Grace Like Rain

The weather was crazy today, and while it didn't exactly resemble the picture above, it was pretty darn close!  Tornadoes touching down, random splatters of rain, elementary school evacuations...  And I heard about it all, while I worked on the 19th floor of my office building in Rockville, MD.  Honestly, I looked outside and just saw GRAY EVERYTHING, so I didn't think much of it.  After all, I felt safe where I was.  All that changed when my boss told me to leave early because of the threatening weather.

I walked out of the lobby of my office building and was nearly lifted off of my feet by the wind, alone!  (No short jokes)  Sensing the danger, I rushed to the Metro.  After all, when there's trouble up high, it's best to get low.  (Who's got short jokes now?!)  Due to the relative safety of the Metro, I forgot about the weather.  Then I boarded the MARC train to head home...

My train left Union Station and stopped in the middle of the tracks with rain pouring down all around it.  I couldn't even see out the windows.  At this point, I was a bit concerned--didn't bring a jacket or umbrella.  After 20 minutes of sitting still and another 20 minutes of riding, I finally made it to my stop.  I got off and the rain was still pouring!  I ran to the underpass to get to the other side of the tracks, but when I got to the other side, the rain had stopped!  For what seemed like no reason at all, the rain stopped for the entire time until I reached my car!

On my brisk walk to the car, I paused--only mentally--to thank God for the gift of a dry commute.  That's when He hit me with the wildest truth:  The fact that the rain had paused had nothing to do with anything I had done.  I was totally helpless before the elements--no jacket, no umbrella, no roof.  It was all God.  You may be thinking, "Jamil, aren't you making too much out of this?"  Not at all.  Think about it:

I sat in my office building in relative comfort, totally unaware of the destruction that awaited me.  I was content to continue working in my "safe zone," but I was removed from that environment and confronted with the danger that I had only glanced at through a window.  Going into survival mode, I tried to fend for myself by going underground, only to find myself stuck on the tracks.  Then, when all hopes of remaining dry had dissipated, God stepped in and cleared the way for me.

In the same way, in the past I walked through life, unaware of the destruction that awaited me due to my sin.  I was content to continue living my sinful lifestyle until I was confronted with the danger of my apathy (thanks, Steven).  I tried to DO things to make it right, but came up short.  It wasn't until I got to a point, realizing that it's all GOD and not me, that I found a reason to smile and whisper three words that have become a favorite phrase:  "Thank you, Lord."

Paul, inspired by God, makes it clear:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." - 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

My sins aren't counted against me.  There's no debt to pay, no hurdle to get over, no mountain to climb--Jesus paved a flat pathway to God that I might fellowship with Him unhindered!  And He's done the same for you.  If you aren't already, I implore you:  "Be reconciled to God.  God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

God!  I love Your creation...you teach me so many things through it..."nothing in my hands I bring; only to the cross I cling..."

Willfulness

If I asked you how you define sin, what would you say?  If you asked me, I'd probably answer with, "Missing the mark," or, "lawlessness" (1 John 3:4).  I recently listened to a message by a guy named Ken Graves.  Coincidentally, that message was entitled "Be a Man."  Lol!  If you want, you can check out that message here.  In any case, in his message, Ken Graves defined sin as "willfulness."

What's interesting is that his definition lines up with what I've been noticing as I've read through the Gospel of John.  What did Jesus come to do?  Some would say that He came to die for the sins of the world.  Others would say that He came to demonstrate for us the "most excellent way" (1 Corinthians 12:31).  Both of those answers are correct and point to the larger reason for Jesus coming in the flesh:  to do the will of the One who sent Him.

Numerous times in the book of John, Jesus mentions how He can only do what the Father does, how He only seeks to please the Father, or how His words are not His own (John 5:19 & 30; 6:38; 7:16 & 28; 8:28-29 & 42; 12:49-50; 14:10 & 24).  Jesus was truly all about His Father's work and will; He wasn't caught up in what He willed, but deferred to the Father.

In fact, we can see examples of Jesus denying Himself so that the Father could be glorified by others.  If we look at John 11:4-6, we see a situation where people whom Jesus loved (v.5) were in distress; yet, instead of going to them immediately, He, being led by the Spirit (v.6), stayed where He was for 2 more days.  Of course, we know the rest of the story of Lazarus' death and how Jesus raised him from the dead.  But think of Jesus in His humanity.

He had emptied Himself of His divine power before coming to earth (Philippians 2:7)--He was working in the power of the Spirit, just as you and I can today.  He wasn't peaking ahead in time and seeing how it would end; rather, Jesus was trusting in the Father (v.4).  So when Jesus received the news of Lazarus' sickness, I'm sure His flesh did the same thing that our flesh usually does--spring up with anxiety.  Can you hear the anxious thoughts?  "Lazarus is dying!  You have the power to save him, so do it!"

But Jesus pushed back His own will to see Lazarus, and those anxious thoughts, and did the will of the Father (through the prompting of the Spirit).  He waited 2 more days and Lazarus died; however, ultimately, Lazarus lived and God was glorified by multitudes (John 11:45; 12:9-11).  In Jesus we see the perfect example of how to have a trusting and loving relationship with God!  Yet, when issues arise in our lives, everything just goes right out the window, right?  Lol!  I know it gets like that with me.  Recently, I've had issues with college--my professors don't want me to graduate on time.  Though I've done the required work, they've told me that I haven't done enough to graduate.  They've even began to throw out suggestions that I could graduate in May of 2011.  I'm in a 5-year major, so you can imagine how them suggesting another year made me feel!

Almost immediately I was upset and anxious, crying out to God because of the situation.  Then I recognized how Jesus lived His life--in TRUE self-denial.  Thoughts came to mind like, "What if God wants to get glory from your graduation struggles?" and "Why are you really upset?"  Honestly, I was upset because this wasn't happening the way I wanted it to happen, and because, ultimately, I don't want to fail.  Truly, I have never read of Jesus having such an attitude as this in the Scriptures.  Lol!

Willfulness is the sin that flies beneath the radar.  It gets you and I to think that we are truly souled-out for the Lord, when really we just want what we want--not God's will, but our will be done.  God has given us LIFE!!!  Are we willing to abandon all else for this marvelous gift and the marvelous Giver?

I'm not even going to assume to know what you, the reader, needs; but I need to continually remember that God is not some unruly dictator who could care less for my well-being.  God knows what I need, and He gives it to me.  That may sometimes line up with what I want; but I must trust God regardless because He can see the things that I can't--He knows better than me.  After all, He is sovereign.  So when the issue of will arises, I must live as though I have none; for my will died with Christ, and only the Father's will resurrected with me when I was born again.

The Seriousness of IT All

Lately, I've had a few conversations with interesting persons. What makes them interesting is that they claim Christianity, yet their lifestyles reflect a world of sin. When questioned about their lifestyle choices, they shrug off the sin choices as if they're no big deal.

Let's check out Mark 15. Really, you can look at any of the Gospels for the crucifixion story, but I'm focusing on Mark. The question asked is simple: "How seriously does my sin offend God?" For the answer, any one of us could visit Romans 6:23 and point to the fact that the cost of sin is death, and thereby surmise the seriousness of it. Instead of doing that, let's look at what Jesus endured to clear the sin debt of the world:

- He was bound (verse 1)
The Greek word for "bound" refers to being in chains; but whether He was bound with chains or ropes, we know that Jesus was made to be a prisoner.

- He was slandered (verse 3 & 4; and Mark 14:60)
The testimonies against Jesus before Pilate were strikingly similar to those against Him before the Sanhedrin in chapter 14--they were false. These verses are great for anyone seeking to understand what it means to "bear false witness." They were outright slandering Jesus' name and making Him out to be something He wasn't.

- He was beaten and spat upon (verses 15 & 19; and Mark 14:65)
Matthew records that members of the Sanhedrin spat in Jesus' face and struck Him with their fists (26:67). The King James Version uses language like "buffeted" and "smote" in this verse. The Greek word for "buffeted" is kolaphizō, and it means "to strike with the fist, give one a blow with the fist; to maltreat, treat with violence and contumely." The Greek word for "smote" is rhapizō, and it means "to smite in the face with the palm of the hand, to box the ear." Mark records that the soldiers beat Jesus over the head with a staff and spat on Him (verses mentioned above).

- He was mocked and insulted (verses, 18, 20, 29, 31, & 32)
To add insult to injury, Jesus was ridiculed throughout the entire process. Whether He was made fun of by the soldiers, passers by, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, or the thief being crucified next to Him, the psychological effect must have been great!

Then, as if all of that wasn't enough, after enduring it all, Jesus was crucified. While being crucified, Jesus only cried aloud twice. The first time was when He cried out to God, saying, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (verse 34). The second time was when He breathed His last, saying, "It is finished" (John 19:30). Can you imagine the emotional anguish that Jesus must have been experiencing? Jesus had never feared death or the attacks of man. It was the thought of being out of fellowship with the Father that had greatly troubled Jesus while in the garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:33-34). Compared to that, everything else paled in comparison...

(Sidenote: Because we have grown accustomed to being out of touch with God, the things that terrify us are bounced checks, not getting the promotion, or a boyfriend or girlfriend breaking up with us. I find it interesting that the one thing that troubled Jesus is the one thing that we can so easily ignore, and barely notice when it's gone...)

THIS is how serious God is about the sin in my life (our lives)! He's not sitting back, content with my (our) compromises! God is deeply moved by my (our) choices to sin. So much so that He endured physical, psychological, and emotional pain just to do away with sin! I (We) must look at sin seriously--God certainly does! I (We) can't take it lightly. I (We) must constantly reflect on the seriousness of sin in my (our) life (lives)!

"Foolishly Stupid"

I saw the cliff before me,
I thought it might be fun.
My conscience did implore me,*
But I began to run.
I sped to my destruction;
With ignorance I leaped.
Overcome with corruption,
I sowed until I reaped.**
I stepped past the edge,
Unaware as I fell,
Too far from the ledge,
Was on my way to Hell.
My descent grew faster,
As I curled into a ball;
I “ran” from the master;
My desires sped my fall.
My Father saw my end;
I awoke and began to yell.
He stretched out His hand,
And caught me as I fell.
He restored me to safety;
Solid ground for my feet.
He hugged and embraced me,
Then went to take a seat.***
My Father stayed with me;****
Encouraged me and taught.
But I wrestled against He
Whose heart broke as I fought.
I smiled and walked away,
I began to make a rift.
I yelled back, “I’m OK!”
As I walked back to the cliff.

*Romans 2:14-15
"Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them."

**Galatians 6:7
"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."

***Hebrews 10:11-13
"Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool..."

****John 14:16-18
"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."