The Precipice of Cheap Law

What could a man say that would bring some to repentance and others to desire his death? John the Baptist did just that in Luke 3. There, John brings the law back from the precipice of a cheap substitute. Reminding Jews and Romans alike of the holiness of God and his law, he left them all in an unfamiliar place. The truth was so evident that they had to respond to a God they didn’t really know. Some saw their guilt and responded with teachable hearts – “what do we do next?” But some, like Herod, wanted him arrested. When we come face to face with God’s holiness, at least as much of that holiness as we can bear to see, we either fall in worship or we fight in vain or we flee, hoping that we can outrun justice.

What do you choose? Herod chose to fight and John was killed. John was killed because he worshiped Jesus. But before John was arrested, he saw Jesus coming his way. My friend, Jesus comes your way, not to cheapen law, but as the only one able to fulfill it and take your justice. Don’t run and don’t fight. Give in, believe, repent and worship. It probably won’t cost you your life but if it does, the price will be worth it all.

Anchored in Grace,

Harrison

Painful and Beautiful

Jeremiah 18:1-4, “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words.” ³ So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. ⁴ And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.”

I watched a potter working with her clay recently. She had a lump of wet clay on a spinning wheel, her hands lightly surrounding the clay. As the wheel spun, her hands shaped the lump into a pot. It looked good to me but suddenly the potter smashed her creation. She did it all again, and again flattened the pot. This time she just flattened the top portion. As the wheel turned she continued to shape the clay into her idea of what it was supposed to be. She shaped it very well with just the right amount pressure exerted by her hands… the hands of a master potter.

It seemed painful and beautiful all at once. The potter knew better than the pot what she had designed it to be and was willing to inflict pressure to make it so. No doubt the pressure is painful but the result is beautiful, bringing glory to the potter rather than the pot. I think that most of us, given the opportunity would jump off of the potter’s wheel. The pain and process can be scary but here’s the good news. In the bible God is called faithful and true and love. We can be certain that the pressure the master puts on us lumps of clay will be from his heart of faithful love.

I don’t know what the week holds for you but I pray God will give you the faith and courage to stay on the wheel.

Grace for the journey,

Harrison

Face to Face

^{Luke 2:41} Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. ⁴³ And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, ⁴⁴ but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, ⁴⁵ and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. ⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
If I sat with Jesus for three days would my life be any different? If I got to talk with him, ask him questions, hear his questions, would I be amazed? When Jesus sat with these above, he was 12 and had not begun to minister publically. Yet all who heard him were amazed.

I hope that my idea of what’s important in life would be transformed. But would it? I hope that my soul would be captured ever more by Jesus. Would I begin to love what and who he loves? Yearn for what he yearns for… would I seek the lost and broken and outcast… would I really take care of the orphans and widows and downtrodden? Would I let go of my self-righteousness and comfort of soul and instead love freely?

Oh, Jesus, we do not get to sit face to face yet – but that day will come when this life is done. Until then, we do still get to walk together, talk together, and you teach me, show me, how to love like you. I am so thankful that my time with you is not limited to three days! Amazing. Amen

Faith is simpler that it seems

Faith is simpler that it seems. Yet faith in anyone outside of our selves is so difficult so as to be laughable. The tendency of man is to look within and drum up courage and rightness, striving all the while to turn our ideals into fruit. Such fruit is just rotten.

AW Tozer wrote, “The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One.  While he looks at Christ the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do.

Faith is not in itself a meritorious act; the merit is in the One toward Whom it is directed. Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus. Sin has twisted our vision inward and made it self-regarding. Unbelief has put self where God should be, and is perilously close to the sin of Lucifer who said, "I will set my throne above the throne of God." Faith looks out instead of in and the whole life falls into line.

All this may seem too simple. But we have no apology to make. To those who would seek to climb into heaven after help or descend into hell God says, "The word is nigh thee, even the word of faith." The word induces us to lift up our eyes unto the Lord and the blessed work of faith begins.”

 

A man can no more purify himself than an apple tree can purify rotten fruit.  Our faith must be in Jesus. our eyes must look to him. The abundant life we seek is found in him.  Our rest is all in him. It's Christ Jesus! And when rest is found in him, we rest complete.

Love Bears Burdens

Carry each other’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

How does Paul pack so much into one sentence? How do you carry each other’s burdens? The law of Christ Paul is writing about is from Matthew 22, ³⁵ And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”  In short, love God and love others with a love that can only come from a soul transformed by God.

It’s early in the morning but God has had me awake for a few hours now. It has been a time of prayer that could be described at times as wrestling and at other times as praise. But it’s all been good. I’ve gotten to pray for families in transition. Transition is never easy – selling homes, leaving friends behind and finding new friends and churches. Relationships that are deep are painful to uproot. I love these families and ache for them in this process. My Lord, show me how we can come alongside them and carry their burdens.

Father, strengthen Christians in Kenya, Pakistan and Egypt. They are under great attack. Have mercy on them Lord and protect them. I pray for my friend with dengue fever in Papua. I love this brother and am so encouraged by the way he selflessly loves so many. Yet my heart is grieved for him in his pain. Lord give him relief and heal him.

And there are so many pastors in this local area that are loving their congregations as well as the people of the community. I pray, Father, that you will strengthen them and that they will not grow weary in well doing. Oh my Lord, as we pray for and minister to our neighbors show us how we can love them well and carry their burdens.

These still watches of the night have me praying for my children and the children of my friends and neighbors – that they will have a passionate pursuit of Jesus Christ… just as he has and will continue to passionately pursue them. Father let them be satisfied with nothing less than knowing you well and walking close.

If we are to bear one another’s burdens we have to love. And if we love we will have to carry each other’s burdens. Such love demands relationship and therein is the risk isn’t it? For with relationship can come great joy, something we all long to experience but those same relationships can bring great pain… and nobody wants that! The only way to keep from such pain is to avoid relationship altogether. I pray for those experiencing pain and brokenness in relationships – that you, Father, would bring about reconciliation and healing. Soften hard hearts, open blind eyes, give courage to love again and faith for repentance. Father, you have showed what real love looks like. Love looks like Jesus. It looks like the reality that Jesus is living in us and through us.

Jesus, thank you for carrying our burdens.

Anchored in Grace,
Harrison

John the Baptist and Uncle Si

     He might not have been everyone’s cup of sweet tea but John the Baptist would have fit right in with Uncle Si and the gang at Duck Dynasty. I'm guessing there is some relation, maybe. From the moment he was born to a couple that was way past child-bearing years, John was a reminder that God and his grace were a very present and dangerous reality. He should have been named after his father, Zechariah but God said to name him John which means “God given grace”. Grace had no place in their world of tight order and religious law! To a world desperately trying to reach God, this impossible birth of a boy with an impossible name shouts into their world that God is coming down. He is coming to rock their paradigms, destroy bondage, liberate captives and paint their slums with joy.

     With his beard, camel coat and diet of honey and bugs, he would be relegated to the status of outsider – way outside outsider. But he could not be ignored. Neither could his message. God is coming. Jesus is coming. And he is bringing with him a dangerous grace.  I know such dangerous grace is scary. It unsettles our perfectly ordered world. But do we really want a tame God that fits neatly into our world? Really? I remember thinking I wanted Jesus to come take up residence in my world – in my way of life. How egotistical and foolish! What I needed was for Jesus to transform my world. BAM! Transform it Jesus with your presence, love, holiness, mercy and grace.

John the Baptist and his message of coming grace crashes our party the way Uncle Si would crash a gathering of Presbyterian pastors*. But rest assured, neither one would be ignored!

Anchored in that dangerous grace,
Harrison

*full disclosure - I am one of those Presbyterian pastor ;)

That's grace. That's love. That's Jesus.

I was replacing the a/c compressor on my jeep last week. Now I am known to make a mess at things like that and this was no exception. I somehow managed to spill Freon and compressor oil all over my hands. And not just a little bit! I was dripping with it! Desperate, I looked around for a towel or rag or paper towels, anything to wipe it off and there was nothing. The oil dripping off my arms stained my clothes and the floor – really everything around me was impacted by my mess. Standing in my garage, I turned around and spied the kitchen door. I knew that on the other side of that garage door was the answer to my problem – complete with warm water, soap and towels. But I was stuck. Grabbing the kitchen door knob, I tried to turn it – urghhhh - no success. My hands were so grimy and oily that I could not open anything at all. There was no way for me to get clean without some outside help.

Our souls are kind of like that… because of sin, our souls are so grimy and oily that there is no way for us to get clean without Jesus Christ. Romans 5:8, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God isn’t waiting for us to get clean before we come to him. Just the opposite… Christ comes to us while we are still messed up and, by his death, makes us clean. And all because of his love for you and me! That’s grace. That’s love. That’s Jesus.