No One Understands You Like Jesus!

“Doesn’t anyone understand me?” Although, you might not verbalize such a sentiment, I am confident that you have felt that way at one time or another. I certainly have! Most would agree that one of the great frustrations of life is that of being misunderstood.

Yet, we can be completely certain of the fact that Jesus always understands us. There is no experience that you may face, no emotion that you can feel, nor is there any temptation that you can battle, that Jesus does not fully comprehend. He identifies with your hurts. He feels your injuries. Why, it doesn’t matter what you have gone through (except for sin), Jesus can say, “Been there and done that!”

Jesus empathizes with human experience not just by knowing about it but by entering into it. God chose to send the Son into the world so that He would have firsthand experience of mortal life. John 1:14 says that the “Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The New Testament presents Jesus as so fully identifying with the human experience that he faced the same enemies that all human beings face: sin, disease and death.

2 Corinthians 5:21 - God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Hebrews 4:15 - This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin.

Knowing that Jesus understands us so completely, we are exhorted to  "come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."  Let me encourage you so take advantage of such a great friendship.  For truly, no one understands you like Jesus.

Ambidextrous Faith

It is said that Gregory of Nicea often praised his friend St. Basil for having "Ambidextrous Faith." You may ask, "what is ambidextrous faith"?  In Gregory's mind, ambidextrous or two-handed faith was the ability to trust God no matter what was taking place in one's life.  Gregory further commented that St. Basil accepted the trials of life with the same faith with which he accepted the pleasures of life.  Both, he believed, came from God.  Wow!  Now that is the kind of faith that I desire. 

As many have documented, it is much easier for us to trust when the path is clear, when the provisions are sure and when the problems are few.  But, how necessary is faith when the outcome is certain?  Anyone can believe, anyone can trust in the face of certitude.  It is during the moments of uncertainty and doubt that faith  truly becomes necessary.

I would remind you that Hebrews 11:1 states that faith "gives us assurance about things we cannot see."  As Philip Yancey says, "the invisibility of God guarantees that I will experience doubt."  Quite honestly, I struggle with that statement, because I always want to believe.  I never want to experience doubt. Yet, I must confess that there are moments, hours and sometimes even days when my faith is not as strong.  As I mentioned in my last blog, it is the skeleton in my closet. 

It is precisely in those moments of weakness, when I cannot see and when I do not understand, that I must blindly trust.  As Paul says in II Corinthians 5:7 "We walk by faith and not by sight."  What we need is not just a one-handed faith.  But we desperately need to be ambidextrous!  We need to trust God with life's pleasures and we need to trust God during life's problems.  We need to trust God when there is plenty and when there is little, when I am healthy and when I am sick, when I understand what God is doing as well as when I do not understand.  Regardless of what is taking place in my life, my faith is strong.

Lord, please give me anbidextrous faith!

The Skeleton in My Closet

When I was interviewing for the pastor position of Hollywood Community Church, I was asked several times by both the pulpit committee as well as the Leadership Team if there were any skeletons in my closet.  The obvious meaning being that they wanted to know if there were any hidden sins, secrets or temptations that when exposed would bring shame to the church and reproach to the cause of Christ.  Thankfully, God has graciously allowed me to not become victim to any of the things which have brought down so many of my ministerial colleagues.

This week, though, I was reminded of the fact that there still may yet be a skeleton in my closet.  Philip Yancey in his book Reaching for the Invisible God said that "doubt is the skeleton in the closet of faith."  The simple truth is that every believer has times when his faith is weak. Many of the great characters of faith in the Bible had their moments of doubt.  Abraham feared for his life in Egypt and lied about Sarah being his wife.  Job's friends were shocked and angered by his willingness to freely express his uncertainties and hesitations.  The demoniac's father in Mark 9 asked the Lord to help him with his unbelief.  Even the disciples pleaded with the Lord to increase their faith.  So yes, I also must confess that there are moments when my faith is weak and the skeleton of doubt hides in my closet.

Do you have times when you seem more skeptical than trusting?   Take heart in the fact that you are primed and ready to experience a growth spurt of faith.  For it is truly in the moments of doubt that you have the greatest opportunity for your faith to grow.  So take your skeleton out of the closet and realize that it is nothing more than a hard structure upon which living tissue can grow.  Allow the Lord to increase your faith.

Romans 10:17 - So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing  by the Word of God.

Oh, how I love Your Law!

I recently finished my bi-annual trek through the book of Psalms. As I usually do, I took a couple of days to read and study Psalm 119. This Psalm is known and loved by many. In addition to the fact that it is recognized as the longest chapter in the Bible, it also repeatedly expresses the love that David has for God’s Word. As a matter of fact in almost all of the 176 verses David reiterates the love he has for God’s commands and statutes.

One of the verses that always speaks and challenges me is Psalm 119:97 – Oh how I love your law, it is my meditation all the day. For some reason I never took the time to figure out what part of God’s Law David was referring to. Was he speaking of his love for the Genesis account of creation, or the Israelites exodus through the Sinai Peninsula or maybe even to the Psalms that he was writing? Although, it does not take a seminary degree in Old Testament studies to figure it out, I never really thought about it… until my latest reading.

Suddenly, it hit me; David was referring to God’s sacred instructions, both those that are abbreviated in the Ten Commandments, as well as the amplified version found in the book of Deuteronomy. That was significant for me, because quite honestly, the book of Deuteronomy is not one of my favorite Old Testament books. I don’t think that I have ever stated, “I love the book of Deuteronomy!” Yet, David did, more than 170 times in Psalm 119.

God viewed the book of Deuteronomy with such importance that the people of Israel were required to read the entire book together every seven years (Deut 31:10-13). Even more important, Deuteronomy 17:14-20 instructs each king, as a representative of/example for the people, to write out for himself an entire copy of the law at the beginning of his reign. Wow! How significant is that?

As I thought and meditated on that which gave joy and delight to David, I was convicted by the lack of enthusiasm and dedication that I place upon my own systematic reading. Can I say along with David that I take great delight in reading God’s Law? Would our congregation enjoy reading the book of Deuteronomy out loud? What if I had to write out by hand an entire copy of the Law or the New Testament for that matter?

Lord, help me to say along with David, “Oh how I love your law, it is my meditation all the day.”

Is All Truth "God's Truth"?

One of the more popular topics of debate within both secular and spiritual circles is whether all truth comes from God or if there is secular truth that does not originate from the divine.  Many question if there are two different types of truth?  Is there spiritual truth and secular truth?  One author probed if there is truth with a capital "T" and truth with a small "t"?   

Jesus addresses this issue several times in the Gospel of John. 

John 14:6 - I am the way, the truth, and the life. Noe one can come to the Father except through me.

John 17:17 - Make them holy by your truth, teach them your word, which is truth.

Jesus Himself is the personification of truth.  All truth points to God and finds its foundation and its significance in Him.  2 +2 does not equal 4 without God.  The reality and the consistency of that fact is based in the reality and the consistency of God. The fact that our body needs oxygen to survive; or that color is a reflection of light; or that pi is a mathematical constant whose value is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter are all truths that point to the reality of all powerful God.  God is truth and all truth comes from God.

The challenge, though, is not just to be aware of that fact.  John Piper addresses that particular issue in his web blog...http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/taste-see-articles/all-truth-is-gods-truth-admits-the-devil

Alongside “All truth is God’s truth,” we need to say, “All truth exists to display more of God and awaken more love for God.” This means that knowing truth and knowing it as God’s truth is not a virtue until it awakens desire and delight in us for the God of truth. And that desire and delight are not complete until they give rise to words or actions that display the worth of God. That is, we exist to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31), and merely knowing a truth to be God’s truth does not glorify him any more than the devil does.

The simple realization of the fact that all truth is God's truth is not enough. Truth should point man to God.  Real truth, when properly understood should give us a glimpse of our Creator.  It should give us a desire to better understand and to more intimately know Him.   

It was the psalmist that said, "the heavens proclaim the glory of God.  The skies display His craftsmanship."   The magnitude and the beauty of the heavens point people towards the reality of a personal God.  How sad when scientists and humanists alike view truth in all of its magnificence and yet reject the Author of that truth.   Once again to quote John Piper: "All truth exists to make God known, and loved and shown."

So be amazed at the beauty and the precision of the universe, discover the exactitude and the miraculous functionality of the human body, seek to understand the laws of physics and thermodynamics.  Let me encourage you, though, to not stop there.  Allow the truth of God to result in a greater personal love an dedication for the God who is the Author of it all.

Thankful for a Healthy Heart

Psalm 139:14 - Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it!  

Several weeks ago I took my annual stress test and echocardiogram to evaluate the condition of my heart.  These annual cardio check-ups are due to the fact that twelve years ago I suffered a heart attack and underwent triple bypass open heart surgery.   Yes I know what you are thinking, how could such a young and physically fit guy have heart problems?   Well, let's just blame it on my mom's side of the family. 

For the past eleven years I have passed each of these annual exams with "flying colors."  Everything was smooth sailing up until this year.  Several days after this year's stress test I received a call from my cardiologist's office saying that something appeared to be abnormal with the nuclear imaging.  I needed to have a heart catherization.  

You have no idea what such news does to me.  Although I may appear to be courageous and full of faith on the outside, I must confess that I am a huge wimp on the inside.  I immediatly jumped to the worst conclusions and convinced myself that I had just a short time to live. Yes, now was the time to get my affairs in order because I was not going to live much longer.  :)

Last Monday they performed the heart cath and to my surprise (and lack of faith) everything was fine.  There was no need for open heart surgery, stents or any other procedure.  I was going to live!

There is an amazing and miraculous part to this story.  The heart catherization revealed that one of my three bypasses had collapsed. You would think that such an occurance would have caused a shortflow of blood to my heart and a potential heart attack, but that was not the case.  In my doctor's words, "my heart fixed itself."   The surgeon stated that other collateral veins and arteries picked up the slack for the collapsed bypass so that my heart not only did not suffer damage, but it is as strong and healthy as always. Of course you and I know that my heart did not fix itself, God fixed it!  Isn't that cool?

I am so thankful that I serve an all-powerful God that has not only cured my wounded heart, but He also cleansed my sinful heart.  Hallelujah what a Savior!

 

Miami Herald Article on Hollywood Community Church

http://tinyurl.com/3hmyzpg