Encounter

 

(Photo: Lukasz Szmigiel @unsplash.com)

“Then they began to understand the effect Jesus had on them simply by spending time with Him.”—Acts 4:13, Passion

One day this week, when the morning air became cool and refreshing, I took my coffee and Bible and notebook out onto the porch, listening to the birds and watching the sun ascend over the woods. It was like camping. A perfect setting for a God moment.

And there were definitely some. Except before long, I became strangely restless. It wasn’t like I wasn’t sensing God out there on the porch and someplace else instead, but I still felt drawn like a magnet back to my usual morning encounter spot inside. And when I went there, it felt like home, and for some reason, I could see and hear better there.

What’s with that? Isn’t God everywhere? Aren’t prayers in the car just as powerful as prayers in church? Aren’t the scriptures read on the porch and those in that special place the same, yesterday, today, and forever?

“He spent His days in the Temple teaching, but His nights out on the mountain called Olives.” (Luke 21:37)

In the middle of the week on His way to the Cross, Jesus didn’t just teach during the day, He also taught us about the special places of encounter by His actions every evening. The gospels indicate that though Jesus prayed everywhere, the Mount of Olives was His “go-to” place to get away, to connect, to refuel. During this final week, the Mount of Olives was home base. It’s also where He descended from on the joyful Palm Sunday processional, where He prayed in agony and would be betrayed, where He ascended into Heaven after His resurrection, and where He will return at His second coming.

For sure, “Make your life a prayer,” as one translation puts 1 Thessalonians 5:17. And "...you, the Church, are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells permanently in you, collectively and individually" (1 Corinthians 3:16), so most definitely, pray and minister to others “as you go” (Matthew 10:7-8), not just at church. But if Jesus had a Mount of Olives place for regularly connecting with God, to pray, to listen, to praise, to rest, maybe there's a good reason why that familiar spot inside proved better than the porch the other day. Being disciples means following Jesus all the way, including into finding those places where we know we regularly are able to encounter God in a mysterious yet special, deep, eye- and heart-opening way—a woodland trail, a woodworking shop away from it all, a window seat at the kitchen table...wherever.

Because the Mount of Olives places in our lives are not just beautiful, or peaceful, or energizing; they are, as they were for Jesus our Lord and Savior, sacred places of Encounter. And those places have been designed just for us, before we were in our mother’s womb, when God knew just how we would be wired...to best connect with Him every day.

And that, after all, is what really matters.

“The most powerful thing that can happen in the place of prayer is that you yourself become the prayer. You leave able as Jesus' hands and feet on earth. This is what it means to pray continually, to see with the eyes of Jesus and to hear with His ears with every waking moment.”—Brennan Manning

There's a Rope for That

(Photo: Andreas Wagner @unsplash.com)

“…do not let my enemies laugh at triumph/exult over me.”—Psalm 25:2, Expanded

In the Psalms, David and the other writers faced real, in-the-flesh enemies who were trying to take them out. They often asked God to deal justly with them. Some have called these the “mean” psalms—as in, “how can you worship a God like that?” Except that bible scholars say the psalmists, contrary to our modern way of thinking, are pleading with God to deal justly with their enemies because what they are doing to them and to others are contrary to the holiness, nature and glory of God… 

“There are six evils God truly hates

    and a seventh that is an abomination to him:

Putting others down while considering yourself superior,

    spreading lies and rumors,

    spilling the blood of the innocent,

plotting evil in your heart toward another,

    gloating over doing what’s plainly wrong,

spouting lies in false testimony,

    and stirring up strife between friends.

    These are entirely despicable to God!”—Proverbs 6:16-19, Passion

When the psalmists are up against enemies like these, they want to see God glorified. They want to see God triumph over evil and injustice. God is love and God is holy, the psalmists cry. These unfair, hurtful, persistent things their enemies are doing are not. They don’t want to take matters into their own hands because they know no political or military strategy or anything else will win the day—only God and God alone.

And that might be the most important, practical takeaway in relating these seemingly “mean” and vengeful psalms to our daily lives...

Because our enemies without and enemies within are often not people at all. Instead, they are usually arrows of the adversary that continually try to take us out, take us down, or neutralize our witness. These accusing, lying arrows are a constant assault—and quite often, the same “enemies” fired over and over, aimed at a weak spot.

We are desperate for God to triumph over these injustices. And like the psalmists, it doesn’t take too long to realize that we can’t free ourselves from the enemy's (enemies') assault without some massive help. We need...hope. Something we can grab onto. And wouldn't you know, it’s good to know that “hope” has a name—that it doesn’t just mean what we think it means. Because in the ancient Hebrew culture, “hope” was a picture of a rope or a cord:

“To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

In You, I trust, O my God.

Do not let me be put to shame nor let my enemies triumph over me.

No one whose hope—rope, cord—is in You will ever be put to shame.”—Psalm 25:1-3

The next time, even today, when "the enemy shall come in like a flood," it's good to know that there's a rope for that, and one that cannot be broken. We've just got to hold on and never let go…

"Could anyone be disgraced when he has entwined his heart with Yours?"

—Psalm 25:3, Passion

Golden

(Photo: Mount Monadnock at sunset)

"The Sermon on the Mount is a statement of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is getting His way with us."— Oswald Chambers

Have you ever noticed how the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7) seems a bit disjointed and random in places and revisits in various ways several different but crucial themes? Hardly three points and a poem and we're outta here. Instead, a whole lot, and over over, about being careful about doing things and living life for selfish motives. 

The Bible writers tell us there were tons of people there to hear Jesus’ rambling, sometimes mysterious sermon. And yet apparently, no one was reported to be scrolling their Facebook feed or thinking about what they were going to do for lunch later as Jesus went on and on. In fact, Matthew writes, “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.” Because while the teachers of the law taught the scriptures, too, they were too often seen as being more into themselves and impressing others with outward appearances, and into being seen to be seen and approved. And so, their teaching rang hollow and it made following God feel all legalistic and joyless.

But this was different. And yet, Jesus makes it clear in His captivating message that it's not just “those guys” who are the problem — that in a way, we are all like the teachers of the law in that the person we think about most and want to be happiest most and are driven to please most is: me, myself and I.

It’s hard. We’re all born this way, ever since the curse of Adam and Eve’s disobedience and of wanting to do things their way. Rebellion is an ugly but real inheritance. "It's all about me" is everywhere we look. Advertising and marketing say that's what life's all about. And yet in the sermon on the mount, Jesus seems to say something radical, in so many words,

“If you follow Me, God will empower you to live a better way, the right and holy way, one that’s a cure for the curse: Others.”

Specifically, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). As it turns out, the do-unto-others “golden rule” is also “the greatest commandment”— to seek every day to love God with all we’ve got and all we are, and then love others like God has loved us.

We will always be preoccupied with ourselves, but Jesus' amazingly wonderful, rambling sermon on the mount is a reminder that every day is a good day to ask God to “give me Your eyes for just one second” and to give some of that self-love away in word, deed, attitude, humility or simple grace to someone we meet along our path.

One small thing like that every day by a lot of Believers can add up in a huge way. In fact…

“The golden rule is easy to say but takes a lifetime of putting into practice. But what a different place the world would be if we kept this rule!”—J.I. Packer

One in a Million, Million...

“…Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple." (Colossians 1:27, Message)

Sometimes, we try to make this Walk more complicated than it really is. But for anyone who truly internalizes “Jesus is just Who He says He is,” the simple, rather outrageous truths are these because He "is in you":

We are built for Eternity, not just the here and now

We have the heart of and for God, not to keep it to ourselves

We have His hands and feet to serve, and lift, and heal, with all of Heaven's goodness

We have the mind of Christ, to think, act, and live in extraordinary, supernatural ways

We have the joy of the Lord as our strength

We have the wisdom of God whenever we ask

We have the peace of God that passes all our understanding

We have the love of God as our fuel for all things

We have the authority of God from the unshakeable Word of God

We are built to rule and reign, to love and live fully, on earth as it is in heaven

And no matter what condition our body parts may be in

Or how old or young

There is no expiration date on our spiritual tools and weapons

We have each been hand-crafted for His pleasure and His glory

To bring hope where there isn’t much at the moment

To bring Light where darkness and fear are suffocating

Wherever that “bring” may be, and however it may look and flow through each one

And all that is missing is …

An activation button, a switch, a step forward in faith

On our part

Because the choice is always ours

Because we have been built with free will to follow Him... or not

To obey Him ...or not,

To live for eternal and Kingdom purposes...or not,

To be an activated “in you” person...or not

"You made me; You created me.

    Now give me the sense to follow Your commands." (Psalm 119:73)

Yes, what the psalmist said.

To simply choose daily to take the “or not” option off the table

To put on my true identity of being built by Him from head to toe, inside and out,

Through and through

For entirely wonderful, eternal purposes

For sharing in God's glory, even in the most surprising, natural settings

And circumstances and conversations

It’s really that simple…

“God put a million, million doors in the world
For His love to walk through
One of those doors is you.” — Jason Gray