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Posts Tagged ‘way of Jesus’

Just Waiting

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Waiting for the second coming is really no different than waiting for answered prayer. They both require faith and an active participation in the waiting process.

I Corinthians 1:5, 7
For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge . . . Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.

Like the servant who has grown lazy because the Master has tarried and therefore, the servant chooses to act dishonorably, so could our situation be if we are not faithful [Matthew 24:50].

Waiting is not easy.

So often, we use the length of the waiting period as an excuse for all kinds of bad choices and bad behavior. I know how angry I become when I’m waiting for someone. I keep checking my watch and with each minute beyond the expected time, I become more and more aggravated. And why? Because it’s all about me. I’ve made the delay a direct affront on me and my so-called precious time. (And yet, I myself run late on a regular basis — and unfortunately, it’s for the same reason: it’s all about me! What I am doing in the moment has become more important than arriving on time. That’s inexcusable really and as I write it, I am embarrassed.)

So, my first correction must be a personal one. Part of my “waiting” for Christ needs to be other-focused. Some people refer to this as “my witness,” which means my behavior should reflect and edify my Leader, my Boss, my Lord, and my God. We are asked to do this in the business world all the time. When we are out in public, we represent our companies or other organizations. Is this any different? It’s part of the “rules of engagement” that we agree to when we enter into relationships.

Whether it’s a marriage or a family, a neighborhood or a company, a church or a club, we reflect the make-up of that group by our behaviors and style.

Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

This is the key to waiting. So simple.

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Keep Your Distance

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , on April 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I am too much like the little girl who doesn’t listen to her mother, “Stay away from the stove.” Instead, I wait until I get burned before the lesson sinks in. Simply put: I am overly confident in my ability to resist evil.

Romans 16:17b-18
Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.

I don’t consider myself naive, but honestly, am I any better at dodging flattery than anyone else? Flattery is a strong lure for performance-oriented folks like me. We are working so diligently at “getting things done” and long-anticipated approval that we often mistake honeyed words for bona fide appreciation. We can be seduced.

That’s embarrassing, but true.

The best antidote is right here: avoid those people and situations. This advice is really in the same family as “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” I’m not very good at that one either.

As I contemplate this simple truth, I realize the main element is self-control. If I just stop and “look before I leap,” or “hold my tongue,” or “wait for the Lord;” each of these cliches could manifest a difference. The decision is internal and it’s made in the moment. It requires mindfulness.

Help me step back today and really see; really hear. Help me to breathe in wisdom. Help me to recognize evil intent.

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Working Hard

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »

What does this look like . . . working hard “in the Lord?” I’ve been thinking about this since yesterday. I’m thinking the essence lies in the word sacrifice – a sacrifice of time and energy.

Romans 16:12
Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.

Truthfully, there isn’t much we can “give” to God since everything we have is gift from God already. Except for time. Granted, time is also part of God’s creation, and yet, we have free will in our use of time. It cannot be repaid and it cannot be controlled. Time marches on. Time is the qualifier to all of our lives. Time is our ultimate measuring stick.

How do I use my time?

To work hard within the constraints of the time given to me is, according to Paul, worthy of acknowledgment. The time I give to the things of God has more value than the time I give to anything else.

To work hard in the Lord then means I use my time for God. There are no surprises here: prayer (in all of its forms); helping the poor, widows & orphans; practicing koinonia with other believers; sharing our story (our witness); studying; teaching; and loving the unlovely.

Working hard in the Lord is not setting up church programs or retreats, cooking and serving a ladies’ luncheon, practicing skits, or building a building.

Instead, working hard is going against the easy way. Working hard is the way of the seed in soil or the caterpillar in its chrysalis. Working hard is transformation.

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You Go Girls!

Posted in Feast Days and Holy Days, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »

On Easter morning, we need to consider this detail: women played a key role as messengers of truth. In fact, from the visits to Bethany through Jesus’s Paschal journey and on into the days and weeks after the resurrection, women were players: devoted, faithful and strong. They still are.

Romans 16:1-2, 6, 12-13, 15 and more
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church . . . Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus . . . Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. . . . Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. . . . Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman . . . Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.

At first blush, Romans 16 appears as boring as Matthew’s genealogy used to be for me. But a closer examination reveals the same mystery: the powerful women! There are lots and lots of women mentioned here and in most cases, they are clearly cherished by Paul.

The genealogy in Matthew 1:1-16 was such a sleeper for me until I experienced an epiphany and saw the reason behind mentioning the women in those verses (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary). They had a message for me: if God could use them, he could use me. And out of that revelation, I created a one-woman show that I toured for several years called Pente.

Now, in this chapter, I see another group of women with very little story to illuminate their place in the timeline, and yet, they are there: Phoebe, Priscilla, another Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus’s mother, and countless unnamed ones since households were listed by the head of house alone. But women were there, serving, loving, praying, and working in tandem with their families to illustrate the message of Jesus.

Scholars assume Phoebe actually carried the letter of Paul to the Romans. Was she allowed to read it? Did she travel from church to church (there were many house churches) in that great city? Did she carry additional personal messages from Paul? She was from a coastal city of Corinth, at least 600 miles from Rome. That was no gentle expedition. I’m not saying she was the Pony Express, but it’s amazing for that time period for a woman to travel with this type of a mission.

I know, there are other places where Paul seems to give women the back seat. I struggle with these sections too. But as I study those areas along my New Testament trek, I want to remember this Paul, who sent Phoebe with a critical letter to the gentile believers in Rome.

All of the women to whom Paul is sending greetings are commended for their “work.” I doubt he means “woman’s work” either. He is talking about the same work that all of us are called to do: being a witness in word and action: fulfilling the call of Christ in our lives, equally distributed by grace.

Oh yes, this is a day to remember and celebrate that Jesus’s work on the cross included a great emancipation for women of faith. Amen.

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Signs and Miracles

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Signs and wonders don’t just happen haphazardly. They are a huge responsibility: heady stuff to experience a miracle (either on the receiving end or the giving end). Can you imagine being the conduit for one? Or have we grown cavalier about it?

Romans 15:19
[Even as my preaching has been accompanied] with the power of signs and wonders, [and all of it] by the power of the Holy Spirit. [The result is] that starting from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum, I have fully preached the Gospel [faithfully executing, accomplishing, carrying out to the full the good news] of Christ (the Messiah) in its entirety. [Amplified]

Fortunately, Paul understood and was intimately acquainted with the source of power. He knew and trusted the Holy Spirit to do what was needed for the sake of another every time. Every sign, every wonder, and every miracle was a focused expression of God. Paul was just the hands and feet to bring that miracle to the right moment in time.

I have often wondered what it would be like to be used in the healing ministry. Initially, it sounds fantastic, to lay hands or pray for someone and then witness that person’s healing or recovery. But a trap is in not respecting the full source of the power. Except for Jesus, a healer is nothing but a vessel that has learned to pour out pristine force. But how does one keep the pour untainted? How do I avoid tampering with the flow, adding my own hopes, desires, and interpretations? How do I keep myself from holding back a small trickle for myself? How do I avoid pride and uber-confidence?

In my earlier years, I would lay hands quickly, ready to give that miracle-working stuff a chance to operate. Looking back, I see it was too much about me and not enough about the other. I am not so quick today. I sense a greater responsibility in praying for another. There must be faithfulness to the moment and connection to the source. I must be transparent and authentic. I must be clear.

Prayer is serious business. Let me not be casual about it again Lord. Every prayer is an opportunity for signs and wonders. Every prayer can be direct contact with the greatest power of the universe.

And with that in mind, I think about Paul when he commands us to “pray without ceasing” [I Thessalonians 5:17]. Accordingly, we must have the ability to be in continual contact with the Source, not just saying a lot of prayers out loud or repeating affirmations, but a genuine unity of spirit, connection, mindfulness, and awareness.

That’s the first miracle . . . and it happens within.

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Overflowing Hope

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , on April 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Hope is already powerful in itself. There is a sustaining energy to hope that is unlike any other belief. With hope, anything and everything is possible. Now, imagine hope flowing over a glass like a carbonated drink. It’s exhilarating, really.

Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus came into the world and revealed himself to a poor and hurting world, he was a beacon of hope. In our culture, unless people are fighting serious illness or sudden loss of livelihood, we don’t have as much appreciation for the power of hope. We have replaced the potency of hope with desire. But hope is much more dynamic than mere desire.

Hope is so strong it can live and grow in the worst circumstances. Hope needs no proof, no logic, no reasons. Hope needs no group and no training.

Hope begins with two simple words: I believe. And hope expands with two more: I trust.

I believe in a sovereign and loving God. I believe circumstances can change. I believe anything is possible. I believe in miracles.

Today, I want to re-imagine myself with undaunted hope. That kind of hope would, indeed, produce peace and joy. Yes, I can imagine that, even for me.

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Accept What Is

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 31, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Opposites. Either I judge others quickly, forgetting I am equally fallen; or, I wash over reality because I want everything to be smooth sailing. (Don’t rock the boat.) Both ways are problematic and reflect denial.

Romans 15:7
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

Paul writes that we must accept one another but the acceptance must be based on truth. It’s not about accepting someone as we “wish” he or she might be (eventually) but accepting what is really there. That’s not particularly easy if the person is difficult.

I confess, I withhold a lot of my acceptance of others based on their behaviors. I accept them “up to a point,” but not really. And yet, Christ accepted me right where I was 30 years ago: alcoholic, drug-dependent, crass, slovenly, and immoral. Jesus did not wait until I got my act together or became approachable. I was book smart but Bible naive. I didn’t know I needed a savior. I didn’t believe I needed anyone.

The stories of Jesus show his ability to accept others over and over again. It’s one of the reasons the Pharisees and “teachers of the law” chastised him: eating and drinking with sinners. Jesus allowed himself to touch, listen, and understand others who were immersed in sin but was confident in the Spirit of the Father within to keep him centered and whole. Jesus knew Himself.

Historically, I have been a bit of a chameleon and unconscious mimic. When I lived in the South for a few years, I developed a pretty strong southern accent, just by sheer exposure. When my kids bring home slang from school, I find myself incorporating it into my daily language without effort. I am too much like a sponge.

One of my favorite illustrations of this phenomenon was years ago when I had my first real “day job” in an advertising agency accounting pool back in Chicago. Thirty women sat in rows of desks with calculators and piles of paper. Initially, I was the oddball, the hippie in my colorful clothes and wire-rimmed glasses who mocked those girls for talking every day about their dinners the night before and what they watched on television. A year later, I had become one with them. I was talking recipes, husbands, television soaps, and vacations. I had acclimated and conformed to the daily norm. It was a type of acceptance, but not the one that Jesus proposes.

It’s not about fitting in. It’s about being strong in heart.

Accepting others comes from within. Accepting others, based on truth, requires an honest assessment of oneself first, then others. Accepting others is a kindness, a type of love. Accepting others is inclusive. Accepting others gives permission for that person to simply “be.” Accepting others allows for differences.

Today, I know, I will be challenged to accept others. Keep me centered in order to be fully present in the reality of others. Keep my heart open and yet fully infused with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God.

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