Jesus

The Joy of the Lord is Our Strength!

/ Bill Jones / 32 Comments

 

This post is part of the Christian Writers blog chain. Our theme for this month is “Joy”. Please see the list to the right and visit my friends’ blogs to see what they have to say about this topic

Our church is having a Good Friday Tenebrae Service tonight. Tenebrae is a Latin word meaning shadows or darkness, and the service commemorates Jesus’ last days leading to the cross. With a combination of music, and Scripture readings from the Prophets and the Gospels, we’ll follow the path from light to darkness.

The candles will be lit during the opening song, “Jesus is the Light of the World”. As the service progresses with more songs and Scripture, the candles will be extinguished one by one. Total darkness comes after the singing of “The Power of the Cross” and a reading of John 19:30: “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” The congregation will leave in silence (in the shadows, in the darkness) as the choir sings “Beautiful Savior”.

As you might imagine, it can be a solemn and touching service. Participants can find themselves grieving like the people of Israel when Ezra read the Law. In the eighth chapter of Nehemiah, we read of Ezra and other priests publicly reading the Word of God. Apparently, that had not been done for many years, and “all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law” (v9).

Nehemiah’s response to their weeping: “Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared : for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry ; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.” Nehemiah 8:10-11 KJV

Nehemiah wasn’t telling them God’s Word should have no effect on them. He was saying the time to weep was over – it was now time to rejoice – much as described in Ecclesiastes 3:4, there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” At times, The Word should cause us to mourn over our sin, but The Word will also take us beyond that into great joy. And, as Nehemiah said, the joy of the Lord is our strength that overcomes and can turn us from grief to rejoicing.

In a Tenebrae service, such as many churches will have tonight, or in our own time of Bible study and meditation, we should be broken-hearted when we consider the suffering Jesus endured for us. It may bring tears to our eyes when we imagine the hammer’s ring as the nails are driven in, or remember His forlorn cry of “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” as the Father turned His face away.

But, we can’t stay there long. We should continue to what awaits – to what washes all the darkness away – the joy of the empty tomb! Yes, the joy of the Lord – Who He is and what He has done for us – is our strength that overcomes the darkness.

 “Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalms 30:4-5

Savor the Small Stuff too?

/ Bill Jones / 41 Comments
Foundation for a new house

Image via Wikipedia

Recent sports headlines:

“Blackhawk rookies have much to savor in victory over Sabres.”

“Patriots savor victory a little longer.”  (Obviously before the Super Bowl!)

“Nets can savor this victory over Pistons.”

The other day I walked out the back door, didn’t foresee any great victories ahead like those in the headlines, but savored the day ahead anyway. Taking a phrase from Zechariah 4:10, I looked forward to a “day of small things.”

“Then he (an angel) said to me (Zechariah), “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!'”  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.” Zechariah 4:6-10

This passage refers to the time after the Israelites returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon. The foundation of the second Temple had been laid, but rather than rejoicing, many of the people were discouraged because it was smaller than Solomon’s Temple (which was destroyed during the exile). Those discouraged ones were despising the day of small things.

However, God, in effect, said, “This is just the beginning. Stand back and watch!”- telling them the Temple would be completed and would be the House of God. The Lord had appointed Zerubbabel to lead the construction, and, with the Lord’s strength and help, he laid the foundation. Moreover, the victory would come and there would be rejoicing when Zerubbabel lined it up and set the top stone in place.

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            The victories in the sports headlines came from many days of small things: Days of practice, running, weightlifting, and sitting there studying their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.

Our lives are also filled with days of small things. But, the exciting part can be that we don’t know which of those are the beginnings of victories. We buy seeds and plant a garden. We hold a musical instrument, hammer, or crochet hook for the first time. We meet a new friend. As a writer, we read a Scripture verse, hear a phrase or see something that gives us an idea. With God’s strength and help, these all may lead to victories.

As with Zerubbabel and the rebuilding of the Temple, God often uses small things as the beginnings of His victories: The strings and stakes are laid out for the foundation of a new church. A thought burdens your heart that you should help with a particular ministry, or assist a family in need. An unbelieving friend or relative asks you a sincere question about Jesus. (Think of your own examples to add to this list.)

We can, and should, savor the victories God gives us (and remember all victories are from Him). Nevertheless, a day of small things should be savored too (and not despised); we need to stand back and watch, because we don’t know what great works God has begun that day.

“And he (Jesus) said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” Mark 4:30-32 ESV

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This post is part of the Christian Writers blog chain. Our theme for this month is “Savor”. Please see the list to the right and visit my friends’ blogs to see what they have to say about this topic.

Please, Lord, Make it Real!

/ Bill Jones / 2 Comments
prayer..

prayer.. (Photo credit: aronki)

“Please, Lord, make it real!”

I find myself praying that when I realize all the ways I fall short of where I need (and want) to be. “Real” can mean several positive things – like good, right, pure, strong, or genuine. When I ask God to make it real, I’m not shunning my responsibilities and saying it’s all up to Him. I am acknowledging that without His help and power I am helpless to do anything.

Please, Lord, make it real –

Make my anger a righteous anger for Your Name and Your Word – not just pettiness because someone offends me or has a different opinion than I do.

Make my compassion be from the depths of my heart and carried out with action – not shallow and within myself

Make my passion a passion for Christ and His righteousness – not for material things

Make my love a willingness to sacrifice with no thought of gain – not a simple emotion in response to others treating me well

Make my trust in You Rock solid through all times, good and bad – not just an “oh, well” or a “whatever”, or only evident when things go well.

The Bible tells of a father who brought his demon-tortured son to Jesus with the hope He could heal him. He asked that if Jesus was able to do anything, would He have compassion and help them? Jesus replied that if he believed, all things were possible, and the man cried out in tears “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24 NKJV).

Lord, I believe. Please, make it real in every aspect of my life.

Lover’s Leap for Joy?

/ Bill Jones / 38 Comments
Lover's Leap

Lovers' Leap Image by aeu04117 via Flickr

In this country’s mountainous regions there are many locations dubbed “Lovers’ Leap”. They all have associated legends, many involving Native Americans, and with variations on the “Romeo and Juliet” theme. (Perhaps there is a Lovers’ Leap legend in Great Britain and that’s where Shakespeare got the idea.) One legend in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia has a white settler and the Chief’s daughter falling in love. After much scorn and exclusion from both families, the couple embraced and plummeted to their death to be together forever. Another location has a closer sequence to “Romeo and Juliet” – the two lovers were from different tribes, and members of the maiden’s tribe attacked the brave and left him for dead at the top of a cliff. The maiden found him, and thinking he was dead, she jumped off. When he awoke and discovered what had happened, he threw himself over to be with her.

Jesus’ refers to a different type of Lover’s Leap in the sixth chapter of the Book of Luke:

“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.” Luke 6:22-23 ESV.

The reactions Jesus describes are also those associated with the Lovers’ Leap legends: scorn, exclusion, and hatred. The legends end in tragedy, yet Jesus tells us instead of jumping off a cliff, we should respond with a leap for joy.

That is humanly hard to grasp. We can understand the leap for joy made by those who had been physically crippled their whole life and were miraculously healed by Jesus (and Peter and Paul). However, in this passage, Jesus says we are blessed if we’re treated like the ill-fated lovers of the legends. That doesn’t sound like a miracle – or does it?

The critical phrase in Jesus’ statement is the requirement that our suffering be “on account of the Son of Man”. As the Apostle Peter wrote, “what glory is it” if we’re hated and scorned because we’re hateful and scornful ourselves? No, our enduring this type of suffering is “acceptable to God” and we can leap for joy only because of whom we love: Jesus Christ.

And what’s the miracle behind this lover’s leap for joy?

“We love Him, because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

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This post is part of the Christian Writers blog chain. Our theme for this month is “Leap”. Please see the list to the right and visit my friends’ blogs to see what they have to say about this topic.