As today is America's National Day of Prayer, it has gotten me thinking about all the ills that plague our society. Our nation clearly needs prayer. It clearly needs a whole-hearted return to God and His principles of living. As I read the news, I became increasingly upset, almost to the point of tears (which is one reason that I don't read the news every day..it truly can overwhelm...) I decided to hop into the bathtub which is where I tend to relax and have some quiet time to pray and ponder. As I prayed basically a version of "Dear God, we are messing things up royally down here...PLEASE HELP US!...OH..and DON'T ALLOW ME TO BE A PROBLEM TOO!", I felt God leading me to read Matthew chapter 3. I honestly didn't remember what was in that chapter but I took God's leading and went there expecting to hear something that would bring clarity to the desperate prayer of my heart. He did.
Matthew 3 tells us about John the Baptist. He begins preaching in the wilderness and many people in the surrounding area come out to hear him. Here is what he was shouting,
"Repent (think differently; change your mind, regretting your sins and changing your conduct), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
"You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee and escape from the wrath and indignation [of God against disobedience] that is coming? Bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance [let your lives prove your change of heart]"
"And already the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
"I indeed baptize you [c]in (with) water [d]because of repentance [that is, because of your[e]changing your minds for the better, heartily amending your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins]. But He Who is coming after me is mightier than I, Whose sandals I am not worthy or fit to take off or carry; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fan (shovel, fork) is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear out and clean His threshing floor and gather and store His wheat in His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with fire that cannot be put out."
Does this sound like a bigot to you? I don't think this type of preaching would go over very well in a lot of circles these days. I am not sure if this preaching would go well in Christian circles. Certainly not on facebook! Sometimes I feel like my words echo John the Baptist, preaching a message that is unpopular and seemingly harsh. I feel like I am out in the wilderness and people are looking at me in my goat hair suit as I eat honey and bugs. I wonder at times if I am the bigot and hater that the media and so called "liberals" would say that I am. I rack my brain, praying and wondering, "God, am I actually representing you well and accurately?" Am I being a loving person? Can I indeed speak words like these and still be loving? It tears me up inside because the last thing I want to do is turn people away from Christ because I am doing things all wrong. Is this how Jesus would talk? Is this how Jesus would act? Isn't he so non-judgy? Isn't he all love and acceptance and condemnation free?
Well, I got my answer. In the very next verse, Jesus shows up on the scene and does something that would surprise my critics. He REQUESTS to be baptized by John...you know..the one who was yelling at people to repent and change their minds, attitudes and actions! I think it stands to reason that Jesus was advocating the message that John was sharing with his listeners. Not only that, but shortly after Jesus gets baptized, He goes into the desert to be tempted by Satan and comes out preaching! What are his first words that are recorded in Scripture...."Repent ([l]change your mind for the better, heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Hmmm. Sounds a lot like the message that John was preaching. Who, by the way, was jailed for calling out the sexual sin of Herod, the leader of the day who had married his brother's wife. Does this remind anyone of the growing pressure coming on many Christians today who are openly opposed to the flagrant sexual sins of today? Wouldn't the "liberals" for lack of a better word, be incensed by John's pointing out of sexual sin? He ended up dying for doing so with a swift beheading.
I am so thankful that God sent me to this passage. It did several things. It renewed in me the assurance that I am not a hateful bigot, but in fact, am preaching the same message that Jesus preached. Some people are not going to like it...sometimes to the degree that they may very well kill me. Okay. Noted. I sure hope not....It also encouraged me to take heart and remember that Jesus is very much in control and that the axe is at the root of the tree...He is going to deal with the sin in this world...I can trust in that when I get overwhelmed by the news swirling about me. It also reminded me to check my own heart and put it before God. Am I repentant? Am I continuing to allow my heart and mind to be changed? Am I truly disgusted with my old ways of sin and seeking to put to death the sin that I see in me today? Only God knows for sure...I pray that He will bring fruit that is good out of my life. And I pray that the words I speak will echo His, even if by prophesying, I am called a bigot.
first of all....this font is too small. It made my head hurt ;). Secondly, I am reminded of a worship song I was listening to today: "I bind myself to You. I Bind Myself to You in meekness and lowliness. I love Your ways." The knowledge of self is the opposite of the nature of Christ. "Who took on the nature of a bondservant and became obedient, humbling Himself to the point of death." I am struggling currently with forgetting self. The truth is when we stop wondering how we are or how others perceive us...when all were concerned for or about is how Christ is perceived then we are attaining His nature. It does not matter if people perceive you as a bigot or a prophet. How you are perceived is of no consequence to anyone except you. A persons perception of someone else can change the second anything in his/her environment changes. It's not accurate anyways. It's shifting...continually shifting. You can love me one day and hate me the next. It has nothing to do with me and everything to do with you or vice versa. We cannot CARE what people think. We can ONLY care what Christ thinks. What does He think? He thinks you're precious. He thinks that your desire to please Him, to honor His work, His calling, His gifting is delightful. Long before you delighted yourself in HIm, He delighted Himself in you and all the things He'd put inside of you that He KNEW, predestined you to grow into the fulness of. He died on the cross so that you wouldn't have to earn your way to Him. If you spend the rest of your life trying to attain His image and you NEVER succeed in this life??? He won't love you one iota less than He does now. If you do "the worst thing" tomorrow His heart will break for the pain it will cause you but His love will not change and He will continue to call you back to Himself. you know this, but you don't know this. His grace and His view of you is not based on anyone else's. I know this and yet I don't know this. The favor I am trying to attain I already have. It's the only favor that matters and what I do, what I think, what I strive for must come purely out of love and desire, burning passion for the Savior that has captivated my soul. He must captivate my mind, my emotions and my flesh...no one else. You asked for feedback. There it is. Watchman Nee has a very interesting view on this. He talks about how the first step we must take as a Christian is to learn to REST. There is nothing for us to DO to attain salvation but we don't know how to Rest in it. We don't need acknowledgement or affirmation we need to recognize the work was done for us...the work of salvation and the acceptance of that will draw men/women to Christ when they see the rest we've found in it. These are all deep things I continue to ponder but really we've made salvation so hard when its really so simple. Rest in who He's designed you and don't look to others to tell you who He's made you to be. You are His and you are worthy JUST THE WAY YOU ARE! Bigot or prophet??? If you're His (and you are) you already know the True answer to that question. That's ALL that matters! I remember being like this. You know if you're living in sin or not. If you're not...then don't worry about who you are right now. REST in it! It's WHO He's called you to be and THAT is all that matters!!!
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