Grace

God Does His Greatest Work in the Dark…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

Let’s see…

The Israel/Hamas War, the Russia/Ukraine War, the Taiwan threat from China, North Korean nuclear proliferation, Houthis attacking Red Sea shipping channels, inflation, racial tensions, a border crisis, a fentanyl crisis, drug cartels, human trafficking, increasing crime rates, gender confusion, a very divisive Presidential campaign, declining church attendance, decaying cultural values.

Have I forgotten anything? Probably so, but you get my point. Read the headlines (or more appropriately, listen to the news) and we get the sense that we are living in dark times.

There are plenty of reasons for concern about the world in general, and western culture in particular, but I’m want to remind us that our’s is not the first generation to face dark times, and if the Lord tarries, it likely won’t be the last.

What I do want to remind us is that though we live in dark times, God does His greatest work in the dark! Easter reminds us of that fact.

Stumbling in the Dark

So many of us stumble around in the dark, and we’re often afraid because we can’t see. When we’re in the dark, we grasp for something, anything to hold on to that will give us some stability, some comfort, some assurance that we can make it until we can turn on a light.

We’re unsteady, unsure, and we lack a certain amount of confidence, and all that makes us just a little leery. Not necessarily because we’re afraid of the dark, but because we’re afraid of what we can’t see in the dark. Sometimes, though, we have to move forward. We have to get to the place that we can turn the light on. We have to get up. We have to keep moving. In those times, we have to see with the eyes of faith. Easter is that which gives us our eyes of faith. 

For the disciple of Jesus Christ, the resurrection is THE central event of history. We may say that time is measured from the birth of Jesus Christ, but hope is measured from the resurrection. We come this morning to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and with it the victory of life over death, of good over evil, of grace over the grave.

This is our holiest of holy days, and it still reminds us that there is light even in the darkest of worlds, and that no matter what else may be happening in our lives, there is always hope. That is the power of the resurrection.

20 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

John 20: 1 (NLT)

John’s Resurrection Account

The resurrection account is recorded in all four of Gospels, but not all four report it the same way. The Gospel of John shares it differently. John alone tells us that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb, “while it was still dark.” Just because John has Mary Magdalene going alone does not necessarily contradict the other three Gospels. Maybe John’s just telling that Mary went down before all the others got there.

John has been called a philosopher of sorts. John’s Gospel is full of symbolic language, and the words on the page don’t always mean what they say. With the phrase “while it was still dark,” we note that John is carrying on a theme that he started very early in his gospel—the contrast of light and darkness.

John introduces the theme in the opening paragraph of the gospel: 

“Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it”

John 1: 4-5 (NLT

In John 3, a Pharisee named Nicodemus comes to see Jesus “after dark one evening,” and in John 6, he tells us of the time after “darkness fell,” that Jesus came walking on the water to his disciples.

Then, in John 8, the Pharisees bring a woman caught in the act of adultery to Jesus in an attempt to trap him. He refuses to condemn the woman (some have even indicated that the woman was Mary Magdalene), and then he says to the people:

“I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 8: 12 (NLT)

It is little wonder that John would return to that theme and tell us Mary came “while it was still dark.” Whether he meant it literally or figuratively, we’ll never know for sure, and for his purpose (and for ours), I’m not sure it matters.

For Mary, it was dark, both literally and figuratively. Mary Magdalene was standing at the foot of the cross as Jesus died. She was there at the cross with Jesus’ mother, Jesus’ aunt, and John. When the rest of the disciples had abandoned Jesus, she was there, and she was there when they took his body down from the cross. It was a dark day. The sun may have been shining, but to Mary it was a dark day.

Mary loved Jesus. Luke 8 tells us that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her, and since that time she had been his follower. There is even some evidence that Mary Magdalene was the prostitute who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and anointed them with perfume. Is it any wonder Jesus would say, “The one forgiven little loves little, but the one who has been forgiven greatly loves greatly.” Mary is not on the fringe of Jesus’ followers, which means that for Mary, as much as for any of Jesus’ other disciples, she was living in the dark days of grief.

Mary is probably wondering how things can get worse, and just about the time she does, guess what? Things get worse. Isn’t that the way life always is? Just about the time we think things can’t get any darker, they do! Mary gets to the tomb and she finds the body of Jesus gone. John has painted us a picture of the dark getting darker, but he also paints a picture of one who lives out faithfulness and hope, even in the midst of the darkness, and we discover what happens as a result.

Catch this! Mary went to the tomb. Despite her fear and despite her grief, Mary did something. She went to the last place she knew Jesus was. Even though she thought Jesus was dead, she went. She went because in the darkness she longed for light…some light…any light. She went looking for light. She had hope, even in the darkness.

You know what’s interesting? Think about when the actual resurrection took place. It took place in the dark! There was no one there to see it. There were no earthquakes or flashing lights. Someone shows up early in the morning and there’s just an empty tomb. The central event of human history, and nobody sees it.

Joseph and Mary were firsthand witnesses to Jesus’ birth, and even angels announced his arrival to shepherds. There were stars in the night sky that foreign astrologers could read, and an earthly king was mad enough to order a massacre of children, but with the resurrection, all we get is second-hand witnesses. It happened “while it was still dark,” but it happened.

Finding Light in the Darkness

Spiritually, the resurrection is our hope. We’ve all had dark times in our lives. When it’s dark and we can’t see what’s going on around us because of the grief and pain and doubt, it’s then we’re tempted to turn our backs on God, believing that God doesn’t care, or worse, believing it’s all God’s fault. We’re tempted to pull the covers over our heads and give up.

I remind you—Mary went to the tomb “while it was still dark.” In the midst of the darkness, she went to the tomb because she loved Jesus, and in the darkness he spoke her name, “Mary.”

So, he does with all of us. When in the darkness of sin, of addiction, of pain and loss, of grief, if we come to Jesus, he’ll speak our name—John, Sally, George, Margaret, Lynn. Mary shows us what faithfulness in the dark looks like. We find Jesus, or rather, we’re found by him, in the dark because we’re looking for him there. The tears vanish when we realize God did His greatest work in the dark. It wasn’t in the papers (I’m really dating myself with that reference), nor did it make CNN or Fox News. We can’t tell when it happened, we just know it happened. 

Life is funny. One day, we’re on a mountain and we can look and see for a million miles. But, as quickly as the sun comes, the darkness settles in, and we go from saying how blessed we are to “I can’t take this anymore!” Darkness comes. Mary was not afraid of the dark. Mary was unwilling to take Jesus’ absence as an answer to anything, and by staying in the dark, Easter dawned!  

I wonder who today is searching in the dark? Some of us remember a time when Jesus was alive. We felt his presence and knew his love. We ate with him and drank with him, and we shared life with him. But, something has happened. We lost a spouse or a child to death. Our marriage went south, or we lost our job. Perhaps we just fell out of love with Jesus.

For those of us in any of those situations we need to do what Mary did—go to the last place we saw Jesus. Was it in the Bible? Then read the Bible, even when the words make no sense.

Was it in prayer? Then keep praying even when it feels like our words are hitting the ceiling and falling back down on us.

Was it in church? Then keep going, even when we feel like we’re surrounded by hypocrites, and we’re just going through the motions.

Some today are in the darkness of broken relationships. Others are in the darkness of addictive behavior. Still others are in the darkness of grief and pain. So many of us are looking for a little light, any light in these dark, dark times. We’re here because we believe that there is still light.

Listen. Listen for the voice of Jesus calling our names. His light is shining because Easter has dawned.    When Easter dawns the light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it. It cannot overcome it. It never has and never will. Life and light makes our world new.

Easter comes out of the darkness.

Dark times come to everyone, even to Jesus. Darkness is not a sign that we have no faith. Darkness is the opportunity to show our faith. Darkness is the time to get up and face the fears of life head on. Darkness is the time for us to get up and go to the tomb. It is the time to recognize that Easter happened in the dark. When everybody was depressed and thought the work of God was a sham, God was doing His greatest work of all.

Easter is here, my friend. Easter is here.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Palm Sunday Ponderings…

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It is Palm Sunday. You know what that means? Yes, it is marked as the day Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem before His arrest, crucifixion and resurrection. It is such a pivotal moment in Jesus’s life that all four Gospel accounts mark the event (Matthew 21: 1-11; Mark 11: 1-11; Luke 19: 28-40; John 12: 12-19).

You know what else it means? It means that Lent is almost over! As I’ve mentioned before, this has been a challenging Lenten season for me and I can’t wait for Easter Sunday. The season began without much fanfare for me. I was quite willing to let it pass without much notice. The Lord had other plans. It’s been a good Lent, albeit a very challenging one.

The challenges of the Lenten season have been numerous, and this past week has been no different. The Lord has particularly challenged me in the area of prayer this week. I think I’ve discerned that in this season of the Church’s life, the greatest need is for prayer warriors.

The Church doesn’t need CEO’s and entrepreneurs. It needs prayer warriors. The Church has tried the CEO/Entrepreneur model (really since the 1970’s and the emergence of the Church Growth Movement). As was its purpose, the CGM got the Church a lot of megachurches. The CGM is proof that strategies work. It also go the Church a lot of Christian celebrities and celebrity pastors. I’m not knocking the CGM. I was on that train for a long time. I rode that train until it ran ME out of steam. Now, I think the steam is finally running out of that train for the Church.

Though the CGM got the Church a lot of megachurches and celebrity pastors, it also got the Church declining attendance and fewer disciples who are willing to take up their cross and follow Jesus in the way of surrender and sacrifice. There are some who will blame the free fall in church attendance on the Covid pandemic, but I suggest the pandemic only hastened what was clearly already taking place in the life of the Church. CEO’s and Entrepreneurs cannot sustain the Church. They were never intended to. Though megachurches do show up in many places around the world, they are a uniquely western invention.

The Church (and the world) are in desperate need of revival. Revival always starts with prayer, thus the greatest need of the Church in this culture is for prayer warriors. The Church needs leaders who pray–both lay and clergy. Leaders who pray will bring change to the Church, and the Lord will use the Church to change the world. That’s been His plan from the beginning.

Makes me ask the question “How many churches have a prayer ministry?” When I say prayer ministry, I’m not talking about a prayer group that meets and prays over the prayer requests that come into the congregation. I am NOT discounting the need for that type of ministry, nor am I denying there is power in that type of prayer. Unfortunately, most of those type of groups (and most of that type of prayer) are really just gossip sessions disguised as prayer groups. There is some value in praying for Aunt Sally’s ingrown toenail or Uncle Joe’s gout, but that is not the prayer that will change the world.

When I say prayer, I mean gathering for an intentional time of seeking God’s face…of the people of God asking God what His will is, asking the Lord for His vision, gathering to actually hear from the Lord. I mean the people of God coming together to confess their sin (individually and collectively) and to repent before Him publicly so that grace and forgiveness is sought and found so that the way is cleared for a fresh invasion of the Holy Spirit can bring clarity and direction to His people concerning His vision.

How about a prayer meeting where we pray for boldness to proclaim the Gospel? How about a prayer meeting where we pray for the Lord to put people in our path who need healing and salvation? How about a prayer meeting where we read one verse of Scripture and then sit silently for an hour pondering that singular passage to hear what the Lord wants us to hear?

Yeah! That would probably be too uncomfortable for too many people. But, hey! We’ll never grow until we get out of our comfort zone. Just as our physical muscles won’t grow until we push past what we think are our limits, so our spiritual muscles won’t grow until we push past what is comfortable and easy.

I’ve lived with a great amount of conviction over this Lenten season as I’ve reflected on my own participation in and leadership of prayer group gossip sessions. I need to repent for that. I hope I have repented for that. Prayer in my congregation won’t change until prayer changes in me. Revival won’t come to the Church until revival comes in me.

So, my prayer is for revival to come…to the Church and to the culture…but first, let revival come to me. Let me pray to hear the voice of God. Let me pray for boldness to proclaim the Gospel. Let me pray for people in my path who need Jesus. Let me pray for a revival in me. Let me pray for a transformation in my attitudes and desires and priorities. Then, perhaps I can begin to pray for each of those for the Church and the culture.

The Church and our culture…our world…are in desperate need of revival. So am I! The Church and our world are in desperate need of prayer warriors who will pray for the same. I pray I can become one of those warriors. Do you have the guts to pray the same prayer?

And you thought this was going to be a blog about Palm Sunday. Silly you!

Until next time, keep looking up…

The High Cost of Faith…

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There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised,

Hebrews 11: 35b – 39a (NIV)

Reading this passage in Hebrews this morning made me think, “Faith is not for sissies!” Faith is, in fact, hard work.

A quote credited to Ravi Zacharias also came to mind as I reflected on Hebrews 11:

“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. –”

R. Zacharias

Then I thought, “Guess what? Faith will take you farther then you often want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay. Only it takes one in the opposite direction.”

We don’t realize where sin is taking us until we arrive and then it’s too late. Suprisingly, we enjoyed the journey, but the destination kills us.

Conversely, we know where faith is leading us and we anticipate our arrival. Often times, the journey is difficult and challenging, and we are often tempted to turn back…to take the easy road of sin…but, the hope of the future keeps us moving, and one day…one day…all the struggle, all the challenge becomes worth it.

Faith is hard work, but most things worth having require hard work. No, we’re not saved by our work. We are saved by grace through FAITH, for good works.

Keep working my friends. Keep struggling. Keep moving. Faith in Jesus will get us there.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Re-gaining Focus…

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Once again, I’m discovering that this Lenten season just keeps on giving. Or, perhaps it’s the Lent that won’t end. I’m just not sure. What I do know is that it’s been another week of discovering how out of focus my life has become. What clued me in to the fact that my life is out of focus? Well, the Holy Spirit, of course, but He did so through this little verse from Paul:

9 So we make it our goal to please him,whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

2 Corinthians 5: 9 (NIV)

“…make it our goal to please him…”

I confess that pleasing Him hasn’t always been my goal. Oh, I always hope that the things I was doing He would find pleasing. After all, I was doing many of those things in His name, but HE wasn’t always the focus.

There was a point in my life where the goal was “climbing the ‘corporate’ ladder” of the United Methodist system. In so doing, I thought He might find it (and me) pleasing. For the most part, I achieved the goal I was pursuing, but it left me flat…and dry…and empty…and doubtful. That’s because it was the wrong goal. I should have been pursuing Him.

I could run down a long list of “pursuits” over the years in ministry (and as a believer), but it would only lengthen the blog and end up making the same point as the previous example. Suffice it to say, this Lenten season has “brought those chickens home to roost.” I’ve lived with the dawning revelation that I have lost my focus on Jesus. It is a further exploration into the whole “working for Him or walking with Him” thing that I questioned previously here.

It came home to me in a profound way this week when I started feeling sorry for myself that I wasn’t getting more requests to fill pulpits. I love preaching and I do miss it, but the phone hasn’t been ringing much lately (not at all, actually), and it had me feeling rather down. Then, I read Paul’s words.

My goal is not to preach. My goal is to pursue Him. My goal is to please Him.

My goal is not to write. My goal is to pursue and please Him.

My goal is not to obsess over politics (Lord, have I been doing that!). My goal is to pursue and please Him.

My goal is not to sell a lot of oil (though I sure do need to!). My goal is to pursue and please Him.

My focus has been on all these things. He has just sort of been in the background.

“Lord, You guide me in my preaching, guide me in my writing, guide me in my selling oil and running a business.” That’s been my prayer. My focus has been on the performance and the completion of the tasks rather than on the One who makes all things possible.

My pursuits have been for selfish ends. Accolades, adoration, affirmation and good, old American profit. Hey, if He receives glory from those pursuits, then good for Him! Of course, the undertone was that it was all for His glory, but this week has shown me that it was really all for me. Darn this Lent!

I earnestly pray that He is giving me this Lent as a gift to re-gain focus on the right things. I say the “right things,” but there is only one right thing–Jesus Christ. He is, and always must remain, our true north. He is, and must always remain, our only pursuit, our only goal.

As He is helping me re-gain my focus on Him, He is also showing me the again the dangerous nature of sin. I guess that’s what happens. I was sinning without even knowing I was sinning. That’s because that’s what sin does. Oswald Chambers says, ‘One of the penalties of sin is our acceptance of it.” We get so accustomed to performing for Him that we forget to pursue Him. We think it’s our performance He finds pleasing when it is actually our pursuit of Him that most pleases Him. It is then that our performance can actually become sin…and we never even realize it.

Then, Lent comes, and we are reminded that we are sinful…that from ashes we come and to ashes we shall return…that we are called to “repent and believe the Gospel.”

I thank God that Easter follows Lent. I look forward to Easter. I look forward to the resurrection, when we’ll receive new bodies no longer stained by sin. Until then, I’m going to make Jesus the goal. May every activity of life flow from my pursuit of Him. I’ll pursue Him through prayer. I’ll pursue Him through Bible study. I’ll pursue Him through worship. I’ll pursue Him through Christian fellowship. All those will be the means. He will be the end.

I can’t wait for Easter.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Learning to Walk Again…

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Well, the challenging Lenten season continues. It’s strange really because I didn’t enter the Lenten season very seriously. For the first time in over 20 years I didn’t attend an Ash Wednesday service. If I’m totally honest I’d tell you that if it weren’t for Facebook I might have forgotten it was Ash Wednesday.

Logging on to Facebook I couldn’t help but know it was Ash Wednesday. I saw so many people posting pictures of themselves with ashes on their foreheads. Nothing like social media to feed our narcissistic tendencies…even when it comes to our sin, right? No indictment intended, but I just find it ironic that we feel compelled to show the world our piety by posting selfies of ourselves being pious. But, I digress…

Anyway, I didn’t take Lent seriously, but the Holy Spirit has challenged me all season long. He has challenged me concerning my love for Jesus (click here), and thereby, my love for others. I’ll confess that I can’t grasp the love of God that loves a Venezuelan migrant murderer as much as a Georgia nursing student (see here). I’ll confess that I don’t know that I want to grasp it, and that scares the hell out of me!

What I do know is that I would fight tooth and nail if someone (anyone) hurt one of my daughters. One of us would die. I don’t know that I could forgive that. With time and the grace of God, maybe. Yet, forgiveness is what the Lord asks of us, and that’s an awfully big ask. The Holy Spirit and I have been talking about it. We’ve not settled the issue yet, but this is still Lent. Easter is coming…it can’t come soon enough.

Not only has He challenged me on my love for Him, but He’s also challenged the nature of my surrender. I know that I have, too often, chosen my own way in service to Him rather than being attentive to where He was actually calling me. I may even be living that circumstance today. Part of my prayer each day is “show me Your will so that I might walk in Your way.” I think what I really mean is “show me Your will and I’ll choose whether to walk in Your way.”

The question He challenges me with is, “Are you surrendered?” I like to believe I am, but Him even asking the question causes me to wonder. True enough, He has been oh, so very gracious to me regardless. I can’t even imagine why I’ve been so blessed. How or why does He bless when I can’t answer a simple question, or know that I am surrendered to His will? ‘Tis mystery, indeed!

The Holy Spirit has also challenged me concerning the nature of joy. That’s right…joy. How so? Well, the Apostle Paul tells the Roman church, in essence, that joy comes through tribulation (see Romans 8: 31-39). I like to think I’m joyful, but the Holy Spirit has me wondering. I know that I “enjoy” life, but enjoying something doesn’t necessarily mean I am living joyfully. I know I’m grateful…grateful for all His blessings. I know I’m humbled…humbled by His grace.

Do I not know the depths of true joy because I’ve not endured the hardships of tribulation? Dare I pray for tribulation so that I might find out? Yeah, I’m probably not going to do that, and the fact that I’m unwilling to pray such a prayer causes me no little amount of heartburn. Darn this Lenten season!

I suppose the challenge of this Lent has me questioning my commitment to Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. It comes down to a question Jesus asked his disciples in John 6:

66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

John 6:66-67 (NIV)

“You do not want to leave, too, do you?” I feel like in one sense that I have, in fact, gone away…I’ve turned back…I’ve fallen down. Abandoning full-time ministry feels almost like an abandonment of Jesus. It feels like I “turned back.” For me, I think it was a matter of ministry was “working for Jesus,” without “walking with Jesus.” There is a difference, you know?

I spent so many years working for Jesus that I quit walking with Him. Perhaps that is the thing that burned me out. I guess He’s just using this Lenten season to teach me to walk with Him again, since I’m not “working” for Him during this time. I am learning to walk again.

Let me say that if a person has a choice of working for Jesus or walking with Jesus, chose walking with Jesus every time. Intimacy with Jesus can easily get lost when we are working for Him. Walking with Him promotes the intimacy we need to actually do the work for Him…and I mean the work that He wants and needs us to do, not the work we want and think He wants us to do. The differences are oh, so subtle, but they are oh, so real.

And to think, I was going to let this Lenten season pass unnoticed. Perhaps all these challenges are my punishment for not giving something up for Lent.

Until next time, keep looking up…

“Do You Love Me?”

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Jesus, after the resurrection, encounters several of His disciples along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and in the encounter He asks Peter, not once but three times the question, “Do you love me?” (See John 21)

So, that’s the question I’ve been wrestling with most of the week myself: Do you love me? I must confess that wrestling with that question has caused me no small amount of pain and not a little confusion.

My initial answer, like Peter’s, is “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” As with Peter, so with me, Jesus has been persistent in asking the question and with each answer I find myself a little more confused, and if I’m honest, a little more uncertain that my answer is truthful.

I’ve come to the realization that I don’t love Him the way that He loves me. That’s probably because I am unable to grasp how much He really loves me and unless I can grasp that, I can’t love Him that much. Of course, you understand that when I say he loves me that I mean “us”…all of us. He loves us deeply and passionately…so passionately and so deeply, in fact, that He was willing to die for us…to give His life for ours.

Consequently, His call to us is to love others in the same way He loves us. He calls us, like Peter, to pour ourselves out for others (“Feed my lambs,” “Take care of my sheep,” “Feed my sheep”). His love for us is shown by action, not by emotion. Our love for Him can only be seen in our actions toward others. Unfortunately, I’ve come to realize my love for Him stays on the emotional level. I love Him as long as I’m receiving some benefit from Him.

The entire conversation has caused me to question my motivations for leaving full-time ministry in 2019. That’s nearly five years ago now, and this week of reflection on this passage has brought it back up. I’ve wondered if my leaving full-time, vocational ministry is proof that I don’t really love Him. I’ve questioned whether my leaving was courage, or cowardice? I want to believe it was courage. I’ve come to think it was cowardice.

Loving Jesus is a heavy lift. It demands a willingness to “take up our cross and follow Him.” It demands forgiveness. It demands holiness. It demands sacrifice. It demands loving and caring for His sheep…his smelly, dirty, rotten, hard-headed sheep. Did I abandon His sheep? Have I failed to take up the cross? Did I count the cost and determine the price was too high? Was that my way of saying, “Lord, I don’t really love You”? Perhaps I don’t have the strength (or the courage) to do such a heavy lift. After all, I’m not Peter.

I suppose the season of Lent is for grappling with these kinds of deep questions. You might be surprised to discover that when you to get to the end of this blog you’ll not find a deeply compelling answer or a shocking revelation. I’m still grappling with the question. I don’t have an answer yet. Jesus really has backed me into a corner with His question.

All I know to do at this point is pray this prayer: Break me, Lord, until I love you. Let me hurt with the most awful pain until all I have left is to love You. Perhaps I don’t understand what I’m asking for, but perhaps You know best what I need. I know I want to love You the way Peter came to love You. I want to take up my cross and follow You. I want to be broken by You and I want to be broken for You because I want to answer Your question with a definitive, “Yes! Lord You know I love You!”

I can only thank Him that Sunday is coming! Lent can’t be over soon enough.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Suffering for Lent…

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I received a question last week that I didn’t answer immediately. I had to ponder it a while. I had to ponder it because it actually was a great question, especially for the season of Lent which began this past Wednesday.

The question was, “When He says pick up your cross and follow me, is that referring to laying down things of this world and utilizing our gifts to serve Him?”

I initially assumed that the asker was referring to the time Jesus encountered the “rich young ruler” in Mark 10:

20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”

21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

Mark 10: 20 – 21

but, I remembered that Luke’s Gospel was an encounter with all the disciples, and that it carried a broader idea than Mark’s encounter:

22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

Luke 9: 22 – 23

I initially wanted to answer, “Yes,” to the question, but that would have been the easy answer, but I’m not so sure it is the correct answer. As I’ve pondered the question over the past week, I think the correct answer lies in grasping the concept of suffering…a concept not too many of us want to think much about. We like our easy life (and let’s confess, most of us have it pretty easy in these United States of America), and we want to keep it that way.

Actually, there are a lot of preachers of the prosperity gospel who tell us if we’re not having a great easy life, it’s because we don’t have enough faith. But, that subject is for another blog post. I’m rather certain that if any believers in or purveyors of the prosperity gospel read this that they will vehemently disagree with me. Oh, well!

For Jesus, the call to his disciples to “take up the cross” was a call to enter with Him into His suffering. He’s fairly clear on that matter. He says that, “The Son of Man must suffer many things…”

So? Let’s talk about suffering! Such a fun topic, right? Who wants to suffer? Suffering is so un-American, right? This is the land of opportunity and so many of us have done so well “suffering for Jesus.”

I mean, really, if anyone should be suffering, surely it would be those called by God to serve in ministry, right? Ha! I was 28 years in vocational ministry and I never missed a meal. All my bills were paid and I put up a nice little nest egg for retirement. Actually, I was doing pretty well at the end of my vocational ministry journey…pulling in six figures and all that. Yeah, I often wondered if I was worth what I was making (those who were paying me were probably thinking the same thing), and I often thought, “I can’t believe they pay me this much to do what I do.” Yup! I’d call that suffering for Jesus!

Please don’t take this as a knock on those who are serving in vocational ministry (and doing well doing so). It is not intended to be that. I know very well what Paul told Timothy:

17 The elders who lead well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox while it is threshing,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”

1 Timothy 5: 17 – 18 (NASB)

But, I also know what Paul told the church at Corinth:

15 I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me.

2 Cor. 12: 15 (NLT)

Taking both of those passages in their context, one would have to say John Wesley had it right: “Gain all you can…save all you can…give all you can.” (For the full context of Wesley, click here).

I don’t mean to make this blog about money, either earning or giving. I’m just tying to answer a question that is not an easy question to answer. So, let me try to answer the question: I believe that the idea of “taking up our cross daily” is about entering the suffering of Jesus. It is about joining Jesus in His death so that we might also join Him in His life…eternal life.

Three things I would note about suffering:

First, suffering is to be expected. Jesus was pretty clear on that matter. Remember what He told His disciples in John’s gospel?

33 These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

John 16: 33 (NASB)

Second, suffering builds character. In this, Paul (Romans 5: 3-5), James (James 1: 2-4) and Peter (1 Peter 1: 6-7) are all in agreement. Our suffering is not in vain! Just as there was a purpose behind the suffering of Jesus, there is purpose behind our suffering.

Third, suffering is only temporary. One of the best quotes I ever heard was “Jesus could face the cross because He saw beyond it.” Jesus looked at the cross with the resurrection is sight. The Apostle Paul was able to see the resurrection as well. I love his counsel to the Corinthian church:

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4: 16 – 18 (NIV)

It is hard for us to see past the cross, especially during the season of Lent. Remember, though, we can’t get to Easter without going through the cross.

No, we in western culture have had the benefit of a couple of centuries of Christian influence that has prevented us from enduring too much suffering on Jesus’ behalf. Perhaps that time is coming to an end and the suffering Jesus warned His first century disciples about may soon be upon us. Who knows?

I know that if it is, we should embrace it, learn what it is that Jesus wants us to learn, serve Him faithfully through it and come out the other side of it spiritually renewed bringing glory and honor to Him and building the Kingdom through it all. We should “take up the cross” and follow Him.

I’m not sure that answered the guy’s question, but at least the question prompted me to think. Maybe I have a little more thinking to do.

Until next time, keep looking up…

A Reflective Week…

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Just gonna’ take a moment to reflect on a week’s worth of devotional thoughts. Nothing special, but I thought they were worth re-sharing…

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

“God cannot deliver me while my interest is merely in my own character.” Oswald Chambers

My redemption must drive me to the desire to see others redeemed.

I do not pursue holiness to gain redemption. Holiness comes as a result of redemption, and I pursue holiness BECAUSE of my redemption.

God does the redeeming. God grants the holiness. Both are gifts to be received, not rewards to be earned. Beware though, the gift of redemption is given to be shared with others.

Honestly, I’m still working on receiving the gift of holiness. My pursuit of holiness has often fallen short. I’m changing my strategy. I’m going to work on receiving the holiness only Christ can give. Come Holy Spirit!

Friday, February 2, 2024

“Our Lord never requires the same conditions for discipleship that he requires for salvation.” Oswald Chambers

I count three calls of the Lord in the life of every believer:

1)The call to salvation,

2) The call to discipleship, and

3) The call to preach/evangelism.

Every call goes to every believer, but each call requires deepening levels of obedience, deepening levels of sacrifice and deepening levels of surrender.

In the call to salvation, our Lord says, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28).

In the call to discipleship, our Lord says, “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men…” (Matt. 4: 19).

In the call to preach, our Lord says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28: 19).

In answering the call to salvation, we say, “Lord, I am a sinner…”

In answering the call to discipleship, we say, “I must follow Jesus…”

In answering the call to preach/evangelism, we say, “I must tell others the Good News of God in Jesus Christ…”

Too many of us stop listening for the call after hearing the call to salvation. Salvation is the easy part. Discipleship and evangelism is when the hard work begins.

My prayer? “Lord, don’t let me be lazy! Let obedience, sacrifice and surrender compel me to answer Your every call in my life.”

If you can’t tell, I’m incorporating Oswald Chambers‘ My Utmost for His Highest into my devotional time this year. This year is actually my fourth time around with Mr. Chambers. I recommend it if you’re looking for an addition to your own devotions. It’s never too late to start.

Overheard this Week…

“Did I offend some of you? I’m sorry. I meant to offend all of you!” The quote wasn’t spoken in this regard, but it prompted me to consider the nature of the Gospel that so many people find offensive. If the message of the Gospel offends you, I’m sorry. I’m called to offend you.

“Why am I comforted by the idea that the Bible is wrong?” A question every progressive (and some not-so-progressive) Christian should ask themselves.

“I don’t know if Jesus smiled at everyone He met. I know He died for everyone who sinned.” Uh! Yeah!

Concluding Thought…

A look inside my mind is never a pretty thing. I’m sorry, but a look inside my heart might be even less pretty. That’s why I need Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Still Some Dying to Do…

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The past week has had me contemplating death…yes, even my own! What a morbid way to begin a blog, right? Hear me out, though!

Certainly, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve thought about my own demise. My dad died at age 63, so I’m a mere three years younger than he was when he passed away. I’ve thought about that often since October.

Honestly, that’s not really the death I have been contemplating recently. It may have been the ice storm left me with too much time on my hands, or the fact that I preached on Jesus’s baptism last week, but the death I’ve been contemplating is death to self. In that regard, I know I have a little more dying to do.

I am reminded of the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who said in The Cost of Discipleship, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” We die to pride, we die to selfishness, we die to our own will, our own desires, and we are raised to be like Christ.

As much as baptism is a symbol of the forgiveness of sins, it is also a symbol of our dying. The Apostle Paul said as much to the Roman church:

3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.

Romans 6: 3 – 8

Baptism is our acknowledgment that we have heard God’s call to come and die. Baptism is our acknowledgment that we are not sent to work “for” God, but are sent to be “used” by God for His purpose. We acknowledge that we are His vessel so that His grace can be poured out through us. For that to happen, I must die.

My pride must die. Pride has no place in God’s presence. Pride cannot be sustained in God’s presence. If I’m still struggling with pride (and I am), I still have some dying to do.

Death is a frightening thing, though. We avoid it like the plague. Yes, even dying to self, especially when we live in a culture that tells us life is about self-realization, self-actualization and self-fulfillment. No, I’m sorry! That is not what the Bible says and that is not God’s call upon our lives. God’s call is to self-surrender. God’s call is to selflessness. God’s call is to self-denial. In that regard, I still have some dying to do.

Paul says we are dead to sin. Oh, really? It sure doesn’t feel that way some days! It’s probably because I still have some dying to do. God’s call is to holiness…to sanctification (that $3 theological word we Wesleyans like to throw around). We Wesleyans believe that baptism is an acknowledgment that God’s sanctifying grace begins its work in us so that God might do His work through us. We believe that a life of holiness is real and attainable, but it will only come through death–death to self. We must die to live. An oxymoron, I know, but according to Paul, it is imperative.

Then why is it that many (most) days, I feel like I actually regressed in the pursuit of holiness? Honestly, some days I get tired of trying! Death is hard! Faithfulness is hard! Pursuing a life of holiness is exhausting! Well, duh!

The last week of reflection has shown me that it is so hard because I’m the one doing all the work. I’m the one doing all the work because I still have some dying to do. The “old self” hasn’t died enough to realize that forgiveness is a gift…salvation is a gift…the Holy Spirit is a gift. I heard the call of God and then “I” went to work instead of receiving the gift and allowing the Holy Spirit to do His work in me.

I work so dad-gum hard to become a better me that I never realized that the Lord wants to make me a different me. He’ll do all the work if I just get out of the way and let him. The only way I can get out of the way is through death–death to self.

How? How can I die to self? I can’t! I’ve figured that one out. This death is not within my ability to accomplish. I have to quit trying. I have to surrender even my desire for self-denial to the power of the Holy Spirit. I cannot overcome the temptations and pride of life in myself. It is only through a power outside myself. My only prayer…my only hope is “Let the Holy Spirit fall on me!”

I still have a little dying to do. Come Holy Spirit! I’ll not die without You!

Until next time, keep looking up…

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler..

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

For those of you keeping score, Christmas is finally over. Though some say we should keep the spirit of Christmas year round, Christmas officially ended yesterday (Saturday, January 6th) with Three King’s Day or Twelfth Night (You know? As in the Twelve Days of Christmas?). For those following the Christian calendar, the season of Epiphany officially began yesterday.

The beginning of Epiphany can only mean one thing: King Cake! No, actually it means so much more than that. I won’t go into all that it means. If you want a deep dive into Epiphany, just Google it. You’ll be reading for days!

For those of us in Louisiana, it really means Laissez les bons temps rouler! Yep! Let the good times roll! Epiphany marks the beginning of the Mardi Gras season. Mardi Gras is that time of year when normally sane people find an excuse to dress up in lavish costumes, organize and attend exuberant parades, attend balls and otherwise act in ways they wouldn’t normally act (define that as “eat and drink a lot”).

I just have one question: Why? Why do Christ-followers participate in what have become purely pagan celebrations? I don’t ask the question in a condemnatory or judgmental fashion. It is a serious question that I am earnestly trying to understand. Perhaps by asking the question here, someone will share with me what disciples of Jesus gain from participating in all the “revelry” that comes with the Mardi Gras season?

I know most folks love a good party and when one is looking for an excuse to have a good time, any excuse will do. I suppose Mardi Gras provides a good excuse.

I’ve never considered myself a party animal, so I’ve never been attracted to all the celebrations centered around the season. Sure, I’ve attended Mardi Gras parades (I did pastor in Morgan City, you know?), but it was always more out of a sense of obligation (gotta’ take the kids, or when in Rome do as the Romans do, etc.) than a desire to be in a crowd and catch beads and trinkets (especially when it’s cold outside), or dress up in opulent costumes for balls. If that’s your cup of tea, more power to you.

I do, however, want to understand the mindset behind followers of Jesus participating in “krewes” that carry the names of pagan gods from centuries past. Google “Mardi Gras Krewes” and you’ll find krewes named for Janus, Bacchus, Morpheus, and Iris, among others who take their names from characters portrayed in Greek and Roman mythology.

I just can’t seem to square that circle. I suppose I need to remember Paul’s words to the church at Corinth when he addressed the issue of eating meat offered to idols: “…we all know that an idol is not really a god, and that there is only one God and no other” (1 Corinthians 8:4b). In the broader context of his letter, Paul’s argument is that you can’t offer a sacrifice to something that doesn’t really exist, so…

He would go on to say, however, if in doing so (eating meat sacrificed to idols), my actions cause another person to stumble, then shame on me. Actually, he said he would never eat meat again if it caused a brother to stumble.

I suppose I’m really struggling with the question of where does my Christian freedom end and my responsibility to my brother/sister begin? I don’t know that I can answer that question here (maybe some of you can), but I believe the answer begins to emerge when I surrender myself to the law of love found in Jesus Christ. I discover that my responsibility to my brother/sister takes precedence over my own Christian freedom.

As a follower of Jesus, yes, I CAN laissez les bon temps rouler, but SHOULD I? I suppose that’s the question I really need to answer. And I need to get comfortable with the fact that every Christ-follower will answer the question differently. Maybe I’m just one of those weak Christians Paul referred to in 1 Corinthians 8. Kudos to all you strong ones. I suppose I’m just not there yet.

So, go ahead and do your Mardi Gras thing (I’ll eat my fair share of king cake, for sure). It won’t bother me and I certainly won’t judge you for it. I won’t understand it, but I still won’t judge you. I’ll just be over here doing my own kind of sinning in my own kind of way, and like the rest of you, I’ll look forward to Lent when I can repent of my sin and seek the Lord’s forgiveness. He’ll grant it because He’s good like that, and sans the great work of the Holy Spirit, we’ll just start the cycle all over again.

Laissez les bon temps rouler…

Until next time, keep looking up…