March 7, 2010

Exodus 18

10And Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11“Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them.”

How was it that the Egyptians had behaved proudly? Sure they were proud in that they thought they could enslave God’s people with impunity, but what was the basis of their pride that they could ever embrace such a thought? Was it not their security that they established for themselves because of the situation in which they found themselves? The consistency with which the Nile River overflowed its banks and brought them agricultural stability caused them to trust in the Nile’s consistency. They eventually assigned a god-like status to the Nile and worshipped that god. With each of the ten plagues we could make the same investigation and conclude that they had come to worship the god of their situation that enabled them to have such a comfortable living. They were proud of their advanced society. Their advancement, in their reasoning, made them worthy of subjugating other human being to accomplish their will.

How did the Lord demonstrate His superiority over all the gods? He judged each and every one of their gods with the plagues. In so doing He caused all Egypt to know and even the surrounding nations to know that He was above them. Does the Lord desire to do the same today to the gods of our culture? If so, how do you think He might do it? How does He want to use me or you? Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor john

Mark 10:32-52

I woke up from a dream. It was not a good dream. I was only 5 or 6 years old. Moving from the dream to the conscious state was a process. The plaster of Paris images on the wall were at first monsters, part of my dream. Then, I realized that I was awake, and I was in bed. I looked around and none of my older brothers were there. I could hear the TV down stairs. I was alone. It was dark. I had just awakened from a not-good dream, but to get downstairs meant that I had to walk by two attic doors to the stair case. Attics were always bad places in my dreams. Monsters lurked in there. On the other hand, I didn't think I could lie in my bed and wait for them to come out. Yes, even as an adult, I can really relate to Monsters Inc. I got out of bed, crept by the attic doorways and flew downstairs. I made it to the others and no monster touched me or even showed its face as I made my descent. I was safe at last.

Courage is defined in my dictionary as being fearless or brave. I think that is the wrong definition. I believe courage is taking the right action in spite of the fear that you have of the consequences of the action. Probably the most courageous thing that I could have done was to have laid aside my fears in bed and gone back to sleep. I did the second most courageous thing, I walked past the attic doors to find safety downstairs. The least courageous thing that I could have done would have been to call for my mother to come save me.

Jesus was making the ascent up to Jerusalem (from below sea level in the Jordan valley to the mountains of Jerusalem). Mark records 4 times previous to this that Jesus told the disciples that the elders, chief priests and scribes would make Him suffer and kill Him. Jerusalem is the place where the majority of the elders, chief priest and scribes reside. Notably they were amazed and fearful as they ascended to Jerusalem. Why would Jesus consciously ascend into danger? They still didn't understand the other side of Jesus' glory, the side that chose to die for us that we might live. For the fifth time Mark records Jesus telling them that He is going to His impending death.

How many times has Jesus had to warn me about something? I guess I am just as hard headed as James and John. They were still focused on the 'good side' of Jesus' glory. So they make this outlandish request of Jesus. He doesn't turn them down. He just makes sure they know what they are asking. This story motivated Earl Marlatt in 1926 to pen the words to the hymn Are Ye Able.

“Are ye able,” said the Master, “To be crucified with Me?”

“Yea,” the sturdy dreamers answered, “To the death we follow Thee.”

Refrain

Lord, we are able. Our spirits are Thine. Remold them, make us, like Thee, divine. Thy guiding radiance above us shall be a beacon to God, to love and loyalty.

Are you able to relinquish purple dreams of power and fame, to go down into the Garden, or to die a death of shame?

Refrain

Are ye able, when the anguish racks your mind and heart with pain, to forgive the souls who wrong you, who would make your striving vain?

Refrain

Are ye able to remember, when a thief lifts up his eyes, that his pardoned soul is worthy of a place in paradise?

Refrain

Are ye able when the shadows close around you with the sod, to believe that spirit triumphs, to commend your soul to God?

Refrain

Are ye able? Still the Master whispers down eternity, and heroic spirits answer, now as then in Galilee.

Refrain

Jesus made James and John able. James was beheaded for the sake of Jesus. John died an old man in exile for his testimony of the Lord Jesus. They knew both the 'good' side of His glory and the 'bad' side of His glory. Knowing the glory of the Lord, the 'good and bad' sides usually enables me to make courageous choices. Maybe I do not always make the most courageous or even the wisest choices, but at least they are choices that get me past the attic doorways of my life, past the faces of the spiritual monsters who pretend that they have power over me. One day I will slip up the staircase and be safe at last in the glory of my Lord. There I will realize that no monster ever touched me. The faces that I saw were only plaster paris molds of a monster wanna be. The only power they ever had was when I took my eyes off of my glorious Lord. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor john