Blindness prevents us from seeing our imperfections.

I wish I was able to write this more timely and far more clearly – but I am suffering from my own blindness. I have re-written the post twice, knowing that “it needed” to get done and yet the LORD has simply stayed my hands and said…. “TASTE and SEE my goodness….”  So this post begins and continues mainly as a confession “I am waiting on the LORD”. I have asked that my imperfections and strongholds will be melted like wax, and that the mountains of obstacles in my life will be moved into the sea. I have also confessed that where I have made molehills into mountains that the LORD will be gentle to reveal such things unto me. I confess that while I know the principle – the application of such truth remains more desired.

Job was humbled in the presence of the Lord, he knew how big God was and his power and justice, but he had not seen how little he was in comparison. He was blind to this truth until the LORD revealed His glory. Let us fall to our knees, falling silent with our tongue and opening our ears wide.  “Lord, I pray that you will open my ears and my eyes and close my mouth so that see and understand. Now that my mouth is closed LORD, might I chew on your WORD and your presence such that I begin to know the uniqueness of you!” Jesus you have declared that we must eat your flesh and drink your blood. Forgive us for not knowing what that means or to how taste of your goodness and grace. I confess – I am yet to see the big picture…..

Job’s simply missed the big picture, he was blind to his error which lead him to judge God rather than seeing that God will be his Judge. Bartimaeus was blind according to those around him, but he saw clearly who Jesus was. In doing so – Jesus revealed who Bart was to be as well.  What about you and I – and all those who are reading this post? We are not blind – at least not like Bartimaeus… but what about our blindness in the likeness of Job. When we are deceived, it need not be because the enemy is blinding our eyes. It may be simply that we have believed a lie. While all lies are rooted in the father of lies, when we come to believe that lie is a truth, the work of the enemy is done.  This mental block is called a stronghold. Strongholds are places in our lives where we have exchanged the truth of God for a lie. It is not the enemy that is holding it there, and it is not God who put it there – we are keeping it there. It is our blindness to the truth that keeps it there. These strongholds must be touched by God – for us to see clearly. We cannot remove our own blindness – for we are blind to what we do not see. Therefore what can we do? In the Psalm this week v. 8 says “Taste and See that the LORD is good….

When we are sick  – food does not taste right….  In the same way, when we allow strongholds in our lives – the Taste of God’s goodness is made distinct to us. If you have never tasted the goodness of the LORD, then you must ask for the strongholds to be removed. Only then can or will you taste – then if a stronghold emerges or returns you shall know the difference.  We reviewed a few weeks back the power of the tongue as we studied James. There we only addressed the power of the tongue to speak, but now we see the power to taste.  The taste of the LORD has many implications:

1. Jesus tells us that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood. This intimacy of communion with him is to be shared by the Body of Christ. This tasting is the testing of the Body to be unified. When there is perfect unity and sharing of truth within the body – it tastes just right. Just like the blending of the spices and seasonings of flavoring food. We all have gifts and callings – they are to be present in the tasting of the body of Christ. You don’t have to see it, you savor it.

2. We are to offer our lives as living sacrifices. This concept is drawn from the offering of an animal as an sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. The meat of the animal was then prepared as a thanksgiving feast. Enjoyed by friends, family, the poor and the priests all who were in need tasted of the offering.  This is not about service it is about tasting the celebration of the LORD.

3. Have you ever walked into a house where they were cooking and said, “it smells so good I can taste it.” The same is true with the LORD, His presence is so powerful that you can smell and taste the very work of God….  Individually we are called to taste the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. This is the taste that lingers in your mouth after you see the Lord work through you to change the lives of others. You may not have experience this, but ask the LORD for more of his presence and you will come to know the unique taste of the Lord.

4. Finally, the seasons and spices of food, are actually used in prayer as well. There are 5 spices that are blended in the Tabernacle for the Altar of Incense. These bought a specific and perfect blend such that our prayer as well – may match this taste and smell. It is no wonder that our tongue has 5 unique taste buds or abilities to bring distinction to flavors.

Let us know underestimate the power of the tongue, and let us begin to chew with our mouths closed. The word of God is to be chewed and swallowed – may we take the time to taste it on the way down. For if we do, it just might reveal what our eyes are blind to see.

Mark 10:46b-48 – As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside.  When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”   Many sternly ordered Bartimaeus to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

When I first read this passage, what struck me was not that Bartimaeus cried out the first time but that he cried out the second time as people were trying to silence him.  Just as Bartimaeus cried out for his healing, we have to advocate for our own healing. 

Prayer: Healer God, give strength to our voice so that we can find the healing we need.  Amen.

Psalm 34:19-20 – Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD rescues them from them all.  He keeps their bones; not one of them will be broken.

Long after our flesh has gone, our bones will remain.  This passage reminds me that God’s love and care for us transcends this world.  While our lives will have pains and trials, we are never left to face those challenges alone.

Prayer: Steadfast God, thank you for remaining by our side at all times.  Amen.

There is one thing in the description that has always intrigued me. Bartimaeus threw off his cloak and sprang up to go to Jesus, which doesn’t seem like the cautious movement through the world of a person without vision. He could “see” before he was healed.

I’m going to direct you to the practice of focusing where you listen to what your body knows about your emotional state to address your emotional issues. Summarize the steps and write them on a piece of paper you can peak at while you do your own practice.

When you’re done focusing, create an image of the thing that blinded you (use the handle). Now that you can “see” it, you can figure out how to overcome it. On the back of your image, write how you plan to overcome you blindness in small, concrete steps.

Job 42:13-15 – Job also had seven sons and three daughters.  He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch.  In all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers.

I think this passage is one of those sweet finds you have from time to time when you are reading through the lectionary.  Job left an inheritance to his daughters along with his sons.  This act was certainly not necessary in Job’s day.  Another “rule” broken. 

Prayer: Gracious God, help us to act toward one another in ways that bring your will to the forefront.  Amen.

Leaves have started falling onto my yard in quantities that remind me that the seasonal chore of raking and bagging leaves will be here by next weekend. 

The lectionary selections for this week include: Job 42:1-6, 10-17; Psalm 34:1-8, (19-22); Hebrews 7:23-28 and Mark 10:46-52.  Alternate passages include Jeremiah 31:7-9 and Psalm 126.

Job 42:1-3 – Then Job answered the LORD: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.  ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’  Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

Living with the question – that is the phrase I thought of when I read these verses.  Part of our leap of faith is being comfortable enough in our beliefs that we can leave some answers to God’s time.

Prayer: God of mystery, give us patience so that your time is sufficient for us.  Amen.

Good Morning!

I have a piece of paper and I have drawn a line on it. This is the start of the line, and this is the end of the line. If I trace along the line, I go from the beginning to the end and that is all there is. Start to end. And it is done.

But if I take this line and bring the beginning and the end to the same spot and tape them together, we now have a circle. And if we trace along this round shape, we pass the beginning and the end, but we keep going around and around. We keep going on and on.

We are now in the month of November, and we are nearing the end of the year. In 2 months, we will go from December 31, 2012, to January 1, 2013. One year to the next year. And in a few weeks, we will come to the end of the church year. We will celebrate Christ the King Sunday and then the next week we will start the new church year with the First Sunday in Advent. We go from the end of one year to the start of the next year. And the years go on and on.

But today we celebrate All Saints Day. Today we remember those in our church family who died in the past year. While we are sad that their life on earth has ended, we rejoice that their lives in heaven have now started. Their eternal lives go on and on.

In our Bible story today we hear that the Lord is the Alpha and the Omega. These are Greek words that mean the Lord is the Beginning and the End. But He is not like the line that goes from here to there and that is all. God is the Beginning and the End at the same. So like the circle, God goes on and on.

And as His children, we go with Him. We pass many beginnings and many endings–celebrating the end of various events and years and celebrating the start of various years and adventures. But we, too, go on and on.

God continues to call us to be His Saints, to share His love over and over, on and on, through this life and into our eternal life in Heaven.

Today we celebrate God’s Saints before us and we continue the work. We are God’s Saints on and on.

Will you pray with me? (This is an echo prayer: the leader says a line and the children repeat it.)

Dear Lord,
You are the Beginning and the End.
And You go on and on.
Help us
to be Your Saints
to share Your love
on and on
on and on.
Amen

We are not Christians alone.
My mission is to share, inspire, and encourage.

Today’s reading from Isaiah is one that we associate with Holy Week. It speaks—at first from the point of view of those who benefit, later from the point of view of God—of a mysterious figure who suffers grievously in order that others may be spared the punishment they deserve.

The Response            Psalm 91:9-16

The Epistle            Hebrews 5:1-10

Hebrews 5:1-10 explains how and why Jesus Christ is the ultimate high priest, in both senses of the term: he is human, so he understands human weakness; he is God, but served humbly just as, in today’s gospel, he calls us to serve; he knows what it is to sacrifice—and to be the sacrifice. Melchizedek, which can mean ‘king of righteousness’, is the king and priest who came to Abram in Genesis bringing bread and wine.

The Gospel            Mark 10:35-45

Further thoughts

The Melchizedek who is Jesus’ prototype in the book of Hebrews is named in Genesis 14:13-20: as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and three other kingdoms flee from an unsuccessful revolt, their overlords the Elamites capture Lot, who is the nephew of a certain Hebrew that the world will later know as Abraham. Blood being thicker than water, Abram combines his own forces with those of his neighbor Mamre and Mamre’s brothers Eshcol and Aner and goes to Lot’s rescue.

Abram’s forces rout the enemy and take Lot and and his goods plus, one surmises, prisoners and booty. On the way back, Abram meets the king of Sodom—Lot’s king—in the Valley of Shaveh. Also there is Melchizedek, king of Salem (which is Arabic and Hebrew for ‘peace’) and priest of God Most High. This is in the time before the Levites in Israel were set aside as priests; indeed, neither Israel nor the tribe of Levi even existed. Now it was not unusual for a king also to be a priest. Unusually, though, Melchizedek comes to Abram rather than making Abram come to him, and Melchizedek brings bread and wine. That is, even though Melchizedek is a king and Abram is not, Melchizedek serves and honors Abram before blessing him.

What a contrast this is with the bumptious Sons of Thunder, James and John, demanding their places at Jesus’ left and right hands in heaven! It’s easy to laugh at their lack of polish, at least when I’m not wincing at how much it looks like my own.

And yet the most valuable servant is not the one who passively waits for orders but rather the one who takes initiative. James and John, and the almost irrepressible Peter, have caught glimpses of what Jesus is doing on earth; whatever their mistakes, they are doing their best to live into the vision given their understanding of the way the world works. That God Almighty is also in the business of seeking dirty feet to wash remains a startling concept, two millennia and thousands of Bible studies later. As I struggle to reconcile Jesus’ vision of servant leadership with the facts of worldly hierarchical life, I have a good model to follow in Melchizedek’s graceful integration of the exalted roles of king and priest with a personal reality in which, by God’s grace, he is clearly pretty well over himself. I have a very long way to go to match Melchizedek as a servant, let alone Jesus—but, as with James and John and Peter, there’s grace and work and hope for me, too, in Jesus’ vision.

Mark 10:43-44 – But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be the first among you must be a slave to all.

I am not sure there is a more clear statement of our relationship to one another than that found in this passage.  We are to serve one another.

Prayer: Gracious God, we live in community with one another, but we often ignore our neighbor.  Help us to be the neighbors you want us to be.  Amen.

Mark 10:38 – But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

Years ago, WWJD bracelets asked us to consider, “What would Jesus do?”  I make decisions throughout the day.  Most of them are nearly automatic.  This passage reminds us that we should consider our faith in each decision, even the smallest ones.

Prayer: Loving God, help us to be more mindful of your will both for us and for your kingdom.  Amen.

Hebrews, 5:1-2 – Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.  He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness.

We are all subject to weakness, even the high priests among us.  This passage reminds us of how important it is for us to be slow to judge others, being forever mindful of our own shortcomings.

Prayer: Understanding God, we are all related as your children.  Help us to look at each other with the understanding often reserved for blood relatives. Amen.

There is a danger because it is one thing to serve out of strength – because you choose to – and another to serve out of weakness because it’s your only option. So let’s think about this, what do you do for other people from a position of strength?

We often think of a “position of strength” as having money, but sometimes it is gifts we have that others don’t have. If you’re an artist, how do you use your art to serve others? If you like to knit or crochet, do you make things for other people like prayer shawls or quilts?

When I mention “others,” I don’t mean your family members and friends but people in your community and around the world.

Psalm 104:24, 35c – O LORD, how manifold are your works!  In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.  Praise the LORD!

The temperatures have begun to moderate and some of the leaves are starting to change color.  With the heat and humidity of Memphis summers behind me, I find myself walking outside in the morning stretching my arms out to God in appreciation for this wonderful world.

Prayer: Creator God, thank you for the change of seasons so we can be reminded of your ongoing presence in our lives.  Amen.

Humility & Confidence open the ears of the servant to hear their calling into Service.

An evolutionist and God were arguing about the origins of life. God entertained the evolutionist’s challenge and it was set that they would both attempt to create life to demonstrate their being “right”. As the two stepped up to for the show-down, they both arrived with a lump of clay-dirt…. Just prior to the start – God reached over to the atheist and said, “get your own dirt – I created that”

Our view of God and His power & majesty cannot be too high or lofty. If we can contain all the mystery of God in our minds, then we have foolishly made God – subject to our mind and our creative power. This shall not be so – and for the most part – those who have come to know God, do not assume themselves to be more powerful, more wise or more anything than God. However until this is tested and tried, we are not fully aware of the foolish attitudes and perspectives that reside in our hearts.  While the situation Job found himself in, may seem extreme to many … but how much more should we long for this test rather than assuming that God would not “do” that to us.

Job – was not in sin – but he was in error. While Job sacrificed daily for the covering of sins – yielding him blameless and righteous, it was God that declared him blameless. Job  assumed that his holiness was on par with God’s or at least beyond the comprehension of his friends and such that justice was do him based on his righteousness. Therefore, Job declared his right to question God and demand an account for justice.  This week we see God’s response to Job’s cry for justice. We also see that God is not concerned with Job’s questions or his demand for justice. It is God’s Rule & Reign overall all creation that is the response to Job. Beyond that we are reminded that it is by God’s  mercy & grace is anything possible. It does not solve the answer of evil, why, or what’s next, only that God is sovereign.

It has been said, in life we take three steps with God. 1. Justification – 2.  Sanctification –3.  Glorification.  Justification is the first step and it was taken on our behalf by God the Son to completely wash our sins white as snow and make us right with Him.  Sanctification is the second step taken in the power of the Holy Spirit so that our lives might be transformed completely and fully into His. The final step is glorification, where we come face to face with the Father, and the things of this world have once and for all passed away. Sanctification is the means by which the Holiness of God is transferred unto us.  1 Peter records that we are to be Holy as God is Holy. When we seek the Glory of God without the Holiness of God we are out of step with God.

Holiness is the Otherness or Separation of God from the Creation.

Glory is the expression or revelation of His Holiness to the Creation.

The disciples clearly demonstrate their hard-heartedness and ignorance when it comes to the purpose of Christ and his calling to display strength through weakness. The disciples clearly were patiently waiting for Jesus to arrive in all of God’s Glory and to take the rightful place of victory over the Romans. They awaited a Messiah to savior the Jewish People from the tyrant of the world. What they missed was the Tyrant from which they were being saved was the one whom bears the name of “tempter” and “deceiver”.  Jesus’ very life and death paid a random form the enemy of God. The way to follow in the steps of Jesus and to enter the Kingdom is not in the wisdom of the world. Rather in the submission of one’s world (their flesh – body & soul) unto the only one who can save them from this world – The very Spirit of God.

God is to be glorified in every aspect of our lives, not just in our death – but it is by His work, His way and in His time not ours. Jesus himself cried out the Father would glorify His Name through Jesus’ life. Jesus did not take on the glory of God by his own; rather he gave it up and over unto the Father – in his life of suffering and sacrifice. This is for us as well.   We each have a calling to receive from the Father. This calling is received when our ears are opened to the calling of the Holy Spirit. It is through the process of humility that we hear the calling and through the process of confidence that we respond. As we saw last week – Testing provides the necessary means for humility and confidence to be produced in us. This is all at the hand of God. If we seek to by-pass suffering and service as a means bring Glory of God – we are confronted with impossibility.  We cannot contain God’s holiness unless we are made perfect through suffering. It is His holiness that separates us from the world. The Glory of God is Holiness revealed. Thus for Holiness to be revealed it must have a means…. As the Psalm and Job point out this week – there is no shortage of means for God’s Holiness to be revealed. Yet God has chosen us – Humanity to be the climax of creation to reveal his Glory and bear His image.

Our path is to be one of Submission and Separation, not that of Stardom and Splendor. This is not a lowly path, or a undesirable place of being – This is a place of purpose and calling guided by humility and confidence. If God seeks lift you up, and place you in the role of king or ruler in this world – may it be so.  We are not passive victim, rather being more than conquers and confident we pursue a life of submission which results in the death of our own will and aligns us with the Will of the almighty.  May we be servants, even slaves unto the will of God.