Jesus walked by faith

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39

During my days as an undergraduate student I somehow imagined that the chaplain saw an unceasingly satisfying vision of God. I would not have said it outloud, but I accepted it as assumed truth.

Could God do this for chaplains? Sure, but I don’t think that this is His normative practice. I have discovered in my first year as a chaplain that I am led to walk by faith - like everyone else. Shocking? Of course not.

You do not need to have an extraordinary vision to take up your cross and live out your calling. I am inspired by many of my friends, faithful followers of God, who do not claim to experience God in consistently euphoric ways, but even still, imitate Him in radical ways. We follow the God of Abraham. Like Abraham, we walk by faith, not by sight.

Jesus too walked by faith, moment by moment. Heading towards the cross He cried out, “if it be possible may this cup be taken from me” and here we see that the most robust faith is an exposed and hungry faith. In this hour Jesus is seeking a vision for direction, but his faith is neither weak nor paralyzed. In this moment Jesus is unsettled, but He still goes “a little further” (v.39a). Jesus is obedient and unfaltering in a moment where God’s action is unclear to Him. We get to see that in this darkest, but most glorious hour Jesus walks by faith.

In this lenten season let us commit, like Jesus, to walk by faith. Jesus named His desires, and yet was open to either the grace of provision or the grace of perseverance. Jesus was open. Opening up to His Father’s will Jesus prays, “Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Lk 22:42). Our Father’s will is good. I pray that this openness might be our hunger this Lent.

What burden is it that you are called to go “a little further” with and open-handedly give to your Father? Share this with a trusted friend if appropriate. And be encouraged, Jesus went “a little further”. He did it for you.

 

40 Days of Lent: Day 5

 Luke 10:17-24

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.  However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.  

"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

Can you picture Jesus celebrating?  It's like the singing of the Father in Zephaniah (see day 3).

He tells us that the Father is pleased to hide from the “wise” and actively reveal Himself to the lowly,  who are described as little children. How do we know God? On His own terms. The way He chooses.  In humility. 

God chooses to reveal Himself as Father. How? Through His Son. Only the Son, and those to whom He chooses to reveal the Father , can know Him as Father. People may know  about God, and perhaps know Him as creator and judge, without the special revelation of the Son. But they cannot  actually know Him as Father. That is the Son’s own relationship  and it is His to share. 

His followers were able to see and hear what prophets and kings yearned for. He did not want them to take it for granted.  The same would be true for us.  Thank you ABBA, Father!

40 Days of Lent: Day 4

Luke 10:  1-4, 16

After this the Lord appointed seventy two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.  He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am  sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

  “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

As Jesus was sent into the world by the Father, we are sent into the world as His emissaries to facilitate His redemptive work. He gave His followers the power to bless, and to   proclaim and demonstrate the inbreaking Kingdom of God.  So closely did He identify with them in their representative role that He could say that whoever listens or rejects them  either listens to or rejects Him. 

What a Savior!  One who identifies with us so intimately and shares his power through us so freely.  

40 Days of Lent - Day 3

 While Peter was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”  When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.  (Luke 9: 34-36)

Peter's anxious voice is interrupted by the Father's voice of blessing speaking out of the cloud.  

Does your walk with the Lord ever give you the sense that you are in a cloud?  Mine does.  Next time you're there, consider closing your eyes to ignore the fog and opening your ears to hear the Father's voice declaring something similar over you:    

The Lord your God is with you,  the Mighty Warrior who saves.  He will take great delight in you;  in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.   (Zephaniah 3: 17)

40 Days of Lent - Day 2

(continues yesterday's passage)

Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)   Luke 9: 32-33

You have to love Peter.  He's not capable of simply standing awe-struck and dumb in the presence of the radiance of Moses and Elijah.  He must say something and do something, and it's as if he thinks to himself, "we've got to hang onto this glory as long as possible.  What can I do to preserve it?"  

His anxiety trumps his capacity for wide-eyed wonder.

As you walk the slow and meandering journey to the cross with Jesus, give your heart permission to rest in wide-eyed wonder when it's called for. 

40 Days of Lent- Day 1

The gospel of Luke is carefully structured to portray Jesus walking to the cross from Galilee to Jerusalem, a walk that is recorded in Luke 9 - 22.  During these 40 days, we will follow this deliberate walk.  It begins on the Mount of Transfiguration:

Jesus took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.  (Luke 9:  28-31)

What a gift!  Jesus knew it was time to begin the walk from Galilee to the cross, so he invited his closest companions to pray with him, and as they were praying the Father sent Moses and Elijah from glory to encourage him on this walk to the cross.  It was a tiny foretaste of glory to steady our Lord for that walk which would lead to his crucifixion and then resurrection glory.

As we begin 24/7 prayer week, I invite you to pray for tiny glimpses of glory as well to steady us as we take up our cross and follow Jesus.  

Learning God’s Pace

“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”  Genesis 3:8

“But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.”   Rev. 3:4

During my undergraduate years at another Christian liberal arts school it was a common thing to go for a walk with a friend. Yes, it was a nice break from studies or working or whatever else was going on, but more importantly it was a time to strengthen our relationship. We would talk about what was happening in our lives, both the mundane and the profound. Sometimes conversation was lively, sometimes sombre, sometimes absent. Yet there was something about matching steps with someone else, heading in the same direction, that created a deep bond with that person.

Perhaps that is why one of the most common metaphors for our life with God is a walk. From Genesis to Revelation and countless references in between—to paths, steps and feet—we are invited to walk with God.

Nowadays, I try to go for a walk early in the morning, to get a bit of exercise, enjoy the quiet and have time to reflect before the activities of the day. And there are some things I notice about walking:

• It requires physical energy but, unlike running, I can sustain it for longer periods of time.
• I realize that the direction can be changed in one step or I can stop instantly if there is danger in the path.
• I have a chance to notice things more easily than riding my bike or driving my car: I am more engaged in the world around me.

Of course all of this means walking takes longer to get where I’m going.

In biblical times walking was a common form of travel. With the exception of one short trip into Jerusalem on a donkey (who more than likely was walking), it seems Jesus walked everywhere he went. And so this metaphor of walking would have had much more meaning to the people of that time.

What about us in this day of planes and trains and automobiles? Have we lost what it means to walk with God? Last week in Syd’s devotional he suggested that “running life like a 400 metre race diminishes us, others, God and his world.” 

So here is our really big challenge: to take God’s invitation seriously and walk with him.

I don’t know what that will mean for you. But for me it means that when I find myself with too many things on my plate I need to stop and ask God if what I’m doing is really what he has asked me to do or if I have other motives for being too busy.  It means in the evening taking stock of my day to see where I saw him work in my life, and in the lives of others, to thank him or confess my hurry not to notice.  To take time to sit with a passage of scripture and let my thoughts focus on it. And not to talk so much when I pray but to be still so I can listen for his voice.

I know that if I want to walk with God, I need to learn his pace.