in his love and Spirit and out of our egocentricity?

May God’s Spirit constantly provoke us each time we begin to say, “I’m not comfortable with…” or “I’m only comfortable when…”   Seems like a great gift this Christmas time would be to get us all out of our comfort zones and into God’s comfort.

 

Father, thank you for your infinite patience with us.  Grace us to trust you in all circumstances.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

IN GOD WE TRUST*

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD…  Psalm 33:12  (NIV)

 

During the Civil War, there was an increase in “religious sentiment,” perhaps comparable to what we experienced right after the tragedy of 9/11.  Suffering tends to makes us look outside ourselves to see what God might be doing or saying and how we might respond.

And so it was that when our country was going through the most divisive time in its history, Rev. M. R. Watkinson from Pennsylvania wrote to Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase asking that “Almighty God” be somehow recognized on our currency.  After all, from ancient times gods and rulers had their place of honor on the coinage of the land.  Why shouldn’t the United States acknowledge God’s rightful role in our national affairs?

Secretary Chase responded by instructing the Director of the Mint to prepare a motto, saying, No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins.  Once the design was approved, it went to Congress, and the Act adding Chase’s notation passed in April 22, 1864.  Eventually, this saying was added to our paper currency.  On July 30, 1956, a Joint Resolution of the 84^th Congress and approved by the President declared IN GOD WE TRUST the national motto of the United States.

On November 8, 2016, our country experienced a gut-wrenching upheaval as the results of our national election were announced.  For days analysts and pundits have tried to determine what happened.  Did anyone really anticipate the historic event that has provoked rioting among some citizens and hope among others?  And yet, we are one nation under God.

Did you take notice that in the late 19^th Century one man, Rev. Watkinson, was compelled to act after having felt “our national shame in disowning God as not the least of our present national disasters?”  One man moved by God did what he could to make a difference in our country.  And now our national motto is IN GOD WE TRUST.

Let us, as good citizens of our beloved country and members of the Church, continue to rise in prayer on behalf of our nation:  for healing, for repentance, for spiritual renewal.  And let us pray for all our leaders that we would be established in righteousness (I Timothy 2:1-4, Romans 13:1).

 

Father, your grace has brought us safe thus far.  You established us as a nation for your purposes and have seen us through “many dangers, toils, and snares.”  In thanksgiving for your love and your grace, we ask you to forgive us for not loving our neighbors as ourselves and for choosing our own ways instead of yours; heal us; unite us in your love; be with all our leaders and give them wisdom to govern this great nation.  IN GOD WE TRUST.  AMEN.

 

* Information gathered from https://www.treasury.gov

NO FALLING

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.  Jude 24, 25 (KJV)

 

Do you ever worry about “blowing it” spiritually?  That maybe, just maybe, you might fail?  In our imperfect state, it’s not surprising that from time to time we might be tempted to look at our faults and worry that we won’t be capable of sustaining faith for the long run.  That’s TEMPTATION.  But we must remember that temptation speaks to possibility, not to reality.

Paul succinctly addresses that frightening possibility with these powerful words, “… sin  shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace”  (Romans 6:14 NIV).  Does that mean we’ll never again sin—that the potential to miss the mark has been eliminated because of our relationship with Jesus Christ?  That’s not what Paul is saying.  He’s telling us that since we’ve come to faith in Christ, we have a choice in our behavior:  now we can choose to always follow Jesus in obedience (not sinning) or we can fall back into self-indulgent behavior, which leads to sinning.  BUT there’s Jesus waiting to receive our confession as we repent; he forgives our sins and sets our feet on the right path again.

I heard a preacher once say that for Christians, the Ten Commandments now read, “You won’t want any other God.  You won’t want to have idols.  You won’t want to misuse God’s name.  You want to love your neighbor as yourself in word and action.”  The Law is now being fulfilled through God’s love and the power of the Holy Spirit in us.

As new creations in Christ Jesus (being re-created and made more like him every day), we now understand that we don’t have to walk around on spiritual egg shells.   Instead, we walk in total freedom knowing that he is able and he is the one who keeps us from falling.  All we have to do is abide in him and allow him to abide in us.

He doesn’t just keep us from falling, but one day he will present us faultless with great joy.  He does it all as we cooperate with him, and he receives all the glory.

 

Father, thank you for good news that we can live every single day without fear of falling.  You have the power to keep us, and you constantly work in us to make us just like you.  THANK YOU.  AMEN.