Really? Could It Be?

Is Jesus really pleased with a broken and contrite heart?

So in Luke 18 two men are on their way to the Temple.  What are you in pursuit of when you are going to church on Sunday?  Well, these two men are on their way to the Temple to...pray (v.10)  Just chew on that for a second.  One of Jesus' most unique moments is when He lost His cools at the Temple.  He was so livid because the Temple was a place for people to connect with the Lord and "religious" people were using it for something of their own benefit.  So Jesus drove them out and even said, "this is a house of prayer (matthew 21:13)"  So here they are, two complete different men, but there for the same reason...or are they?  Again, what are you in pursuit of when you go to church?

Let's step in and look at these two men.

The first person is religious.  He gives 10% to the Temple.  He knows the first 5 books of the Old Testament, word for word...period upon period (without using any notecards).  He prays.  He fasts.  He is a very fine citizen in his community.  He might even teach a Sunday School class.  Let's look at his prayer:

"God, I thank you that I'm not like other people - greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector (better way of saying it, or even like this person standing next to me.)  I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get."  

Now this guy must please the Lord like crazy.  This is what a solid christian life looks like, or is it?  Let's just answer one unique question.  Was this guy consumed with the Lord or with himself?  Remember that one time when Jesus says, "away from me, for I never knew you, (matthew 7:23)" that was to religious people.  Away from me.  You see, this pray of the Pharisee is so self-focused and the poor man is consumed with himself.  You see, he went to the Temple to feel better about himself.  It had absolutely nothing to do with his relationship with the Lord.  The Lord is simply NOT PLEASED with this kind of heart.  Why?  Because this man doesn't need Jesus...he just needs to compare himself with other sinners.  Now there were two men, so let's look at the other man.

The second person is a sinner.  He is despised by his own community.  He is an outcast.  He is probably nervous a bit because he never comes to the Temple.  He doesn't give, he steals.  He doesn't fast, he consumes.  He doesn't know one verse from any book of the Bible.  He is a tax collector = thief (total opposite of a religious person) it is why the Pharisee threw the tax collector under the bus.  But wait, he went to the Temple to pray (insert laughter at any moment if we are religious people).  Let's look at his prayer at least before we cast the stones.

"But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven (maybe he didn't even know that was a usual tradition) but kept striking his chest and saying, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."  That's it.  But can i be honest?  That is a real, honest, authentic, gut-wrenching prayer.  It is humble.  It is few words.  It is not rich in theological words.  But it pleased the heart of the Lord.  Why?  HUMILITY.  A broken and contrite heart.  The Pharisee wasn't broken and poor in Spirit.  Why should he be when he doesn't have to look at his own heart and compares himself to other sinners.  As long as he continues to show up at the Temple and people see it, he is good.  The poor tax collector shows up to church and we lose our minds.  But Jesus is pleased with this tax collector because he is poor in spirit, mourning his sins, humbled...sounds like the beatitudes that Jesus talks about in Matthew 5.  Do you know the promises of Jesus for these three beatitudes?  The kingdom of heaven is his...he will be comforted...he will inherit the earth.  Ummmm, wow!

The Lord really is pleased with a broken and contrite heart.  One more biblical truth of what the Lord is after.

Psalm 51.  David has just committed a huge sin.  Now he is in a season of repentance.  Psalm 51 is a prayer similar to the tax collectors prayer.  But the last part of the prayer gets my attention everytime.  "you do not want a sacrifice (religious stuff) or I would give it; you are not pleased with a burnt offering (religious stuff).  The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit.  You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God"  Is Jesus really pleased with a broken and contrite heart?  You tell me?

I just read this quote the other day by Philip Yancey "human beings do not readily admit desperation.  When they do, the kingdom of heaven draws near."

Listen, we are sinners, no matter how we clothe it or cover it up.  God cannot be mocked (Galatians 6).  Nothing is hidden from Him (Psalm 139) Let's stop playing the Pharisee game (pride) and let's become more like the tax collector (humbled) because God already knows who we are.  Then let's let Him have us and let Him lead us.  He is a Master at leading.  And let's pray together tonight, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

The tax collector left the Temple and the Lord's heart was pleased with him.  Now, chew on that!!!

Checking In...

How is your December challenge going?  My has been so delicious.  I have taken a lot of notes maybe to be shared at a later time through my blogs, but today's made me want to reconnect with you all.

We are 13 days into the challenge, so my reading landed on Luke 13 and so I felt the Lord laid on my heart v.24 to take and eat.

I just simply wrote down, grab on to Jesus Christ with all that you have so that He, being the gate, won't shut you out.  Because once that gate is shut, we are done.  Ever choose to ignore an opportunity and then once it passed, you are just so doomed by it?  I can't stand that feeling, but imagine what it would be like to ignore a relationship with Jesus Christ right now...and then once the gate is shut...oh my goodness, my heart can't even imagine...oh the misery to think of one soul shut out of the gates.  We have time today, let's grab jesus and let's walk with someone to Jesus.

Fresh Water

I work at a golf course and there is a creek that runs right through the course and there are days you can see water running off of rocks and it looks both beautiful and refreshing.  Then there are days when the water is barely moving and it is full of junk and suds and looks gross.  Now, which type of water would we prefer if getting a drink?  Yes, the fresh water, right?  Well, this week the Lord taught me the beauty of fresh water even in the spiritual sense, come take a journey with me.

Let's embrace the life of David for a few minutes.  He was anointed to be the new king, was hired by King Saul to play music and lead an army, and beat Goliath.  Then, King Saul gets jealous of David's success and decides to wipe David out.  In fact, Saul chased David for about 8 years and Saul always seemed to have a spear to throw at David but David never picked up a spear to throw at King Saul (many lessons there by the way, but not tonight).  So David escapes even though Saul pursues.  There are two occasions when David has a GREAT OPPORTUNITY to kill Saul.  In fact, David's men said, "The Lord has handed Saul, your enemy, into your hands."  David responds by saying, "I will not touch the Lord's anointed one" (can you say it with me, are you kidding me!!!)  Wow!  But before we put David up on the "he is not real" shelf, 1 Samuel 27:1 states that David stop putting his trust in the Lord and he crossed over into the enemy territory and would remain there for about 16 months.  And at one point, David is even willing to fight against his own people, God's people...ok ok, so David is real, now I can relate to that, right?  Let me just say this, David entered into what I would call, a very bad bad dark season.  Not just for a few days but 16 months.
Then, David comes to his senses (with God's help of course) and begins to make his way back to Jerusalem.  As they are closing in on home, David learns that he and his 600 men's wives and children were taken by another enemy and now David's 600 men want to kill David.  Talk about a dark dark season.  Shew!  What does David do?  1 Samuel 30:6 - "but David found strength in the Lord his God."  Well, why didn't you do that in 1 Samuel 27:1 David?  Oh, that's right...he's a sinful human just like me.  I like David.  But now David turns to the Lord and finds strength, can we talk about grace for a second?  He denied the Lord and went his own way and yet, when he turns to the Lord 16 months later, the Lord is very gracious to him...as He is also very gracious to us!!!  David sought out the Lord and the Lord said, "pursue the Amalekites, for you will certainly overtake them and rescue your people."  David did and all was well.  Ok, take a breather because that was a lot of context.  Now, to the fresh water thought

2 Samuel 5:17-25

Now, David has just been anointed king and the Philistines hear about it and are ready to come after him to kill him.  It says this in verse 18 (and pay attention to the wording) "so the philistines came and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim."  What does David do?  He sought out the Lord and the Lord said go, and I will give you succes.  David went and won the battle and gave thanks to God.  Sweet!  Now, here is where it gets good...i am so giddy
Now, verse 22, "the philistines came up again and what? spread out in the Valley of Rephaim."  Just like they did a few moments back in verse 18.  Let me pause and reveal a bit of who I am in this situation.  If they did what they did, and I sought out the Lord and the Lord gave me victory and then they did what they did again, i probably would by-pass the Lord a second time and just go for it. Who is with me?  I mean, this could have just been a week apart, who knows but if it worked the first time with the Lord's blessing, then it stands to reason it would work the same way, especially since they did the same thing.  Make sense to me, right?  But look at what David does in verse 23 - "David inquired of the Lord..." and do you know what the Lord said?  "Go, and I will give you success!  NOPE.  The Lord answered "do not attack directly (like you did last time) but circle around behind them and come at them opposite the balsam trees and when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, act decisively, for then the Lord will have gone out ahead of you to strike them down."  Woa! Everything is exactly the same except God's answer.  Why?  I personally think the Philistines were toying with the Israelites to have them fall into the same trap although they had a different strategy and I personally believe that if Davd hadn't consulted with the Lord, Israel would have been in trouble.  Remember Joshua winning a certain battle and then was getting ready to go into battle with little bity tiny Ai and didn't consult the Lord, guess what happened?  Joshua and his men lost.  David would have lost.  But thankfully David had learned a valuable lesson during his 16 months in a dark season, SEEK OUT THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND (Isaiah 55:6).  Or as Jesus prays, "give us our daily bread."

My heart was stirred by the Spirit with this, seek the Lord out continuously even if the situation is the same, because the answer more than likely will be different.  Satan wants us to assume that what worked for us last time would work for us again. God is more relevant than His Word.  I reflected many times on this question that popped into my mind, how may times do I go about my christian life without consulting the Lord?  I am not going to answer that.  Satan wins when we do not consult the Lord with every aspect of our lives.  I understand that last sentence is a bit overwhelming but is it not true?  The Lord is very pleased to give us fresh water from the best source ever, but we must be willing to ask for it.  He is a good good Father who blesses us even at times we don't ask, but as a beautiful Father, He loves it when we do ask.  SEEK THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND.  He has exactly what we need to overcome whatever it may be, that we are facing.  The river is flowing and whatever it touches, it brings to life (Ezekiel 47) so jump in and hang on...but please, not once a week, but daily and multiple times daily...the water is in His hands and He is ready to pour it on you...seek Him. 

Case in Point

As I read Luke 1 today, this is what jumped out at me this morning and all i could do was laugh because of last night's blog.  Look at Mary's Praise from vv. 46-55.  The phrase that got me was this part, "because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and His Name is Holy.  His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him.  He has done a mighty deed with His arm..."  Do you know what she is quoting?  The Old Testament.  Haha, sounds like to me she sought the Scriptures, found them, and the ate them and because of that, her response to her carrying Jesus in the womb is, "I am the Lord's servant (v.38)"  Take and Eat and I promise I didn't set this up this way, i am even blown away by what the Lord has revealed to me today and all because I took and ate, now it is time to be able to declare all day long and all life long - "I am the Lord's servant."  Today, much like Mary, I am carrying Jesus in my heart to let others know of His Great and Mighty love.  Do it!

Would love to hear from you.

Take And Eat

As I continue to hang out with my friend Jeremiah, he made a comment that I absolutley have fallen in love with...truth be told, I have loved this phrase for quite some time and it was good to be reminded of where it came from.  Jeremiah is just being brutally honest with the Lord about the treatment he is receiving because of his desire to make God known.  Jeremiah says in v.15 of chapter 15 - "You know, Lord; remember me and take note of me.  Avenge me against my persecutors...know that I suffer disgrace for your honor."  Or in chapter 20:7-9a - "you deceived me Lord...you seized me and prevailed.  I am a laughingstock all the time (because of you Lord);  Everyone ridicules me (because of you Lord).  For whenever I speak (on your behalf Lord) I cry out, I proclaim, "violence and destruction!"  You ready for this, "so the Word of the Lord has become (my strength, my shield, my fortress, my anchor of hope...NOPE) constant disgrace and derision.  I say, I won't mention YOU LORD or speak any longer of YOUR NAME LORD."  Jeremiah is done.  No more God, will I do this for you.  When I proclaim the seriousness of your holiness and the depth of your love all that the people really hear is "violence and destruction!"  Thus, they want to kill me Lord.  They want to be done with me and quite frankly Lord, I want to be done...BUT I CAN'T!!!

Why? Why can't Jeremiah just walk away.  Enough is enough Lord, right?  Jeremiah answers my question deeply with Jeremiah 20:9b - Your Word becomes a fire burning in my heart shut up in my bones.  I become tired of holding it in, and I cannot prevail."  Or back to Jeremiah 15:16 - "Your Word were found, and I ate them.  Your Words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart."  I sought your word, found them, took them, and ate them...Take and Eat.

Take and Eat.  The Lord offers us the same exact invitation today that He offered to Jeremiah.  To Paul.  To Esther.  To Moses.  To Jesus.  Take and eat.

But here is the secret for these people and others through the ages, beginning of verse 16 - "your words were found"  Jeremiah sought for His Words.  Paul sought His Words.  Esther sought His Words.  Jesus sought His (own) Words.  And not only did they seek them, but once they found them, they ate them.  What does it mean to eat His Words?  It isn't a matter of hearing His Words, or repeating them, or even rememebering them (although memorizing is a beautiful discipline) but eating leads to doing.  Eating leads to becoming one with the truth of Jesus.

My 16 year old said to me, "dad, I am not spending enough time with God and I am concerned about my lack of seeking Him out."  Well, to have my 16 year old even say that blows me away.  I mean, she is concearned about her walk with Jesus.  I said to her, "you are not alone in this endeavor, in fact, i've spent way too many years living in the boat of guilt and I know so many people who feel the same way as you do."  She says, "ok, but what do I do?"  I joyfully said stop trying so hard and keep it very simple.  Do what Jeremiah did and seek out His Word and once you find something that is "tasty", eat it.  Chew it.  Savor it.  Digest it.  Pray over it.  Do it.  We make it complex, but it's not complex, it is childlike and a child doesn't give a rip what anyone thinks, they just do it.  Sadly, we grow up and our faith goes out the window.  We think, "oh, i've got to do so much for God because He is a big God who requires big things" lies...lies...lies.  Can i be frank?  That's just dumb.  Eat God's Word the same way you eat a doughnut...a slice of pizza...a steak.  One bite.  You don't shove a whole doughnut into your mouth (unless its a doughnut hole), you don't shove a whole slice of pizza into your mouth, and you def don't shove a whole steak into your mouth...so why do we do that with God's Word or vice versa, God's Word is so big that I don't even start because I am already overwhelmed by it. 

So here is a December challenge.  Pick a Gospel book (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) and read it leading up to Christmas. But as you read, start by praying a simple prayer.  I usually start with, "Lord, I want to take and eat what you have for me today (my daily bread) so please give me Your Word."  Then I seek out a word or a phrase that stands out to me while I seek and once that word or phrase comes out, I eat it.  In fact, I stop reading the rest of the chapter (is that legal?) and spend time on that word or phrase.  I take a bite, i chew it, i digest it, and I try to do it.  And do you know what? He Works!  His Word HAS become a delight to me.  His Word HAS become my joy in my heart.  His Word is a fire in my bones and I literally want to share it.  Oh Jeremiah, you are so beautiful buddy, what a great word for me today.  Thanks for sharing that with me.  I am choosing Luke as my Gospel and I will do my best to share some of my thoughts with you through my blog this month.  I would love to hear from you as well if you would like to share.  Let's go seeking and we will find Him because He loves to be found by us (Jeremiah 29:13)