Three Nevers

Living right begins with right thinking. Thinking on this earth is horizontal or human thinking—right thinking is vertical, which is God’s thinking. We need help to think like God. Isaiah says God’s thoughts differ greatly from ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).

God does things contrary to our thinking. Jonah never thought that getting on a ship bound for Tarsus would mean taking a ride inside a whale’s belly. Goliath never imagined a teenager coming at him with a slingshot would be the last thing he saw on earth. The mother who prepared her little boy’s lunch never imagined it would feed five thousand. When Balaam packed his donkey for the Journey to Moab, could he have ever imagined that his donkey would talk to him? When the Philistine king received the report of 1000 dead soldiers, he could never have imagined that they all died by one man. The widow woman could never have imagined that a few drops of olive oil would fill enough containers to pay off all her debts.

God’s thinking is upside down to man’s ideas. The Sermon on the Mount exemplifies that those who thirst, mourn, and are persecuted are blessed. The first shall be last and the last first. The least is the greatest. Jesus came to serve, not to be served. To save one’s life, one must first lose it. Jesus will one day come in glory but must first suffer and die. None of these things made sense to the disciples, and they still don’t to us. I want to give you three Nevers to help us understand the difference between horizontal and vertical thinking.

The First is Never Allow Impulse to Blind You. Peter answered  Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” with, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). It was the correct answer, and Jesus praised Peter for getting it right. But when Jesus went on to predict his death, Peter could not comprehend that Christ should be crucified.

As Peter stated in his confession, the disciples had seen enough to know that Jesus was the Christ—the Son of God. They had seen bread multiplied to feed thousands, Jesus walking on water, and the dead raised to life. They had listened to him spellbound as he taught them truths they had never heard. Was there anything that Jesus couldn’t do? So what was next? Would Jesus strike the Romans down? Surely he would, but when would he do it, and how? But what was this talk of dying at the hands of the chief priests in Jerusalem? Jesus dying--this can’t be!

The Second is Never Think That You Can’t Be Wrong. Peter was impulsive! He showed here more than any other time in the gospels how much he could stick his foot in his mouth. Can you imagine the audacity of rebuking Jesus? Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” (Matt 16:22).

Jesus doesn’t mince words. Peter has drifted far away from what he should have been thinking and seeing. But Jesus turned and said to Peter, `Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me (Matt 16:23). You think like a carnal man, not a man of God. Peter had gone from being the smartest in the class to the dumbest in only a few minutes.

The Third is Never Think that Being a Follower Can Happen Without Self-Denial. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

This is where the rubber meets the road as Jesus tells us what is required to be his disciple. The pattern is the same as his—cross before the crown. It’s not our happiness but our obedience. The most important part of this command is the (follow me). We get to thinking that we shouldn’t suffer and should go through trials, but Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me!”

 

 

 

 

Show Me Your Glory

 Have you ever been on the outside of a critical conversation? Maybe it happened when you were just a kid, and you wanted to overhear what your parents were discussing. Perhaps it was on your job that you wished you could hear what management was talking about.  That happened to the Israelites. Moses went to meet with God at the tent of meeting where he could talk things over with God. As Moses left, the Israelites stood by their tents and watched to see what would happen. They eagerly watched God’s glory come down in a pillar of cloud. As soon as they saw that, they knew their mediator was meeting with God.

Moses was a great intercessor and a model of what Christ is for us to the Father. Moses interceded for the lives of his people after they sinned by making the golden calf, which they worshiped. How insane was that? Nevertheless, Moses prayed that God would not abandon his people and his purpose for them. They were distinguished by God’s presence, and if they lost that, they would lose everything (Exodus 33:16). The same goes for us. God answered and gave Israel his presence because of Moses.

Moses loved God and wanted to see more of his glory. He said, “Now show me your glory” (Exodus 33:18). It was an audacious request, but Moses had already seen some of God’s glory.

He caught his first glimpse at the burning bush and another glance with the seventy elders who saw God. Moses was covered with glory when he came down from the mountaintop. He saw God’s glory yet again at the tent of meeting, where the pillar of cloud descended from Heaven. However, Moses wanted more.  Surprisingly, God said yes! The Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” Ex 33:21-23).

God’s goodness would pass by, but it would be just a glimpse. If Moses were to see a complete revelation of God, it would be so overwhelming that it would destroy him. Moses, like us, was finite, and God is infinite. God was willing to show as much of himself as Moses could bear.

Recently, we had a power failure that blew out most of the electrical power in the building and set the fire alarm off. I figured out that it was a squirrel that set things off. When I went outside and saw the dead squirrel, I called the Power Company, and the power was restored a couple of hours later. I thought about that squirrel jumping around on that pole with all that power under its feet. I often see them up there. They have no idea how close to death they are at any second. It was this way for Moses—this would be too much power unless he was shielded.

Moses was not allowed to look God in the face but only to see, as it were, a fleeting glimpse of God’s glory. Two things come to mind: Moses’s desire to see more of God’s glory and God’s willingness to show him. I hope we can experience some of what Moses experienced and see more of God’s glory.

The Cat And The Bedpost

 One of the greatest challenges Christians face today is keeping their relationship with the Lord Jesus fresh. With the pressures of family, work, and culture, it is easy to allow our relationship to grow stale.

The following story illustrates how the meaning and power of prayer can slowly be lost if we do not maintain a vital and close relationship with the one to whom we are praying. It also illustrates how prayer can become meaningless if we do not seriously believe that prayer is a spiritual weapon and that we are to pray in all kinds of ways on all occasions. George Wood used to tell this story, which sheds some light on the subject.

David Watermulder, a devout Christian with a cat, spent several minutes each day in his bedroom praying and meditating. He read a portion of scripture and a devotional book, followed by a period of silent meditation and prayer. As time went on, his prayers became more prolonged and more intense.

He came to cherish this quiet time in his bedroom, but his cat liked it too. She would cozy up to him, purring loudly, and rub her furry body against him. This interrupted the man’s prayer time, so he put a collar around the cat’s neck and tied her to the bedpost whenever he wanted to be undisturbed while at prayer. This didn’t upset the cat, allowing the man to pray without interruption.

Over the years, the daughter of this devout Christian had noted how much his devotional time had meant to him. When she began establishing some routines and patterns with her family, she decided to do as her father did. Dutifully, she tied her cat to the bedpost and then proceeded to her devotions. But time moved faster in her generation, and she couldn’t spend as much time in prayer as her father did.

The day came when her son grew up, and he wanted to ensure that he preserved some of the family traditions that had meant so much to his mother and grandfather. But the pace of life had quickened all the more, and there was no time for meditation, bible reading, and prayer. However, to carry on with the religious tradition, he tied the family cat to the bedpost daily while dressing.

 

 

 

Prayer: a Spiritual Weapon

 When the Apostle Paul described the Christian's spiritual armor, he named six principles in the form of metaphors: Truth-a belt, righteousness-a breastplate, peace-boots, faith-the shield, helmet-assurance, and The Word-a sword. He placed the importance of prayer above all these and gave instructions on its use. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18). There are five different kinds of prayer that Paul mentions:

 •          prayer which is: Spirit-directed ("pray in the Spirit")

•          continual ("on all occasions")

•          diverse ("with all kinds of prayers and requests")

•          persistent ("be alert and always keep on praying")

•          intercessory ("for all the saints")

We are surrounded by the extraordinary, especially since everyone is addicted to social media. We wake up longing to discover what is new and surprising. All of these fantastic things seem only to happen to other people. We always go back to our insignificant life surrounded by dull drudgery. We battle the feeling that we are very trivial. Our lives and tasks seem very unimportant compared to all the fantastic things that are going on in other’s lives. If we are not careful, we assign prayer as a drudgery and, therefore, a waste of time.

We often feel that we don’t matter and that nothing we do matters. That is a lie! Significance is usually found in the commonplace duties of everyday life. There is greatness in any task if it is done unto the Lord. It’s not what we do but who we do it for that matters.

Prayer, often seen as a mundane task, is actually a powerful tool. We must not underestimate its potential. As Paul says, it is to be Spirit-directed. The Holy Spirit leads us to pray for things we wouldn’t even think of. We can pray about everything, just as Jesus did—when he was tired, discouraged, frustrated, or tempted, he talked with his Father. This reassures us that we are not alone in our struggles, and there is always hope in prayer.

Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7 ). We are to ask and keep on asking. We are to seek and to knock and to keep on seeking and knocking.

The following story illustrates how the meaning and power of prayer can be lost slowly if we do not maintain a vital and close relationship with the one to whom we are praying. It also illustrates how prayer can become meaningless if we do not seriously believe that prayer is a spiritual weapon and that we are to pray in all kinds of ways on all occasions.

David Watermulder, a devout Christian who had a cat, used to spend several minutes each day in his bedroom praying and meditating. He read a portion of scripture and a devotional book, followed by a period of silent meditation and prayer. As time went on, his prayers became longer and more intense.

He came to cherish this quiet time in his bedroom, but his cat came to like it too. She would cozy up to him, purring loudly, and rub her furry body against him. This interrupted the man’s prayer time, so he put a collar around the cat’s neck and tied her to the bedpost whenever he wanted to be undisturbed while at prayer. This didn’t upset the cat, allowing the man to pray without interruption.

Over the years, the daughter of this devout Christian had noted how much his devotional time had meant to him. When she began establishing some routines and patterns with her own family, she decided to do as her father had done. Dutifully, she tied her cat to the bedpost and then proceeded to her devotions. But time moved faster in her generation, and she couldn’t spend as much time in prayer as her father did.

The day came when her son grew up, and he wanted to ensure that he preserved some of the family traditions that had meant so much to his mother and grandfather. But the pace of life had quickened all the more, and there was no time for meditation, bible reading, and prayer. But to carry on the religious tradition, he tied the family cat to the bedpost each day while he was dressing. (George Wood)