Lions are imposing. Awe-inspiring. There’s a magnificence about their massive heads and tawny manes and slow, regal movements that commands respect.
I’ve only ever seen them in a zoo. Even then, I was happy about the sturdy fence and deep moat that separated us. Sure, I would have loved to put an arm around that great mane and patted a huge paw, but I didn’t consider doing anything like that – not for a minute. Lions aren’t... approachable.
But a lamb. So non-aggressive, so lacking in self-protection. Lambs are gentle and vulnerable as they look at the world around them. Lambs invite laughter as they frisk clumsily about. They practically beg to be patted and petted and whispered to as they lay mutely on their straw.
Nobody laughs with a lion. Nobody giggles in his ear. He is a very serious beast.
The theme for worship at FAC during these weeks surrounding Easter is “Lion of Judah, Calvary's Lamb.” Those words tell the Easter story. We needed a Savior, and God sent Jesus to conquer sin and death, and lead us into eternal life:
As our Lion, he took sin and Satan very seriously, and engaged them in a cosmic showdown. With relentless intent He set His face toward Jerusalem, and when He got there He dragged evil outside the city gate and mercilessly disposed of its power over mankind.
As our Lamb, our Savior became vulnerable to us. His betrayer easily came close to kiss Him. His executioners met no struggle. “He was led... to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). He did not recoil from the sin that was heaped upon Him, and He died without a snarl. Lambs don’t snarl.
In Revelation 5, the apostle John is shown a scroll filled with writing. It is sealed, however, and there is no one worthy to open it. He begins to weep at the impossibility of the situation, until an elder says to him, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll.” When John looks through tear-dimmed eyes to see this Lion, there appears... a Lamb, looking like it has been slain. A Lamb Who is being worshipped by living creatures and elders and angels numbering ten thousand times ten thousand, and every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth...
The Lion of Judah, Calvary's Lamb, our Savior and Lord.
I realize afresh this Easter that I need a lion and a lamb. A Lion Who commands my respect and protects me and defeats my enemies... and a Lamb Who invites me to come close and laugh in His ear and know Him intimately.
As Holy Week draws near, I want to worship Jesus Christ as both Lion and Lamb. The Lion Who has become approachable, the Lamb Who has become Lord.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Contented?
“Our Creator loves for us to be content.” That is a line from Sunday morning’s sermon. It’s a line from God’s Word, too; in fact, there's more than one:
- “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’ (Hebrews 13:5 NIV). [Or, as the Amplified more literally translates, ‘I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake you nor let you down!’ (Hebrews 13:5). Three negatives precede the verb!]
- “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation... I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (the apostle Paul, Philippians 4:11-13 NIV).
- “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6 NIV).
Such counsel both attracts and repels us at the same time. Perhaps, like our culture around us, we’ve become afraid of “content.”
Contentment, to the world, means quitting the quest for the best. It means settling for less, leaving abilities undeveloped, and losing influence. It involves abandoning goals and ignoring the vast world of need around us. Contentment connotes complacency and lack of initiative and acceptance of the sub-standard. Therefore, we conclude, contentment is the enemy of fulfillment and achievement.
That couldn’t be further from God’s mind! He sent His Son for the express purposes that “we might have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV), and that Son promised, “If a man remains in me and I in Him, he will bear much fruit” (John 14:4-5 NIV). Christ’s disciple will reach his or her full capabilities - not by striving, but by remaining, resting, abiding.
Contentment is not our enemy. It’s the climate in which godliness best operates. Of course, Paul did say, “I have learned to be content.” It’s a learning process, and Jesus offers to be the Teacher:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV).
I think that if we prayerfully meditate on those words of Jesus, and step into yoke with Him, we’ll be pleasantly surprised both at how content He genuinely desires us to be – and how very possible it is.
- “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’ (Hebrews 13:5 NIV). [Or, as the Amplified more literally translates, ‘I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake you nor let you down!’ (Hebrews 13:5). Three negatives precede the verb!]
- “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation... I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (the apostle Paul, Philippians 4:11-13 NIV).
- “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6 NIV).
Such counsel both attracts and repels us at the same time. Perhaps, like our culture around us, we’ve become afraid of “content.”
Contentment, to the world, means quitting the quest for the best. It means settling for less, leaving abilities undeveloped, and losing influence. It involves abandoning goals and ignoring the vast world of need around us. Contentment connotes complacency and lack of initiative and acceptance of the sub-standard. Therefore, we conclude, contentment is the enemy of fulfillment and achievement.
That couldn’t be further from God’s mind! He sent His Son for the express purposes that “we might have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV), and that Son promised, “If a man remains in me and I in Him, he will bear much fruit” (John 14:4-5 NIV). Christ’s disciple will reach his or her full capabilities - not by striving, but by remaining, resting, abiding.
Contentment is not our enemy. It’s the climate in which godliness best operates. Of course, Paul did say, “I have learned to be content.” It’s a learning process, and Jesus offers to be the Teacher:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV).
I think that if we prayerfully meditate on those words of Jesus, and step into yoke with Him, we’ll be pleasantly surprised both at how content He genuinely desires us to be – and how very possible it is.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Grace Upon Grace
Insufficiency.
It's a long word, but I think we understand it all too well: not enough.
In today’s world, we frequently experience the effects of “not enough.” Projects, events, commitments and dreams are postponed or cancelled or never even attempted, due to insufficient interest, insufficient time, insufficient funds.
And then there’s personal insufficiency – the inner realization that emotionally we are a house of cards that could collapse in the next gust of wind. That physically we are fragile even in the seeming best of health. That spiritually we are helpless to make the changes God is calling us to make.
The apostle Paul understood personal inadequacy. Describing the task of ministry to believers and unbelievers, he queried, “Who is equal to such a task?... not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves...” Yet he went on to add, “but our competence comes from God” (2 Corinthians 2:16-3:5 NIV).
Paul grasped a wonderful truth that he shared in a later letter to the church at Philippi: “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].” (Philippians 4:13 Amplified Bible).
Wow! Self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency! And how sufficient is Christ? Well, have you ever stood at Lake Erie’s shoreline or, better yet, on an ocean beach? If so, you’ve enjoyed a picture of Christ’s provision for us. Gospel songwriter Gordon Jensen describes it this way:
“Grace upon grace, like the waves on the shore,
Always enough,
Always more.
Grace upon grace, like the waves on the shore,
All that we need is ours from the Lord.”
God’s commitment to each of us will never be cancelled due to insufficient Love. His calling on our lives will never be scrapped because He lacks sufficient resources. His promises will never be rescinded due to insufficient divine power to fulfill them. Like wave upon wave, there’s always enough. Always more.
I’m praying for a better grasp of that truth. I do believe that if we could stand and drink in the realization that there’s an ocean of grace pounding incessantly at every shoreline in our lives, we could each say with the apostle Paul,
“I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency.”
It's a long word, but I think we understand it all too well: not enough.
In today’s world, we frequently experience the effects of “not enough.” Projects, events, commitments and dreams are postponed or cancelled or never even attempted, due to insufficient interest, insufficient time, insufficient funds.
And then there’s personal insufficiency – the inner realization that emotionally we are a house of cards that could collapse in the next gust of wind. That physically we are fragile even in the seeming best of health. That spiritually we are helpless to make the changes God is calling us to make.
The apostle Paul understood personal inadequacy. Describing the task of ministry to believers and unbelievers, he queried, “Who is equal to such a task?... not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves...” Yet he went on to add, “but our competence comes from God” (2 Corinthians 2:16-3:5 NIV).
Paul grasped a wonderful truth that he shared in a later letter to the church at Philippi: “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].” (Philippians 4:13 Amplified Bible).
Wow! Self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency! And how sufficient is Christ? Well, have you ever stood at Lake Erie’s shoreline or, better yet, on an ocean beach? If so, you’ve enjoyed a picture of Christ’s provision for us. Gospel songwriter Gordon Jensen describes it this way:
“Grace upon grace, like the waves on the shore,
Always enough,
Always more.
Grace upon grace, like the waves on the shore,
All that we need is ours from the Lord.”
God’s commitment to each of us will never be cancelled due to insufficient Love. His calling on our lives will never be scrapped because He lacks sufficient resources. His promises will never be rescinded due to insufficient divine power to fulfill them. Like wave upon wave, there’s always enough. Always more.
I’m praying for a better grasp of that truth. I do believe that if we could stand and drink in the realization that there’s an ocean of grace pounding incessantly at every shoreline in our lives, we could each say with the apostle Paul,
“I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency.”
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
The Lord's Table
This past Sunday, as is our custom here at FAC on the first Sunday of each month, we observed Communion. It’s one of the few times in which we’re still and quiet together. The pastor begins the familiar “On the night Jesus was betrayed...,” and the music plays and each of us is (hopefully) preoccupied in his or her soul.
But what exactly are we to be doing while the bread and the cup is passed? I’ve assumed we were basically to remember His agonizing death on the cross, but maybe that’s a little narrow. The apostle Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian believers urge them (and us) to use those moments...
• to seriously consider our spiritual condition and our lives.“A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup” (11:28 NIV). Are we living in fellowship with God and other people? Like a red flag or a stop sign, we’re not to proceed before all is clear. Instead of feeling threatened by the checkpoint, though, we can welcome it as an opportunity to realign with God and know that all is well with our souls.
• to think lovingly of Jesus. “This cup is the new covenant in My blood... Do this, as often as you drink [it], to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance” (1 Corinthians 11:25, Amplified Bible). Sometimes the chaos of life pushes Jesus to the back of our minds. At the Lord’s Table we can contemplate a Savior Who is, as Pastor Rick said Sunday, “a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” We can think about how wonderful He is and what amazing things He’s done for us.
• to celebrate the gift of atonement! Certainly there is a place at the Lord’s Supper to enter into Christ’s suffering, but it is also appropriate to joyfully celebrate the “It is finished!” Redemption’s plan is completed and what a difference it has made in our lives!
• to anticipate His return. By our observance of Communion we “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (11:26 NIV). Through Jesus’ death we’ve been invited into God’s eternal presence, and one great Day He will return for His own. “Maranatha,” we can say at the Lord’s Table, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”
I think Paul gave us quite a bit to think about – what about you? Any thoughts to add?
But what exactly are we to be doing while the bread and the cup is passed? I’ve assumed we were basically to remember His agonizing death on the cross, but maybe that’s a little narrow. The apostle Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian believers urge them (and us) to use those moments...
• to seriously consider our spiritual condition and our lives.“A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup” (11:28 NIV). Are we living in fellowship with God and other people? Like a red flag or a stop sign, we’re not to proceed before all is clear. Instead of feeling threatened by the checkpoint, though, we can welcome it as an opportunity to realign with God and know that all is well with our souls.
• to think lovingly of Jesus. “This cup is the new covenant in My blood... Do this, as often as you drink [it], to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance” (1 Corinthians 11:25, Amplified Bible). Sometimes the chaos of life pushes Jesus to the back of our minds. At the Lord’s Table we can contemplate a Savior Who is, as Pastor Rick said Sunday, “a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” We can think about how wonderful He is and what amazing things He’s done for us.
• to celebrate the gift of atonement! Certainly there is a place at the Lord’s Supper to enter into Christ’s suffering, but it is also appropriate to joyfully celebrate the “It is finished!” Redemption’s plan is completed and what a difference it has made in our lives!
• to anticipate His return. By our observance of Communion we “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (11:26 NIV). Through Jesus’ death we’ve been invited into God’s eternal presence, and one great Day He will return for His own. “Maranatha,” we can say at the Lord’s Table, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”
I think Paul gave us quite a bit to think about – what about you? Any thoughts to add?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)