Zebulun and Naphtali

 1 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, As when at first He lightly esteemed The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward more heavily oppressed her, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles.

2 The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.

3 You have multiplied the nation And increased its joy; They rejoice before You According to the joy of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, As in the day of Midian.

5 For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle, And garments rolled in blood, Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.

6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

     Isaiah 9:1-7 (NKJV)

This passage is another prophecy about the coming of Christ. When quoted during Advent, the focus is often on verses 6-7—“unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given. . .” These are marvelous promises to recall and hold in our hearts. But it’s also interesting to consider the context of this prophecy in the prior verses.

Isaiah directed the prophecy to the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. These lands were in the northern part of Israel, near the sea of Galilee, and were named after two of the tribes (sons of Jacob).  Zebulun and Naphtali often were the first to suffer from invasion, such as by Assyria (see 2 Kings 15:29). Also, this area was on the main trade route of that time and Gentiles congregated there, making it a place of paganism and was despised by the Jews.    

 These people were distressed, burdened and they walked in spiritual darkness. Yet a great light came to them. Jesus conducted most of His ministry in Capernaum and Galilee, which were in Zebulun and Naphtali (see Matthew 4:13-16).  And He said: "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of light" (John 8:12, NKJV). Some believed and followed Jesus, but unfortunately, most did not. They rejected Him as their Messiah.

 This passage reminds us that whether Jew or Gentile, we walk in darkness without Christ. Acknowledgement of our sin and brokenness ushers us into God’s amazing grace, where we can receive the Son who was given for us. Don't shut out His light but come to Him and accept the One whose name is “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (v. 6). 

Lost And Found

 

I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.  You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.  Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.  John 15:1-4

During my workday, I saw a news update that flashed on my phone.  “The Michigan – Ohio State football game has been cancelled,” it read.  Great.  Another thing lost to 2020.  I laughed writing that because when you think of the term 2020, that of course is an optometrist term for perfect vision.  How many of us saw this year coming?  Nonetheless, that news flash was indicative of a year that has been by far the most challenging for me, and I don’t think I would be out of bounds to say it has been equally challenging for you as well.  Whether it be lost quality time with family and friends, lost employment, a lost season for a child, or a lost loved one, we have experienced a level of loss this year that at times might be overwhelming to reflect upon.  Many of us have lost fellowship at church to maintain social distancing guidelines.  I would fall into this category minimizing my contact with others as one of the high at-risk categories to COVID-19.  Yet, I still miss my connections at Sunday services.  It is reasonable to say I may have even lost a bit in my connection with God.  Not in the sense that I am no longer aware of His presence.  Rather, there have been more days where I really must fight to feel that deep connection that once was natural.  With so much loss, one might very well give up hope, but I won’t.  In fact, today I feel stronger even as I know another holiday will be far different from any other.

You see through all that I’ve lost, I have found a lot as well.  Through losing greater connection with friends, I’ve gotten closer to my wife, my youngest daughter, and family as a whole.  I am grateful to my new small group I found this year that I’ve maintained contact with as they have also become my family.  I don’t say church family because being honest, they mean more to me than that.  And while I have struggled at times to connect with God, my awareness of His provisions, protection, love, and grace has grown exponentially.  I shared with someone when asked what I have gained out of this year is that I have found a greater capacity to love than I ever thought I could.  When I said it, I paused not because I questioned it.  It was because I was amazed by it, and that is so awesome about God.  He uses time, space, and situations to grow us in ways we never would on our own.

God never loses focus on our spiritual growth even as we may not at times see Him.  In reading today’s verses, I began to reflect on Jesus’s ability to share His wisdom.  Many of us lost so much this year.  But as we look at the things we lost, yes, there are some we mourn over such as a losing a loved one.  However, if we look at the bigger picture, some of the things we lost were part of God’s pruning of branches that might not help us grow.  Thus, what we might have found is something God intended for us to see.  I think of Isaiah 43:19 where it says, “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”  Perhaps now is a time for us to see things we would not have seen had we not gone through this challenging season.  A new friend, greater faith in God, or a positive habit forming (my making dinner for family?) might be ‘something new’ God has planned for you at this time.  Some of you may have been deceived that you have lost sight of God.  Understand a couple of things.  First, God knows exactly where you are.  He has never failed you, and knowing that, focus on Him as David did here:

When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. (Psalm 94:19)

Second, trust there is something to be gained in all that you have endured thus far.  There are too many verses that underline this, but Paul said it best in Romans:

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.  And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.  Romans 5:3-5

As we get closer to celebrating the birth of Christ, we realize that is also the sign that the year is over.  For all we have endured in the year of ‘perfect vision,’ it could be easy to dwell on what we lost.  However, I would challenge you to look for all that God has shown you this year.  Look for the new things God has shown you, and then, use them to build your faith toward a stronger relationship with Him.  What strength have you gained from God’s power?  How much favor has He given you in a time of such uncertainty?  Where has He taken your fear of the future and shown you confidence to move forward?  My prayer for you today is to take a different look at what God has placed both on your heart and in your spirit to see what is lost and found.  Amen, and I leave you with these words of Jesus:

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.  John 15:5

Pouring In

 

A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.

“I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.” John 21:17-19

 

Every Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I write about what I am thankful for.  More times than not it is about a person such as my wife or mom.  Other times, I have thanked the people who read our team’s devotions and the encouraging words you all offered me.  After hearing a sermon this past week, I am incredibly encouraged.  Encouraged that God knows and loves us so much.  And of course, I am thankful for that as well.  But there is a group of people who I am especially thankful for this year.  They are the people who helped mold me into the person I am today.  Let us call them people who poured into me all they could to make me who I am.

There were the teachers who saw something in me.  There was the high school principal that knew there was something worthwhile in me that I could not recognize.  There was an owner who saw talent in my abilities to lead others.  And of course, there were people in my current job role who built me up and encouraged me throughout.  This is not to say there were not a slew of family members who supplied their love and knowledge onto me.  They did.  But there are the ones who just saw me as some kid from Detroit and had nothing to gain from helping me yet gave me so much.  I am so incredibly thankful for them today.  They poured into me without any expectation of receiving anything.

God pours in to mold us into the person we become.  I think of the story of Simon Peter.  In a sermon, I was listening to how Jesus chose to go into the boat of Peter, but we miss the part that Jesus had a choice between two boats.  In Luke 5, it says:

One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God.  He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.  Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.  Luke 5:1-3

He had to know Peter was the one who would help to spread the Gospel, but much like we do not know God’s purpose for us, Peter did not.  Jesus saw something in Peter, and poured out His wisdom, love, and knowledge to him as well as the other Disciples.  But note where we are in today’s verses.  It is Peter, the one who denied Jesus three times yet loved Him more than the others, being asked three times how much he loved Him.  The reason if we think it through is not because Jesus wanted to make sure Peter loved Him because even Peter understood that He already knew that.  The greater rationale led me to believe a couple things.  First, the purpose was to humble Peter’s heart to focus on the task of minding the flock as Jesus was soon to ascend to Heaven.  Second, it was to pour into Peter a high level of confidence to ‘feed the sheep’ and ‘follow Him.’  Peter needed nothing more.  We often will question why God has put us in a situation.  However, as Peter found our question is not, “Why are you asking me this, Lord?”  It is to ask, “How do I follow you, Lord?”

God knows us.  We often spend too much time questioning ourselves and choosing to see only the ugliness that makes us who we are.  We simply forget that God knows everything about us, and no matter what ugliness you see, He still chose you.  On that basis alone, there must be plenty good within us because God does not make mistakes like that.  Let us be thankful for the love God pours out on us daily to see us grow into what He sees fit.  Are you glad God sees something in you?  How can you commit to follow Him closer today?  My prayer is that we are thankful for all God and others have poured into us.  Amen, and hoping your Thanksgiving was wonderful and blessed!

Just Trust

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6

 

Do I trust you?  One of my favorite stories years ago was about a little girl named Starla Chapman, who was once stricken with cancer.  There were two things that brought her joy; God and the Alabama Crimson Tide football team.  On the night before she was to undergo chemotherapy, she uttered these two words to her parents.  Just trust.  She was only three years old, but clearly, she understood there was a higher power involved.  One might ask how could a three-year-old understand God better than others particularly at a time like that.  God after all gave us a wonderful mind for which we can use the process of deduction, put together ideas, be informing, and numerous other things.  With all this, could we be trusted to know what God needs us to know?  Then I remembered what Jesus said about children.  “Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.”” (Matthew 18:3) The heart of this verse (become like little children) referred to dependency and trust.

 

Being a servant of God deals with our ability to trust in Him and His word.  One of my favorite bible verses comes from 2 Corinthians 5:7, where Paul says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (KJV) The reason it has always resonated with me is that it explains what many people would not understand.  We choose to believe in God’s existence unequivocally and without question even though we have never physically seen God nor heard Him speak literally to us.  In a world that creates false heroes and imaginary people for relationships, one could certainly understand the world’s skepticism.  This is where our own understanding can be a stumbling block.  Logic would dictate I have not seen Him, thus, how can He exist?  No one has ever come from the grave.  How could Jesus?  We could continue to go down this path of deductive reasoning to ultimately stop to say God cannot exist.

 

But our experiences with God teaches us how real He is for there are so many testimonies as to how He just showed up where no other explanation makes sense.  How many of you have heard these testimonies?  “I was at rock bottom, I had nowhere to go, I was ready to give up,” are among many of the opening stories about where God found someone.  Each of those stories end with, “I have a brand-new life, God brought me home, and now I live for Him.”  There is no doubt that despite what people have said about God, no one can create true life transformation like Him.  None of us can admit to truly understanding that, but deep to our core we know it is true.  It is why when then atheist questions my faith, I simply remind them that God is not just one thing or experience.  He is a lifelong relationship that is a constant.  He is always with me, and as the verse says, “Make your paths straight.”  Ask the drug addict or alcoholic who turned their life to God or the homeless person having found a job and apartment to live at. What about when one needed a miracle, and then God delivered abundantly in their favor.  It is hard to imagine from the outside what God can do, but for those of us who know Him, we accept and submit to Him unconditionally not because of our understanding.  Instead, it is because of how He shows up not only consistently but also without fail

 

Trusting God is as important an aspect of our faith as loving Him.  We often hear loved ones say, “If you love me, you will trust me.”  Many times, that is done to manipulate others, but if you love someone, why would it be necessary for that to be said?  God is faithful to His word, and through our journey of faith, He has proven repeatedly just how committed He is to us.  Why would we have doubts now?  Let us trust Him and be worry free for as Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing,” (Matthew 6:25) Where does God require more trust from you?  What causes you to question God’s faithfulness today?  My prayer is that when we have questions or doubts about our situation, we follow little Starla's example and simply 'Just Trust.'  Amen,

 

Starla’s story: https://www.espn.com/college-football/bowls12/story/_/id/8812751/aj-mccarron-special-bond-starla-chapman-college-football

Listening As God Would

 

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.  Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.  So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.  John 1:19-21

Isn’t it a great discovery when God shows you how much you have grown in the Spirit?  Over this past week, I have had several challenging discussions.  They were often with people I disagreed with, and a few have hurled some very nasty accusations at me.  In that moment, I tried to realize how damaging it would be to travel down a similar path with them.  In one the midst of one conversation, a person was describing a hardship they were experiencing.  I was preparing to answer with a ‘well, if you would have done this’ speech.  However, I paused, and just listened to understand what they were feeling.  I empathized with and prayed for them.  At the end of the conversation, they thanked me for listening and being of comfort to them.  That is not normally me or at least had not been for most of my life.  But somehow, God reminded me what mattered at that moment.  It was to be there for them and not to lecture on what they should have done.

Listening with the heart of God leads to compassion and loving of others.  In reading today’s verses, there were two parts that I focused on.  The first, focusing on quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry, shows the wisdom of God’s word.  Listening is the easy part.  Or so one would be led to believe.  Being slow to speak and/or get angry are at times very challenging, but if you struggle with either or both issues, they are incredible impediments to listening.  If you want to talk more, you are inherently listening less, and if you are upset, it makes it incredibly difficult to focus on what is being said.  It all makes sense.  This is a prime example of what Paul wrote saying, “ I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” (Romans 7:15)  This is the where spiritual growth comes into play.  In remembering those times where we ‘do what we hate,’ we should ask questions. What drove me to that poor outcome?  Anger?  Need to get words in?  Strong opinion?  A bit of self-reflection goes a long way in knowing what prevented listening from occurring.

The second part of the verses I focused on is humbly accepting the word God plants in our hearts.  This is where spiritual growth occurs.  We are to first be humble.  No one likes to admit they are wrong, but humility in this case is the willingness to accept you are not God. As I mentioned last week, we all want control, but we must be willing to accept He is in control.  His cup is greater than ours.  Should we accept that, only then can our hearts be transformed to His heart.  The book of Ezekiel says it best:

And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.  Ezekiel 36:26-27

God’s word is perfect.  It not only gives us structure and order but also shows love and compassion.  To go against it leads to strife and challenges.  But should we learn and grow from it, we can be both better and a shining example to others of what a Christ driven life is like.  Today, let us first listen to God’s word and then, be an ear to others showing the same love and patience He has for us.  How can you be a better listener like God is for you?  What impedes your ability to hear others?  My prayer is that the next time someone asks to talk, we remove our own agendas and listen to others as God would.  Amen.

Some Good News

 I think most people like short sermons. In general, and unless the preacher is extremely interesting, I believe brevity is the most appreciated quality of a sermon, by most people. And that belief includes the understanding that there are exceptions among people, and among preachers.

So, when I read sermons in Scripture, whether the Hebrew Scriptures or the Christian Scriptures, their length is always of interest to me. It's one of the ways I evaluate the "sermon". We have so few traditional sermons of Jesus, this example in Mark is one I find very interesting:

Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee,  preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15 NASB)

The reason I find it so interesting is the amazing amount of information packed into so few words. It is nearly a string of jokes with the just the punchlines included; as if it elicits the same response had the terms been defined, but, instead, relies on the familiarity of the hearer. I believe this is, in fact, exactly what Mark has done.

But we are not necessarily familiar with the terms, or simply assume they are what we think they mean. Some of you may know exactly what they mean, but when was the last time you thought this sermon through, unpacking the words as you read it?

Here is what I mean:

1. The time... - this is the opportune time, not sequential, calendar time. It's not about dates having past as much as events having been accomplished.
2. ...has been fulfilled... - completely made full. The "todo" list has all of the items checked to make it the right, opportune, time. Don't you wish you could have read that list, just to see what our Creator put on it?
3. ...the Kingdom of God... - Israel assumed this was Israel, but also understood it to mean "the sphere of God's supreme influence". It was simply understood that God would not exercise supreme influence unless Israel was free from Roman rule and religious corruption. This was a misunderstanding.
4. ...is at hand; - literally, "has drawn near", it has happened already, and is a present reality. Even though Israel is still ruled by Rome, and the religious leaders remain corrupt, the sphere of God's supreme influence has already taken up residence with His human creatures.
5. repent... - we typically say, "turn", which is another term sometimes used for "repent", but it literally is a "change of mind" or "after thought". Either way, it happens in the mind first. It is a "paradigm shift" to align our thinking with the thinking of our Savior. It is seeing and evaluating things as He sees and evaluates them, using the same priorities and values.
6. ...and believe... - a mental acceptance of information as valid and actionable.
7. ...the gospel. - Good News. This isn't "news", but specifically good news. This good news is about what has just been said, but also contains the record of the events in this book of Mark about Jesus. What makes it "good", from the perspective of our Savior, is that Israel does not need to be freed from Rome, nor their temple worship purged of corruption for His sovereignty to operate in the lives of His people.

You might think, "Well, good for them. But what about me?" You mean you have not been waiting for some "filling" of a "todo list" of our Savior before the next thing happens? We look for His "appearing" with excited apprehension, or we used to.

If you are waiting for the "purification of God's people", then you are a lot like the Jews of Jesus' day. If you are waiting for some political turn of events to signal the reign of our Savior, then you have adopted the paradigm of the Jews under Rome. If you are waiting on something else, you are sitting on the trailside rather than walking with your King.

The new paradigm of Jesus, the "good news", is that God is sovereign right now, and we can walk with Him, right now.

Is the world wonky and off? Walk with Jesus, and you will influence the world for your Savior. Is your church squabbling and stymied? Walk with your Creator, and you will influence your fellow disciples for your King.

It is arrogance that drives us to belittle others. One of the ways we know we are walking with our Savior is how humbling it is. If we feel arrogant toward others, we have been walking with a god of our making, or worse. Walking with Jesus means we are very aware of our failings and His grace.

If you want people to be different, you cannot change them. Be that disciple you believe Jesus desires, and allow the fruit of the Spirit of Jesus to influence them. Live out Philippians 2:5-11 and 1 Corinthians 13. Be that guy.