Tag: wisdom

When Kindness Meets Truth, [Kissing]

No escape from here.
No escape from here.

7 But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an important court official, heard that Jeremiah was in the cistern. At that time the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate, 8 so Ebed-melech rushed from the palace to speak with him. 9 “My lord the king,” he said, “these men have done a very evil thing in putting Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern. He will soon die of hunger, for almost all the bread in the city is gone.”

10 So the king told Ebed-melech, “Take thirty of my men with you, and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.”

11 So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to a room in the palace beneath the treasury, where he found some old rags and discarded clothing. He carried these to the cistern and lowered them to Jeremiah on a rope. 12 Ebed-melech called down to Jeremiah, “Put these rags under your armpits to protect you from the ropes.” Then when Jeremiah was ready,13 they pulled him out. So Jeremiah was returned to the courtyard of the guard—the palace prison—where he remained.

Jeremiah 38:7-13, NLT

You can see a lot of truth here. Ebed-melech chooses to stand rather than capitulate to the nastiness around him. He is not cowed by the sinful conspiracies that are operating at the highest level.

Ebed-melech sticks his neck out— he rescues the prophet Jeremiah, and pleases God. As just a minor character he still plays a major role. He is set apart by this commitment to what is right and true. If he lived in the 20th century, I think he would have been one who would have rescued Jews from the Nazi regime. He was fearless.

But he is much more. He is not just dedicated to the truth, but he is also kind.  We see it in the way he saved Jeremiah. He finds old clothing and rags from a closet in the Treasury. With these he pads the rope, so Jeremiah won’t unduly suffer as he is pulled up out of the mire.

“Mercy and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed.”

Psalm 85:10, NKJV

Ebed-melech reveals his heart by showing this kindness. One could suggest that these rags were not really necessary. The rope we need, of course.

Ebed could have just used the rope, and he would’ve been right. But he uses the rags, and he becomes kind.

This blend of truth and kindness is rare. But I have known people that were both. They are definitely “true blue” and they are absorbed by living out the truth, and doing the right thing. But they are much more than this. Their righteous lives are filled with kindness and gentleness. This is a spiritually potent mix.

Oh dear one, we need both in the Church. It is from these kinds of people that will cause us to stick together. I say, if we are going to err, I would hope we would stay kind.

“I prefer you to make mistakes in kindness than work miracles in unkindness.”

–Mother Teresa

May I become at all times, both now and forever
A protector for those without protection
A guide for those who have lost their way
A ship for those with oceans to cross
A bridge for those with rivers to cross
A sanctuary for those in danger
A lamp for those without light
A place of refuge for those who lack shelter
And a servant to all in need.

—Anonymous

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The Blood of Jesus, [Tenacity]

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“For I will never leave you, or forsake you.”

 Hebrews 13:5

It’s funny, but it seems that our civilization claim to fame revolves around this grand idea of inventing good adhesives. Chemists and manufacturers have astutely given us wonderful glues and epoxies. One of the more recent on the market is a compound known as cyanoacrylate or “Superglue”. Perhaps you have seen their ads? A man wearing a hard hat is lifted off the ground by a crane after a drop is applied to the hat.

Now that is the ultimate stickability! He wiggles, and strains but he is stuck (literally). It seems to be a swell product, and marketed quite well. Everyone should have on hand a tube or two. You never know when you might need it.

The Lord Jesus has created that powerful bond between us. His blood is sticky, and once applied there is a permanence and a connection between Him and us. I think it was Dostoevsky who said, “Those who have been infected by Jesus Christ will never, ever be the same again.” Even with the strange metaphor, the principle is very true.

The blood of Jesus is a tenacious thing. We are cemented to the Lord, locked by His determined love. Some will try to escape this determined relationship, but experience teaches us that it is highly unlikely this can be done. Romans 8 is directly involved,

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[p] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38-39, NLT

Dear saint, God is determined to bring you home to Him. You and He are bonded together, and God’s tenacious love will never let you alone. People who apostatize are still being pursued, and those of us who are struggling along, are also being pursued. And those of us who are managing, are also being pursued. That is the nature of the love God has for you. Don’t ask me why, but He truly loves you!

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Riding the Underground, [with Jesus]

“And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.’

Mark 6:31, ESV

Our Savior would never drive us to do things with a whip.  He is not a taskmaster, and he will not insist or impose his will over us.  Nothing about him is brutal or demanding. (He could, really– if he wanted to.)  But no, we learn how to serve him from our loving hearts.

It is interesting that it was Jesus that was very careful, and aware of his disciples needs.  No one suggested a break from the work, but Jesus initiated the break from the massive press of the crowds. He knew intensely what his disciples needed.

 “Crowds of people were coming and going so that Jesus and his followers did not even have time to eat. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves, and we will go to a lonely place to get some rest.”

Mark 6:31, NCV

Underground-SymbolThe presence of so many people had put the disciples in a very hard place.  The NCV describes the crowds, as “coming and going.”  If you have ever been on the London Underground you will understand just the sheer number.  Everyday, 2.93 million people ride the trains.  I remember travelling from the backwoods of  Alaska, with just a backpack, and hitting the crowds on “the tube” in London, UK.

The intense masses were way beyond anything I ever imagined.  Talk about a “culture shock!  I saw more people in just 3 minutes than in an entire year of living in Alaska.  It was like an amazing giant ant-hill; I would stop, and just stare. Nothing prepared me for this. But I knew His presence was with me.

Jesus is more concerned about the living freshness of his disciples.  He shuts things down in order to rest with his followers.  Often the tendency will be the opposite, especially when the leader is weak and immature.  “Work harder, and even more hours!”  Jesus did not have the need to be available 24/7.  And he certainly didn’t expect his disciples to.  His heart is committed to his followers.

He “orders” his disciples, come apart and let’s rest!

“But so many people were coming and going that Jesus and the apostles did not even have a chance to eat. Then Jesus said, “Let’s go to a place where we can be alone and get some rest.”

Mark 6:31, CEV

I don’t know if you can grasp the sensitivity, or see the nuances of Jesus shepherding his disciples.  He has a deep awareness of them; he doesn’t get lost by people pressing in from every side.  He loves the world of men and women, but his followers are his “specialty.”

He tunes in on their frequency, and knows our spiritual capacity.

What gives his followers strength, is to be close with Jesus, and to separate from the needs that were densely surrounding them.  We can be flattered by being needed, but that can be very corrosive or destructive.  I’m guessing but I believe that a few of the disciples may have been annoyed by this break in the action. They found it hard to remove themselves from the action.  Some may have been frustrated, perhaps maybe even slightly irritated by “Jesus’ retreat.”

When you are pouring out, you will find there is only a certain capacity before you run dry.  You may think this is “noble and praiseworthy” but it is nothing of the sort.  It is a form of arrogance and pride.  In order to really mature as a believer, we must shake this off and not to entertain our seeming indispensability to the cause.

We must keep on following Jesus into the quiet places.

 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Matthew 11:28, MSG

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The Toughness of Prayer

  “Pray as you can, not as you cannot.”

-Dom John Chapman

This is a Reprinted Article.

 by Dom John Chapman

Every so often I find something so sublime and so wonderful that all I want to do is make it available to a whole other audience.  This is so rewarding for me, to introduce to you an author and believer who has something to say.  However, I must tell you that you need to watch the cadence of what you read, be slow at first and then push forward.  Remember that there are lots of echoes, but “few voices in the wilderness.”  Anticipate a blessing.  I don’t know much about Mr. Chapman but I feel like I know him.  In eternity, I plan to seek him out and talk. 

—And then I plan to thank him profusely.  —Bryan

——————-

Prayer, in the sense of union with God, is the most crucifying thing there is. One must do it for God’s sake; but one will not get any satisfaction out of it, in the sense of feeling “I am good at prayer. I have an infallible method.”

That would be disastrous, since what we want to learn is precisely our own weakness, powerlessness, unworthiness. Nor ought one to expect “a sense of the reality of the supernatural” of which I speak. And one should wish for no prayer, except precisely the prayer that God gives us — probably very distracted and unsatisfactory in every way.

On the other hand, the only way to pray is to pray; and the way to pray well is to pray much. If one has no time for this, then one must at least pray regularly. But the less one prays, the worse it goes. And if circumstances do not permit even regularity, then one must put up with the fact that when one does try to pray, one can’t pray — and our prayer will probably consist of telling this to God.

As to beginning afresh, or where you left off, I don’t think you have any choice. You simply have to begin wherever you find yourself. Make any acts you want to make and feel you ought to make, but do not force yourself into feelings of any kind.

You say very naturally that you do not know what to do if you have a quarter of an hour alone in church. Yes, I suspect the only thing to do is to shut out the church and everything else, and just give yourself to God and beg Him to have mercy on you, and offer Him all your distractions.”

———————-

Source at—http://www.unionlife.com/Struggle.html

Background at—http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Chapman_(priest)

Taken from The Spiritual Letters of Dom John Chapman, osb.
© Copyright 1938 Sheed and Ward, London, England.
This reprint appeared in the Jan/Feb ‘97 issue of Union Life Magazine.

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