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Posts Tagged ‘way of Jesus’

Prayers and Angels

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , on November 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 12:5, 7a, 10b
So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him…. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell…. When they [Peter & the angel] had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

How did the believers pray for Peter? Did they pray for his miraculous release by an angel? I don’t think so. They knew that miracles could happen, they had seen a boodle of them. But I’m guessing they prayed for some miracle at the public trial. They imagined him getting an opportunity to speak and people would be filled with the Holy Spirit etc. And how was Peter, himself, praying? Was he asking for wisdom or just courage in the face of death? Either way, the angel bit was a total surprise.

Since God doesn’t make mistakes, apparently, the best thing for Peter and the followers who were praying for him was to cut Peter loose. Peter was officially a fugitive from that point forward. And Luke does not speak of Peter again in Acts until several chapters later. Peter is no longer in public ministry. His work is behind the scenes.

Over the years, there has been a lot of teaching about prayer and how it should be as specific as possible. I’m starting to really doubt the wisdom of this type of prayer. Who am I to know what is the best solution to a difficult situation? God is so creative. If I can trust God with the resolution, chances are it will be a better end that I could ever imagine.

The angel that helped Peter only stuck around as long as angel-help was needed. The angel unshackled Peter, led him out of the prison, past several guards, though a locked gate, then out and down a street. When the angel disappeared Peter was on his own again to make the next decision. Angels do the heavy lifting.

I believe persistence in prayer may not be to call down my ideas of a solution, but to faithfully place that loved one or that difficulty in the light of God’s presence. Then, angels can come or minds can be changed or hearts can be broken…. whatever is best for that moment in time.

One of my favorite scenes in the Lion King (I know, I know, it’s a kid’s movie) is when the Mufasa and Rafiki dedicate Simba and hold him up in the air. This feeling of dedication and letting go is how I imagine prayer to be…. for my current issues, my family, my friends, and all those I have promised to pray for… may we all experience the wonder of angels as God moves our mountains.

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Evidence of Grace

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 11:23
When he [Barnabas] arrived [in Antioch] and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.

Antioch was a huge city in those years, possibly even 100,000 strong according to Wikipedia. There was a large contingent of Jews there as well. But the point here is that Greeks were hearing the message about Jesus in overwhelming numbers for the first time. It was such a big deal that the Jerusalem apostles heard about the conversions. Probably with some alarm, they sent their best diplomat, Barnabas, to check it out.

What does he find: “evidence of grace.” So what does this evidence look like?

Back then, I would imagine it looked very similar to the early church in Jerusalem where believers gathered together often, worshiped God, and practiced caring for those less fortunate: they fed the poor, the widow & the orphan. There was joy and hopefulness. There were healings and miracles. There was change.

We must remember that grace, by its definition, is a gift given to someone or something that is undeserving. It is hands-on mercy. What Barnabas saw was tangible gift-giving.

But like a “wave” at a stadium, unless everyone does it, the wave falters and fails. Each individual must make the decision to participate. It’s active.

How does the wave start at a sports game? Supposedly, it only takes about a dozen fans to start a wave in a stadium. Isn’t that an interesting number?

But before there are twelve… there is one…. one with an idea and a vision. Where is the evidence of grace at my own house… my street… my neighborhood… my town? Where is the wave? Am I the one to start it? Are you?

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Opposing God

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on November 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 11:17
“So if God gave them [gentiles] the same gift as he gave us [Jews], who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I [Peter] to think that I could oppose God?”

How often do we make judgments against others? How often do we doubt that God can touch a life? How often do we assume that we have “it” right and the others do not?

If we didn’t doubt, we would be telling our story every day. We would be loving everyone whose life path crossed our own. We would love as Jesus loved.

One would think I’d get this right by now. After all, I was once on the other side of the story.

After I accepted Christ as my guide and my King, my savior and my redeemer, I returned to acting school in New York (I was in my brother’s home for the holiday). As people began to hear about my conversion experience, I was told quite bluntly (and more than once): “You? You are the last person that I would ever expect to become a Christian.” My life was so depraved that no one imagined that I could change. My language was peppered with swearing; I really doubt there was one sentence I could say without some form of f**k, sh*t, or any of the other expletives, be they verbs, adjectives, adverbs or nouns. I was a regular drug and alcohol user. I was active sexually. I even worked as a bookkeeper in a place where I kept two sets of records. I was a liar and a thief. I justified my behaviors easily because I was totally self-absorbed.

There were some things that actually did change overnight but there were many other lifestyle habits that did not. Was I any less a believer or lover of Jesus?

I can see now that it was the Holy Spirit who was my patient teacher. And I am learning that it’s not about “being” a Christian by following the laws or rules. Instead, it’s about walking on the Way, a process of integrating the kingdom of God into my heart, mind, soul, and eventually, my daily life. The Bible can open the door but it is the body of believers who walk through it together that changes lives.

A young woman who was in one of my bible studies once asked me if I really believed that a Democrat could be a Christian. And I say yes, because God is not limited by political agendas, sin, violence, or religious dogma. God can touch anyone, teach anyone, love everyone. Who am I to oppose God?

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Seeking Redemption

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 10:43
“…All the prophets testify about him [the Messiah] that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” [Peter speaking to the gentile family of Cornelius]

My daughter is in English 12 and apparently, most of these classes are reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (a wonderful book in my estimation) and I was looking forward to discussing it with her. What was striking to me was her lack of mercy… in the sense that she and her class spent a lot of time discussing the lead character’s flaw/mistake and how he spent the rest of the book “seeking redemption.” In her mind, there was no true redemption possible: his boyhood friend was dead and gone. That was his burden to bear.

Two things came to mind as we were talking. First and foremost, of course, as a believer, is that this is the whole point of the Messiah, Christ Jesus, the great redeemer. No sin is too great that it can’t be covered by the blood and promise of the Christ.

But secondly was the realization that very few teenagers have experienced something in their lives, so horrible, so wrenching that they would need to search with all their hearts for the peace of forgiveness and redemption. They cannot imagine making such a huge mistake that someone would die or be permanently injured or lost. There is no room for true mercy and grace.

I am also reminded of an old friend whose husband broke their marriage covenant and had an affair. She, too, was unable to extend forgiveness or grace. And all I could think was that someday it would be she, herself, who might face her own unthinkable sin or crime. Then she would be the one who needed redemption.

In fact, we are all capable of great sin. We are fooling ourselves to think that we couldn’t act selfishly in the face of difficult circumstances.

Naturally, people may also act nobly. I am not saying that we, as humans, always choose the evil way. There are many who have lost their own lives or lived sacrificially. But I think they are able to do this because they have faced the truth of themselves.

For many years, I have never felt comfortable praying the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” I just couldn’t identify with this concept of calling myself a sinner… what had I really done so bad.

But now, the longer I am a follower of Jesus, I see the truth within. I am no better than any other. My sin is no less than another person’s sin. Even Paul bemoaned this state in Romans 7:19, “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”

Oh yes, I am in need of a redeemer. I am in need of forgiveness and mercy and grace every day. My sin is too great for me to carry alone.

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Who is at my door?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 31, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 10:17, 20
While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate….”So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I [God] have sent them.”

The servants of the centurion, Cornelius, were the last people that Peter would expect to see at the door of the house where he was staying in Joppa. He hadn’t even processed the meaning of the vision he had with the great sheet coming down out of heaven filled with “unclean” foods for a Jew. In the vision, he heard plainly from the Holy Spirit, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” [vs 15] And not just once did he see and hear, but three times. And right on the heels of the vision, the gentiles come a-calling.

So, who is at my door? Who is the most unexpected guest? Certainly, if a Muslim terrorist came to my door and asked to hear about Jesus, I would be shocked. How could this be? Or what about a primitive from some tribe in a third world country or a homeless man or woman? A gay man or woman? A transvestite? How did they even know to come to me? How did they even hear about Jesus at all? And who am I to do anything else but invite them in?

God touches who God touches and it may surprise us along the way. I don’t think we should assume anything. It is God who changes a heart and it is only after the heart becomes soft that a person’s choices can change.

I think we need to stop creating cookie-cutter Christians and stop looking through the peephole before we open the door. Our job is simple: open the door and tell our story.

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Visions are Out of the Box

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , on October 30, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 10:2b-3a
…he [Cornelius] gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision.

Visions don’t just happen. Prayer, meditation and service to God are all part of the process. But one also has to be open to seeing a vision. Why? Because visions are usually “out of the box.”

I have not had a vision in a long time. And I think the block is my being closed off from the extraordinary.

The entire book of Revelation is a series of visions. John did his best to describe what he was seeing, but really, his descriptions are limited to his knowledge of the world. The “monster-like” creatures he saw could have been modern machinery. We’ll never know unless God chooses our generation to be the end of the age.

Cornelius had a smaller vision. He was simply asked to fetch Peter to his home. But was this insignificant? Not really. A Jew did not enter the home of a gentile. End of story. By sending his servants, Cornelius was operating out of nothing but sheer obedience. He also trusted his vision!

I once had a vision of Jesus walking along one side of a river and me walking on the opposite side. I wanted desperately to get across to the other side but the river was rushing and too deep. He was calm and patient and unworried. I was frazzled and calling to him to help me cross. Finally, he pointed ahead and sure enough, there was a bridge. I distinctly remembering hearing him say, there is always bridge if you look for it.

Cornelius and Peter had a river between them. And fortunately for all of us in subsequent generations, they found a bridge as well.

Visions are an important part of our devotional lives.

I realized today that I have not been open to having visions. Although I am walking with the Lord in a more meaningful way than ever before, I am still walking on my side of the river.

Lord, open my heart and mind to seeing visions and dreaming dreams that I might better understand your kingdom.

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A Hindering Reputation

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , on October 28, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 9:26
When he came to Jerusalem, he [Saul] tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.

Reputation is a tricky phenomenon. A good, strong reputation can be destroyed quickly while a bad reputation is almost impossible to reverse. Once a good reputation is ruined, it is even more difficult to recover from it.

Ten years ago, I remember an employee review where my supervisor indicated that I needed to be more tactful with co-workers and colleagues. I knew this was an important concern and although it was hard to accept, I took the criticism seriously and worked at changing that behavior. Unfortunately, despite all of my efforts, the person who gave me this criticism continues to refer to this trait of mine as a “given” to this day. In that person’s eyes, I am abrupt and tactless and nothing I do changes her mind about me.

My teen daughter suffered a far worse judgment when a boy began passing around lies about her in school. These misrepresentations were repeated over and over again and although she has not dated the young man for over three years, the “reputation” has persisted.

I’m sure we can all tell a story or two of how our action or inaction has caused a flurry of stories which built into a controversial or suspect reputation.

When I accepted the “way of Jesus” in my late twenties, everyone who knew me was shocked. My reputation precluded my being a candidate for becoming a follower of Jesus. Many people did not think it was authentic. Even my family accused me of fad-following.

Saul has been known as a persecutor of believers. He had disciples arrested, tortured, and eventually killed by the authorities. His first reputation was a huge hindrance to sharing his new-found faith after his conversation experience.

But Saul soldiered on. He eventually discovered his own niche in the story of Jesus. And slowly, over many years, his reputation changed.

Instead of trying to change his reputation through words, he let his actions speak for themselves. He accepted his past and even included it into his teaching. He became an example of the transforming power that the Messiah can have on a life.

It’s impossible to “make” someone trust you. Trust is built over time and consistency of actions.

I cannot change another person’s view of me. I can be authentic and steadfast. And I can trust the faithfulness of God to change the opinions of others over time.

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