In Jesus' Name

Most of us Christians end our prayers by saying, "... in Jesus' name. Amen." But what does that really mean?

Sometimes we seem to think it is some kind of magic formula, or worse, a way to force God's hand. "After all," we think, "scripture promises us that if we ask for something in Jesus' name, then he will do it."

Most of us are mature enough, however, to understand that we can't manipulate God. We know that we can't ask God to do something that is clearly against what we know of God's nature, and expect God to do it. "God, please send someone to beat up Billy, because he isn't nice to me."

We have probably moved on from there to understand that what we ask for "in Jesus' name" has to be something Jesus himself would ask for. This understanding requires us to take into consideration God's good nature, love, mercy and compassion. This is a better understanding of what it means to pray "in Jesus' name," but what if it goes even deeper than that?

This may be a fine distinction, or dabbling in semantics, but what if it means praying as if it were Jesus uttering the words?

Consider this: When I was a kid, sometimes Momma would send me as her emmissary to deliver a message to my brother. "Momma said to make your bed and clean up your room." All was well if he believed me (I don't recall ever abusing parental authority) and did what Momma said. But if he didn't... "I thought I told you..." "You didn't tell me, Mark did!" "But I TOLD him to tell you; it's the same as though I told you myself!" Keep in mind that this was back in the day when switches were commonly used to make parental points. Ouch!

Praying as if it were Jesus himself uttering the words suggests a very close relationship with Jesus. It suggests that we think like Jesus thinks, that we want the same thing that Jesus wants. What a privilege it is to be trusted with such awesome authority! Dare we use this authority selfishly, or frivolously?

Be blessed.
Pastor Mark

What's This I See?

Moses was just going along, happily doing his job, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye.  A bush was burning.  Not such a spetactular sight ... until he noticed that the bush was not being consumed by the fire.  He was interested enough in this strange sight to go and investigate.  Little did he know what he was getting himself into!

It turns out that the burning bush wasn't really important; it was merely God's way of getting Moses' attention.  God didn't jump out in front of Moses on the road to get his attention.  God didn't speak in a loud voice from an angry-looking cloud.  Moses had to be paying atention to what was going on around him, or he would have missed this opportunity to encounter God.

God had a job for Moses to do that had nothing to do with tending his father-in-law's flocks.  God wanted Moses to lead the Israelites out of their Egyptian bondage.  This was a huge and massively important job!  Moses didn't think he was up to it, but God would hear none of that nonsense!  "I will be with you!"

In what kind of small, unspectacular ways, is God trying to get our attention?  The thing God uses to get our attention isn't, in itself, what is important.  What is important is that we are paying enough attention to what is going on around us to notice it.  It may seem very insignificant at first ... until we take a closer look.  Then, when we take that closer look, we might discover that the thing itself isn't important at all.  It was merely God's way of getting our attention and putting us in the place where we could hear him.

Are you paying attention?  When you see something slightly out of the ordinary, do you investigate it?  When God does finally, in some way, get your attention, do stand there as if on holy ground and listen?  If you hear, do you complain that you are not up to the task God sets before you?  When you hear God say, "I will be with you!" do you believe him?  If you believe him, do you do what he calls you to do?

You must answer these questions for yourself; no one else can answer for you.

Be blessed.
Pastor Mark

Just Desserts

If the title of this post makes you anticipate an article about food, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Food does, however, play a small role.

I'm thinking about Jacob. God promised Isaac that he would perpetuate the Divine promise through his youngest son. That was Jacob, later renamed Israel.

Jacob and Esau were twins; Esau was the firstborn. Esau, therefore, enjoyed the birthright of the firstborn. But he sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. Later, Isaac was ready to give a final blessing to his favorite son, Esau. Rebecca overheard Isaac's plan to bless Esau, but she favored Jacob. She and Jacob conspired to trick Isaac into giving the blessing meant for Esau to Jacob by having Jacob pose as Esau and bring Isaac his favorite dish. Their plan worked because Isaac's sight was failing in his old age.

Jacob already had the birthright, now he has the blessing. Both came through manipulation involving food.

Jacob paid for his deceit by being deceived himself! He ended up working for Laban for fourteen years in order to marry Rachel. Eventually, God worked out his plans for Jacob in his own way and in his own time.

I wonder how different Jacob's (Israel's) life would have been if he had just trusted God.

How different would our lives be if we were to trust God to work his plans for us in his own way and in his own time?

Be blessed!
Pastor Mark.

The Journey to Jesus Ends in Worship

The second chapter of Matthew's gospel tells us of the journey of the Magi (astronomers, wise men, kings) to see and pay homage to a newborn king, Jesus of Nazareth.  They followed a star that led them to the general vicinity of his birthplace.  Along the way, they encountered Herod, whose advisors informed him of the prophesied birthplace of the Messiah, Bethlehem.  When Herod passed the information on the the Magi they set off to complete their journey.  Herod feigned interest in joining with the Magi in worshipping the new king, but really he wanted to kill him!  Herod was not a nice man.

The Magi came with gifts for the newborn king: gold, frankincence, and myrrh.  These gifts are symbolic of who Jesus is.  Gold represents Jesus' royalty - the King of kings.  Frankincense represents Jesus' priesthood - the one who offers up the sacrifice to God for the atonement of the people.  Myrrh (a burial spice) represents Jesus' ultimate sacrifice - his death on a cross.  Jesus not only offers up the sacrifice for atonement, he IS the sacrifice for atonement.

When they finally found Jesus after their very long journey, they gave him one more gift - a gift that we, too, can give him: worship. 

The journey of the Magi to Jesus ended in worship of Jesus.  Our journey to Jesus will end in worship of Jesus too!  When we truly seek him, we will find him.  No exceptions!  We might encounter evilness along the way, as the Magi encoutered King Herod, but nothing can prevent us from finding Jesus when we truly seek him.  When we find him and recognize him for who he really is, we will joyfully give him all we have to give.  And then we will worship him.  And then he will transform us. 

We will not go back to Herod, but seek to avoid the Evil One.  We will go back to our everyday life, but we will live it differently, according to God's desires instead of our own.  Once we have a true encounter with Jesus Christ, we will realize that this is no mere man; we will realize that we have encountered God!  We will worship him and be transformed.

As we begin a new year together, let us be transformed together through our worship of Jesus Christ.

Be blessed,
Pastor Mark