Category: Jesus

I had a meeting with the oncologist last week and we decided to start chemo on September 11. I was thankful for full energy and good health this past summer, but recently my counts have been increasing rather quickly. So I hope the same approach we took last year will be effective again. As always, we cherish your prayers.

I saw the movie, “World Trade Center”, this past weekend. What a powerful reminder of an unforgettable day in our country’s history. It is a story of courage, faith, and sacrifice focusing on two Port Authority policemen who answered the call to go to the towers. Having just been in the Port Authority, the sights and sounds seemed all too familiar.

September 11, 2001 was a Tuesday. I was in New York City on Saturday, September 29 and witnessed some things I’ll never forget. I didn’t make it to Ground Zero, but I must have walked fifty blocks that afternoon. Every fire station had memorials erected. The pictures of the fallen from each station were placed on location and mourners continued to place flowers on the ground. Each memorial was hallowed ground. On more than one occasion that afternoon, a fire engine answered a call. As it pulled out of the garage onto the city street, everyone stood and cheered… and many cried.

In the movie, the sergeant asked for five volunteers to go with him to the top of the tower. Chills ran up and down my spine as these men re-enacted what actually took place five years ago. “I’ll go.” “I’m with you, Sarge.” “I’m coming”. “Here I am, send me!” Did they know what they were doing? Did hundreds of firemen and policemen know it would be their last rescue effort? “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

People argue today about the wars that rage. Some wonder whether there really is an enemy that wants to destroy our nation. While honest people may hold different opinions on the best options to take, it seems important to determine whether there is danger. Of greater curiosity are the questions of spiritual battles. Is there really an enemy who seeks to devour? Are we living in dangerous spiritual times? If there is a war, am I really in the fight?

Many have no doubt about such questions. Hearing the Lord of Hosts say, “Who will go?” some have answered courageously: “Here am I, send me!” The friends we visit in Jerusalem recently sent a picture of the four-wheel-drive Toyota we rode in last fall. It was burned inside and out – totally destroyed. They are not fighting Hezbolah; they are teaching Muslims about Jesus. Losing a brand new vehicle is an inconvenience; losing a soul is eternal. The devil does use violence for his benefit, but he uses more subtle tactics in our land – apathy, the pleasures of life, spiritual blindness. Maybe his greatest success is keeping us from realizing there is a war… and from remembering that time is short.

I couldn’t help but think of Jesus when I saw those brave men volunteer to enter the danger zone. That’s exactly what He did!

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am – it is written about me in the scroll – I have come to do your will, O God.’” (Hebrews 10:5-7)

“They are bound by sin! They have no chance, Father, yet You desire none perish, but all to have eternal life. Whatever the cost… here I am, send Me!” He’s still searching for His lost sheep. He asks others to follow Him into the battle. He knows the danger and the cost, yet He continues to beckon: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:37)

I finished the book, “Jesus”, at a friend’s house in New Jersey a few days ago. In a remarkable way, Walter Wangarin Jr. tells the story of Jesus through the voice of His mother and best friend, John. The book closes with John writing these words:

I’ve walked with him. I was his beloved and bore no other name but that. I span his earth time by thrice as many years as his. And I know he knew the Beginning as closely as did the Creator – and knew the Creator closely too, more intimately than any parent and child by blood connected, know each other. Well, then: I cannot lay my pen aside until I’ve given expression to the mystery inexpressible, the timelessness and the placelessness of the Lord.

In the beginning
Was the Word,
The Word was with God,
The Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God;
All things were made through him;
Without him was not anything made that was made.
In him was life.
This life was our light.
And this light still shines in the darkness.
Darkness has not devoured it!
The true light approached the world,
Then came into the world,
But the world refused to know him.
Nevertheless:
To all who did receive him,
To all who believed in his name,
He gave the power to become the children of God:
These have been born anothen:
They have been born
Not of a woman’s blood
Nor of the will of the flesh
Nor of the whim of a hotblooded man,
But of God.
The Word. The Word. The Word.
Became flesh and dwelt among us,
Full of grace and truth.
I have myself beheld his glory:
Glory as of the only Son of the Father.
And from his fullness have we all received
Grace
Heaped on a greater
Grace.
For the law was given through Moses.
Grace and truth?
These came to us through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
The only Son,
Residing in the bosom of the Father –
He has made him known.

Some think the first verses of the Gospel of John were the words of a hymn sung by early Christians. How many songs about the Savior have been written since? As I was finishing this book, my friend Steve, a computer genius, came into the room, picked up his guitar and started singing a song I had never heard before. The song expressed exactly what my heart was feeling at the time. Isn’t it funny how God works? The title of the song is “You Gave” by Jay Stocker:

Lord, I want to be pleasing to you
In everything I do.
And I want to love you more,
More than yesterday,
More than words can say,

‘Cause you gave your life;
You lived and died for me, for me.
You paid the price;
You sacrificed for me, for me.
And now the least that I can do
Is live my life for you.

So what’s the point of all the song-writing about Jesus from the first century until now? On our short trip, Susan and I went across the Hudson River to see a former student who lives in New York. She’s in her first year of work after college in a profession that has its ups and downs. The reason these songs about Jesus are so important is that they keep us centered on the things that matter – grace and truth. This world shows little grace and the devil hates truth. He is the master of confusion, deception, and discouragement. But Light pierces the darkness; Grace lifts our spirits; and Truth puts our feet on solid ground. Jesus would say the same thing to me that He would say to a young person in New York City or a computer whiz in New Jersey: “Keep your hope in Me! Your worth is not in your profession. If you are Mine, you are a child of God! That is who you are! This world may call you great one day and call you worthless the next. Your Father in Heaven does not treat His children that way. He sees you in Me and He calls you His own.”

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” I John 3:1-3

Early in His ministry, Jesus was almost thrown off a cliff by citizens of his hometown. He had just read this passage from the book of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” With all eyes fixed on Him, Jesus gave the scroll back to the attendant and said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” At first, everyone was amazed and spoke well of Joseph’s son. But after Jesus made a few comments, the people became furious and drove him out of town. (see Luke 4:14-30)

How could the messenger of good news be treated so poorly? Jesus knew what was going on in the hearts of the people and he told them the truth. “You have heard I’ve done miracles in Capernaum, but you’re not going to accept me here. I tell you, God sometimes bypasses those you would think He favors. Don’t assume that just because you were born in a certain land that you are better than someone else.”

I’ve thought a lot about good news lately, as I’ve been through another barrage of tests. When you have cancer, good news is a cherished prize. The truth is, on this earth, we all have to deal with something far worse than cancer. As descendants of Adam, we’ve all been infected by a disease that separates us from our Father and leaves us without hope. For this reason, God sent His Son and the message of good news. Through His blood, we have forgiveness of sins. Through Jesus, we can be freed from sin. By His grace, we are given a new heart and the blessing of the Holy Spirit. But I wonder if the Nazareth mindset is still around.

Perhaps those who listened to Jesus in the synagogue were not poor or blind or oppressed or imprisoned. Maybe they possessed everything and did not need a Messiah to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. I shared about Jesus in another private school in the city of Atlanta a couple of years ago. This was not a Christian school, but a friend of mine taught a religion class and asked that I be the spokesman for Christianity. I felt privileged to tell these kids from all backgrounds about Jesus, His teaching, and His sacrifice. My friend always reserved time for questions at the end of the class. I’ll never forget what one young man said: “I’ve read about this Jesus you’ve talked about. He was one radical dude. So you guys that call yourselves Christians – why do most of you live out in the suburbs, far away from the problems in the city? I thought Jesus hung out with the poor. How do you justify having so much, when there are so many people in need? Why don’t you guys live the radical life your leader did?” I kind of wanted to take that kid out and throw him off a cliff, but I didn’t. I didn’t even try to defend myself. “I think you’ve asked a good question. In fact, I think Jesus might be asking us the same thing.”

This is the truth: we’re all in need. The “problem worse than cancer” entangles us, blinds us, and puffs us up. I need to be poor in spirit; I need to hunger and thirst; I need to weep. When my pride is knocked back and I see the truth, I’ll dare not judge another. I’ll show mercy and love peace. When, by faith, I receive a new spirit, my heart will be pure and I’ll see God. That’s good news.

Growing up, I remember being in settings at school and church where my dad was in charge. I never expected special treatment. As a kid I knew that was the way it should be, so I’ve tried to treat my own children in a similar manner. My mom, on the other hand, saw no conflict in declaring her children the best. There is no greater advocate than a bold mother!

A long time ago, two sons and their mother talked about the One they believed to be the Messiah. James and John, like the other apostles, often dreamed about greatness. One day one of them must have verbalized the goal of holding a great place of honor when Jesus received His Kingdom.

“Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. ‘What is it you want?’ he asked. She said, ‘Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.’ ‘You don’t know what you are asking,’ Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink from the cup I am going to drink?’ ‘We can,’ they answered. Jesus said to them, ‘You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.’”

How close to Jesus do we want to be? There was always jockeying for position among the apostles, but, early on, they did not understand what it would take to be close to the Master. Constantly, Jesus taught about true greatness. “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

I think I love Jesus more now than ever, but there is still a lot of self to give up. Am I willing to be last? Am I willing to be a slave? I wonder if I am willing to drink from His cup. Why is His cup a part of the plan? Those apostles who used to argue about greatness learned to walk in His steps. The Spirit led them to humility… and they all drank from His cup. These words of Paul expressed his great desire:

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10-11

“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” Matthew 4:23

Jesus loved to share the good news of His Father’s Kingdom. Often He taught in parables, sometimes He taught plainly, but always He told of the Kingdom we are to seek. Many would look for this Kingdom with human eyes, but Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the Kingdom of God is within you.” To Nicodemus, He said, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

Our human eyes are prone to much deception as the master of lies tries to confuse the Kingdom of God with the kingdoms of this world. As Jesus walked by the magnificent temple, a structure many thought represented God’s Kingdom, He said, “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Oh how we need the “unshakable Kingdom”, the Kingdom Jesus says we must seek first.

Andrew Murray, a man of prayer of the last century, made these observations about the last words Jesus gave His followers before He ascended:

In the last command our Lord gave to His disciples we find the great essential characteristics of the Kingdom of God in great power.

1. The King – the crucified Christ
2. The disciples – His faithful followers
3. The power of their service – the Holy Spirit
4. Their work – testifying for Christ as His witnesses
5. Their aim – the ends of the earth
6. Their first duty – waiting on God in united, unceasing prayer.

“Jesus showed himself to his disciples… speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So when they met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:3-8