The Right Hand

After Jesus was crucified and arose from the dead, he appeared to Mary and his disciples.  Jesus told them that He would be leaving them, but Mary held on tightly, not wanting to be separated from Him.  At the end of Mark's gospel, Mark reports that Jesus ascended into heaven and was seated at the right hand of God.  The ascension was more than just Jesus going up into the sky.  It was a visual picture of Jesus being anointed as King and Ruler of the Universe.  It is similar to a worldy king ascending to his throne, taking on all of the power that role dictates - but so much more.

In Acts 7, Stephen is about to be stoned to death for telling people about Jesus.  But even under the threat of death, Stephen had the "face of an angel".  He said, "Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God".  I love that Stephen sees Jesus standing, unlike earlier when the disciples saw him seated at the right hand of God.  Jesus is not a passive king watching his minions stumble about below.  Jesus is our advocate, standing for us before the throne of God.

When Mary was holding tightly to Jesus before his ascension, she did not want to be separated from him - physically.  But while Jesus was on earth, there were times when she would be with him and times when they were separated.  Jesus assured us before his ascension, that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us, and that if we believe in Him, He will be with us always - standing for us, advocating for us at the right hand of God.

These words were inspired by chapter 9 of Tim Keller's book, Encounters with Jesus.

Garden of Despair

 

The night before Jesus was crucified, He had his last supper with those that were closest to him.  He warned them that He would be leaving, but they didn't understand.  After dinner, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, which was a favorite spot for him.  The gospel accounts all describe his mental state as being filled with despair over his impending death.  The despair was so deep that his pores were sweating drops of blood.   If Jesus lived a perfect life and was able to perform miracles, then why did he struggle so much the night before his death?   One of Jesus' primary missions on Earth was to show us how to live and how to love.  He demonstrated that in his love for His disciples and others, but He also demonstrated His perfect love for God, his father.   While we may attempt to love like Jesus, we cannot fathom the depth and beauty of the complete love between Jesus and his father, God.  Jesus, in his humanity, could not stand the idea of being separated from his father, so his despair was real.  His reaction to separation from God modeled how we should feel when we are separated from Him.  So Jesus, as man, modeled for us how to love perfectly, and by dying for our sins, allows us to have the Holy Spirit inhabit us when we believe.  The Holy Spirit is available to lead us and teach us every second of every day.  I want to listen more.

These ideas were inspired by Chapter 8 of Tim Keller's book, Encounters with Jesus.

The Other Advocate

All four gospels talk about the night before Jesus died, but only John details Jesus' instructions to his disciples.  Jesus lets the disciples know that He will be leaving them, and they respond with surprise, confusion and dismay. He lets them know that He has to leave so that the "other advocate" can be with them.  If we think of an advocate as a legal advocate in today's world, it is someone who represents you, someone who stands up for you and even someone that makes a case for you.  With God the Father as the judge, Jesus is our defender and our advocate.  He is making a case for us with God.  But after that, the analogy breaks down.  Jesus didn't just represent us and make a case for us.  When God, the judge, pronounced us guilty, instead of the sentence being imposed on us, Jesus took the punishment through his death on the cross.  I'm not aware of any defense attorneys that have done that for their clients.  So if Jesus is our advocate, who is the "other advocate" he refers to.  The other advocate is the Holy Spirit, dwelling within us.   While Jesus, the first advocate, speaks to God on our behalf, the Holy Spirit, the other advocate, talks to us for us.  I want to do a better job listening.  And I pray that is true for each of us today.

While these are my words, most of the ideas were inspired by Chapter 7 of Tim Keller's book, Encounters with Jesus.

An Open Purse

Robert attended Pasadena Nazarene College and spent the next several years as an evangelist traveling across California working mostly with troubled teens.  He joined an organization called Youth for Christ, and became close with Billy, who was one of the leaders there.  Robert's involvement in Youth for Christ took him overseas where he was moved by the poverty and despair of the war-torn areas that he visited.  He founded an organization called World Vision International dedicated to helping children out of poverty.  He then started Samaritan's Purse dedicated to providing food to starving children and helping with disaster relief.  

Robert Pierce died of Leukemia in 1978.  It was 1950 when he started World Vision International.  In 1970, he started Samaritan's Purse which is now run by Franklin. It  turns out Billy from Youth for Christ, and Franklin from Samaritan's Purse, have the same last name - Graham.  You may have heard of them.  

Robert probably wouldn't have guessed that 46 years after his death, The Samaritan's Purse organization that he founded would be coordinating hurricane relief in the area surrounding their headquarters in Boone, NC.  Praise God for the vision that Robert had to help others, and please continue praying for and supporting in any way you can the victims of hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Flood Of Emotion

 

I posted this week at SpotOnTheLake encouraging readers to do what they can to help the victims of hurricane Helene.  I'm sure there are 100's of stories of heroism that have been circulating about rescue workers and private citizens that have been able to help victims, but this one got caught on live TV.  Bob Van Dillen was doing a live broadcast from Peachtree Creek in Atlanta.  He heard a woman calling out from a partially submerged vehicle and he called 911.  The screams became more intense, and he realized that someone needed to help right away.  He stopped the broadcast and waded in chest deep water to the car to free her.  The cameras rolled again as he was carrying her to safety clinging to his back.  Bob was very humble in his remarks afterwards downplaying his actions, but as we all know, the risk of entering high, moving water can be very dangerous.  I can't say for sure, but I hope my response would have been the same as his.  We lift up continued prayers for all of those affected by the storm.  Summary video     Longer video with interview

Something To Wine About

 

These days, huge wedding celebrations are commonplace, and I can't think of anything better to celebrate than a couple making a commitment to love each other for a lifetime.  But today's celebrations can't compare to the wedding parties that took place when Jesus walked the Earth.  Wedding celebrations lasted for a week or more.  One of the center pieces of the wedding celebration was wine.  Jesus attended a wedding celebration that was just getting going good, when his mother approached him to let him know that the hosts had run out of wine.  Jesus' response was surprising.  "Woman, why do you involve me?  My hour has not yet come."  But Mary told the servants to get Jesus whatever he needed.  Jesus directed the servants to get six twenty gallon jars used for ceremonial washing and fill them with water.   When the liquid was presented to the master of the banquet, the water had been turned to wine.  Jesus had completed his first public miracle.

But why did He pick this one to start with?  It seems a bit underpowered based on what we now know He was capable of.  The celebrations were not just about the bride and groom, but a union of the couple's families, and the new family's connection with the community at large.  With wine being such an important part of the celebration, running out of wine wasn't just a social faux pas, it was a public disgrace.  The family avoided public shame and scrutiny when Jesus provided the new supply of wine.  

But why did Jesus respond to his mother so sharply?  Being fully human, He knew that this miracle would start a string of miracles that would lead to His death.  "My hour has not come yet".  But being fully God, He knew that His greatest miracle would be his own resurrection.  It's no coincidence that the evening before Jesus' death, He directed all who follow Him to drink wine as a symbol of His blood shed on the cross as atonement for our sins.

Praise God for the supernatural way that He gave himself to us.

This post was inspired by Chapter 4 of Tim Keller's book, Encounters with Jesus.

May I have the next dance?

 

Our family has had a tough week.  My mom, 92 years old, passed away in her home on Thursday.  Mom was born in Virginia.  She and my dad raised me and my two brothers in Columbus, GA.  Mom was a high school teacher and school administrator for almost 20 years in Columbus.  When my dad retired, they moved back to Virginia, and Mom continued to teach at the Community College there.  After my dad passed away, she moved back to Georgia and lived next door to us in Braselton for the remainder of her life.  Mom continued to teach kids Sunday school at her church as long as she was able.  My mom was the rock of our family, and we were so fortunate to have her near us for the last 13 years.  Over the past several months, her mobility began to fail, but we were fortunate that her mind stayed sharp until the very end.  We will miss her greatly, but we know that she is dancing with my dad in Heaven today.  Praise God for His promises.