verdict

Posted on October 18, 2006 by Dana

I’ve been thinking all week about this question: What’s the difference between the Israelite bitten by the snake in the desert and the person in jeopardy of losing his soul? My first thought was that the person bitten by the snake knew he was in trouble, but the person lost in his sins may not even realize there’s a crisis. Recognizing there’s a problem is critical, but Jesus gave a much more disturbing answer in his talk with Nicodemus: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)

I wonder if things are any different than when Jesus walked the earth. Do people still love darkness more than light? Does this still prevent belief in Jesus? If He were on the earth today would He say the same jolting things to our generation? If a normal American interviewed Jesus would he be happy with the answers he received?

American Citizen: Jesus, you seemed to boil everything down to one basic question: Do you believe I am who I say I am? Is that right?

Jesus: That’s about right. You’ve read the Gospel of John, haven’t you?

AC: Yes, a few times. But I don’t think we have the same problems in America that you faced in your day. Recent polls show that a very high percentage of Americans say they believe in you. Most go to church and most say they’ll go to heaven when they die.

Jesus: Don’t fool yourself. I think I’d get the same reception in your country that I did in Israel. Most in my day also claimed they were pleasing God. They weren’t. Neither are the citizens of your land.

AC: Well I know we have a lot of problems in our country, but I’m focusing on “belief in you.” Most Americans believe in you, don’t they?

Jesus: No. Most don’t. When I say “believe in me” I mean “know and believe who I say I am.” I was ultimately rejected on earth because people realized I claimed to be the Messiah. If a person really believed I was the Messiah, he would worship me as God and submit to me as King. If a Jew recognized I was Messiah, he would know he had to be totally devoted to the Holy One the prophets had written about. The person that truly calls me “Lord” gives up control of his own life and allows me to have complete authority. Don’t you see how this led to my death?

AC: Yes, I knew that, but I still don’t see what this has to do with my country.

Jesus: Because I am asking for no less devotion today. It would help your citizens if they understood the concept of “king”. You select your own leaders. You decide what you want. If you’re not happy with your leaders, you criticize them and vote for someone else the next election. A kingdom is a bit different. In a kingdom you do what the king says. You don’t get your choice. I’m afraid your citizens are so consumed with pleasing themselves that submitting to an ultimate authority is a foreign idea.

AC: Yes, but what if a king is bad? What if he abuses his power? What if he hurts the people?

Jesus: On earth, there have been many bad kings, but I am talking about the Kingdom of God. The Messiah is the perfect King. He knows all things. He has perfect wisdom. He is worthy of all praise and he can be trusted. Everything the Messiah ordains will work out for eventual good. I offer a life greater than what anyone can imagine, but a person must believe what I say is true. The moment one of your citizens sees who I really say I am, he is in the same position as those people you’ve read about in the Gospel of John. If he really believes in me, he forfeits the right to himself. He gives up his life and gains something far better. When a person believes, he receives Life and Light. Unfortunately, most choose darkness.

AC: But I just can’t believe it is this bad.

Jesus: OK, I’ll give an example. Would you say most in your land are overly concerned with what other people think?

AC: Of course. Advertisers use this to sell things. Politicians are consumed with what people think. Young people have to deal with peer pressure. Even churches aren’t exempt. I would say worrying about what others think is pretty widespread.

Jesus: It was widespread when I walked the earth too. You may remember me asking this question in the Gospel of John: “How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?” That was a rhetorical question. A person can’t believe in me the way he needs to believe if he cares more about what man thinks than about what God thinks. Do you see the problem? People are more interested in themselves than in God! People care more about the praise that comes from other people than the praise that comes from God. People choose darkness over Light! My call is a simple one, but only the humble can respond. Here it is: Come to me as a pauper. Don’t even consider the opinions of others. Come to me, knowing who I really am – the Messiah, a good King. Come to me, and receive true love – I am love. Come to me without claiming to know anything and receive the Truth that sets you free. I am Truth. I am the Way. I am Life. I want everyone to know me; for if you know me you will know the Father. If you know me you will love me. And if you really love me you will obey me, and we will come to you and make our home with you. I gave my life to make this possible. Won’t you come?

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caduceus

Posted on October 12, 2006 by Dana

Once there was a guy who was bitten by a poisonous snake. He knew he would perish because he had just witnessed others die from the bites of the deadly serpents. Then someone shouted, “If you look at the snake on the pole you will live!” Such a message seemed ludicrous, but the man did not argue. When he looked on the bronze serpent, the poison left his body and his health was restored.

Little did this man know that his story would point to an even greater miracle… for all have been bitten. “‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.’ ‘Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.’ ‘The poison of vipers is on their lips.’” (Rom 3:10-13) All are dying! No one has hope… unless he hears the incredible call: “Look to Me! I have been lifted up for all men. Your sin has been put on Me. Believe in Me and you will live!”

When you drive by a hospital or doctor’s office and see the snake on the pole, the symbol of the medical profession called a “caduceus,” think about the miracle in the wilderness. I may be wrong, but if one day a nurse walked through our chemo room with such a staff saying, “If you look at the snake you will be healed,” we would all look. We all know we’re in need. Old or young, a doctor has told us we are dying because of something wrong in our bodies. None of us sits around debating whether or not there’s really a problem. I guarantee we’d all look if some frail old woman, without a hair on her head, jumped out of her chair and shouted, “It’s true! I’m well! Look at the snake and your cancer will be gone!”

So what’s the difference between these health crises and the spiritual crisis that faces each human being? Jesus gave the answer in a conversation with Nicodemus, but I think He wants us to be witnesses of truth. We are the healed sinners who should proclaim, “It’s true! I was lost, but He saved me! I was dead, but now I’m alive!” Only by God’s mercy does one realize he’s in such a hopeless condition. Only in humility can one receive this message of life. The One lifted up on the cross possesses all power to heal and to save. May He draw all men to Himself.

“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” John 3:14-21

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nicknames

Posted on October 4, 2006 by Dana

The last time I was at the doctor, I asked the nurses if they had ever seen a patient who could predict his blood counts before any blood was drawn. They smiled and said, “There has only been one.” I learned he had the same cancer I have, so I set a goal: “I want to be just like that guy!”

Yesterday as I rode the elevator to the second floor of the building, I predicted in my mind what my counts would be. I figure if I get real good at this I can avoid quite a few sticks in the arm. As I sat in the chair watching my nurse Gwen prepare the needle, another nurse remarked, “There he is.” Gwen looked out the window and said, “Everybody better hide their pens! The ‘courier thief’ is in the parking lot.” Not being able to see out the window, I was a little confused. They explained that a certain courier often comes into their office to pick up or drop off items. Over the years, I’ve noticed many young men making these runs, but this courier, I learned, has a bad habit. Almost every time he comes to their place he steals pens. “He’s even gone into offices to steal pens,” one nurse said. Gwen shared that one time they set a trap for him, leaving a pen on the front desk, confident he would steal it. As he prepared to leave, the receptionist asked if he had picked up a pen. After several denials, he finally searched his pockets and found that he had “accidentally ” taken it.

This was an interesting story, but as my blood was drawn, I told these nurses of my goal to be able to predict my blood counts. “Oh Dana, there’s only one man that can do that. We call him our ‘genius patient.’ He is so smart he gets it right every time. He is a fascinating man.” I asked how old he was and learned that he is quite a bit older than I am. Gwen added, “I think he’s supposed to come in sometime this week.”

In my predictions, I missed my red blood count by two tenths of a point and my platelet count by five thousand. This was really pretty close, but I know I am far from the standard of the ‘genius patient.’ As I got up to move to the chemo room, one of the nurses waved to get my attention. An older gentleman had just entered the area and the nurse mouthed the words, “That’s him!” I was so excited. What a coincidence! I was going to get to meet the one and only man who can predict his blood counts – my new hero.

I had to weigh before leaving the room and, to my great disappointment, after I stepped off the scales I turned to see that the man had disappeared. I rushed out of the room to see him exit the doctor’s office. Not wanting to lose my chance to talk to him, I ran out of the office and saw him standing by himself next to the elevator. “Did you know there’s someone who wants to be just like you?!” I asked. The man, a little caught off guard, answered, “Who’s that?” With a big smile on my face, I said, “It’s me! I have the same disease you have and I want to be able to predict things the way you do. I’ve heard a lot about you from the nurses.” The man just kind of looked at me and said, “Well… you just never know.” Realizing we weren’t going to have a long conversation, I stuck out my hand and introduced myself. He shook my hand and I returned to the office.

As I walked by the nurses’ station to go to the chemo room, both nurses yelled, “Dana, where did you go?” I proudly replied, “I went to meet your ‘genius patient’!” Gwen said, “That wasn’t the ‘genius patient’! That was the ‘courier thief’!”

I wonder what nickname they have for me…

“Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving. Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house.” Proverbs 6:30-31

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flame

Posted on September 27, 2006 by Dana

“God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus.”

Words such as these written by Jim Elliott in 1948 caught my attention many years ago, as did lyrics such as these from Keith Green: “To obey is better than sacrifice. I want more than Sundays and Wednesday nights. ‘Cause if you can’t come to me every day, then don’t bother coming at all…”

Both these men died at the age of 28, but their message rings on today. Though I am sure they were imperfect, the voice of Jesus is heard in their writings and songs.

Bless me Lord, bless me Lord, you know that’s all I ever hear.
No one aches, no one hurts, no one even sheds one tear.
But He cries, He weeps, He pleads, and He cares for your needs,
And you just lay back and keep soaking it in…

Open up, open up, give yourself away
You see the need, you hear the cries, so how can you delay?…

The world is sleeping in the dark but the Church just can’t fight ’cause its asleep in the Light.
How can you be so dead when you’ve been so well fed?
Jesus rose from the dead and you can’t even get out of your bed!…

I remember being with a mission group in the Czech Republic one spring. Someone shared the need one evening to pray for the lost young people of that nation and ours. I prayed God would let me feel His heart and all of a sudden a dam inside me broke. Tears flowed and emotions were felt that I know were not my own. What does one conclude after such an experience? Is God’s heart really broken over the fact that people don’t know Him? I remember being shaken. But who wants to face the pain and horror of a lost world? Who wants to deal with reality? Who wants to empty himself as Christ did and become nothing?

And so, I’m afraid I’ve learned to compromise. I think I hold back. There was a time I thought this would never be possible. I wondered how a sold-out believer like Keith Green could write these lyrics:

My eyes are dry, my faith is old,
My heart is hard, my prayers are cold.
And I know how I ought to be -
Alive to You and dead to me…

But a person can find himself in this state. He thinks, “Is this all there is? Am I to be content with lukewarmness?” God forbid… but what’s the answer?

Another honest song:

Lord, the feelings are not the same. I guess I’m older, I guess I’ve changed.
And how I wish it had been explained that as you’re growing you must remember -
That nothing lasts except the grace of God by which I stand.
Jesus, I know that I would surely fall away… except for grace by which I’m saved.

God’s grace does not excuse the lukewarm heart. The Voice of Truth says, “Come to Me and get gold refined in the fire and white clothes to wear and salve to put on your eyes so you can see.” The grace of God says, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” My part is to say, “Yes, Lord. I will hold nothing back. If knowing You means I cry night and day for the souls of the lost, then so be it. If knowing You means I look like a fool to everyone else, then so be it. If knowing You means a shorter time on this earth, then so be it. All I want is You.”

Keith Green, who died in a plane crash in 1982, sang the answer to dry eyes and cold prayers:

What can be done for an old heart like mine?
Soften it up with Oil and Wine.
The Oil is You – Your Spirit of Love.
Please wash me anew in the Wine of Your Blood.

Jim Elliott, killed in Ecuador in 1956 as He carried the Message of His Master, prayed boldly for the fire of God: “Am I ignitable? God deliver me from the dread asbestos of ‘other things.’ Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be aflame. But flame is transient, often short-lived. Canst thou bear this, my soul – short life? In me there dwells the Spirit of the Great Short-Lived, whose zeal for God’s house consumed Him. And He has promised baptism with the Spirit and with Fire. ‘Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.’”

Amen.

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prayer

Posted on September 19, 2006 by Dana

I’ve heard missionaries say, “Without your prayers, we could not make it.” Sometimes we hear such comments and think, “That was nice to say, but I know my part is really not very important.” But what if our part is critical? What if God told us that if we failed to pray, the lost would not be saved and the missionary would be ineffective? A friend, who has ministered all over the world, told of the drastic difference of reception to the same message given to two different groups on the same weekend. “The only difference I know was that in one place people were praying for the message to be clear and powerful and in the other place no one was praying.”

I’ve thanked you many times for praying for me. One of my former students told me today that he and his six-year-old son prayed for me this morning. I told him to thank his little boy, and I shared my belief that such prayers are a part of God’s will. I should never think, “How cute, a little boy is praying for me…”, as if this were a trivial matter. God answers the simple prayers of little boys and little girls! I write this not just to ask you to pray for me, but to encourage you to sincerely pray for all those you know who are in need. Do not neglect to pray for missionaries and for Christians in difficult places. Your honest petition to the Father may be what He desires to take place in order to bring about His good will. This sounds a bit mysterious because results of our requests are often unknown, but perhaps this is a part of living by faith.

Paul seemed to address such matters as he recounted parts of his dangerous journey to a group that prayed for him: “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.” (II Cor 1:8-11)

So pray without ceasing! When the devil whispers, “You are so unimportant in God’s Kingdom”, shake his kingdom with prayers of faith. If answers seem tardy, remember the persistent widow, who would not quit taking her just petition to the uncaring judge who finally said, “Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!” Jesus follows this parable with some interesting questions: “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” May we be among those have faith on this earth…

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:5-6 “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

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