What Are You Afraid Of?

“He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done.  He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God.  As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success.” — 2 Chronicles 26:4-5

In all my years of living on this earth, God has taught me many lessons.  These lessons have been painful at times, especially when they have involved my children.  As a parent, I see my children making many of the same mistakes I made during the years I wandered far from God.  Although I realize that the mess I made of my life was the very thing God used to draw me back to him, it breaks my heart to know that my children are going to make their own mistakes no matter how hard I try to convince them that the stinging effects of sin are not worth the pleasures of the present.  My own experience and words alone will not keep them safe.  They will have to reach a place in their own lives where they embrace God’s Word for themselves.

Life has taught me that there is no fear in fearing God.  There is only freedom.  That is to say, if we walk in the fear of the Lord by obeying his Word and surrendering to his lordship, then there is really nothing for us to be afraid of.  His Word assures us of provision, forgiveness when we confess our sins, and protection when we follow him.  But try to tell that to a teenager who is listening to the voice of his peers and living life based on the world’s value system!  He is more afraid of missing out on fun or being labeled a Jesus freak than he is afraid of being outside God’s will.  Isn’t the same true of many of us?  Age is no respecter of foolishness.

What are you afraid of?  Are you afraid that if you choose to follow God in total submission, you will have to give up your friends or all that you have worked so hard to accomplish in life?  Does obedience to his Word mean that you will have to give up all those dirty little habits that have become so comfortable to you?  Maybe, maybe not.  As one who has struggled with these very questions, I can assure you that whatever things were gain to you, you will eventually count as rubbish for the sake of knowing Christ more and being found in his righteousness (Philippians 3:7-9), if you choose to walk in the fear of God rather than be afraid of him and his truth. 

So, what are you afraid of?  Don’t let fear of what others think keep you from walking in the fear of the Lord.  Dare to face your fear and surrender everything to him.  There is no safer or more pleasant place to dwell than in God’s presence and purpose for your life (Jeremiah 29:11).

Dee Dee Wike
www.deedeewike.com

 

Jesus the Apologist

An apologist is someone active in  defending the truthfulness of any viewpoint.  Jesus chose at times to defend what he was teaching.

When he was accused of casting out demons by the Devil (Matthew 12:22-29), he employed a couple of different arguments to support that what he did he did by the Holy Spirit’s power.  First, he showed the inconsistency of Satan fighting against himself by setting people free from his demonic control.  Such a thing, Jesus argued, would lead to the downfall of Satan’s kingdom.  Second, he applied their logic to their own practice of exorcism.  By whose power were their own people casting out demons?  If they said, “By God’s power,” he could reply, “Then why can’t I be casting demons out by God’s power?”  Brilliant!

In John 8:12-18 Jesus deals with a challenge from the religious leaders that he is only testifying to himself.  But Jesus argues that the Father is confirming his testimony.  By this he likely means to point them to the miracles his Father has enabled him to do through the power of the Spirit.

Finally, in John 2:18-19, the Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign to prove who he is.  He responds by saying, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days.”  They think he is speaking about the literal temple Herod built, but he is speaking about his body, which he knows they will kill.  Jesus’ resurrection is still one of the most compelling arguments for the truth of Christianity.  His closest disciples knew whether he really died or not and whether they really saw him resurrected or not.  They were willing to die for their belief that he was resurrected.  Jesus had paved the way for this apologetic for Christianity in the very beginning of his ministry here on earth.

Jesus was not against using “proofs” to defend the truthfulness of what he taught.  He was an able apologist.

Randall Johnson

Who Is Jesus?, Jesus the Apologist

Jesus the Friend

Jesus told his disciples, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:13-15)

Now I don’t know about you, but if someone told me that I could be their friend if I obeyed them I would not be too impressed.  But given the context of Jesus’ statement, the countless hours he had spent with his disciples, and given the fact that He is the Son of God, this had to be received quite differently by his disciples.  Of course you obey Jesus, but he is offering something more than a master/servant relationship.  He is offering friendship.

We know that Jesus made special friendships among his disciples.  The Apostle John has the boldness to call himself the disciple whom Jesus loved (see John 13:23; 19:26, et al).  But he also had a special relationship with Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha.  When Jesus hears that Lazarus is deathly ill he tells his disciples, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” (John 11:11).  Lazarus is a friend to all the disciples, but to Jesus as well.  When the Jews observed Jesus weeping for Lazarus they remarked, “See how he loved him!” (11:36)

What does having a friend mean to you?  For me it means having someone in my life who accepts me no matter what, but is also ready to challenge me to be better than ‘no matter what’.  It means someone I can talk to about anything going on in my life.  It means someone who is loyal to me and shares his or her life with me at the same level of transparency.

And this is what Jesus was offering his disciples in John 15.  The master does not need to tell his servants his business, but a friend needs to tell a friend what is going on in his or her life.  Jesus still wants that kind of relationship with us.  He is our Lord, but he is also our friend.  That means we can ask things of him that we would never think to ask of our boss.  We can dialogue with him about what he is doing in our lives. 

This doesn’t mean that he is obligated to tell us everything we want to know.  It is impossible for us to receive some of the things Jesus knows (see Deuteronomy 29:29).  And it might not be wise for us to know some things.  But Jesus wants the intimate relationship with us that he has wanted with all his disciples.  Am I willing to spend the time with him and be the friend that I must be to enjoy his friendship to the fullest?

A friend of Jesus! Oh, what bliss
That one so weak as I
Should ever have a Friend like this
To lead me to the sky!

Refrain:
Friendship with Jesus!
Fellowship divine!
Oh, what blessed, sweet communion!
Jesus is a Friend of mine.

A Friend when other friendships cease,
A Friend when others fail,
A Friend who gives me joy and peace,
A Friend when foes assail!

A Friend when sickness lays me low,
A Friend when death draws near,
A Friend as through the vale I go,
A Friend to help and cheer!

A Friend when life’s short race is o’er
A Friend when earth is past,
A Friend to meet on Heaven’s shore,
A Friend when home at last!

Joseph C. Ludgate

Randall Johnson

Who Is Jesus?, Jesus the Friend

Jesus the Discipler

It is fascinating to me that one of the very first things Jesus did upon beginning his public ministry was to draft disciples.  Jesus knew that his time on earth was short and that he was not going to be around physically to lead this new movement.  So he immediately began training others.

There were four major components to Jesus training of his disciples:

(1) Teaching.  Jesus taught his disciples and taught them repetitively.  He taught them in the large groups and small.  He taught them one on one (remember the lesson he gives Peter about paying taxes in Matthew 17:24-27).  There is no substitute for instruction.

(2)  Modeling.  Jesus’ disciples lived with him, walked with him, ate with him, suffered with him.  They saw him live out everything he taught them.  He showed them how to do what he taught them to do.  We really need people to show us how to live the Christian life.

(3) On the Job Training.  Jesus put his disciples to work after sufficient training to further their training.  He sent them to do in the villages what he had done, then he had them report to him and debriefed them (Matthew 10; Luke 10).

(4) Love.  Jesus loved his disciples.  He even gave special attention to a select number of them (the 12), had an inner circle (Peter, James and John) and was said to love one of them (John).  He loved them all, but he developed varying levels of relationship with them all.  You must love the ones you disciple.

We don’t know how long we are going to be here physically to lead our families, to lead in our churches or our places of work.  So we need to train others.  Jesus is our model.

Randall Johnson

Who Is Jesus?, Jesus the Discipler

Jesus the Teacher 2

I pride myself on being a teacher, but when I compare myself to Jesus I’m not even in the ballpark.  There are several reasons for this.  One, he is the Son of God.  Two, he has no internal sin issues that mire up relationships or hinder him saying something that needs to be said.  He is always free to say what you or I need.  Three, he knows the Bible better than I do.  Four, he is a master at using teaching techniques.

Now I know that this last aspect could seem to make Jesus out to be a manipulator, but in reality it makes him out to be most loving of teachers.  If I only teach the content and don’t consider how to package that content for you, I am ignoring what you need to learn.  If I really love you I will take the responsibility to teach you the way you need to be taught.  Jesus always does that.

Consequently, Jesus was a master at asking questions.  Recently there have been a series of Bible study books published that are centered around the questions Jesus used.  He asked stuff like, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil?” (Mark 3:4), or “How can Satan drive out Satan?” (Mark 3:23), or “Who are my mother and my brothers?” (Mark 3:33) in order to grab attention and build anticipation as to what the answer might be.  In response to such questions, as a learner, I am invested in finding out the answer.  Now I become an active participant in the learning process.

Jesus also told incredible stories and parables.  He held you in rapt attention as he described a son who selfishly took his father’s inheritance before his father died and wasted it all, only to come back home and find a tearful welcome (Luke 15).  He told a story about a man who died and went to Hades (Luke 16), and one about a woman who bugged a judge so much that he answered her prayer (Luke 18).  He drew you in and left you with a picture in your head that taught you for months and years to come.

Jesus also got personal.  A great example is the expert in the law who comes and asks Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life Luke 10).  Jesus turns and asks him a question, “What is written in the Law?  How do you read it?”  When the expert answers correctly Jesus acknowledges it, then tells a story about the good Samaritan.  But rather than just leave it at that, Jesus gets personal.  He asks the man, “Which of these three men do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”  And when the expert answers, “The one who had mercy on him,” Jesus says, “Go and do likewise.”

We all have opportunities to teach, even if it is not our formal responsibility.  We can learn from Jesus the ways to help people learn.  We can love people enough, the way Jesus did, to tailor our words to their needs so that they can learn to live out what they are taught.

Randall Johnson

Who Is Jesus?, Jesus the Teacher, part two

The Ignorant Jesus

Sounds blasphemous, doesn’t it?  If Jesus is God the Son, the eternal second person of the Trinity, how could he be ignorant?  But Jesus confesses his own ignorance to his disciples.

In Mark 13:32 he says about his return to earth in the future, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  If Jesus is the infinite God, can he lack any knowledge of any subject, let alone his own return at the end of days?

The answer to this question is ultimately beyond our full knowledge, but we may guess that it lies in the dual nature Jesus possesses.  He is just one personality, but he has a human nature and the divine nature.  In his human nature he is finite and limited.  This includes his knowledge and power being limited.  As we see in Luke 2:52, Jesus “grew in wisdom.”  He did not come into the world with full knowledge of all things.  This in part is what puts the lie to supposed “lost Gospels” that depict Jesus with infinite knowledge as a child.

But because Jesus also possesses the divine nature and because God can never be less than God in any sense, Jesus retains infinite knowledge.  Then why did he not know when he would return?  Because he had chosen, as part of his responsibility to take on human nature, not to access his divinity while here on earth.  He wanted to live just as we live, dependent on the Holy Spirit for any supernatural actions we must take or knowledge we must have.

So when Jesus knew personal information about the woman at the well which he could not have known previously (see John 4), we must surmise that this knowledge was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit.  Others have attested to and experienced the Spirit’s giving information about someone that they did not learn through normal channels.

And when it says in John 2:24 that “he knew all men,” we may surmise that he knew us, not from his own omniscience, but from the testimony of God in His Word and through His Spirit.  We know or may know all men as well if we are familiar with what God tells us about fallen human nature.

The ultimate implication of this concept of Jesus limited knowledge is that we can live like Jesus did too.  We can depend on the Holy Spirit like he did and see the Spirit do miraculous things through us and give us supernatural knowledge if He feels we need it.  He is our model for the Christian life in every way.

Randall Johnson

Who Is Jesus?, Part Three, The Ignorant Jesus

Learning to Listen

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.” — John 10:27

Each morning I have a quiet time when I meet with the Lord, read His word, and pray. If you were to read my journal, though, you would find that my conversations with God are very one-sided. That is because I haven’t yet mastered the art of listening to God, although I am quite adept at talking to Him. He longs to hear the voices of His children and listen to our concerns, but He longs to speak to us as well. When I sit down, open my Bible, and take up my pen, it’s usually so I can tell Him every little detail and need of my life. Rarely do I stop long enough for God to get a word in edgewise.

With all the distractions and to-do lists in our lives, how do we quiet ourselves long enough to hear the voice of God? Like Martha, my mind tends to think about all I have to do in the hours before me, not focus on what the Lord might be saying to me in my quiet time. I haven’t learned to let go of my daily concerns so that I can receive the deeper things of God.

Although I am a big proponent of journaling and find it helpful in keeping my prayer life focused, sometimes the practice becomes more of a distraction than a spiritual discipline. Some days I need to lay down the pen, be still, and know that God is God. It isn’t necessary to continually remind Him of my needs; He knows already and He will not forget.

A few years ago, my son taught me a lesson I will never forget. As we were praying on our way to school, he ended his prayer with this statement: “Lord, I hope You have a good day.” I found that odd coming from him, because his prayers were usually self-centered. But his prayer made me stop and question how often I pray for God to be blessed instead of asking that He bless me. So often when I pray, my focus is usually on the needs of others or myself, not on God’s greatness or how I can be a blessing to Him.

If we want to grow in our relationship with God, we must learn to listen. He has so much He wants to tell us, but He can’t get through to us if we don’t quiet ourselves and listen for His still, small voice.

Lord, help me today to lay at Your feet every care and concern I have, and to listen for the sound of Your voice. Because You already know my needs, there is no need to speak of them again. Help me, instead, to be still and know that You are God, to set aside the distractions of life for awhile, and to surrender every aspect of my life to Your hands. As I listen, reveal to me the life-changing truth of Your Word, that I may be equipped to do the work You have called me to do. In Jesus’ name I pray.

Dee Dee Wike

Sit Up and Beg

Romans 12:1, And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice-the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

I am quite struck by Paul’s posture in this part of his letter.  Paul was never one to shy from using the authority Christ gave him for good ends.  But here, rather than coming down with authority in the form of a command, Paul begs. 

The word he uses is most often used of humans to their superiors, especially by humans addressing God.  But here Paul uses the word with those whom some might consider his inferiors.  Why would he humble himself this way?  Why stoop to beg his readers to some action?

I think Paul’s reason may be simply that he is emotionally filled with the truth of the message he has communicated thus far about how God has provided such an amazing and free salvation for His people.  You can feel his emotion in the paragraph right before this one:

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!  For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?  Who knows enough to give him advice?  And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back?  For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen. (11:33-36)

And now Paul wants his readers, and us, to willingly yield our entire lives to this great God.  But rather than command, he appeals.  Would we not be willing to yield our lives in light of who God is and what He has done? 

May I beg you in the same way?  Can you not see the reasonableness of conforming your life to God’s will in every respect?  Is there an area in your life right now that is not in conformity to His will?  Would you yield it to Him?  Please!  Not only would it better your life, it would be a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God.  He would be immensely pleased.  Doesn’t He deserve to be pleased with our lives?

Randall Johnson

Just Like Me

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” — 1 Thessalonians 4:6-8

This week has been an exhausting and frustrating one for me. I’m not just talking about one day or two — every day was challenging. Homeschool was anything but easy. Each day was interrupted by an appointment for one or the other of my kids. On top of that I had to deal with my dog’s ongoing health issues, which required an expensive trip to the vet late in the week. All these interruptions threw our homeschool plans off, and by Friday afternoon I simply had to face the realization that there was no hope of getting school back on track.

Last night, eager for a break from my family and all the stresses of the week, I attended a Sunday school ladies fellowship at the home of one of our members. Our pastor’s wife was the guest speaker. After she spoke on the fruit of the Spirit, she gave us each a bracelet with one bead and asked what one thing — fruit, spiritual gift, etc. — it was that we needed to put on and claim as our own. After praying with a partner, we each shared with the group the one thing we needed. For me, it was patience–not only with others, but also with myself. For others, it ran the gamut–love, peace, perseverance, and so on. As I listened to these ladies share their needs, I realized that I was not alone. The other ladies were pretty much like me, each struggling with her own issues. We were able to encourage one another, simply by listening, sharing, and praying together.

God knows that the challenges we face are sometimes overwhelming. He does not intend for us to face them alone. We are called to carry each other’s burdens and thus fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). Not only are we to carry each other’s burdens, sometimes we also need to share our own challenges. Scripture tells us that God comforts us in our troubles so that we can comfort others going through similar challenges (2 Corinthians 1:4). Sometimes we simply need to know that there are others just like us.

Whatever your challenges are today, know that there are others just like you going through challenges of their own and needing encouragement just as you do. Rather than focus on your own struggles and allow them to discourage you, offer a word of encouragement to someone who needs a gentle reminder that they’re not alone and that others really do care and understand the challenges they face. As you encourage someone else, you will lighten their burden and find yours not quite so heavy to bear.

 

 

Dee Dee Wike

 

Close to Home

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” — Jeremiah 29:11

Yesterday my brother Robert lost his job in the construction industry because of the economy. That’s just a little too close to home for me. He, his wife, and their three children are, I’m sure, shaken by this change, but God is unshakable and able to do immeasurably more than they can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). Please pray for their peace and for God’s provision for their needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

We live in world of uncertainty where things often happen a little “close to home.” Our only hope of remaining calm in the midst of all the chaos and of dealing with the hard blows life deals us, is to remember that we are children of a loving heavenly Father who has engraved us in the palm of His hand (Isaiah 16:3). God is never surprised by the unexpected things that happen to His children; He is Sovereign and He knows. He is trustworthy and faithful, the owner of the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10), and quite capable of providing for His own. In fact, He promises to meet the daily needs of those who will seek Him first (Matthew 6:33-34).

If ever there is a time when we need to turn back to God, to fully commit our lives to Him, and to trust Him for every need of our lives, it is now. We live in a day and age where it is impossible to make it on our own. I don’t even want to try because I know how badly I’ll mess things up. I fully trust in God’s ability to guide, direct, and provide for me and my family.

My prayer for my brother, and for all of us who might be going through difficult challenges, is that we will allow God to shape us through them and use us to encourage others in similar circumstances. God is redirecting some of us through change not of our own making. If we will yield ourselves to His plan, seek His will, and let Him be God, then He will work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).

Dee Dee Wike