jesus - Lift Up My Eyes

Finishing Well

What enables us to finish well in life? The answer is Jesus. He gets us. He understands us. Why?

Jesus was all man – he could touch people, he spoke with an accent, he could blend into a crowd. Yet he was all God – he could heal, he spoke with authority, he could change history. He has been remembered for over 2,000 years. All man. All God.

Jesus never sinned, but He understands our sin. He died for our sins so he feels them even more than we do. He was shamed, humiliated, treated like a sinner. He deserved none of that. But he experienced it. He became sin – every sin we have ever committed. He felt the guilt, remorse, and embarrassment that was ours—Jesus doesn’t condone our sin, but he understands it.

I would hasten to add that falling down does not mean we can’t finish well. It is what we do after we get up, pick up the pieces of our lives and move on. In another race I was running, this one a 10K, I was tripped at the starting line when someone cut in front of me. I got up with a fiery determination and ran. Fast. Interestingly, I caught and passed the person who tripped me, and gave him a look. It was sort of a “you tripped me but I passed you” look. Strangely, I did not see him at the finish line. But picking up the pieces isn’t automatic and it isn’t easy.

For those who seek Him, God restores us. Lamentations 3:22-23 (RSV) reads “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.” Did you get that? We start each day new! Our lives don’t have to go on in the same way. There may be, should be, changes.

I can get up from a fall in a race, but I can’t deal with my sin alone. “Jesus is the only one who can help. Let him. Jesus has the strength you do not have. He is, after all, your High Priest, able and willing to help in your time of need. So let him do what He came to do.”- Max Lucado. Jesus’ help isn’t automatic. His help may come from Him working through another individual, through a song or a sermon at just the right time, through a book we are reading. There is no limit to the ways God can work in our lives. Look for him.

God is a God of second chances. He forgives us. Our focus should be on what we do with those second chances.

Photo credit © Can Stock Photo / Tawng

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Is Jesus an American?

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As Christians, we hold a dual citizenship. We have citizenship in an earthly country. I am a citizen of the United States. Proudly so. Notice that I did not say I am an American Citizen. There are two continents with the word “America” in their name. If I am an American citizen it is assumed that we mean we are citizens of the United States. But a Mexican, a Canadian, a Brazilian can all say equally with me that they are American Citizens.

I am also a citizen of Heaven. In Phillippians 3:20, Paul states “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (NASB) We are citizens of heaven. Our perspective is different. Our goal is the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (verse 14). Looking at verses 18-19 Paul states “They [non-Christians] are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things.” Their goal, their “so-called” glory is diametrically opposed to our perspective. As Christians we view life through a different lens.

We have a balancing act to perform in dealing with our two citizenships. Never let us forget which one has the priority. Our ultimate allegiance is to Jesus, to the Kingdom of Heaven. A verse in Fernando Ortega’s song “Jesus King of Angels” sums it up well:

With all my heart I love You, Sovereign Lord
Tomorrow let me love You even more
And rise to speak the goodness of Your name
Until I close my eyes and sleep again.

But how does this play out in life on earth? We in the United States must remember that Jesus is not a citizen of the United States or of any other country in this world. Jesus is not an American of any stripe. Yet, all too often, individuals and churches equate our dual citizenships. Churches hold patriotic services, they display a flag of the United States in their sanctuary, they may even recite the pledge of allegiance. Don’t get me wrong, these things are fine in their place. But a church is not that place. I come to church to worship the God of the Universe, not the United States of America.

Once I saw an elaborate outdoor Christmas display put on by a church. I was absolutely appalled when I saw a very large flag of the United States as a backdrop to the nativity display. I tried to discuss this with one of the church pastors and the only response I got from him was that “I am a proud American, and I don’t see anything wrong with that.” My thought was “So you are a proud American, what place does Christ have in your life?”

When we place Christianity and the United States together we are non-verbally saying that Jesus is American. In doing so, we risk our Christian witness. We are telling the 7.5 billion people who are not citizens of the United States that they cannot have Jesus because he is an American. I see this as similar to the situation faced by the early church. There was a division between Jews and Gentiles, or non-Jews. Some felt that, in order to be a Christian, one had to become Jewish first. Today we seem to be saying that to be a Christian you must be a citizen of the United States first.

Let us remember that song many of us sang as children:

Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Red, brown, yellow
Black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children
Of the world

We all come to God as children.

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Useless Prayers

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Prayer. As Christians, it is something we practice, something we believe in, something that has great power. We pray because we know that God hears our prayers and wants to answer them. Prayer unlocks potential. Anyone who knows me, knows that I believe in and practice prayer. When someone asks me to pray for them it is my practice to lift up a prayer immediately. Yet, all too frequently, our prayers become mindless incantations devoid of power and purpose. I submit to you that there are at least four kinds of useless prayers.

The first useless prayer is a prayer for God’s presence. In Hebrews 13:5 we read (NIV) “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Forsake means to renounce or give something up. God has promised He will always be there for us, He will not give up on us. So it is useless to pray for God to be with us – he is already here.

Instead of praying for His presence we should be praying for an awareness of His presence. As someone once said, “If God seems far away, guess who moved.” God is always present. What is needed is an awareness in our lives that He is there. We are human. That means we are not perfect, so there will be times in our lives when God seems distant. But He is always there, always for us.

The second useless prayer is a prayer for mercy. This prayer implies that God may or may not want to give mercy. But He has bestowed abundant mercy on us through Jesus Christ. What greater mercy than the laying down of a life for me?

We should pray, instead for a removal of the barriers that keep us from fully experiencing God’s mercy. Michael W. Smith sings a song “Lord Have Mercy,” which would seem to negate my argument. But as we examine the words, the song is a plea that God remove the barriers to us receiving God’s mercy:

Jesus, I’ve forgotten the words that You have spoken

Promises that burned within my heart have now grown dim

With a doubting heart I follow the paths of earthly wisdom.

Forgive me for my unbelief

Renew the fire again

I have built an altar where I worship things of men

I have taken journeys that have drawn me far from You

Now I am returning to Your mercies ever flowing

Pardon my transgressions

Help me love You again.

Lord have mercy

Christ have mercy

Lord have mercy on me.

The third useless prayer is one petitioning God to give us peace. In John 14:27, Jesus is giving the disciples His “farewell” speech. He states (NIV) “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” God has granted us peace. Similar to not feeling God’s presence, we don’t feel His peace when obstacles get in our way of feeling God’s special, perfect peace.

The fourth useless prayer is one that we have the means within us to answer that prayer. Prayer is not only a means of asking God to act, it is also a means of asking God to give us opportunities to act. Prayer is the first step, but it is not the final step. We pray as we move into action. It is somewhat like the parable of the rich young ruler. He came to Jesus seeking eternal life. You might say he was praying about it. Jesus told him what needed to be done. Verse 22 of Matthew 19 is probably one of the saddest verses in the Bible. (NIV) “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” He asked Jesus for eternal life but was unwilling to take the steps necessary to achieve it.

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Tag Archive for: jesus

Finishing Well

Is Jesus an American?

Useless Prayers

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