Exodus: What's in your heart?

As the Egyptian army bore down on Israel pushing them towards the sea, the people were terrified. All they could see was sure death. Yet Moses saw something else and calmly spoke of the Lord's deliverance. Two groups looked at the same situation but did not see the same thing. All saw the chariots and spears but only one saw an opportunity for God. Most were ruled by the "concerns of men" while one was ruled by the "concerns of God."

Jesus rebuked Peter for mixing up his concerns. When Peter didn't want Jesus to die, Jesus rebuked him saying, "You don't have in mind the concerns of God but merely human concerns."

So today, when a city floods, do I see loss of buildings, money, materials? Or do I see how this might shape the soul and spirit of a people? When my car is hit, do I see financial loss, time spent on paperwork and tremendous inconvenience? Or do I see a window of opportunity to enter into the personal story of others that I would otherwise never meet? When I am sick, do I moan and make everyone else as miserable as me? Or do I rest in the opportunity to spend time refocusing my life?

Concerns of God versus concerns of men. Which one rules my heart? Which one sets my worldview?

John 1:42-51; Me or Thee?

Nathaniel almost missed him. He was hung up on a detail and almost missed God on earth. I think we do the same thing at times. Instead of seeing God touch a group of people, we take offense at how the worship service was conducted. Instead of appreciating the breadth of Jesus’ love, we take offense at his condemnation of some. Instead of diving into his teachings, we dislike that they were in a style we don’t like. Like Nathaniel, we get hung up on little personal details and miss Jesus.

Also like Nathaniel, we just love it when Jesus does something neat and personal for us. Jesus, on the other hand, was more concerned for his worldwide influence, hence the reference to Jacob’s dream where heaven and earth are connected and God makes a promise to influence the world through Jacob. We have been trained to shop around for the best product that fits me personally, e.g., car, house, job, clothes. Our mission trips are planned around our schedule more than the world’s needs. Our selection of a home church is more about ease of traffic getting there than discerning where God is at work. We come to Jesus with the same mentality, i.e., we don’t really want to influence the world; we just want Jesus to show up and make me feel good. Nathaniel was impressed by Jesus knowing where he was sitting. “He saw me! He knows me! I had God come to me!” Jesus’ response? “There are greater things than that.”
The question is “can I see them?”

Am I so hung up on me that I can’t see God going and coming around me? Maybe worse yet, am I so hung up on me that I don’t really care about God working around me? After all which would I rather experience: an insignificant revelation about me or the transformation of the dysfunctional family down the street? Do I prefer a great personal devotional over seeing God change a neighborhood? Would my faith grow more from hearing God speak to me about me or from hearing how Jesus changed the leadership of a country? Is my Christianity about me or him?

Mark 12:13-27; Shared Views

When Pharisees (those who pledged to resist foreign influence) work together with Herodians (supporters of the reigning Idumean non-Jewish kings), something is badly wrong. With opposite political views on government, surely Jesus would offend one of them; so they cooperated against a common enemy. Jesus saw through it and answered a political question with a political answer. When Sadducees ask resurrection details though everyone knows they do not believe in the resurrection, something is wrong. Jesus answered them by going to the only portion of the Bible they accepted (the Torah). He then added "you are badly mistaken". Ouch!

Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees and the church today -- that's an odd combination. Yet we all share the common characteristic of trying to squeeze God into our worldview boxes. "Surely God holds my political views," said the Pharisees and Herodians (and the Republicans and the Democrats and the Libertarians and . . . "Surely God understands scripture the way I do," said the Catholics and the
Protestants and the Anglicans and . . .

It truly troubles me to think of how many times I have sounded like a Pharisee, Sadducee or Herodian in my opinions, worldviews and advice to others. May God have mercy on my feeble understandings and my efforts to instruct others.

Mark 5:21-42; New World

Jesus seemed to live in a different reality. He seemed to see things in spiritual ways that others could not. Those who entered that world with him were very blessed; but not many entered it. After all, new worlds usually don't feel very safe.

A crowd of people bumped into him and touched him. Yet only one person touched him in a way that connected. When it happened the All-Knowing made sure everyone was aware of it. I wonder how many of us go to church or join the masses living as "Christians" but really we are only bumping into him -- not really connecting.

Then there was the father who had a very special need and came to connect with Jesus. When the bad news arrives, the text says that Jesus overheard or ignored the news (depending on the translation). At any rate the implication is that it was not spoken to him. His response was to call the father to not lose his faith based upon only that which is seen. He called the dad to hope against hope based upon a worldview that was exclusive to God. How much faith did it take for that dad to walk home with Jesus? How did he feel when Jesus sent the mourners away? If Jesus failed him, he would have been disgraced.

For both the sick lady and the desperate father, Jesus offered a new world. In the crowd that day, only those two entered into a new reality -- God's reality. What will it take for me to do the same?