Here I Am! Send Me.

Today is the third day in our 33rd week, reading the Bible through together in a year.  Our scriptures* today are:  Isaiah 4-6; Matthew 23.

Jesus weeps over Jerusalem

In Matthew 23, Jesus expresses how dangerous it is to be a prophet of God.

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

Yet, in Isaiah 6, we read about the call of a prophet who says "yes" to God.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

"Here I Am!  Send me."

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost;for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 

Today, I want to ask you a simple question.  Would you do it?  It's interesting to note that God didn't tell Isaiah that the people wouldn't listen to him until after Isaiah said "yes."  Most preachers wouldn't accept a call to share God's message with people if they knew in advance that their message wouldn't be received.  Prophets who knew they were going to be rejected would say, "What's the point?"  Certainly, Jesus didn't say that Jerusalem stoned ALL the prophets, but those who declare God's message must be aware that rejection, persecution, and even physical threat could be involved.  One tradition says that Isaiah was martyred under the reign of Manasseh.  Would he have agreed to serve, had he known his eventual fate?  Would you?  Or would you say, "Here I am!  Don't Send Me?"

Some time ago, I visited the Southern Baptist Convention's missionary training center.  Here, thousands of missionaries have been trained for service in countries around the globe.  Each one who attends the training is eager to work for God.  Yet every day in the center the students pass by a wall that is covered with the names Southern Baptist missionaries who has died in the field, having given their lives for the cause of Christ.  Each student knows that while nobody plans on martyrdom, it may be a reality for those who proclaim God's Word.

In Luke 9:23-26, Jesus says:

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Even if you forget my question of whether or not you'd accept a call to become a prophet or preacher or missionary--would you become a Christian, if you knew that you might suffer because of it?  Just take a look at the current situation in Egypt, and you can see Christians under attack for their faith.  Since August 14, over 60 churches and institutions have been attacked by Muslims.  Click here to see a slide show and read more from the Washington Post.  Egypt is not alone in being a dangerous place for Christians to live.  Jesus' followers around the world continue to suffer persecution at the hands of those who oppose His truth.

So--if you seriously believed that being a Christian was dangerous, would you still give your heart to Christ?  If you thought it might cause you real suffering, danger, or even death, would you say "yes" to His call?  Would you take up your cross and follow Him?  Or, would you do the easier, more convenient, and safer thing?

This morning, I think I'll end this post with a ?



*All scriptures taken from the ESV.

Obedience, Not Obeisance

Today is the second day in our 33rd week, reading the Bible through together in a year.  Our scriptures today are Isaiah 1-3; Matthew 22; Psalm 9.

In our NT passage, the Pharisees tried to test Jesus by asking Him a question that would probably anger people, no matter what answer He gave.  Matthew 22:34-40 (ESV) says:

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

This was also Isaiah's message to the people.  In Isaiah 1:10-18 (ESV), the Lord says through the prophet:

10 Hear the word of the Lord,
    you rulers of Sodom!
Give ear to the teaching of our God,
    you people of Gomorrah!
11 “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
    says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
    and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
    or of lambs, or of goats.

12 “When you come to appear before me,
    who has required of you
    this trampling of my courts?
13 Bring no more vain offerings;
    incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—
    I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts
    my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
    I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands,
    I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
    I will not listen;
    your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
    remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
17     learn to do good;
seek justice,
    correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
    plead the widow's cause.

18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
    they shall become like wool.

Essentially, God is saying that the people have performed all the right religious rituals, yet their hearts are far from God.  The evidence of this is that their relationship with fellow people is one of sin and treachery.  Isaiah doesn't enumerate each one of the people's sins, because the list would be too long, and because just as soon as the list was ended, people would think up a new sin that wasn't on the list.  The solution isn't in memorizing a list of do's and don't's.  The solution is found in getting right with God.

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean.

Reason with the Lord. and let Him purify you.

When you do this, then you'll cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, and plead the widow's cause.  

Just as injustice is a symptom of the disease of rebellion against God, correcting injustice naturally flows from getting your relationship right with the Lord.  

We tend to try to cure the human condition of sin by treating the symptoms, rather than treating the disease.  But that's like trying to cure baldness by gluing people's hair back on.  No--you've got to get to the root.  The cure comes not by adopting new religious practices--God won't be pleased with your doxologies or offerings, any more than He was pleased with the new moon sacrifices of Judah and Jerusalem.  God wants you to love Him before you laud Him.  God wants your obedience, not your obeisance.  

Love God.  Love your neighbor.  It's just that simple.

Obedience

Today is the first day in our 33rd week, reading the Bible through together in a year.  Our scriptures this week are:

•  2 Kings 15-16; Matt 21
•  Isaiah 1-3; Matt 22; Psalm 9
•  Isaiah 4-6; Matt 23;
•  Micah 1-4; Matt 24; Psalm 10
•  Micah 5-7; Matt 25

"Obedience" is one of those words that we don't like to hear, when it's applied to ourselves.  Oh, we parents like to use it, when we're telling our kids how to relate to us.  Or, teachers (as this new school year begins) might expect it from their students.  Employers may say they demand it from their workers.  But for ourselves, obedience is a difficult concept.  Especially when it comes to our relationship with God.  Parents have ways of disciplining disobedient children, and teachers can send kids to the office.  Employers might dock your pay, but it seems like God has no enforcers to guarantee your obedience.  So, we prefer our warm and fuzzy idea of God our buddy, over the notion of God who demands obedience.  Yet, Jesus says that God demands obedience from His people.

In Matthew 21:18-22, Jesus cursed a fig tree that bore no fruit.  Bible scholars debate whether or not it truly was fig season, but this is irrelevant.  The Creator of the universe can demand figs from a tree, no matter what season it is.  If Jesus approached a fig tree, desiring in His heart to eat a fig, then regardless of the season it should have produced for Him on the spot.  And yet, because of the tree's disobedience, Jesus cursed it so that it withered and never produced again.  Am I anthropomorphizing the tree too much, to say that it was disobedient?  I'm not sure.  If the trees of the field can clap their hands, if the heavens can declare the glory of God, if winds and waves can calm themselves because of the Lord's rebuke, then certainly a fig tree can be obstinate.  Jesus was demonstrating something important in this visual parable.  If God demands obedience from a fig tree, how much more does He expect obedience from His people?  

To further illustrate this point, Jesus criticized the religious leaders for pretending obedience, when their hearts were completely disobedient to God. In verses 28-32, 43 (ESV), Jesus says:

“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went.  And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go.  Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.  For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him...Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 

So, which son more closely represents your relationship to God?  Do you say "yes" to the Lord, only to turn around and disobey His Spirit's promptings?  Or, do you, albeit sometimes reluctantly, step into God's will?  Remember the fig tree, and don't make excuses when God asks you to do something for Him.  It's no good saying, "Lord, it's just not the right timing," because the right timing is whenever God says it's the right timing.  If we want to be friends of God, then we need to obey Him.  In John 15:14 (ESV), Jesus says, "You are my friends if you do what I command you."  I pray that today, both you and I will follow His commands.

Get Over Yourself!

Today is the final day in our 32nd week, reading the Bible through in a year.  Our scriptures* today are:  Hosea 14; 2 Chronicles 26-27; Matthew 20; Psalm 61.

In Matthew 20, Jesus tells the story of the workers in the vineyard:  

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them,‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

 Usually, this story is called the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard.  Really, it should be called the Parable of the Generous Landowner.  This story really ruffled people's feathers in Jesus' day, and it still upsets folks today.  What do you think?  Was the landowner generous, or was he shady?  Take a look at the video below, to hear what people on the street think.  



Instead of calling this the Parable of the Generous Landowner, many people would call this the Parable of the Dishonest Boss.  But only if they aren't really listening.  The landowner never cheats the workers who came into the field first.  He simply shows his generosity to those who came last.  Those who came in the early morning still received the reward that they bargained for.  Did the latecoming workers get what they deserved?  Probably not.  They got more than they deserved--but this shows the lavish nature of God's grace towards them, not the miserliness of God towards the first workers.

I've heard a lot of interpretations for this parable.  Some say that it's about people who become Christians early in life, versus those who enter the Kingdom later in life.  Each receives an equal reward for their faith.  This may seem unfair.  Those who enter faith early devote their entire lives to the Lord's service, while those who are saved later can only give God a short time to serve Him.  Yet, we forget that the definition of GRACE is "unmerited favor."  The whole basis of our faith is that God generously gives better than we deserve.  Those who complain have forgotten that none of us deserve God's grace anyway.  And that simply being hired by the Master at all is a sign that God has given us His great mercy.

How much do you think you've earned?

Certainly the interpretation that Jesus intended in His own time was that God first called the Jews into the Kingdom, and then later He would call others.  John the Baptist decried pompous Jewish self-confidence, saying, "Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham (Luke 3:8)."  And in the Gentile people, God would indeed raise up another people for Himself.  This must have enraged John's hearers.  It must have infuriated those who heard Jesus' Parable of the Generous Landowner--because the members of His Jewish audience were those who had entered the field early in the morning.  They believed it would be unfair to give the same reward to people who hadn't worked for it, as their ancestors had.

This sentiment is at work today, as well.  In my twenty-plus years of ministry, I've always worked in rural churches throughout Virginia.  No matter where I've gone, there has been conflict between the "from-here's" and the "come-here's."  My readers who live in cities may not appreciate the social importance of these designations.  City populations are so transient, diverse, and variable that it doesn't really matter who's a "from-here" and who's a "come-here."  But in the rural South, the people whose families have lived in the area for generations often feel a sense of entitlement, and are unwelcoming to those who move to the area.  Don't get me wrong--this isn't always the case, but it often is.  Especially if the "come-here" isn't from the South at all.  In churches, this conflict can carry over to power struggles within the congregation.  People who seemingly inherited the church clerk or trustee or deacon position from their grandparents can be unwilling to share control over the church with those who are newcomers to the area or to the congregation.  In this case, the denarius in Jesus' parable would not represent salvation, but would stand for the places of privilege held by church members who feel that they and their ancestors have worked in the fields longer than the "come-here's."  Yet in God's economy, it doesn't matter how long you've been in the field--you all get paid the same way.  God's plan is for the "from-here's" and the "come-here's" to play an equal part in the church.

The reader must keep in mind the context of this story.  In the previous chapter, we meet the Rich Young Ruler, who thought he could earn God's favor.  "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life (Matthew 19:16b)?”  But Jesus tells him that salvation cannot be earned.  In verse 30, Jesus says, "But many who are first will be last, and the last first."  Then, right after the Parable of the Generous Landowner, we read about James and John's mother, who asks Jesus to grant a special favor for her boys--ostensibly because they had earned it.  But Jesus says, "Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (20:26-27).”  Grace isn't about earning more.  It's about submitting yourself to God and receiving what you could never earn to begin with.

So--what's the point?  To put it plainly, Jesus was saying, "Get over yourself!"  Life isn't about jockeying for position, like James and John were trying to do.  It's not about trying to earn more credit from God than other people have earned--because you can't earn it anyway.  Life is about saying, "Yes, Lord, I'm willing to work in Your vineyard," and then trusting God to take care of you fairly.  God is generous beyond your imagination.  When you serve Him, He always gives better than you deserve anyway.  When you trust Him, you'll see just how gracious God really is.






*Scriptures taken from the ESV.

Let the Little Children Come to Me

Today is the fourth day in our 32nd week, reading the Bible through in a year.  Our scriptures today are:  Hosea 11-13; Matthew 19.

The sanctuary at Bethel, decorated for Vacation Bible School

This has been an amazing week at Bethel Baptist Church.  Our Vacation Bible School has been such a blessing!  We've been learning that God's Word, family and friends, and prayer help us to stand strong.  I've watched tiny children talk about their "God-sightings," when they've seen God in little things like the beauty of a tree or when one person helps another.  The wonder, obedience, and innocence of childhood is an inspiring thing.  That's why Jesus loved children so much, and held them up as a paragon of faithfulness.

In Matthew 19:13-14 (ESV), Jesus welcomes little children:

Miss Kirsten (AKA Nehemiah) teaches the children 

Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 

Not only did Jesus say that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to childlike people--He also said that "unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3 NIV)."  We MUST encounter God with obedience, innocence, and wonder--without these things, we can never have a "God-sighting," much less a close relationship with Him.

In the book of Hosea, God uses many metaphors to describe His relationship with His people.  At the beginning of the book, God describes them as a wayward spouse.  Toward the end of Hosea, the metaphor changes, and we see once-faithful people turning away from God, even as rebellious children reject their parents.  In Hosea 11:1-11, the Lord says:

When Israel was a child, I loved him,
    and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more they were called,
    the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
    and burning offerings to idols.

3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
    I took them up by their arms,
    but they did not know that I healed them.
4 I led them with cords of kindness,
    with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
    and I bent down to them and fed them.

5 They shall not return to the land of Egypt,
    but Assyria shall be their king,
    because they have refused to return to me.
6 The sword shall rage against their cities,
    consume the bars of their gates,
    and devour them because of their own counsels.
7 My people are bent on turning away from me,
    and though they call out to the Most High,
    he shall not raise them up at all.

8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
    How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
    How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
    my compassion grows warm and tender.
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
    I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
    the Holy One in your midst,
    and I will not come in wrath.

10 They shall go after the Lord;
    he will roar like a lion;
when he roars,
    his children shall come trembling from the west;
11 they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,
    and like doves from the land of Assyria,
    and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord.

God desires nothing more than to see His wayward children return to Him. When they were young in the faith, He taught them how to walk.  He took them in His arms and healed their hurts.  He led them, He fed them, and He grieves when they leave Him.  He knows the pain and suffering that can come when His children reject Him.  They bring suffering on themselves.  But He will never reject His people.  He will have compassion on them, and draw them again to Himself.

When I look at the childlike, innocent faces of the kids at our church, I'm blessed by their attitudes of obedience and awe toward God.  But I also know that some of them will wander from God's path at one point or another in their lives.  Like Israel, they may seek other gods or distractions.  They may forget their upbringing and reject God's ways.  But I cling to the hope that Hosea had, that when God calls them, they will return to Him.  I hold fast to the promise of Proverbs 22:6 (ESV), which says:

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

It's up to us now, to instill in our children the godly virtues that they will need for the rest of their lives.  We do this by taking them to Sunday school and Vacation Bible School, by regularly engaging in times of worship, of family devotion and prayer.  We do this when we find opportunities in the middle of the day to show them our own "God-sightings."  With words of wisdom and peace, we serve as the arms of God.  We teach them to walk, take them in our arms and heal them. We lead them and we feed them and we grieve when they leave God's truth.  But then with patience we lovingly call them back.  "Let the little children come to me," Jesus said, "For to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."  Today we teach them.  Tomorrow we'll trust Him.  Together, we'll see them come home to His Kingdom.