understanding – Page 96 – Broken Believers

She Gave Everything She Had

“Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

Mark 12:41-44, New Living Translation

“God judges what we give by what we keep.”

–George Mueller

Jesus has a whole different way of counting. He sat, and waited, and watched. Lots and lots of money was being dropped into the box. The rich actually hired ‘criers’ to proceed them. They shouted out to prepare the crowds in the Temple for their generous offerings. Great effort was made to choreograph their procession when the Temple would be crowded. (I think some Churches might allow this, if only to increase the offering.)

But I’d like to think the best of these rich ‘fat cats.’ I want to somehow believe that they didn’t have ulterior motives. But, knowing the heart of man, I strongly suspect these ‘givers’ intended to get as much ‘PR mileage’ as they could.

When we focus on the widow we find we pretty much dismiss her offering. To put it in perspective, a laborer would work all day for a denarius. This widow gave just 1/164th of that. And certainly without the fanfare that these pharisees and scribes created.

Jesus is sitting, and watching very near to the offering box. He is impressed with this widow, and her scanty contribution. But He looks at each heart, of each giver. He puts a value on each one. The size of the gift is not at all the issue here. It is the dimension of the sacrifice. She was dropping in everything she had. All of it, without hesitation or negotiation.

As we are His disciples, this particular lesson must be learned. And, indeed, it is learnable. If it seems too hard to emulate we need to deal with hard issues. Like fear, doubt and pride. And there is nothing quite like ‘sacrificial giving” to penetrate our stony hearts.

“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.”

–C.S. Lewis

kyrie eleison, Bryan

(Lord, have mercy on us)

The Generous Widow (nothinglikeadane.wordpress.com)
Red Letter Year: 9/5 (mikeraburn.com)
The Poor Widow (nineyearbible.wordpress.com)

The Tabloids Were Scandalous!

‘Scandalizing is celebrated openly today. We’ll manipulate and defame so all will pretty much see our enemies as disgraceful or hypocritical. It makes me want to cry when I hear of this intimidation inside the Church. Jesus told us that this would really, truly happen. We shouldn’t be at all disturbed. To be hurt this way is very much part of being his disciple.

In Matthew 11:2-6, 2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Offended. The word in our Greek N.T. is “skandalon.” It’s used in many ways, but the most amazing one is defined as, “the trigger of a trap, to kill an animal. To be the trap wire or stick used to catch prey; a snare.” We have the word scandalous, or to be involved in a vicious manipulation, scandal. Another metaphor is that it’s like the “fly paper” that’s hung up in the barn to catch those big nasty flies.

Jesus dug up his dictionary, and chose this very specific word to communicate what he wanted. Of men and women, boys and girls caught in something they can’t get out of without help. John the Baptist, languishing in a dark place, wants to understand Jesus. John seems to expect Jesus to hop on a white stallion, and forcefully exert his messianic role.

Jesus will send his message. “You’re blessed indeed, if you do not stumble” (or get trapped) by the misconceptions. John confined in Herod’s dungeon, would be meticulously praised by Jesus. The Lord honors his own openly.

It is easy to take up offense, (whether right or wrong.) When we hear a message causing shock, anger, repulsion, or disgust; that is a pretty good indicator that you are being “scandalized.” And turn-around is fair play. We might be the scandalizer, or the victim. It happens all the time.

Are you trapping– or are you trapped? Either way we need to stop it. We can’t continue to trip others up– nor can we allow others to foist their trap on us either. The Gospel regards itself as a ‘stumbling block. For some agnostics’, Jesus is someone they keep tripping over. But for the believer, Jesus is a ‘climbing up’ stone!

Worship is the finest defense. People who stumble, or cause another to stumble are usually…

grim,
guilty,
and grouchy.

They become graceless and sterile in the important matters of the heart. They become rigid and bitter.

The man or woman who stands up for their faith, and who doesn’t fall away or let their zeal ‘leak away,’ is incredibly blessed. God however is ready to forgive all those who backslide and then repent, but is especially pleased with those– like John, who hold firm to the faith.

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Who Am I? (kendellt.wordpress.com)
My Little Story: Tell it all to Jesus (upliftingchrist.wordpress.com)
Scandal: Friday, October 18 (hiscrumbs.wordpress.com)

He Certainly Does Answer, [Prayer]

“He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.”

Psalm 91:15

“So I tell you to ask and you will receive, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you.”

Luke 1:9

Our Father God very much wants to put us into a ‘win-win’ situation. This is remarkable considering our our pathetic condition. It seems we cannot generate enough steam to reduce the tension in our own lives, much less others. We are more or less ‘babes in the woods’ when it comes to anything of spiritual consequence. We can only hope that He goes before us, unlocking doors, and making us look important.

But these verses do act as an encouragement. He fully intends that we step into a door that has been widened and opened for us to step through, right into a room of full grace and assurance. He intends that we make it real, and accept all that is done for us, in His grace and mercy.

Prayer is incredible. When we finally begin to understand, we start to see that He is actively encouraging us to step’ into the wind.’ To stand and not be ‘wimps’. To become disciples who are open to seeing things that take on a supernatural significance; so we must make the decision to become sensitive to the needs of others.

The Father is excavating a deeper place for us to pray. As we step into this new place, we find an increased amplitude to extend ourselves into the lives of the struggling among us. There becomes for us a new place of a strong intercession, something that is substantially fresh and aware. It doesn’t seem to get more sophisticated, only more gentle and alert.

But we must pray. We must engage the enemy that tries to advance. To fail in doing this leaves many unprotected and vulnerable. It really is not acceptable for us to let Satan roll over our friend’s hearts and lives. We must provide resistance and strength to our loved ones. They may never know the prayer we offered them; until heaven.

Prayer is our key, and we need to move with it in a deliberate and direct manner. So much of the enemy’s focus is directed towards our times of prayer. Prayer disturbs him. He tries to ‘corral’ us and to reduce our access to the Father. But if we only press forward, we will find a freedom and liberty waiting for us.

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“Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our person- but they are helpless against our prayer. Fellow Christians who love the cause of Christ- to prayer! To prayer! The times are calling us to it. We must press on.”

— Sidlow Baxter

Ole Hallesby – The Top 23 Greatest Quotes (crossquotes.org)
Damn The Consequences (restorationthroughfaith.com)
The power of prayer (myfox8.com)

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Welcome He Who Limps

Pray don’t find fault with the man who limps

Or stumbles along the road

Unless you have worn the shoes that hurt

Or struggled beneath his load

There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt,

Though hidden away from view

Or the burden he bears, placed on your back,

Might cause you to stumble, too.

Don’t sneer at the man who’s down today

Unless you have felt the blow

That caused his fall, or felt the same

That only the fallen know.

You may be strong, but still the blows

That were his, if dealt to you

In the self same way at the self same time,

Might cause you to stagger, too.

Don’t be too harsh with the man who sins

Or pelt him with words or stones,

Unless you are sure, yea, doubly sure,

That you have no sins of your own.

For you know perhaps, if the tempters voice

Should whisper as soft to you

As it did to him when he went astray,

‘Twould cause you to falter, too.

Poem written by an unknown author. But God knows and we’ll rest in that.

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Alive and Kicking With a Limp (healthylivingwithanillness.wordpress.com)
A Tribute to Timmy (bongodogblog.com)

Tag: understanding