Tag Archives: Command

Chapter-a-Day

The Dude Abides

Leave a comment

The Dude Abides (CaD Jhn 15) – Wayfarer

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5 (NIV)

Back in December our daughter and her family moved in with Wendy and me. They had been in Scotland for five years where they lived in a flat in the heart of Edinburgh. Now they’re back in the States living with us, and they have been in the process of hunting for a house which will be the first that they have owned as a family. The hunting, comparing, discussing, and making offers have brought back many memories of the different domiciles I’ve called home over the years.

Chapters 14-17 of John’s account of Jesus’ Story are fascinating because it’s basically one long discourse between Jesus and His disciples that ends with a discourse of prayer between Jesus and His Heavenly Father. In other words, John spends almost one-fifth of the entire book recounting what Jesus had to say on the fateful evening of His arrest.

One of the things that I look for as I’m reading and meditating on a chapter is patterns. A repeated word or phrase, for example. In today’s chapter, the word “remain” appears eleven times as Jesus repeatedly tells His followers to “remain” in Him as He “remains” in the Father and the Father “remains” in Jesus. The Greek word that Jesus repeats here is menō. It means to “dwell” or “abide” as in you move in and continue to live.

As I meditated on this in the quiet this morning, it brought back memories of when I surrendered my life to Christ as a teenager. There was this subtle yet infinitely profound difference between me being a religious, believing church member and me being a disciple of Jesus.

As a believing church member, I paid Jesus a visit each week in the church building which I had been told since I was a child was “God’s house.” God lived on 49th Street just south of Urbandale Avenue. I lived on the 31st block of Madison. I attended. I took the classes. I agreed that I believed what the church taught me, and I got my membership certificate and a box of offering envelopes. I paid God a visit each week and then went about with my own life.

When I invited Jesus into my life and asked Him to be the Lord of my life, I suddenly experienced something new: His indwelling. No longer a god I visited once a week, Jesus was the Lord who made His dwelling in me 24/7/365. Instead of thinking about God for a couple hours on Sunday and casually throwing up a prayer before meals, I became aware of God all the time because He was abiding in me and I realized that I was abiding in Him even if I couldn’t fully comprehend it.

I continued to meditate on this abiding presence, I couldn’t help but consider what Jesus asked and expected from this mutual indwelling relationship:

  • “Remain in me…” (vs. 4) Persevere, press on, don’t give up
  • “Bear much fruit…” (vss. 5, 8, 16) Never stop increasing the yield of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in my life and relationships.
  • “Keep my commands…” (vs. 10) There are only two commands: Love God and love others. Everything else flows from them.
  • “Love one another” (vs. 17) The command that is worth repeating.
  • “Get ready to be hated and persecuted…” (vss. 18-21)
  • “Live differently than the world…” (vs. 19)

In the quiet this morning as I contemplated our children’s search for a house and my mutual “dwelling” with Christ, I found myself praying that the fruit of God’s indwelling Spirit within me will continue to increase in yield each day of this earthly journey. And, may this lead others to say of me as it is said of one of my all-time favorite movie characters, The Big Lebowski:

“The dude abides.”

I’m back on Facebook for those who liked to read my chapter-a-day posts there! Facebook refuses to give me access to my old, hacked account, but I have started a new account. Please feel free to search for me on Facebook and friend me. If Facebook won’t let you friend me, please go to my Facebook profile and “Message” me on Facebook Messenger, which should then allow me to friend you. Cheers! -Tom

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

A “New” Command

2 Comments

A "New" Command (CaD John 13) – Wayfarer

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34-35 (NIV)

The other day I was in a video conference with my business colleagues. We were meeting a new vendor for the first time. At the end of the meeting our vendor made a statement that struck me.

“It’s obvious you guys have a really good synergy.” he said. “I do a lot of these meetings and it’s amazing how often people don’t talk to one another or don’t seem to like each other. You clearly have a good thing going. I like it.”

It made my day.

Todays chapter marks a way-point. We are two-thirds of the way through John’s biography of Jesus, which means that over one-third of his biography focus on roughly 43 days of Jesus earthly journey. The night before His crucifixion. The day of His crucifixion. His resurrection, and His appearances over 40 days.

As today’s chapter begins, it is Thursday night. Jesus and The Twelve have a private Passover meal. Even in the telling, John carefully chooses the elements of the events that he wants to share. As I’ve noticed throughout the book thus far, the elements John chooses are connected. The thread that connects them is Jesus’ foreknowledge of what will happen, and His driving of the events. He is not a helpless victim of circumstance. Jesus is a man on a mission.

The first event described is that of Jesus washing the feet of The Twelve. In dusty, hot Judea at a time when everyone wore sandals or went barefoot, one was bound to have dirty feet. Washing the feet was an act of hospitality and it was performed by lowly servants, which is why Peter balked at having the “Master” washing their feet. Jesus then tells the boys that He had done this as an example of what He expected them to do for each other.

Jesus knows He’s leaving them. He also knows that even that week they were having incessant arguments about which of them is the greatest and who was top dog in the pecking order. He provides them a word picture to remember: “If you want to lead, you have to serve those you’re leading.”

At the end of the chapter, after Judas’ departure, Jesus tells The Twelve Eleven, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

What’s “new” about it?” Jesus has been talking about love His entire ministry. He’s talked about loving others, loving your enemies, blessing those who persecute you, loving outcasts, loving the sick and poor…love has been central to all of Jesus’ teaching. So what’s “new” about this command?

He’s talking about them directly. Peter the brash one. James and John the angry “Sons of Thunder” whose mother tried to arrange places of honor in Jesus’ administration. Simon the right-wing, militia member. Matthew, the left-wing Roman collaborator. Thomas the cynic. This rag-tag team of largely uneducated men, who have always been more-or-less at one another’s throats, who have constantly been playing “king of the mountain” with their egos, are going to be left to carry out Jesus’ mission. If it’s going to work, they must love one another and serve one another.

Along my life journey, I’ve observed that there is a spiritual contrast between good and evil. Good is willing to humbly sacrifice self for others and the good of the whole. Evil demands its way until it eats its own.

I’m reminded of a client who became a follower of Jesus during the stretch of life’s journey when our company worked for his. He later told my colleague that it was the way our team members treated each other that led him to seek out what motivated us to treat one another with such love, respect, and service towards each other. “It was obvious to everyone,” he said. “People at work would talk about it.”

I think that’s what Jesus was getting at with the “new” command He gave The Twelve Eleven. If they were to succeed at their mission, they had to stop devouring one another, and start serving one another with humility.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

The Slog and Reward of Obedience

2 Comments

Moses and Aaron entered the tent of meeting, and then came out and blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
Leviticus 9:23-24 (NRSV)

As a father, I have experienced pleasure and appreciation when my children do what they have been asked to do; when they do what they are supposed to do. It started as small children when Taylor and Madison would be told not to touch this or to help pick up their toys. As they grew, the rules became more complex and obedience was desired and expected when they weren’t in my presence as well as when they were. As they progressed into adulthood it transitioned from their adherence to parental rules or demands, into simply the pleasure of watching children making wise choices on their own and doing what was right as they were self-motivated to do so.

Today’s chapter is rather boring. The first 22 of the 24 verses of the chapter is a recitation of Aaron and his sons, under Moses supervision, carrying out the sacrifices just as they had been prescribed in previous chapters…

  • Sin offering….check
  • Dip finger in blood….check
  • Sprinkle on altar….check
  • Blah
  • Blah
  • Blah
  • Yada
  • Yada
  • Yada

I was tempted to bail on the chapter early on. “Yep, I read that before. Okay, I get it. They’re doing what had been prescribed exactly as it had been prescribed before.”

Then we get to the final paragraph of the chapter. After all had been done exactly just as it had been exactly prescribed, Aaron the high priest goes with Moses into the tent. Inside the tent was where God’s presence resided, and it was obedience to doing the prescribed sacrifices that made the way for Aaron to enter God’s presence. When they come out from the tent and from God’s presence they are aglow with God’s glory and fire from heaven falls and consumes the sacrifices. Wow! Spectacular pyrotechnics to conclude an otherwise boring chapter.

And, that’s the point. Humanity, and the Hebrews in this particular case, are in the toddler stages of history. God the Father is teaching simple obedience. Do this, like this. When they do, they experience the glory of the Father’s good pleasure in supernatural ways.

This morning I’m thinking about our life journeys. When we are young we learn simple obedience and direct reward. Do my chores, obey parental commands, and I will earn my allowance and stave off their wrath. As we get older we learn that life does not always offer such direct rewards. I can do everything right and I still can’t find a job. Tragedy strikes even when I’m a good and obedient person whose working hard to do all the right things the right ways. As Jesus said, “Sun shines on both the good and evil person. Rain falls on both the just and the unjust.”

Nevertheless, as an adult I learn that being obedient to laws and rules and God’s desired behaviors has its own subtle and tangible rewards. It can be as subtly powerful as experiencing the pride and pleasure of a parent. It can also be the knowledge that doing the right thing does stave off a host of potentially damaging consequences for me and my loved ones. We learn simple direct lessons when we are children in order to learn the wise principles we will need when we are adults. Being wise and obedient, endeavoring perpetually to do the right things in this life, sometimes feels like a long slog. It feels like reading Leviticus chapter 9. Yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah…

Ultimately, there’s both a reason and a reward for making the slog. And, once again, I find myself at the beginning of another day.

Lace ’em up for the slog. I’m pressin’ on.

 

chapter a day banner 2015

Chapter-a-Day

The (Other) Love Chapter

Leave a comment

“…abide in my love.”
John 15:9b (NRSV)

There is a chapter in Paul’s letter to the Jesus followers in the city of Corinth that has been forever known as “The Love Chapter.” It is probably the most recited words of God’s Message read at weddings. It is most certainly on the top ten list of beloved scriptures by most people who have such a list. The passage provides a definition of what love looks like.

As I read Jesus’ words to His followers on the night before His crucifixion, I found myself realizing the number of references Jesus made to love. This morning I find myself pondering all that Jesus had to say about love, and it was a lot:

  • Jesus’ love was modeled for him by God, the Father.
  • We are to abide in Jesus’ love.
  • Obedience to Jesus’ command is the gateway to abiding in Jesus’ love, which Jesus’ modeled in obeying God, the Father and abiding in the Father’s love.
  • The command is this: love one another, as modeled by Jesus
  • The greatest love is sacrificial, giving my life away for the benefit of my friends and loved ones
  • Jesus gave the command to motivate the action. He desires and expects us to love one another.

Wow. That’s a lot to chew on. Paul may have described love in his letter to the believers in Corinth, but Jesus gives clarity to where that love comes from, where to look for a model, and what I am expected to do with that love. This is the “other” love chapter.

I leave this morning’s post pondering this one thing:

May it ever be said of me: The dude abides.

 

chapter a day banner 2015

featured image by R. Cogswell via Flickr

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Deuteronomy 6

1 Comment

Mezuzah at the entrance of the Museum am Juden...
Image via Wikipedia

Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (MSG)

It is interesting the things that stand out about other countries and cultures when you visit. When I traveled to Israel several years ago, one of the first things that stood out to me were the little ornate boxes that were attached to seemingly every door frame of every house, shop or hotel room.

I learned very quickly that the box is called a mezuzah and it is hollow inside so that a scroll with God’s word could be treasured inside it. It was Israel’s way of being literally obedient to the command in Deuteronomy 6 to take God’s commands and “inscribe them on the doorpost of your homes.” As you go in and out of the house you will see the mezuza and you will remember Deuteronomy 6 and both God’s command and his promised blessing.

I bought a mezuzah in Israel and brought it back with me. I have hung it on the most used door in every home I’ve lived in since. When Wendy and I moved into our house I brought it with me. It’s been sitting on a bookshelf in the living room.  A while back I asked Wendy to pick out some verses she wanted placed in our mezuzah. I then picked out some verses of my own, but like many other things in life I shoved the “to-do” of hanging the mezuzah on the back burner. After reading today’s chapter, I can think of no better day to get off the dime and hang it.

There is nothing magical about the mezuzah. It’s simply a mnemonic device. It’s a reminder. As I go out my door and return each day in the hustle and bustle of life, my mind is usually buzzing to remember a million “urgent” things. The mezuzah reminds me in that moment that I need to give both my mind and my heart to remember those things that are eternally significant.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Matthew 22

1 Comment

Life of Jesus- The Isenheim Altarpiece by Matt...
Image via Wikipedia

Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”  Matthew 22:37-40 (MSG)

A certain friend found himself in a tough spot. Despite knowing better, he’d made a mess of his life. He’d squandered what he had going for him and wandered a long way from the straight and narrow. Embarrassed and ashamed of his behavior, my friend’s parent, loved ones, and church friends seized every opportunity to remind him of all that he had done wrong and give him a piece of their minds. It didn’t take long before my friend avoided them like the plague, shunning any communication with them in the hope of avoiding their condemning and judgmental jabs.

About that time, a stranger came along who saw what a fix my friend was in and began to walk beside him. The stranger did not condone my friends’ obnoxious behavior, but nevertheless chose to listen, to have gentle conversation, and to be present in my friend’s life. The stranger’s love and grace became instrumental in my prodigal friend’s restoration.

I don’t know why moral commands seem to outweigh the command to love when it comes to those we should love the most. Time and time again I watch people act as if moral failure in another person seemingly renders the command to love null and void, giving them license to shun and/or condemn. In this, I’m as guilty as the next person. I wish I’d shown my friend the same love and grace as the stranger.

This week is Easter, and I’m thinking a lot about Jesus laying down His life in the ultimate act of sacrificial love for people who didn’t deserve it. When I’d wandered far from the path, Jesus responded with forgiveness and grace. He took the penalty of my sin upon himself and received the punishment He didn’t deserve so that I could be free from it.

If I don’t respond in the same way to others who are similarly lost, I somehow get the sense that I’m profaning what Jesus did for me.

Enhanced by Zemanta