Obsessed With God’s Will

Luke 22:42 
Jesus: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Jesus was obsessed with God’s will. His single purpose was to obey it. He spoke about God’s will constantly and prayed for it repeatedly. Here are a few of the more obvious examples:

• John 4:34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
• John 6:38 “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.”
• John 8:28 “I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.”
• John 9:31 “God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.”
• Mark 3:35 “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
• Matthew 6:10 “Our Father … your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

This passion never abates. As Jesus prepares for arrest, torture, trial and death he remains singularly committed to the purposes of God. Nothing else matters. He hopes (as any of us would) that his cup of terror might be taken away, but he stands firm: “Not my will, but yours be done”.

I too want to be obsessed with God’s will. I want obedience to be "my food", as it was for Jesus. BUT, I am NOT Jesus. Didn't he have an advantage over us? What I find striking about the Gethsemane prayer is this, if he did have an advantage he didn't employ it here. He wrestles. He sweats. He agonizes. And still he obeys.

His prayer is a helpful model. It demonstrates two essential exercises for training in obedience. Think of these as spiritual work-out routines.

An Extraordinary Resolution. Jesus prays: “Not my will, but yours!” It is like a stake in the ground. I need to pray the same declaration. Until I do, my natural impulse will be to plead the anti-prayer: “My will be done!” That is a prayer to another god. It is idolatry. It needs to be beaten down in self denial. When my ego can lay down its claim to sovereignty, then I am ready to explore God’s will. I dare not think this is easy, but I know it is right.

An Ordinary Conversation. “If you are willing”, implies: “Are you?” Jesus opens a conversation with God. There is a space here for wrestling with God and discovering his specific intent. Even for Jesus, obedience is a dialogue. Don’t race through the prayer too quickly. Jesus spent much of the evening battling. The wrestle is not a waste of time or even a shadow of disobedience. The painful wrestle is part of the posture of obedience. God does not seek to crush our spirits, but to align them with his.

Obedience is like a muscle. You need to work it to grow it. Resolving and Conversing are spiritual weight-lifting exercises. As we practice in the little things we build strength for the big tasks. Jesus was able to do God’s will in the closing hours of his life because he had been practicing his whole life long. Even when the burden of obedience was so great that he sweat drops like blood, he still did not falter. His disciples, on the other hand, failed for lack of training.

Today is a good day to begin an obedience workout. Your challenge is these two exercises: Resolve (Not my will!) and Converse (If you are willing?). Repeat them many, many times. Become obsessed!

Questions

• How do you practice renouncing your will and aligning with God's will? Has it cost you?
• What other actions help you to obey God consistently?
• Please leave a comment. 

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Cry Loud and Long for Justice

Luke 18:7-8 
“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? … I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Before you read the next paragraph of this blog, cry to God for justice. Ask him to rain down his righteousness upon the world. Ask for his mercy and peace to flow like a river!

Do you think God heard you? Do you think it matters what you just did? Did you actually pray for justice? Will you do it again? Does God care if you do or don’t?

All those questions are addressed in Luke 18:1-8. For Jesus they are all to be answered “YES”. But he tells this story because he fears that his disciples – both then and now – will fatigue and give up praying for justice. He knows us well.

If you have been following news of the devastating famine in East Africa your heart is no doubt broken. As new statistics roll in we get overwhelmed and fatigued. Are you still praying for God to act justly?

If you are paying attention to the riots in London you probably feel shocked and perhaps anxious. The contagious mayhem and violence is frightening. Are you crying to God for justice?

Frankly all the pain makes you question if God is ever going to answer. The problems are huge and you start to wonder if praying is useless. Some reading this may have given up praying already. Why bother?

And that is the point of Jesus’ story. If you are beginning to feel God is inattentive, uncaring and aloof it is no reason to quit praying. Rather it is a reason to pray harder.

The judge in the parable was a blighter! He “neither feared God nor cared about people”. For a long while he refused to do his job and address the women’s case. But she didn’t stop pleading. She badgered him until she got satisfaction. Her plight drove her to be more insistent not less. Join her!

Heaven is just. All the injustice is on earth. But until God acts, entreat the eternal courtroom with dogged insistence. Go to God as if you were this women’s lawyer. Pray harder, louder and longer. Knock on heaven’s door with indignation and expectation.

According to Jesus, justice IS coming and God WILL bring it. The only question is, will Christians still be expecting it, praying for it and working towards it when he comes. Will the Son of Man “find faith on the earth?”

Questions

• What helps you pray when it feels pointless to do so?
• How does news of injustice affect you? How do you counteract the fatigue of too much bad news?
• What other insights about prayer do you see in this story?

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Those Boring Bible Genealogies: 7 Tips

Luke 3:23-37

"... Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melki, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, the son of ... zzzz"

This is boring! Lists like this are found all through the bible. How should I read them? Or should I even bother?

An analogy. We have a Christmas card mailing list. Everyone on it is part of the Demond story and just reading the list of names brings joy. On the other hand, it would be torture to have to read your list (unless we have lots of common friends). And that’s what it can feel like to read Luke 3 (or Gen. 36, Numb. 34, Josh. 12, 1 Chron. 1-9, etc.). The only way I will ever enjoy these passages is if I get to know the people. Can that happen?

Here are seven strategies that help. I pick one each time I encounter a boring people list.

1. Scan the passage for familiar names. When I find a name I stop and remember that person’s story. Because we are both in God’s family that person is in my story too. This becomes more rewarding the more I get to know my bible. The goal: celebrate the people I know in God’s story.

2. Read a few verses slowly and go deep. I choose only two or three verses. I have a go at saying each name. Then I check cross-references in the margins and notes to learn where else these names turn up in bible. The goal: discover something new about a person God wants us all to remember.

3. Speed read the whole thing, surf the text. I don’t actually read the names. I just slur past them and try to “feel” the flow of the text. Some lists have little or no cadence, but some genealogies almost sing themselves (e.g. Josh. 12:9-34). I imagine an Elder standing in an ancient assembly of God’s people chanting this family story, this great poem of praise. The goal: “sense” the poetry, “feel” the history.

4. Skim the section looking for an unexpected tidbit. Example Gen 36:24: “… This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.” How random! I let my mind play with this bit of history. Why is it even in the bible? Anah is known for something that happened while he was faithfully tending his donkeys. With God you can become a hero just doing your job in the desert. The goal: find the unexpected and reflect on it.

5. Read with the aid of an expert. Check a bible commentary. Scholars who study the names and make connections across the whole Bible often give me gems. The goal: gain new insight.

6. Study one of the places named. Many of the lists include geography. So, I choose the first place name I do not know and find it on a map (sometimes Google earth). I might consult a bible dictionary. The goal: become aware of a real place.

7. Pray it instead of reading it. I put my hand on the text and pray. I thank God that he loves people enough to preserve ancient lists like this, that I am part of his family and that my name is written in his eternal book together with all of their names (Rev 3:5). Then I turn the page and keep reading. The goal: embrace the purpose of the text whether I read the words or not.

Two cautions

• Be aware that lots of people have the same name.
• Don’t build a new theology out of a random tidbit of information found in a people list.

Happy list reading! I hope these tips will help you stay awake.

Questions

• What gems have you found hidden in people lists in the bible? 
• Do you have another approach for addressing lists like Luke 3? 
• Please leave a comment.

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Ever Receive a Welcome like this?

Luke 15:25 The older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing

Here is a great video clip. Enjoy, then read below.

(If the video fails to load visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB3NPNM4xgo)

 

If a mobile phone company can make me feel this warm and fuzzy, imagine what God’s welcome will do for my soul. The music, the smiling and hugging, the sense of community and the overwhelming surprise – I think all these things will be a part of God’s eternal welcome.

The story of the Prodigal Son hints at this (Luke 15:11-32). The younger brother's home coming has all these elements:

• Embracing and welcome 
• Forgiving and restoring
• Gifts, food, clothing
• Music and dancing
• Love!

The generous father in the story puts on an amazing celebration to welcome his undeserving son home.

I believe that God will do the same for me in eternity. John says it will be like a huge wedding (Rev 19:1-9). The invitations have gone out. The band is already rehearsing. What a welcome it will be.

The morning I step into God’s eternity I know I will be more at home than I have ever been before. Now there's a thought to carry with me everywhere!

Questions

• What is your best ever personal welcome?
• How does the idea of a "welcome home" help you to live out your faith?

Epilogue

There is an older son in this story who chooses not to join the dancing. He reminds me that a welcome is only half of the home coming. The other half is accepting it. The one being embraced must return the hug.

There is a little bit of the sour and self-righteous older brother in each of us. Take note. Beware!

PS. I do hope you can overlook the too-casual use of God’s name in one or two places on the video.