Mark 15:12-13 KJV
And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto Him Whom ye call the King of the Jews? [13] And they cried out again, Crucify Him. Rejection is awkward at best, and deeply painful at worst. For good reason we avoid it and in good conscious, we don't want to do it to others. But the Son of God was rejected. As the seed of David, the people in Jerusalem had lauded Jesus as King earlier that same week... Mark 11:9-10 KJV And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord: [10] Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest. But by week's end, He was dead. Remember another time when Israel wanted an upgrade in administration? 1 Samuel 8:5-6 KJV And [Israel] said unto him, Behold, thou [Samuel] art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. [6] But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. When Samuel prayed, the LORD opened his eyes to see what was really happening... 1 Samuel 8:7 KJV And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. God was rejected. Twice we see rejection, but twice is revealed a greater reality. When Jesus was falsely accused, how could He remain silent? When He was ultimately rejected and crucified, how could He let them have their way? While Christ was on Pilate's porch, we get a glimpse into where His mind was by reading His prayer in John 17... John 17:25-26 KJV 25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. 26 And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare [it]: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them. Jesus knew His Father knew the truth. He believed His Father loved Him. Jesus lived like He was accepted...even to the cross! And to be accepted by One meant more than being rejected by many! Crazy math, right? But now new math. Remember 1 Samuel 8. When God was rejected by Israel, He felt it and it hurt Him just like it hurt Samuel. But what God said to Samuel proves exactly what Jesus believed. God Himself believed that to be accepted by one, Samuel, meant more than being rejected by many, Israel! It's not that God, or anyone, wants to be rejected, but it shows the supreme value of acceptance, even if it can just be found in one. If that one is a spouse, a child, a friend, a student, a sibling, that's good and it's enough. But even if they turn their back on you and that One is God, it's way more than enough! Psalm 27:10 KJV - 10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. The only viable antidote to rejection is acceptance. Be sure to find yours in the surest place you get it...because in Christ, you already have it! Consider these two verses together...
James 4:8 KJV - 8 Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded. Proverbs 15:29 KJV - 29 The LORD [is] far from the wicked: but He heareth the prayer of the righteous. Think of them like a warm, close hug. One arm James 4:8, the other Proverbs 15:29. If we move closer to God, He gets closer to us. That doesn't necessarily happen because we are moving. That happens because He is always trying to get nearer to us. Therefore, when we stop running and start returning, it only expedites the embrace! On the other hand, the LORD is far from the wicked. I know what that's like, but then I don't. I know what it is like to be on the run from God. Dodging His call or just dropping His will, but He never really dropped me. Like back in the day when we had phones on the wall and you had to go grab something in the other room. Leaving someone on the line and the receiver just hangs there. We walk away, but the other person, unseen and unheard, is still on the other end. Waiting. God's far from the wicked because we run far, but who can run from the Omnipresent, everywhere-present, God? Yet, He hears the righteous. Not those who just do right, but are right. The only way to be right, is by faith in Him through receiving His Son, Jesus Christ! For those of us who come to God through Jesus, He hears us! He hears what we say. He even hears what we think! He cannot, not know us, because we are in Him. Just let your Heavenly Father hug you today! Draw nigh...He is not far. Wash your hands in His grace...He hears you! Thou wilt keep [him] in perfect peace, [whose] mind [is] stayed [on Thee]: because he trusteth in Thee. - Isaiah 26:3 KJV Don't predetermine the post point of view by the title. Catch up with the thought by reading the verse first. What does it really mean to keep our minds on God? Is it a grit, clenched jaw, kind of push to stay on point? Or is it the natural, flow and extension of trust? We were made to trust; therefore, whatever we trust, that person or thing becomes the source of focus and reflection. It's what we find ourselves wondering to in moments of freedom or when we have no obligations. It becomes the default hobby which becomes the determined habit which becomes the defined character. Now, bring in the apps. These are the tools, that more often turn into toys, that turn us into tools. This is not a debate on the good or bad of what we call "social" media. To be real, how can something be social that literally thrives on algorithms designed to stoke negative emotions and divisive outcomes for the sake of traffic? That said, where do these applications fit in the framework of perfect peace as outlined in Isaiah 26? The same question can be posed to any media as a conduit to the brain. But as I sit here waiting for my car's oil to be changed, I am 10 feet from one guy and about 50 from another doing the same thing - staring at their cell phone, the most dominant medium of information in history. A matter of fact, I've been waiting for my car so long maybe that's what the mechanic is doing! Either way, mobile media is how the majority of the world learns, communicates, and ultimately, meditates. Yes, what we call scrolling with our thumbs actually reads in the body and mind as a type of meditation. On one level, it's what something is that defines it, but on another it's what you do with it. I plan on cooking tonight with a knife. Another person is planning on mugging somebody with a knife smaller than mine. When perfect peace is the goal, than it will shape the means. The purpose is actually the lord of the process. If perfect peace is the extension of total trust, that trust will mold the mind around what, or whom, it meditates. It's this incessant meditation that media, of any kind, good or bad, taps into. If anyone can get into our wheelhouse, we can take them along for a ride that goes way longer than they have paid for because of that independent, God-given desire to trust something or someone. Perhaps, that's why the verse uses the word "stayed", while the clause "on thee" was actually added by the translators. "Stayed" from the Hebrew verb meaning "to lean, lay, rest, support, put, uphold, lean upon." What we lean our minds on becomes what we trust. And we can know what, or who, we trust, by what we lay our minds on. The endless scroll, as seen in the pic above, is fed by our endless search or endless need to trust. Technology just allowed us to create a hardware and software that can almost keep pace with that need. God invites Himself into our search. Remember, He is the One Who created the need. He is so confident in His capacity to satisfy our trust that He designed us to actually choose who to trust. God knows nothing and nobody can actually compare to Him, so the only grounds for competition would be to do so by deception. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. - 1 Thessalonians 5:8 KJV Alone, we are defenseless to mechanisms designed to bypass discernment. But awake, or sober, as 1 Thessalonians 5:8 says, we will have a peace that endureth forever because the Source of trust endureth forever. Isaiah 26:4 KJV — Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: Psalm 52:8 KJV — But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. Also, [that] the soul [be] without knowledge, [it is] not good; and he that hasteth with [his] feet sinneth. - Proverbs 19:2 KJV One of the best ways to know if you are in worry-mode is if you are in a hurry! On a subconscious level we worry way more than we could possibly imagine. But we don't recognize the worry because we may not have the knee-knocking, nail-biting, beads of sweat worry that is associated with anxiety. But after driving coast-to-coast many times and a few brake jobs, the LORD hit me with a powerful thought to consider. When you are driving down the road, and you see a decreasing speed limit sign, what is your very first reaction? If it's fear, hitting the brake, or scanning to look for police, you are probably in a hurry which means you have been in a subtle, but poisonous, state of worry. Worry can be like the hum of a refrigerator in your kitchen. You know the fridge is on but over time, you just don't hear it. The sound becomes background noise to your brain and it's as if it is off, but it's not. While it's just humming away, it's ringing up a toll on your electric bill just like your 30-second microwave or 2-hour dishwasher. While the toll is more gradual, it's a toll nonetheless. Worry has this same "hum" that can go unnoticed until you are told you have hypertension. Gray hairs start to pop up. Or stray hairs start to fall out. The same fade or weakening happens to our faith. While many Christians may never outright deny God or His Christ, most do doubt. The worry about what He's doing or not doing. The worry about how long it's taking Him to move. The worry of if He is going to come through. Worry about the future we can't control and worry about the past we can't change. All these mind thoughts become heart patterns that usually lead to a constant state of hurry. Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for [this] I make haste. - Job 20:2 KJV We drive the way we are thinking! Everything we do is a result of our thoughts. So what is the ideal reaction to a decreasing speed limit sign? If you are driving the speed limit beforehand, the best move is to simply come off the gas. Slowing down through deceleration has a totally different impact on your car (and you) than braking. Brake lights don't turn on and your passengers don't get whiplash. If believers decelerate by trusting, rather than braking by trying. Decelerate by waiting, rather than braking by worrying. We will find ourselves still getting to where God wants us to be without the threat of a ticket or burned out brake pads! To not hurry does not mean that we don't move. After all, how else can we follow the Good Shepherd? But that following that is constant is robbed of the need for speed because we don't fall behind. Like sheep, we find our selves having to hurry up when we realize we are in one place, but the Good Shepherd is in another. By driving the speed limit, walking in step with Christ by His Spirit, there is no hurry in us because there is no hurry in Him. The only time you see the Good Shepherd hurrying is to help us... Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me. - Psalm 40:13 KJV [[To the chief Musician, [A Psalm] of David, to bring to remembrance.]] [Make haste], O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD. - Psalm 70:1 KJV [[A Psalm of David.]] LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto Thee. - Psalm 141:1 KJV The worry-to-hurry connection is just another way for us to stay in touch with where our heart is. 10 minutes driving the speed limit on highway whatever or down name-that-street, can build as much patience and peace as a 10-day retreat in the mountains. |
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April 2024
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