I Will Lift My Eyes

Psalm 121

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night. The LORD will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul. The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.
(NASB95)

Do you ever wonder why the bookstores have aisles filled with “self-help books?” It seems to be the same story with Christian bookstores for the most part. Of course there are plenty of good books and great authors, for which I’m grateful. What occurs to me, however, is the degree to which we look all sorts of places for help and miss the most obvious place we might find help. Perhaps we need another “for Dummies” book; Where to look for help for Dummies. It wouldn’t have to be a long book really… quite short in fact. Look up!

I notice in my own life, and frequently in the lives of others I observe, that we’re looking everywhere in the world for answers, except to our creator and Father; the one who knows us best. Of course I’m in favor of seeking advice from people with skin on also. Scripture is clear that there is wisdom in many counselors, and Christians have a tendency to go it alone, and not seek wisdom from some obvious places. However, when we’re in difficult situations we tend to even panic and search high and low for help rather than seek help from where it really comes. I think the key thing for me, now days, is to realize that He is my help weather I get out of my difficult circumstances or not! When we think of help we think of help OUT of what we’re in. More often than not, I’m convinced; the help is “in the midst of what we’re in.” God uses our difficulties to make us, teach us, mature us, perfect us, and prepare us for what we’re really meant to be ultimately. Not sure if that gets done if we’re in a panic looking for a way out. My help comes from the Lord… but what does it look like, practically, to “lift our eyes?” Just curious what you think.

"Do you want to be healed?"

As I started back through the Gospel of John in my devotional reading I was struck again by the story in Chapter five of the man by the pool. It's the first 17 verses of chapter five, and hit full in the face by the question that Jesus asks the man... "Do you want to be healed?"

There are a number of interesting aspects in the gospel account. First Jesus knows that the man has been in this condition for 38 years (v.5), or at least it's listed in the account that he had been been there 38 years, and also that "Jesus knew that he'd already been a long time in this condition." Second, knowing that the man had been in that condition for so long the question, "Do you want to be healed?" seems ridiculous. Who wouldn't want to be healed? Who wants to stay in that condition. The answer that the man gives is, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when it's stirred up!"

What has come clear to me over the years I think is that Jesus question is not rhetorical. I think it's an actual question. It seems to me that Jesus is willing to heal, but there needs to be some movement on the man's part... namely... "get up, take your pallet and walk!" that's the command that Jesus gives to the man, and he does it. The power for change and healing is perfectly and immediately available to the man if he will believe and move.

I don't that the point of this text is that we'll all be healed of our physical ailments if we'll only believe more and do something. I think it does mean, however, that we can choose to stay in our current situation, and sometimes that situation is dysfunction, if we'd like, but if we're willing to make a move real changes can take place. Christ want us to have abundant life... that is promised to all who believe... but it will take some movement on our part. Or, we can continue to wallow in our current situation.

I know my own life can be a mess at times... or parts of it can be a mess at times, and all that's required for real change is for me to do what I know I need to do... to be obedient to the truths I already know.

It's difficult to help someone who doesn't want help... it's like trying to lift dead weight; it's a very difficult task. I think Jesus is often asking us the question, in the midst of our messyness... "Do you want to be healed?" It's a legitimate question, and since he loves us

On Delayed Trains and Angels

Strangest day of travel from Vienna to Osijek Croatia. The punch line of the story is that we actually made it! The funny thing is that we shouldn't have made it by any account. Here's the story.

Our train left Vienna this morning at 6:50 so I got up at 5:30 AM to make some lunch for the day and get ready. Thought I'd get Josh up around 10 'till 6. When I finally got around to looking at the clock time had gotten completely away from me. It was 6:05 AM. Really thought we still had time, so we hustled and got to the ubahn with just enought time to get to Westbanoff and catch the train. If we missed that 6:50 AM train we couldn't possibly make the connection to Croatia.

We hustled to the u-bahn and hopped the subway. I looked up and said to Josh... "I can't believe it! I got us on the subway headed the wrong way!" We went one stop and jumped off the subway, ran over the top, down the other side and just missed the subway. Waited five minutes caught the next one and I realized... while on this subway... that we'd been right before! :) Ok it was early and with jetlag I hadn't gotten to sleep until 2:00 AM.

Ok... we missed our train. I said to Josh standing on the platform waiting for the second time on the right subway... it will be a miracle if we make the train to Budapest... then Croatia. I looked up and said... "Lord, we need a miracle."

I looked at the train schedule and realized that another train left Vienna at 7:05 AM. I knew it wouldnt' get to Budapest in time for the 10:01 train leaving for Croatia... but we had to be moving this direction at some point, so we took the train. I couldn't contact Oliver and Pam McLemore who were to meet us in Budapest. They had our tickets and we had a bag for them from the states. I just thought, we'll call them when we get to Budapest and then catch the train down on Sunday or Monday to Osijek.

We got to Kelenfold (Budapest) at 9:58 AM - amazing since the train leaving Vienna was 10 minutes late leaving. Just as we stepped off our train there was Oliver coming down the Platform. We didn't know about the Croatia train... neither did Oliver, but we went to check the board to see if it had left. We couldn't tell. There was a 30 something Hungarian there who immediately said... "Do you need some help?" We said yes. He ran with me into the information booth and found that our train was on the platform and about the leave... he gave me my tickets told me what platform and we ran... and he was gone. Ok, Joshua and I, and Oliver ran carrying our bags... got to the platform... Josh jumped in... I threw the bags in... I jumped in and literally the door shut and train started to move.

We can chalk it all up to chance... and I'm fine with it if you want to... but it made me wonder. Maybe God has something here for us to do, and somehow with the help of delayed trains ("God's trains always arrive on the time" by the way - Maj. Ian Thomas) and an angel on the platform... it was just weird that he was there at that moment unhesitatingly asking us if we needed help... we'll be here to do it. One minute longer, literally and we would have missed the train.

I plan to speak tomorrow on "The Prodigal God" taken from the title of the book by Tim Keller. God has lavishly poured out his love on us in spite of weirdness, warts, and weaknesses... in spite of ourselves. It's a slightly different twist on the Prodigal Son... but really no twist at all... God has loved us and run to us and embraced us and given us a place with him, even when we have squandered all of his goodness!

I seriously wonder if we encountered and angel today. If you see him let me know... kind of a scruffy hungarian riding a bicycle - brown tweed jacket I think.

The Centrality of the Resurrection

Antony Flew, noted atheist Philosopher at Oxford University (actually in the past few years Flew has moved from Atheism to Theism… not making any claims about any particular wing of theism. That is as far as I know) has written of the resurrection, “The scandalous particularity consists here in the fact that one particular alleged miracle, occurring at one particular time and place on one particular planet, is not just one of the evidence for identifying Christianity as a revelation of and from God, but is itself the crucial element in the essential content of that revelation.”
NT Wright (Bishop of Durham) says of the resurrection, “For Paul, the point of the resurrection is not simply that the creator god has done something remarkable for one solitary individual (as people today sometimes imagine is the supposed thrust of the Easter proclamation), but that, in and through the resurrection, ‘the present evil age’ has been invaded by the ‘age to come’, the time of restoration, return, covenant renewal, and forgiveness. An event has occurred as a result of which the world is a different place, and human beings have the new possibility to become a different kind of people.”
Another noted scholar of the resurrection, Gary Habermas says, “The New Testament claims that the resurrection of Jesus is the center of Christian theology and practice. It is also recognized as such by almost all theologians today, even those who do not interpret this event literally.”

There’s no question that the resurrection deserves some attention. It’s an event that demands interpretation by everyone on the planet… to deem it legend, plain farce, an historical reality or some combination of those. One thing is undeniable however, it was the central event to the early church, and continues to be the central event in the church year. There are some notable points for the early church.

Preaching the resurrection was central in the first century church! They begin telling the story at the beginning! The history of the NT Church – Acts begins with it! Acts 1:3, 2:24, 5:30, 10:40, and 24:21. In continues central in Paul’s preaching: Romans 1:4, 6:5, 9, 10:9; I Cor. 6:5, 14; 15:1-9, 12,13; II Timothy 1:10, 12; 2:8-13. It’s prominent in Peter’s preaching I Peter 1:3

The Transformation brought about by the resurrection is an undeniable minimal fact of the resurrection! While at one moment the first leaders of the church were cowering in an upper room wondering what to do next, they were at the next moment challenging the religious establishment and being put to death for their belief in the resurrection! John 20:19/Acts 5:27-32. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was a defining moment for the church of Jesus Christ… an event, or decision in your life, after which, everything changes. Paul says… “if Christ hasn’t been raised then there isn’t any resurrection and we’re fools! It’s Central! Paul tells Agrippa – “This didn’t happen in a corner!” Acts 26:22-28. Both here and in I Corinthians 15 Paul says, “This thing happened out in the open… and there are many people still alive who witnessed it (1 Cor. 15) go and ask them! The resurrection brought change… The disciples, Paul, James! Neither Paul nor James were believers until after the resurrection, and neither were candidates for anything like hallucination - which is in no way a compelling argument. You have to account for something changing Paul and James, the brother of Jesus.

The centrality of the resurrection gave them power to live! If we want to understand what’s back of Paul’s message to Timothy then we have to understand Paul’s frame of reference. When he says to Timothy: He’s telling Timothy, a young church leader living in perilous times that he can stand firm in the face of adversity, and even potential death for his faith because of Christ… and specifically the resurrection. 1:10… who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 1:12… I know whom I have believed and convinced… 2:11… if we died with him we shall also live with Him… Paul’s perspective was other worldly… he was able to walk through the difficulties he faced because of his personal encounter with Christ… Risen from the dead!

The Implications of the Resurrection. Romans 8:11 – Shall give life to your mortal bodies…Romans 6:4 – We shall have a new life by the power of God… Romans 10:9 – We can be saved…In the resurrection we are born again into a LIVING HOPE!

If the resurrection is real… it changes everything, it gives us a different view of reality… what we see here isn’t all there is, there is more. Our hope is in Him who transcends this physical world, who is able to do abundantly beyond all that we can ask or thing according to His power that is at work among us!

Steve Fulk Update

Hey, anyone interested in a follow up regarding Steven Fulk I'll paste here what his wife just wrote on her facebook. I'm grateful for good news.

"Steve opened his eyes and looked at me and I held his hand and asked him to squeeze my hand if he could see me and knew I was there with him....he squeezed my hand really tight. They are getting ready to move him to another facility that is a stepping stone to being able to return home. They have warned me it will be several, several months, but he is progressing nicely!"