shame

Posted on January 2, 2003 by Dana

There is a time when shame is proper. In fact, the Lord rebuked His people through a prophet of old for being in sin and feeling no shame. “‘Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them,’ says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 6:15)

But some types of shame are undeserved. One may be humiliated for simply loving Jesus. What should a person do with this shame? It sounds strange, but Jesus says, “Rejoice!” “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)

I think there is another type of shame that may come to one who follows Jesus. This is the shame Job felt when everything in his life went wrong. When a person is free from sin and walking in fellowship with the Lord and everything crashes down, shame can easily attack. This type of shame is a weapon of the devil that targets confidence, faith, and hope. “If he was really a servant of God, he would not be in that condition.” “If she really loved the Lord, He would heal her.” “God would never let such a terrible thing happen to a Christian that pleased Him.” The friends of Job offered some strong religious arguments with just one serious flaw… they were wrong.

Sometimes God ordains such shame to be a part of the lives of His children. Never was this proven so true as in the method of Jesus’ death. In those days, a cross equated with shame. While watching Him hang, the rare individual said, “Surely this was the Son of God.” The common thought was, “This could never be the Son of God! Would God ever subject one He loved to such a humiliating death?”

Jesus gives His followers the way to handle such shame. To scorn means “to reject as unworthy”, and this is what Jesus did with shame. We thank God that He did not scorn the Cross, but we rejoice that He scorned the shame. May we follow in His steps this new year.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3

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remain

Posted on December 18, 2002 by Dana

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God…” Romans 12:1

In the day this was written, sacrifice involved an altar and fire. It still does. Will we get on the altar? Will we remain in His consuming fire?

My family thought I was quite ignorant last week when I asked what would happen if I took the iron poker out of the fire and placed on a newspaper. My sixteen year old son sarcastically replied, “What do you think will happen, Dad? Of course, the newspaper will catch on fire.”

But it was not so simple. The fire had just started when I first tried my experiment. Nothing happened when I placed the iron on the paper. So I put the poker back in and let it remain about ten minutes. This time the newspaper was irritated a bit, but it still did not catch on fire. It was only after I stuck the poker in the hottest part of the fire and left it a long time that the newspaper ignited when touched by the iron.

In our enthusiasm, we may want to hop off the altar and set the world ablaze. But the Lord says, “Remain in Me and know that I am a consuming fire. I will burn away your impurities and teach you about Myself. My Spirit will burn within you, and you shall be salt and light in this dark world.” When two “unschooled, ordinary men” witnessed mightily about the risen Christ in Acts 4, people recognized a simple fact: “… and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

“Lord, let us take the time to be with Jesus.” In this special week of the year, we remember how the Savior came to live on earth. He now longs to live in the hearts of all men. May we be among those who welcome Him!

I thank God for each of you. Your prayers and encouragement are such gifts to me and my family. I pray God will bless you all with peace and joy this holiday season.

Love,
Dana

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in

Posted on December 12, 2002 by Dana

You’ve heard the story about the famous tightrope artist who claimed he could walk the tightrope across a raging river while pushing a wheelbarrow. Before attempting the feat, he asked the large crowd how many thought he would make it. Almost everyone raised a hand and voiced support of this daredevil. Then he asked, “Who will ride in the wheelbarrow while I push it?” No one volunteered.

What is the faith God is after? The type that says, “I believe Jesus is the Son of God” or the type that says, “I believe Jesus is God’s Son and I trust Him with my life”? When we put our faith in Him, Jesus comes to live in our hearts and our lives will not be the same. But why doesn’t everyone come?

A painting called “The Light of the World” shows Jesus knocking at a door. Holman Hunt, the artist, included an interesting detail. The feet of Jesus are pointed away from the door, insinuating that it is likely that He not receive an answer. We may resist getting “into Christ” for fear of the ride, or we may resist inviting Him “into us” because we don’t want to give up control. The truth is: there can be no relationship with the Father until such a union takes place… and this union only comes through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

We in Him and He in us. It was the same relationship Jesus had with His Father, though the disciples often failed to understand. When Phillip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us”, Jesus answered, “Don’t you know me, Phillip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?”

I built a fire this past weekend and left the iron poker in the flame. When I pulled the poker out of the fire and placed it on a piece of newspaper, the paper ignited. The iron was in the fire, but the fire was also in the iron. So it should be with those who follow Jesus.

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.” Revelation 3:20 (Jesus speaking)

“… Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…” II Corinthians 5:17

“Remain in me and I will remain in you.” John 15:4 (Jesus speaking)

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relationship

Posted on December 4, 2002 by Dana

Certain places are stamped in our memories. I visited such a place this past week when we went home for Thanksgiving. A little over two years ago, outside an old barn, I told my dad I had cancer. However long I live, I’ll always remember that time and place. A distant onlooker wouldn’t have noticed anything special about a conversation between father and son, but, in reality, something very deep took place. To an increased degree, I cherish every moment I spend with my dad… and I imagine he cherishes every moment he spends with me.

The prophet, Malachi, predicted the day the hearts of fathers and children would turn to one another: “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6) In this intriguing prophecy, God communicates His heart as a Father. When Jesus came to earth, He lived out the relationship God wants to have with all His children.

In our Christian journey, if we fail to see the place of “relationship” in God’s salvation, we miss the Father’s heart. God, who already knows us, wants us to know Him. He desires fellowship. Jesus knew this was why He came to earth. “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

Some might suggest such “relationship” talk just leads to laziness. Aren’t we to be about the work of the Kingdom? But what does intimate relationship produce? I don’t think there’s a thing I wouldn’t do for my dad… and he’s already done everything for me. It was “relationship” that allowed the perfect Son to do anything His Father asked. And though God allowed His Son to suffer immensely, Jesus proved we can trust this perfect Father with all our hearts.

May the fathers know the children; may the children know the fathers; and may the sheep know the Good Shepherd.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15

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prepare the way

Posted on November 21, 2002 by Dana

“Make straight the way of the Lord! Prepare the way! Repent and produce fruit in keeping with repentance! One is coming who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

This was the message God sent through John the Baptist as the Messiah was about to be revealed. So what message is God sending today? If such a bold proclamation came at the first coming, will any word come before the second? Scripture reveals He will overtake those in the dark, but those in the Light should not be caught off guard. Paul explained: “Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like the others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self controlled.” I Thessalonians 5:1-6

But what if we are like the “others”? What if the church is “asleep”? Will not God’s kindness call for godly sorrow that leads to repentance? Such pleas are made in the letters to the churches in the first chapters of Revelation.

In 1977, a song was released by John Michael Talbot called “Prepare Ye The Way”. A couple of years ago, the group, Caedmon’s Call, released it again. Here’s the first verse and chorus:

The Word of the Lord came one evening
Concerning His bride’s great sin
He’d send down His Word to renew her
To prepare for the Bridegroom again
The Word said repent from seeking vain glories
While the gifts in the Lord’s name you give
Repent of all the first stones cast to kill
While your own self-righteousness lives

Prepare ye the way for the Lord
Prepare ye the way for the kingdom
Prepare ye the way
Prepare ye the way for the Lord

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Matthew 24:42-44

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