Jesus Ahead

I was reading about the resurrection of Jesus, in Mark, chapter 16. A group of women went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body. “On the way they were asking each other, ‘who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”

This verse made me smile. These women got together early in the morning, purchased burial spices, and are half way there before they consider this huge obstacle in their way!

We all want to be close to Jesus, to serve Him. But we get discouraged by the obstacles. Most of us wouldn’t even start on this journey. We would hesitate to invest our time and resources in a task without considering the huge stone that is blocking the way. We would talk ourselves out of it, while still lying in bed, early Sunday morning.

Most of us neglect to figure God into the equation.

Meanwhile, back at the tomb, the stone has been moved. Jesus is Risen!
If Jesus can rise from death, He can certainly remove road blocks that prevent us from serving Him. In fact, He is already ahead of us, taking care of details that we will face in our path.

“Jesus is going ahead of you…” (Mark 16:7 NLT)

Save Yourself

Since it is Holy week, I’ve been reading over the passages in the Bible relating to the death and resurrection of Jesus. The following verse caught my attention:

“If you are the Son of God, save yourself.” (Matt. 27:40 NLT)

I remembered reading something similar in an earlier chapter, recounting the temptation of Jesus by the devil:

“If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of Bread.” (Matt. 4:3 NLT)

“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.” (Matt. 4:6 ESV)

What do these incidences have in common?
One is at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and the other is at the end. In both instances, Jesus is vulnerable. Yet, he is able to withstand the temptation to save himself. The divine spirit within trumps the human spirit. The Son of God transcends the Son of Man.

When we are vulnerable, weak, and desperate, the devil tempts us:
Save yourself, provide for yourself, take care of yourself, prove yourself.
Unlike Jesus, our human weakness overpowers the divine spirit within us. We feel compelled to save ourselves or prove ourselves, thus circumventing the display of God’s glory.

Good Friday

Jesus was not the only person in history to suffer and die on the cross. So why is His crucifixion significant?

Let’s say that there is a group of U.S. citizens being held hostage by the enemy. They are being abused, tortured, and killed in a foreign country. We’ve sent in our elite troops to try to rescue them, but they, too, end up being captured or killed. What if our President’s son decides to offer himself up in return for the release of all the hostages?! What if the son willingly gives up everything, suffers greatly, and is tortured and killed?!  His death would get a lot more public attention than any other previous cases.

This scenario would never happen under human logic. We don’t negotiate with terrorists. We don’t want to send our sons and daughters into enemy territory, much less certain death. We would be aghast if our President allowed his son to sacrifice himself. We would see it as a sign of weakness.

Jesus had a choice. He had power, privilege, and absolutely no obligation to be bothered by puny human problems on earth. Yet, he willingly entered the war zone, into the enemy camp, and gave himself up so that we would be released. The significance of this choice is beyond human comprehension.

Denying Jesus

“You will deny three times that you even know me.” (Matt 26:34 NLT)

Here are three ways that we routinely deny Jesus:

1. Fear - which is a lack of complete trust in Jesus.

2. Depending on our own talents and resources.

3. Being unfaithful to Jesus, by not placing Him first in our lives.

When we fail to completely trust Jesus, fear takes over. Anxiety consumes us. We act as if Jesus is not capable of handling our issues. We imply that He is not trustworthy. We deny God’s dependability.

When we look to our own talents and resources instead of relying on God, we are being disrespectful. We pretend that our God is not almighty. We deny God’s power and strength.

When we place other people, or our own self-interest before God, we are being unfaithful. As we flirt with our immediate desires, our commitment to Jesus becomes less of a priority. We deny He is Lord of our lives.

Be Bothered

I have a neighbor who regularly walks around the perimeter of his house, inspecting everything. He says it’s a practice he developed from back in his farming days when he used to check the fences.

I have been trying to incorporate this into my spiritual life. Every evening, I sit down and review my day. I ask God to accompany me. I thank Him for all the blessings. I ask Him to point out anything that needs attention.

Spring is here and the trees have started budding. It’s time for me to go outside and check on things that have been neglected all winter. I especially check for tree saplings near our foundation. If I don’t bother to yank those out as soon as they appear, they take root and become really difficult to get rid of. Once the tree grows, the roots can damage the foundation of the house.

Sometimes I get busy or distracted, and I don’t bother to examine my life. Sin takes root. Bad attitudes grow like weeds. By the time I notice the mess, it’s overwhelming. I’m tempted to ignore the problem and just look the other way. I can’t be bothered!

I’ve noticed I am more likely to maintain my front yard rather than my back flower beds, since it is more visible to others. Similarly, I tend to address bad habits that are noticeable to others while neglecting issues that are private.

Inspect, review, examine. Be bothered. Actively remove anything that can be harmful.

Yield

When merging onto a highway, drivers yield to each other. Making way for others is part of safe, courteous driving. Routinely, we are faced with the choice of asserting our individual rights vs. making space for the desires and rights of others. In most cases, yielding is the magnanimous thing to do.

Sometimes, we get to a fork in the road, and we yield to bondage. We make compromises that allow evil to dominate us. We give power to our insecurities, fears, desires, and selfishness. Yielding to negative influences pushes us off-course.

How can we tell when to yield and when not to yield?

I often make compromises based on the following question: Am I good enough? Am I a good enough parent, spouse, friend… person? When I make adjustments that are motivated by proving my own worthiness, I get off-center.

I can get back to center by acknowledging that God loves me. I soak in this love. I lean into His arms. I yield to Jesus. My choices become motivated by His love for me rather than my need to prove anything.

Having the Mind of Christ

“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” (Phil. 2:5 NLT)

Oswald Chambers alludes to the above verse when explaining the connection between worship and intercession:

“Worship and intercession must go together; one is impossible without the other. Intercession means raising ourselves up to the point of getting the mind of Christ regarding the person for whom we are praying.” (My Utmost For His Highest)

If you know God intimately, you can’t help but worship Him. When you are in His presence, every part of you will acknowledge His glory, His love. Worship allows you to be consumed by God’s magnitude.

During intercessory prayer, I usually lift others up to God, asking Him to bless those for whom I‘m praying. Oswald Chambers has a different approach. He suggests that we raise ourselves up to a higher level, into God’s presence. Then, we gain a godly perspective about the person or situation.

Several years ago, I was walking outside with my nephew, who was a toddler at the time. A huge dog came running up, and my nephew was scared.  As I lifted him up into my arms, he calmed down. The dog was still there, but it didn’t seem as scary to him from that vantage point.

Worship elevates us into God’s arms. It allows us to see the situation from Christ’s perspective. Fear and anxiety are displaced by confident faith.