The Humilty Of Jesus - Part III

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isa%2052:13-15&version=NIV

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isa%2053&version=NIV

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2010:17-18&version=NIV

The last couple days we have been looking at the humility of Jesus.  Quite a subject.  On a practical level one would never have associated the Son of God with humility.  I mean, what does God have to be humble about?  But ever since Jesus came to earth He has been forever linked to humility.  As difficult as it was to comprehend the humility of Jesus in consenting to become a human, and to stoop so low so as to wash His disciples’ feet, His last display of humility is even more amazing.  His suffering and death.

How can we comprehend God suffering?  Isn’t this unheard of in the annals of human history?  But that is exactly what happened on Jesus’ way to the cross.  He suffered.  Greatly.  Unjustly.  Centuries earlier, Isaiah, in Chapters 52 & 53, predicted the suffering and death of Jesus.  And the words he used to describe it are none too pretty.  Beaten.  Bruised.  Pain.  Disfigurement.  To the point of being unrecognizable.  Bruising.  Blood.  Suffering.  Slaughter.  Not a good word among them.  Blow after blow Jesus humbled Himself by being willing to take the punishment that was rightly ours.  And how did He respond?  Without murmur or complaint. 

Then there was His slow, agonizing, painful death.  Flesh torn into a thousand pieces.  Raw and bleeding.  Nails in His hands and feet.  Struggling to breath.  Intense pain wracking His whole body.  Minute by minute life slowly draining away from the Creator of Life.  Yet not a word of complaint.  Instead He prayed for His enemies.  Only a divine being could do this.

The fact is that no one likes to die.  And this included Jesus.  One of the negatives regarding death is that it is humbling.  Big time.  This is why so many people down through the ages have despised it.  One moment a person is an all-powerful king whose word is law.  The next moment he is being placed into the ground just like any poor person or slave.  Sure, he may have a splendid funeral.  And even a monument to house his remains.  But, in the end, he’s just as dead as the next guy.

The humility of Jesus is seen in the fact that He was willing to die a horrible, painful death.  He was willing to die like any other person.  I say ‘willing’ because Jesus had the power to stop His torture and suffering anytime He wanted to.  When He was about to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said the following to Peter.  “Do you think I cannot call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”  The point that Jesus was making was that He was still in control.  He had the power to avoid pain and suffering.  And death.  But He didn’t.  Instead, Jesus humbled Himself.  Which included the humiliation of dying.  Dying the death of a condemned criminal.

What more can be said about the humility of Jesus?  Is there anything or anyone to compare Him to?  I don’t think so.  The all-powerful, glorious Son of God being willing to experience life as a creature.  Being willing to serve in ways that others would not.  Being willing to suffer and die an ignoble death.  Why?  Because of His love for us.  If that doesn’t demonstrate the depths of His great love for us, then nothing will.  And if that doesn’t cause our hearts to burst with thankfulness and gratitude, then nothing will.  No wonder the Father has exalted Him to the highest place.  He, and He alone, deserves it.

Lord, if I ever want to know what humility looks like all I have to do is look at Jesus.  He is the very embodiment of humility.  In fact, His humility humbles me.  And well it should.  Especially when I understand that He humbled Himself for me.  How can I not appreciate this?  How can I not live for Him in return?  How can I not humble myself and follow His example?  Help me that my life will be an example of humility to others.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Humility Of Jesus - Part II

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2013:1-17&version=NIV

http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=humble+yourselves%2C+sight&qs_version=KJV

A couple weeks ago I was at the jail on my weekly visit of a prisoner.  As I was waiting for the visiting time to begin several other men were also patiently waiting to visit prisoners.  One young man asked a question of the rest of us.  It seems that he wanted to talk about the need for humility to his prisoner.  So he asked us what Scriptures he should use.  I mentioned the Philippians 2 passage from yesterday’s post.  Someone else mentioned John 13.  Another excellent Scripture.

In case you aren’t familiar with it, the setting for John 13 is what is now commonly referred to as the Last Supper.  Jesus is celebrating the Passover Meal with His disciples.  Unbeknownst to them it would be His last Passover Meal.  And His last earthly meal.  Period.  All of a sudden Jesus gets up from the table, lays aside His outer robe, and wraps a towel around His waist.  Then He pours water into a basin and begins to wash each of His disciples’ feet.  Foot-washing was a common and accepted practice in that culture.  Mostly everybody traveled on foot.  And as they traveled they wore sandals.  On dusty, dirty roads.  You can guess why foot-washing was important.  It helped to remove the dust from people’s feet.  And it probably helped a bit with the smell.  A very good practice in my book!

In the more well-to-do homes a servant would perform this menial task.  In the average home this was the chore of the youngest child.  With a room full of men and no servants or children in sight, the foot-washing had been neglected.  Intentionally.  Numerous times the disciples had been arguing over who was going to be the greatest in the Kingdom of God.  Not a single one of them wanted to humble themselves and wash everyone’s feet.  They were not servants.  They were very important disciples of a very important Master.  It seems like the customary foot-washing was not going to happen this particular evening.

Until Jesus went into action.  In the Philippians 2 passage it talks about Jesus taking on the form of a servant.  This is the picture we have here.  The all-powerful, glorious Son of God humbled Himself and performed a menial task that none of His disciples would perform.  Why?  Because they weren’t willing to humble themselves.  I can only imagine how the conversation immediately stopped as the disciples realized what Jesus was about to do.  Think of the shame they must have felt when He stooped down to do a task that they were too proud to do.   Foot after foot, Jesus went around the table washing and drying all the feet of His disciples.  When He finished Jesus sat back down.  He said that if He, their Master, was willing to wash their feet then they ought to be willing to wash each other's feet.  What a lesson in humility.

I don’t know why we find humility so hard to come by.  But we do.  Especially when it’s something that’s not our job.  Something that’s menial.  Something that we perceive to be beneath us.  ‘Let someone else do it’, we think.  Unfortunately this is exactly what others are thinking as well.  The result?  A task that needs to be done goes undone.  This is what is so amazing about Jesus.  He’s willing to do what we are unwilling to do.  He’s willing to humble Himself.  To play the part of a servant.  This should make feel us ashamed.  And rightly so.  How can we not humble ourselves and serve others when our Master is willing to?

Lord, I am deeply challenged by the humility of Jesus.  The fact that He was willing to wash the dirty, smelly feet of His disciples.  Would I have done the same?  I don’t know.  I admit that I have a long way to go in this area.  Help me to be willing to humble myself and to serve others.  To demonstrate that I do have the Spirit of Jesus living within me.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Humility Of Jesus - Part I

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Phil%202:5-11&version=NIV1984

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+14:11&version=NIV1984

The ancient world was a much different world from the one in which we live.  Life wasn’t always seen as precious.  A lot of blood was spilled.  Often needlessly.  Nation went to war against nation and the conquerors often killed the majority of the vanquished.  And took the rest into slavery.  Might and strength were seen as virtues.  Which, of course, led to a great deal of bravado.  Bragging.  And pride.  It was truly a man’s world.  Only the strong survived.

As you can imagine, humility was a foreign concept in that culture.  In fact, John Wesley observed that “neither the Romans nor the Greeks had a word for humility.”  Imagine that.  Not a single word for humility.  Why?  Because no one wanted to be humble.  Humility was for the weak.  For sissies.  For losers.  Until Jesus came along.

Jesus was the very embodiment of humility.  Which is pretty amazing when we understand that He was God.  Paul, in Philippians 2:5-11 talks about the humility of Jesus.  He says that although Jesus was God, He was willing to humble Himself to the point of becoming a human.  Now, as human beings, we don’t see anything wrong with that.  Because we are human.  But think about what that meant for Jesus.  It meant that the glorious, all-powerful Son of God, whom angels worshiped and served, was going to be bound by a very ordinary-looking human body.  That, right there, is the very definition of humility.  Of stooping low.  Very low.  So low that the Creator became the creature.  The fact is that the Incarnation, and the willingness of Jesus to become flesh and blood, is about as far a descent as one can go in this universe.  And Jesus did it willingly.  For us.

As if that weren’t enough, Paul goes on to tell us that Jesus humbled Himself while in His human body.  No special divine privileges or perks.  He entered this world like every other human being had before or since.  As a baby.  Now one would have thought that Jesus would have suddenly burst on to the scene as an adult.  Instead Jesus was born as a defenseless, little infant.  He had to depend upon others for food, protection, and to have his diapers changed.  That is being humble.  As He grew He experienced all of the other limitations of humanness.  Hunger.  Thirst.  Fatigue.  And on His journey to the cross He also experienced disappointment.  And being misunderstood.  Being hated.  And despised.  He experienced rejection.  And pain.  Torture.  And death.  And He did experienced all this willingly.  For us.

As I reflect on the Philippians 2 passage I contrast the humility of Jesus with the pride that I have in my own heart.  And I am ashamed.  Ashamed at how much I resist being humble.  Ashamed of how little enthusiasm I have for it.  Ashamed that I cannot humble myself for much lesser things than Jesus did.  So I keep working on it.  And praying about it.  Little by little I am slowly recognizing opportunities to practice humility.  Slowly learning that it is the path to godliness.  And becoming transformed into the image of Jesus.

The Apostle Paul then closes his passage by showing that, ultimately, humility is the path to greatness and glory.  Because Jesus was willing to humble Himself to the point of death on the cross, God has given honor to His name that is given to none other.  That in the future every single person is going to bow their knee at the mention of Jesus' name.  And every tongue is going to confess that He is Lord.  What a special day that will be.  And Jesus will deserve it.  He deserves it all.

Lord, how I resist humility.  It goes against my very nature.  Which is precisely the point.  I need to live according to my new nature.  The nature of Jesus.  The nature that embraces and even celebrates humility.  Help me recognize the opportunities that You send my way to become humble.  And to fully embrace them.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Happiness - A Journey

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+118:24&version=NASB

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206:34&version=NIV

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%204:13-15&version=NIV

Some years ago I came across the following quote.  I believe that it is original with Robert R. Updegraff (1889-1977).  Apparently Updegraff (how’s that for a name?) was a business counselor and adviser to many of our country’s top management teams.  I don’t know much else of what Updegraff said or wrote, but his quote is priceless.  “Happiness is a journey, not a destination; happiness is to be found along the way not at the end of the road, for then the journey is over and it's too late. The time for happiness is today not tomorrow.”  Isn’t that a great quote?  What a timely reminder.

Many people in our fast-paced society are focused on the future.  Now having an eye on the future is certainly something that everyone should do.  The reason is that the future will soon be here.  And by planning for it today, we can not only be ready for it, but also shape it.  So the time to get our education out of the way is now.  The time to start saving for our first house is now.  The time to start saving for our children’s college education is now.  The time to start putting aside money for our retirement is now.  The problem, however, is when we live in the future.  Exclusively.  Because when we live in the future, we fail to appreciate today.  Allow me to illustrate.

Take a young married couple who are eagerly wanting to have their first child.  Then he or she comes along and they can’t want until they have a few more children.  Then they can’t wait until their children can crawl.  Sit up.  Stand.  Walk.  Talk.  Are out of diapers.  Start attending school.  Are in high school.  Graduate.  Leave the house.  Go on to college.  Before they realize it, their children are gone.  Out of the house.  Then they wish that they could go back and enjoy some of those times again.  But they can’t.  Those days are gone forever.  Never to be re-lived.

As Updegraff mentions, the same thing can happen with happiness.  So many people look to the future as that time when they will be happy.  When everything in their life is exactly the way that they want it.  I have a news flash for you.  We never will get to the point where everything is exactly the way that we want it to be.  Never.  When life is lived like this happiness becomes elusive.  Always around the next corner.  Just out of our reach.  The result is that we are never happy.  We fully expect to be.  But we never arrive there.

The great secret to life is enjoying today.  With all of its stresses.  And demands.  And imperfections.  To enjoy our health.  Our loved ones.  Our job or career.  Our stage in life.  The gifts that God has given us.  The ways that He is using us.  The things that He is teaching us.  These are just some of the things that we should be happy for.  Happy for today.

So as yet another Thanksgiving approaches let’s train ourselves to be happy today.  To be fully engaged today.  To live for today.  To not wish our present away by spending too much time wishing for the future.  The fact is that tomorrow may never come.  And even if it does it might not look like we thought it would.  Remember, happiness is a journey.  Not a destination.  It is something to be celebrated and experienced every day.  Starting today!

Lord, as I plan for the future help me not to neglect today.  Help me to appreciate it.  The good and the bad.  The highs and the lows.  The realized and unrealized expectations.  Help me to be happy with what You have given me.  And who You have brought into my life.  And the experiences You are taking me through.  Today, I choose to be happy in You.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

No Loitering

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians+6:18&version=NASB

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Timothy+2:22&version=NIV

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%201:13-15&version=NIV

When I was a child I used to go shopping with my parents downtown.  Back then there was no such thing as malls with their expansive parking lots.  All of the stores were located on city blocks.  The parking was located on the streets out front.  If you couldn’t parallel park you were pretty much out of luck.  Going downtown on a fairly frequent basis I spent a lot of time cooped up in our car while one of my parents was in the store.  This gave me plenty of time to survey the various signs.  Like most children I knew what a Stop sign was and what it meant.  But other signs, not so much.

So I would ask my parents what that funny yellow triangle-shaped sign was.  I learned it was a Yield Sign and what it meant.  Then there were the No Parking signs.  I understood what those meant but we also had No Standing signs.  That was confusing to me.  Did that mean that you couldn’t stand on the sidewalk next to the sign?  Or that you couldn’t stand in the street next to it?  Patiently my father explained to me that a No Standing sign meant that you couldn’t park in the space, even if you were inside the car with the motor running.  Why didn’t they just say No Cars Allowed and be done with it?

Another sign that I remember asking about was No Loitering.  First of all, it was a hard sign to even pronounce as a child.  I’ll bet that most kids thought it said No Littering.  Just exactly what is a ‘loiter’ anyway?  My parents told me that No Loitering meant that you couldn’t hang around there.  Well who would want to hang around on a street corner or an alley in the first place?  I didn’t know.  My young mind couldn’t understand the reason for the sign.  Now that I am older I do.  And I can see its spiritual implications as well.

There are several places in Scripture (which I have linked above) that tell us to flee certain things.  Things such as temptation and youthful lusts.  This means that we shouldn’t hang around where these things are present.  We don’t stay there.  We don’t loiter.  Or linger.  I like the word linger.  It has sort of a dangerous feel to it.  And it is dangerous.  It is always dangerous to linger where sin and/or temptation are.  Linger too much and we can’t help but become involved.  This is precisely why the Bible tells us to flee.  We should never loiter in a situation that might jeopardize our spiritual health just because we are curious.  Or feeling adventurous.  Or strong.

When we loiter around temptation we show that we lack understanding.  In I Corinthians 10:12 we are told, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands (loiters) take heed that he does not fall.”  The longer we loiter the more susceptible we become to sinning.  Loitering gives the temptation time to attack our weak spot.  To become alluring.  Enchanting.  Once we get to the point where we desire it, it’s all over.  Game.  Set.  Match.

So don’t become a loiterer.  Avoid temptation.  When you see it coming or find yourself face-to-face with it, flee.  Run away as fast as you can.  It’s not just the right thing to do.  Or the spiritual thing to do.  It’s the only thing to do!

Lord, help me not to be a loiterer.  Someone who lingers in the presence of temptation.  Help me to follow Your Word and flee.  To run.  As fast as I can in the opposite direction.  Into Your waiting arms.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Cheaters Never Prosper

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=AMos%208:4-7&version=NIV

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deut%2025:16&version=NLT

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Prov%2016:8&version=NLT

The Salomon Keilder Marathon is regarded as one of Britain’s most beautiful and there is little doubt as to why.  It is run around the shores of Keilder Resevoir, the largest man-made lake in all of Europe and has breathtaking views.  Of course, running a marathon can also be breath-taking as well.  If you know what I mean.  Rob Sloan does.

On Sunday, October 9, 2011 the annual Salomon Keilder Marathon was run.  Rob Sloan was one of 1,109 runners who finished the race.  And therein lies the problem.  Sloan finished in 3rd place.  With a personal best time.  That, in and of itself, is not something to arouse suspicion.  Some runners are clutch and run their best times during competition.  What was suspicious, however, is that in a race where personal bests are measured in seconds, Sloan knocked a full 12 minutes of his previous best time!  OK, start an investigation!  Something’s wrong here!  Then there was the fact that Sloan was the only runner (out of 1,109) to run a faster second half of the race than first half.  On top of that there was the fact that the 4th place finisher, Steven Cairns, never saw Sloan pass him.  Never.  It turns out that Sloan didn’t.  Well, he did and he didn’t.  Let me explain.

It seems that Sloan had run the 10k race the previous day (and won) so at about the 20 mile mark in the marathon, he became fatigued.  So Sloan flagged down a passing spectator bus and got on board.  People noticed.  (Somehow they recognized a sweaty marathon runner with a large number plastered across his chest riding the bus during the race!  Hmmm, figure that one out.)  While on the bus, Sloan passed Cairns, getting off the bus near the finish line.  Hiding behind a tree for a few seconds, Sloan then re-entered the marathon and sprinted the last little distance to the finish line.  Once across the line, Sloan proceeded to accept the 3rd place award and even gave a local TV interview boasting that he’d run an ‘unbelievably tough’ marathon.  Yeah, right.

Well it didn’t take race organizers too long to figure the deception out.  Unfortunately, when people began questioning Sloan about his race he called the accusations ‘laughable’.  “I’m upset and angry that someone wants to cast these aspersions”, he said.  Later, faced with numerous eyewitnesses who saw him on the bus, the 31-year-old former army mechanic admitted that he had cheated.  Even that didn’t come easy.  One of the marathon’s organizers said afterwards that Sloan was distraught over having to come clean.  Wow.  This guy doesn’t get it.  Justice was served in that Sloan was stripped of his medal (I hope that they gave it a big yank while it was still around his neck!) and there is the possibility that he could be banned from running any future marathons.  (Unless he enters under an assumed name.  Wearing a costume.  I wouldn’t put it past him at this point!)

The part that I don’t understand is how Sloan thought he could get away with such a public display of cheating?  He actually thought that a bus full of people couldn’t put 2 + 2 together?  Or the race organizers?  Or his competitors?  Talk about living in a fantasy world.  Then I don’t know how Sloan could live with himself knowing he cheated.  As a competitor myself, I want to win fair-and-square.  I want to see what I can do.  Not what I can get away with.  That’s why I, and millions of others, compete.

Unfortunately, the competitive drive in some people causes them to be willing to do anything to win.  Or to get rich.  Or to be famous.  And while not every cheater is caught, cheating is always wrong.  Cheaters will never prosper.  Because even if they manage to get away with it in this life, they won’t in the life to come.  And if they think it’s hard coming clean now, just wait until they face the Judge.  That makes me want to be honest right there!

Lord, there are times when I am tempted to cheat.  To cut corners.  To work the ‘system’.  Help me always to take the high road.  To be honest.  To maintain my integrity.  To act as Your child.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I Want To Be A Tree

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%201&version=NIV

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2017:7-8&version=NIV

Not too long ago our 4-year-old grandson Brett came and confided in me.  “Pap, Pap, I have a problem.  When I grow up I want to be a fireman, a bondsman, a detective and a pastor.  I don’t know how I can do all of them?”  A pretty big problem indeed for someone so young!  All of the above occupations are either his dad’s or mine.  Just goes to show the influence of male figures in a young boy’s life.  I spoke reassuringly to him.  “Brett, there’s nothing to say that you can’t do all these things.  Let’s just wait and see what God has in store for you.”  He seemed satisfied with my answer.  For now.

Like Brett, most children have dreams of what they’d like to do or become when they are older.  These dreams vary from child to child.  Some want to be a princess.  Or a super hero.  Others want to be a quarterback.  Or a model.  A singer.  An actress.  A doctor.  A nurse.  And who knows but that they might not actually realize their dream?  Certainly there are some children who grow up to be exactly what they wanted to be when they were a child.  In my own life, shortly after I started going to church at age 10, I decided that I wanted to become a pastor.  This was before I was even a Christian!  And now look at me!  God does certainly move in mysterious ways at times.  However, at this stage of life I have decided that I want to be something different.  I want to become a tree.  Yes, a tree.  Let me explain.

Last year I decided to go from memorizing various verses of Scripture to memorizing entire passages.  Certainly there are a lot of great verses scattered throughout the Bible and they are very helpful to our spiritual growth.  But there is also great benefit in memorizing an entire passage of Scripture as well.  So I memorized Philippians 2:5- 11 where it says that Jesus humbled Himself by becoming a servant.  And John 15:1-8 about the vine and the branches.  The one passage that really spoke to me, however, was Psalm 1.  If you are familiar with this Psalm at all you know that the author uses a simile to illustrate a spiritual truth.  He likens a person who doesn’t associate or listen to the wicked to a tree.  In verse 3 we read:

“That person is like a tree
 planted by streams of water,
   which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
   whatever they do prospers.”

This is the kind of tree that everyone likes.  And benefits from.  Strong.  Healthy.  Fruitful.  Lots of shade.  Pleasant to look at.  An additional requirement for becoming this kind of tree is found in verse 2:

“whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on His law day and night.”

As nutrients in the soil are to a tree so is God’s Word to the spiritually-mature and strong Christian.  It is absolutely critical to their survival and health.

So, I have decided that I want to become a tree.  A godly tree.  Someone who is stable.  Strong.  Who can withstand the storms of life.  Someone who provides such things as fruit, shade and beauty to others around me.  Someone who adds to the scenery.  And, as every tree points skyward to its Creator, I want my life to point others to Jesus.

Lord, I admire trees.  Especially the big, tall ones.  They are so strong.  Massive.  Imposing.  They can withstand so much.  And provide so much to so many.  Help me to be like the tree in Psalm 1.  Strong.  Fruitful.  Leafy.  Someone who can withstand the storms of life.  Someone who provides so much to so many.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.