My dog hates to wait. So do I.

How’s your summer treating you?  Our temps in North Carolina have ramped up significantly in the last week – so much so that I’ve had to make a major adjustment to our family’s schedule.

I work from home, and although my days are filled with online meetings, I can typically step out for a short mid-morning walk with the dog.  This timing has benefits for both of us: he can do his morning business, and I can get a moment to clear my head away from talking to people on a computer screen.  If the morning is crazy-hectic, he may have to wait until lunchtime (but that’s a rarity).  He also normally gets walked after I log off for the day at 5:00pm.

Our pup loves this schedule, and if we deviate from it, he is certain to let me know.  First, he’ll come bump my leg with his nose.  If that doesn’t get me up and moving, he’ll try whining a little bit.  Then, he’ll escalate to just flat-out staring at me…off the side of my desk, with his eyes just barely above the edge, not blinking.  Just eye pressure.  Willing me to pay attention and take him outside.  His requests for the 5:00pm walk can start as early as 3:30pm, but they certainly intensify if we haven’t left by a little after our usual 5:00pm schedule.

However…the recent heat has forced us to change our schedule.  Now, we get a walk in before I start working and before the sun bears down on us – and of course, he doesn’t mind at all going out early.  But the after work walk?  That’s been pushed well into the evening, waiting until the sun is nearly gone for the day.  It’s just too hot for him otherwise.  The scorching pavement on his paws and the thick, humid air while walking around the neighborhood has him panting and overheated in no time.  So, we wait.

But like I said, he doesn’t like to wait.  In fact, he’s whining a bit right now as I type this out (it’s 5:47pm).  Not because he needs to do his business, but because he just wants to go and sniff and explore.   He doesn’t understand thermometer readings and heat indexes and the fact that extreme heat causes the most weather-related deaths in the US each year.  He just wants what he wants, and he expects me to provide it for him.

You’ve probably already drawn the same parallel and conclusion that I have.  When it comes to how I want God to intervene in my life…I can be a lot like my dog.  I don’t like to wait.  I’m certain my schedule is the best schedule.  I tend to whine if I don’t get what I want, when I think I should get it.  Never mind that God understands the real temperature of the situation and my ability to handle it at the moment…

Our ability to wait on God’s timing isn’t so much a lack of patience on our part.  Rather, it’s a lack of trust in God doing His part on His timing.  That stings a little bit, doesn’t it?  Yeah, me too.

King Solomon pointed this out in his collection of wisdom sayings:

Proverbs 19:2 (NIV)
Desire without knowledge is not good – how much more will hasty feet miss the way!

If my dog has hasty feet and tries to run outside when the door opens, he’s going to be met with a humid wall of heat that could cause him problems.  If we get hasty feet and run ahead of what God intends for us, we will miss the way He had planned for us to walk.  For me, running ahead of God has always led to more heartache than I anticipated.  While recovery and redemption are available, God always prefers that we make the wise choice and avoid the broken paths. 

And sometimes, the wise choice is to wait.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Honey is sweet, but this is sweeter

I love me some honey.

A peanut butter and honey sammich always hits the spot.  Honey drizzled on a hot, buttered biscuit just makes it better.  And if you’ve ever eaten pizza at Beau Jo’s in Colorado, you know that you gotta enjoy that leftover pizza crust by dipping it into some honey.

It’s not just good, it’s also good for you – especially if you can get it from local hives.  Raw, local honey is rich in antioxidants and nutrients; has antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties; and contains prebiotics.  When we first moved to West Virginia, my allergies went haywire from being exposed to all the new flora.  So, I sought out some local honey.  Every day, a little went into my morning coffee, and eventually, my seasonal allergies weren’t a problem anymore.

While honey is readily available for us at farmer’s markets and in grocery stores, it wasn’t that way during Bible times.  Refined sugars were not available.  Most of the time, fruit (like dates, grapes, or figs) was boiled and concentrated down into a thick syrup, which was then used as a sweetener.  However, bee honey was the sweetest substance known in the Middle East.  It was rare enough to be considered a luxury.  Even a small amount was suitable as a gift to an important person.

With that scarcity in mind, take a look at this advice King Solomon gave to his son:

Proverbs 24:13-14
Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your palate;
realize that wisdom is the same for you.
If you find it, you will have a future, and your hope will never fade.

When I read this, my first thought was, “I’ve never had honeycomb before.  I wonder what that’s like?”.  Fortunately, I have a friend who has several bee hives and was willing to share some honeycomb.  Let me tell you…if you haven’t had it before, it is an experience.  A delicious experience, to be exact.  The warmth of your mouth immediately collapses the wax comb structure, and your mouth is flooded with rich sweetness.  Although your first instinct is to start chewing the wax, your best bet is to simply suck on the collapsed comb and enjoy the honey.  I would also suggest spitting out the wax – you could eat it, but I don’t want to.

Honey from the comb is as fresh and raw as it gets, but as a son of King Solomon, you know this young man knew what honeycomb tasted like.  He understood how rare of a treat it was, because someone had to harvest it from the wild, wherever bees would make their hive – a hole in the ground, a hollow tree, or in a rock crevice.

King Solomon is taking something his son recognizes – and probably really enjoys – and uses it as an analogy for the value of wisdom.  Honey is good, rare, and sweet…but so is wisdom.  When we find wisdom, we need to taste and experience it, just like honeycomb.

Wisdom is sweet, too, but better…because it gives a future and an unfading hope.  The sweetness of wisdom doesn’t just last for a moment, but it continues on with you.

There is a catch, though.  King Solomon admitted that there is one.  Note that he said, “if you find it”.  Wisdom and honeycomb also share this characteristic: they must be sought out.  We must be willing to put in the effort and take the time to find it.

Are you willing to search for it?  You won’t find anything sweeter. 

Keep Pressing,
Ken

What a baby can tell us about Bible study

Let’s be honest…newborn babies don’t do a whole lot.  They eat, sleep, poop, and cry.  For the amount of work and round-the-clock effort they need, a running joke you’ll often hear new parents say is, “It’s a good thing they’re cute…”.

The terms “new birth” and “born again” are frequently used in the New Testament to describe what happens to a person who believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.  When you believe this, Jesus promises that we have new, eternal life:

John 3:16
For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Of course, Jesus’ disciples heard all about this “new life” as they followed Him during His earthly ministry.  So it’s not surprising that they would use similar terms in their own writings.  At the beginning of his letter to believers scattered across modern-day Turkey, Peter not only refers to our new birth, but two things we have been born into:

1 Peter 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Because of His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.

Peter says we have been born into a living hope for the present life and into an inheritance in the life to come.  After reminding his readers how unique and special this new life is (despite any persecution they currently face), Peter encourages them to leave behind their old lifestyle and pursue living out of their new life as a believer.

While that sounds like a great idea, his readers need to know how to get there.  Does he expect them to just white-knuckle their way through life, avoiding all the bad behaviors they can along the way?  No, he doesn’t.  Instead Peter gives them practical advice, by going back to the new birth analogy:

1 Peter 2:2-3
Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, if you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Three observations about a newborn infant in Peter’s example:

1.      The attitude of the baby – How quickly does a newborn reach for his mother’s breast?  Babies might not know much, but they know where to go for what they need, and they will aggressively grab and pursue the nourishment they desire.

2.      The appetite of the baby – They are hungry, and only milk will satisfy.  How often do babies need to eat?  About every 3-4 hours, right?  How does that time frame compare to how often we go to God’s word for nourishment?  A baby wouldn’t survive eating just once a week on Sundays.

3.      The aim of the baby – He’s not eating just to fill his belly.  As he takes in the milk, his body uses it to grow.  A baby is not meant to stay a baby forever, and neither are we.  As we feed on the pure milk of the word, we will then grow up and mature in our new life.

Peter’s point is that we go to God’s word to sustain and develop our new life – but note that he said grow and not “know”.  While you cannot grow without knowledge, the focal point of our study of the Bible is growth, not simply collecting trivia.

You cannot grow out of being a spiritual infant without a steady diet of God’s word.  It is God’s primary tool for developing His children.  Growth may be scary or messy at times, but life is bigger, better, and full of more opportunities for those who mature and grow.  That is how we experience the promised living hope now and prepare for our future inheritance.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

We'll do greater works than Jesus?

Today is the Thursday before Easter, also known as Maundy Thursday.  “Maundy” is a shortened form of the Latin word “mandatum” which means “command”.  This Thursday remembers the day when Jesus held His Last Supper with His disciples and gave them their marching orders for when He would be gone.  In John’s record of Jesus’ teaching, three times Jesus commands them to love one another (John 13:34, 15:12, 15:17) and two more times He urges them to follow this command (John 14:15, 15:14).

There is a part of Jesus’ Last Supper teaching that has always sat a little odd with me.  Philip has just asked Jesus to show them God the Father, and this was Jesus’ reply:

John 14:9-12
Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know Me, Philip?  The one who has seen Me has seen the Father.  How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?  The words I speak to you I do not speak on My own.  The Father who lives in Me does His works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.  Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.

Truly I tell you, the one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do.  And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Greater works than Jesus???

That’s a hard concept to wrap my mind around, let alone accept.

Many commentaries and preachers will say that Jesus’ “greater” comment was more about scope rather than size.  They’ll argue that we’re not running around performing even bigger miracles than Jesus did, but that because He went to be with the Father, the Holy Spirit indwells all believers – the result being that the good news of Jesus is spread to the entire world, instead of the small section of Israel that Jesus ministered in. 

While that answer makes sense, I’ve never been fully convinced it fits what Jesus was talking about here.  However, I came across an explanation from Donald Barnhouse that both helps me understand…and blows my mind.  He takes an analogy from a real-life hero, Wheeler Lipes, who was an officer in the Navy.  In 1942, Wheeler was a Pharmacist’s Mate aboard a submarine and had to perform an emergency appendectomy.  He did not have the proper medical equipment, nor any formal surgical training…but the procedure had to be done, as a fellow sailor’s life was at stake.

Here is Barnhouse’s retelling of Wheeler’s story and his analogy back to Jesus’ Maundy Thursday statement:

Aboard a United States submarine in the enemy waters of the Pacific, a sailor was stricken with acute appendicitis.  The nearest surgeon was thousands of miles away.  Pharmacist Mate Wheeler Lipes watched the seaman’s temperature rise to 106 degrees.  His only hope was an operation.  Said Lipes: “I have watched doctors do it.  I think I could.  What do you say?”  The sailor consented.  In the wardroom, about the size of a Pullman drawing room, the patient was stretched out on a table beneath a floodlight.  The mate and assisting officers, dressed in reversed pajama tops, masked their faces with gauze.  The crew stood by the diving planes to keep the ship steady: the cook boiled water for sterilizing.  A tea strainer served as an antiseptic cone.  A broken-handled scalpel was the operating instrument.  Alcohol drained from the torpedoes was the antiseptic.  Bent tablespoons served to keep the muscles open.  After cutting through the layers of muscle, the mate took twenty minutes to find the appendix.  Two hours and a half later, the last catgut stitch was sewed, just as the last drop of ether gave out.  Thirteen days later the patient was back at work.

Admittedly this was a much more magnificent feat than if it had been performed by trained surgeons in a fully equipped operating room of a modern hospital.  Study this analogy and you will know the real meaning of Christ’s words.  “Greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”  For Christ, perfect God, to work directly on a lost soul to quicken and bring out of death and into life is great, but for Him to do the same thing through us is a greater work.

Jesus can represent the Father perfectly.  He said, “the Father who lives in Me does His works.”  As such, Jesus can flawlessly show who God is to everyone He interacts with.  We are as far from perfect as Wheeler Lipes was trained to perform emergency surgery.  We are rudimentary and broken and unrefined, having no merit to partner with the Creator of the Universe in anything…let alone to be the ones to share the Father with other broken humans.  And yet…we who believe in Jesus as the Messiah are the ones whom God partners with.  That is the greater work.  This partnership is far better and more eternally impactful than performing physical miracles of restoring sight and healing broken bodies.  To use lesser instruments and still achieve the results that would come from perfection…that is a magnificent feat indeed!

So, on this Maundy Thursday, remember Jesus’ command – love one another.  But do not forget that we will participate in greater works as we partner with Jesus and show others who the Father truly is.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: Jesus said you must

Jesus said you must
Originally posted on April 02, 2020

The word “must” is a big deal.  When God says we “must” do something, we need to be paying attention to what that something is.  In this case, Jesus is teaching the Samaritan woman what worship toward God should look like.  Watch for what Jesus says true worshipers “must” do:

John 4:19-24
“Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that you are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”

Jesus told her, “Believe me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  You Samaritans worship what you do not know.  We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews.  But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.  Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him.  God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”

Notice that Jesus is giving instruction for worship, but He also says the Father wants to be worshiped this way.  But what, exactly, does it mean to worship in Spirit and in truth? 

First thing Jesus says is that God the Father is spirit.  The essential reason worship of God must be spiritual is that God is a spiritual being, not a physical idol.  Worship of a spiritual God requires spiritual worship, not just going through certain acts and motions of worship at a special location. 

Secondly, Jesus says that God the Father must be worshiped in truth.  The Greek word for truth (aletheon) is a compound word, consisting of a + lanthano – when independently translated means not + keep secret, not + escape notice, or not + be hidden.  Therefore, truth is found in what God has revealed about Himself.  This means our worship should be in accordance with what God has told us about Himself and in line with what He wants…not just whatever chords or lyrics give us an emotional response.  If we must worship God in truth, then people cannot simply worship God in any manner that seems attractive to them.  We must worship Him as He, by the Spirit, has revealed that we should.

When Jesus said that a time is coming when worship will not be on Mt. Gerizim or in Jerusalem, He was throwing out all division points between the Samaritans and the Jews.  Worshiping in spirit is in contrast to how the Jews worshiped physically, via ceremony and letter of the law.  Worshiping in truth is in contrast to how the Samaritans worshiped in ignorance. 

Both the Samaritans and the Jews were concerned that worship of God was done right.  However, they believed that focusing on the where the worship occurred would give them the closest relationship with God.  Jesus corrects this thinking and tells the woman that worship of God the Father is no longer confined to a specific location, but worship rightly done will focus on how – in spirit and in truth.

So how does all this relate to us modern believers?

Looking at Jesus’ teachings after this encounter can give us some help.  “In Spirit” can also refer to The Holy Spirit, which Jesus later sent to assist believers in the church age (John 14:26).  “In truth” can also refer to Jesus, since He is The Truth (John 14:6).  Putting this all together, true worship is in step with The Holy Spirit, with Jesus, and aimed toward God the Father.  This makes our worship a trinitarian event – we are interacting with all three persons of the godhead!

And yet, still today, some people worship God in religious ignorance.  Ritual activities and tradition have become so comfortable for many believers that their own spirit is not engaged during worship.  And unfortunately, a lot of modern worship services are so focused on generating an emotional response that they do not stay true to what God has revealed about Himself.  Jesus shows us the correct way to worship – in Spirit and in truth.  If we want authentic, real worship…this is how we must do it.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

All my heroes could transform

Growing up in the 80s and 90s provided me with many advantages – and one of the greatest advantages is that we had some of the best cartoons ever made.  With just a handful of TV channels to choose from, weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings were prime-time cartoon viewing as the networks put out their best efforts to captivate an audience.

Here is a short list of my favorites…see how many you recognize:

TigerSharks – A team of humans and aliens had access to the Fish Tank, a device that allowed them to transform from their humanoid forms into super-powered marine animals.  They used their abilities to defend the inhabitants of the planet Water-O from various evil enemies.

ThunderCats – The ThunderCats were cat-like humanoids who escaped their war-ravaged world to start a new life on a new planet.  They fought several groups of power-hungry, evil bad guys by calling on the power of the Eye of Thundera.  The Eye would grant the ThunderCats enhanced strength, speed, skill, or anything else they needed to defeat the evil Mumm-Ra and his minions.

He-man and the Masters of the Universe – Whenever the unassuming Prince Adam would hold the Sword of Power and say, “By the power of Grayskull, I have the power!” – he was transformed into He-Man.  Along with his friends, He-Man defended his planet from the schemes of the evil Skeletor.

Transformers – The Transformers were split into two factions: the noble Autobots and the evil Decepticons.  They crash-landed on earth and continued their eons-long conflict, with the Autobots defending humans and the Decepticons looking to either enslave or wipeout the humans.  Both groups had a robot form and could transform into a vehicle or other objects. 

You might have noticed a running theme in all my favorite cartoons…and while I didn’t make the connection when I was a kid, it is rather obvious now: Every main character was able to transform from their “normal” state into a super-charged version of themselves with enhanced abilities.  Of course, these enhanced abilities were crucial to defeating evil and winning the day. 

I’m sure you can see the same theme in some of your favorite shows, movies, books, and comics.  Us gravitating toward stories of transformation-leading-to-success speaks to our own desire to change and overcome.  But sadly, most of our stories about transformation are external changes – the TigerSharks became aquatic animals, the Transformers changed their outer form, and both the ThunderCats and He-man gained physical abilities.  By and large, the transformation stories we seek to tell about ourselves are also mainly external – we got a new job, we went to the gym, we bought a new car – and while those things are good…there remains a part of us that is unchanged.  It’s the part inside, at our core, we most want to transform…and that isn’t touched by any external changes.

This is our dilemma.  How do we find real, lasting, life-altering change?

Jesus offers us Himself:

John 10:10
I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

The Greek word for life – zoe – describes a life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, and blessed, in both this world and the next for those who put their trust in Christ.  Once we believe in Jesus for His gift of this zoe life, we are part of His family and we can begin to experience this life-change here and now, as well as in eternity.

While Jesus’ gift is free to any one (John 3:16, 5:24) and cannot be lost, we can participate in our own transformation and experience into abundant life.  But this transformation doesn’t start with the outside.  Instead, the Apostle Paul said it begins with how we think:

Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Being able to know God’s will sounds like a super-power for living a life that conquers evil.  To get there, we need transformation of our minds.  What are we thinking about?  What are we spending our free time exposing our minds to?  Are we being conformed to this age or are we achieving the transformation we deeply desire?

These are hard questions, but ones worth wrestling over.  Don’t skip this.  Stop right now and ask God to renew your mind. 

Keep Pressing,
Ken

The simplest way to describe Jesus

My mentor, Joe, taught me how to study the Bible.  It involves a 3-step process: first Observation, then Interpretation, followed by Application.  I have since taught this method to many others over the last 20 years.  Teaching it typically involves a classroom or small group setting, but I have taught this 1-on-1 as well.  Broken up over 8 weekly lessons, there is plenty of opportunity for people to practice and ask questions as they learn how to study the Scriptures for themselves.

After teaching this method a couple of times in a classroom setting, Joe had an unexpected request for me.  He wanted the entire 8-lesson process to be condensed down to a 1-page handout.  He was meeting with someone soon to discuss how to properly Observe, Interpret, and Apply the Scriptures, and he thought a 1-page layout would be helpful as he talked through the process…and he was looking at me to create it.

I was pretty stunned at his request.  I mean…8 lessons…each about 7 pages long…about 8 hours of class time…down to just one sheet of paper?  After I sat down at my computer, I began to move through the five stages of grief as I hacked and slashed section after section.  It took some time, but I finally was able to bring the whole thing down to just 2 pages.  I decided that these two pages could be printed back to back on 1 page – thus fulfilling Joe’s request.  I felt both relieved and a little accomplished when I emailed the final version to him.

If someone asked you, “Who is Jesus?  Why do Christians care so much about him?” – how would you respond?  Better yet, if you didn’t have a lot of time in that moment (and couldn’t review your life story or crack open the Bible), what would be your short, condensed answer?

It’s best to think about these kinds of situations before we actually get there…so, what would you say?

I would suggest having two verses memorized.  That’s it, just two.  The first one is the most frequently cited verse in all of Scripture, even in the culture, so it can be a familiar touchpoint to the one who’s asking:

John 3:16
For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

But then, I would suggest following up with a second verse that comes a couple chapters later:

John 6:40
For this is the will of the Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

These two verses clearly convey who Jesus is, why he’s so important, and what happens to someone who believes in Him.  In a brief moment, you can demonstrate that God loves us, Jesus gives us eternal life when we believe in Him, and His promise is forever – all the way up to the last day. 

I highly encourage you to memorize them both, so you’re prepared for any conversation that comes your way. 

But back to my example story with Joe…Sometime later, I asked how his meeting went and if the 1-page summary was useful.  Nonchalantly, he said that he didn’t end up using it.  Once again, I was stunned.  All the work and heartache I had put into that thing…and it wasn’t even used???  I bit my tongue, and we moved on to talking about something else.  It still bothered me for a while that all my efforts didn’t make a difference. 

However, even though Joe did not use the 1-page summary that day, it has been tremendously useful to me on many other days.  I keep a copy of that 1-page in my Bible, and it has become a go-to reference for me as I study God’s Word.  Additionally, whenever a new group completes the 8 lesson course, I present a copy of the 1-page summary for them to keep handy as well.  Just because my efforts didn’t get immediately used the way I expected them to, it didn’t mean that my efforts were wasted.  God has had other uses for the work I put in all those years ago.

I suspect the same will be true as you memorize the two verses.  You might not have an immediate, pressing situation where you need to share them.  But I am certain that God will take your efforts to memorize His word and use it later…maybe even in a way you wouldn’t expect.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Round 2: Pause on offense

Pause on offense
Originally posted on January 20, 2022

If there’s any phrase that’s been thrown around too much in the last ten years, I think we can all agree that “I’m offended!” is it.  It seems like everyone is offended about something, right?

Typically, I’ve seen two opposing responses to someone taking offense.  On the one hand, we have someone who immediately pulls back and apologizes for any offense taken.  This person seems to believe that causing an offense is the worst thing one person could do to another.  On the other hand, we have someone else who hardens up and becomes recalcitrant in their behavior.  They claim that dealing with an offense is the sole responsibility of the one who is offended.  I’ve even witnessed some people being intentionally offensive, in an attempt to prove their point.

But where is a Christian supposed to live in this spectrum?  Timid, obstinate, or somewhere in between?  Does loving others mean that we’re going to acquiesce to another’s personal preferences or feelings?  Or does love need to be “tough” on those who wilt at the notion of conflict or differences?

While I do not think there is a hard-and-fast rule for our most loving response in all situations, I am thankful that Jesus provides us with an example in a situation He found Himself in. 

Before we step into the scene, we need a little context.  The Old Testament directed that at the annual census, each person over the age of 20 was to give a half-shekel offering to the Lord in support of the tabernacle.  This “temple tax” was collected annually across the nation.  It was not without controversy, either.  Some people believed that the temple tax was only to be paid once per lifetime; whereas others insisted that it was an annual offering.

The temple tax collectors were Jews who were working in the service of the temple, not the Roman occupiers.  What is not clear from the text is if they are simply doing their job, or if they were attempting to be clever with their question in order to draw Jesus into the debate and possibly accuse Him of not supporting the temple.

Whichever motive is true, Jesus’ handling of the situation is fascinating:

Matthew 17:24-26
When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”
“Yes,” he said.
When he went into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, “What do you think, Simon?  From whom do earthly kings collect tariffs or taxes?  From their sons or from strangers?”
“From strangers,” he said.
“Then the sons are free,” Jesus told him.

Let’s pause right here.  Jesus is not merely teaching Peter a lesson in tax law.  Instead, He’s making a statement on Peter’s position in God’s family.  As the Son of God, Jesus is exempt from the temple tax.  However, Jesus is also including Peter as part of God’s family.  Earlier, Jesus stated that whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother (Matthew 12:50).  And just what is this “will of my Father”?  The apostle John quoted Jesus on this very phrase:

John 6:40
For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

Those who believe in Jesus for eternal life are now part of the Father’s family!  On top of the multitude of benefits familyhood brings, in their current situation, Peter is just like Jesus – exempt from the temple tax.

So…what should Peter do with this new understanding of who he is as a member of God’s family?  As a practical matter, the temple tax collector is still waiting outside, expecting Peter to come out with the money.  What would you do?  Begrudgingly pay it?  Yell at the guy to go away?  Forcefully tell him about your rights as a child of God, and that you are exempt from his earthly governing rules?

When we read the next directions that Jesus gave to Peter, most people focus on the fantastical way Jesus provided the money.  Instead, I want us to focus on why Jesus was still going to pay, even though He said that the sons are free:

Matthew 17:27
“But, so we won’t offend them, go to the sea, cast in a fishhook, and take the first fish that you catch.  When you open its mouth you’ll find a coin.  Take it and give it to them for me and you.”

Jesus says that they’ll still pay (even though they rightfully don’t have to) so the temple tax collectors won’t be offended.  The Greek word translated as offend – skandalizo – means to put a stumbling block or impediment in the way, upon which another may trip and fall, or metaphorically, to offend.  The temple tax collector wasn’t part of God’s Family…and so to avoid making him stumble in his interaction with those who are in God’s Family, Jesus set aside His rights as a son.  Jesus chose to pay a tax that He did not have to in order to keep the path clear for someone else to believe in Him for eternal life and join the family.

Jesus modeled how to avoid an offense so that a relationship can be maintained.  Even if Jesus or Peter chose to confront the tax collector with an argument about their rights as sons…what good would it have done in this situation?  The temple tax collector didn’t set the policy.  He doesn’t make the decisions about who pays and who does not pay.  In this instance, the tax collector is simply the messenger and blasting him with arguments – even valid ones – does not accomplish anything…but it would place a stumbling block in His way to seeing Jesus as the Messiah.

Our take-away principle is clear: There are bigger issues than my individual rights, especially when it comes to keeping the path to God clear of stumbling blocks for others.  If Jesus can set aside His rights to avoid an offense, so can I.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Round 2: Pausing on doubts

Pausing on doubts
Originally posted on December 09, 2021

I hate to second-guess myself.  I do not want to spend my time wondering if I made the wrong choice or fretting about the possibility I’ve traveled down the wrong path.  However, at one point or another in life, we wrestle with questions like these: Did I choose the right career?  Should we have bought that house instead of this one?  Did I marry the right person?  Was it wrong to _________?  What if I had said ________?

We could spin ourselves in circles with questions like those.

While we try to be as informed as possible when we make life-altering decisions, later on we are often faced with a moment that causes us to question our choices.  Doubt is powerful, and our circumstances play a huge part in how influential our doubts become.

But then there’s an even bigger doubt we sometimes face…one that we may publicly acknowledge does happen to people, but we are terrified to admit when we are the ones struggling with it…what about doubting God?  Doubting that I’m following Him like I’m supposed to.  Doubting the ministry that I’m working for.  Doubting that He really loves us or even exists.

I find it interesting that one of Jesus’ disciples, Thomas, gets the doubt-label “Doubting Thomas”, when there was an equally famous believer who did not get labeled as a doubter, even though he too struggled with doubting that Jesus was the Messiah.

I’m talking about John the Baptist.  For a quick review, let’s look at John’s resume: he was Jesus’ cousin, his birth was announced by an angel who prophesized a powerful Spirit-filled life, never had fermented drink, considered to be a prophet by the people, preached in the wilderness of the Messiah’s coming, persuaded countless numbers of people to turn from their sins in anticipation of the Messiah’s arrival and the introduction of the Kingdom of God on earth.  John the Baptist was the first to declare to the masses who Jesus was and what His mission would be – behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)– John also had the honor of baptizing Jesus.  Throughout his life, John did what God asked him to do, and he did it well. 

But the physical Kingdom of God didn’t show up with the Messiah’s arrival.  The established political and religious power structures remained in place…and the people at the top didn’t like John and his message.  So King Herod had John thrown into prison.

Let’s pause right here.  Put yourself in John’s place.  Everything you have done in your life and for God was supposed to lead up to the Messiah’s arrival.  And everyone believed that when the Messiah appeared, His purpose would be to setup the literal, physical Kingdom of God on Earth.  But that hasn’t happened…the circumstances John has been expecting – and telling others to expect – hadn’t come.  What is John thinking as time slowly passes in prison?  What would you be thinking?

Did I do the right thing?  Was I wrong about the Kingdom being at hand?  Is Jesus the Messiah we’ve been waiting for?

We don’t know how long John stewed over these questions, but at some point, he decided to get some clarity:

Matthew 11:1-3
When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He moved on from there to teach and preach in their towns.  Now when John heard in prison what the Christ was doing, he sent a message through his disciples and asked Him, “Are you the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

John’s question is a big one.  Essentially, he’s asking Jesus: Are you who you say you are?  Can I trust you to do what you’ve said you will do?

I think all Christians struggle with this at some point in their life.  Maybe we’re too scared to say it out loud, but when our expectations of God are not met…it can lead to some serious inner turmoil, especially when our circumstances are the opposite of how we thought God would come through.

We typically don’t verbalize our struggle because we don’t want to look bad in front of other believers.  Or we may have heard a preacher lay on a guilt-trip, extra-thick, for anyone who expresses any level of doubt toward God.  We try to laugh off our silent struggle by saying that we don’t want to get “struck by lightning” and have the situation become worse because we’ve verbally questioned God and His purposes.

But what does God think of our doubts?  How does He handle our struggles?  Let’s look at how Jesus replied to John’s question:

Matthew 11:4-6
Jesus replied to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news, and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by Me.”

Jesus doesn’t respond with lightning bolts.  He doesn’t even get angry.  Note, too, that Jesus does not explain or justify His current actions in light of John’s expectations.  Instead, Jesus points John back to the Scriptures, back to what Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah:

The blind receive their sight (Isaiah 29:18, 35:5),
the lame walk (Isaiah 35:6),
those with leprosy are cleansed (Isaiah 53:4),
the deaf hear (Isaiah 29:18-19, 35:5),
the dead are raised (Isaiah 26:18-19),
and the poor are told the good news (Isaiah 61:1)

That is an impressive list, and since Jesus was doing all these things, He certainly answers John’s question…but then Jesus finishes off His answer with a promise: and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by Me. 

The word blessed used here is the same as what Jesus said in His beatitudes (Blessed is the one who… from Matthew 5).  Jesus is telling John that He is the promised Messiah, but there is a blessing for those who do not get tripped up over how and when Jesus is undertaking His Messiah responsibilities.

Be sure to read that last part – and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by Me – as a promise and not a put-down, because of what Jesus then said about John to the crowds:

Matthew 11:11, 13-14
Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared…for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.  And if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come.

Even after John’s struggle with doubt, Jesus still called him the greatest prophet.  For all the miraculous works and Messiah-is-coming teaching brought by the earlier prophets, John alone can claim that he was the final Old Testament prophet.  To herald the Messiah’s arrival is a privilege and honor afforded only to John.

What this shows us is that God can handle our doubts.  It’s ok to bring them to Him.  While God isn’t obligated to justify His actions, we can rely on the promises He has already made to us in Scripture.  And even when – not if – we struggle with doubt, God is still willing to bless us as we wait for Him to do what He has said He will do.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Round 2: Pausing in the bitter moments

Pausing in the bitter moments
Originally posted on November 18, 2021

When we read the Bible, we have a tendency to read it too fast.  This happens a lot when reading the accounts of Jesus and His disciples or during any narrative portion of Scripture recounting historical actions and conversations.  Due to familiarity with the text and that we know where the story is going next, we run the risk of glossing over important details and poignant moments.  We forget that for the people we are reading about, this was once real life.  They weren’t privy to the next verse.  They were living their lives day-to-day, just like you and I do.

The moment I want to pause at is found in Matthew 26.  Early in the chapter, Jesus has His Last Supper with His disciples, and He revealed that one of them was going to betray Him.  As expected, everyone wanted to know who it was (especially making sure it wasn’t them!).  Later, when they are at the Mount of Olives, Jesus revealed even more of what was coming:

Matthew 26:31-35
Then Jesus said to them, “Tonight all of you will fall away because of me, for it is written:
I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.
But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

Peter told Him, “Even if everyone falls away because of you, I will never fall away.”
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to him, “tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”
“Even if I have to die with you,” Peter told Him, “I will never deny you,” and all the disciples said the same thing.

Peter said this, but everyone else took the same vow.  Next, Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray.  You can read what He prayed in John 17, but the detail to note here is that Jesus separated from His disciples to pray…but took Peter, James, and John with Him.  He wanted to be with those He was closest to in His final hours.  Jesus asked that the three of them stay awake and pray while He wrestled with what God the Father would have Him do next.  But when He came back to them, they were asleep.  Waking them up, He specifically asked Peter – the one who promised undying support – “So, couldn’t you stay awake with me one hour?”  Jesus went back to pray and the scene played out two more times.  They couldn’t stay awake, despite Jesus’ need.  For a total of three times, Jesus’ inner circle failed Him this way.

Then Judas – the betrayer disciple – came to the garden with mob carrying swords and clubs.  When they took hold of Jesus, Peter drew his sword and hit a guy hard enough to whack off his ear.  But Jesus responded: “Put your sword back in its place because all who take up the sword will perish by the sword.  Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and He will provide me here and now with more than twelve legions of angels?  How then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”  At this point, all the disciples deserted Him and ran away.

Peter escaped the arresting mob, but then hung back and followed them at a distance as they took Jesus to the high priest.  Peter was able to get inside the courtyard, but could go no further.  In Jerusalem, he was a fish out of water.  Peter was a rough fisherman from up north, in Galilee; and the sophisticated Jews of the south considered Galileans to be crude, unrefined hicks.  Peter would have to wait outside and among strangers to find out any news.  This is where we pick up the story:

Matthew 26:69-75
Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.  A servant girl approached him and said, “You were with Jesus the Galilean too.”
But he denied it in front of everyone: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
When he had gone out to the gateway, another woman saw him and told those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene!”
And again he denied it with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
After a little while those standing there approached and said to Peter, “You really are one of them, since even your accent gives you away.”
Then he started to curse and to swear with an oath, “I don’t know the man!”  Immediately a rooster crowed, and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”  And he went outside and wept bitterly.

He wept bitterly.  Pause right there.  Put yourself in Peter’s sandals for a moment.  He had followed Jesus for 3+ years.  Peter was part of Jesus’ inner circle and the de facto leader of the disciples.  Just a few hours ago, he made a vow on his life that he would never deny who Jesus was and what He meant to him.  But what’s happened since Peter made that adamant vow?  Jesus rebuked him on three separate occasions…and then Peter vehemently denied even knowing who Jesus was – three times, just as Jesus predicted!  The last denial was a complete opposite of the vow he made to Jesus.  Don’t sugar-coat this part.  Him “cursing and swearing an oath” would have come across as something like: May God strike me dead if I’m lying, I don’t $%#@ know the man!  As soon as he said these words, the rooster crowed…

Don’t move on in the text just yet.  Stop and feel Peter’s shame.  Remember what it’s like to completely fail someone you love.  Over the last several hours, every action Peter took and every word Peter spoke was wrong.  He failed, spectacularly.  And as far as Peter can see, there is no chance for apology or restoration.  Peter is stuck, alone, and utterly disgusted with himself.  Now…we understand his bitter tears.

We have moments in life like Peter’s.  We’ve blown it so big that we don’t know how life can go on.  But just because Peter didn’t know the next verse doesn’t mean he would forever live in that shame-filled moment.  As we continue to read the Scriptures, we find that Jesus did restore Peter (John 21:15-19). 

By pausing and identifying with this part of Peter’s story, we find that it is an example – God can restore us, just like He restored Peter.  Even when the bitter tears we cry are completely our fault. 

Keep Pressing,
Ken