Jesus Wants Me To

The "Blue Bloods" Reagan Family

“Why do you go to disasters?” “Why do you visit the sick and homebound?” “Why does your church give donations to Camp Hope?” “Why do you go to the neighborhood Happy Hour?”

A month ago my answer to those questions would have been, “I’m a Christian. That’s what we do.”

It’s not a terrible answer, I suppose.

But then I found, completely by accident, what seems to be a better answer: Because Jesus wants me to.

“I’m a Christian. That’s what we do.” Those words can have an air of smugness about them. They could be taken as judgmental or overly pious or holier-than-thou. “I’m a Christian” makes it sound like I’m better than non-Christians. It gives the impression that I have it together and others don’t. I’m a kind and loving and generous person and others aren’t.

“I’m a Christian. That’s what we do” also puts the focus on ME, which all too often is the wrong place to look. It also runs the risk of people noticing that I and other Christians aren’t always kind and loving and generous. Sometimes we can be petty and hateful and stingy.

“Jesus wants me to” doesn’t make it all about me and it doesn’t say that I’m better than anyone else. It puts the focus where it belongs, on Jesus. In fact, it’s the honest to goodness reason for why Christians do good things. It’s not because they are Christians. It’s because Jesus wants them to do good, even when they don't want to.

Jesus told us what the two greatest commandments are. The first is to love God wholeheartedly. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself.

We love God wholeheartedly when we believe His promises, receive His forgiveness, and respond with worship and praise. This commandment is most fulfilled when the people of God are gathered at His invitation around the gracious words of Scripture and the sacred acts of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Just like the fictional Reagan family in the TV show “Blue Bloods,” the gathered children of God demonstrate their devotion to their heavenly Father when they come together in His home to listen to His wisdom and enjoy the fellowship of His table.

The second greatest commandment, to love the neighbor as the self, is most fulfilled when the people of God are scattered into their various callings and vocations in the home, the workplace, and the community. It's the Reagan family doing their jobs as Police Commissioner, police detective, beat cop, and Assistant District Attorney.

Wherever we carry out our vocations is where Jesus brings across our paths the people who need our compassion and our service, whether they be family members, friends and acquaintances, coworkers, or even a complete stranger. We give those gifts freely for one reason and one reason only: Jesus wants us to.

So now my answer to the question “Why do you go to disasters, visit the sick and homebound, donate to Camp Hope, and even go to the neighborhood Happy Hour?” is this: Jesus wants me to, plain and simple.

It’s not about who I am or what I do. It’s all about who Jesus is, what He has done, and what He wants His followers to do.

Would I Be That Brave?

St. Eusebius leads Christians in prayer as they faced their martyrdoms

As I read Hebrews 11, I'm moved to ask the question, "Would I be that brave?"

Hebrews 11 is known as the Heroes of the Faith chapter. The writer lists a host of Old Testament believers and the courage they demonstrated in the face of opposition and outright persecution.

He writes, "Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawn in two; they were put to death by the sword. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground" (Hebrews 11:36-38).

Would I be that brave?

As I reflect on this chapter, I realize that the emphasis is not on the heroes, but on the faith and what it was able to achieve in them, and presumably in us as well.

Each of these heroic examples is prefaced with the words "by faith." "By faith, Abel..." "By faith, Noah..." "By faith, Abraham..." "By faith, Moses..." By faith... By faith... By faith...

In others words, the individuals themselves were ordinary. In fact, in many cases, they pleaded with God to choose someone else because they did not feel up to the task. That which made them "heroes of the faith" is what faith emboldened them to do.

Faith still works the same way. It emboldens the people of God to attempt the unachievable and to dare the unimaginable.

Do you think that Daniel would have voluntarily strolled into a lions  den, or that his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, would have, on a whim, wandered into a fiery furnace? By no means! Their faith in God would have taught them, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."

But when Daniel was left in a lions den overnight or his three friends were thrown into a blazing furnace, their faith in Yahweh, their God, gave them courage.

That same faith filled the hearts of first and second century believers who were thrown to the beasts under Roman persecution.

Although the outcomes were different in that Daniel and his friends were delivered from death and those early Christians were not, the faith was the same and the courage it inspired was the same.

Would I be that brave?

I think that many of those heroes of the faith that we admire would have answered that question the way many believers do: I hope so.

Nevertheless, when faith is tested, it can demonstrate great resolve and generate great courage.

It's done so for generations.

Oh, for a faith that will not shrink

Though pressed by many a foe;

That will not tremble on the brink

Of poverty or woe.

Lord, give us such a faith as this;

And then, whate'er may come,

We'll taste e'en now the hallowed bliss

Of an eternal home.

Hymn 396, The Lutheran Hymnal

The Resolve to Forgive

Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela in Invictus

"Forgiveness starts here. Forgiveness starts now."

In the 2009 movie Invictus South African President Nelson Mandela speaks these words to the head of his personal protection detail who had expressed misgivings regarding the additional men assigned to the detail. These additional men had been assigned to the previous presidential protection detail and had in fact tried to kill Mandela and his men. In order to emphasize the need for change if South Africa were to be united after Apartheid, Mandela affirms, "Forgiveness starts here. Forgiveness starts now."

What does it mean to forgive? Literally it means to release or let go of someone or something.

For example, we talk about forgiving a debt. That means we no longer hold a person accountable for the money owed to us. We release that person from his or her financial obligation.

Likewise, when we forgive people for their words or actions, we are releasing them from their guilt. We are promising no longer to hold them accountable for the hurt they have caused. We are assuring them that we will not dwell on what they have done or allow their words or actions to taint our relationship in the future.

As such, forgiveness is liberating for those who are forgiven. It removes the roadblock of guilt and paves the way for a renewed relationship.

Forgiveness, however, not only liberates the forgiven. It also frees the forgiver. To forgive is to promise myself that I will not allow my hurt and my anger to eat me up from the inside. To forgive is to promise myself that my thoughts will not be clouded by resentment and my desire to "get even." To forgive is to let go of the offense so it cannot dominate my life.

Forgiveness sounds like a "win-win" for all involved. It's a gift for the receiver as well as the giver. If that's the case why does forgiveness seem so rare?

It's because forgiveness comes with a price tag. If you owe me $20 and I forgive your debt, it costs me $20 to do so. If you cut me off in traffic and I let it go, it costs me the seeming satisfaction of road rage. If you cut me with your words and I don't retaliate, it costs me the opportunity to put you in your place.

Forgiveness always comes with a price tag, even for God. God wanted to forgive us, His children, for our selfish words and actions that hurt Him as well as others. He didn't want to treat us the way we deserved. He wanted to forgive us. But there was a price tag. Someone had to pay the cost of our forgiveness, and that one was Jesus, God's eternal Son.

Jesus' suffering and death on the cross was the price for your forgiveness, a very steep price. But the heavenly Father and Son determined that you were worth the cost. They had the resolve to pay the price so you could be set free from your guilt and God could be set free from His anger.

As we enter a new year with all sorts of resolutions, maybe we need to add to the list the resolve to forgive. It might be the best gift we ever gave ourselves.

Precious in His Eyes

Our house is getting more Christmas-y. The outside decorations and lights adorn the front yard. Garland drapes from the banisters. The stockings are hung by the chimney with care.

Now it's time to hang the ornaments on the tree.

In reflecting on those ornaments, I realized why I enjoy decorating the tree. It's because each ornament has a memory attached to it.

In most cases, I can recall where and when my wife and I bought a particular ornament, or when we received it as a gift. The ornaments that we bought for our children to enjoy bring a smile to my face, as do the ornaments that were made for us by our children.

I also am particular about where each ornament is hung, much to the irritation of my wife and kids. Yes, I have been known to adjust ornaments that others have placed on the tree. My disclaimer is that I just want the ornaments to be seen at their best, where they best fit in.

Each ornament has its own precious nature, which is completely unattached to its monetary value, its outward appearance, or whether or not it does anything special.

In that regard, you and I are like precious ornaments in the eyes of God.

He remembers how you were brought into being, knit together in the warmth and safety of your mother's womb.

He places you with care in just the right spot, the place where you fill what would otherwise be an empty space, the place where you can be at your best.

The value He places on you is not based on your income, your abilities, or your looks.

You are precious to God because He chooses to deem you precious, not because you have impressed Him.

We call that grace. We call that perfect love. He delights in you simply because that is His nature.

Keep that in mind in this holy season of Christmas, that God so loved you that He gave His one and only Son. As the angel told the shepherds, "Unto you is born in the city of David a Savior, Christ the Lord."

A blessed Christmas to y'all in the name of Jesus.

The Prayer of ... Hezekiah

Hezekiah Prays in the Temple

"David and Goliath." That phrase calls to mind all manner of thoughts: facing down one's giants, trusting in the Lord for victory, or even Jesus' battle with Satan fought on Good Friday. It might even remind some of us of the Claymation television show, "Davey and Goliath," which featured a young boy and his dog and taught biblical truths to youngsters in the 1960's and 70's.

How about the phrase "Hezekiah and Sennacherib"? Any thoughts? (If not, you can read about them in 2 Kings 18 & 19.)

An Historic Showdown
Hezekiah and Sennacherib had one of the greatest showdowns in biblical history, even though the two of them never met on the battlefield.

But they did battle.

Sennacherib was the king of the Assyrian Empire, which made a habit of swallowing up other nations. They had done that to the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. Now, twenty years later, Sennacherib wants to do the same to the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

He sends emissaries to Jerusalem to dispirit its inhabitants by causing them to doubt their God's power to protect them. They call out, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! This is what the king says: “Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’

"Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

In response to this challenge, what does Hezekiah do? He doesn't rally the troops. He doesn't plan an attack. He doesn't seek an alliance against Assyria.

Instead, he goes to the temple and prays.

And this is his prayer: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

“It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”

A Lesson in Prayer
Hezekiah's prayer is based on the Lord's name being kept holy, in accordance with the Second Commandment, "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God." Sennacherib has insulted the Lord's name and honor by equating Him with the false gods of other nations, gods made of wood and stone. By delivering Jerusalem from Sennacherib, the Lord will prove to those other nations and kingdoms that He alone is the true God.

Hezekiah doesn't make the prayer about him or his kingdom. He makes it about the Lord and His glory.

I think we can take a lesson from that when we pray for the Lord to help us in times of trouble, distress, or need. Rather than asking for what we think will be best, what if we were to simply pray that the Lord be glorified in how He answers our prayer? That His name would be made great. That people would know that He alone is God.

Certainly pray for healing, pray for safety, pray for a job, pray for your ministry efforts. But pray that those blessings would bring glory to the Lord. And when the Lord gives those blessings, unabashedly and boldly give Him the credit. Make His name great!

Oh, by the way, the Lord did answer Hezekiah's prayer. He sent an angel to kill 185,000 Assyrian soldiers who were camped outside the gates of Jerusalem. As a result, Sennacherib broke camp, withdrew to his capital city, Nineveh, and was later killed by his own sons.

To God Alone the Glory!

Scattering Seeds of Grace

In 722 BC, the Assyrian Empire conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel after a three year siege of its capital city, Samaria.

The Assyrian practice was to deport the people of a conquered territory to other corners of their empire and repopulate that evacuated territory with foreigners.

So the Old Testament tribes that had inhabited the Northern Kingdom were relocated, lost their identity and are now lost to history.

The foreigners who were relocated to the Holy Land brought their pagan worship practices with them. They built their altars and offered their sacrifices to their foreign gods.

This displeased the God of Israel as His Holy Land was being violated by idolatry. So he punished these relocated foreigners.

They cried out to the Assyrian king for help. In response, a priest of the God of Israel was drafted to return to Israel and teach these foreigners how to worship God properly.

I don't suspect that this priest relished his assignment. True, he was able to return to his homeland. But now it was occupied by foreigners who were not at all like him.

Nevertheless, he did his job. No doubt he not only taught them the way to worship the God of Israel, but also why they ought to worship Him.

He would teach the story of creation and God's love for His first children, even after they rebelled against Him.

He would teach about God's judgment of a wicked world but His mercy for a man named Noah.

He would teach them about the covenant that God established with Abraham, the promise of land that God swore to give to Abraham's descendants.

He would teach that God rescued His people from slavery in Egypt through the leadership of Moses and how He brought them into the Holy Land under the leadership of Joshua.

This priest's teaching yielded mixed results. Although the foreigners began to worship the true God, they continued their pagan worship practices as well. Nice try, nameless priest. (2 Kings 17)

Fast forward 750 years to the ministry of Jesus. The descendants of those ancient foreigners became known as Samaritans. By Jesus' time they had long forsaken their idolatrous ways. They worshiped God according to the teachings of Moses and were eager for the coming of the Messiah.

Jesus spent time in conversation with one of these Samaritans, a woman, who came to realize that Jesus was more than a prophet. He was, in fact, the Messiah she was waiting for. She became her town's first evangelist and invited her neighbors to see this Jesus. (John 4)

When Jesus healed a group of lepers, only one came back to Him, praising God and offering his thanks to Jesus. That one was a Samaritan. (Luke 17)

Is it too far a stretch to think that the seeds of grace sown by a nameless priest, added to and watered by others over the generations, took root and bore fruit 750 years later? I don't think that's a stretch at all.

As Greg Finke writes in his book Joining Jesus on His Mission, "Jesus speaks of little seeds through which God grows mighty works. Our job is not the mighty works; our job is the little seeds."

A nameless priest planted little seeds 700 years before Jesus was born. God grew the mighty works.

What seeds can you plant today?

Why Jesus Wants Us To Love Our Enemies

I have always loved the story of Naaman (2 Kings 5).

It's the story of the commander of the Syrian army who is afflicted with leprosy. He has a servant girl in his household who had been taken captive during a Syrian raid on the nation of Israel. She advises that Naaman consult the prophet Elisha in Israel to be cured of his leprosy.

Naaman pursues that course and travels to Israel. When Elisha, through a messenger, prescribes a series of seven baths in the Jordan River, Naaman is enraged and ready to head home. He had expected a personal audience with the esteemed prophet and some serious hocus-pocus. Bathing in the waters of the Jordan was beneath him.

However, the servants with him urge Naaman to follow the prophet's instructions. He does so and is cured of his leprosy.

I love this story because it's a pointer to the power of the waters of Holy Baptism -- water wedded to the Word of God works a miracle.

I love this story because it celebrates the nameless heroes of the faith -- the servant girl and the other servant who urged Naaman to consult and listen to Elisha.

I also love this story because it puts flesh and blood on the teaching of Jesus that we are to love our enemies.

This servant girl had no reason whatsoever to want to help Naaman. He and his soldiers had kidnaped her from her home and family. She was a slave in his household, living in a foreign land. Naaman was her enemy and the enemy of her people.

Nevertheless, she wants good for Naaman. She helps him to be cured of a terrible affliction. She shows love for her enemy.

As a result of his cure, Naaman becomes a believer in the God of Israel. He even takes soil from Israel back to Syria so he can erect an altar to the true God on holy ground.

One could ask, if Naaman became a believer in the Lord, would he also become sympathetic toward His people? Would his newfound faith influence how he advised the Syrian king when it came to Israel?

If so, the big picture of this story is that loving one's enemies, which is such an unnatural thing to do, can lead to those enemies becoming believers in the Lord and allies of His people.

Truly a story to be loved.