Where was Jesus in your worst moment?

How do I get what is in my heart into words? I have been pondering a question that I have heard posed by many for decades, believers and skeptics alike, and somewhere inside of me, the Lord is turning the tables on a huge lie that has derailed many a faith-walk. The question in question: Where was God? 

When I was hurting, where was God?
When I was abused, where was God?
When all my friends left me, where was God?
When my heart was breaking, where was God?

Have you ever thought any of these things? You are not alone! Are you one of the many who read the “Footprints” poem and think ‘Yeah, Right?’ Hey, don’t get me wrong, I love that, but I am not sure that everyone who has walked through the worst of circumstances felt ‘carried’ through those times when there was only one set of footprints. Sometimes you just feel alone!
I am not sure that my words here will be any better. But there are a few red letters that come to mind as I ponder those ‘one set of footstep moments.’ There are a couple things that Jesus said that I want you to consider next time you are wondering where God was in your darkest moment.

Imagine Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, going around doing amazing things, looking a lot like Jesus. He stands up to preach, and just when he is about to give an alter call, the first rock hits him. One after another, the men he was trying to persuade are hurling fist size stones in his direction. Where is Jesus? (Acts 7)

Imagine James, out there preaching on the street corner with one of his best friends and old fishing buddy Peter. They get arrested, thrown in prison, and Herod has a great idea. Let me make an example of this guy. Where was Jesus? (Acts 12:1-2)

The answer lies in what Jesus said to Paul on the road to Damascus and what He said to the multitudes in Matthew 25. Jesus asked Paul (whose Hebrew name was Saul) “Why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4) Jesus takes the abuse we suffer very seriously. In fact as He said in Matthew 25 “whatever you did (or did not do) for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matt 25:40 & 45) Paul thought he was killing people who hated God, and Jesus reveals Himself and lets Paul know he was actually persecuting the Lord Himself.

I think we read, “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28:20) and think that He will always come between me and trouble when His point is actually that He is suffering right there with you. He promised us trouble in this life. He tells us in John 16:2 people will think they're doing God a favor when the kill you.

So understand this, when you were betrayed or abused, He was betrayed and abused with you. He may not have been carrying you like the poem said – He may have been left bleeding and dying on the Jericho road with you as He watched the good folks walk by you BOTH.

My hope is that these red letters will dispel a lie that is keeping you stuck. If it helps, let me know. If it doesn’t, you can tell me that too. I certainly don’t want to make things worse.

Thanks for taking a few minutes to ponder this with me.

Ben

Why this blog... 

Satisfy Your Deepest Longings!

 “for they shall be completely satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6 AMP)

I love that the Amplified Bible has it this way “completely satisfied.” Not just, satisfied, not just, they will get what they are hungering after and thirsting for, but they will be completely satisfied. The world preaches that satisfaction comes from evil hungers and desires, but Jesus says, if you hunger for righteousness, you will be satisfied in every area of your life. It is funny how hard we try to hold onto some of our old stuff, habits, sins etc. Many a man has stayed away from God for a time, because they did not want to give up some secret sin, and knew that God would never allow it. But the truth is that God invented pleasure, and really knows how to make it work.

David says this in Psalm 16:11, “Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; In Thy presence is fullness of joy; In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.” Heaven is a place of complete pleasure, like you have never experienced. God completely gets you, and knows exactly how to satisfy your desires.

During a study of the Song of Solomon we looked at 7 longings of the human heart as identified by Mike Bickle and Deborah Hiebert. You can get his book on the subject here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Seven-Longings-Human-Heart/dp/0977673847 These longings are not sin and are not to be repented of. They are not even part of our sin nature. These are all God designed longings and appetites that each of us must manage and discover God's intended fulfillment. Bickle details these 7 longings, which he says every human has.

A longing to be fascinated

A longing to possess and feel beautiful

A longing to be great and successful

A longing to know intimacy without shame

A longing for assurance of being enjoyed

A longing to be wholehearted and passionate

A longing to make deep and lasting impact

These longings are often satisfied in unholy ways causing guilt and separation from God and from one another. These unholy actions need to be dealt with specifically in repentance. (2 Cor 7:10-11 holds the process of repentance in detail – see blog post June 13^th: God's Upside-down Kingdom Step 2 )

However, because there are so many ways to fulfill these longings that are not glorifying to God, it is easy for us to despise the very longings themselves. Rather than managing them, and directing them with godly wisdom and the Word of God try to get free from them or to suppress them. A longing to be great can be look upon as pride, and we could try to suppress that drive for greatness that God has put in our soul. Instead we should look to the Lord for instruction. When the disciples were arguing over which was the greatest, Jesus did not rebuke them, but rather pointed them in the right direction (humility - classic upside-down strategy for greatness.)

See if this question for God works for you: Father, am I feeling guilt for passions You gave me?

Thanks for reading!

Ben

Why this blog... 

Kingdom?

Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:3 & 10

I know I am getting out of order here. I was just lying in bed – it is about 10 minutes to 12 on Friday night, and I was mulling.

Now let me be clear. I have studied through and taught through the Beatitudes probably more than any other passage in the Bible. It is my favorite by far. I have notes dating back a decade from preparations for this little piece of scripture.

But tonight – closing in on the middle of the night – I am trying to get to sleep, and the phrase “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven” [Read More...]

Inheriting the Earth?

God’s Upside-down Kingdom - Step 3 

“…for they shall inherit the earth.” Matt 5:5

Some Christians are of the opinion that the earth really does not matter. That God is going to destroy it and start over somewhere down the line, and so who wants to inherit something that is going to be “rolled up as a scroll,” and tossed away? What kind of promise is this?

Bad Form! That whole attitude is bad from start to finish. [Read More...]

Blessed Are the Meek

God’s Upside-down Kingdom - Step 3 

“Blessed are the meek” Matt 5:5

By now, you see a pattern emerging – Jesus is totally confused about what makes people happy. If we are going to believe Him the worse off we are, the happier we should be. If I realize that I am worthless, and that I have offended God at every turn in my miserable life – this is a sure source of happiness for me! God’s kingdom is truly upside-down, and we need to get this if we are ever going to be right side up.

“Meek” will need some explanation. Who are the meek? When (or should I say IF) you hear the word “meek” today it is most likely either an insult, or a low estimation. [Read More...]

Repentance - the path to Comfort

“Blessed are those who mourn” Matt 5:4

Mourn about what? Is this talking about people who have lost love ones? Are we talking about sad people here? No. We are talking about people who having realized their need for God and now see the sin in their life and repent. But what does it mean to repent – is it just saying I’m sorry? Does is simply mean to change your mind, as it is commonly taught today. No repentance is one of the most basic and most important parts of the Christian life. Without repentance you can never achieve true freedom from sin.

Repentance – a biblical definition from II Corinthians 7:10-11

Sorrow of the world produces death: There are a couple types of sorrow that will kill you. One is self-pity. Feeling sorry for yourself will put you into a [Read More...]

WHY

Why Blog? I love to see people walking in their gifts, and looking like Jesus. It is the kind of thing that comes little by little as we are transformed into the image of Christ. Each new step I see folks take is so exciting.

Last summer I was mulling. Some of my friends will think this is impossible. I am a high “I” (based on DISC personality profile) so people who know me know I am more of a blurt now and think later kind of guy. The fact is – I do mull! I digress – [Read More...]

Poor In Spirit

“Blessed are the poor in spirit”   Matt 5:3

Who are these poor in spirit? They are the ones who realize that before God, they have nothing to offer. Without God they bring nothing to the table. They have no hope for any future if God does not take their part.

In Ps 51 David, (God’s favorite) in his prayer of repentance for his failing with Bathsheba, states, “A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” (Ps 51:17 NASB)

In James 4:6 the, James says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

The poor in spirit are those who see their need for redemption. Without this sense you will never get right with God. [Read More...]

Why Red Letters?

Why do some Bibles highlight the words of Jesus in red? Isn’t it all the Word of God? Absolutely! Every Word of God – the entire Bible as we have it today is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So why make some of it red and the rest in black.

Jesus says: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” (John 6:63 NASB) Jesus says of His own words – they are Spirit and they are Life. Jesus is the “Word made flesh” (John 1:14) God spoke the Word (Jesus) and created all things. There is no more powerful force in the universe that the Word of Jesus.

“If anyone advocates a different doctrine, and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing…” (I Timothy 6:3,4a NASB) Paul tells us that all doctrine must line up with the teachings of Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate plumb line. [Read More...]

Blessed

Matthew 5:3 Blessed... - Before we dig into what are commonly called the Beatitudes, I want to share with you something off the charts about the word “Blessed.” We toss this word around pretty carelessly. If someone sneezes we say “Bless you!” or if we are real spiritual we might say “Ga bless you!” But this Greek word “Blessed” is pregnant with meaning. If you read the beatitudes in the Amplified Bible you will see the word “Blessed” rendered 14 different ways in these 8 statements. 

• Happy
• Blessed
• To be envied
• Spiritually prosperous
• With life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions
• Enviably happy
• With a happiness produced by the experience of God's favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace
• Blithesome (who knows what that means in this day and age – but you get the idea.)
• Joyous 
• Fortunate
• In that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation   
• Enviably fortunate
• Possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God's favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their outward conditions.  
• Enjoying enviable happiness.
• In the state in which the born-again child of God enjoys and finds satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of his outward conditions.

 Blessing holds Assignment, Ability, and Authority: Far from being a wish for good luck, a blessing has in it vision, authority and power. [Read More...]