The Cry of a Raven

One of the last stops that Jesus made on His way to Jerusalem was just northwest of the city in the town of Jericho. You may recall the Old Testament story of when the Israelites marched around Jericho and God made the walls fall down. Jericho dates back to some 11,000 years ago. Scripture says that as Jesus entered this town that a great number of people was with Him. The Greek word ochlos describes it as a multitude of common people gathered without order. Imagine walking through your city and people just begin to walk towards you from out of the woodworks; houses, parks, stores, shops and buildings. These are people of all walks of life and backgrounds. And they are all converging on you at once. None of them have spoken to the others about a meeting of sorts. They just heard you were here and they are all coming to you at one time. This is what was happening to Jesus as He entered Jericho.

In the midst of this multitude of excited people was a man named Bartimaeus. He was blind. But he heard the excitement in the crowd and no doubt he heard Jesus was on the scene. He couldn’t see Him, but he had heard of His power and authority of even the diseased, the sinner and the demons. This Jesus - He could heal. And this could be Bart's last chance to receive his sight. But how could blind Bart get the attention of this Jesus of Nazareth? He cried out the name of Jesus. But don’t read too fast. Keep the story in perspective. Remember the multitude of excited people moving through town like a wave with no order. Blind Bart cried aloud. The Greek word is krazo which means "the loud cry of a crow." Our friend Bart cried loudly like the sound of a crow ringing out in the sky above. But no word from Jesus. Bart cried out so loud that many people around him “charged him that he should hold his peace.” (KJV)

What did old Bart do then? “…but he cried the more a great deal, “Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!”” So what happened next? Walking among this crown of juiced up people, what of Jesus? What of the man whom Bartimaeus cried so loudly? “And Jesus stood still…” Mark 10:49 KJV.

Are you trapped in your own proverbial city of Jericho, surrounded by walls of burdens that isolate you from peace? Does your heart ache with the agony of sin, the regrets of the past, the sorrow of loss, the fear of the future? Are you surrounded by people who you feel are getting to the source of the strength and hope that you cannot seem to attain? Are you blind to the way that leads to joy and that final release of a breath of fresh resolve? Cry out! Jesus passed through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem where He would die on a cross and then the power of God Himself would raise Him from death to life everlasting. This power and strength to bring down your walls is alive today and available to those who have faith enough to cry out to Him.

The cry of blind Bartimaeus was enough to make the Son of God stand still in the midst of a pressing crowd. He got the attention of God. He received his sight because of his persistence. And he “followed Jesus in the way.” Don’t give up. Don’t give in to those around you who may tell you to simmer down and deal with your burden. Jesus walks among us. Get His attention! You won’t regret it.

Mark 10:46-52

 

 

Cinnamon Twists

My wife recently went to have dinner with a good friend of ours; girls night out. So Daddy got to come home early from work and watch the kids. After mommy left, I sat on the couch and looked at the troops. They were spaced out watching the Universal Pictures movie “Despicable Me.” I think I asked them three or four times what they wanted for dinner. I never really got an answer. I made some suggestions but they weren’t the least bit interested. Of course, the movie has earned almost $600 million so I guess it must be good (maybe I should consider writing screen plays?).

I have this dreadful, mental illness called “Taco Bell Syndrome.” When I get the opportunity to go grab some crunchy tacos, I make haste. But to my dismay, they didn’t seem interested; no crunchy tacos, soft tacos, Mexican pizzas, burritos, gorditos or nachos. Nada. Here I am trying to get my TB fix and I can’t even get one out of three Hucklets to budge. So I slowly stated with a look of melancholy, “Well, I guess we’ll go somewhere else. I sure was hoping to go to TB though and have their cinnamon twists for dessert.” Well what do you know? All of a sudden I have their attention.

“I want crunchy tacos!”

“No, I want nachos!”

“No, I want soft tacos!”

My friends, this is the exact picture of our existence before God. Our minds are wandering vagabonds, dragging the sands of life as we trek from one ill-focused thought to another. And when we are fixed on something, it always seems to be something we want and not something He wants from us. God has the desire to take us places. They are not always the same. We don’t always like them. They don’t always come with a prize inside.  But let’s not act like children. Let’s be grown-ups about it. Take notice, lest your heavenly Daddy move on without you. He doesn’t entice us along with the things we like. To do so could be considered - despicable.

 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8 NIV

 

Snakes and Alligators

“Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.” --- Psalm 105:4 NLT

I recently took my boys to a forested park that surrounds a winding, boggy creek. It is a local hotspot for bird watchers. And it just happens to also be a home for alligators. There are trails that wind their way through the forest and along the creek banks. Sometimes the trails are up to 6 feet wide, the path is easily seen and is wide open on either side with clear sky above. At other times, the trail is as narrow as a bike tire; the wood grasses hug close at either side of your feet and a fifty foot ceiling of pine forest towers overhead.

It doesn’t take long once you enter this green jungle of a maze to get lost in the details. My kids roared into the main leg of the trail with excitement and a clear vision of what was ahead. The steady sound of birds chirping all around and twisting trees throughout were enticing to the senses. But they soon became disenchanted with the unknown as the trail became more difficult to walk. As the walk became more taxing on their bodies, their emotions became more affected by what their senses were grabbing. Instead of excitement for a sound they heard or a movement in the trees, it became a nervous “what was that?!” or “did you see that?!”

Luckily for them, I had already been on this trail before. I had already experienced the change and the slight sensory deprivation. I was already accustomed to that feeling of looking down a tight trail and thinking every stick across the path was a cottonmouth. And even better for them was that I had my smartphone in hand with maps of the trails and GPS showing me exactly where I was at. I knew the path. As long as they stayed close to me they would eventually get back to the truck.

New Christians and more experienced Christians alike will sometimes get distracted in life. They may get on a trail they have never been on and experience some hardships along the way. Some may stir up their souls and release emotional anxieties. Perhaps there are specific difficulties or sins that they are dealing with that find them back in an exhausted position of dire need and difficulty. Such is this path of life. Sometimes the redbirds on wide trails are replaced with mosquito infested turns near alligator laden, muddy waters. But in either case, the Owner of the forest of life knows the path because He created it. And He created the path you are on specifically for you; every inch of it.

The magic to life is in the search for God. After all, He created it, so we should expect that searching diligently for Him would uncover hidden treasures. He has already laid them before us. It’s not as much about the details but about what God shows us in them. You will never truly understand those details unless you seek Him continually. You will never have the strength you need in the difficult parts of the journey without continually searching for Him. The verb “continually” here means just that-never stopping. He won’t make you find Him. He prepares the journey and wants you to desire to search for Him in the details. March on! There is much to discover in Him.

The Foolishness of God

Have you ever thought about God’s foolishness? Have you ever considered the fact that He is engaged in foolish things? Did you know that the Bible actual speaks about it? Well it does!

“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”1 Corinthians 1:25 (NKJV)

I have been blessed to have received some great feedback so far on my recent book about peace. One of the reasons that people have a lack of peace is because they don’t see the relationship between themselves and the Creator of the universe. They feel disconnected with God. They cannot get their arms around the fact that they can not only be connected to God but actually used by God. I think the main reason for this is because people don’t see how a wise God can hang around unwise, selfish, cynical, proud, sinful and foolish people. Well guess what? That’s what He longs for.

“So God created human beings in His own image…” Genesis 1:27 (NLT)

“Then God looked over all He had made, and He saw that it was very good!” Genesis 1:31 (NLT)

“For I was born a sinner - yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.” Psalm 51:5 (NLT)

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

You can never get to the point to where you can be used by God until you understand first that you were made in His image; you were made to be perfect like Him. You have to come to the understanding that you were born a sinner from the first second of your life! You have to realize that even still, God sees you as good. And you must harness the hope you have in Him that He has a wonderful plan for your life. Regardless of how you feel, or what emotional baggage you carry around with you, the facts are still the facts. God desires you and He longs to do great things through you.

It all seems pretty foolish doesn’t it? But the Bible is full of the stories of men and women who we might deem incapable of or unworthy of a plan from God Himself. Yet, He foolishly chose them to do wonderful things on this planet. And that turned out to be a wise choice. Never underestimate God’s ability to be wise. And never forget that, regardless of what you have done up until the last breath you have taken, God is in pursuit of you. He longs for you. His Spirit tugs at your heart and He whispers to your soul, “Follow me child, I have big plans for you. Come and see.” Foolishness? Sounds like it to me. But tomorrow it could be the wisest thing you ever thought possible.

Suggested Reading – Exodus 3:1-14

The eBook is here!

Ok folks, the eBook for my new book "Pursuing Peace" is ready for download on Amazon for $3.99!

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