The WOW Affect...

I just finished reading Genesis 12-14 and Luke 5, and I don't know where to begin... There is so much covered in those chapters. But, I will go with Luke for now.

Scripture tells us that Jesus was 30 years old when his cousin, John-the-Baptist, baptized Him and the Holy Spirit descended identifying Him as Christ the Lord.(Chapter 3) Jesus then sought time alone with the Father to gear-up for His mission ahead. In fact, His time turned into forty days in the wilderness during which Satan came to Him and tried desparately to side-track Him. I'm not going to go into detail on that event; however, I don't want anyone to miss HOW Jesus dealt with the devil and all that he threw at Him. Ephesians 6 states that our one offensive weapon is the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (v 17). And that's exactly what Jesus used to rebuke Satan and his attempts to have Jesus take His focus off of the Father. That is a huge lesson for us. Jesus was living out Psalm 119:11 - Thy Word have I hidden in my heart so that I might not sin against Thee.

After His wilderness excursion, Jesus goes right to work, teaching about God and His way of salvation and healing in His name by the power of the Holy Spirit. Don't you know that people's heads were shaking and they were saying, "Wow! What's up with this guy?" I love the part where he is by the seashore and hollers at Simon Peter and the guys to go out futher and lower their nets. Peter explains that they have been fishing for hours to no avail, but for some reason, he did as Jesus directed. And wouldn't you know it...Wow! Their nets were so full that they were beaking and others swam out to help. By the time they were finished, they had several boats full of fish.

Wow! Peter and the people had seen and or heard about Jesus healing multiple sick people. They had experienced an abundance of fish in their nets. So, did it surprise you that when Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Leave your boat, nets, and all those fish, and follow me," he did? I mean, he dropped everything - his life - and followed this One who had filled his nets to the breaking point. Now, that's a "Wow!" affect. We also see that James and John, who were also fisherman, left their life as they knew it, and followed Him. And later in the chapter, we see Levi, who is known as Mathew, leave his lucrative tax collection business and follow him as well.

So, what was so compelling about Jesus that these strangers left everything and everyone behind and followed Jesus and His teaching? Was it that He had performed these miraculous deeds? Would witnessing someone healing the sick compel me to leave my family and friends and trek off with him? I don't think so. Remember, at this point, these guys didn't know who He was; even at the end, they didn't fully get it. Then, was it his persona? Was He so captivating and charismatic that they couldn't resist? I don't know about that either. These are grown men with families, careers, and responsibilities. It just doesn't make sense...

Well, I don't have the answer. Miracles would be impressive, and He did have a warm, compasionate personality (but of course, my opinion is colored by all the movies that have been made about Him). But it had to be more than either of those things. I can only think that it goes back to the dove. Remember, the one that descended on Him when He was baptized? The HOLY SPIRIT descended on Him in the form of a dove. That's the same Holy Spirit that draws sinners to His saving grace; that is the voice of my conscience and which gives me moral direction; that same voice that brings me to my knees in shame and repentance; that same voice that lifts me up and holds me safe. That's what drew those men to leave their comfort zones and follow the One who would change the course of humanity.

That's the WOW! affect...

Where's the Bitterness???

 The writer of Hebrews defines Faith as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Hoping for children was what all young married couples did. Zach and Liz were no exception. They hoped, they prayed, they hoped, they prayed, and it did not happen. Elizabeth was branded as “barren”, and Zacharias could have put her away and taken another wife. Being barren was not a good thing in those days. That label brought with it serious social consequences, and she certainly faced raised eyebrows when she approached gatherings of other ladies in their community. They were surely known as the old couple who could never have children. A mixture of shame and pity shrouded them.

I can’t even begin to imagine her surprise when she learned that she was pregnant! Today we think it odd when a woman over forty gives birth; just imagine what we would think if an eighty year old lady became pregnant! My mind won’t even go there! But let’s look at how Liz handled her surprise.

Scripture tells us that she kept herself in seclusion for five months. Apparently, that time was a time of spiritual soul-searching for her. She concluded that the “Lord had taken away her disgrace among men.” It’s important to note here that when she and Zach are introduced to us in Luke 1, they had been living with their disgrace for many years. Furthermore, we should remember that they were “both righteous in the sight of God and were walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Law.” Now here’s my question. How did Liz keep bitterness from consuming her? She had every right to be disappointed that she had not been able to have a child. Disappointment breeds anger, and anger breeds bitterness. Where’s the anger and where’s the bitterness in her life? How was she able to continue walking blamelessly with the Lord throughout her life? I think it was her relationship with the Lord that gave her an uncommon peace.

It wasn’t just those five months of seclusion that had been a spiritual journey for her. Most of her life had been a spiritual journey. Even when she was a young woman and barren, she walked blamelessly in her relationship with God. Years down the road, when other couples their age were becoming grandparents, she walked blamelessly with God. Scripture doesn’t give us detailed insight into Liz’s mind through those years, so we don’t know how much she wrestled with anger and bitterness or if peace came easy to her. When big things don’t happen for me the way I hope, I do wrestle with anger and sometimes bitterness. Oh, that I could continuously walk blamelessly with God!

Let’s continue Liz’s story. While she was in seclusion, the same angel that had appeared to Zach, appeared to her cousin, Mary. In the proclamation that Gabriel gave to Mary about giving birth to the baby Jesus, he told Mary that Liz was also pregnant with a special child. The last thing the angel said to Mary was, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one! Not only had God allowed Elizabeth to become pregnant in her old age (and she would later give birth to a healthy baby boy), now Mary was going to become pregnant while still a virgin. Soon after learning the news from the angel, Mary went with haste to see Liz.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, her baby leaped in her womb, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. At that point, Liz cried out a blessing upon Mary and her baby, who was to be the Lord. Liz seemed to understand her pregnancy and the roll her child was to play in the coming of the Lord.

Her faith had seen her through to the purpose of God in her life. She faced a crisis of Faith early in her marriage, but did not allow anger and bitterness to ruin her life. Keeping her relationship with God from being stained by bitterness allowed her to protect her relationship with Zacharias. 

So….. What do we learn from Zach and Liz’s crises of Faith? How we react at that critical and decisive moment may frame the rest of our lives. It certainly impacts our spiritual journey. Sometimes we react with anger, fear, and doubt. However, if we give that over to the Lord and walk with Him through the crisis, we will grow stronger and taller in our relationship with Him. How we react may also frame some aspect of another’s life. We’ll never know until we walk through the crisis with Him. I think Elizabeth would tell us that God was with her at the beginning of the crisis, in the midst of the crisis, and through the end of the crisis. That’s what walking blamelessly with Him means.

Where will we go from here? Next time…

A Crisis of Faith...

It's time to comment on this week's readings from Luke. Our reading plan calls for reading from the OT and NT everyday. I've been reading the NT but just haven't posted anything about it. So, here we go with Luke 1...

A crisis is defined as being faced with a decisive or critical moment in which a decision must be made with the consequences being unsure.

Zacharias faced such a crisis when the angel Gabriel appeared to him in the Holy of Holies and announced to him that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a child, and that child would grow up to be John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ. That doesn’t sound like much of a crisis; after all, most married couples look forward to having children. However, the time of barring children had long passed for Zach and Liz. Scripture tells us that Zach was old and both were advanced in years. The scripture also says that both were righteous in the sight of God and were walking blamelessly in the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

Let’s think about this for a minute. Zacharias was righteous and walking with God. So why was this a crisis of Faith ? Zach was immediately troubled when the angel appeared, and then fear gripped him. It seems that he did not recognize the angel as being from God – even though he was in the holy place interceding for his people, and the whole multitude was gathered in prayer outside the temple. Isn’t that just like us? We pray and pray, and even have others praying with us or for us, and BOOM! God shows up and fear or doubt grabs hold, and we don’t see Him through our anxiety and fear. Was Zach really praying with faith as we are admonished to by Paul? Doesn’t seem so. Would I recognize an angel of the Lord if one appeared before me? I’d like to think so; however, I am guilty of not seeing God work in and around me all the time. I find myself praying about something and then not seeing God’s answer – many times because His answer is not what I’m looking for. When His answer is not what I’m hoping it will be, I face the faith crisis of submitting to His will or not. Sometimes I don’t because His answer troubles me, sometimes it scares me, and sometimes I don’t understand it. Obviously, I’m not much different from Zach in that area.

After the angel explained to Zacharias that Elizabeth was about to become pregnant and that the child would serve a unique purpose in the coming of the Messiah, he still wasn’t convinced that God was at work. Anxiety and fear struck first, but then doubt immerged. “How will I know for certain?” Wow! That’s got my name written all over it. How many times have I sensed God’s will but kept asking, “How will I know?” If Zach had not gotten past that question, he and Liz might not have ever had their rendezvous. He did pay a price for his doubting. He was struck silent until eight days after the birth of baby John. Think what we miss because we never take that next step. Talk about the “What if’s”! Where might you be? What might you be? How would the world be different? Only the Lord knows the cost of our doubt.

Once his tongue was loosed, he began to speak in praise of God. Seeing God’s faithfulness through this crisis of faith made Zach a more powerful witness for the Lord. So, did the crisis turn out for good or ought? You got it! For good. Zach had over nine months to think about his encounter with God that day in the Holy of Holies. By the time he could speak, his first words were not, “Man, you won’t believe what I’ve been through!” It was more like, “Man, I’ve got to tell you about the greatness of God!”

How did Elizabeth face this crisis of Faith? More on that later.

Blessings, Deb