15. The Safety of Love
Friday 1st March
(for more details see here)
Pause:
Deep breath in, out and up.
If I just stop.
Wait.
Stop.
Wait.
Think.
And breathe
Deep breath in, and long breath out and all hubbub leave
Now, if I just stop, and breathe and take a mo
Take stock, shock my jumbled mind and say business get lost, go
Then what will I hear, who is it, that my breath is tenderly caught
That makes me sigh with relief, as peace is dove like brought.
If I just stop. Wait. Stop. Wait. Think. And breathe
Deep breath in, and long breath out and all nonsense push off, leave
Make space, clear the decks of crap that clings
Hear the voice of the One who rejoices and sings
Over me, calming me, soothing me lullaby
Causing me, to shift my eyes to the morning star on high.
If I just stop. Wait. Stop. Wait. Think. And breathe
Deep breath in, and long breath out and all insecurities just leave
Then I see, where I truly have been heavenly seated placed
Royal, commissioned, ambassador status upon my head graced
Then I look out and see my task, achievable, adventurous, hand in hand
Then, why should I, would I, could I breathless fret, when every breath is planned.
CHRIS DUFFETT (Questioned Christian - 30 Poems)
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These words cut so deeply because they run so deeply against the grain.
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To be willing to be hated for our love for Jesus
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To no longer belong to the world that we might fully belong to Jesus
That's the call.
And it will, of course, be misunderstood, misinterpreted, mishandled and misused.
This passage contains the least quoted promise of Jesus:
If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.
JOHN 15.20
Like the Hebrew Christians, we may not have yet resisted to point of bloodshed (Hebrews 12. 4) - but many of us have experienced something of what following Jesus costs... and in those moments discovered the true safety of living
in His love!
Reflection:
In the book: Elusive - the Pursuit of Jesus and Humility Brian Sanders shares this story:
"Widely regarded as the first Protestant denomination, the Moravians have left a legacy of utter devotion both to God and his cause. After establishing a colony in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, within a few short years, this tiny community of believers was sending missionaries to ten countries around the world. However, they are most often remembered for their willingness to give their lives completely to God. When faced with the logistical problem of how to reach the slaves in the West Indies with the gospel, the Moravian men sold themselves into slavery in order to be close to those they hoped to reach. They gave up their earthly freedom so the despised of the world might experience eternal relief. No one can say that they did not count the cost. Their only concern was that "the Lamb receives the reward of his suffering." They knew that belonging to Jesus could cost you everything. Jesus all but guaranteed it. "Whoever wants to save His life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it."
Jesus did not teach us to compartmentalize our lives. We want to have lives just like everyone else with a little God on Sunday. Please understand that God is awesome. And although He is full of mercy and love toward us, He is not to be trifled with, nor is His cause to be mocked by a life of double mindedness and hypocrisy. These are the snares of the religious. We cannot say that we accept Christ and then go on with our lives unchanged. Important things like our goals, the way we spend money, our time, and how we treat our families, should all be different because we know Jesus.
Tom sine explains how we are shown a Jesus who is like a life enhancer not a life changer. That He is really just there to help you get up the proverbial mountain faster, to help you on the path that you have set in achieving your goals (the ones you had before Jesus).
That is counter kingdom, a-biblical; it is the timeless human sin of idolatry, reworked for modernity. God is not worshipped and humility is not cultivated in that life. If we want to worship, we must become imitators of the Liberator, to become what He would be were He present on your job, in your neighborhood, or with your family. Why would we settle for less? Why would we settle for that tired, pathetic, sin stained paradigm of being human, when God Himself has "set an example that you should do as I have done?” God has Himself lived the human life so that we could see and imitate. His life was a life of abandon, sacrifice, obedience, self-denial, and worship; it was a life of humility.
Believing that God is worthy of our all, that there is no part of it He is not entitled to, and then responding to that knowledge by relinquishing it to Him, is the preeminent act of humility. Humility is the only acceptable posture for worship. God is more glorified by a single act of Christ- like sacrifice than He is by a million dollar cathedral. Have we forgotten the type of life that Jesus lived? Is it so irrelevant to the way His church is to be governed? The world is in a perpetual race to see who can erect the most marvelous building, who can build the most powerful empire. We have followed the fool into his folly. We too have looked to expand the church and even spread the gospel via satellite. God not only wants us to deliver His message but also wants us to look like Him as we do it.
The neonizing of God has contributed to our loss of wonder toward Him. Not only among us as His people, but also in the world. If we would see His name hallowed and His Kingdom come, we must look to Jesus to not only inform and reform the life of the individual but also the life of Christian institutions. I am jealous for the glory of God to be seen in the world. I am sure that if I see it more clearly I will not be the same. If my family sees Him more clearly they will not be the same. My church, my campus, my city are all subject to nothing short of a spiritual revolution if the manifold glory of God is genuinely projected.
The call to worship is a call to remember the deeds of God, His faithfulness, mercy and unfailing love. "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." Let us begin by remembering the life that never lived a moment outside of perfect submission to the Father. Jesus showed us how to worship God in the life of humility. He showed us how to best glorify Him. Once He is established in our mind's eye, let us imitate and re-enact those glorious deeds. Let us clothe ourselves in humility. If we do, the world as we know it will not survive: Maranatha, in us."
Questions for today:
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Is Jesus a life-enhancer to you, or a life-changer?
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Make a list of everything in your life that God is worthy of. Take time to humbly and deliberately hand each other to Him.
Prayer:
On this St. David's Day, we remember the words of a man of humility, love and mission:
“BROTHERS AND SISTERS, BE JOYFUL AND KEEP YOUR FAITH AND YOUR CREED
AND DO THE LITTLE THINGS THAT YOU HEARD AND SEEN OF ME.
AS FOR ME, I SHALL WALK THE WAY WHICH OUR FOREBEARS WENT."
Lord, keep me in Your joy
Keep me in Your faith
Keep me in faithfulness
May I "do the little things"
the menial
the unnoticed
the unappreciated
the unseen
for the One who sees me today
the One who knows me today
the One who is blessed by
each cup of water given in His Name
the King who loves the "least of these" so much
that food offered to the hungry
drink given to the thirsty
clothes given to the cold
visits made to the lonely
homes opened to the stranger
actually feed and clothe and welcome Him
Since You are found in the little things
may I too, meet You there this day
for Your Alone-Worthy Name
Amen
I prayed this.
My prayer for today: (if you would like to, please feel free to add your own prayer here):