Monthly Archives: November 2012

November 7, 2012 · 8:30 AM

Today’s Doubting Thomas’

Most of us know the story of Thomas after Jesus was resurrected. Other disciples had seen Jesus but he had not. They kept telling him that Jesus was alive, but he knew what he had seen. He watched as they beat Jesus with a whip that had 9 strands on it with chunks of glass. He saw them put the crown of thorns on His head and then nailed His hands and feet to that splintered wood. He was even there when the soldier took a sword and rammed it through the ribs of Jesus. He heard Jesus say, “It is finished.” You couldn’t tell him that Jesus was alive after that.

Can you blame him? It’s easy to sit here two millenniums away and call him “Doubting Thomas”. Would you or I have been any different? Are we any different now? Thomas allowed circumstances to dictate his faith. He had also walked with Jesus and watched as He healed people with leprosy, issues of blood, lameness, mutism, deafness and all kinds of incurable diseases. He even watched on a few occasions as Jesus raised people from the dead. Yet here he was listening to others as they said they had seen Jesus.

Many of us have walked with Jesus too. We have seen what He has done in our lives, can point to healings that we’ve witnessed and watched as The Lord touches the hearts of the worst among us yet we still don’t fully trust in Him. We allow circumstances and things going on in this world to rob us of our joy, hope and faith. Our faith rises and falls on what happens around us. It is far too easy to forget what God has done in the past when there is a mountain ahead.

It’s no wonder that Thomas uttered the famous words, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in His hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in His side.” We do the same. We just say it different. “God if you’re really there and if you can really hear me, I need you to do…” It’s a good thing that God is patient with us. When Jesus saw Thomas, He didn’t mock him or ask why he didn’t believe. Instead, Jesus walked up to Thomas and gently said, “Thomas, put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

I think that’s what Jesus would say to us today. Don’t be faithless any longer. Don’t allow what you’re going through cause you to forget what He’s done for you in the past. He is patient and kind. Slow to anger. He is talking to you this morning and is inviting you to trust Him. He is in control even when it doesn’t feel like. He sees you where you are and knows your fear. He is deeply concerned about you and wants to show Himself to you and to provide the opportunity for you to touch Him. Thomas had to reach out and touch Him to believe again. Will you reach out today to touch Him in order to believe again?

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November 6, 2012 · 6:54 AM

A House Divided

I will rarely delve into the world of politics with this blog. Not because I’m uneducated about them or uninterested in them, but because I have been called to be Biblical and not political. No matter who wins today’s election, half of this country will be excited and half will be upset. That is a dangerous place to be. What Jesus said in Matthew 12:25 and echoed by Abraham Lincoln holds true today: A house divided cannot stand.

I’m not saying we should all agree politically so we can be united. A single party system is what we fled. It’s ok to have differing views. Each side has things that it does better than the other, but we fail to see that. We have allowed ourselves to become so entrenched in our party’s ideology that we can’t see any good in the other side. We have vilified them and have allowed that vilification to destroy relationships with friends and family.

Somewhere along the way, we began to put political party ahead of country and God. We would rather see our party win than to do what is right for our country. We have things backwards somehow. We should put God first, country second and party third. That is the only way forward. Whoever wins today will not move us forward because we are so deadlocked into our party first thinking. We would rather have gridlock than to compromise (equating it with losing) to move the country forward.

As a Christian, my responsibility is to pray for whoever is elected today whether I like them or not. Romans 13:1 says that those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. That doesn’t mean I’m not to vote. It means I should seek God about whom I am to vote for. If the person I believe should be elected isn’t, it doesn’t change the Scripture or that I voted wrong. It simply stands that he is who God has appointed and it is my responsibility to pray for him.

It’s not just a political problem. It’s a spiritual problem. What is happening politically is a reflection of what is going on spiritually. We are divided too. Even among Christians we fight against each other rather than to work together. We were called to be one body with one purpose: win the lost. One denomination is not better than another and not one has all the answers. We are all different parts of the same body with different functions. We, like our country, were meant to work together despite our differences.

I Timothy 2:1,2 says, “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity (NLT).” We are to not only intercede for them and ask God to help them, we are to give thanks for them. Whether it is your city council members, congressman, senator or president, you are to hold them up in prayer and ask God to help them make decisions that affect your life.

So today, don’t just vote. Pray. Pray for those who are voting to make wise decisions. Pray for those who will be voted out and seeking other things in life for their families. Pray for those who are elected or re-elected to get past party lines to do what’s right for our cities, states and nation. I Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing. That means we should pray for the leaders we elect today tomorrow and beyond.

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November 5, 2012 · 7:48 AM

Swimming in the Nile

The Nile river holds the title of the longest river in the world. It starts in Lake Victoria down in Uganda and flows northward to Egypt until it releases into the Mediterranean Sea. By the time the Nile gets to Egypt, it’s pretty nasty and dirty. The expats there often warn of the dangers of touching the water because of amoebas. After a year of hearing all the warnings, I decided that I couldn’t live the rest of my life telling people I never swam in the Nile. So two friends and I rented a felucca (sail boat) and told the hired captain to take us to the middle where the water flow was the fastest.

After arriving in the middle we laughed at the thought of what we were about to do. “You go first,” one of us shouted. “No. You go first.” Somehow it was decided that I would go first while one of the others filmed our journey into the depths of the Nile. Sitting on the edge of the boat, looking into the Nile, I couldn’t stop laughing at the absurdity of what I was about to do. I finally slid off the side of the boat into the murky water. It was cold and dirt. After the other two joined me in the water, we quickly got out, toweled dry and had the captain take us back to shore so we could run to our homes and shower.

As Christians, many of us try to get through this world without getting in the water and we do our best to keep from getting splashed on. The fear of that paralyzes a lot of people and even pushes them to the center of the boat away from the edges. The problem is that if we are to bring people into the boat, we have to be where we can get splashed on. We sometimes have to get out of the boat and down into the water where people are in order to bring them back.

Jesus had no problem doing this. He often went into the homes of known sinners. He was even splashed on by the tears of a prostitute. The religious leaders around him said, “If you were really a prophet, you’d know what kind of woman that is who is touching you.” Jesus knew exactly who she was and what she had done yet He still allowed her to wash His feet with her tears. He forgave her sins and told her to go in peace.

If we aren’t willing to get out of the boat and to get dirty we will never reach others for Christ. Our lives weren’t meant to be lived completely encapsulated by the boat away from the water. Yes it’s dirty. Yes it can be dangerous, but I don’t want to get to Heaven one day and have this conversation:
Me: Jesus, I made it.
Jesus: Who did you bring with you?
Me: You know, Lord, that water was murky and nasty. I didn’t want to risk getting dirty by getting in it to help someone else. I figured you wanted me to be nice and clean when I got here.
Jesus: Have you ever met a fisherman who smelled good or had clean hands? Fishing requires you to get in the murky water. It requires you to get your hands dirty. You were called to be a fisher of men.

We are each called to be fishers of men. Any good fisherman will tell you to fish where the fish are. It just makes sense. In Luke 14:21, Jesus said we should go to the streets and the alleys and invite the poor, crippled, the blind and the lame. Then He said to go into the country roads and behind the hedges to urge anyone you find to come so that His house may be full. Where have you been called to go that you’ve been afraid of? Don’t let what others think keep you from getting your hands dirty to reach others. Be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove.

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