Author: steveandrulonis

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Esther and the Hidden Hand of God

Esther found herself on the inside, a girl of beauty dropped into the midst of a political storm. Her parents dead, she had become the ward of her uncle Mordecai. She and her uncle were Jews living in the Medo-Persian empire, a massive conglomeration of 127 territories that stretched from India to Ethiopia.

And she became queen. Not through guile or cunning or seduction like some Jezebel wannabe did Esther come to the palace at Susa, the Persian capital. She really floated to her place.

She got there by just being herself.

Vashti occupied the queen’s office until a months’ long party went awry. Thrown by her husband and her, the celebration and feasting included way too much wine and such drinking led to some unintended consequences. Feeling exceptionally merry, King Ahaserus one day got the wild notion that all should see the queen as only he had seen her. He summoned Vashti to parade herself before the men of his court wearing only her crown.

She refused — and she was right to. But the times being what they were, Vashti’s stand proved costly. She was deposed by the aggrieved and embarrassed king. He had lost face, and he and his counselors legislated Vashti away with a pronouncement that men rule in the palace and in all homes.

The king sobered up, however, and grew lonely, even wondering whether he would ever have another woman like Vashti by his side. Persian law, however, made it absolutely illegal for him to restore his now ex-wife.

Oh, how a man’s foolish and inebriated decisions come to haunt him. A moody king is friend to none and makes for a lousy and dangerous ruler. The members of the royal court, thus, devised a way to keep Ahaserus entertained and to fill the queen’s seat.

A pageant was proposed, imagine an ancient version of TV’s “The Bachelor.” (God bless you if you cannot imagine such a thing because you’ve never seen the show.) The loveliest ladies of the empire’s lands were summoned to Susa. They enjoyed months of spa treatments— baths, oils, perfumes lavished upon them.

Once glamorized and outfitted, each beauty then had her date with his royal highness. The name of the game was Please the King. The grand prize? The queen’s place in the palace of Persia.

Uncle Mordecai smelled an opportunity and entered his young niece in the queen sweepstakes. And that’s how Esther came to be on the inside. Once she was there, the girl’s grace and humility won over those in charge of the affair.

Esther sought for and accepted advice — gladly. Given the adversarial and stubborn way of Vashti, this quality put Esther in good standing with those seeking the right partner for the king.

Her manner captured Ahasuerus’ heart, too. He chose Esther to be his queen. This simple Jewish orphan girl now was bride to the most powerful ruler of his day.

It was not long before Esther made a major difference in Persian politics. A plot to kill the king was discovered by Mordecai, who sent word to his niece the queen. Esther exposed the scheme to Ahaseurus. The traitors were caught and executed, and the whole affair documented in the palace chronicles. That documentation would prove to be a significant element to this story and to the preservation of the Jewish people.

For also on the inside now was a devil, Haman, an enemy with ambition and hatred for the Jews. As an Agagite, he should have been long gone. He was there only because one of Esther’s ancestors disobeyed the command of God. The Lord instructed King Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites, whose king was Agag. Nothing and no one was to be spared. Saul and his warriors kept the good people alive and good stuff for themselves to, ahem, make an offering.  

Hundreds of years later, here’s an Agagite alive and conspiring. Mordecai and Esther’s intervention in the assassination plot may even have opened a position for Haman’s promotion. There’s truth and consequences for avoiding the truth. Saul’s leadership fail set his own people up for annihilation.

The palace of Persia became a war zone. It became a battlefield on a supremely spiritual level.

Haman possessed wealth and power was according honor from nearly everyone. Mordecai, Esther’s uncle and guardian, was the exception in the Susa court. He feared God alone and refused to offer homage to this political appointee.

Haman, in anger, crafted a political solution; he devised a law and got the king to sign off on it. It was carefully worded for approval. To top it off, Haman pledged loads of his own silver to fund its implementation. The law targeted the realm’s Jews for execution. These people were different in their ways of worship and the kingdom would be strengthened by subtracting them was the whole thing was advertised to the king. Ahaserus, a ruler of presumptuous decisions (see the Vashti affair), hastily agreed with his counselor.

Haman had to set the date for this destruction. So sure of success Haman made a game out of this part of his plot. He determined the execution date by casting the pur or the lots. Pebbles or sticks were tossed to settle the issue. I can almost hear Haman cackle with his cronies as the the date comes up — the 13th day of the month of Adar. This was some 12 months away.

Word of the law went out and once Mordecai learned of it he tore his clothes, began to wail, and took on sackcloth at the palace gates. Esther got news of her uncle’s demonstration. Her first reaction was this: she sent him some clothes. He responded with a copy of Haman’s decree and a plea for her to do something about it.

“Go to the king and beg his favor,” Mordecai told her.

Seems like a reasonable request – Esther was queen after all. Did she not have access to the king? Yes, and no. One had to be summoned to see Ahasuerus. To come before him uninvited meant instant death, according to the strange and twisted laws of the empire. There was one hope, however. The king could choose to extend his golden scepter in mercy and thereby receive the one who came unannounced.

Doubt shadowed the young queen’s mind and heart. It’d been a month since Ahasuerus asked for her Esther related to Mordecai.

Here, Esther’s uncle made it clear to her that she was where she was for a reason and a purpose. He told that she could not keep silent. Her grace and good looks won her a spot near the throne, but those things would not save her. Now, however, it was “such a time” for courage and conviction, Mordecai said.

A crisis never develops character. It will, however, test hearts and expose what’s contained in them.

Esther’s heart was found to be full of truth and faith. She took the lead and called upon the Jews of her city to assemble for three days of prayers and fasting. Inside, the palace, the queen fasted along with the women assigned to her royal entourage.

She would break the law; she would go to Ahasuerus with these words in her heart and mind – “If I perish, I perish.”

Pray, fast, believe, and go with reckless abandon. This spiritual strategy proved to be a blessed one. Its success went above and beyond what any could ask or think. When Esther made herself seen, the king had favor, reached forth his scepter for her to touch, and asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.”

She said she would answer the king only after he and Haman would dine at a feast she would prepare.

Esther’s plan included dinner with a devil. Jesus, too, had a devil  — Judas — at His table in the upper room. He even washed that feet of that devil.

Haman got word of Esther’s invitation and boasted to family and friends of its significance. It wasn’t enough for him. He obsessed over Mordecai and, with his wife’s help, dreamed up a way to get rid of this one Jew before he rid the kingdom of all Jews. He had a tall gallows hastily built and then ran to the palace to get the king’s approval for the execution.

Only then would Haman be able to enjoy dinner with Esther and the king.

It is at this point that we get a taste of the power of the written word. The night before Esther’s feast, King Ahasuerus couldn’t sleep and called for a bedtime story. The book of memorable deeds was read aloud to him and heard anew the story of how Mordecai exposed the plot on the king’s life. The pages included nothing of Mordecai’s reward for he had not been rewarded at all.

Then and there, the king thought to right this wrong. He tasked Haman, of all people, how to honor one who’d done something great for the kingdom. Haman, sure that he was the one the king meant to celebrate, forgot for a moment his plot to execute Mordecai and described an elaborate and elegant parade with a royal horse, royal robes, and royal crown.

Ahaseurus giggled with delight and at once commanded Haman to do all of it for “Mordecai the Jew.”  Talk about having your legs cut off from under you. What a sight this must have been: Haman leading the horse with his now crowned enemy and proclaiming, “Thus it shall be done for he whom the king delight to honor.”

And so began Haman plummet from glory. He raced home in disgrace. The gallows he ordered had been finished, but Mordecai would not swing from it. He found none comfort to him, as his wife and counselors, those who so recently encouraged his action against Mordecai, now forecast doom for Haman.

Before he knew it, Haman was being whisked away to his feast with Esther and the king. With the feast, of course, came the wine. There was wine at the beginning of our story in Esther. The wine flowed freely for 180 days and led to the whole Vashti incident. Here, the wine time marked another dismissal from the palace.

Ahasuerus again asked Esther to tell him what she wanted. Slowly and surely, she rolled out her issue. She asked him to preserve her life and the lives of her people who had been sold to be destroyed, killed, and annihilated. With her request, Esther is careful not to implicate the king in put the decree in force. She also points out just how the kingdom will suffer without the work and wisdom and skill of the Jews.

“Who’s responsible for this?” asked the king.

“Our foe and enemy! Haman,” she answered.

The devil in the palace was now exposed. The king angry and, perhaps, confused moved to his garden to think. Haman trembled and begged Esther for her help. He fell upon her couch just as Ahasuerus returned. The king viewed the scene as an attack on Esther. He ordered Haman to be hung upon the very gallows he built to kill Mordecai.

Esther’s work in the palace was not finished. Haman’s law was still in force. Medo-Persian decrees are irrevocable, as we read in the story of King Darius with Daniel and the lions’ den in Daniel 6. Something more had to be done. Haman was gone, but the legislation he crafted was still on the books.

The queen again had to “break palace law” and go uninvited before Ahasuerus. She was bolder with this approach as she fell and wept at the king’s feet. He again stretched his scepter to the queen and Ahasuerus gave her this: “You may write as you please with regard to the Jews in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s ring, for edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.”

Haman’s plot to wipe out the Jews was neutralized by a fresh decree that gave the Jews the right and resources to defend themselves. And due to the lot – the pur — cast by Haman regarding his decree, the Jews would have 11 months to ready and arm themselves.

In time, Mordecai and Esther became the chief figures in all the realm of Persia. The day of the pur did come and it was the Jews who stood in triumph. In fact, many people took steps to become Jewish in order to avoid the vengeance of this people.

Esther is book in which the name of God is excluded, likely because the account was lifted right from the royal chronicles of Persia. Though we do not read His name in this book, we cannot deny the sovereign hand of His at work in the situations that present themselves.

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Seeker of the Lost

The Son of Man came for one reason, “to seek and to save the lost.”  Jesus made this point in Luke 19.This chapter describes Jesus as He visits two towns and the Temple.

First, Jesus stopped in Jericho. This city stands out on the pages of Jewish history. Joshua led Israel across the Jordan River into the Promised Land and Jericho represented Israel’s first conquest in Canaan. It was momentous victory orchestrated by the hand of the Lord.

Jericho was a walled city, but those defenses would fall flat as Joshua and the people obeyed the word of the Lord. Nearly everything and everyone in the town was destroyed, according to the instruction of God.

What exactly survived this attack? A Babylonian cloak, a bit of silver and a brick of gold – all of which were snatched away by a disobedient soldier named Achan. He hid them in his tent, but his sin was found out. He brought defeat and death to Israel and also to himself and to his family with this foolish act. That’s the sad part of this Jericho visitation of the Lord.

The glad part of that first visitation involved a harlot, Rahab, and her family. She believed what she had heard about the God of Israel and the power He demonstrated on behalf of His people. She hid two Hebrew spies and was rewarded with a promise of safety for all who would be found under her roof.

God proved faithful to Rahab. She and her family were spared from the ruination of Jericho. Beyond this, Rahab was taken as a wife by one from the tribe of Judah and she wound up in the family lineage of King Jesus. What a great salvation was given to this woman.

In Luke’s gospel, we read of how Jesus comes to Jericho and meets someone else seeking God. Zacchaeus was counted as an enemy of his people. This Jewish tax collector compromised with the Roman Empire and was known to overcharge and cheat those from his own nation.

On this day, however, everything changed for Zacchaeus. He wanted to catch a glimpse of Jesus, but he was too short to get a view of the street. So he climbed a tree and caught the eye of his Savior.

What Zacchaeus didn’t know was that Jesus was looking for him, too. And once the Lord saw him He invited Himself to have lunch at the tax collector’s house.

 It struck many there as odd and disgraceful that Jesus decided to eat with this crooked man. The presence of the Lord filled that place and Zacchaeus was transformed. Like Abraham, he believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Salvation entered a Jericho home through an open door and found an open heart. It was a triumph and a joy to Jesus.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

After this remarkable moment, Jesus moved toward the larger and more significant city in the region, Jerusalem. The news of His coming had surely been heard. How would He be received? Would there be those, like Zacchaeus, climbing trees to get a look at Him?

As He drew close to the city, a crowd shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Their expectation, however, was different from that of Zacchaeus and Jesus knew it. These people wanted a conqueror, a hero, a champion who would push back the forces of Rome and raise Israel to the heights it once had during the days of Solomon.

They wanted a king made for this world. Jesus was King, but a King of another kind; He was and is a King who came to wins hearts for the Kingdom to come.

Jerusalem was a place of cold, hard religion. The understanding of this broke the heart of her true King as He surveyed the city from a hilltop.

Jesus wept. He knew the rejection that was to come. He wept not out pity for Himself, but out of grief for what that rejection would mean for His Chosen People.

On that day, the very peace of God was there for Jerusalem. The leaders and officials of the town had crafted many rules and negotiated with Rome to contrive a measure of tranquility in Judea. But such things were not the lasting peace that Person of the Son could bring to them.

Jesus came to His own, to His nation, to His brothers and sisters, and they did not receive Him. They shut their eyes tight and plugged their ears to the message of salvation that Christ came to deliver.

Did Jesus turn away? No, He did not.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Jesus put Himself right in the center of Jerusalem life. He entered the Temple and exercised His authority. Here, the Son of God took His stand. He drove out the merchants who had made the House of Prayer into a den of thieves. These wheelers and dealers masked the glory of God and stole from the people the sense of His presence that should have reigned in His House.

The authorities sought to destroy Jesus. And, they would do just that in time. Their loud voices and bullying ways would send Jesus to the Cross. But for now there was nothing these leaders could do.

Peace had come. The visitation of the Son would accomplish its work in those willing to hear and believe.

And so Jesus taught daily. The Rahabs and Zacchaeuses came out to hear Him. Such as these hung on His words for they found them to be words of life, words of salvation and hope.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

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Kingdom and the King

“Let your Kingdom come, on Earth as it is in Heaven. …”

In these days when we hear and read of confused governments and outrageous politicians, we can take comfort in knowing that God is on His Throne. He is seated above Creation. He is Lord of all.

He rules. There is no other like Him. Let’s consider what the Bible tells about His Kingdom, and what it means from the divine side of things.

Matthew’s gospel is the gospel of Jesus the King. It opens with these words: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” At once, the writer established that Jesus was of royal lineage, a descendant of the family covenanted to rule and reign over God’s chosen nation.

One of the original 12 Apostles, Matthew traced the Savior’s ancestry and set it forth as evidence of His claim to the throne of Israel. He followed this record with the birth account that featured the little town of Bethlehem, the ancestral of home of King David.

Taken together, these first paragraphs of the New Testament emphasized the kingdom on Earth. But there was more to the royalty of Jesus. It is seen in the story of the Magi who came to Jerusalem seeking the Son of David, the one born “King of the Jews.”

It was the Star that shone in the sky that captured the attention of these learned ones. Longtime students of the heavens, of the constellations and the galaxies, they took note of this brightest of lights. It was Heaven’s  testimony of the Kingdom’s coming.

Word of Jesus’ coming was enough to stir things in this world. The news of the King brought trembling to Jerusalem, the city of David, the place where this shepherd king established his throne and set in motion the construction of the great Temple dedicated to the Lord. The priests and scribes knew the words of the prophets, but seemed not to believe them. There was no joy among them, only anxiety over what might happen.

Herod, the ruler of this city and its region, feigned homage while he plotted to eliminate any challenge to his authority. The Roman despot was ruthless. He would not tolerate another King in his domain. When the news of Jesus’ whereabouts never came, Herod ordered a purge of all boys 2 years old and under. This king slew many sons and brought sorrow to the region.

But then Herod died. His kingdom came and went with him. Another took up his place.

An Everlasting Rule

Jesus came as King of an everlasting Kingdom, one of Truth. He did not flex His muscles and push His way to His Throne. He came to claim His rule in a way so contrary to the world’s ways. He came first as the Lamb of God. His time to roar will surely come. It will have all the sound and fury that we think of when there is grand and glorious triumph.

But first, there was the matter of winning hearts to Him.

There are two phrases we read in the Gospels:  Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven. These mean different things.

The Kingdom of Heaven is the big picture. God rules and reigns from above. All is under Him and His authority. He is sovereign in His purposes. His providence brings life to all creatures. The seas and all that is in them belong to Him. The cattle on the thousands of hills are His.

The Kingdom of God, however, speaks of something seemingly small, but infinitely more precious to Him – our hearts. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance. For this reason, He so loved the world through the one and only Son.

Proverbs 8:31 says that God rejoices in the habitable parts of His earth; He delights to be with the sons of men. The Kingdom of God is something we enter into through our relationship to Him. John 3:3 makes it plain: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

All are born subject to the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who choose the narrow way of salvation enter into the large place, into the Kingdom of God, through their submission to Him.

Person and Relationship

The issue is really one of Person and our relationship to that Person. Christ in us is our hope of glory, but without Christ in us, we would be left on the outside looking in as it related to the Kingdom of God.

Jesus said this to a group of religious leaders in Luke 17. They were demanding answers about the where and the when of the coming Kingdom. The Lord addressed their misconceptions head on – “the Kingdom of God does not come with observation … for behold, the Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21).

Some think that Kingdom of God living simply involves being in the right places at the right times and seasons. This is the essence of religious practice. Do this, do that, be here, be there, show up, work up, follow the rules, etc.

Paul clarified things with his definition in Romans 14: “the Kingdom of God is not meat or drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

The Kingdom of God life is about God and our fellowship with Him. Living waters flow from out of us and splash on those around us. Our nearness to Him is the thing makes a difference in this world. We can affect so many with the joy and righteousness that we have from Him. We live as lambs among wolves with meek and holy ways that point to the one true King.

The Lamb shall also roar as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. All will see Jesus that way at a time not so long from now. He shall take up His throne and every knee will bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

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Noah Found Grace, God Told Him to Build

Noah was a man who found grace among a grace-less population. The age in which he lived is described as one when every imagination of every heart was only “evil continually” (see Genesis 6:5).

Violence dominated human society. Bloodshed was common and celebrated it seems. We read of a man Lamech who made up a song about his killing prowess and sang it to his wives: “I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. …” (Genesis 4:23).

Grieved, the Lord determined to “blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land. …” The earth needed a thorough cleansing, a refreshment and renewal. Human practices so violated the design of God that even most mammals, birds, and creeping things were designated for destruction.

Think of the heart of God at this point. Consider the sorrow and hurt that must have touched Him. His purposes involved making beings with the power to choose. And with that power they decided to turn from Him and His ways.

A third of the angels followed Lucifer in his rebellion. A perfect, wise, and talented angel turned against the One who gave him his perfection, his mind, and his abilities.

The Lord formed man from the dust and quickened him to life with His very breath. Men and women multiplied as God has told them to do, but along with that multiplication grew a propensity with them toward deeper and deeper sin. Adam and Eve took the first bites from the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in Genesis 3. Their descendants swallowed more and more of what that tree had to offer. They imagined vain things and raged against each other (Psalm 2).

The results reached far – even beyond what had happened with the angels. Among the hosts of these creatures, the Lord could count two-thirds, a majority, on His side.

On earth, almost all seemed gone. Was there any among the millions upon the planet walking with God?

Yes. There was one.

“But Noah” — just one man, a solitary father with a small family –“found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” From this man, God would start again.

Obedience Before the World

The Lord told Noah the truth. The sins of man stunk, and their smell had reached high into heaven. A drastic measure was necessary now. The waters were coming, a flood would swamp all the land, even the highest of mountains and wash away the results of wickedness.

God’s plan required Noah’s obedience. He and his family would not be transported away as Enoch had been. This one man was given a plan and instructed in the way of salvation. Noah would build a boat according to a specific design and that vessel would hold all that God chose to call and rescue from the judgment He determined.

Where would Noah find the material for such a project? In the woods, that’s where. God sent Noah to the trees, to cull gopher wood. With this, Noah formed the boards, the beams, the rutter, and the rooms for the Ark.

This takes us back to the beginnings of mankind. Adam was told to dress and keep the trees of the Garden. Following his Fall, Adam and his wife hid away among those very trees as the Voice of God sought them in the cool of the day.

Noah was instructed to go back to the trees.  Make an Ark. Make it of wood. Cover it, inside and out, with pitch. This last substance likely came from pine resin, boiled and painted upon the vessel to make it water tight.

It was a big job. Notice that Noah was not given a deadline or even a timetable. He was called and told to build. That’s it.

A man called to stand alone in his generation had a lot to do. And he did it.

Noah’s work spoke for God. Peter makes reference to Noah as a “preacher of righteousness” during his days (see 2 Peter 2:5). Were there mockers and scoffers around him? I am sure there were. Those watching him could not understand. God was not in their thoughts.

Many mornings Noah likely had to drag himself out of bed and to the work site. He had to discipline his mind to hold fast to the promise of God.

Build, Noah did, day after day. He sawed the wood, drove the nails, made the rooms; he followed the plan given to him. It was simple, hard, unglamorous work stretched over years.

Faithful, this man made the Ark ready. Trust and obey, that’s all he could do. There was no other way. Work, watch, wait – these words Noah kept in mind.

Every now and then, he looked to the sky. I wonder how he felt at the sight of a cloud or two.

The Lord Shut Them In

One day animals started to show up. They, too, were moved by God, commanded by Him to come to the place of salvation. Noah welcomed all that God had sent – clean and unclean entered in to the rooms prepared for them.

At last came the word came from the Lord: “After seven days, I wills send the rain.” The animals entered the Ark followed by Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives – eight people in all. “And the Lord shut him in” (Genesis 7:10-24).

The waters poured down for 40 days and nights. The earth was soaked; its creatures drowned. Man’s sins brought judgment upon the world made for him.

“But Noah.”

The story of this man is a revelation to us of how God sees and how God knows. Another age of great evil is coming, and we see the seeds of it now. Jesus spoke of this age in teaching His disciples about the time of the end. “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37).

Just how bad will things get on the earth? As bad as things were in Noah’s time, Jesus said. This should come as no surprise. We see the direction of “civilization” and the road it is on.

How are we to think? What should we expect?

We should think with God and expect His promise to hold true.

“Fear not little flock, it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

We are on the inside of the Ark, looking out. God called us. God saved us. God keeps us.

We wait. We watch. We pray. We look to the sky.

And, we work, building as “preachers of righteousness,” shut in as His people to reveal His glory.

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The First Silent Night

 “Silent night, holy night – all is calm …”

So begins one of the all-time favorite carols of this season. Over the coming weeks, this song will be sung throughout churches as Christmas Day approaches.

Silence, calm – these are not words that describe what many experience during these days. There’s a charge in the atmosphere. I felt it the day after Thanksgiving as I walked through a shopping mall on what’s come to be known as Black Friday, the shopping day marked with fast, furious sales and super, duper, seasonal bargains.

Everywhere I turned there were lights and sounds and signage all pushing me to take advantage of the big deals. I was urged to buy, buy, buy. Add to your wardrobe; upgrade your phone; get the latest time-saving gadget – it will change your life.

I wondered just what I would do with the time I saved. How would I spend those extra minutes and seconds?

“Silent night, holy night” – I discerned the sound of the tune. It came from a speaker somewhere hidden in the bustle. The notes that I heard brought the words to mind.

It is easy to just think about Christmas and the manger with the virgin and her husband among the animals. All of that is so important. That was a splendid and glorious moment when Christ the Savior was born. Angels were heard. Shepherds were amazed. Wise men noticed the Star that rose over Jacob’s land.

But then I thought of something more.

God Chose to Rest

“Silent night, holy night” – these words made me think of the Lord in His stillness. The quiet, confident, secure nature of who God is amazes me.  His “so love” for the world is incomprehensible and eternal. God is at rest in His love (see Zephaniah 3:17).

The first silent night, the first holy night came because God willed it. Genesis 2 tells us that this came on the seventh day. He stopped what He was doing. Sabbath became a big part of the universe.

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made (Genesis 2:1-3).

God became still. He chose to bring His activity to a place of rest. All was calm, and all was bright. It was glorious.

Did the Lord need a break? Not at all – He has always been the all-powerful, the all-knowing, the all-seeing, the all-present One. The Maker of the heavens and the earth could have gone on making and creating as He saw fit.

“Be still and know that I am God” – so says Psalm 46:10. This is what Sabbath is all about.

Sabbath. Silence. Selah. These words are holy words. They speak of the rest that comes with wholeness and completeness – Shalom in the Hebrew.

God finished His work of Creation. Those days were good, good, good, good, good, and very good. He pronounced blessing and sanctification on the seventh day, however.

How did the angelic realm respond to Sabbath? I wonder about this. Did these bright, beautiful, intelligent, and talented creatures welcome the stillness? Some did, others did not.

From the Scriptures, we understand that at least one of God’s creations refuses to stay still. Inactivity is just not a part of Satan’s makeup. He is ever roaming, to and fro, up and down, seeking someone to deceive and devour. Maybe this was one of the devil’s big issues with his Maker. Perhaps it bothered the devil that the Lord was willing to stop doing things.

God saw no need to crowd the skies so full of stars that there would be no distinction. He named each of them so it makes sense that He left some space between them. Creation reached a conclusion, and so God said, “Let’s rest.”

Jesus and His Finished Work

Jesus finished the work of redemption at the Cross, committed His spirit to the Father, and bowed His head. Still. Lifeless. His body hung there to be collected, wrapped, and laid away in the tomb. And then came a waiting.

Instant triumph wasn’t — and isn’t — a part of the picture.

Between the Cross and the Resurrection, there was Sabbath. I am sure it was a somber and sad day for the followers of Christ, but the Lord followed His design. The stone would be rolled away – but not until the third day.

Now, we wait. The Ascension happened. His coming is still on hold. Haste? Hurry? God is not at all about this. His way, His truth, His life shall unfold according to His sovereign purposes.

When we turn to the book of Revelation, we can see even there that the Lord will not be in a rush to His judgment. “When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (Revelation 8:1). A pause shall punctuate the righteous wrath unleashed upon the wicked world.

Sabbath. Silence. Selah. These pause words should move us to listen; they should prompt us to be more ready to hear, as the writer of Ecclesiastes encourages us to do (see Ecclesiastes 5:1-3).

Rest in God goes beyond vacations, entertainment, and amusements. I am starting to prefer the word “holiday” to vacation. Getting away from it all can sometimes be an empty exercise, a frittering away of time.

Sabbaths – holy days – are what we really need.

Take rest, receive it from the One who promised to give it (Matthew 11:28-30). They who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength (see Isaiah 40:31).

Seek God. Be still and know. Wait and watch in wonder at His wonderful work.

Sleep in heavenly peace.

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Reach, Stand, Wash and See

Jesus spoke sentences of Truth to all who would hear. He came as the Word made flesh to walk among us. Jesus prayed and showed His followers how to pray. These were big parts of the ministry He performed during His days on earth.

Jesus also came to heal, restore, and revive. His ministry of miracles came out of His compassion. His purpose in these things was not to enhance His popularity, but to glorify the Father who sent Him to earth.

A Hand Made Whole

In Luke 6, Jesus stepped into a synagogue on the Sabbath, as was His habit – yes, even the Son of God made it a practice to be in the local assembly. He was there to teach. His words were full of grace and the listeners were astonished.

There, on that day, was a man with a withered right hand. He could hold nothing with those fingers. We read nothing of how this condition came upon him. Perhaps some speculated that  this crippled one was under a curse. It was a common belief that bad things happened to people who did bad things. Read the story of Job and pay attention to how his “friends” kept pushing him to get right and confess his faults. Job refused to forsake his integrity by admitting to something he did not do.

Jesus called this man to stand. He was about to do a Sabbath work. “Stretch out your hand,” said the Savior. The man heard the Word and did as Jesus said. At once, the hand was as good as new.

You would think that such a demonstration of God’s power would have had everyone in the place lifting their hands in praise. But that’s not what happened.

Instead, the leaders of the synagogue shook their fists in rage and disgust. Healing on the Sabbath was against their rules. Their hard hearts could not celebrate with this man made whole. Sadly, some are so bound by ceremony and ritual that the real work of the Lord has no impact on them.

How did this man leave the synagogue that day? He believed Jesus and was made free by God’s power. What great rest entered his life that day. No longer would he have to struggle and labor to figure out how to do his work and conduct his affairs with one operational hand.

Think of the full embraces he gave his wife and children after this moment. I am sure that his heart was full of joy at what Jesus had done.

A Body Made Straight

Another story of healing comes in Luke 13. This one involves the crooked body of a faithful woman. Jesus would refer to her as “daughter of Abraham bound by Satan.” The infirmity had left her hunched and bowed for 18 years. This was a woman who could not look up.

She came to the synagogue on that day. I am thinking she was a regular at these meetings. Imagine how much effort it took for her just get to her seat, on the Sabbath day.

Jesus saw it all and called her to Himself. He spoke, “Woman, you are free from this infirmity.” He touched her, and she was made straight. She glorified God before all who were gathered there.

Few rejoiced with her, however. Again, the synagogue rulers were outraged that healing happened on the day of rest. How dare Jesus work a work of God in the house of God on the day of no work?

Jesus responded to the indignant protests with this: “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox and his donkey from the manger and lead it to water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for 18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

With these words, Jesus pointed to the real power behind the restrictive religious attitude in the room. The devil suffered a defeat there, and Christ made sure everyone knew this.

At last, the people cut loose with songs and praise, for the adversaries of God’s goodness had been put to shame.

Like the man with the withered hand, the woman with a crooked back really just showed up for church. Both of these people had learned to live their lives. But everything changed when Jesus was on the scene.

Eyes Opened

The last story of healing I want to address involves the blind man in John 9. Jesus came to this man’s dark world and was made an example by the disciples. Their question was this one: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Even the closest of Jesus’ followers still had twisted notions about infirmities and the reasons behind them. The Savior’s response must have astounded them: “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

These words may stir questions. Is Jesus saying that the things that are wrong with us are there to make way for the works of God? I think that’s exactly what He said.

All that’s wrong with us is because of us. The Fall of Adam and Eve opened the human race to death and made the soil susceptible to the weeds, the thorns, the thistles, etc. We’re naked, and we know it. Our bodies become weak and frail, and our minds and hearts are battered with thoughts that distort our views of ourselves and of others.

To the blindness that clouded the eyes of this man, Jesus had an answer. It was this:  Here’s mud in your eyes. Jesus spat on the ground and mixed up a batch of clay to smear on the man’s face. The Savior then told the man to go and wash.

The man did as Jesus said, and he saw the light of the sun for the first time ever. And because he saw, the whole neighborhood was thrown into an uproar. Again, the healing work of the Savior was unwelcome because it happened at the wrong time – on the Sabbath.

The once-blind man was interrogated and called a liar by the religious authorities. In the midst of this investigation, his parents were brought in and they identified him as their son, but wanted nothing to do with him and his story. This man was made an outcast from the Temple and from his family.

The man eyes  had been opened,  but now it seemed he was all alone.

Jesus found him. He fully introduced Himself as more than his Healer. The Lord invited the man to believe in the Son of Man, and believe he did. Once, he was blind, now he could see the world with his eyes and see the truth with his heart.

What miracle could God do in us today? Jesus has come to save. His Spirit lives in us.

Let’s stretch our hands to Him in praise. Let’s stand up for the Gospel. Let’s wash away what clouds our vision.

Let’s see Him for who He is – our Healer, our Redeemer, our Friend, our Lord.

 

 

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The Wait, the Wind, the Word

The Apostles kept looking up, their eyes on the sky. They stared steadily at the spot where Jesus had escaped their view. The Savior rose through the clouds before this group and was gone.

It was now 40 days since Resurrection Sunday. Jesus came and went among them. He appeared and disappeared to Peter, to James His half-brother, to a group in a locked room, to 500 at once. He spoke with His followers and ate with them. He invited them touch Him. There were to understand that He was present in flesh and bone. He revealed to them that our future reality would have substance, an existence not at all ethereal or ghost-like.

But Jesus had gone up through the heavens. What now? Surely, uncertainties filled the minds and hearts there. For a time, they were frozen in place.

Angels then arrived with a question and a promise. “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (see Acts 1:11).

Power was coming, Jesus told them so. Power had been on their minds. They asked Jesus if Israel’s Kingdom season had arrived. “That’s not for you to know,” the Lord answered them. “Times and seasons belong to the authority of the Father,” He said.

After all that these people had seen and heard with Jesus, they still had so much to learn. Kingdom authority was coming in a new and living way. Power was about to be sent from above. Holy Spirit fire would fall on them. A new baptism was about to be introduced to the world.

“Wait,” Jesus said.

Isaiah 40:31 says, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Christ had spoken of the Spirit and what would come with Him to these faithful ones. They would require the strength, the wings, the stamina, and the leading that would be sent to them.

The disciples did as they were told. Soon these followers of the Resurrected One gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem.

It was a feast time in this city. The Jews gathered for Pentecost, a harvest celebration, a time of thanksgiving to God for the first fruits of the wheat crop. From throughout the Roman Empire, thousands came to be with their kindred at the Temple.

These pilgrims were about to experience a pivotal moment in history. They went on with their religious duties, doing their best to honor God with sacrifices and offerings.

Meanwhile, the disciples of Jesus labored in prayer. A small room full of waiting ones became possessed with divine expectation. The communion of these believers was true and real. They were in one accord when sound of the Wind came.

It was mighty and rushing. It filled the room. To each one, this Wind swept a “tongue” – a small flame that rested just above every head. God filled His people with Himself. The offering of Christ on the Cross opened the way for our bodies to become temples for the Spirit.

The love of Christ called them to Him. Their love for each other in Christ had drawn them together. Now the love of God in and among them shined out to others. They were now ready to address the world full of fields ripe and ready to harvest.

At last came the Word.

Those in that room began to speak with the languages known by those filling the streets of Jerusalem. The Wait and the Wind made the followers of Jesus ready to speak with power and authority. News of this miracle moment spread through the city. The sound captivated hundreds.

Some mocked – they laughed the group was full of wine. Others heard, however. And as they listened, they were cut to the heart.

The Spirit’s breeze blew upon them as well. The dust of their cold religion was carried away, and a new thing put before them.  Thousands seized upon the message and responded in the faith of the Son of God.

Peter addressed them with the Gospel of the Kingdom. The essence of this message was this: “Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).

Could it be time for a new Pentecost? Are we willing to wait and watch? Are we listening for that mighty, rushing Wind?

A world full of trouble awaits a message of hope. We have this message. The Gospel of Christ must be spoken in every tongue to every tribe of people.

Do we believe it? Will we do it? May His Wind blow fresh upon us.

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Jesus: The Eternal, Effective Living Word

For John the Apostle, Jesus had to be viewed from eternity to eternity. His gospel, his letters, his Revelation, all serve to describe Christ in the wholeness of His holiness. There is none like Him.

The man Jesus, John heard with his own ears and saw with his own eyes and touched with his own hands. This aged Apostle was clear about this. He, like none other, put himself in the physical presence of the King.

John witnessed the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter and the glory of the Son of God on the Mount of Transfiguration when He shined brightly along with Elijah and Moses. This Apostle leaned upon Him at the last supper in the Upper Room. He stood at Golgotha beside Mary, His mother. There, Jesus committed Mary to John’s care. He dashed to the tomb, beating Peter with his determined sprint, as soon as he learned that the Savior’s body was gone.

The life of Jesus, the very real, human life of Christ, was something manifested to John. He took his commission seriously to testify to it. His documentation is thorough and detailed.

Signs and Conversations

John’s gospel features Jesus’ encounters not related by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. This should not surprise or mystify us. John’s writings are dated decades after the appearance of the first three accounts of the life of Jesus.  He likely survived into his 90’s and his recollections complement the synoptic stories. His gospel invites us to behold the Lamb, born to take away the sin of the world.

How are we led to behold Him? John guides us in this by telling us of the Lord’s signs and His conversations.

Jesus’ first sign of extraordinary power comes at a rather ordinary event. A wedding feast is in crisis — the wine has run out and Mary seeks out her Son to fix the problem. Jesus, at first, appears unwilling to help. Undeterred, His mother simply told the wedding servants to do what Jesus tells them to do. They listen to Him and fill large jugs with water. Soon, the wine is flowing again, and this drink is commended as the best that any had tasted that day. Thus, John portrayed Christ as a party saver before he portrayed Him as a life saver.

Don’t miss the key element here.  The servants did as Jesus said. The Word of the Lord has power, and those who hear and obey experience this. Through the rest of the gospel, John tells of others who listened when Jesus spoke and were transformed.

Nicodemus, the Pharisee, was told he must be born again of the Spirit to understand Kingdom things. By the end of John, this religious leader, once so secretive about his belief in the Savior, felt compelled to go and wrap the Savior’s body for burial.

The woman at the well is won by His words about living water that come to those who worship in Spirit and Truth. She believed and convinced her whole town to come and hear Him.

The invalid at the pool of Siloam heard, “take up your bed and walk” and obeyed, even though it violated Sabbath rules. This man had suffered 38 years and was now on his feet because he believed what Jesus said.

The adulteress, thrust before Him alone, without her partner in sin, is rendered uncondemned and sent away with the admonition to “go and sin no more.” Consider this: even the woman’s accusers heard Jesus and fell under the sway of His words:  “Let the one without sin cast the first stone.” Slowly, the agitated, self-righteous mob thinned to nothing as the oldest to the youngest dropped their rocks under the weight of conviction.

Lord, God, Savior, Lamb

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard. …” These phrases open the letter known as 1 John. Jesus was and is the Son of Man and Son of God. What Jesus said and did in His time on earth manifested the reality of His being and character.

Jesus’ words were then and are now, eternal and effective. Read of Him. Learn of Him. Imagine yourself as a listener as He speaks. This isn’t so difficult to do. After all, more than 60 percent of John’s gospel is comprised of words from Him, words from the mighty God who is all and is in all. We can hear Him now as those gospel characters heard Him then.

John wrote at a time when some were attempting to redefine Jesus. Distortions and deceptions were circulated about the Person of Christ. Some described Him as a being less than God; others taught that He was some kind of being, other than human. John stood opposed to all such foolishness.

This last living Apostle sounded out the truth about Jesus as Lord and God and Savior. As believers, we must cultivate a true and faithful apprehension of the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Are we able to comprehend everything about who He is? Not likely. Human minds are too small and human logic too limited to explain eternal matters. It seems there will always be moments when we will have to cry out “I believe, help my unbelief.”

As promised, Jesus sent us the Person of the Holy Spirit to live in us, to help us, and to guide us in all truth. We proclaim the truth of Who He is and enter into the fellowship of Light.

This fellowship is the communion of those cleansed from sin by the Blood of the Lamb of God. It is a fellowship of love, and it is where we find our joy is complete.

It is a fellowship in Jesus, the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

 

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All on the Altar

The Lord told Abraham to take Isaac and present him as a burnt offering. This son, the son of promise, the son of Abraham’s old age born when wife Sarah was in her 90s, was to become a sacrifice at Mount Moriah.

What an outrageous request this seems to be. And it is, but it is one that God did ask of His friend. How did Abraham respond? He rose early, saddled his donkey and got moving with two young servants and Isaac. The traveling party reached its destination and, there, Abraham and Isaac walked off with the wood, the fire, and the knife.

“Where’s the Lamb?’ Isaac wondered aloud at one point.

“God will provide for himself the Lamb,” Abraham answered.

Eventually, the wood was stacked, Isaac tied down, and the knife raised in the hand of Abraham. Then, and only then, did the voice of the angel of the Lord speak out — “Do not lay your hand on the boy!”

A Test of Friendship

The Bible describes this as a test for Abraham, and he is commended for his response of faith. “I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is one the seashore. … in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (See Genesis 22:17-18.)

That’s how the story ends.

To some, I am sure that this conclusion is unsatisfying. We want explanations and answers, and we want them on our terms.

Why would God test a man in such a way? Sure, Abraham passed the test, it seems, and so the Lord then spoke of the great things to come. But, really, is this what it means to be the “Friend of God?”

Actually, real friends do bring out the biggest things in each other. God’s challenge to Abraham revealed a depth of trust that earned the man this title: “the Father of our Faith.”

What did the Lord say would come from Abraham? A remarkable line of descendants, that’s what. Some offspring would be stars, others would be sand.

On one level, these word pictures point to the multitude of children who would come from him. Yes, Father Abraham had many sons; many sons had Father Abraham, as the old Sunday school song goes. There are, naturally speaking, millions who trace their genetic roots to this man. These ones are the sand, and like sand they’re everywhere, in every corner of this world.

However, the Lord also declared that some of Abraham’s descendants would shine. These stars of heaven are those who have believed God as Abraham believed God. And, just like Abraham, they’ve had righteousness reckoned to them.

What if Abraham’s response had been different? Suppose he scampered away with Isaac in an attempt to hide from the Lord and His test? Jonah ran from the Lord. He was given a mission and a message and, at first, he refused to do as God asked him. This prophet was guided back into the will of God, but it was not a smooth ride.

Abraham reacted in another way. He heard and obeyed; he promptly set out to prepare an altar — upon which he would put his son.

Places of Sacrifice

Abraham’s life was a life defined by altars for he had built three others before this one at Mount Moriah. Altars mean sacrifice. Abraham believed God; he’d offered before and he would offer now — he would offer what God asked him to offer. Isaac, the one for whom he had waited so long, would be placed before the Lord.

When we read forward into the prophets and the New Testament, we discover that God was not asking Abraham to do something He would not do Himself. Jesus is the revelation of this. The Son of God would be offered for us all on the altar of Calvary. Isaiah 53 describes Him as “smitten by God … pierced for our transgressions … crushed for our iniquities … a Lamb that is led to the slaughter. …”  The gospel of Matthew opens with this statement: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Christ came to be the King, a descendant from the line of Abraham through David, the bright Morning Star from Heaven.

God says that there are things that “are not for us to know.” Job wrestled and complained and protested as he went through his trials. The end of the story shows Job with twice as much as he had before the tragedies that befell him. Still, nowhere do we read of God explaining Himself and His ways. Job held fast to his integrity; he clung to the reality of the relationship he knew that he had with the Lord.

Friends know each other well enough that they do not need to know all things. Abraham followed the leading of God through his years. It was not a perfect walk. Twice, he lied about Sarah being his wife when he feared for his life. He also went along with his wife’s suggestion and slept with Hagar, a union that gave the world Ishmael and the wild “sand” of offspring that came from him.

But when God said “offer up Isaac,” Abraham’s faith in the Lord was sure. He knew God as the God of the living. Abraham believed God, and he put all on the altar.

What would the Lord have us put before Him? Are there things we’ve determined are off limits to Him? Our great Friend may ask something big of us. He may ask us to stretch, to reach, to move, to stand. The good news is that He will not require us to perform in our own strength.  His Spirit lives in our hearts. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

Jesus, what a Friend we have in Him. We never shall know all things, but we do know the One who does. Let us rest in His power and provision. Let’s rise, saddle up, and move forward in Him.

 

 

 

 

 

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Tell Yourself the Truth

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. The Lord upholds us with His hand. These are statements of faith and trust. These come from Psalm 37, which sits among the poetry and hymnody God supplied for us. He gave these words to us through a variety of writers to help says the things that we are feeling. These words also serve to address our feelings.

For example, in Psalm 42 and 43, we read of a conversation that David has with his soul. He asked his soul a couple of important questions:

“Why are you cast down? Why are you disquieted within me?”

These are real things that we all feel. We become downcast. We live in the disquiet. There’s noise all about us. We hear so much. We read so much. Our smart phones, if we let them, can steal Sabbath from us. Rest becomes elusive. Our sleep is uneasy at best, nonexistent at worst.

What did David do? He prayed his despair. He spoke his doubts – out loud at some point for he turned this time of turmoil into song. He gave these lyric lines to the choirmaster. It is labeled as a “Maskil of the sons of Korah.”  From what I understand, these words were turned into contemplative poem by these servants at the Temple. Another form of maskil speaks of how to serve with discretion.

Here, I see the way to handle despair, defeat, and doubt so that it does not swallow us down into full-blown depression. Sometimes you just have sing and sing things that are troublesome and unpleasant. There should be place in our lives for lament.

Pour Out the Pains

Jeremiah the prophet never would have survived if God had not allowed him to pour out his pain. Lamentations is book of funeral songs sung over the fall of Jerusalem and the captivity of the people of Israel. And, yet, what do we discover there at the heart of this wilderness of dirges?

Why, we read these very words:

“This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in him” (Lamentations 3:21-24).

There’s our answer. Speak things into your soul that form a frame of reference built upon the Rock and fortressed with towers from the Truth. Jeremiah did this, and he kept delivering the message of God to the people of God. So very few heeded what he preached, but he carried on. His life here on earth was one of little joy so it seems. Still, his soul held hope.

Please, don’t do damage to yourself by allowing your disappointment and discouragement to become an idol. This happens, and I know an idol is being formed when I hear this: “You could never understand because you have never been through what I have been through.”

True, so, so true. But what of Christ? Who do you say that He is? Do you believe in the records of His life and words? He was tempted in all ways in order to be our representative High Priest. He lived as a man, died as a man, and was resurrected as a man. Jesus Christ, our Redeemer is faithful and true, knows everything that we are about.

The Redeemer Lives

Job knew this and held fast to it. His series of trials befuddled and frustrated him. The strange and accusatory counsels from his “friends” added to the burden of pain he carried. He felt alone and forsaken at times. His integrity was all that he had.

Integrity is drawn from the word “integer” that is used in mathematics. An integer is a whole number. Job rested in the wholeness that he knew God had given to him by grace through his faith. Like Jeremiah in the middle of his laments, Job spoke truth to himself in the midst of his troubles:

“For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.

“And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!” (Job 19:25-27)

Job’s expectation was that Christ would stand triumphant on earth, and that he would see this Day of the Lord. Still, he remained honest and confessed the weakness and heaviness upon his heart.

Let’s return to Psalms 42 and 43. We read of how David ordered his soul with what he had in his mind and spirit. His words mirror what Job and Jeremiah declared. They are full of hope and expectation.

“Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, my salvation and my God.”

This is what David said to the feelings. And, I am thinking that he said these things in a whisper, at least at the start. I am not sure he was so ready to shout them.

Assurance is a remarkable, wonderful, and elusive thing, even for the most spiritual among us. I imagine that Peter, John, Paul, Mary, Martha, and the others weathered crushing seasons of doubt. Like the man in Mark 9, all of us have had moments where we cast our cares upon Him with these words: ““I believe; help my unbelief!” (see Mark 9:24).

I think David was having this kind of doubtful moment in these psalms. But he knew his Redeemer and sought his comfort.

Darkness can suffocate us. In those hours, may we let His night song form our prayers to the God of our lives.