Praying for Me

Luke 22:32 "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."

Peter was about ready to get nailed…and Jesus warned him. Jesus told him that he was going to deny his Friend and Teacher. Peter's reply: "No way. I am willing to die for you." Good old Peter. Mr. Out There. Always ready to open his mouth and jump in with both feet with big deal commitments. Jesus knew better. Jesus knew that deep down Peter was weak. Deep down Peter was a coward. Deep down Peter was going to back down. So what did Jesus do to help His friend? He prayed for him. (How amazing that God the Son would talk to God the Father about some mortal man. Jesus still does this: "Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us." Rom. 8:34) Anyway, Jesus prayed for two things and He expected one thing.

First, He prayed that Peter's faith would not fail. He prayed that the conviction that Peter had of the truth would not stop, that Peter would not quit. This was a very real, specific prayer because I am sure that Peter may have thought about it. I mean, if I had just spent three years of my life with a Guy that I considered my Teacher, my Friend, my Master, my Lord; if I just spent three years of my life following this Guy, watching His miracles, listening to His life lessons, observing changed lives; if I spent time with Him on the mountain and saw Moses and Elijah and heard the voice of God the Father; if I jumped out of a boat and actually walked on water at His command; if I pulled up a ton of fish when just the previous night I did not catch anything; if I pulled a coin out of a fish's mouth to pay taxes; if my mother in law was healed with the touch of this Man's hand, and then I said, three times, "I don't know Him, I don't know Him, I don't know Him", I think I would get pretty depressed and think about cashing in this whole faith thing too. I would think that I was not worthy. Jesus knew this about Peter. Jesus knew this about us humans…how weak, how cowardly, how internally conflicted, how sinful we are…and yet He prayed that Peter's faith would not fail. I bet Jesus prays this same prayer for all of us now as well.

Jesus' expectation? That His prayer would be answered. Jesus did not say: "If you return." No. Jesus said: "When you have returned." Jesus knew that Peter would screw up. Jesus knew that Peter would get depressed. And Jesus knew that Peter would come back. Why? Jesus knew His Father. He knew that His Father would restore Peter and bring Him back. And He did. God the Son's prayers to God the Father are powerful. His intercession for us is always answered positively. What the Son wants happens.

Second, He prayed that once Peter returned that he would strengthen His brothers. Pretty amazing, that a guy who totally turned his back on Jesus and frankly on the guys that he hung with for three years would be the guy who was called on to give strength and stability to these men. Jesus knew that once He was killed, the group would run. They were all like Peter. (Except John.) They all needed courage and strength and the fact that Peter blew it in such a huge way but was able to come back with power and conviction and certainty would be a boost for all of these guys. He was the one who was called upon to encourage these guys in their faith and carry this message to the world. And he did. Why? Because he was so great, or because he was special in Jesus' eyes? No. It happened because Jesus prayed.

And I am convinced that the only reason we fallible, frail, humans can have any effect on the world around us, the only reason we can stand and be strong and have courage in our faith is because Jesus prays for us.

Lord, keep praying.

Being Young Again

Luke 22:26 "But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves."

I love it…the disciples were human. They wanted to be important and recognized and have status just like the rest of us. The weird thing is that they were so self centered that in the middle of Jesus telling them that He was going to give His body and shed His blood for them, and right after He tells them terrible news that one of them is going to betray Him, they started arguing about who was going to recognized as the greatest among them. Duh! Come on guys. Do you hear what you are saying?

Unfortunately, I have been there. When I should be listening to others, when I should be concerned about something that is much more significant, all I can do is think about myself. Being human is amazing.

I love Jesus' response. Does He chastise them for not listening to Him? No. Does He tell them: "Hey, quit being so self absorbed." ? No. Instead He teaches them. He uses their discussion as a springboard for a life lesson. This is it: If you are great, be young. And if you govern, serve. This can also be translated: "he who is the elder, let him be as the younger; and he who is a leader must be a servant." This is so counter cultural. This is so contrary to our flesh. I am an older guy now so I should be able to govern. I should be able to lead. I want people to listen to me and my ideas because I have earned my stripes. It is my time to control. No…as I get older, I need to be younger. What do we expect kids to do? Listen. Obey. Help. Respect others. As I get older my listening skills should increase. I should be more willing to bend, be available to help and respect where other people are coming from. Unfortunately, as we get older, these qualities seem to evaporate. We get more rigid, more selfish, more opinionated. Jesus said: If you are an elder (one who is considered greatest) become like a child and listen, obey, help and respect.

If you are one who governs, if you are in a position of leadership then you should serve. If you are in a position of leadership you should be a servant, an attendant, one who waits on others, one who serves tables. Wow. This really goes against the grain. If I am a leader, other people need to wait on me. Not according to Jesus. Those who have been placed in leadership positions should be the first to pitch in and help in any situation. The leaders of the church should be the ones picking up the garbage, and putting tables and chairs away, and serving other people. Is this tiring? Yes. Can it get old? Yes. Is it appreciated? No. But this is what true leaders do…they serve…and they do it with a great attitude.

Then look what Jesus says later: "And I bestow upon you a kingdom just as my Father bestowed one upon Me." v29 Elders who are young, leaders who are servants will be given amazing responsibility.

I need to be young and serve.

This Truth is Huge

Luke 22:19b,20b "'This is My body which is given for you...This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."

This stuff just blows me away. At the beginning of Luke the angel announced: "Because of you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Now Jesus, before His death is telling His guys (and us) "this is My body which is given for you…this…is…My blood, which is shed for you." For you. For me. Here is God who spoke eternal words, "invisible God (who) came in flesh from above" (Words from His Company by Daniel Renstrom) He came because of me. He suffered because of me. He sacrificed His body because of me. He shed His blood because of me. He died because of me.

I have grown up with this truth. Thank God, He gave me believing parents who taught me and took me to church where I could hear the truth of the New Covenant. It is a new covenant. Not the old covenant of the OT where the blood of bulls and goats had to be shed for the sin of the people. No. This is a new covenant where the blood of One had to be shed. One perfect sacrifice. A perfect man. God Himself. Once for all. Once for me. The result? I am forgiven. I am cleansed. I am free. I have a relationship with God. I have unfettered access to the throne room of heaven. Because of me is born a Savior. This was His body which was given for me. This was His blood which was shed for me.

And what do I do with this truth? Do I embrace it, and live it, and speak it? Or do I take it for granted because I have heard it so often? When I hear my pastor speak of it in church, how do I react? It should be new. It should be fresh every time I hear it. It should stir in me absolute adoration for the One who came for me, gave His body for me, and shed His blood for me. Unfortunately, I can't say that this is always true. God forgive me. Oh God, help me to love this truth above all others. Help me to not get enough of this truth. Help me to want to hear it, over and over again…for the power of this truth is the power of salvation…my salvation…others salvation. "Because of me is born this day in the city of David a Savior…" A Savior…Jesus. Let me hear it. Let me speak it.

Madeline

Mark 10:16 "And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them and blessed them."

Yesterday was a very special day in our lives. Michelle gave birth to Madeline Anne Underwood. The particulars? Born at 3:45pm, 8lbs 13oz (Wow), 21 inches long. Mich did great. She was in labor for over 24 hours from the beginning of contractions to the end and she pushed for almost two hours. Man, am I glad I am not a woman! My little girl was amazing! Georgann was able to be with Michelle the whole time and witness this amazing miracle. I was able to be with her up until the pushing, then Grandpa had to leave. Oh well. I stood outside the door for two hours and listened to Brenda Coleman (our good friend and Mich's personal nurse) count to 10 at least 100 times. Then Madeline popped into the world.

A couple of days ago I read this verse. I can only think how much Jesus loves Madeline and the amazing plan that He has for her life. He has definitely taken us all up in His arms and blessed us. Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful gift!

Future Shock

Isaiah 66:18,23 "'For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory...And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come and worship before Me', says the Lord."

Is there any question about what is really going to happen in the future? God has ordained it. All nations, all tongues, all people will see the glory of God. No one is going to miss this. Everyone who has ever lived is going to see the majesty, the splendor, the honor of God. It really doesn't matter whether you are a Jew, or a Christian, or a Muslim, or a Hindu, or straight, or gay, or pro-life, or pro-choice, or a Democrat, or a Republican, or an Independent, or a man, or a woman, or a child, or an American, or Russian, or Iranian, or Chinese...Do we get it? God knows our works. He knows our thoughts. He knows who we are and what we are like and His going to pull all of us together and we are all going to see what He is like. It is going to be awesome for some and awful for others.

The end result? "All flesh shall come to worship before Me." No one is going to be left out of this. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. Every person will be flat on our faces before the God of all creation acknowledging who He is and who we are not.

If it weren't so sad, this whole cultural battle that is going on in this world would be interesting to watch. It isn't interesting, however, because it is so sobering. We have men and women all across the world, who set themselves up as arbiters, as rulers, as leaders. These people, as a general rule, have no clue. They think that they are the ultimate authority. They think that we all have to bow to their mindset of political correctness or their ideology. The thing that they don't understand is that they are not mini-gods. They are not the ultimate decision makers. They are really nothing. Oh sure, they have some authority now but in the end, they will bow. They will see who is the Ultimate Authority and they will confess that they were wrong...dead wrong...literally. The road that we are traveling in this country and in our world is the road to destruction. Turning our backs on God and failing to tremble at His word is resulting in God turning His back on us. (See verse 2.) The result will be self destruction. Finally God will intervene and we will all see Him for who He is and will fnally admit His word is true, His way is right, His Son is Lord over all, to the glory of God the Father.

The ruling made in California this week by this Federal Judge on Proposition 8 is nothing. He is nothing. The Ninth Circuit is nothing. The Supreme Court is nothing. Governor Schwarzenegger is nothing. President Obama is nothing. The United Nations are nothing. The world rulers are nothing. They will all see the glory of God and worship only Him for He is everything...He is in control and we will all admit it. This will be the world's future shock.

Danger...Danger

Is. 58:2 "Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God."

All good stuff. Look at what God's people did: They sought God and consulted Him every day. They had a heart that found joy in knowing what He was up to. They performed righteous acts. They didn't run away from God's law but ran toward it. They wanted to know what He had to say and they enjoyed coming to Him and being in His presence.

Wow. If this were true of all of us, we would be on the right track, right? I mean, how could you go wrong when you did all this stuff? As a rule, this is true. If you run after God and His heart, you want to know His ways, you do what is right and obey Him and love being with Him, it would seem that your spiritual life was right where it should be.

I guess, however, this chapter deals with the danger of doing all the right things but still being off base. Apparently, even with all of these supposedly positive things, there is still the danger of pride. There is still the danger of selfishness. There is still the danger of thinking that you are pretty special therefore God better respond to you in the way that you expect. You see it in the next verse when they go to God...see they are approaching God, a good thing, but they come to Him with an attitude. "Why have we fasted...and you have not seen?" In other words, we are doing all the right stuff and we expect to get something from it. Danger...Danger.

I wonder, am I willing to do all the "right stuff" and not see any results? Is my relationship with God so committed that I don't expect anything in return? After all, God is not obligated to do anything for me. He is God. Sure, He is true to His promises, but He will only be true to His promises when my heart is pure. If I am going through the motions just to get stuff, forget it. I would love to say that I seek Him every day, that I had joy in knowing His ways, that I obeyed Him and ran toward His word and loved being in His presence. With the right heart, this is what God wants...but with a selfish heart, I am only fooling myself.

This is a good time to examine...why do I do what I do? Why do I read and journal and pray and go to church and serve? Is it "me centered" or God centered?

Gone Because of My New Computer

I haven't posted in months because we got a new computer. Nice...but it will not allow me to cut and past from Word. Weird. As a result, I have been lazy and not posted because I did not want to re-type what I had already worked on. (If anyone has any clue how to fix this, let me know.) Anyway, I was looking at many other blogs today and decided that I need to get this going again. I have been reading in Isaiah lately. Here are todays musings:

Is 57:15 "For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose Name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

This is a picture in contrasts. God is High and Lofty. He is exalted and lifted up. (Kind of interesting that the word for lofty is "nasa". I wonder if the people who named the North American Space Agency had any clue?) This God sets His tent up, tabernacles, lives in eternity. Just in case you were wondering, this high and lofty, exalted and lifted up One who lives in eternity is also holy. His Name is Holy. His reputation is Holy. He is totally set apart from anything or anyone that we know or have experienced. He is so far out of our league it isn't even funny.

So, here is this high, lofty, eternal, holy One. There is no way we can reach Him, right? There is no way that we could even consider being in His presence. Wrong. Not only does He make His home in eternity, but he makes His home somewere else as well...He lives with a certain kind of people...those who realize that they are not Him. Those who realize that in comparison to the high and holy One, they are nothing. Those who are contrite, who consider themselves dust, whose spirit and mind are humble. With those who understand their low position. He lives there. That is where God makes His home. Sure, His home is in eternity, but it also is with those those who are truly humble before Him.

Georgann and I went out to dinner last night. It was really nice. We got to eat some great food in a hopping area in the city. Part of the fun was watching people. Now, I can't judge their hearts, but you could just tell that humility was the farthest thing from their minds. The problem is, humility can be far from my mind as well. I want to impress. I want to win. I want to prove that I am good, better, or best. When that happens, God is far from me. I am a competitive guy, but why? So I can just have fun, or because I want to prove something? If it is the later, God is not living there. I need to undertand that the way up is down. The way to truly live is to understand brokenness. This verse tells us that God will take those who are humble, those who know who they truly are before Him and He will do something extraordinary...He will revive them. He will breathe life into them. His life.

So the choice is mine: Keep tryingto prove how great I am and live away from the presence of the One who dwells in eternity, or realize how low I am and experience God's presence and life. Looks like a no-brainer.