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Archive for the 'Commitment' Category

Apr

Casting Call!

By pasturescott 5 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Commitment, Discipleship, Encouragement, Jesus Christ, Reign of Christ and Surrender

Sometimes movies can entertain and, on rare occasions, they can actually move you.

Here’s one that moves me to this day:

The scene is both striking and memorable: a clutch of men running barefoot along a beach in slow motion. The haircuts and uniforms suggest an earlier time. The pace is set, the runners all in a tight pack, a near impossible ballet of grace and muscular limbs. Some of the faces register serious business; others reflect sheer joy in the moment. It’s a cloudy day and as the milky grayness of the sky erases the horizon, one is hard-pressed to tell where the ocean ends and the firmament begins. While high-definition water drops splash upwards from the surf, synthesized music drones and builds.

The camera pans and focuses on the one face whose story will be central to the script. It is a handsomely ruddy face, well-chiseled and with a mop of flailing blonde hair. The viewer quickly deduces this runner is exceptional among exceptional athletes, but it is a quiet confidence that pushes him. Almost reverent.

The runner, Eric Liddell (played by Ian Charleson), is the subject of Chariots of Fire, a 1981 best picture classic. The life of Liddell is near-perfectly portrayed by the actor who plays him so believably, one would think Charleson was typecast for the role of the God-fearing athlete/missionary. I get gooseflesh when I recall the Scotsman’s impassioned speech to his sister Jenny: “I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure.”

The story has all the ingredients of a good flick. It was the summer of 1924 and Paris was hosting the VIII Olympiad. Eric Liddell, the fastest runner in all of Scotland, finds out his qualifying heat for the 100 meter race was to be run on Sunday. He quietly and reverently bows out. Surefire gold for his country is lost. On conviction, this man who lived for Christ first and ran second, would not run on the Lord’s Day. His teammates were incredulous. His coaches were up in arms. The powers that be were despondent. Evidently, this had no great effect on Liddell for he is seen in church on the morning of his heat, quoting from Isaiah 40:31,

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength…they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Liddell would, in fact, live to run another day. Though it was for a race he had not trained for, Liddell ran the 400 meter with blazing speed and the wind of God on his back. Impossibly, Liddell won the gold medal despite being tripped and having to make up 20 meters and still flew by the rest of the pack to the finish line.

Though the movie falls short of telling the true drama of Liddell’s life, history fills in the blanks. Two years after winning the gold and bronze medals, Liddell went to China as a missionary. While there, he would be imprisoned by the Japanes during their occupation and would remain in a prison camp until his death from a brain tumor in 1945.

Perhaps you already have this tidbit of insider information, but a few years ago I learned the man who portrayed Eric Liddell in the movie was not, in fact, a follower of Christ at all even though his sympathetic approach to Liddell’s faith almost beg that he be of likesame faith! Turns out, he just “played one on TV.” Not only was Charleson not a follower of Christ, he was a self-avowed agnostic who found God to be a far-off, aloof character, well outside and offstage the drama of his life.

That blew me away!

You know, this isn’t a far cry from how the church role-plays in our time. We can have the best soundtracks, the best costumes and sets, the best storylines, even the best actors! It’s like the modern gospel–say it but don’t live it–has produced its own brand of religious agnosticism where God is “up there, out there, but not IN there.”

How does the apostle put it? Something about a “form of godliness…”?

We have learned that we can memorize the right lines and break into character when it is our cue then break back into our real life persona when the cameras stop rolling. How God—yea, our world—must tire of a brand of Christianity whose followers merely “play one on TV.”

Today I believe God sits in His holy heaven in his Director’s Chair hard at work producing His upcoming masterpiece. His eyes are “roaming to and fro” looking even now to cast a people who are real, sold-out, focused on the Wedding Feast and their Bridegroom Lord, lovesick for Jesus and willing to endure trials that will weaken and decrease them so that Jesus and his power may be front and center of all things.

Man oh man, I want a role in that story.

Aug

Left-Turn Jesus?

By pasturescott 14 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Church, Commitment, Crucified Life, Deception, Discipleship, Faithfulness, Gospel, Hypocrisy, Jesus Christ, Obedience, Persecution, Reign of Christ, Sacrifice and Surrender

When Jesus entered Jerusalem amid the cries of “Liberate us! Rescue us! Now! Today!” He once again zigged when mob mentality preferred He zag and have done with it. Our Savior who was there when beasts of burden were created, gently nudged the animal on which He was riding to go right when all of the Passover throng urged Him left.

Had He gone left, the road would have taken Him to the Fortress of Antonias, the residence of Pilate who was then governor of Judea. You can almost imagine the egress of humanity as it parted to give their conquering king leeway to lead the revolution Rome-ward. Get Rome out of our Home! signs, if there were such, would say. The waving of palm branches and the rubbing of palms would intermingle buoyed by the hoots and hollers of antsy renegades long tired of Gentile occupation.

But He turned right instead.

“Wha–?”

“What the–?”

“Where’s He going? Jesus! Jesus! Wrong way!”

“Left!”

“Left, we say!”

But the butt end of a donkey spoke volumes. Its right flank told the fed-up malcontents that this King may not be their king after all. Where was He going? Oh wait, I know, some thought. Optimism rising: He’s gonna do a victory lap around the city BEFORE He rides into the jaws of Gentile dominion. But they were wrong.

Gently coaxing the beast onward through the thickening atmosphere of suspicion and burgeoning alarm, the Teacher wended His way past the curious and the quietened. Mouths were hanging open and palm branches drooped, tips touching the stone and sand of the city. Whispers carried over the tops of heads and more than a few voices raised in faltered protest, still not exactly sure what this quasi-king was up to.

The Temple. Oh, sure, He needs to go into the Temple for a blessing before He confronts the enemy. So they thought.

The outer court of the Temple proper was filled with turtledoves, pigeons, lambs and rams. Moneychangers had their booths set up all over the area and as Jesus dismounted, a strange and deadly fire billowed in His eyes. He looked upon the carnivalian sight with disgust and wasted little time finding some cords with which to fashion whips. If no one had been watching and wondering up until now, they were certainly doing just that in this moment. What was He going to do? Wait! The whips must be for the backs of the oppressors!

Hardly.

With zeal no one had seen until this time, the Christ’s arms flashed out tentacles of cord against the backs of the moneylenders and court shysters. The tips never touched animal flesh but how they snaked and bit into the cloth and skin of those who were turning this sacred ground into their operations of greed and blasphemy. How the Son of Man whirled in furious passion, a blur of blazing authority! Howling out protests agains such unrequited insolence, these merchants of mayhem ran for the exits and straight into the waiting arms of the planners of the carpenter’s demise.

Fast forward several days.

Pilate stands before the mob, irritated and incredulous at their fickleness. How could the same people who lauded and applauded this pitiful Man a few days earlier now want His blood to run down the sewers of the city? Can anyone figure out these lunatics? He called for a man named Jesus to be brought forward, a terrorist imprisoned for atrocities against Roman soldiers. Standing him beside another Man named Jesus, he said:

“Which Jesus do you want?”

You see, One Jesus had said to anyone who would listen for three years that He had come from His Father and most if not all knew exactly what He meant. He was saying quite literally He was the sent-One from God, God in human flesh, the One this nation had been waiting for, prophesied for centuries, and He was here, now.

The other Jesus was one who spoke their language and gave them exactly what they wanted. Few know his first name was Jesus but most know him as Bar-abbas, translated: the son of his father, and both stood side by side before the world, as it were, and, except for a shockingly small number, most chose the one who would give them immediate satisfaction. They wanted the freedom-fighter, not the Giver of Freedom. They wanted the one who whipped the Romans, not the Jews.

And so Jesus was tried, convicted and crucified. All because He turned right instead of left.

There are so many ways to take this but I want to submit that much of what is called the church today, had it been living in that era, would, I fear, blend into that fickle mob, choosing a left-turn Jesus rather than a right-turn Lord. Many do not want a Supreme King to reign over them but they are fired-up silly for a God who will give them what they want.

Peter himself, in a fit of schizonphrenia, told Jesus to turn left just weeks from Passion week, way up in the foothills of Mt. Hermon near Caesarea Philippi (see Matt. 16:21-22). Jesus told the disciples ahead of time which way He would turn, but Peter said, “NO! Not on my watch You won’t!” You see, Peter couldn’t stand the thought of Jesus dying—for a variety of reasons, some of them subtle, some not-so. I think that the impulsive fisherman innately knew Jesus’ death meant his own would surely follow.

That’s the church, or at least what passes for the church today. We want left, left, left! But Jesus is turning right. See Him? And if we are His people, we need to go that way too.

Must Jesus bear the cross alone
And all the world go free?
No, there’s a cross for everyone
And there’s a cross for me.

The consecrated cross I’ll bear
Till death shall set me free;
And then go home my crown to wear
For there’s a crown for me!

This post inspired by David Pawson’s teaching, “The Uniqueness of Christ”

Jul

How Free Do You Wanna Be?

By pasturescott 10 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Church History, Commitment, Consecration, Crucified Life, Discipleship, Encouragement, Faithfulness, Intimacy, Jesus Christ, Kingdom of God, Loving God, Obedience, Reign of Christ and Surrender

“Master, to whom would we go?”
(Peter, 1st century)

Imagine a slave being given his freedom. Now imagine that same slave telling his master, “No, Master, I love serving you! My place is here with you. May I stay?” When the novelty of Christ wore off on His audience and His popularity waned, particularly when it dawned on them that His mission was not to come and make us feel better about ourselves but to make us holy, He watched a steady stream of “wanna eats but not wanna bes” walk away from Him and hitch a ride onto the wide road. We’ll just find somewhere else to take our business to, they sniffed.

When nary a soul remained He turned and saw His ragtag band of wannabes (save one) standing pat. “I’m not going to make you stay, fellows,” He offered. “You may leave anytime you wish.”

I can visualize Peter grouping The Twelve together in a sort of huddle and the subsequent whisperings, sometimes strained but mostly quiet and orderly. Then, I see as the small clutch of disciples breaks and they watch as Peter approaches the Master. “Lord, we’ve talked about it and pretty much all of us agree: where else could we go? You have the words of life. May we stay with You?”

In the Old Testament, when a slave of Judah was granted their Jubilee pardon, and one decided to stay put in his master’s household, he (or she) would place their earlobe against the doorpost of the master’s house and with a hammer and awl, the master would open a bloody hole in that part of the ear and after inserting a gold or brass or silver ring, the slave was his for life. By choice.

I take you now into the Upper Room on a melancholic Passover evening in Jerusalem’s first century, not too long after the aforementioned conversation. There we find thirteen men lounging around a table laden with the customary lamb, the herbs, the wine, with Jesus as its head. Judas is on one side and John is at His breast. The arrangement is quite telling. At Jesus’ back is Judas. At His front, near His heart, is the beloved disciple. Now, don’t miss this: John’s earlobe is pressed against the Master who has called himself in John’s gospel—and in his gospel alone—the Door. The picture is too good to miss. Here is John, by choice through intimacy, intentionally making himself the Master’s bondslave.

I’m not sure if this was ever attempted but I wonder what it would say of a slave if he or she was to tell their master, “Not just this ear, Master, but my other one as well. I want everyone to see, from all angles, that I belong to you and desire Your reign over me.” I could see an impetuous Peter, a doe-eyed John or a decisive Paul doing just that.

That’s freedom’s cost: a bloody ear. So how free do you wanna be?

One ear or two?

Jun

What You Can’t Have

By pasturescott 3 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Commitment, Conversion, Crucified Life, Culture, Deception, Discipleship, Humility, Hypocrisy, Intimacy, Jesus Christ, Kingdom of God, Loving God, Obedience, Reign of Christ, Repentance, Sacrifice and Surrender

Jesus set a child in front of the audience and said, Look carefully, ladies and gentlemen; if you want to live in My eternal kingdom, you must come to Me just as this child has (Mark 10:15), which begs the question: How did the child come?

I imagine Jesus called him or her up to the front and the little person approached, perhaps sheepishly and skittishly, but obediently. His or her countenance surely reflected openness and readiness, eyes widened for whatever the Master had in mind. Also, I am sure everything in Billy’s or Sally’s body language resonated with humility, don’t you think? Can’t you just see the child feeling uncomfortable beneath the stares of the throngs and don’t you imagine their heartbeat quickening with each uneasy step?

I also picture the child having hesitated, not because of her weighing whether or not to go—indeed she wanted to go for all she was worth!—but wondering if she should go without her parents. The child looks back at his parents hoping to have them go as well but Jesus’ reassuring words allay all that. It’s all right, child, you can trust Me. Come to Me.

Obediently. Trustingly. Humbly. That’s how it’s done!

Then Mark’s narrative offers a handful of scenarios showing what many try to carry into the kingdom. These are things you cannot have.

Scenario #1: A wealthy man “RAN” (Mark 10:17) to Messiah and fell to his knees and asked the Savior how he could solidify his place in heaven. This is the only time in Scripture where we see someone kneeling before the Lord but leaving in worse shape after such an act of deference. Should we see a parallel between this and what happens in modern day church gatherings? How many ‘posers’ are there on Sundays at 11:00 in the morning who have head thrown back, eyes upward, arms extended but heart empty and self-serving? Or, how many like this young man who came to Jesus, are truly sincere in their piety but far from the kingdom because they are not ready to make Jesus everything through the week?

You know this vignette well, I suppose. Jesus touches on the one thing that blocks this young seeker’s way into the kingdom: his riches, yes, but more importantly, who reigns? (see note following) Messiah even tells his disciples afterward, “How hard is it for the rich to enter?” It was a foregone conclusion to all in that ancient culture that the rich were “shoo-ins” with regard to the kingdom of God. In the day’s thinking, obviously the rich were highly favored by God on the evidence of their wealth so their hallowed place was a no duh.

But here Jesus turns this notion on its head and says, “Not so!” Riches can be an obstacle to faith, He reasons sadly. This tragic story tells us that one cannot BUY their place at the King’s table—yea, the turnstile onto the narrow road permits no luggage. He must be given Lordship over everything or we have no claim to eternal life. Check all at the door, if you will.

(NOTE: I am not saying all rich people are going to hell; the issue here and everywhere is the reign of Christ. Do not miss the obvious: I don’t think Jesus was merely testing the young man to see if he would sell his possessions as I have long thought. Could it be that our Lord was commanding him to do so—and he refused? This is the so-called ‘faith’ of many today: Lord, I believe, but I still want to manage my own life. Fat chance that heaven sees this as saving faith!)

Scenario #2: A few verses down (Mark 10:41-45) the disciples have been having one of their epic tiffs with one another over which would have the higher place in the kingdom. Jesus quickly diffuses it with a sound bite on authority with God, that authority is given to those who are servant-hearted, who are willing to sit at the kids’ table. One cannot muscle their way into the kingdom. The kingdom is for those who will be made weak (as a child).

Scenario #3: The last treasure found in this Markan trilogy of childlike faith is about a blind man who calls out to Jesus for healing. The man has no name. You say, yes he does! It’s clear as day his name is Bartimaeus! And you’d be…wrong. That’s not his name. It’s how he was known in the community: “Son of Timothy.” He couldn’t even rate a name, his situation was so pathetic! Here is something else we cannot have in order to lay claim to the kingdom of God: a name.

We are so busy trying to make a name for ourselves, to be recognized, to grapple for influence and status, but this nameless blind beggar who “got in” tells us that we must lose our names if we will wear the namesake of God. “Son of God” should be our response when someone requests our name.

So there you have it. Three things we cannot have if we are to come through the turnstile onto the narrow road:

Treasure on earth. (in the stead of giving God its ownership)

Personal power and status.

A prestigious name we make for ourselves.

We must have the heart of a child: obedient, weak, humble, empty-handed and dependent. To such the Lord offers His lap and eternal life.

Jun

True Colors

By pasturescott 5 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Commitment, Discipleship, Sports and Worship

I love this photo and I’ll tell you why. The athlete pictured above is one of the best soccer players in the world and suits up for the recently crowned AC Milan team that beat Liverpool to win the European Cup. His name is Kaka’ (Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite) and is a strong believer in Christ despite living and playing in a resolutely post-christian Europe. When interviewed, he gives a bold and clear witness for Christ, and his lifestyle, obverse to the world many of his playmates know, is one of self-discipline, humility and consecration to his Lord.

When the game ended, a 2-1 Italian victory, all the Milan players went into a frenzy of celebration but this one lone figure dropped to his knees and worshipped the Lord. And, just so no one would question whose side he is on, Kaka’ removed his jersey, revealing to all the world whose colors he wears.

(Thanks to Vox for the inspiration for this post, even though I’m not a fan of international soccer)

May

The Lesson of the Twig

By pasturescott 4 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Commitment, Crucified Life, Discipleship, Encouragement, Hope and Jesus Christ

“Aren’t two sparrows sold for only a penny? But your Father knows when any one of them falls to the ground.”
–Jesus Christ, Matthew 10:29

“What we need is a desire to know the whole will of God, with a fixed resolution to do it.”
–John Wesley

“My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed.”
–David, Psalm 57:7

While it is true that the natural man cannot understand the things of God, it is also remarkably true that nature gets Him. The seas clap their hands at the mystery of their Creator, the trees sway and render their wave offerings, the hills dress themselves in their Sunday best, atoms hold together in fixed obeisance, flowers curtsy and, in hopes this may be the day of His arrival, gloriously spread themselves out as a carpet for the Holy One. The stars wink at a dark world as if holding a secret to the Treasure’s whereabouts, the rains dapple a hard ground with the signature of His benevolence and the wind follows the course of His good pleasure, fortuitously touching fevered brows with the kiss of His nearness.

Nature ministered to me just this week as I was on retreat with the Lord. A bird—I will call her Doreen ’cause she looked like one—flitted into the lens of my awareness, lighting on the ground a few feet away. I don’t know my birds very well but this one was common to our Georgia backyards, I’m sure of it. Let’s just say Doreen was a sparrow. She was carrying a twig in her beak almost too cumbersome for her little body and I sat by and watched her as she hopped a few steps then dropped it. Doreen just stood there for a few moments, still as stone, then dipped her head and snatched up the delicate little branch. She hopped four or five times and again dropped the twig, but standing over it as if to dare anyone to take it away. With graceful swiftness, Doreen then picked it up and hopped some more. This happened several times and I found myself mesmerized and pulling for this mother bird who was obviously on a mission to complete a nest for her young. Nothing was deterring her although she was tiring easily.

Suddenly she took to flight and landed in a branch nearby. No, not home. Not yet. A few huffs and puffs then Doreen was gone again, making a taut line to a bush some fifty yards from her temporary perch. Ah, I thought to myself, she’s made it. Good for her! In a very mundane way, Doreen was showing me what determination looks like. She was resolved to fulfill her calling, not resigned to it like we tend to be. All that was in that little head of hers was her babies needed a home and she was bulldogged if she was going to let them down.

Each of us have a calling, a cumbersome piece of wood, we are to carry through life. We may tire along the way and stop for a breather but it is ours to see this thing through, whatever it is. I told the Lord that I am in many ways that little bird, dropping its twig too often, too weak to fly the distance, needing far too many pit stops. But my labored hops are not missed by One who watches over me and in those sacred moments I found myself calling on the only One who can give the strength and impetus to see this all the way through to the end.

I love how Richard Foster puts it:

If we fall down—and we will fall down—we get up and seek to obey again. We are forming the habit of obedience, and all habits begin with plenty of slips and falls and false starts. We did not learn to walk overnight. Or to play the piano. And we do not condemn ourselves unduly when we stub our toe or play a wrong note, do we? We must not condemn ourselves unduly in the spiritual life either. At first it will feel like we are doing the work, that we are the initiators. But in time we will see that it is God who inflames our heart with a burning craving for absolute purity. A.W. Tozer writes, “We pursue God because and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit.”*

Take a lesson from Doreen. I did. There is a prize, a holy habitation, and hop, drop, stop or fly, just do it. See it through. Finish. Whatever He has called you to do, whatever you must bear in this life, don’t quit. It’s worth it, child, more than worth it.

I know, because a little birdie taught me.

*Richard J. Foster, Prayer: Finding Your Heart’s True Home, p71

May

Remember Me

By pasturescott 0 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Commitment, Encouragement, Hope, Sacrifice and War

For those whose sons and daughters, wives and husbands, friends and family serve bravely across the sea and around the world in the face of dangerous aggression or the threat of the same, this tender video is an honorable way to tell you thank you for your sacrifice.

And for you who have lost a loved on on the field of battle, your beloved has not died in vain. Thank you for your sacrifice. We will never forget.

May

Cancer Versus Easter

By pasturescott 0 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Commitment, Easter, Hope, Miracles, Suffering and Trials

Marisa VanderVeen is a young mother of three small children and happily married to a husband who adores her. Marisa, who plays a mean piano, also has cancer which she and her husband, Mendelt, are taking head on by the faith they have in Christ. Reading their website, it is clear to see that while Marisa may have cancer, cancer certainly does not have her.

As evidence of this, on Easter Sunday of this year, Mendelt wrote a “letter to cancer”, which Marisa has graciously given permission to post here. Be blessed. And pray.

Dear cancer:

You probably thought of the nights and how they would trouble us. Because that makes sense.

You probably thought of the sadness we have wondering if we are going to be able to teach our 10 month old how to hit a three pointer. Because that makes sense.

You probably thought of the physical suffering we are going through. Because that makes sense.

You probably thought of our psychological and cognitive suffering. Because that makes sense.

You probably thought about our parents and how the idea of their child leaving before them must shake them to their core. Because that makes sense.

You probably thought about our four year old who asks “when is cancer finished?” Because that makes sense.

However………

You couldn’t have thought of a guy named Jesus who went through all of this and more and who goes through all of this and more with us. You couldn’t have thought of that. Because that doesn’t make sense.

You ain’t going to win, cancer. You ain’t going to win. Easter made sure of that.

MdH

Apr

Things I…

By pasturescott 6 Comments

Categories: Brokenness, Christianity, Commitment, Confession, Crucified Life and Worship

Things I am wrestling with:

giving away credit for things I want credit for
leaving “putting difficult people in their place” to God and loving them with all my heart anyway
laying my life down for the brethren

Things I am blessed by:

People who seek me out just to spend time with me; it’s even better when it’s minus a task list, no agenda, just two guys sitting down over a great cup of Starbuck’s peppermint coffee (yes, peppermint), fomenting and sealing a lifelong camaraderie
children who are never too old to get a hug from their “Pasture”
The stirrings I am sensing signaling that the Bride is coming forth in the earth; she is making herself ready for her Bridegroom

Things I better get a handle on:

Carpe diem, as there is so little time left to waste
The Gospel of the Kingdom, which is the Gospel of the reign of Christ, and which distinguishes the professing Church from the “possessing” Church
The Truth that “the church can’t rise until she dies.”

Things I want more than anything right now:

For my wife, son and myself to “go out to Him, outside the camp” arm-in-arm, dying to know Him together
For my life to be a prayer to my Lord, every breath, shut away in the closet of adoration
To know Him intimately and to be His ‘marked man’

Apr

Yireh

By pasturescott 2 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Commitment, Consecration, Crucified Life, Discipleship, Jesus Christ, Loving God and Surrender

Despite his old age, the muscles of his arms were like steel cables as he held the knife aloft, so great was his determination. His brow was slick from the sweat of such travail. In that seminal moment just before plunging the knife downward, he closed his eyes so as to gather the inner resolve to carry out his assignment. It made no sense but still he knew he must go through with it. It was the will of Yahweh.

He heard a slight whimper from the lad and instinctively opened his eyes. Standing stock-still in the same aggressive pose over Yitzchak, he gazed upon his son with a gathering sorrow unlike anything he had ever known. His mouth slackened, his lips quivered and those aged eyes suddenly pooled with tears, making viscous trails down his weather-worn cheeks. His lungs filled with the pain of fire and he dared not breathe. Yahweh stood nearby and to deny Him this sacrifice was unthinkable. But the lad, my son! My beloved son! It was harrowing to see the abject fright in the boy’s eyes and yet submit with an irrepressible trust in his father. Had there ever been a time in all of human history when so much was asked of a parent?

Even so, friendship with Elohim meant everything to him and he had faith that a merciful God would resurrect his son. Yitzchak was blessed Seed, the guarantee of nations, the Promise of Messiah. He was the lone seed that must fall into the ground and die but from which would yield the providential harvest. The conflicted patriarch closed his eyes in reverence as a sudden warming peace took hold. All is well, Avraham. You and the lad will be joined again but for now you must give him to Me. Can you not trust Me?

He was suddenly aware of the knife again. Held against the slate gray of the overhead sky, it had seemed almost imperceptible but now it took on a more pronounced hue. Avraham sighed deeply and looked upon his only begotten with an odd mixture of pity and relief, sadness and release. His grip tightened. Yitzchak braced. Yahweh waited. The old man’s arms stretched to their full extension.

“My father! My father! Why have you forsaken me?” Yitzchak’s shrill voice pierced Avraham’s very soul.

Though his own tortured heart was breaking asunder, the fury of obedience held its own. The knife reversed at its topmost point and such velocity for an old man was a sight to behold. The blade hurtled through space, tracking its course without deviation, determined to strike at the heart of Avraham’s dreams. And it was Avraham who himself would strike the blow, so great was his love for Yahweh.

“Avraham!”

The aim was true. Resolve deepened.

“Avraham!”

An unseen Hand stretched and caught Abraham’s arm. The gnarled hands unclasped and the wrists relaxed. The knife curved back, away from the lad, and bore deeply into a stick of wood, mercifully guided away from his only son. When Abraham turned toward the Voice, he heard another voice, the grunting of a male sheep, caught in a nearby thicket, and knew at once this was the Sacrifice. I AM Yireh, he was told. You leave it to Me. I will see to it.

As someone has quipped, “God spared Abraham’s heart a pang He would not spare His own.”

The overarching Truth is, no Divine provision can be gained with hands already full. When the child became the “delight and idol of his heart” (Tozer), God went into action. He set out to test Abraham’s affection. He wanted to make dead sure His servant loved Him above all else. And he passed.

“The old man,” A.W. Tozer wrote, “stood there on the mount strong and pure and grand, a man marked out by the Lord for special treatment, a friend and favorite of the Most High. Now he was a man wholly surrendered, a man utterly obedient, a man who possessed nothing. He had concentrated his all in the person of his dear son, and God had taken it from him. God could have begun out on the margin of Abraham’s life and worked inward to the center; He chose rather to cut quickly to the heart and have it over in one sharp act of separation. In dealing thus He practiced an economy of means and time. It hurt cruelly, but it was effective.”

The combination-name of Yahweh-Yireh (Jehovah-Jireh) in Genesis 22:14 is the same Hebrew that is used in the Shepherd Psalm where David says, “The Lord is my Caring Shepherd (and He will see to it that) I have everything I need” (Psalm 23). Hagar also used the word when she called God, “the One who sees me.” The name Yireh means much more than Provider. It means “HE WHO SEES”. Yahweh is able to see how we cry to Him, how we turn to Him, how we depend upon Him and how we will treat His Sacrifice. Genesis 22 is the Gospel of God. In this short narrative we have passion, sacrifice, death, resurrection, substitution, efficacy, appeasement, election and justification. There is Lordship and reign.

It is true for us that God is able to see what we will do with His Sacrifice, so He will make provision for us. He sees to it that we will be included in His great plan and covenant of mercy. The catch is that we will never truly know Him as our ‘Yireh’ until we come into the “blessedness of possessing nothing.” (Tozer) We must come to Him with empty hands. We must come to Him with a heart-throne reserved only for Him. We enter through a narrow gate, meaning we must dis-possess ourselves of everything just to get through. If we give Him our Isaacs, we may be able to keep our Isaacs, but they will no longer be ours to possess. If we give Him our Isaacs, we will surely get His Son.

Abraham’s—and Isaac’s— salvation was in a ram caught in the thicket. Our salvation is in a Lamb nailed to a Cross.

Mar

Near-Death Experience

By pasturescott 11 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Commitment, Consecration, Crucified Life, Jesus Christ and Trials

“The problem with a living sacrifice is that it keeps jumping off the altar.”
–Warren Wiersbe

“Gethsemane” (Hebrew, gat shemanim)—oil press, place of crushing

Someone ran my wife off the road today. She’s okay, but there was eighty-some dollars worth of damage to the front passenger tire which had been replaced only days ago. That’s all well and good, in the grand scheme, especially since my dear one is safe. What stewed my tomatoes was when she told me that the lady (really, I ask, should women ever have the wheel?) who ran her off the road laid on the horn to let her know for future reference and under no circumstance should Sandy ever be in front of her when she wants to change lanes. The mercury rose in my neck as I pictured my beloved being rammed into the sharp corner of some highway curbing by someone who evidently staked some kind of claim to said road.

I have to admit what my head was screaming when I got the full story. Lord, let the woman get stopped for moving violations five times between here and her home. May she just try to mouth off to one of those officers and spend a night sitting in a rank jail cell sandwiched between a throw-up drunk and a crazy person who claims to be Jesus and the easter bunny.

May her best friend betray her, Lord, and her favorite pet run away. May her mortgage company foreclose on her loan and may all four of her tires fall off her car for no apparent reason in the middle of a rainy night far from cellular service and may a sweaty, toothless guy named Tiny pull over to help her…

You see how depraved my mind can get when given ten seconds for unsupervised playtime?

And last night, at our weekly prayer fellowship, one of the guys praying was really digging in and said, “Lord, I thank You that in Your economy we don’t need to wait upon a Joshua for direction but we have all been made priests and Your instruction can come for this church from anyone…” My heart was amen-ing the context and truth of his prayer but immediately the specter of old Adam rose up in me and I found myself in a soulish struggle. Well, that’s true and all, but why can’t I be the ‘go-to’ guy? I like going to the tip of Sinai and bringing the people their instruction…oh, why do I still do it? Why must I repeatedly make sure I come out ahead? Why must I keep clawing through the sod so a dead man can get some air when what I really want is to be laid to rest in the death of Jesus? Why must I insist that the plan be mine, the credit be mine, that the roadmap be in my hand, the itinerary be according to my schedule, that the crowd come to me and not to so-and-so; why must I hurt so when I am rejected or passed over? Continue reading ‘Near-Death Experience’

Mar

A Slumbering Giant Rouses

By pasturescott 6 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Church, Commitment, Confession, Culture, Discipleship, Persecution and Surrender

An Anglican bishop is speaking up. Tired of his church’s perceived impotence and irrelevance while England’s evangelical roots are being duly pulled up and supplanted with seeds of tolerant inclusivism, this Jack is shimmying up the beanstalk. Bishop Michael Nazir-ali of Rochester is taking off the proverbial gloves and serving notice to satan’s dark kingdom that it is high time for England to again reassert her Christian identity. Amid a “multi-faith mish-mash” the good bishop sees the bludgeoning and erasing of his own.

And it’s just plain ticking him off.

He is calling for the evangelical population to rise and be counted, to resist neutrality and irrelevance and is even calling out Prince Charles for wanting to be known as the “Defender of Faith” (i.e., all faiths) instead of guarding the sacred trust handed down to the Heir of the Throne as “Defender of THE Faith.” Ahem, Christianity.

Nazir-ali’s England now embraces “rooms for reflection” instead of hospital chapels and spaces previously set aside for Christian worship are known as “multi-faith venues.” The Bishop of Rochester is from Pakistan and knows well the price to be paid for being born Muslim and converting to Christ. It’s not for the faint of heart. And he knows all too well that too much blood has been spilled in the soil of his adopted homeland and the hallways of its history still echo with the voices of brave and gallant warriors of the faith.

Time will tell if his co-mingling voice will fall on deaf ears. There is more. A law may soon be passed making it illegal in England to refuse any kind of service to gays (are you paying attention, evangelical America?). If one’s moral and spiritual code compels them to refuse to rent a room to a gay couple at their bed-and-breakfast, the government will shut them down. If a pastor refuses to marry a gay couple, he will be fined and imprisoned. If a church school refuses to include curriculum that endorses the homosexual lifestyle as a viable alternative, there would be recriminations.

I guess the point of this is: what might God be stirring over there in the stiff-as-a-board Anglican institution? Bishop Nazir-ali is not alone. Other clerics are now joining ranks and crying from the rooftops. Could it be that satan has awakened a Sleeping Giant? Is a Wesley right now stomping the sleep out of his legs? Is a Wilberforce now rising to challenge the status quo? Is a Cranmer ready to cast off compromise and offer his hand to the fire? Is there a new Latimer begging to be lit on fire for God? Is there a William Wallace itching to “pick a fight”?

We can only pray.

Mar

Give Me Jesus

By pasturescott 22 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Church History, Commitment, Encouragement, Hope, Ministry, Suffering and Worship

No, that’s not a Beatle. That’s Fanny Crosby, looking fly with the dark specs. Though blind from the time she was six weeks old, she wrote nearly 8000 hymns during her ninety-five years, asking the Lord that her songs be instrumental in saving a million men’s souls. In her later life she lived among the slums of New York, ministering to those poor souls whom life had spat upon. Once, a minister wondered why God would not give her sight when she had been showered with so many gifts. Fanny responded, “Do you know that if at birth I had been given one petition, I would have asked to be born blind?”

Amazed, the man of God asked, “Why in heaven would you have asked that?“

“Because when I get to heaven,” she stated simply, “the first Face that shall gladden my eyes will be the Face of my Savior!”

Kick back and give a listen today to this simple yet haunting melody that will stay with you through the day. The song is “Give Me Jesus” which she wrote (I’ve heard) for schoolchildren and probably best sums up the affections of her heart toward the One who was her lifelong Light and Vision.

Mar

A Marked Man

By pasturescott 7 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Commitment, Consecration, Crucified Life, Discipleship, Persecution, Reign of Christ, Repentance and Suffering

“A marked man.” Tonight at our weekly prayer fellowship, I heard these words take on life down deep. While others were offering up their petitions around me, these three little words were hatched in my spirit. I can’t say I heard them out loud but I can say with certainty that the “Still, Small Voice” found me yet again.

What could these tri-monosyllabic words mean? My mind did a google of its own and immediately snagged a couple of Scriptures burrowed in its vast storehouse of information. I believe the Spirit illuminated these texts and they hung there before my heart, flapping in the breezes of holy wind, awaiting my capitulation.

RORSCHACH AND ABEDNEGO?

First up was the reference that describes a holy man dressed in linen holding an inkhorn at his side. To this man, the Lord commanded he “go through the City and find those who cry and weep over the abominations of the land, and who seek Me, and put a mark on their foreheads.” The inkblot would stay the hand of judgment and let the wearer go free.

It is significant that the word “mark” in Hebrew is tav, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The man was told to “put a tav” on their foreheads. Literally, put a cross there (written as an ‘x’ or ‘t’). It is also telling that in the midst of judgment (the six men) is this interlude of grace. The foreheads of these faithful ones were God’s canvas on which to paint His mark of redemption. When judgment came near, it was asked, “What do you see in this inkspot?” and if it saw the mark of a crucified life, it would pass on. Continue reading ‘A Marked Man’

Mar

Consider This A Warning

By pasturescott 7 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Church History, Commitment, Confession, Discipleship, Jesus Christ, Persecution, Reign of Christ, Repentance, Revival and Trials

beloved these are perilous days
when your culture is so set in its ways
that you will listen to salesmen and thieves
preaching other than the truth you’ve received
because they are telling lies
for they cannot circumcise your hearts

beloved there is nothing more
no more blessings and no more rewards
than the treasure of my body and blood
given freely to all daughters and sons

–from Derek Webb’s Beloved

We are in perilous days, beloved. It is clear from acerbic toxins that are polluting our culture that Christianity is being targeted by postmodernists as an extremist religious outfit whose intent in America is to wreak havoc, threaten the “liberties” of society and kill any and all who get in its way. Think that’s too over-the-top? Trot on down to your local Border’s and look up some of these titles (and some are best-sellers!): American Fascists by Chris Hedges; American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips; The Baptizing of America by James Rudin, et al (see other titles in Brent Steeno’s alarming post here)

This tactic of the enemy parallels what was instigated in Rome during the first century when the “cult of Christianity” was subjected to close scrutiny and suspicion. They were seen as ‘counter-cultural’ because they refused to pledge allegiance to Caesar and were thereby added to the list of undesirables and insurgents. Each year, all Roman subjects were to enter a temple and pay homage to the emperor, declaring their undying support of the empire with the words, “kurios kaisar” (Caesar is Lord). But those heroic saints, called ‘christians’ (followers of Christ) as opposed to ‘caesareans’ (worshippers of the emperor), knew who the real enemy was.

Two words. The confession could be said so quickly and confessor could be done and out the door for the year. They could even be whispered so long as a temple attendant could hear and attest to it. Two simple words. What damage could such a diminutive phrase do? And yet, many bold faith-walkers would never cave. Continue reading ‘Consider This A Warning’

Mar

Well, Someone Had To Say It

By pasturescott 8 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Church, Commitment, Conversion, Discipleship, Gospel, Reign of Christ, Repentance, Salvation and Surrender

…Might as well be a Baptist preacher…

The following is an important article posted in a recent issue of Christianity Today. It is both daring and courageous, and I, for one, am glad someone had the guts to address this lingering issue in modern evangelical Christianity–or at least what passes for it.

JESUS AND THE SINNER’S PRAYER
What Jesus says doesn’t usually match what we say
David P. Gushee

Is it permissible to reopen the question of salvation? If we do, how will Jesus’ teachings stand up to our inherited traditions?

These questions came to me acutely not long ago. I was getting ready to preach. As the worship leader was finishing the music set, he offered some unscripted theological reflections. He said something like: “The only thing required of us is to believe that Jesus’ blood saves us. Nothing more. It’s nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

In my Baptist context, we’ve heard these thoughts a thousand times. The problem was that I had in my pocket a message in which Jesus himself had a very different answer to the question of salvation.

The Big Question

In reading through Luke, I had discovered that twice (10:25, 18:18) Jesus is asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Continue reading ‘Well, Someone Had To Say It’

Mar

William Was A Force

By pasturescott 2 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Church, Church History, Commitment, Compassion, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Reign of Christ and Surrender

The England of William Wilberforce was very much in the ballpark of Dickens’ “best of times and worst of times.” For the wealthy, there was the theater, the clubs, gambling, alcohol and women. Against the backdrop of such affluence were the indignities waged against the downtrodden and outcasts. The Industrial Revolution was ramping up and children were forced to labor in sweat shops for 16 hours a day. Only 25 percent made it to adulthood due to unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Youngsters were publicly executed for stealing scarves and such just to protect themselves against the miserable conditions of life.

And there was the slavery thing. Eleven million Africans were rent from their homeland and shipped across the ocean in four foot by eighteen inch berths. Chained. Covered in feces and vomit. Most died. Women were raped hanging upside down. And the England of Wilberforce was the chief buyer and seller in the damnable slave trade.

As the film “Amazing Grace” opens, you read how in such a time only a few dissented against such practice but even fewer dared speak up. William Wilberforce was one voice that God used to speak Life and Light into such a dark time. Each word from his mouth punched a separate hole in the darkness until, at last, the institution of slavery fell under the weight of Heaven’s veto and was abolished in England once and for all.

Cowper, the poet laureate of England, wrote of Wilberforce in a sonnet describing him as bringing “the better hour.” On a plaque where he is buried in Westminster Abbey, it reads:

In an age and country fertile in great and good men,
He was among the foremost of those who fixed the character of our times
because to high and various talents, to warm benevolence, and to universal candour
He added the abiding eloquence of the Christian life…

This was a man who gave away a quarter of his yearly earnings to the poor, tirelessly championed the causes of chimney sweeps, single moms, and orphans and did it all with a grace and humility befitting of such a call. He gave over forty years of his life to campaigning against slavery and, one month after his death, England’s Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act, thus granting every slave in the English empire their freedom. Truly, he fought to the end. He fought the good fight. With the passion of the Lord burning inside, he brought to the world a better hour.

Imagine with me, won’t you, what God could do with a single person, or a handful of devoted slaves of righteousness. It just takes one voice speaking what is on the Lord’s heart and the deal is done. Last time I checked, satan’s nefarious power is no match against the will of God and his empire is still marked for destruction.

Mar

On Finishing Well (Part Two)

By pasturescott 2 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Church, Commitment, Jesus Christ and Leadership

“Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
(Jesus, Luke 13:24)

“I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”
(Paul, 1 Corinthians 9:27)

“Run in such a way that you may win.”
(Paul, 1 Corinthians 9:24)

…That being said (see previous post), I’m prompted to ask: what are the chances of our finishing well? If you’re tallying from the Bible, not very well, according to a study by Fuller seminary professor of leadership, J. Robert Clinton. From his study done in the early 90s*, Mr. Clinton identified 800 or so leaders in Scripture, for whom there is sufficient data on 100 of these to help us interpret their leadership. He found of the 100 prominent leaders mentioned in the Bible, each faced one of five possible finishes:

They were cut off early (Samson, Josiah, John the Baptist)
They finished poorly (Gideon, Saul, Solomon)
They finished “so-so” (Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah)–he even puts David here
They finished well (Abraham, Job, Joshua)
We’re not sure (not enough data to determine how they finished)

In short, Mr. Clinton found that barely 30% of all leaders in the pages of the Bible finished well. Thirty percent, beloved. More than two-thirds were sidetracked or shipwrecked by abuse of power, pride, ego, illicit sexual affairs, or improper use of finances. “Two thirds of biblical leaders,” Mr. Clinton reports, “failed to leave behind the legacy of a life well lived.”

This study bears out contemporary leadership woes as well. Some estimate that only 20% of modern leaders in our spiritual community finish well. Most will never reach their full spiritual potential and be able to say at the end of their lives, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.”**

Mr. Clinton also identified five common factors among those leaders who finish well, both in the Bible and in contemporary churchdom:

Lifelong Learner–throughout life these pursue both formal and informal learning opportunities
Mentoring–continually seek out people to mentor, and being mentored themselves
Dynamic Ministry Philosophy–they pay close attention to and make decisions according to God’s “driving purpose” for them
Repeated Renewal–they take time each day, week, month and year to develop personal intimacy with God, reflect and dream His dreams for them
Lifetime Perspective–they increasingly make decisions based upon a long view of life

I know these numbers have more to do with leadership in the family of God but are they far off the pace of what is found in the Christian community at large? I wonder. I mentioned a few posts ago (click here) that pastors in our modern era have a ballooned hope in what they think is the percentage of parishioners who live a committed life. Turns out, their balloon is full of hot air. While they assume 70% of their flock count their personal faith walk in Christ as everything to them, that number is woefully overreaching. Barna puts the percentage closer to fifteen percent.

Gulp…

Enough stats already! (I hear you.) Bottom line: the likelihood of the person sitting next to you where you worship on Sunday finishing well is between a 1-in-3 to 1-in-5 shot. And the person they sit next to (care to guess who?) is left with the same odds. Which begs the question: what is finishing well? Making it to heaven? Or living a life without regret?

Could it be that Jesus would say they are both one in the same?

*from the Clinton Biblical Leadership Commentary CD, Volume 1, 1999; you may find this and other resources at www.bobbyclinton.com

**1 Corinthians 11:1

Feb

On Finishing Well (Part One)

By pasturescott 0 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Commitment, Consecration, Discipleship, Jesus Christ, Sports, Surrender and Trials

I am in the last half of my life. And that’s okay with me. What I see when I look into the mirror is a man who has lived a good life, lost some hair, gained some lb’s (no ugly comments from the peanut gallery!), acquired a couple laugh lines, and flecks of gray. And I see something else for which I give God the praise for allowing me this grace: a determination to finish well.

February 1978.

It was the final game of my high school basketball ‘career’. We were playing a patsy and were simply going through the motions, having been bounced from the playoffs by two points in the previous game. We were heartsick and bored, and coach was emptying the bench to make sure everyone had enough P.T. as the season drew to a melancholy end. Only I was kept in all four quarters, and the reason was, although captain of the team and averaging close to double digits, I had not scored 20 points in any game all year long. Coach wanted to address this. So he kept me in.

I started the game hot. Nearly everything I threw in the direction of the backboard went in. Some amazing shots, believe me. By halftime, twenty points was well within reach but something happened in the dressing room at intermission. Coach said, “we’re gonna leave Scott in so he can get his twenty, but that shouldn’t be too long.” He said this to enliven the hopes of my backup forwards who had not yet seen any action but when the curtain opened on the second half, I went ice cold. I couldn’t hit the sky if I had aimed for it! No points in the third quarter; still only a couple buckets shy of the golden mark. Looking over at the bench, my backups were looking glum.

Coach was looking at me, hands on hips, as if to say, enough already. He instructed the other four on the floor to feed me the ball every time down court, no matter where I was. Short jumpers were just short, layups were rattling out, long range bombs scraped air. Nothing was working. The crowd, by this time, knew the playbook and every time my hands touched leather, the fans’ roar was deafening. I think by this time, the other team knew the playbook too because it seemed they gave me a wide berth. Hit it if you can…

Finally, two minutes left in the final stanza of my high school basketball experience, and I was fed the ball in the middle of the lane; I fumbled it but somehow regained control and flipped it immediately upward fearing the whole while for a traveling whistle that never came (I think even the refs knew the playbook by this time!). The ball circled the rim and…fell in. Everyone exploded as points nineteen and twenty went in the books—finally—and I was mugged by teammates there under the hoop, and even given some back slaps by the opposing team. The only one not sharing in the glee was the third stringer who was left with only 90 seconds or so to make good.

That’s my story. Fortunately, with a little help from my friends, I finished well. But a larger story was unfolding in my life including college, temptation, trials, paralysis and ministry. I still fumble the ball at times and hit back iron now and again, but I have others in my life who give a wide berth, “feed me the ball,” cheer me on and a Coach who leaves me in the game.

All of it is designed to make sure I finish well. I want to do that more than anything…

(continued in next post)

Feb

Persecution Alert

By pasturescott 0 Comments

Categories: Christianity, Church, Commitment, Gospel, Persecution and Suffering

Christians jailed for walking near Olympic hotel
Persecution ramping up as 2008 Games in Beijing approach

Posted: February 22, 2007

1:00 a.m. Eastern

A Christian house church leader in China and his mother are facing a criminal prosecution that appears to be part of that government’s campaign to eliminate messages that are contrary to the official publicity releases as the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing approach.

According to reports from Voice of the Martyrs, a Christian organization that works in support of persecuted Christians around the world, house church leader Hua Huiqi has been formally arrested and his 76-year-old mother arrested a second time for the offense of walking near a construction site for a hotel being built in preparation for the Olympics.

VOM said Hua was arrested by the Beijing Public Security Bureau Chaoyang Branch and his mother arrested by Beijing Security Bureau Chongwen Branch. They had been injured in January when seven police officers attacked them while they were walking near the hotel construction site in Beijing.

“We are deeply concerned about Brother Hua and his elderly, ill m