I AM...Who?

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His disciples, saying, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”  He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Matthew 16:13-16

“Who do you say that I am?”  It’s the ultimate question every human being will have to answer for themselves.  Just who is Jesus Christ?  In fact, our destiny hinges on our response to this question.

Of course, first, Jesus asked his disciples what others thought of him.  That warranted an easy response.  It’s always easier to answer for someone else.  Their answer didn’t surprise Jesus, he heard the rumblings.  I believe he wanted a lead in to the more personal question.  They rattled off the names of some fairly well-known, and highly revered folks…men with fire and intensity, good men, prophets.  Each of these men came preaching a highly-charged, volatile, message that was pretty hard for most people to swallow.  They were forerunners to the Messiah, but they were not the Messiah.  The Jews were waiting, had been waiting, for hundreds of years, for the one who would come as King, conquering deliverer, and essential High Priest.  To the crowds, Jesus was just another prophet to be tolerated.

“BUT,” Jesus asked.  “Who do you say that I am?”  By this time, the disciples had spent about 2 ½ years traveling, talking, and being taught by the Master.  The longer they were around him, the more evidence he gave them that he wasn’t just an ordinary prophet.  The more they observed his miracles, the more convinced they were that there was something of the divine about him.  His life attested to his Messiah-ship.  At the same time, there was something a bit confusing about Jesus.  He wasn’t using his divine powers to overthrow the Roman rule as they expected.  He talked about going away, and coming back.  He lived a life of servant hood, not that of one who would be King; and he discussed with them the idea of “being lifted up,” which they all understood to be crucifixion.  Would a Messiah subject himself to such shame?  So, there were doubts that they were all wrestling with at the time Jesus sought their allegiance.

I so love Peter.  He jumps right in, speaking for the group.  His head knew the answer, even if his heart didn’t necessarily go along with it.  “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  This was the first step Jesus’ disciples took toward a confession of faith; and, Jesus blessed the answer, stating that this response held the keys to the eternal Kingdom of God.  Later, following Jesus’ death, each of the disciples wrestled with their belief, finally working their faith from their heads to their hearts.

What a reminder that we don’t have to have all the theological answers to come to Jesus and confess him as our Savior, finding salvation for our souls.  Like the disciples, there may be many times we come face to face with a crisis of belief, but in the end, “He who begins a good work in us, will complete that work in the day of Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:6).”  This, then, is our jumping off place, the point on the cliff where we dive into the ocean and begin our exploration.  “Who do you say that Jesus is?”  Is he your Savior? Or, is he just a good man with a hard message?  We can’t explore the depths, unless you jump.  I don’t have all the answers, but I do know this – I believe with all my heart, Jesus is who he says he is:  my deliverer, who sets me free.  I've jumped.  I hope to see more of him the deeper I go.  I highly recommend jumping off into the arms of Jesus – by faith and find the grace you need for your salvation.  Come on - the water is amazing!

I Am...An Introduction

                I have to admit, beginning a series, such as the one on which we're about to embark, feels much like preparing to explore some deep oceanic waters.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the ocean, having been raised in a little sea-side community.  To this day, no place on earth brings me more of a sense of peace than sitting on a sandy shore.  However, to be honest, I have a healthy fear of deep water.  The vastness and dark depths overwhelm me and, sometimes, panic sets into my soul.  So, this is a bit how I feel in regards to submerging myself into the “I Am” statements of Jesus (overwhelmed by the limitlessness). 

                On the other hand, knowing our Lord, is critical to the Christian life.  If I don’t truly know him, I won’t trust him.  If I don’t know him, I won’t believe what he tells me.  If I don’t know him, I can’t really love him; and, it is love that drives out all fear (1 John 4:18).  Knowing is the hinge on which everything turns in regards to the Christian journey. 

                Recently, as I’ve saturated myself in the Psalms (particularly the ones King David wrote), I’ve noticed a pattern (simply read one Psalm a day for the next month and I think you’ll see the same pattern).  I love this man’s honesty – he shamelessly pours out the mess of his heart to God.  Sometimes, he brutally accuses his Lord.  Then, David starts talking to himself.  He reminds himself just who his God is and how faithful his God has been.  Before you realize that David has place a period at the end of a sentence, he’s going off in praise.  His attitude has changed and you read the words of a confident, courageous, content man (who is able to sleep in peace in spite of his situation).  In this fashion, I want to be just like David.

                So while sandy beaches are safe, the real beauty is beneath the surface of the water – out in the scary depths of the sea.  I might need a little practice learning to breathe (maybe in my bathtub first), but I’m ready to go diving!  Wanna come?

Storyline: Conclusion!

Time to wrap up the theme of Storyline!  As we say our farewells to some remarkable women from the Word, I want to recap what I’ve learned as I’ve pondered the STORYLINES of these amazing ladies...

·    Their stories are true stories – as sure as I live, so did they.  What they came through is a reminder that there is a season to everything I go through.

·    Their stories are stories of God’s grace at work...a reminder that His grace is at work in mine.

·    In each of their stories – God reveals His love in a myriad of ways:

Their stories remind me that He loves me no matter what I’ve done...

Their stories remind me that He could not love me more and He will never love me less.

·    In each of these stories, these women are the focus of God, the center of His attention.  He celebrates their lives! The same is true of my story.  I am the focus of His attention...I am His celebration.  Imagine!  God throws a party in heaven and, one day, I will be the guest of honor!

Write this final thought down in your Bible; and make this your final prayer!

I am a line in God’s story. 

May all that I write with my life bring Him glory!

Now...let’s start sharing our God-stories.  They are an essential part of our community of believers.
 If nothing else, from these women I’ve learned that stories build our faith! 

My story...your story...these will increase someone else’s capacity to believe God.

(Consequently, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God – the stories of God at work!  Romans 10:17)

P.S.  A new series begins next week:  "I AM"

Storyline: Queen Esther, #4

No matter the translation in which I read Esther 9:1, I find myself getting goose bumps.  Read this verse in several different versions below:

The order the king had commanded was to be done on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.  That was the day the enemies of the Jewish people had hoped to defeat them, but that was changed (NCV).

Now in the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), on the thirteenth day when the king’s command and edict were about to be executed, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the master over them, it was turned to the contrary…(NASB)

The thirteenth day of Adar came, the day on which the royal proclamation was to take effect, the day when the enemies of the Jews were hoping to take effect, the day when the enemies of the Jews were hoping to get them in their power.  But instead, the Jews triumphed over them (GNT).

On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s order came into effect.  This was the very day that the enemies of the Jews had planned to overpower them, but the tables were now turned (MSG).

Four translations should suffice.  Did you feel it?  Did you sense the relief?  Hear the sighs?  Experience the joy?  Taste the sweetness of the words, “but the tables were turned…all that was changed…but instead…it was turned to the contrary?”  There would be no chapter 9, verse 1, except for an insignificant orphan girl from a defeated country, named Esther. 

I hope that sinks into the very depths of your soul.  Esther had no great qualities – she was simply God’s girl, in God’s place, during God’s time, fulfilling God’s dream for God’s people.  There was a need.  Esther stepped down (in humility), stepped up (in prayer and fasting), stepped out (of herself), and stepped forward (with courage).  As a result, everything changed.  The enemy was defeated.  Salvation was delivered.  Celebration was proclaimed.

We often find ourselves in situations where the tables need turning – wrongs need to be made right, children need to be protected, the unborn need to be fought for, the values we hold dear need to be embraced, marriages need help, and enemies need to be eliminated.  Sometimes those things that we are most passionate about are the very things that God puts in front of our eyes so that we might be the one to stand in the gap.  We might be his woman.  He might have us in this place, during this time, to fulfill his dream for his people in our day.  He doesn’t ever seem to use those who are qualified.  He only seems to use those who are available, surrendered, and willing to set self aside.  Will that be me?  Oh, I pray so!  I pray I’m trained to hear his sweet soft voice calling me forth.  Will that be you? 

Storyline: Queen Esther, #3

When we left Queen Esther last, she had called her people to a fast.  While she waited on the Lord, God stepped in to answer.  No doubt, he helped to do exactly what he promised Isaiah years before:  They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles. They will walk and not grow weary; they will run and not faint (40:31).  Not too many verses later, Isaiah gives another promise:  But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (41:9-10).  Take out "Israel," put in Esther, and you could just as easily have her testimony.

Strengthened, Esther stood before the King. I'm sure she, along with everyone in the room, held their breath. This was certain death for Esther...unless...

Do you wonder what went on in her husband's mind?  Think he might have been remembering another time, another place, another queen...but one who refused to come into his presence?  Whatever he was thinking, his processing led him to extend the scepter. Obviously realizing something was wrong, Xerxes asked what troubled his Queen enough she'd risk her life to come to him unbidden.  Here was Esther's moment... Here is where I would have poured forth the whole bloomin' story...I wouldn't have wasted a minute.  You don't have to ask me twice, but, not so with Esther.  Her time "waiting on the Lord," not only gave her strength, but gave her a clear plan, and patience (something I lack).  So, she invited her King to a feast (ah, yes, another banquet), along with evil Haman - two meals over a two day period. 

I have to ask myself, why?  Why wait?  The only reason I can feasibly come up with is that the ears of Esther's heart were sensitive to the voice of her true King.  I think I  know this because of what happens in the interlude.  God used the waiting to remind Xerxes he'd done nothing to honor Mordecai for saving his life, and it forced Haman to eat a little humble pie, and build the gallows for his own hanging (even though he thought it was for Mordecai). 

So, this brings us to yet another aspect of Esther's faith...she knew the voice of her beloved.  That kind of listening doesn't just happen...it is developed over time.  It takes other times, lots of times, of solitude and silence to hear that sweet, still small voice.  As a result, Esther walked in patience, grace, and confidence, and didn't rush ahead of God.  Oh, my!  Can you say, "convicted?"

Lord, may I spend enough time in your presence that I pick your voice over all the others clamoring for my attention.  I so want to not run ahead of you, but move gracefully and patiently forward one step at a time, especially, Lord when crucial conversations are at stake...

Storyline: Queen Esther, #2

We aren’t born with courage.  We can’t search for it, or find it hidden somewhere in the grass like an Easter egg.  Courage can be developed and lost again.  It’s as elusive as a cloud on a windy day.  When we most need courage, for certain that’s when we won’t have it.  I’m as certain as I am of the sun going down this evening, that Esther didn’t have any the day she heard the reason why her uncle was wailing in the city gates, dressed in sackcloth, and pouring ashes over his head. 

A number of things transpired between Esther’s crowning and her courageous stand in chapter 4.  To quickly summarize: 

Mordecai uncovered a plot to kill King Xerxes

He wasn’t honored (not even a pat on the back) – but that served God’s purposes

Haman the Agagite was promoted to a high ranking position – like Vice President or Majority Leader

Haman wanted everyone to bow to him

Mordecai would not

Haman plotted to kill Mordecai by virtue of killing off Mordecai’s entire race (this was an act of revenge for his great-great-great-great grandfather – a long story)

The king signed Haman’s plot with his irreversible signature, which meant this was a done deal, and this is why Esther find’s Mordecai wailing in the city gates.  Through a messenger, Mordecai unfolds the bad news to his niece, and cryptically confides in her these challenging words:  “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.  For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish.  And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 

The words hit a home run in Esther’s heart, and she responded, “...gather all the Jews to be found, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day.  I and my young women will also fast as you do.  Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” (4:12-17)

It’s one thing to speak courageous words; it’s another to follow up on them.  Someone has said that courage is not an absence of fear; rather, courage is the absence of self.  Esther must have heard that definition, as well.  She knows she will be absolutely unable to do what she is being asked in and of herself.  In fact, if it’s left up to her, there’s no way she would make an attempt to go to the king!  So, Esther knows she must empty herself of self in order to serve her people selflessly.  So, Esther fasts...and asks that of every Jew in the country.  God-centered fasting is exactly what Esther needed!  Jesus said to his disciples, “When you fast... (Matt 6:16)” – not if you fast, but when you fast!  Fasting has always been an exercise to remind us of the control we like to have over our own lives, and as we relinquish that control, we open ourselves up to the Lord for his filling, his perspective, his guidance, and, of course, his protection.  Fasting always has a purpose in mind – but we must be careful not to elevate our purpose over God’s.  Fasting is a sign of our hungry hearts for God himself – more of him, less of me.  As Esther fasted, God gave her a clear plan and courage for the hour was born.

Got courage?  You don’t need more of you...just more of God...trying fasting! You won’t ever find a complete absence of fear, but what you lose will give you great gain!

Storyline: Queen Esther, #1

As I begin to write about Esther, one phrase stands out to me (used three times), which I’d like to settle on in today’s thought.  First let’s see that phrase in context:

When the king’s order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Hegai, Esther was taken into the king’s palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women.  And the young woman pleased him and won his favor… (2:8-9).

When the time came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter , to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised.  Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her. (2:15)

The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. (2:17) Emphasis Mine.

There are so many characteristics to comment on regarding the woman, Esther (who couldn’t have been even 20 years old), yet this one phrase printed in bold grabbed my attention.  In the Hebrew text, it literally reads “She lifted up grace (also be translated kindness, or pleasantness) before his face.”  We’re talking about a woman who had been ‘carried away’ (2:2-3, 6) – first from her homeland, her culture, and, then, ultimately, from her only remaining family.  Not only this, but she was removed from her religious upbringing and placed in a heathen court that emphasized nothing but worldliness:  power, prestige, prettiness, and seductive persuasion.   When the Scripture talks about being taken away, the word used refers to a forced movement.  She may have gone willingly, trusting in God’s sovereignty, but with each transition, she found herself in a place that was uncomfortable, difficult, and painful.  Esther didn’t respond as I would.  There in this unfamiliar world, she looked her difficulty in the face, and smiled.  She kept her composure, and she treated everyone around her with a pleasant kindness that turned their heads, and caused them to respond to her with respect, admiration, and love.  Whining and complaining were not in her vocabulary.  Anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness were absent from her heart.  Seduction and people pleasing were games she did not play.  Self-centeredness and competition were far removed from her mind.  She lived the quote: “Pain is inevitable; but, misery is optional.”

What else can I say?  Not much.  Esther was a godly woman of virtue, who lived a life of grace in the face of adversity.  May I so rest in the sovereign goodness of God, that my life follows her example!