TWO MEN, TWO CHOICES

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.       The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.                                     Mark 10:49-52 NIV

Fresh from His disappointment over the rich young ruler’s lack of trust, Jesus called to Bartimaeus.

Did you catch what happened next? Yeah, Jesus healed him, but after that?

Jesus said, “Give all to the poor, then follow me.” But the rich young ruler turned away in disappointment because he loved his wealth too much. Blind Bartimaeus, who was given the choice to go his own way, left all his worldly wealth, his cloak, and joyfully followed the source of true wealth.

Do I have my stuff, or does it have me? What would I leave to follow Him?

Avi, I want to see. I want to look with a heart of thanksgiving on this beautiful, broken world You’ve given us. I want to see my brothers and sisters, Your children, the way You see them. Most of all, I want to see Your heart when I look in the mirror. In Your holy name, Amen.

WHO DO YOU SAY?

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Matthew 16:15 NIV

Peter’s answer, though a universal truth, was Peter’s answer. Each of us must answer this question for him/herself.

Who is Jesus for you? Who is He for me?

He’s the Shepherd who found and rescued this lost sheep—and to tell you about that, I have to go back to the beginning. Or, rather, to the end—the end of who I was.

A lifetime of searching and disappointments, years with a brutal, shattering husband. At the end of those years, this vessel named Grace wasn’t a pile of shards; it was a pile of dust.

Then Jesus came.                              

He’s the warm light that began to glow and grow in that cold gray heap, fusing the remains into a new vessel. That goblet, His new creation hollowed out to make room for Him, has a glow that was never there before.

But that golden goblet is still inside this jar of clay. This breakable old jar of clay.

The health and wealth gospel notwithstanding, we will face troubles. Fire is the only way to purify gold. Bad times are the only way to test the strength of a new faith.

If you know and trust the Shepherd when trouble comes, you naturally run to Him. If you don’t really know Him, you’ll blame Him. After all, He’s the One who can. If He doesn’t, either He isn’t really strong enough, or He doesn’t care, or He just gets a kick out of watching you struggle, like a little boy pulling the wings off butterflies.

Jesus doesn’t pull off wings; He gives wings.

Satan prowls like a roaring lion to see who he can find to chow down on. Like any other lion, he seeks the easiest prey: baby Christians, wounded Christians, weary Christians.  

The baby gazelle’s best bet is staying close to its mom in the middle of the herd. Our best bet is staying close to God in the middle of a godly church family. Get there and stay there.   

Avi, draw me closer to You. Nobody else can send that sneaky lion packing like You can. Nobody can carry the weight You can. Carry the burdens You gave me, Avi, and toss the ones I’ve just picked up along the way.   

In Your holy name, Amen.

 

A MATTER OF CONSCIENCE

…and he shook out his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of this responsibility.” Acts 18:6 NIV

It’s Veteran’s Day, time to talk about our duty to those who fought and died for what we’re wasting today.

Who do you want for President? Me, I’d like Benjamin Netanyahu. Have we got anybody like him?

I want constitutional government of, by and for the people, not of, by and for inept or corrupt career politicians, nor a biased media that chooses what to report, what to hide and what to make up.

Let’s stop judges who legislate from the bench, executives who “enact” unconstitutional laws with a swipe of their pens.

Stop putting riders on Congressional bills so something bad hitchhikes into law with something good, or something good gets tossed because of the bad attached to it.

A proud country that leads the world from a position of strength. A strong military.

Peace at home balanced with personal liberty.  Secure borders; I have compassion for people seeking a better life, but I hate feeling colonized by illegal immigrants, and I hate what illegal criminals are getting away with here, and I'd rather pray for terrorists from a distance. 

Passing our time-tested values on to our children. School choice for parents.

Tax reform. A business-friendly environment. The gold standard, or some other tangible basis for value in the paper we spend.

Leaders who won’t leave our people hostage while they make bad deals with unspeakably evil enemies. 

Leaders who work to unite us, not divide us.

I want honor, integrity, dignity, competence, compassion, morality, and courageous commitment to keep promises made to the voters and to our veterans.  I want common sense and godly wisdom in our leaders; knowledge, though invaluable, is neither of these.

I won’t try to influence your choice, but I’d love to influence you not to throw away your vote.

Only God can fix the mess we’re in, but many could lead us back in the right direction—and many could dig us in deeper.

We need real leaders—and that takes committed, informed voters.

Now I’ve told you. Come on, y’all. Step up to the plate.

Avi, we’ve let You down, but please don’t give up on America. Forgive us, and give us leaders after Your own heart. Heal our land, and give us also the willingness to be healed. In Your holy name, Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

APOLOGY

Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven.

I've been late a few times lately, though my promise was to try to post each Tuesday. Then I missed last week--busy with research. Then today I had the whole day totally and unexpectedly all to myself, and had to choose from a whole plethora of things I need focused time for. I just forgot until the last hour that this is Tuesday.

I haven't quit posting, and I haven't run out of things to share. Tomorrow, Veteran's Day, as soon as I can tighten my scribbling and be sure I haven't forgotten anything, I'll meet you at my soapbox.

Grace