There To Be Found

Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from there you seek the LORD your God,
you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.

     I have ADHD! I forget things all the time. I am working on a project, realize I need something to complete the project, go to get that something and before I can retrieve it I have forgotten what I was going to retrieve. Or along the way I get distracted and forget about the project altogether! This drives me nuts! It also drives my wife of almost 40 years nuts as well.
     I have come to realize that I really don't forget those things. They just drop to the bottom of the thought queue. They will pop up and briefly pass through my mind days or weeks later. But before I can write them down, they are gone again, only to resurface and drop off at another random time.
     I am glad the LORD is not ADHD! He is always ready for us to return. He has open arms for us. Even when we have purposely walked away, He is there waiting for our return.
    This was really good news for the Israelites. It was news they would hear now, but not put into action for years to come. But the seed was planted. When they had wandered away and suffered the consequences of their separation from the LORD's blessing, they could know that they could return and be accepted.
     The one condition that continues, before the walk away and after the return, is that we come with all that we are. The LORD wants us to completely yield to Him. He doesn't want part of us. He knows that yielding 100% is what is best for us. It is the way we were designed to exist.
     And yet we often think we can give part of ourselves to something/someone other than the LORD. We cordon off parts of our lives in hopes that they won't affect our relationships with others. He have places that we don't yield to His intervention.
    When we do that we limit His ability to transform us and redeem us. Do we really want to limit our Creator from forming and making us into the best version of ourselves?

Rewind Moments

Mark 14:66-68

      All of us have moments in our lives that we wish we could rewind. Things done in those moments are so embarrassing, so humiliating, so character revealing, that we would do almost anything to rewind the tape and do something, anything else. This is a common experience for us human beings. We make mistakes, choose the wrong path, yield to sin. We have regrets, second guess, try again.

      Sometimes those rewind moments come and go without our notice. This time we say we are sorry, or even better we don’t injure in the first place. We actually study for the makeup test. We carry out our rehearsed moves with pinpoint accuracy. We get it right. We rewind and it appears that the error has been corrected.

      But sometimes those rewind moments become part of the definition of who we are. We become known as the guy who wore the lampshade. Or the gal who trailed the toilet paper behind them down the hallway. For most of these labels, nicknames, lose the power over time. They get replaced with other names, some of them even positive names. We don’t mind the replacement. We just want to forget that moment and pretend it never happened.

      Peter is hoping to undo what he had already done. He had insisted that he would never deny Jesus. He felt, unlike the other disciples, that he would remain true to Jesus no matter what happened. He was better than a betrayer. But in the Garden, Peter had run away, just like all the others. What he had declared with boldness just a few short hours earlier had slipped through his fingers. He was just like all the others.

      But perhaps Peter wants to redeem himself. He follows the arresting band of soldiers and guards, wanting to keep an eye on Jesus, to see what happens. He could have stayed away. He could have gone into hiding. But he stays within earshot of Jesus. He wants to make it right.

      But staying incognito isn’t as easy as Peter expects. Everything about Peter screams “outsider.” His dress, mannerisms, and accent all tell the careful observer, or even a not so observant servant girl, that he doesn’t belong.

      But it is more than that. This servant girl makes the connection between Peter and Jesus. Here Peter is just trying to stay under the radar, and the fact that he had been with Jesus kept setting off alarm bells. Something about Jesus had rubbed off on Peter.

      Is there enough of Jesus in us to set of alarm bells?

Before CGI

Mark 9:2-13

      Long before computers could change our view of the world, people saw things that blew everything they knew about the world out of the park. They saw things that so stretched their understanding of their world that they had to make fundamental shifts in how they viewed reality. When, for the first time, someone looked through a telescope and saw a glimpse of the vastness of the universe, it had to have so expanded their understanding of our insignificance. Or looking into a microscope and seeing ‘invisible’ organisms.

      Children still display that wonder as they learn about the world. I watched a small child, maybe three years old, at the beach this weekend. They ran down and sat in the receding water of a wave. Then as the next wave came they got up and with glee ran back up the beach only to turn around and run back down and sit in the receding water. Each time there was a squeal of delight. It was as if the water was playing a game with them for their amusement. What delight!

      Or the way my grandchildren look at bugs. I think I need to get them a magnifying glass. I will put that on my shopping list. I want to see more of their wonder. Or when they run after bubbles in the yard, or jump in piles of leaves, or tromp through snow, or even watch the spinning of a ceiling fan. They hold onto hair as if it were a play toy, and grip skin as if it weren’t attached.

      Jesus gave His disciples a glimpse of His reality while standing on a mountain. They saw Him without the earthly garb inhibiting the brilliance of His deity. We have seen these types of transformations because we have Computer Generated Imagery. Light can shine from someone’s eyes and burn up their opponents. The end of fingertips work as well.

      But Jesus didn’t have CGI. His light was the real deal. And two other things confirmed it. The two biggest characters in Jewish history, Moses and Elijah, are also there with Jesus. They aren’t shining, but their presence validates Jesus role and place in the spiritual hierarchy. And then, the voice of God the Father Himself declares Jesus’ uniqueness.

      And Jesus tells the three who experienced this transfiguration to not share what they had seen. But they don’t get what they have seen. They get stuck on the ‘rise from the dead’ issue. Here they are hearing the voice of God and they get stuck on a small, detail. They have the opportunity to see into God’s reality, and all they can do is puzzle about the resurrection. This is one of the things that they don’t get until after Jesus rises.

      Just because someone has a ‘blow your mind’ experience doesn’t mean they understand its implications for their day to day lives. The miraculous seen does not mean the miraculous experienced. Hearing and seeing the Truth does not automatically mean the application of that Truth to life.

Silence!

Mark 7:36-37

      I can remember the quiet days before we taught our daughter how to speak. The gentle cooing and simple words allowed other people to get a word in edgewise. But once she learned to string them together, there was no stopping her. And she hasn’t stopped since. She is a great communicator. She can express herself in a meaningful and articulate way. The world needs people who can do this.

      Can you imagine if you were unable to hear or speak and then suddenly, unexpectedly, you were able to do both? How would you react? Would you sit quietly in a room not talking or using your new abilities? I know I would shout!

      And shout they did! Jesus did what Jesus does: transforms a life. And the reaction is typical. The man who was healed, and everyone who witnessed it, and all who hear about it, bubbled over with excitement. Even when Jesus tried to keep them quiet about what happened, they don’t listen. They spread it more and more.

      They report the impossible done. That’s right, the impossible. And Jesus did it. They have never seen this. There have been some news stories in recent years where people get cochlear implants and then hear for the first time. The joy and wonderment of those moments have been captured and posted on YouTube. To hear a child’s cry for the first time, or even your own voice. Priceless!  

      What I find a little ironic is that Jesus opened the ears and mouth for hearing and speech, and then he tries to get the whole crowd to be quiet. Jesus was not a man who needed publicity. His life spoke volumes.

      How loud does your life speak of Jesus’ intervention in it? Do people hear the life-changing story or do they hear something else? The latest fashion trend, the diet of the week, the funny video, the political wind, the self-promoting, the sports highlights.

      Maybe it is time for us to shut up and allow Jesus to speak.

Odd Request

Mark 5:18-20

      How do you express gratitude to other people for their acts of kindness toward you? Do you brush off their acts as if it was nothing? Do you act as if every kindness was the greatest act in human history, making sure everyone knows about it? Or are you somewhere in between these two extremes? We all need to learn to show gratitude to the appropriate level, a level that matches the gift.

      In today’s text we see the man who has received his life back, as if back from the dead. He at some point in his life he opened the door to demon possession. We don’t know how or when, but the inescapable fact was his life had become unlivable for him every since. He had lost everything. He lived in a cemetery, his friends and family having given up trying to help him.

      But then! Those are great words. But then Jesus enters his life and everything changes. Now he is seated, dressed and in his right mind. And this transformation has brought fear to everyone around him. They want nothing to do with this Jesus who changes lives so radically. They want Him gone as soon as possible. This is a power they don’t understand, just like the power that had destroyed the man’s life. They don’t know how to control it, let alone understand it.

      Their reaction is very much like that of those who saw the first demonstrations of electricity just two centuries ago. People would gather to see simple experiments of static electricity. The people of that day didn’t know about this mysterious power. So to hear talk of harnessing the same power as lightening was very frightening. Lightening burned down barns! Lightening killed people.

      Now a man named Jesus comes to town, is able to cure the uncontrollable man who lives in the tombs, and kills the whole herd of pigs by driving them off a cliff. What is He going to do next? Where else will His power strike that we don’t want?

      This man by contrast wants to follow Jesus. Wouldn’t you, if He had cured you? Wouldn’t you want everything Jesus had to offer? Everything He did for this man was miraculous. Who wouldn’t want more miraculous power working in their life?

      But Jesus turns down the request. He instead tells the man that he has a new job. Instead of hanging out in the tombs, he is to hang out with everyone he used to know before he was banished. He was to tell them everything that had happened to him. He was to tell the great contrast between where he was and where he is now, the great chasm between demon possession, and clothed and in his right mind. That is how much the Lord had done. This is a quantifiable change.

      And this man telling his story sows the seeds of conversion for this whole area. He introduces them to the transforming Messiah, the one who changes hearts, lives and eternities. Later the full Gospel is told in this mainly non-Jewish area, and they respond in droves. Could it be that this man’s testimony prepared them to accept.

      He was also to tell them the extent of His mercy. This was not merely a physical healing, but this man’s life was restored. And he had nothing to offer in exchange for this transformation. Jesus extended mercy on him. No political favors came in exchange for Jesus’ intervention. This man had nothing of value to give. Jesus had everything. That is mercy.

      How much has the Lord done for you? Can you see this as mercy extended toward you? What did you deserve instead? Can you see the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of your life? Are you telling others this story?

Afraid of Sanity

Mark 5:15-17

      Have you ever been around something that is so unbelievable, so unprecedented that you were scared? I remember the first time I was up close to a sky jump hill. When I realized that people flew off that ramp and were in the air that long and fell that far, I felt fear rising in me. I wasn’t even wearing skis! There was no way I was going to be going down that hill, but I still sensed the fear of falling that far that fast with nothing but a couple thin boards strapped to your feet.

      Or this past weekend we saw the Blue Angels perform their stunts in Lakeland, Florida. Those jets traveling so fast, with so much power, and doing all those twists and turns at such high G forces, was scary. And the sound of the engine roars as they flew past! My grandchildren clung to adult bodies like a third layer of clothing. They were shaking and quaking.

      Jesus has brought deliverance to a man who had been controlled by demons. His life had been one of misery and solitude, at least from other people. The demons never left him alone. But Jesus has sent the demons packing and now the man is whole again.

      He is able to sit still. Now that might not seem like much, but when I was a child, sitting still was one of the most difficult things for me to do. I am ADHD! I have so much energy that it bursts out in unexpected directions. Even today I must choose to focus, or I bounce like a playground bouncy ball, pinging from one thing to the next. My teachers would always remark that I would do so much better in school if I could just learn to sit still. Oh if they could see me now, they would not believe I was the same person. I am able to sit still.

      This man is wearing clothes. You don’t have to shield your child’s eyes as he walks past. This man is said to be in his right mind. He is in control of all his mental faculties. He doesn’t run around naked, screaming and yelling, cutting himself with stones. He can carry on a conversation. He can answer questions. If you didn’t know his history, you would welcome him into your neighborhood without reservation, but that is not what the people do.

      What a strange reaction! Think of the contrast between this man who lived in the cemetery, was uncontrollable, who mutilated his body by cutting it with stones and this man sitting next to Jesus in his right mind. And they are afraid of this healthy, restored person. A little bit upside down, don’t you think! They should welcome sanity, but they don’t.  They reject him.

      The people who were tending the pigs and witness what happened tell the story, an unbelievable story that puts Jesus at the center. And not only do they not want the man around, they want Jesus to leave as well. Health can be a scary thing!

      The people must be afraid of so many things. If they recognized that Jesus pinpointed the pig industry because of its sin implications, then what industry would be next! What other area of their lives would Jesus disrupt? What other losses would they incur? They don’t want to find out, so they tell Jesus that he is persona non grata, a person not wanted. Jesus brings healing and wholeness, and they reject Him.

      Some families reject other family members when they become Jesus-followers. They are cutoff from all connections, holidays, finances, conversations, support. They become a little fanatical about following Jesus and it can be scary. The light gets brought into a dark closet and the tendency is to turn off the light rather than face what is in the closet.