LORD, WHAT ABOUT HIM?

John 21:18-23

Jesus, in another post-resurrection appearance, the last the Apostle John records, is having a conversation with Peter.  He gives Peter a glimpse of his future when He says:

“I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”

The text goes on to say: 

“Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.  Then he said to him, ‘Follow me’.”

At that point Peter turned around to see John following them.  Looking at John, Peter asked Jesus:

“Lord, what about him?”

Jesus replied:

“If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? 

You must follow me.”

Now, when I read that, I think Peter is wondering what kind of future is in store for John – not necessarily because he’s not so happy with the death Jesus has described for him – but because he’s wondering what’s in store for this beloved brother in the Lord.

I’m wondering whether you ever think the way I do.  I’ve gone through some pretty tough things in my life, things I would rather have avoided.  Many times, even today, I have asked God why.  I confess that I have looked at the lives of other Christians I know who seem to have been blessed with every good thing – no tragedy, no apparent hardship, all their adult children walking with the Lord – and I have pangs of envy and confusion, during which I ask, “Why them and NOT me?”

I don’t question why the Lord has worked in the way He has in their lives – I’m glad He has, I’m just confused about why He didn’t work that way in mine.  Maybe you feel that way too.

So I was chastened today by this passage, and encouraged as well.  

Here are some things I took away from it:

Looking at the lives of others and wondering why God has worked in a certain way in theirs but not in mine, can distract ME from following Jesus.

• Every time I do this myself I’m effectively saying, “Lord, I think you’ve treated me unfairly.”  That kind of thinking can make me bitter and resentful and it can bring my walk with Jesus to a screeching halt!  

Following Jesus requires a personal commitment.  

• Peter had to determine that he was going to follow Jesus no matter what was in store for him, or what was in store for John.  John had to do the same, and so do you and I.  
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• How Jesus is or isn’t at work in the life of another person can’t be used as an excuse for not following Him myself. 
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• Jesus is saying the same thing to you and me as He said to Peter – “Never mind about that other person.  YOU follow me!”

God’s desire for our life, and even for our death, is that we bring Him glory. 

• I don’t know why I have never been as struck by it before but today it leaped out at me.  John says that Jesus’ words about Peter being carried where he didn’t want to go were an indication of the kind of death “by which he would glorify God”.

• Each of these men had a God given ministry while they lived.  Peter led the church in Jerusalem and wrote books which would be included in the canon of Scripture.  
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• John was also a leader in the church, wrote the Gospel and several New Testament letters that bear his name, and the book of Revelation, written while exiled on the isle of Patmos.  Each one brought God glory with his life.  Every time we read their words today and observe their lives and testimonies in God’s Word and are impacted by them, God continues to be glorified.

• And each one glorified God in his death.  John, the longest living disciple, lived out most of the last years of his life in exile, and died a peaceful death in Ephesus.  Peter, as history and church tradition record it, was crucified, but upside down, out of reverence for his Lord.

The Lord is at work in the lives of all His saints – those whose lives have been relatively trouble free and those whose lives have not.  

The question I need to ask myself when I’m comparing my life with the life of another saint is not, “Why or why not?”, but “HOW.  How can I bring you glory in this, Lord?”

Asking why, or why not, fixes my eyes firmly on THEM.  Asking HOW fixes my eyes on Jesus.

Oswald Chambers in his book, “My Utmost for His Highest”, says this under the reading for today, November 7:

“The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God.  In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance.”

The life that the Lord gives to you and to me is His gift.  We can surely make a mess of it because of our sinful nature and choices and the resultant consequences.  

But even when we do, our reaction to His choice is all important, and we need to ask:   

 How will I glorify God in this?

Am I going to fix my eyes on the seeming smoothness of some other saint’s life, comparing it always with my own and asking why or why not me?  Or am I going to choose to shift my gaze from them to Jesus, seeing the circumstances ordained for me as an opportunity to bring Him glory?  

When difficulties arise in my life, am I going to continually look at others and ask: “What about them?”, or am I going to say, “Never mind about them.  I need to follow Jesus?"   How willing am I to bring glory to Jesus even when He leads in places I don’t really want to go?

How do I want to face death?  As ONLY the avenue by which I will be translated to glory, or also as the MEANS by which I might glorify God with the last opportunity He gives me in this life to do so? 

STOP DOUBTING AND BELIEVE!

John 20:24-31

It’s a week after the resurrection of Jesus.  One of his first post resurrection appearances came just the week before when he revealed himself to his disciples in the room in which they were staying.  Thomas was the only one not present on that day.

When Thomas arrived and the disciples told him they had seen the Lord, skeptical Thomas said: 

“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”

Now here they are again, the disciples, including Thomas, are in that same room.  The text says: 

“Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said,  “Peace be with you.”

When Jesus first appeared to his disciples a week earlier, He greeted them in the very same way – that time they were also hiding behind locked doors for fear of the Jews.  But it wasn’t only fear that gripped them.  Undoubtedly there was still grief over the loss of Jesus, and now confusion as well as they pondered Mary’s assertion that she had see the risen Lord.

You know that’s always the way it is when Jesus enters the picture – His entrance brings peace.  Are you trying to go it alone with your fear, or loss, or loneliness, or confusion?  Invite Jesus in – into your life, into your situation, into your confusion – His entrance brings peace; His Words bring comfort.  We can imagine all the emotions of that few days draining from his disciples as Jesus appears and speaks peace.  Now to bring peace into Thomas’ confusion as well.

To Thomas Jesus said:

“Put your finger here, see my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it into my side.  Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas responded:

“My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him:

“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The chapter closes with this:

“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

A number of things struck me as I read this passage.  None are especially profound, but all are wonderful.

The first is that Jesus knew what Thomas said even though He hadn’t been there when Thomas spoke his doubting words.  So when he entered the room, he just held out his hands and invited Thomas to touch them and see for himself the proof of his resurrection.  

I love that.  Does that mean that Jesus knows MY doubts too, even when I only think them?  Even if I express them to friends, but never to him directly?  Yes, I believe it does.  

Does Jesus’ encounter with Thomas mean that he can handle my doubts without shaming me for them?  Yes, I believe it does.  

I think he would say the same thing to us he says to Thomas, “Stop doubting, just believe.”   

There are things you and I just don’t understand – about God, about circumstances, about lots of things.  We can ask the Lord to give us understanding and in some cases He can, and will.  But there are other things we’ll never understand this side of heaven.  For those, we’ll just have to trust – in His goodness and trustworthiness and justice.  Along with Abraham we’re just going to have to believe that the judge of all the earth WILL do what’s right.  Because that’s who He is.

I love it that Jesus graciously gave Thomas the proof he wanted and apparently needed.  He said in effect:  “Here Thomas.  Look at my hands.  There’s the proof you’re looking for!  It IS me!”

What doubts do you harbor about Jesus?  Are you having trouble accepting for yourself what your Christian friends say about him?  Maybe you think He’s simply a good man, a great teacher, the most loving person you’ve heard of, but you’re having trouble believing that He is who He says He is – the Savior, the Son of God.

What John says at the end of his gospel is for doubters just like you.  He says:

“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

In John 21, verse 25, John also says:

“Jesus did many others things as well.  If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

What John wrote about Jesus was not inclusive of all Jesus did, but it’s all anyone really needs to believe.  Under the editing of the Holy Spirit, John says, the things that were written were written with a purpose, “That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and that by believing, you might have life in His name.”

If you need proof that Jesus is who He says He is, John says, you have everything you need in his gospel to believe.  God Himself has seen to that because He wants you to believe in His Son.  Why?

·        So that you might have life in His name.  

·        Life. 

·        Life without guilt or shame – a sins forgiven life

·        Life to the full in the here and now. 

·        Life changing life!  Life with purpose. 

·        Life eternal – forever life in relationship with the God who made the universe and the Son whom He loves

Thomas had to SEE to believe that Jesus was alive.

But faith doesn’t work that way.  Faith is BELIEVING first, and then seeing.

“Stop doubting, just believe”, Jesus says to Thomas, and to you.  

You will never have all your doubts dispelled before you put your faith in Jesus, but when you do, you’ll be surprised at how many things will become clear.  

Thomas needed to SEE to believe, but Jesus said to him:

“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Still have doubts?  Read John’s gospel.  In it, God has given you all the proof you’ll need to believe.  You just need to stop doubting.

HURRICANE SANDY IS ALL MY FAULT!

It’s kind of a standing joke between my husband and me.  If something goes wrong in the house, or with our kids, with appliances even, and I question it, he says, “Well, I don’t know what’s wrong, but I’m SURE it’s your fault!”.  He knows me!

I have a very sensitive conscience that slips easily into guilt. It doesn’t take a lot to make me feel badly about something and it’s not uncommon for me to say, “I wonder if that (what I said, or didn’t say, or what I did, or didn’t do) was my fault.”  Hence, the standing joke.

I freely admit I’m probably not really responsible for some of the things I’m perfectly willing to own.  However, just so you know, there are plenty of things I AM responsible for that I’d rather NOT own!  But, I think what happened this week was definitely MY fault!

A week ago today we got hit with what the media was calling a ”Frankenstorm” since it hit us just two days before Halloween.  And a Frankenstorm it was!  It was a perfect storm, converging three weather patterns over a area of 900 miles, and it wrought terrible destruction.  The Jersey shore, our state’s pride and joy, was, as the governor described it, “unrecognizable”.  

 One family we’ve heard about has a summer house there and they were told they would not be able to live in it for 2 years because the town’s infrastructure was wiped out.  Locally, when it was safe, my husband and I took a walk to find many downed trees and power lines and lots of people and businesses without power.  

For the last week we’ve been living without power – no heat, no electricity, all our food spoiled.  It hasn’t been bad at all really.  We’ve kind of looked at it as an adventure of sorts.  And so many are in worse straits.  Apart from losing power, all we had was a downed tree which thankfully fell across the yard and not on the house.  

So why am I taking personal responsibility for this massive storm over which I had absolutely NO control?  Because of the lesson in it that I needed to learn.  

The Lord has gifted me with a personality that enjoys its space.  I enjoy people, but being with people non-stop is exhausting for me.  Every now and then I crave solitude to recharge my batteries. I entered the fall with a full plate of ministry responsibilities – weekly teaching assignments, a video series to facilitate, work with youth.  I love doing ministry and know that the Lord has called me to teach, but I was feeling a bit overwhelmed.  When I did have some quiet time, my brain preferred to veg out – on big doses of TV, and solitaire on my computer.  

Being busy and feeling overwhelmed created my own “perfect storm”.   Winds of busyness and stress took me further and further from the peaceful and safe refuge of time with the Lord.  Intellectually and spiritually, I KNOW that this is a recipe for disaster.  I’ve been there before.  Lack of connection with the Lord through the reading of His Word and in prayer, will lead to powerless teaching and lack of ability to hear Him when He desires to speak to me.  I saw it coming, but it took a Frankenstorm to get my attention. 

For the last week, without TV or internet connection to distract me, without ministry responsibilities to prepare for, I have spent some wonderful time with the Lord and regained my bearings.  

And guess what, He still speaks to me, so long as I take the time to listen.  His power is back as well!  

So, I thank you Lord:

·        For Frankenstorms that focus me back on you
·        For the lack of TV and internet to distract me from you
·        For the blessedness of knowing that YOUR power source is always available –  I just need to plug in!
·        For reminding me that YOU are the source of life and joy – no storm, no lack   of creature comforts can EVER take that away
·        For speaking “peace” in the midst of our storm – with your words, your presence, your comfort, your reminder that spiritual things are infinitely more important than temporal.

Thank you for your faithfulness to keep this particular promise:  

“For we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”  Romans 8:28

 

YES INDEED, THE LORD STILL SPEAKS. . . .

I have a friend and sister in Christ whose name is Jennifer.  I won’t tell you her age but I will tell you that we are both women “of a certain age”, looking at fewer days ahead of us than those that have already passed.  

 Jennifer has always impressed me as a woman who LOVES life!  She seems always to be up, seeing the glass half full, seizing the day.  I love that about her.  She’s a woman with lots of life left in her and great enthusiasm for living it – and that’s exactly the kind of woman I also want to be in these golden years.  I "get" her!

You would never know it to look at her but due to a genetic disorder, Jennifer is in need of a kidney transplant.  I’ve known this for some time, as has everyone else in our church.  She is already on the list for a potential deceased donor, however this list is very long, and the possibility of receiving a donor this way can take 5 or more years.   

A couple of months ago, Jennifer was told that she had only 6 more months before she would need to go on dialysis.  The best time for someone in need of a kidney to have a transplant is BEFORE they go on dialysis, so Jennifer's time was running out.  At the urging of her daughters, she posted a link on Facebook inviting readers to consider becoming live donors.  She wasn’t pressuring anyone to do this for HER, just simply putting it out there and waiting to see.

I read her post.  I’ve had several surgeries myself and, I’m ashamed to say, because I know what’s involved, I wasn’t thinking at all of lining up to volunteer for this one!  But the Lord had other plans for me!

I've said this before when people have described me as "religious".  I'm NOT religious, I have a personal relationship with the amazingly wonderful Most High God, Creator of the Universe, Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I have found that He communicates with His children in unexpected ways – primarily through the Bible, but sometimes with His still small voice.  This time around, He was tugging at my heart in such a way that I knew it was His “voice” I was hearing.  He didn’t so much say, “I want you to do this”, as He did just keep bringing it to my mind.  

If you have never had the Lord speak to you in this way, then you might find that weird.  I do not.  The Lord clearly wanted me to pay more attention to this “invitation” of His to participate in something He was doing, so He would NOT let me dismiss that Facebook message. 

 I found myself awake at night thinking through whether or not I could do it.  I have had surgeries, but I’m not afraid of them.  In fact my experiences with surgery, including cancer surgery, were all so positive from a spiritual perspective that in a way, I longed to experience that kind of total dependence on the Lord once again.  During those occasions, I KNEW the Lord was with me.  It was His peace I was experiencing in the midst of an anxiety producing situation.  It was He who was with me during the recovery period, giving me strength long before I expected it. Best of all, He gave me so many opportunities to encourage others and share with them what He was doing THROUGH the experience.  I can remember after the first surgery for the removal of a lump on my thyroid saying, “I’d gladly have surgery all over again if I could only know the presence of the Lord in that close, intimate way, once more.”

So, I followed that “still small voice” of God, and checked out the link on living donors.  What I discovered was that the very first step to take to see if you would be a compatible donor is to have the same blood type as the recipient.  Wouldn't hurt to go that far, right?  Well, Jennifer and I “just happened” to both be 0+.  Couldn’t ignore THAT “coincidence”, right?

Next step, a cross-match.  I traveled into New York City to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital to have 12 vials of blood taken.  In order for us to be a perfect match, Jennifer and I would have to match in every single point of this blood test.  Considering that Jennifer and I are not related – except as sisters in Christ – it was a leap for joy moment to discover that we matched, in every way!   

When Jennifer called to tell me, my response was: “Well, of course!”, because I am so convinced that the Lord is doing the leading.  Jennifer and I were like two kids on Christmas morning when we shared that news together! 

With this clear direction from the Lord, I pursued the next step.  On Monday of this past week I went back into the city for a kidney function test, an EKG and a chest X ray and everything came back GOOD.  Another round of celebrating with Jennifer and a plan to take yet another step – more blood work and a consult with a nephrologist.

Jennifer tells me that she knows a lot of people going through this kidney transplant situation and none of them has ever heard of our kind of “found a kidney donor in a week”, sort of situation.   Another reason to believe it is the Lord moving us along.

Before you start thinking that I'm some kind of super saint, let me set the record straight.  Jennifer and I are two very ordinary women – one in need of a kidney, one with a kidney to give.  We are in NO way super women or supernatural saints.  However, we DO belong to a super and supernatural, great God, who privileges us with opportunities just like this so that we might magnify HIS greatness.

Our request is that those of you who are prayer warriors hold us up in this adventure of faith.  But whatever you do, please don’t elevate us to the status of super saints!

Rejoice with us over what the Lord is doing, what He will do, and all the ways He will glorify Himself in this.  Ask us about that, because that is what we really WANT to share with you for the glory and majesty and honor of the Lord! 

Yes, the Lord still speaks today.  Jennifer and I can testify to that!