Day 25

In poems and hymns and sentimental religious writings Jesus is often described as “meek and mild.” Apparently this has much more to do with a fondness for poetic alliteration than any desire to accurately describe the unvarnished Jesus. Meek? Yes. Mild. Never! Meek and wild. Meek and radical. Meek and controversial. These may not sound as poetic, but they are infinitely closer to the truth. One thing Jesus never was was mild.

You see this quite clearly in Luke 12 and 13. These two chapters are almost entirely teachings from Jesus; 84 of the 94 verses are the words of Jesus. Some are very familiar words of comfort from Christ. But these two chapters also contain some very strong words of confrontation from Christ — and often the words of comfort and the words of confrontation are only verses apart.

Consider…

Jesus talks about fearing God because He is the One who has authority to cast a soul into hell. As a friend of mine says, “Jesus talking about hell is like the alcoholic uncle we try to hide in the back room when guests come over.” In today’s culture of political correctness where the only acceptable references to God are bland and anemic references to what A.W. Tozer called “the Mush God”, much of the church seems embarrassed by a Jesus who talks pointedly about hell. But Jesus does talk about hell, pointedly and often. The vast majority of references to hell in the Bible come from Jesus. So much for mild. Jesus doesn’t care one whit for political correctness. He’s not a politician.

Yet in the very next verse Jesus talks about God’s concern for sparrows and how God’s caring interest for us is so great that He bothers to number the hairs of our head. Jesus presents God in extremes. The God with authority to cast into hell is also the God whose eye is on the sparrow and watches over His children.

Jesus tells His disciples that it is the Father’s good pleasure to give them the Kingdom. “Fear not little flock.” Words of comfort. But then Jesus makes it clear that He did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Words of confrontation. The sword of Christ is not the sword of violence (like the sword of Muhammad), rather the sword of Christ is the sword of division. Jesus is the great divide of all humanity. Ultimately humanity will not be divided by race or class or nationality or politics, rather humanity will be divided by the Son of Man who will separate the sheep from the goats based on their confession or denial of Christ.

Whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

When Jesus was told about a massacre and a disaster (Ch. 13:1f), instead of responding with polite and sympathetic remarks, the way a politician would, Jesus used it as an opportunity to impress people the severity of their own situation: “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Words of confrontation.

But in the same chapter we find Jesus in a synagogue healing a woman and saying, “Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound — think of it — for eighteen years, be loosed on the Sabbath.” Words of comfort.

The chapter closes with Jesus mixing words of comfort and confrontation. Jesus laments over Jerusalem and says He often longed to gather them as a hen gathers her chicks under her wing. But then He speaks of the impending desolation that will come upon Jerusalem because they missed their Messiah in His first coming.

Words of comfort and confrontation from Christ. We cannot divide them. We must receive them both.

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I’m spending the day in my study preparing my Sunday message, Professor Jesus. See you in the morning.

BZ

Day 24

Yesterday’s blog focused on displacing demon power by Kingdom authority. Today I am still thinking along these lines. In Luke 10 Jesus commissions seventy other disciples to proclaim the Kingdom message and upon their return the first thing they report is their success in subjugating demon power by the authority of Jesus’ name. Jesus responded by saying, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” What did He mean by that? Was this a historic memory or a current observation? I would say both. As the Eternal Son, Jesus saw Satan fall from his original estate in heaven, but when the Seventy went forth proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, Jesus was able to observe Satan falling from his position of spiritual dominion.

I remember ministering in Potosi, Bolivia a few years ago. Situated high in the Andes mountains at over 13,000 feet, Potosi is the world’s highest city. A literal “high place.” For numerous reasons Satan likes high places (part of it has to do with his expulsion from the mountain of God). Potosi is a city with a very dark history and literally dedicated to the devil. For three centuries millions of slaves were worked to death in the silver mines of Potosi to finance the wealth of the Spanish Empire. Today Potosi pays homage to Satan, giving him the honorific title of Tio (uncle). Images and idols of “Uncle Satan” as Tio are found throughout the city, including the gateway to the city and even in the Catholic cathedral! When I got to my room in the hotel, the bedspread had a giant image of Tio. The first thing I did was make a bold declaration: “Satan, there’s a new sheriff in town and His name is Jesus!” Then I fired up Handel’s Messiah on my iTunes and played it all night long. For three days I taught Bolivian pastors on spiritual warfare and the authority of the believer to exercise dominion over demonic influence and strongholds. Tio ain’t what he used to be. There was a breakthrough in Bolivia that is going on to this day. Jesus can look at Bolivia and say, “I see Satan falling from his perch of dominion — falling like lightning from heaven.” Hallelujah!

Every place where Satan holds spiritual dominion, he does so illegally. But he will only be displaced by the proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom and the authoritative use of the name of Jesus. Every believer is deputized for this function and this is why we must go into all the world preaching the Gospel and challenging demon power in Jesus’ name.

Luke 10 closes with the story of Mary of Bethany anointing Jesus and Jesus declaring, “One thing is needful.” One thing is needful. To sit at Jesus’ feet. To seek Him. To know Him. Mary was a One Thing woman. David was a One Thing man.

One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.

-Psalm 27:4

One Thing men and One Thing women don’t just idly sit around trying to be modern day mystics. Instead they have ordered their lives according to the One Thing priority of seeking the Lord Jesus. From this will come effective and fruitful labors.

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I’m very excited about the message I’m preaching tonight at Friday Night Church. I’m calling it, Doing Life. It comes from this text: Luke 1:67-75. Don’t miss it. Either live online, or better yet, in person.

See you tonight!

BZ

Day 23

I don’t like demons. They smell bad. Unclean, you know. Jesus didn’t like demons either. Jesus never met a demon that He didn’t didn’t like. I like what John Osteen used to say: “If I were God, the first thing I’d do is kill the devil. Then I’d invite all the demons to his funeral, and kill them too.” Well, that’s not exactly God’s plan, but something not too far from it will happen in the end. In the mean time the solution is the forceful advance of the Kingdom of God. Wherever the Kingdom advances it displaces demon power. This happens on both a personal and societal level. Jesus was a master at casting out demons. In the healing ministry of Jesus you really see His compassion, but in His deliverance ministry you really see His authority. Demons are terrified of Jesus — and they are terrified of people full of Jesus. As well they should be.

In Luke 8 and 9 we see seven major miracles…

1. Calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee.

2. Casting out the legion of demons from the man in the Gadara.

3. Healing the woman with the issue of blood.

4. Raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead.

5. Feeding the Five Thousand.

6. The Transfiguration.

7. Healing the demon-possessed boy.

There are also five references to demons being cast out…

1. Jesus is said to have cast out seven demons from Mary Magdalene.

2. The Gadarene

3. The Disciples are commissioned to cast out demons.

4. The demon-possessed boy.

5. Others are said to be casting out demons in the name of Jesus.

All these demons being cast out just thrills me. Like I said, I don’t like demons. And I absolutely hate the devil. Demons are not human. Fallen angels. Spirit beings which have become entirely corrupt and more malevolent than we can imagine. Even the most wicked and depraved human, still have some vestige of humanity. I assume Hitler at least loved his dog. But demons are different. They have no humanity; nothing redemptive or redeemable. The fall of angels is different than the fall of man. They transgressed with eyes wide open knowing fully what they were doing and fell with an utter finality. There is nothing to be done with demons but to wage war upon them and their works. That means setting people free by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the unique Kingdom manifestation of displacing demons. Every human vice and mental torment is a haunt of demon power. These things usually begin apart from direct demon power, but like jackals attracted to a wounded and dying animal, demons are attracted to human vice and misery.

We can only imagine what led Mary Magdalene to become vexed by seven demons and how can we imagine the nightmarish road the Gadarene with his thousands of demons walked? But Jesus set them free. And He commissioned His followers to do the same in His name.

I like what Martin Luther used to say, “I was born to battle devils.” Amen!

By the way, you don’t have to go looking for demons like you’re on a snipe hunt. Just follow Jesus, love people, learn the power of God, and you will have opportunities to set people free from demon power by the authority of Jesus’ name.

And this is for Satan…

REVELATION 20:10!!

Day 22

Strangely enough, one of the things that has stood out the most in the first twenty-two days of Discovery is how much attention the Gospels give to the contention between Jesus and the Pharisees. Legalism and the Life of God are mortal enemies. Judgmentalism and the Mercy of God are poles apart. Finger-pointing and Forgiveness cannot exist in the same heart. And though legalistic, judgmental, finger-pointing religion may dress itself up in spiritual garb, it is actually the very heart of Satan — the accuser of the brethren. If you are ever in doubt as to whether you should be hard or extend mercy, always error on the side of mercy. I do not fear going to the judgment seat of Christ and being judged for being too merciful.

Jesus and His disciples are walking through a field on the Sabbath and the disciples are picking the heads of grain and eating them. The Pharisees find fault in this. They accuse the disciples of breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath. These guys need to get a life. Their religion consists almost entirely of making other people miserable by pointing out their faults. Or as Jesus humorously described it, they call attention to the speck in their brother’s eye while they fail to notice the two-by-four sticking out of their own eye.

Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath and the Pharisees are filled with rage and begin to plot against Jesus. How wrong is that?! By the way, rage is a demon spirit, very dangerous and destructive, and usually just beneath the service of legalistic religion. You see it in Islam and in ultra-legalistic pseudo-Christianity.

Of course the Pharisees could cite chapter and verse as to why they were justified in their rage; after all doesn’t the Bible say you shall do no work on the Sabbath? And certainly healing is a work, even if it’s a good work. Do you see how with a legalistic approach to scripture you can always find a way to “prove” your point. By the letter of the law you can be “right”, but completely wrong according to the heart of the Law. Righteousness is first of all an issue of the heart, and if our heart is wrong, everything is wrong. Attitude is almost everything. The prophet Micah tried to impress this upon the people when he said…

He has shown you, O man, what is good,
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy
And to walk humbly with your God?

(Micah 6:8)

The Pharisees thought they were righteous because of their almost insane application of the letter of the law, but all the while they missed the true intent of the law as it proceeded from the heart of God. Without justice, mercy and humility, it is impossible to have a right heart, and God looks upon the heart. The real downfall of the Pharisees was their pride; this was the thing made them blind guides of the blind and made it impossible for them to repent. For the Pharisees the word of God was not something to apply to their own lives, but something they could use to make themselves superior to others. I’ve never forgotten a line I read in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights…

He was, and is yet most likely, the wearisomest self-righteous Pharisee that ever ransacked a Bible to rake the promises to himself and fling the curses to his neighbors.

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This is the Dylan song that came to mind while reading Luke 6 and 7 this morning,

Dead Man, Dead Man

Uttering idle words from a reprobate mind,
Clinging to strange promises, dying on the vine,
Never bein’ able to separate the good from the bad,
Ooh, I can’t stand it, I can’t stand it,
It’s makin’ me feel so sad.

Dead man, dead man,
When will you arise?
Cobwebs in your mind,
Dust upon your eyes.

Satan got you by the heel, there’s a bird’s nest in your hair.
Do you have any faith at all? Do you have any love to share?
The way that you hold your head, cursin’ God with every move,
Ooh, I can’t stand it, I can’t stand it,
What are you tryin’ to prove?

Dead man, dead man,
When will you arise?
Cobwebs in your mind,
Dust upon your eyes.

The glamour and the bright lights and the politics of sin,
The ghetto that you build for me is the one you end up in,
The race of the engine that overrules your heart,
Ooh, I can’t stand it, I can’t stand it,
Pretending that you’re so smart.

Dead man, dead man,
When will you arise?
Cobwebs in your mind,
Dust upon your eyes.

What are you tryin’ to overpower me with, the doctrine or the gun?
My back is already to the wall, where can I run?
The tuxedo that you’re wearin’, the flower in your lapel,
Ooh, I can’t stand it, I can’t stand it,
You wanna take me down to hell.

Dead man, dead man,
When will you arise?
Cobwebs in your mind,
Dust upon your eyes.

-Bob Dylan

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Are you following this story?

Death could await Christian convert

WASHINGTON (CNN) — In the days of the Taliban, those promoting Christianity in Afghanistan could be arrested and those converting from Islam could be tortured and publicly executed.

That was supposed to change after U.S.-led forces ousted the oppressive, fundamentalist regime, but the case of 41-year-old Abdul Rahman has many Western nations wondering if Afghanistan is regressing.

Rahman, a father of two, was arrested last week and is now awaiting trial for rejecting Islam. He told local police, whom he approached on an unrelated matter, that he had converted to Christianity. Reports say he was carrying a Bible at the time.

“They want to sentence me to death, and I accept it,” Rahman told reporters last week, “but I am not a deserter and not an infidel.”

The Afghan constitution, which is based on Sharia, or Islamic law, says that apostates can receive the death penalty.

Afghanistan’s population is 80 percent Sunni Muslim and 19 percent Shiite Muslim, according to the CIA. The other 1 percent of the population is classified as “other.”

U.S.: Freedom to worship part of democracy

Rahman’s case raises thorny issues between Afghanistan and its Western allies, and U.S. officials this week made certain that Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, who is in Washington for talks on the U.S.-Afghan strategic partnership, understood their qualms.

“We have underscored also to Foreign Minister Abdullah that we believe that tolerance and freedom of worship are important elements of any democracy,” U.S. State Department spokesman Scott McCormack told reporters Tuesday. “We urge the Afghan government to conduct any legal proceedings in a transparent and fair manner.”

Abdullah was supposed to talk to reporters Tuesday about talks for the strategic partnership. Instead, Abdullah was bombarded with questions about the Rahman case.

“I know that it is a very sensitive issue and we know the concerns of the American people,” Abdullah said, adding that the Afghan Embassy in Washington had received “hundreds of messages” on the issue.

He further said that the Afghan government had nothing to do with the case.

“But I hope that through our constitutional process, there will be a satisfactory result,” he said.

Rahman’s case illustrates a split over the interpretation of the Afghan constitution, which calls for religious freedom while stating that Muslims who reject Islam can be executed.

Nicholas Burns, undersecretary for political affairs, said he understands the complexities of the case and promised the United States would respect Afghan sovereignty. However, he said, Afghans should be free to choose their own religion, and he believes the nation’s constitution supports that.

“We hope the Afghan constitution is going to be upheld,” Burns said. “If he has the right of freedom of religion, that ought to be respected.”

Rahman’s case could force Afghan President Hamid Karzai into the undesirable position of mediating the matter. Karzai has to placate an ever-restless populace in turbulent post-war Afghanistan, but at the same time, he needs Western assistance to stave off the remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Allies indignant

The U.S. has 23,000 troops in the country; Germany has 2,700. Canada has 2,300 stationed there, and Italy has 1,775, according to Reuters.

All four nations have expressed displeasure over the situation, some even saying that it is intolerable that soldiers of all faiths die to protect a country threatening to kill its own for converting to Christianity.

Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga wrote a letter to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, urging him to withdraw Italian troops from Afghanistan unless Kabul guarantees Rahman’s safety, Reuters reported.

“It is not acceptable that our soldiers should put themselves at risk or even sacrifice their lives for a fundamentalist, illiberal regime,” Cossiga wrote.

Rep. Tom Lantos, the ranking Democrat on the House International Relations Committee, wrote a letter to Karzai asking him to intervene and uphold “core democratic principles and fundamental human rights.”

“In a country where soldiers from all faiths, including Christianity, are dying in defense of your government, I find it outrageous that Mr. Rahman is being prosecuted and facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity,” Lantos wrote.

One German official promised to intervene if necessary. Another, Development Minister Heide Wieczorek-Zeul, said, “We will do everything possible to save the life of Abdul Rahman,” according to Reuters.

Canada echoed that sentiment, saying human rights in Afghanistan was a top priority and that “Canada will continue to encourage the Afghan government to adhere to its human rights obligations,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Pamela Greenwell told Reuters.

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We will be praying for Abdul Rahman and the church in Afghanistan during our noon prayer meeting today in the Upper Room. Please join us if you can

BZ

Day 21

Today I don’t want to give you some sort of commentary on Luke chapters 3-5; instead let me just share some thoughts born from today’s reading. Let me just put my fingers to the keyboard, try not to think too much and see what happens. Here goes…

Jesus is launching His ministry, cousin John is preparing the way. Everybody thought Jesus of Nazareth was just a carpenter, but now He reveals He’s much more than that. Many are attracted by the miracles and they find new lives and new hope from this thirty year old Galilean carpenter turned rabbi. They are enthusiastic about Jesus. Others aren’t so happy. There are those from Nazareth who have known Jesus since He was a little boy. They are offended by Jesus’ new found fame and influence. Who does He think He is? As Keith Green sang, “Prophets don’t grow up from little boys, do they?” What’s that? He seems to be saying that the God of Israel is also interested in being the God of the Gentiles. God forbid! Jehovah is our God! How dare Jesus try to share Jehovah with the Gentiles! Let’s throw this heretic off the cliff and have done with this madness. Wait a minute, where did He go?

These people trying to throw Jesus off a cliff aren’t strangers. These are the people He has known all of His life. He’s lived with them, worked with them, went to school with them, worshiped in the synagogue with them. Their rejection must have been a bitter disappointment. The rejection in Nazareth was so severe that Jesus moves to another city, Capernaum.*

In Capernaum Jesus finds His first disciples: Fishermen who are willing to launch out with Jesus. Fishermen whom Jesus will turn into fishers of men. These fishermen from Capernaum will change the world. All because they dared to launch out with Jesus.

Jesus, I want to launch out into the deep with You. I don’t want to play it safe hugging the shore. I’m ready for deep waters. I want a life full of surprises and challenges and purpose and miracles and new things and adventure and depth and significance and growth and truth and noble causes and mystery and transformation and supernatural experiences and discipline and learning and love and more and more and more of YOU!

Amen

* Capernaum is perhaps my favorite place in Galilee. The ruins of Peter’s house and the synagogue where Jesus taught are still there. It is a beautiful place. Come to Israel with Peri and me this year and we’ll take you there.

Day 20

Good morning, Theophilus.

Today we begin Dr. Luke’s Gospel. Luke was a physician and historian and a traveling companion of Paul. Luke was also a gentile, and as such, the only Biblical author who was not Jewish. In his travels with Paul, Luke had the opportunity to meet and interview the eyewitnesses to the life and ministry of Jesus. This gospel is the chronological narrative he put together from these interviews. It is addressed to Theophilus. Theophilus means “friend of God” and I assume this was Luke’s way of personally addressing his gospel to all those who count themselves a friend of God.

As a physician, Luke was very interested in human beings and concerned with alleviating human suffering. Luke’s Gospel more than any other emphasizes the humanity of Jesus and also highlights the aspects of Jesus’ preaching ministry that called for social justice. Because Luke is so interested in the humanity of Jesus, he gives far more attention to His birth than Matthew, Mark and John.

Here are some of my thoughts as I read Luke 1 and 2 this morning:

It’s interesting how the coming of Christ involves a mixture of the supernatural and simple people. Angels, prophecy and other supernatural elements play a big role in preparing for the birth of Christ. But we also see God profoundly at work in the lives of very ordinary, simple people.

An older childless couple who had lived a simple, quiet, righteous life and probably assumed nothing terribly special would ever happen in their lives. They were mistaken. They became the parents to the greatest prophet ever.

The shepherds. What was their life like? Rustic and rural, a pastoral life lived in the fields and under the stars. They were chosen by God to be the first recipients of the Gospel and privileged to see the Good Shepherd on the night of His birth.

An old prophet and prophetess in Jerusalem who, no doubt, lived very simple lives, yet had penetrating prophetic insight and spoke amazing words over the baby Jesus.

Who did God choose to be the “step-father” of His Son? Not a priest or a prophet; not a king, but a carpenter. This simple honest tradesman would be the man whom the only begotten Son of God would first call His abba.

And what about the mystery of Mary? She stands alone. She is completely unique in human history. All along God’s plan required a very special woman. The proto-prophecy was that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head. A woman would give birth to the Son of God. But who? A girl of about fifteen named after Moses’ sister, Miriam (Mary). Mary came from the royal line of David, but for several generations her family line had been living in a very humble state. It is certainly accurate to say that Jesus was born to a poor peasant girl. As Mary said in her prophetic song

For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me.

Even the place of Jesus’ birth was simple. Not Jerusalem or Rome, but Bethlehem.

But you Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be ruler in Israel.

(Micah 5:2)

In the world’s way of thinking great things happen to “great” people in “important” places. But this is not God’s way of thinking. No matter who you are or where you come from, if you will walk humbly with God, you can expect God to great things for you.

Day 19

Because I preached today on Jesus’ “death march” to Jerusalem as He prepared for His passion, I’m in a certain mood — a mood that, I think, matches the mood of Mark 14. Mark 14 is the final countdown to the cross. If you can read Mark 14 slowly and enter into the mood it creates, you can feel the building tension. It is a very dark and foreboding chapter.

It begins with the chief priests and scribes plotting to take Jesus by trickery and murder Him. Pause. These wicked men were plotting the most heinous crime in history. Not homicide or genocide, but deicide — the murder of God. And yet this was the plan of God all along: that His Son would be given over to sin and death that we might be redeemed from sin and death. But God did not cause the wicked intentions of the men who plotted Jesus’ murder. In this we see God’s sovereign purposes being accomplished while never violating the freewill of man. This is the wisdom and power of God. That the most heinous crime in history is now commemorated as Good Friday is the ultimate testimony to the truth that God causes all things to work together for good (Romans 8:28).

Then we find Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, anointing Jesus at Simon the Leper’s home in Bethany. In His defense of Mary’s actions which were criticized by some of those present, Jesus made what can only be described as a very morose and mysterious remark when He said, “She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.” I wonder what those present thought of this strange statement? Almost everything Jesus said in the final days before the cross seemed to make no sense at the moment. Only after the resurrection were His words understood.

Next we discover Judas meeting secretly with those in the conspiracy to kill Jesus. A deal is made. Mark lets the reader in on this dark intrigue, though at the time Judas’ treachery remained his own secret. The tension is building.

Now we are only hours away from the cross. Jesus and His disciples share a meal in the Upper Room — a meal that will later be known as the Last Supper, though at the time the disciples could not think in such terms (despite Jesus telling them plainly). During the meal Jesus speaks of His body being broken and His blood being shed and He illustrates these mysterious words with bread and wine.

At the end of their supper they sang a hymn. From Jewish tradition we know the hymn that would have been sung that night and toward the end of the song Jesus and His disciples sang these words: “Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.” (Psalm 118:27b) Before the night was over Jesus would be bound and by the next morning He would be sacrificed upon the altar of Calvary’s cross. What was going through Jesus’ mind as He sang these words, fully understanding they were prophetic of His own impending death?

Now the scene moves to an olive grove lit only by the full moon. The Garden of Gethsemane is such holy ground that we should remove our shoes. I am overwhelmed by these words…

Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.

Jesus asked His dear Father to take the cup away. Do we have any idea how horrible the cross was? It was so awful that Jesus asked His Father to remove this ordeal from Him. In His humanity Jesus recoiled from the horror of the cross, but in His love for the Father Jesus was fully surrendered to do His will…no matter what.

And it’s because of Jesus’ loving obedience to His Father that God will spend eternity bestowing honor upon His Son. Jesus is King of the Jews. He is our King. He is King of Kings. The nations are the reward for His suffering. His glory is the recompense for His obedience. He is worthy of all praise and glory and honor.

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At the end of Mark 14 we have a story about a young man who was present at the arrest of Jesus. Possibly he lived nearby and when he heard that Jesus was being arrested in Gethsemane he threw on a simple gown and went to the garden. When some of the mob who came to arrest Jesus tried to apprehend this young man as well (he was as a follower of Jesus); he escaped by slipping out of the gown and running off into the night naked. It’s generally believed this young man was Mark, the author of this Gospel. I find it interesting that Mark only inserts himself into his Gospel this one time, and that in a not very flattering light. That’s humility.

An imaginary conversation:

Me: So you saw Jesus?

Mark: Yes.

Me: And you were present in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was arrested?

Mark: Yes.

Me: What did you do?

Mark: I ran off naked! (Laughs) But Jesus loves me anyway.

Me: (Laughs) Yeah! Jesus is like that.

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I’m at home with the wood burning stove going waiting to see if it’s really going to snow. Have a good week and be blessed. Tomorrow we’ll be with Dr. Luke.

BZ

Day 18

At the beginning of Mark 12 Jesus gives the parable of the vineyard. In this parable (based on Isaiah 5:1-7) Jesus is obviously claiming to be the Son of God and the heir of the Kingdom. And the Pharisees obviously understood it this way. That is why they wanted to arrest Jesus, but dared not attempt it in public because of Jesus’ popularity with the people.

It’s interesting how much of Jesus preaching and teaching was prompted by the on-going controversy He had with the Pharisees. The spirit of religion is a vicious and relentless spirit which can only be defeated by strong doses of the Word and a humble spirit.

I wonder what happened to the young scribe from the party of the Pharisees who had such an accurate understanding of the primacy of love that Jesus was moved to remark, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” Indeed, the Kingdom of God is a Kingdom dominated by love. I hope this young scribe became a believer in Jesus after the resurrection. I have strong reason to believe he did. The book of Acts records that many priests and Pharisees became believers.

The verse that stood out for me the strongest today is in chapter 13, when Jesus said during His teaching on the last days, “watch and pray.”

I think of it this way: Watch the news and pray over world events.

God has called us to reign with Him. This is the meaning of the covenant name ISRAEL. yi-sarah-El. It means, he shall rule with God. God wants you to participate with Him in ruling the world through prophetic prayer. It’s not enough to idly sit back and say, “Well, the sovereignty of God will take care of it.” God in His sovereignty has called His people to reign and rule with Him. We do this in part by prophetic declarations made in prayer. Consider God’s call of Jeremiah the prophet in Jeremiah 1:9-12

“Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth,
And the Lord said to me:
Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.
Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
‘Jeremiah, what do you see?’
And I said, ‘I see a branch of an almond tree.’ [lit. watching tree]
Then the Lord said to me,
‘You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.'”

God exercised His sovereignty over the nations through the prophesying of Jeremiah. God revealed His word to His prophet Jeremiah, but Jeremiah had the responsibility of making the prophetic declarations.

There is no issue in the world more critical right now than the issue of Iran.

An Iran dominated by fanatical, demon-controlled ayatollahs and a virulent anti-Semitic President cannot allowed to develop nuclear weapons. It is not just the responsibility of President Bush or the UN or the EU or Russia or China or even Israel to deal with this problem. It is primarily the responsibility of the Body of Christ to deal with this problem through prophetic praying. Watch and pray. Watch the world events and the pray.

Pray against Iran obtaining nuclear weapons.

Pray that world leaders would be given the wisdom and courage to confront Iran.

Pray that wicked leaders would be removed from power in Iran.

Pray for a mighty move God in Iran.

Pray for the salvation of Iran.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

We must be using the keys of the Kingdom to bind and loose, we must be shaping world history through prayer and fasting, we must be influencing world events through prophetic praying. Now is the time to be doing this.

Watch and Pray!

Day 17

In Mark 11 Jesus teaches us about moving mountains by the word of faith. The faith teachings of Jesus are extremely important; if we don’t learn to operate in mountain moving faith we will spend our lives being thwarted by obstacles and will never achieve all we could. The success I have had in life and ministry has come by learning to move mountains by faith.

But there are some mountains that we cannot move — we can only climb them. For Jesus, the mountain He could not move but only climb was Calvary. Situated at the top of the Moriah ridge at an elevation 2,550 feet (777 meters!), Calvary is the highest point in Jerusalem. Mark 10 records Jesus’ final (earthly) journey to Jerusalem. From Jericho (near the Dead Sea and the lowest place on earth), Jesus begins the 3,800 feet elevation to Jerusalem — uphill all the way.

Here are a few thoughts from March chapter 10

At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus has yet another debate with the Pharisees. This time the topic is marriage and divorce. The practice of divorce among the Pharisees was very easy and very common. All a man had to do was hand his wife a document of divorce and say, “I divorce you” three times. That was it. After His debate with the Pharisees, little children were brought to Jesus for Him to bless. The disciples rebuked the parents for “bothering” Jesus by seeking His blessing for their children. Mark tells us that Jesus was “greatly displeased” with the disciples over this. It is evident that the culture in which Jesus was preaching had a casual attitude toward marriage and divorce and often viewed children as a nuisance. Sound familiar? The Kingdom culture which Jesus established elevates the status of both marriage and children. God is a family man.

At the end of the chapter, Jesus heals a blind man named Bartimaeus in Jericho. On Day 8 when we were in Matthew’s account of this event in Jericho I wrote…

Notice that Jesus healed two blind men in Jericho and remember that Jesus healed two demonized men in the country of the Gadarenes. I’ll have something to say about this when we get to Mark’s account of these events.

Matthew records that two demonized men were delivered in Gadara and that two blind men were healed in Jericho, while in both instances Mark only mentions one person. I have noticed over the years that not everyone who receives a miracle from Jesus necessarily becomes a committed follower of Jesus. The Gadarene that Mark describes became a zealous witness for Jesus and we are told that Bartimaeus followed Jesus to Jerusalem (where presumably his restored sight made him a witness of Jesus’ suffering). But there was another demoniac and another blind man. But their encounters with Jesus did not turn them into notable followers of Jesus and Mark fails to mention them. I’ve known people who have been healed by Christ, and they were never heard of again. It’s as if they simply said, “Thank you very much” and returned to their old life.

One more thought. In Mark 10:32 we read…

Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid.

The March 15 reading in the famous daily devotional by Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, has something interesting to say about this verse…

The Discipline of Dismay

“As they followed they were afraid”

At the beginning of our life with Jesus Christ, we were sure we knew all there was to know about following Him. It was a delight to forsake everything else and to throw ourselves before Him in a fearless statement of love. But now we are not quite so sure. Jesus is far ahead of us and is beginning to seem different and unfamiliar — “Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed”.

There is an aspect of Jesus that chills even a disciple’s heart to its depth and makes his entire spiritual life gasp for air. This unusual Person with His face set “like a flint” (Isaiah 50:7) is walking with great determination ahead of me, and He strikes terror right through me. He no longer seems to be my Counselor and Friend and has a point of view about which I know nothing. All I can do is stand and stare at Him in amazement. At first I was confident that I understood Him, but now I am not so sure. I begin to realize that there is a distance between Jesus and me and I can no longer be intimate with Him. I have no idea where He is going, and the goal has become strangely distant.

Jesus Christ had to understand fully every sin and sorrow that human beings could experience, and that is what makes Him seem unfamiliar. When we see this aspect of Him, we realize we really don’t know Him. We don’t recognize even one characteristic of His life, and we don’t know how to begin to follow Him. He is far ahead of us, a Leader who seems totally unfamiliar, and we have no friendship with Him.

The discipline of dismay is an essential lesson which a disciple must learn. The danger is that we tend to look back on our times of obedience and on our past sacrifices to God in an effort to keep our enthusiasm for Him strong (see Isaiah 50:10-11). But when the darkness of dismay comes, endure until it is over, because out of it will come the ability to follow Jesus truly, which brings inexpressibly wonderful joy.

-Oswald Chambers
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That is awesome! Excellent insight from good ol’ Oswald.

I’ll see you Word of Lifers in church tonight!