Category Archives: Blog

desperate encounters – pt. 3

This is part 3 of a 4 part post in which I look at four women, desperate for different reasons, who encountered Jesus. In part 1 I highlighted the woman at the well. You can read that here.  Then we looked at the woman with the issue of blood in part 2. Today I want to get to know one of my favorites. Actually, they are all my faves, but today’s desperate woman just speaks to me.

From Luke 7:36-48

The Sinful Woman

To be invited to a Pharisee’s home for dinner was not a small thing. It meant you were “somebody”. To have the lastest teacher or prophet at your home was an honor. No doubt Jesus’ popularity meant Simon the Pharisee wanted to be seen with Him. Given the fact that the Pharisees were always trying to trip Jesus up, this dinner party could also have been an opportunity to publicly embarrass Him. We really don’t know. What we do know, is that Simon did not extend customary hospitality to his esteemed guest, so I’m leaning toward Simon’s motives being a little shady here. Nevertheless, Jesus reclined at Simon’s table. Dinner would have been eaten around a very low table, and Jesus would have been reclining on one arm, supported by divans or cushions.  His feet, sandals removed, would be stretched out behind Him. And to those sinless feet, a sinful woman would come to worship.

sinful womanThink about her life:  No husband, alone, no way to support herself, known all over town as “a sinful woman”, which most likely meant she was a prostitute. Her prospects did not look good. Few men would marry such a woman. She would have been shunned by respectable society and prohibited from participation in the local synagogue.

She was unclean, unwanted, unacceptable, uninvited and unwelcome. So she came to Jesus with nothing but her desperation and an alabaster jar. And with these, she made a public display of repentance and worship. She pushed past the scorn of those around her, and she worshipped the One who could forgive her sin.

                             Our desperation can take us into many places before we finally let it drive us to the feet of Jesus.

“When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is — that she is a sinner.'”

But He did know. And when He was finished with Simon, the Pharisee also knew what kind of woman she was. Forgiven. Publically, for all to hear, Jesus gave her worth and dignity.

He honored her in front of the very ones who considered her unworthy of honor.

 I think of this woman, and I remember. I remember my own desperation,  having nothing else to offer Him. I too wept at His feet many, many times as the forgiveness I had received from Him gave way to an outpouring of worship from within me.

Yes, I think of this woman. Desperate enough to go where she was not welcome, to encounter the Savior. In that encounter, she found forgiveness, and offered her worship to the Forgiver.

sinful woman2A most beautiful encounter.

 Read the Finale of Desperate Encounters

desperate encounters – pt. 2

This is part 2 of a 4 part post in which I look at four women, desperate for different reasons, who encountered Jesus. In part 1 I highlighted the woman at the well. You can read that here.

From Mark 5:25-34

The Bleeding Woman

woman with issue of bloodThis is the story of a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. The cause of the blood flow can only be speculated, i.e. menstruation, uterine tumors…we don’t know (although most agree it has to do with menstruation). What we do know is that it was an abnormal, chronic condition that brought her to desperation. To understand just how desperate, we need some background information.

She was a Jewish woman, so she would have been under the law of Moses. Leviticus 15:19-30 deemed her “unclean”.  That means that everything and everyone she touched became ceremonially unclean. She would have been shunned by her community, including her family. It is very likely that this woman had not been touched in twelve years. If she had been married, most likely her husband would have divorced her, as any sexual relations would have been unclean. She would not have been allowed to share in the annual worship celebrations that were considered important  in Judaism. She was not allowed to go into the temple courts, she could not light the candles for the Sabbath evening, nor could she participate in the Passover meal. It would have been as if she was non-existent in an existing world. She had every reason to be desperate.

And then she heard about Jesus, and her desperation drove her to do the unthinkable. She made her way through the crowd and touched the hem of His garment. Had He been a normal man, her touch would have made Him ceremonially unclean. And to compound it, as a woman she was not allowed to touch a man in public.

An unclean, desperate woman touched Jesus with faith that He could heal her, and the power of God was released.

So often we wait for His power to do something in our lives so that we can believe Him. Perhaps He is waiting for us to believe Him so that His power is released. 

It is here, in that moment of her touching Jesus that we learn something of the character of God. We learn it as much from how He did not respond, as from how He did respond.

He did not shame her for being unclean. He did not punish or even chastise her for breaking the law. He did not pull away from her. Instead, He called her “Daughter”. She is the only woman in scripture He addressed with that title, so, I have to wonder…why her? Could it be that this woman, untouched for so long, an outcast from her community of faith and her family, desperately needed to know she was still a “daughter of Abraham”?

An unclean outcast who touched Jesus. And in response, He publicly declared her to be clean, and called her Daughter.

I imagine this woman and her desperation. I would have been longing to be touched, to be accepted, to be healed. But having come to Jesus as an unclean woman myself, I know what it is be desperate to be clean.

While this woman lived under the law that said Jesus was untouchable, I lived under the lie that said He was untouchable. Because of the life I had lived, and was still living, I believed Jesus would have nothing to do with me.  Coming to Jesus meant coming to “religion”, something I just wasn’t ready to do. Until desperation drove me to Him, and I learned the truth.

The untouchable God became touchable through His Son, to a people who desperately need to be made clean.

Read part 3 of Desperate Encounters

 

desperate encounters – pt. 1

Desperation comes in various ways, but it touches all of us at one time or another. Loss of income, out of control addictions, marriage in crisis, illness, a child walking in darkness. Or maybe it’s deep shame that you can’t get away from, a need that keeps you running in the wrong direction, a loneliness that threatens to overwhelm you. Many are the reasons that people find themselves with the deep ache of desperation.  This will be part 1 of a 4 part post looking at 4 desperate women who encountered Jesus in scripture.

From John 4:3-32:

The Woman at the Well ~

First, I want to note an important point at the very beginning of this account.

woman at wellJesus was leaving Judea to return to Galilee. The text states in verse 4, “Now he had to go through Samaria”. The original language meant it was “necessary” to go through Samaria. But Samaria was not the only route, nor the usual route for Jews traveling that way. In fact, Jews typically went around Samaria, to avoid any contact with Samaritans (huge, huge feud/hatred between Jews and Samaritans). Yet, Jesus found it necessary to go through Samaria. And in doing so, He encountered a woman who desperately needed to meet Him.

No encounter with Jesus is accidental. 

So, at around noon (the sixth hour), He came to a well and, tired from His journey, He sat down.  Enter the Samaritan woman, coming to draw water from the well. This is where Jesus begins to break the rules.

“Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?'” (v. 7).

Couple of things:  First, Jews did not speak to Samaritans. Second, a Jewish man would never have spoken to a Samaritan woman.

Our rules will not stop Jesus from encountering us.

 So begins an exchange between a desperate woman and the One who can answer her desperation.

The conversation begins as a verbal dance between these two strangers. He begins to speak of water and thirst. He speaks spiritually, she hears in the natural.  Finally, He puts his divine finger on the very spot that will reveal who He really is to her unseeing eyes. “Go get your husband.” A quick pirouette as she replies, “I have no husband.”

An encounter with Jesus may uncover something we would rather keep covered.

 So Jesus pulled back the cover. “The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”  

Married five times, and now living in sin. I think it’s safe to say that this woman had some shame going on. Many of the commentaries I read all agree that she probably came to the well alone, rather than when the other women would have come, to avoid the scorn that was likely a way of life for her.

But here she is, in a counter-cultural conversation with a Jewish man who is obviously a prophet, likely to her discomfort.  And then, probably to her relief, the subject shifts to worship, and a life-altering revelation. This Jewish man, who purposely came into a place inhabited by despised people, broke the cultural rules and exposed what she tried to hide from Him…was her Savior.  What was a girl to do? She went back to town and told others.

woman's eyeI imagine this woman, and what may have been her desperation. She was a woman with a reputation. Her sin identified her. Shame and the scorn of others dogged her steps. If it were me, what would I be desperate for? I would have been looking for and wanting security and love. But I would have been desperate for a new identity.

Now, look at verse 39 ~”Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I ever did.'”

As she left the well that day, she went from outcast to missionary. From a woman living in shame to a woman with something important to proclaim. A new identity.

All from one desperate encounter with Jesus. Living water…quenching an unquenchable thirst.

Read Part 2 of Desperate Encounters.

then i will look up

“My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD;
         In the morning I will direct it to You,
         And I will look up.” (Psalm 5:3 NKJV)

 I will not pray to You, and then look to man for an answer.

I will not cry out to You, and then look at my own feeble hands, as though they have the power to lift me up.

I will not voice my trust in You, and then look down in despair at my “not enough”.

I will not thank You for Your salvation, and then look to my own self-righteousness.

I will not give thanks for Your mercy, and then look upon others with scorn.

I will not call you King of Kings, and then look to earthly kings for my security and well being.

I will not sing “You alone are worthy”, and then cast my gaze to earthly idols.

I will not seek You for provision, and then look for another well from which to draw.

I will not ask Your forgiveness, and then turn my head in shame.

Though it may be but a whisper, You will hear my voice.

And then I will look up.

a King is coming. no vote required.

November 6, 2012. The candidates will once again line up and let this country’s citizens choose their leader, and the great machine called democracy will roar to life at voting booths everywhere.

At no time in my life has the political arena been more prominent to me than these past few years. The election of President Obama, if it did nothing else, stirred people’s indignation like no other in my memory. And while I have stayed blissfully ignorant of most political issues, I often found myself joining in the fiery frenzy of the great Republican outcry, but all the while it felt like I was shouting and shaking my fist at something that had little or nothing to do with me. I think God was whispering to me; I just needed to stop shouting so I could hear Him.  I discovered that there is something familiar in our shouting.

The Jewish people had been promised a Messiah, and they eagerly waited for Him to appear. But it turns out, their reason for wanting a Messiah was different than God’s reason for giving them one. They were looking for a political ruler, a King who would free them from tyranny, and set up His rule over Israel. He did not meet their expectations, so they turned on Him and crucified Him.

Even after His death and resurrection, we see His disciples’ inability to fully grasp what Jesus came here to do. They had embraced Him as the true Messiah, were confused at His death, and were still trying to get the picture in focus after His resurrection, when He spoke with them of the Kingdom of God. Their question shows the fuzziness of  that picture.

“So when they met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?'” (Acts 1:6) 

We aren’t all that different, if you ask me. Don’t we elect our president with the hopes for restoration of America? Those in the Church ally themselves with the candidate who looks most like us, and on election day we are essentially asking the same question the disciples asked. “Lord, are You at this time going to restore America to You? (did we cast enough votes, Lord?)”

And we, including those in the Church, are outraged by those on the other side of our political alliance, who, in our minds, vote for the darkness to increase. I think our outrage is rooted in a mistaken belief that we have a right to live in a darkness-free zone because, after all, this is America (one of roughly 196 nations on the earth, and not even the one referred to as the apple of His eye…but still), and our money clearly says we trust in God.  

So, in our great indignation we rail against the government/president/mayor/grocery store manager. We can see them, so its easier than railing against the “rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” that we cannot see. Wait. Did you catch that? Rewind it. “against the powers of this dark world…”.  And there you have it. Our world, all 196 nations, is dark, and getting darker. As it turns out, it’s not the Democrats’ fault. Who knew?

We will never be able to vote darkness out of our country. We are the light of the world, and our light is to draw people out of darkness. It is to reveal not a political ruler, but a crucified Savior. Our agenda is the Kingdom of God, not the kingdom of America. By virtue of living in a democracy, we have the civic right to cast our vote for a leader, but we are not voting in the one man who can turn back the darkness. Scripture clearly tells us that darkness will increase.

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…” (2Timothy 3:1-4)

But, lest we become discouraged, let us also remember that there is an end in sight. There is a King. He has made the world a promise, and He will fulfill it.

Yes, a King will come, and the light will be taken from the world.

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. “ (1Thessalonians 4:16-18)

A King will come, and it will be a bad day for darkness.

 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True… He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean….He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

   KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:11-16)

A King will come, and the darkness will be no more.

“And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)

A King will come, and it will truly be finished.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)

In the meantime, darkness does threaten. But when we read scripture, primarily Paul’s letters to the churches, we see that he wasn’t so much concerned about the darkness outside the church as he was the darkness threatening the church from within. 

There are rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil that target our own hearts and minds, our homes and our families, and thus, the Church. 

Does it have our full attention? Are we casting aside our own deeds of darkness, renewing our own minds, guarding what our eyes see and our tongues speak? Are we asking God to ruthlessly search our hearts and expose our own darkness?

Or are we just convinced it’s all the President’s fault, while we hope that this time we’ll vote darkness outa here and once again be right with God?

Marriage Matters—to the sons, from a daughter

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.” (1Corinthians 16:13-14)

 To the sons of the King, from His daughters. To those who have embarked, or are preparing to embark on the journey of marriage, allow me to speak to your heart, from the heart of His daughters everywhere.

~ Be on your guard. (This means be alert, and more literally, be awake.)

Life can become routine, and at times mundane. Please don’t let it lull you to sleep, which will lead to indifference and apathy. Stay hungry for Jesus. Keep watch on the wall with us, and for us. The devil never ceases to prowl, but you pose no threat to him if you are not awake. He is your enemy. We need you to be his. 

~ Stand firm in the faith. (To persevere. To be steadfast in the faith, by adherence to it.)

We beseech you – when compromise beckons you to step down from the high ground…stand firm. When the enemy tempts you to walk the easy, less demanding life of lukewarm faith…stand firm. When the winds of adversity are at gale force, making you want to turn and run…stand firm. We have committed ourselves to you, so where you go, we go with you.  We would much rather stand with you.

~ Be men of courage;  (The original language means “play the man”.) be strong. (That word means…be strong.)

Our world applauds men who think they are women. People pay money to see men  dress and act like women, and dedicate talk shows to men on their way to becoming women. The attack on masculinity has been vicious.

You are men, and we want you to be men. We want you to walk, talk, dress and act like men. Be brave and be strong. Be protective. Be fierce. Be warriors. Be secure enough to let us see you cry. Be nice to kittens and ruthless to spiders. Play the man.

~ Do everything in love.

You are watchful, fully awake. Your feet are firmly planted on the high ground of faith. You are strong and brave. And everything you do is governed by love.

You are the sons of the King, worthy of His daughters.

gung ho

I had a strange conversation with someone a little while ago and it’s messin’ with me. When things mess with me I blog about them. It helps.

The conversation was with a newborn Christian. Maybe a couple of weeks old. I think he may have been under the influence, evidenced by the smell of beer, the slurring, and a somewhat glazed look in his eyes (yeah, it’s hard to get anything past me). Yet, he still managed to say something that I found odd. He told me that he had been talking to a Christian couple recently, discussing the “Christian faith”, and that “they weren’t as gung ho about it as you guys are” (meaning my husband and I). I couldn’t tell if I was being praised or insulted, to be honest with you.

Gung ho. I haven’t heard that term since I was in the Army. Gung ho soldiers were the ones that were “all in”. They lived and breathed being a soldier. So I don’t mind being called gung ho for Christianity. I minded something else. I minded that this brand new baby Christian saw people who were less than “all in”, and thought that might be the better way to go. I minded that. A lot. I’m not judging the less than all in people (or maybe I am. I’ll think about that later). And can I stop saying “all in” now, and just call it lukewarm? Yes, I am peeved that someone played off their lukewarmth as being perfectly ok to someone who doesn’t know any better.

So I think I need to say something to my slightly inebriated fellow, and to the people, who I am sure are perfectly nice people, that may have messed with his baby-faith. None of them read my blog, so I’ll mostly be talking to myself. Again.

Jesus came to this earth to take upon Himself the punishment that was rightly ours. The whip they used tore open His back for us. He was spit upon and beaten for us. They made Him drag the heavy crossbeam, the instrument of His own death, up the hill to Golgotha…after the whip tore open His back for us. His hands and feet were nailed, yes nailed to that cross and then it was dropped into the ground. A crown of thorns…sharp, 2″ thorns, was shoved into His skull for us. He hung there, the King of Heaven, separated from His Father by our sin, until He finally died for us.

God came for us, and then died for us. And now you and I have been deemed forgiven. Forever. Why? Because He offered His death to us as God’s gift of life, and we took it.

So, do you think He was “all in”? Was every single moment of every single day of His life on this earth spent on us? Or were we just part of His life here?

He left heaven for earth and died a wretched death in our place. Because He wants us with Him.

Tell me, friends. Do you think Jesus is gung ho about you?

P.S. ~ I was right. Blogging helped.