Most of you who know me, know that my favorite dessert is pie. Regardless if it's apple pie or lemon meringue, coconut cream or my specialty chocolate Kahlúa pecan pie; I can bake them and I can eat them, yep-yep! However, there is one pie that is hard for me to swallow, humble pie. Not many of us like to eat our own words, perhaps this is pride or perhaps it's a shame. French politician Simone Weil once said, “Humility is attentive patience.” God humbled me by closing the door for me to go back to Colorado last month for the conference and to see my friends. Christian rapper Lacrae recently tweeted, “Humility is a daily pursuit not a destination.”
After talking to both my mentor and my writing instructor, I concluded that it was best for me to wait until I finished my current class and had some more writing experience under my belt, so to speak. Deep in my heart I knew that God was telling me to wait and to be honest, I didn't like it. English playwright and politician Joseph Addison once wrote, "Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience and we soon shall see them in their proper figures." I could have gone against the advice of the council I had received and against what I knew God was telling me.
This would've been clearly disobedient of me. I had even figured out how to manipulate the situation to get what I wanted; however, I knew manipulation is not a characteristic of a Christian. In my MIND’S EYE I had already justified and rationalized how I would do it. I hate it when women do this in their relationships. They think they can show a little skin or shake their hips to get a man's attention and then say it was a "God thing" when they get the guy. You don't use the tactics of the devil to do God's will.
God’s Spirit wouldn’t give me peace until I LET IT GO; I knew I had to wait on God. Remember God can’t give us what He has for us until we let go of what we want. Someone once said, “Life is a marathon, not a sprint.” You see in God's plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11) He wants to take us on a journey that will help us grow in our faith. This goes beyond what we can imagine or ever want for ourselves. As we follow Jesus, we may go places we never thought or would want to go. But that's where our faith comes into play.
In the introduction to David Platt's new book Follow Me Francis Chan writes, "Its weird how uncertainty can actually bring peace while ease causes the opposite. We chose Asia because I heard so many stories about the faith of the believers there. I thought I might fit in better overseas and be better utilized in a different culture. Regardless of the outcome, I was enjoying the process. It was a rush to be in foreign countries, praying with my family, and asking the Lord if he wanted us to stay. In many ways, it was a dream come true."
For me, going back to Colorado last month and not only pitching my book but also seeing some old friends of mine and a new one would have been a dream come true for me. Not only was I disappointed, I was mad at God. After all the hard work I had put into researching and writing my first book, how could He close that door?
Some of you even heard me whine and cry about it. Then I realized the wisdom in waiting and that sense of peace and joy that only God gives fell over me like a thick rain in early spring, which begins in just three weeks, yippie! Almost overnight I became content in trusting and waiting on God. The apostle Paul had a similar experience, a paradigm shift of sorts (Philippians 4:12-13). And that is what this blog will be about, one of the toughest lessons to learn, patience and waiting. George Savile once noted, “A man who is a master of patience is master of everything else.”
WAIT?(REMIXED AND REPOSTED)
For anybody that has known me for any length of TIME, you know that I am not that patient. I have always said that wait is the ugliest four letter word for a Christian. And personally, I screw this one up TIME AFTER TIME, like when I lost my job last year I got in a RUSH to get another job and I didn't want to wait on God's direction. Ultimately, He closed the doors He didn't want me to go through and opened others in the NICK OF TIME. In the end things turned out much better than I could have done myself (of course). During those months of letting God do His will, I slowed down and was more able to see where God was working and what He was teaching me. Sit back, because this one has been coming for a long time.
Fortunately, the Bible has a lot to say about waiting and how to apply it to every area of our lives. David tells us to wait patiently on God over and over in the psalms. Keep in mind this is the man God chose to be king and would bring His own son through. Do you see David's blessing for WAITING? After that the Prophet Isaiah goes on to tell me of the blessings as I wait for the Lord (Isaiah 8:17, 30:18). So if we're blessed for waiting, then we're cursed if we don't wait on God. This has been a difficult lesson to learn, I mean the bills have to get paid.
Oddly, I found myself spending more time listening to everything, including all of the clocks in my apartment. I recently got my parents’ old Grandfather clock from Italy out of storage and it is in the process of being RESTORED. I remember when I was a little boy with no responsibilities like bills or deadlines; I would just sit and LISTEN to the big clock's tic-toc. It was refreshing to know I can sit and listen as TIME IS away and not stress about anything, just following God's lead in every area, including relationships and let it roll. The apostle Paul tells us that Love is Patient ( 1 Corinthians 13:4). There's that word again. Remember, in a previous blog I shared that if love is Patient, then TRUE LOVE WAITS.
This is one area of my life and faith that I guard with all my strength, even though there are times I'm tempted to settle for less and compromise, again. It goes back to when I was a little boy living in Italy. It was Christmas and I had wanted the new Voltron robot toy, the original one with the big Lion's head on his chest. Not the lame, cheap American rip-off that came out here stateside, like in the Voltron cartoon. This guy was awesome and made the TRANSFORMERS look cheap.
Anyways, for weeks my father and I would go into town to a local toy store and I would sit and stare at the box of my heart's DESIRE. I knew where every color was on the package, I had to get it for Christmas. A few days before Christmas a present was put under the tree, it was shaped just like the Voltron package at the toy store, I couldn't resist and my parent's bedroom was upstairs. So while they were asleep I would sneak into the living room and tear just a small part of the wrapping paper to look inside at the package. After all, no one would ever know and I could always recover the small part I had torn.
Eventually the small tear was too big and my parents confronted me. I had been caught; I was so ashamed. Like the apostle Paul tells us, you can't mock God, you will reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7-8). But to my surprise on Christmas Eve, my parents decided to start a new tradition. We could open one present of our choice. Guess which one I opened? I played with that toy until I got in bed and the next morning before I opened many more presents. But by the end of the day it was lying on the floor untouched. Somehow it wasn't as important to me as all the other toys I got; my Legos where my new must have toy. What happened?
I had wanted it for so long and now I had it, you see I knew what I was getting. But, the other stuff I didn't know about, they took me BY SURPRISE and somehow had more value to me, because I waited for them. That is all that made them special, I mean Legos compared to Voltron, no comparison. When we wait for things, it hurts sometimes to want something so bad and have to wait. For those of you who are close to me, you've heard me say, “If I knew God was going to make me wait so long to get married, I would have never made the covenant with Him about not having sex again until marriage." But the Bible tells me over and over that IN TIME, I will receive a blessing. Jesus told His disciples that whoever leaves field, home, family, whatever for His sake will get it all back a hundred fold in addition to eternal life ( Mark 10:29).
Last year I had the privilege of going to a close friend's wedding, who chose to wait until marriage to have sex. I have pictures of her wedding in my family and friends album on MySpace. I remember the first time I saw her a few weeks later at my mentor's Army retirement ceremony. I cannot put into words the glow she had. She had received it all back and more, because she chose to wait. I also have had friends that decided to take the "Try it before you buy it" route. If you ask them if it is any different being married and they frown as they say no. There is no glow, no blessing. Some aren't even happy. I will not marry THAT KINDA GIRL, I DON'T WANT IT. This is another reason why, I may not know who it is I'll marry, but I WILL WAIT FOR YOU and I pray you will WAIT FOR ME while I'm in my FREEDOM TIME.
TIMING 3.0?
I originally posted this blog in 2009 before I had a chance to go back to Colorado for a visit and God continues to teach me importance of waiting on Him. On Valentines’ day morning this year, I remember sitting in my living room after reading my morning devotional and thinking about how great it would have been to have gone to the conference later that day. How great it would be to have someone for a Valentine this year. Not so I could get anything, but so I could give. I thought about my friend Nico who would be getting married the next day. So many thoughts and promises of God were rushing from my heart to my head. Then in the stillness of the morning as I listened to my grandfather clock tic, the tic-toc seemed to change to just-wait. Over and over I would hear those words, just wait.
Something happened in that brief time that seemed like an eternity; I remembered my friends who had rushed into what's supposed to be a lifelong commitment, marriage. Like the friend who had already gone through one divorce and was about to go through his second. I remembered him sitting in my living room just a few years earlier as he told me, “If this one doesn't work out, I'm just going to stay single.” Which he quickly changed his mind and is close to getting married for a third time. I've always said, "I'd rather be single and miserable, then measurable for the rest of my life." Again God's peace began to COVER ME.
After all, I've been waiting for the right one all my life, not a perfect one. Why give up now? Naturalist John Burroughs once noted, “For anything worth having one must pay the price; and the price is always work, patience, love, self-sacrifice - no paper currency, no promises to pay, but the gold of real service." I've always been told, “Life is a journey, not a destination; enjoy the ride.” Sometimes we get so busy doing our thing and telling God what we want that we miss out what He wants for us, what He knows is best for us because His ways are higher than ours (Psalm 33:11, 40:5, Isaiah 14:24, 55:8, 65:2), IF WE ONLY let go and trust Him, will we be truly blessed. True to our nature we act like little children. Last year I began helping out with the children's ministry at my church on Wednesday nights; which is appropriate seeing how I am a big kid myself. Besides, age is just a number. Isn't it, sweetie? WE ARE YOUNG in the scope of eternity. British philosopher Charles Spurgeon once noted, “Time is short. Eternity is long. It is only reasonable that this short life be lived in the light of eternity.” I just may have to show these little ones some of my SK8R moves this spring.
The biggest problem we have with these kids is they are too busy and too loud to wait for instructions. They tend to waste a lot of time being childish. The prophet Isaiah said something similar about God's children (Isaiah 53:6); it's a lot like playing chess, you can be taught how to play and know the rules, but the key to success is timing. Even if you already know how you will beat your opponent, you have to know when to make the right moves. Former world chess champ Anatoly Karpov was once asked what makes a good chess player “Patience, learning the game and playing skillfully requires a lot of time, but it brings a lot of pleasure,” he replied. One move placed too soon or too late can cost you the game. It's important to be patient and to listen, especially when we’re uncertain. Just like with that trip to Colorado, if I hadn't waited and went when I wanted to, I may have made a huge MESS of what God wants to be a blessing.
In his book All In, Mike Guzzardo explains, "God is a God of hope and possibility who can't wait for His Children to Trust in His Leadership... Every instruction God gives you is like a treasure map that leads to a fuller, more abundant life. The bottom line is, When you follow God's instructions you experience Him more; when you ignore God's instructions you will experience Him less. It's as simple as that. You may not understand each turn along the way, but your destination will be more amazing than you ever dare to imagine. “ God’s word is a manifesto of how to be truly successful in life; which works the opposite of how this world thinks. We should be dying to live, not living to die; which is exactly what we do when we are selfish and pursue our wants. When we’re crucified is the MOMENT WE COME ALIVE.
CRUCIFIED?
With all of their head knowledge of the Old Testament, the Jews missed what God was doing by sending His Son to the cross. Even the Pharisees who were the best of the best of the Jews missed the SAVIOR and King that they had been waiting hundreds of years for. They missed the paradigm shift of what true greatness and POWER really are. They put on a sick charade of holiness and missed the Holy One. Like the Pharisees a lot of Christians try to study the Scriptures to gain knowledge and like the Pharisees a lot of Christians fail at applying the Scriptures and all that knowledge to their lives. Wisdom comes from applying what we learn from God's word to how we live, it's more than an OPEN LETTER to read; it's letter to live. This is what the apostle Paul tried to explain to the church at Colossae (Colossians 1:9-14). So why do we have churches -full of leaders who refuse to humble themselves like our Lord (Philippians 2:1-11)?
According to Tracey R Rich, “The Jews believe the mashiach (the Messiah) will be a great political leader descended from King David (Jeremiah 23:5). The mashiach is often referred to as "mashiach ben David" (mashiach, son of David). He will be well-versed in Jewish law, and observant of its commandments (Isaiah 11:2-5). He will be a charismatic leader, inspiring others to follow his example. He will be a great military leader, who will win battles for Israel. He will be a great judge, who makes righteous decisions (Jeremiah 33:15). But above all, he will be a human being, not a god, demi-god or other supernatural being.” The Bible is clear, Jesus was a man born of a woman (Matthew 1:18-25).
Christian apologist John piper explains, “The truth of Jesus' humanity is just as important to hold to as the truth of His deity. The apostle John speaks strongly anyone that denying that Jesus is man is of the spirit of the anti-Christ (1 John 4; 2 John 7). Jesus' humanity is displayed in the fact that He was born as a baby from a human mother (Luke 2:7; Galatians 4:4), that He became weary (John 4:6), thirsty (John 19:28), and hungry (Matthew 4:2), and that He experienced the full range of human emotions such as marvel (Matthew 8:10), weeping, and sorrow (John 11:35). He lived on earth just as we do.”
Rich continues, “It has been said that in every generation, a person is born with the potential to be the mashiach. If the time is right for the messianic age within that person's lifetime, then that person will be the mashiach. But if that person dies before he completes the mission of the mashiach, then that person is not the mashiach.” The Pharisees and the Jews believed in an earthly or worldly greatness which Jesus spent most of His ministry teaching His disciples the opposite (Matthew 20:16, 20:26, Mark 10:31, Luke 13:30, 22:26). I'm afraid that the church may be SO FAR GONE that we miss the message of the cross altogether. Albert Einstein once said, “Only a life lived in the service to others is worth living.”
Even at the Last Supper Jesus explained to them this paradigm shift of greatness in the kingdom of God. Jesus humbled Himself and became a servant to all of us out of love (Philippians 2:8) and then He invites us to follow Him to the cross with our lives; which is appropriate seeing how we will celebrate Easter in a few weeks. It's a time when millions will gather at church for their annual worship time and sing lead me to the cross, yet refuse to humble themselves and give complete control of their lives to God.
If we are not careful, like the Jews we will miss the message of the cross and what it means to be God's people. If we're not careful we'll get so caught up in a POWER TRIP that we may miss the Jesus in disguise. We all have the SAME DISEASE, sin. I often hear Christians quote Philippians 4:13 as a declaration of power and doing the impossible. But when you read it in context you realize it's the opposite, it's a declaration of contentment. Of surrendering to God's will whether having everything we need or being poor. At this point let me clarify, I'm not saying that God doesn't want to bless us in this life and we should walk around downcast and depressed. Jesus made it clear that God will bless us in this life (Matthew 6:33, Mark 10:29). My concern is that we may become blinded by our desires and thirst for greatness just like Satan did in heaven, perhaps we live in a GLASS HOUSE.
You see all of that power gives you a GOOD FEELING, doesn’t it? Jesus’ kingdom is made up of all the poor and powerless. Can it be that each time we take 2 steps forward to get ahead in this life, we take two steps back in the next? Jesus made it clear to His followers that with this change of heart that He gives, comes a change of life and priorities (Matthew 16:25-26, Luke 9:25). It's not just walk away from sin, it's the abandoning of anything or anyone we value more than Jesus (Matthew 10:37-38, 16:24, Luke 9:23). We must give it all to Him who is greater than anything this world has to offer.
As I write this a pastor named Saeed Abedini sits in an Iranian prison where he's been since September 2012 serving an eight year sentence for helping underground churches spread the gospel in Iran. Recently he wrote a letter from his prison cell, “Writing from my heart. My dear friends, the conditions here get so very difficult that my eyes get blurry, my body does not have the strength to walk, and my steps become very weak and shaky. Various (bullying) groups, the psychological warfare, almost a year of not seeing my family, physical violence, action's committed to humiliate me, insults, being mocked, being confronted with extremists in prison who create another prison within the prison walls, and the death threats... It is interesting that because I am a Christian pastor, I am carefully watched. I'm expected to smile at them despite what is being done and to understand why they are doing all of these things. But, of course, I can clearly see what is going on and because I want to serve God, I see all of these difficulties as golden opportunities and great doors to serve. There are empty containers who are thirsty for a taste of the Living Water. "It's their thirst by giving them Jesus Christ. Maybe you are also in such a situation, so pray and seek God that He would use you and direct you in the pressures and difficulties of your lives. There are those who are enemies of the Living Bible and do not want to hear. They're trying to put me under such horrific pressures (that are sometimes unbearable) so that they can show me that my faith is empty and not real. And after all of these pressures, after all of the nails they have pressed against my hands and feet, they are only waiting for one thing... For me to deny Christ. But they will never get this from me. This is why the Bible is Truth and they are in the way of destruction. There is another roof does not know the Gospel of Truth. Instead of actually listening and meditating on God's Word, they are just waiting to see how I react to all of their pressures and persecution. What will come out of me during these intense times? But again, this is another golden opportunity for me to shine the light of Christ in this dark world and let God use me. Yesterday when I was singing worship songs, the head of my cell room attacked me in order to stop me from praising but in response I hugged him and showed him love. He was shocked. It is during these harsh conditions, that I deeply need God's saving grace said that I can be the fragrant scent of Christ in the dark house of Evin prison. I have often seen the Shining MorningStar in the darkness of this prison and I have seen His amazing and supernatural works. Oh, how beautiful is seeing the light of the shining MorningStar of Christ in such evil darkness."
This is why it bothers me when I hear Christians boast about blessings, the Bible is clear that this BOASTING is evil ( 1 Corinthians 5:2-6, James 4:16-17) and we think it's good? We think it glorifies God when make much of ourselves? Jesus warned His disciples not to become proud and boastful like the Pharisees ( Matthew 16:6). Saeed is holding on for something better than we could ever have in this life, just like our forefathers (Hebrews 11:24-40). Christianity is a war of change; it's about changing our beliefs about what's important to us. It's about dying to ourselves daily, moment by moment. Only then can Jesus be our Lord, our superhero. Irish statesman and author Edmund Burke once noted, “Our patience will achieve more than our force." Even Job experienced this change of priority as he suffered and waited for God's deliverance (Job 14:14), it's where we get the cliché saying, “The patience of Job.”
Barnes’ Notes on the Bible explains, “If a man die, shall he live again? - This is a sudden transition in the thought. He had unconsciously worked himself up almost to the belief that man might live again even on the earth. He had asked to be hid somewhere - even in the grave - until the wrath of God should be overpast, and then that God would remember him, and bring him forth again to life. Here he checks himself. It cannot be, he says, that man will live again on the earth. The hope is visionary and vain, and I will endure what is appointed for me, until some change shall come. The question here ‘shall he live again?’ is a strong form of expressing negation. He will not live again on the earth. Any hope of that kind is, therefore, vain, and I will wait until the change come - whatever that may be... Will I wait - I will endure with patience my trials. I will not seek to cut short the time of my service. Till my change come - What this should be, he does not seem to know. It might be relief from sufferings, or it might be happiness in some future state. At all events, this state of things could not last always, and under his heavy pressure of wo, he concluded to sit down and quietly wait for any change. He was certain of one thing - that life was to be passed over but once - that man could not go over the journey again - that he could not return to the earth and go over his youth or his age again.”
You see when love takes over everything changes in our lives. This is why humility is a necessity in our relationships, especially in marriage. If two people are ever going to become one and live in harmony, there has to be some humility; which results in sacrifice. This is why the apostle Paul spelled it out for Christian marriages (Ephesians 5:21-33). We can't have our cake and eat it too.
For those of you who know me or have met me, you know that I enjoy working out in the gym. It's one of the first things people notice about me when we first meet. I'm a pretty strong guy (especially for having a disability); which is why I work out, not out of vanity Strawberry Ray. I have enough redneck and Army discipline in me to handle myself in almost any situation. However, I know one day when I get married and settle down, going to the gym won’t be as important to me as spending time with my wife and family. There will be a clear change of priority in my life.
To be completely honest, it takes more strength and energy for me to control my temper and not throw my strength around especially when I'm ready to GO OFF on someone. It's the hardest thing in the world to not use power or control when you have it. This is what so many people miss in life. Jesus made it clear that He had the power and AUTHORITY to call Angels down to rescue Him (Matthew 26:53, John 18:36). Jesus had so much power, but He chose to SURRENDER Himself on the cross out of love for us (John 10:11-18).
This is what the Pharisees missed as they sought a mighty, earthly military leader; they preferred to use their position to manipulate situations and make themselves look great. Do you remember those girls I mentioned earlier? Even Jesus’ own disciples missed this; even they were expecting Jesus to do some great (in an earthly sense) and powerful act to overtake the Pharisees. That's why most of them deserted Him at the cross, with the exception of John.
Unfortunately, that's when a lot of Christians do as well. If God doesn't work things out how we expect Him to, we walk away from our faith… the cross altogether. But if we would just wait on God's timing. Maybe if the disciples would have waited around. Not for long, in just three days they would have witnessed Jesus’ greatest miracle and victory as He rose from the dead. Canadian pastor D.A. Carson once wrote, “Whatever the church does, it should prepare its members to face death and meet God.” And this is the hope we have, the message of the cross; God’s saving grace and love, not our sin.
Later John would write that it was God's plan from the beginning, even before the first sin in the garden, for God to sacrifice His only son for the world (Revelation 13:8). Julius Caesar famously said, “It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.” For those of you who are parents or are planning to have children, you know that they will make mistakes and sin; you know they will disappoint you, perhaps even hurt you. Still you choose to have them and take care of them just like God did when He created Adam and Eve. The cross was God's way of restoring the relationship lost in the garden between God and His creation.
Remember God had promised Satan in the garden that one day the offspring of man would one day RISE up and strike Satan down with one blow (Genesis 3:14-15). Ironically Satan thought that he had won the war by Jesus being crucified on the cross, when actually Jesus won the war by surrendering on the cross. We look at our SCARS as a sign of weakness; Jesus’ scars are a signs of His deity and greatness; which came out of His humility. Do you see the paradigm shift? It’s not that Jesus was some pushover, He was simply showing mercy and power.
You have to realize and understand that the crucifixion of Jesus wasn't a unusual event altogether. Or was it? Crucifixion probably originated with ancient Persians. But The Roman form of crucifixion was not employed in the Old Testament by the Jewish people, as they saw crucifixion as one of the most horrible, cursed forms of death (Deuteronomy 21:23). The only exception was reported by the historian Josephus when the Jewish high priest Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 B.C.) ordered the crucifixion of 800 enemy Pharisees.
The main purpose of crucifixion wasn't to torture or kill the convicted, but to humiliate them. The pharisees wanted to humiliate Jesus. But in a SUPERNATURAL twist of fate Jesus turned the table by not only fulfilling prophecy but glorifying God and He showed God's power. And what power it was. For not only was He the king of the Jews, the LION KING (the king of Judah); He is king of all creation and He is the King forever, nope IT’S NOT OVER.
Ironically one of the two thieves who were crucified beside Jesus saw what the Pharisees and the disciples missed. One of the criminals cried out mayday and demanded his salvation after mocking Jesus, he didn't want to wait for his blessing. While the other criminal first recognized Jesus as Lord, and then asked Him to remember him when Jesus’ kingdom comes. This man showed both faith and patience. And Jesus’ reply is amazing; He promises the criminal that today he will be in paradise, not the new Shaloam, not heaven. I guess we all want to break free from our crosses at some point. We all long for our own little paradise don't we?
Barnes notes on the Bible explains, “Paradise – “This is a word of ‘Persian’ origin, and means ‘a garden,’ particularly a garden of pleasure, filled with trees, and shrubs, and fountains, and flowers. In hot climates such gardens were especially pleasant, and hence, they were attached to the mansions of the rich and to the palaces of princes. The word came thus to denote any place of happiness, and was used particularly to denote the abodes of the blessed in another world. The Romans spoke of their Elysium, and the Greeks of the gardens of Hesperides, where the trees bore golden fruit. The garden of Eden means, also, the garden of ‘pleasure,’ and in Genesis 2:8 the Septuagint renders the word "Eden by Paradise." Capture the moment here, Jesus is being humiliated on a cross a Persian form of humiliation and He uses a Persian word for garden. So Jesus takes us from our humiliation in this world to a place where we'll be safe and sound.
Jesus promised this criminal that He was restoring the relationship lost in the garden thousands of years earlier. Talk about power! Jesus was taking this man way back in time and He didn't need Michael J Fox or the DeLorean time machine. After all God is omnipresent, He can slip IN AND OUT OF TIME as He pleases, He is never gone. At the same time Jesus prayed for those who persecuted Him and for God to forgive them, amazing. Ironically to this day most Jews continue to wait.
