“You follow Me”

In the story, “The Horse and His Boy” from the Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis, the boy Shasta is overwhelmed by the Lion who deeply injures his companion, Aravis. Later the Lion comes to him and he is perplexed and afraid. He does not yet know that this is Aslan — who for readers is a symbol of Jesus Christ.

Shasta asks the Lion, “Then it was you who wounded Aravis?” The Lion said it was, and the boy asks, “What for?” The Lion replies, “Child, I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own.”

Jesus is like that. He does not tell others about my issues like a gossip might do. He also can be trusted with the secrets of my heart and will never blab them to someone else.

That said, He does give the gift of discernment to some people. With it, discerners just know what is happening in some cases where God wants them involved to help, encourage, or exhort. But there is one huge problem with the gift of discernment; misuse. Chambers calls it “being an amateur providence” because those who have this gift can attempt to interfere with God’s plans for other people.

For instance, if someone is sick, I might assume they should not suffer, forgetting that God uses sickness. Sometimes it is a way to glorify Him in the healing, but sometimes it is chastening for sin, or His way of drawing people closer, or even His way of taking them home. How I talk to sick people requires a great deal of sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. Otherwise when He talks to me, God will keep quiet about details in the lives of others.

Peter was the first to learn this lesson, and was likely the model for this part of Lewis’ story. He was with Jesus after His resurrection . . .

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:20–22)

For me, this is a vital lesson. I know to pray or even encourage a Christian is not growing spiritually, but even then I must seek God’s face for discernment in the way to do it. If any person suffers in any manner, I cannot assume that their suffering should be removed because I know from my own experience that God can use suffering in powerful ways. But I must not assume they are sick because of sin in their lives. The Lord wants my full dedication; sometimes I need suffering to bring me to that. There are other reasons for it also, so I cannot pray to remove or prevent it without God’s direction.

As Chambers says, my relationship with God determines whether or not His discernment will be shared with me to use in someone’s life. I need to be continually devoted to Him, listening always for His guidance.

Chambers adds an even greater challenge. He says that being consciously devoted to God is immature, adding that genuine maturity means being so abandoned to God that the consciousness of being used never enters my mind. That is, any consciousness of myself and what God is doing through me is just not there because I am only conscious of being utterly dependent on God.

I’m not there yet.

Praying for missionaries

Several years ago a man spoke at our church. He had just lost his daughter in a car accident, yet his focus remained on the Lord Jesus Christ and the work he had been called to do. He was a missionary to missionaries, encouraging and helping them. These verses remind me of what he said . . .

Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth. (3 John 5–8)

I cannot always support missionary efforts with money, yet I can support them in prayer, and in keeping contact through letters and email. One couple working in Africa told me how much my letters meant to them. They also said they got more letters from me than from their families back home.

Personal support is important, hence the man who spoke about his work. However, he emphasized the importance of prayer and offered an outline that I’ve used for many years when praying for my missionary friends. It is easy to remember and covers the major issues missionaries face.

GRACE: to adjust to culture shock. This is a big struggle in the beginning, but even those who have been in another country long enough to feel it is their home will continue to encounter differences in cultural thinking and practice. Grace is needed to understand these differences so they will not become a barrier. More important, grace is vital so as to know which practices are not vital and which must be challenged and changed because of the gospel. A tribe in the jungle must give up cannibalism, but they don’t need to wear t-shirts and play soccer.

LOVE: for those they serve. Christian love is like the love of Christ — making sacrifices for the sake of others. Merely going into a difficult place is a sacrifice, but there is also a need for love in the daily stuff. One missionary told me that her greatest challenge was the way people dropped in for a visit anytime of the day and without concern that she had work to do. Those interruptions required the love of Christ.

SUBMISSION: to coworkers and to their sending agency. Getting along with other believers and respecting authority are significant commandments in the Bible, probably because these are effective ways to witness to the power of the gospel. God changes us from independent thinkers to members of His family, the body of Christ. We are to act like Jesus when He said, “Not my will, but thine be done” — without resentment or as a sense of duty — whether at home or in a mission field.

DEVOTION: to the Lord. This means not letting the busyness and demands of the task prevent missionary workers from quality time with God in study, prayer, listening, deepening their relationship with the One who is their source of grace, love, and submission. Of all prayer requests, this one is the most important. As Jesus said, His people must abide in Him, for apart from Him, we can do nothing.

Chambers says “The key to missionary devotion means being attached to nothing and no one saving Our Lord Himself, not being detached from things externally. Our Lord was amazingly in and out among ordinary things . . . .”

Jesus kept His focus on the will of His Father. He knew His mission, but He also ‘ate and drank with sinners.’ He had His heart set on the goal, but did not neglect any moment of the day. For Him, nothing was considered unimportant.

For me, knowing the will of God is important in praying for missionaries. It is also important in my own life, whether in Christian service or in ordinary daily life. Like them, I’m to let my devotion to Him dominate everything I do. It is the only way that the Holy Spirit can use ordinary people like us to praise and glorify God in this very needy world.

Centered devotion

For some, devotion to Jesus Christ means dedicating oneself to the work of the church, or to missions, or to a particular cause, or to care for a particular group of people. This seems to be what Jesus is talking about when He met with Peter after His resurrection . . .

He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” (John 21:16)

Chambers is quick to point out that any service to Christ comes from loving Him. That is, the service that I do must be from devotion to the Lord, not adherence to my church doctrine, or a concern for the lost, or any political or social issues, or even compassion for the needy. He sums up his thoughts with this paraphrase: ‘If you would be My disciple, you must be devoted to Me.’

The keynote speaker at a writers’ conference put it this way: “We are not called to write. We are called to love and obey Jesus Christ. Today He may have you writing; tomorrow He may ask you to do something else.”

Her words changed my life. I’d been hung up on the idea of a focus, a calling, something that God wanted from me that I could give all efforts toward doing. As soon as I heard those words, a great weight was lifted. I had no vision, no calling, but now I did; listen to Jesus every moment of every day and do what He says. Life might seem like a scrambled adventure, but it will be lived in the guidance and grace of God.

Before sitting down to devotions this morning, I was having a conversation with the Lord about the future. Of course He does not reveal much about that topic to any of His children, but He did tell me to pay attention to today’s reading in My Utmost for His Highest for He would give me what I needed to know.

He did. He wants me to be devoted to Him, to do His will as He reveals it. I am to love Him “personally and passionately” and in doing that, He will take me where He wants me to go, showing me what sheep to feed and how to feed them.

Basically, this direction is about living for Christ, but before anyone can do that, they must die to self, yielding all passions, supposed callings, personal ambitions and desires. I might want to do many things, but God wants me to shut up, focus on Him, listen to what He says, and do it.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24)

I’m not certain I was anxious about fruit-bearing, but I did get up this morning thinking about dying. Jesus was thinking about it too, but not the same kind of death that was bugging me. Again, He wants me to live moment-by-moment. This morning He may have me in church worshiping Him, but who knows what He might ask me to do this afternoon!

Spiritual retreats needed

Occasionally I’ve had personal retreats. I go away from home to a place with less distractions, sometimes a library. However, even there, the books threaten to draw me away from the Lord. Once I paid $10 for a room at a retreat center. This was ideal, totally silent and peaceful. I’ve not done this for awhile though, and today’s devotional offers a verse and a brief thought that urge me to plan more of these.

Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. (Exodus 24:18)

The reading points out that a life of fellowship with God cannot be built up in a day. It begins with a habitual time with Him, then even referring to Him hour by hour, as Moses did in Egypt. For me, this began with having personal devotions every day. In the past forty years, I remember missing only one. Daily communion with God in His Word and through prayer is a vital part of being a Christian.

Yet I cannot rest there or be content with just that daily habit. For one thing, it can become rote, a duty, a mere habit and not a vital and meaningful time. For me, diligence is required to make this truly a fellowship with God, not a writing exercise nor an entry in a blog.

As the reading says, this fellowship moves on to more often and longer periods of communion. Although I’ve learned to meditate throughout the day on each morning’s devotional blessings and challenges, there is much room in my life for growth in this. I’d like the idea of “hour by hour” to be more consistent. I’d also like more extended times, like those retreats.

However, the dozen or so retreats that I’ve had are not nearly enough. Not only that, the way I’ve done these retreats is suspect. For most, I’ve made and relied on an agenda. That is, I plan a certain period of time for Bible reading, time for confession, praise etc. While this keeps me on target and out of the book stacks in the library, it seems that these meetings with God should be less by the clock, more spontaneous and totally heartfelt.

Today’s reading adds that this increased time with God “should find its consummation and bliss in days and nights of intercession,” waiting on and having holy interaction with the Lord. I’m not there yet, but in this reading and in these verses, I hear the Holy Spirit saying, “Come, come.”

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Lord, even though You ‘never leave or forsake me’ and I am most always aware of Your presence, I need to spend more time exclusively devoted to You. Forgive me for letting this lapse, replacing it with distractions and busyness. Grant me the grace needed to more often draw near in full attention to You.

He is still here. . .

The schedule at this conference is so full that I’m having a hard time fitting in quiet time with the Lord. I know it is a spiritual discipline that I need, but I also know that my relationship with God doesn’t change if I miss a day or am not able to take much time for it (unless, of course. It is sin that is keeping me away).

The idea is out there that if we don’t do everything right, God just turns His back. Or if our symbols and various religious practices are lax, He makes Himself scarce. Those who think that way are bound by ritual instead of bound by His love for them.

The Israelites were bound by symbol and ritual. In 1 Samuel, the Philistines captured the Ark (made famous in a movie that had very little to do with what the Bible says about it). When that happened, the prophet Eli was so distraught that he keeled over and died. His daughter-in-law, who was about to give birth, found out that her husband had died in the battle when the Ark was taken, and that her father-in-law died when he heard about it. As she gave birth, she also died. Her last words were, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.”

The story has anguish and I couldn’t help feeling their despair, but at the same time wondered how well they really knew God. How can One who is omnipresent go somewhere else? How can the God who says He will never leave or forsake His people and who is far above and beyond all objects and rituals of worship identify Himself with a wooden box to the point if the box goes, God also goes?

I know, there is much more to their attitude about the Ark than I understand, but if the government came and took away all Bibles, would I think that God went into exile? If all the churches in the world were burned down, would that mean God perished in the fire?

God is more than the things that I associate Him with, including my morning quiet time. If I miss it or cannot spend as much time as I’d like, He didn’t go anywhere. Not only that, the time I spend time with Him does not have to be the same as always. God is not in the ritual either; He lives in my heart. I can think about Him and talk to Him anywhere, anytime, and not be anxious about a switch in my routine. Even if I lost my Bible and every other thing that draws me closer to Him, He is the same, today, yesterday, and forever, and does not go away.

At His feet

I’ve one of those big birthdays coming up, those that make a person think about what they want to do with the rest of their lives. I’ve been organizing and tossing, eliminating and concentrating my ‘stuff’ but still not sure of the answer to that question. I like to do so many things, but realize that life is far to short to do them all.

Today’s reading is from Luke 10 and familiar. Jesus came to the home of Martha and Mary. Mary seems to have done her part in the kitchen and then sat at the feet of Jesus, the attitude of a disciple and one who intended to listen.

“But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me?’ And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.’”

Blanking out on the reading, I decided to check some commentaries. The Holy Spirit used them to target my heart.

• Getting over-worked up about many things in this world is a common fault and very displeasing to Christ. If I do it without just cause, I’m apt to wind up with an added load and something really worth fretting about. (Matthew Henry)
• Godliness unites the heart; the world divides it. The many things Martha was troubled about were needless, while the one thing she neglected was vital for her own spiritual health. (Matthew Henry)
• Martha received Jesus into her home and then neglected Him as she prepared an elaborate meal that He did not need! What we do with Christ is far more important than what we do for Christ, not an either/or question but a matter of balance. (W. W. Wiersbe)
• Whenever we criticize others and pity ourselves because we feel overworked, we had better take time to examine our lives. Perhaps in all of our busyness, we have been ignoring the Lord. (W. W. Wiersbe)
• Martha’s problem was not that she had too much work to do, but that she allowed her work to distract her and pull her apart. She was trying to serve two masters! If serving Christ makes us difficult to live with, then something is terribly wrong with our service! (W. W. Wiersbe)
• Martha’s choice would be taken from her because the oh-so-important meal she made in the kitchen would soon be gone. Mary’s choice was eternal. (Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown)

The last one gives the best direction; those before it are totally convicting. Even though I spend daily time at Jesus’ feet, certainly the tasks of the past few weeks are a distraction. Does Jesus need all the stuff I’ve collected and am trying to organize and make use of? Am I neglecting Him while I toss or file? Am I even considering that I am doing all that I do for Him? Or is it just for me? If for Him, I should not feel so ‘overworked and underpaid.’

I have pitied myself about having far too much to do, and occasionally griped that others are not pulling their share. Wiersbe’s words about that are pointed, but I must listen. If what I do is making me complain or grumpy, then I need to reexamine why I do those things.

The last observation is helpful. What is going to make a difference for eternity? Some I can only guess (for God uses the oddest things for His purposes), but others are obvious. It is time for some far deeper sorting and tossing, this time at His feet.