It's Not Easy

Karma. Vigilante Mother Nature. Cosmic justice.

Frankly, one has to be on a long mental vacation to actually believe this stuff. We see the opposite all the time. Innocents die, poor people cry and used car salesmen are happy. History records it. Remember Able, Jonathan, Job, Jesus, Joan of Arch, most of Henry VIII's wives, Gandhi, MLK, and the time you helped a coworker and they got your promotion? Plus, scan today's obituaries--only bad people?

Reality is the opposite of Karma. Bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people.

In spite of knowing better, I continue to think, "This bad thing happened because I did something wrong." It's not a new idea. Yet, if only perfect people get perfect lives, where does that leave us?

Jesus' followers were no different. They saw a blind man and asked, "Is he blind because of his parents' sin or his own?" Jesus said, "Neither." Another time Jesus asked, "You know the tower that fell near Siloam Fountain? Killed eighteen people? Were those eighteen the worst in Jerusalem?"

Jesus taught nature is not just and life is not fair.

It gets even worse if you are a disciple.

Jesus said, "If you follow me, expect trouble. You'll know you are on target if they kill you." No punches pulled. Following Jesus is like carrying a cross to your own crucifixion. The last "blessed" in the Beatitudes should make us think:

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11 & 12)

Do we really want to be this blessed? As Jesus sent out seventy of his disciples (Luke 10) he said, "You'll be like lambs sent as missionaries to wolves."

It's not easy.

In fact, if we're doing things Jesus' way, we can expect the sky to fall. With the exception of John, who, according to Roman legend, was fried in hot oil near the Latin Gate and survived, all the Apostles were killed for their faith. According to Tacitus, the disciples in Nero's Rome were literally the "light of the world" as they burned on their crosses in 69A.D.

So, odd as it may seem, believers should expect life to be tough, painful and unfair. Jesus: "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world."

Even if it's not easy we are more than conquerors in Christ. He will keep in perfect peace all who keep their minds stayed on Him.

Get a Life

Critics are quick to note Jesus marginalize other religions. He flat out says you can do Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, Shiva, Moses, or whomever all day long, everyday and never come to the Father.


I work at a college where everyone MUST be tolerant. We have everything from Eastern Buddhists to Western New Age spiritualists who believe and practice different things, but all pretty much agree nobody's wrong. That would be rude. Do what seems right for you. Who are we to tell you what to believe? There are many ways to heaven, nirvana, paradise...


...BUT not the Florida Keys. One must travel south, past Miami to get to the Keys, but I digress. Plus, I was being insensitive and intolerant of those who think one can get to the Keys going west on Interstate 20. I often forget, "We are all climbing the same mountain."

Everything is copacetic until Jesus comes along and says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). He means one can't get any nearer to the Father without him than one can get to the Keys heading west on Interstate 20. One can plan, fast, pray, confess, and beseech the Lord for travel mercies, but if you're on I 20 west, no amount of religion will get you to the Keys.

Definitive language is good when it points us in the right direction. Instead of the Keys, Jesus was telling us how to get to his Father--the source of pure goodness. The goodness thing is significant because the Greeks associated goodness with godness. So do most of the rest of us.

Let's clear this up.

First, all the other religions target something other than knowing the Father's motivation. They usually promise a reward of some sort. Some think Christianity is all about heaven or fire insurance. Not so much. No other religion makes a claim or provide a path that will reveal the mind of a living, loving God. 

So, Jesus wasn't throwing bricks at the other religions.

Second, if you followed Jesus around for a while when he was on earth, you'd have seen and heard some amazing things. You'd witness goodness--healings, sermons, demons being cast out, stories, cures, compassionate forgiveness, parables, miracles, prophecy, and more. And right beside you would be Jesus' friends, enemies, and those who didn't even care. Jesus lived out loud--that's why he was unforgettable whether you liked him or not.

Following was the WAY. The disciples followed the way of Jesus--living and loving. The WAY is/was love in concrete fashion. Jesus was "doing God" for our benefit. We can know the way of love because of his example.

Listening to Jesus, we hear/heard the TRUTH. Jesus was the teacher and the classroom was real life. Disciples watched and listened; Jesus taught. The TRUTH is love taught in abstractions.

Here's the big idea:

1. Follow the WAY OF LOVE (Jesus' example)
2. Apply the TRUTH OF LOVE (Jesus' teachings)
3. Get a LIFE OF LOVE (Jesus' life)
4. See the FATHER OF LOVE (as Jesus did)

Let's review: If you yearn to know God's heart, follow Jesus' words and ways. It's the only way you'll experience God's character. If knowing God personally isn't on your agenda, you probably aren't reading this anyway, so never mind.

Walking close to the truth

I'm not a very humble person. I come by it naturally. An idiot savant, as it were. That said, I'm learning to be less and less confident about things that don't matter and more confident about the things that do.

When I was younger I knew just about everything. Ask my family. But, bit by bit, through trial and error, I've realized I'm as dumb as a rock. There's satisfaction in knowing the truth. As I get older, it's easier to admit I'm clueless. I suspect you are this way, too. That's no small thing because some people never learn how dumb they are.

Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride comes before a fall." This verse was called to remembrance recently when I overestimating my ladder skills. Over-confidence is dangerous. I've decided I don't want to be one of those people who know everything anymore.

I like humble people. Maybe because I see in them something of which I wish I had more. I've seen a lot of people who aren't effective because they lack humility--they rip into everyone else and aren't well acquainted with the truth about themselves.

Humility is the truth--knowing who you are and who you aren't. We either see truth or we don't. The rest is a show we put on for ourselves and others. Humbleness isn't something you do, it's something you are. The truth is, I don't need to work on humility. I need to work on finding the truth, and then be faithful to it.

I know someone who is humble. He's confident and good at what he does and he's not full of himself. He's a true person. His perspective is worth hearing, but he won't always give it. I wonder if he's that way with his wife and family, if so, he really is humble.

I don't know if this guy's humble for sure because I don't know all the truth about him. If I did, I could be his mentor, but that's not going to happen. More and more each day I find there's a whole lot I'm missing. I wish this guy was my mentor.

Knowing the truth about yourself is a humbling experience.

Jesus claimed to be "the way, the truth, and the life" (John14:6) and I believe that's so. He followed those words with, "no one can really know God, but by me." The "way" part is methodology--imitating Christ--living the way he lived. The "truth" part is knowing the truth about him. The "life" part s what happens when one follows his way and his truth. The "God" part is his way and his truth define "goodness" which, if you trust the Greeks, defines God.

When one walks in his way and truth, one knows goodness (godness) and gets a life. Living becomes meaningful and humble because it is not I, but Christ. When one lives according to self, one wastes a life. The self-life is vain because it is I, not anyone else.

Humility is walking close to the truth.

The truth will set you free. 

Manger, Cross, and Empty Tomb

The manger, cross, and empty tomb are problematic to non-believers. Those who wished Jesus hadn't lived are intellectually dishonest if they say he didn't. Reality and history were the opposition's problem from the very beginning. The politicians and leaders of Jesus' day could not deny their own eyes, nor could they silence the many who witnessed Jesus' unexplainable life.

The manger, cross, and empty tomb are actually anchored in history. These Christian symbols are part of an actual story told by many witnesses--friendly and otherwise. Believers can be dismissed as fanatics, but doubters, unbelievers, and outright enemies corroborate the historical narrative. Herod tried to eliminate a prophesied child rival, the child king became a man and was crucified, and the crucified child king left an empty tomb.

It's in the history books: Some sort of remarkable man lived such a controversial and misunderstood life that he divided time--BC and AD. Believers take Jesus' life and claims on faith. The faithful are often quick to say faith does not require reason, but it is singularly significant our faith has historical roots.

At the very least, history suggests something irregular happened in the train of human events in Jerusalem around 30-35 AD. C.S. Lewis says we (humanity) witnessed an absolutely raving lunatic or someone who appeared to observers to act as the Son of God.

Here, I stop. It is pointless to argue with non-believers and unnecessary to convince believers. My point today, a week or so before Christmas 2011, is how wonderful and marvelous it is to ponder the manger, cross, and empty tomb. How appropriate it is to celebrate Advent and the coming of God as a Man of Sorrows, Savior of my soul.

Prayer - I get it

I can't pray worth shucks. I've tried and tried and haven't given up. But with my track record, I'd suggest one think twice before asking me to pray. People have met their maker and otherwise had the wheels fall off their trucks while I'm praying.

Many years ago I volunteered to pray for an older gentleman in a small church in Texas. His reply has stuck with me, "Couldn't hurt and you could use the practice."

The heart of my problem is that I've read about prayer, answers, miracles, and known some remarkable pray-ers. I understand about prayers of profession, confession, adoration, intercession, and intervention. I understand one should pray believing in the unseen. I understand prayer is conforming to God's will and that prayers are empowered by the Holy Spirit. I understand if I had faith the size of a mustard seed a mountain could be moved. I understand "when two or more are gathered in His name," "ask and it shall be given,"  "ask anything in my name," "the prayer of the righteous" and more.

I get it. I HAVE seen some near miraculous things. I once prayed for some much needed money and mysteriously got some. I may have been in the presence of angles. I've prayed for my children and they are all still here. I've had just enough glimpses of the Holy to keep me at it.

But I don't really get it. I suppose I'd keep praying if I struck out every time. Couldn't hurt and I still need the practice.

I've prayed and fasted. I've trusted the Spirit for healing and deliverance. I've prayed for children to love and serve God. I've prayed when I didn't know how to pray, like in Romans 8. I've uttered and meditated on the Lord's Prayer at night and while driving to work. I've tried to teach others to learn to pray. I'm pretty sure I'm talking to the Spirit at night before falling asleep.

I've prayed hard and long for some really important things and I've been disappointed more than once or twice. I pray for my children's faith at least 4 times a day and have been for over 30 years.

I'm coming up empty more often than not. I was SO SURE the Spirit was going to heal someone a while back after I talked with the Spirit into the wee hours of the morning on his behalf. So much so I was thoroughly convinced it was as good as done and I said, "Thanks." I told others about my  conviction a bad situation was going to work out.

My friend passed away. Just like my father, years ago. Just like my best friend in high school. Just like others I've known and lost.

But I still pray. Another friend DID survive a really critical illness, so....

Not much of a chance of prayer vanity here. If something great happens, it's probably not me!

I'm an ineffective pray-er. I'm sure I must be missing a key ingredient. I suppose. Feel free to comment here. After 55 years, well, 50, years of practice I'm pretty much a failure at intercessory prayer. Though I'm a bit better than average at confessing. I think.

I pray to not suffer, then I do. I pray for patience, then trials come. I pray for healing, then someone dies. I pray for faith, then someone disbelieves. I pray for harmony, then get rebellion. I pray for peace, and get war. I pray for a child's faith, then they turn away. I pray to lose weight, then find another pound.

What's up with this?

Some of it is certainly me. Especially the weight one--I lost 50 pounds this year--fell of the roof and broke my back.

Maybe prayer isn't at all about getting anything. Maybe prayer is sitting in God's living room by a warm fire while the rain falls outside. Prayer doesn't change the weather, but changes how one views the weather.

Maybe there's something good in suffering and I'm getting a double-, or even triple-, blessing....  I'm not kidding. Maybe God has shared suffering with me. Might I be special to Him in this way?  Not because I do it so well (I don't) but because Jesus did it so much and so well. Suffering provides a glimpse of the Father most miss. The Father who hurts and cares but doesn't interfere. The Father who had high hopes and plans for Hitler and Stalin, but things didn't work out.

Opps, I've just lost the Calvinists.

Anyway, if God awaits our falling in love with Him, he can, but can't meddle with our will. Love can't happen without volition. So I think God loves and waits for His children to get it. He doesn't have to wait, but He does. Sometimes in suffering and tears. I bet there are days he would say forget your confessing, praising, glorifying, and praying. Show THAT ONE I love him and have wonderful plans for him if he'll only come!

He's given me the opportunity to share His sadness and suffering. So, I continue to pray, we sit in His living room and pass tissues. I still don't get it. It's good though. We smile as we weep because we have each other's back during a sad time.

That's a good thing, right?

In the presence of my enemies...

Ever noticed how Jesus did most of his miracles in front of his enemies?

Most people who are out to make a name for themselves gather together a bunch of "yes" people who agree with whatever their leader says. American politics works this way.

Jesus did just the opposite. He'd gather an audience of enemies (religious leaders who knew the Law and the Prophets) and put on a show. They couldn't stand his audacity--being so messianic.

He'd heal a blind man and then the religious leaders would quiz the man and his parents and witnesses to try to find a reason to discredit Jesus. At the end of the interview there was a blind man who could see, or a lame guy who could walk, or a dead man who was alive.

I'd like to see an American president go before his enemies and do works of such pure, personal goodness the opposition would have to concede something impressive had transpired. It wouldn't be that difficult, but it doesn't appear in the news very often.

I'm not talking about passing legislation or photo ops. I'm talking about personal, consistent hands-on service to others. Not theoretically, or institutionally, but personally. Jimmy Carter's Habitat work and other services impress me--and I'm a Republican, mostly.

Jesus did this sort of thing all the time--right before his opposition. They were speechless, clueless witnesses. They knew the prophecies, but couldn't put the pieces together. How could a reader of Isaiah's "suffering servant" passage watch Jesus and miss the striking similarities? How could they discount his warnings regarding the fall of Jerusalem?

In the end, Jesus' miraculous story was validated by his enemies, not his friends. That says something remarkable to me.

Sure, the Apostles were on board, but an insider's credibility is suspect. When an enemy watches something unbelievable and tries to explain it, their motives may not be great, but they are pure (antipathy). What the Jesus Legacy has that other religions don't is witnesses outside the circle of faith. These witnesses had nothing to gain and much to lose.

So, it seems Jesus' strongest historical witnesses were not believers, but unbelievers.

Jesus' lives because those who wished he hadn't couldn't prove he didn't.

What if...

What if Cornelius mentioned in the Gospels is the same Cornelius in Acts? Remember Cornelius? He was a centurion who came to Jesus and asked for his servant be healed. Cornelius, the centurion (commander of 100 Roman soldiers), said he was a man who followed commands and that if Jesus would just give the command, his servant would be healed. Jesus was amazed at his faith, saying he'd seen nothing like it anywhere.

What if Cornelius was stationed in Jerusalem and under the command of Pilate?

What if his 100 soldiers were in charge of locking up the thieves and Jesus? What if he overheard their jailhouse conversations? What if he watched the whole thing--the crown of thorns, the beating, and everything else?

What if he grabbed Peter and asked, "Weren't you one of his followers?" And Peter said, "No! I don't know him!" BUT their eyes locked, then Peter quickly looked away--because Cornelius had seen Peter when he sought out Jesus to heal his servant.

What if Cornelius was just a soldier doing his job? Executing a rebel and catching a fisherman lying through his teeth. A centurion follows orders.

What if he was at Golgotha and watched it all, then said out loud, "Surely, this is the Son of God"?

What if he became sick of the whole mess and retired to Macedonia to try to forget it all? How he betrayed and crucified the Son of God--the very man whom he trusted to hire his servant.

What if Cornelius prayed and prayed to God to be delivered from his pain and guilt. What if he asked God to forgive him and send him a sign?

What if one morning there's a knock at the door and who should it be but the lying fisherman!

What if they stood and stared in disbelief? Both knowing the other's story.

What if they wept together? Two men needing to confess to someone who could understand.

What if Peter sat with Cornelius and explained his "unclean food" dream, how terrible he felt about his own betrayal, and the saving grace of Jesus?

What if Peter and Cornelius became brothers forever?

What if?