Tag Archives: obedience

How compassion can get you killed.

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When the first stone hit his shoulder, Stephen flinched. As the stones kept coming, he prayed. When he couldn’t stand any more, he dropped to his knees. He asked God to forgive the people who were killing him. And then he died of blunt force trauma to every part of his body.

Stephen was recognized by many for his thoughtfulness, compassion, and ability to build bridges in difficult situations. At the beginning of the church, when choosing to follow Jesus crossed political and cultural divides, he was chosen by reputation to run a feeding program for minority widows. Meeting this need averted a crisis.

In this public role, Stephen started to engage in public conversations about Jesus. He did miracles of some sort, and when people tried to argue with him, he was so articulate and knowledgeable that no one could refute his teaching.

He was enough of a threat that false charges were made and people were paid to commit perjury. After a lengthy statement in court, he accused the people in front of him of murdering Jesus. Though this was accurate, perhaps because this was accurate, the courtroom exploded and Stephen was dragged out and killed.

Everyone who follows Jesus isn’t killed. Many live long lives of following. But it is important that everyone who decides to follow Jesus and obey his teaching understands that it is a risky thing. Leadership means pursuing justice for widows and explaining why. When the why is “Jesus”, it divides.

Not every situation is something to escape. Sometimes sticks and stones are the weapon of choice, not words. Stones kill you. Sometimes the happy ending doesn’t come in our lifetime. And sometimes the prayer that God answers is the one that sounds exactly like Jesus. “Father, forgive them.”

Right before you die.

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From Acts 6-7

How I lost and still won.

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I didn’t win the contest.

The prize was a free online course about care of the soul. I had read from most of the course materials but, as I said in the email,

“I’m at a point of needing to be “encouraged” to go through the material in a structured way, though I’ve read from several of the contributors in the past. So if you choose me, you’ll get your money’s worth in promotion.”

They didn’t pick me.

As I thought about this “rejection”, I realized that my challenge at the moment is not about content. It’s about commitment, it’s about tiny steps in the right direction. As you can see in my email to them, I didn’t need the course materials. I needed the structure of the course. I needed deadlines. I needed external pressure.

As I was thinking this through, I remembered God’s words to Israel through Micah. God says,

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

The essence of this requirement is simple. What I do, what I love, who I follow. Justice, mercy, humility, God.

If I’m honest with myself, I don’t need another course. WIth the deadlines and pressure, the stress on my soul would have been too much now. If I’m honest with myself, it would have been about the coolness of the class and the excuse it gives for six weeks of not doing what I already know.

I’m in favor of courses, of seminars, of workshops, of sermons, of lessons. It’s why I did my Bible course last fall. But often you and I don’t need another course. We need to do the homework already on our desks.

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Advent 17: Focus

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Jesus had boundaries.

He had never read the book, “Boundaries”, not having created the authors of that book yet. However, he knew that doing everything and being always with everyone was outside his reason for being.

So he went away.

The text at the end of the fourth chapter of Luke suggests that he had pulled a ministry all-nighter. People showed up sick and he sent them away well. It started in the evening and went until daylight. Finally, he went away.

He went to a secluded space. And the crowds came looking.  And he said, “no.” Actually, he said that saying yes to helping them was saying no to every other city and every other synagogue and every other person who needed his words. His reason? He was sent to preach the kingdom of God.

People were seeking him not as a kingdom speaker but as a healer. To be blunt, they wanted what would make them feel better rather than what would make everyone whole.  And so Jesus moves on. He refuses to be the Jesus that they want him to be. He has to be the Jesus he was sent to be. He took his direction not from people but from God.

And in that, he sets a wonderful example.

(From Luke 4:40-44)

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Here’s part of my reading list for this year: 2011 Books

That temple

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Two verses rolling around in my head concern our bodies. Christ followers often major on the spiritual side of our lives – our minds and how they’re relating to others and to God.

That’s good, but it’s not the whole picture.

Romans 12:1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

and

1 Corinthians 6:19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself…

How do we give our bodies as sacrifices? One way is to present it to God in a form that honors God. If we’re sloppy with our bodies, they may not honor God. So exercise, get the sleep you need and eat right.

Those of us who live on the internet think nothing of stretching our minds. That’s necessary to compete in today’s world. But how often do we think of stretching our bodies?

Remember that our bodies do not belong to us. If someone lends you their car, you would probably treat it better than your own. Since our bodies are on temporary loan from God, let’s treat them well.

Two people who are an inspiration to me in this are Allison and Rich. Allison started Team OneVerse, a group whose runs benefit Bible translation. And Rich is riding his bicycle 1,500 miles to benefit kids in developing parts of the world.

What amazing ways to really put some meaning into presenting your body as a sacrifice to God!

(Paul Merrill writes here every First Friday)

The foolish cure.

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(Here’s the video version of this post: The foolish cure)

Namaan was sick. He was a war hero, he was an army commander, he was the king’s confidant. And he was sick.

There was nothing he could do. There was no one that could help. Because of the contagion, he would be cut off from his work, his family, everyone.

One day, the maid that helped his wife said, “I know what would help. God would help.”

She actually said, “In my home country, there is a prophet. And he could make Namaan well.”

When Naaman got to her country, the prophet didn’t even come to see him. He sent a messenger to say, “Go wash in the Jordan 7 times and you will get well.”

Namaan was ticked. As well he should be. In his community, he deserved respect. He deserved honor. He deserved the presence of this noted healer.

And all he gets is an email with a stupid home remedy.

“There are clean rivers back home,” he said. “The doctors back home show up,” he said. “I want a magic wave and a cry out to God and an instant cure,” he said.

“I want God to work in a way that is in keeping with my status,” is what he meant.

His servants said, “You would have done a huge thing. You would have paid a large fee. You would have fought a big battle, gone on a long pilgrimage. You would have done anything to prove how strong you were.”

His servants said, “But how come you can’t do this simple act of obedience?”

He listened. He washed. He quit giving orders. He started by taking one order.

And his body was healed. Instantly. After the seventh bath that is.

But all other treatments were for symptoms. This one? This foolish one?

It was a cure.