DAY 157 - If God Is Against Us, Who Is For Us?

Luke 18:31-34 (NASB) ³¹Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. ³²"For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, ³³and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again." 

Philippians 3:18-20 (NIV) ¹⁸ For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ

Are we willing to consider the death of Jesus from the perspective of His enemies? The Sanhedrin, the ruling body in Jerusalem, and officials of the Roman government cooperated to bring about the death of Jesus, and they did so for the same reason. They viewed Jesus as a threat, not a threat to their life, but a threat to what they wanted in life.

As for Pontius Pilate, he was not about to sacrifice his career to save a teacher from the sticks. Do we know how he felt? Do we know feelings in the pit of our stomachs, sleepless nights and troubling thoughts racing through our head and heart? If we have never been threatened in this way we may not be able to stand in his shoes. But if we have known that kind of threat we can understand the actions and reactions. To us, the actions of the Sanhedrin and Pilate may seem senseless and unjust. But in a way the enemies of Jesus may have seen and understood Him more clearly and correctly than those of us who call ourselves Christians. If we see Jesus as a threat we may kill Him in a more sophisticated way as we try to tame His claim.

Do we experience Jesus as a threat to our life? Does He confront us, disturb us, and annoy us so that we would rather avoid Him? The Apostle Paul has warned those who find Christ accommodating, those who wallow in self-indulgence and twist the Gospel to suit themselves. We need to know Jesus as an Enemy, an Enemy who is for us. He is the Enemy of everything that is wrong and destructive in our life. It is as if God has said to us in Jesus, “Life is a wrestling match, and I am your opponent. I am the One who haunts you until you face up to your weakness, your failure, your rebellion, and your limitations.” All of this hounding is born of a love that will not let go and will not settle for less than God’s perfect desire for you. Is it true to say that if we have not known Jesus as a personal threat we have never known Him at all? Have you had this kind of encounter with the crucified, living Christ?

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope March 22, 1992

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 156 - Rest

Genesis 2:3  (NRSV) Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Matthew 11:28-30 (NASB) ²⁸"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  ²⁹"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. ³⁰ "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

“Rest” literally means to cease or to put a stop to, to be at ease. But the literal definition only hints at the meaning. It is in seeing the way the word is used throughout Scripture that we see what “rest” means and what is promised. Rest is what the people of Israel were promised in the Promised Land, but the history of Israel is anything but a life of ease. Rest is also what Jesus promised those who turned to Him. Again, something more than ease is meant.

Sabbath rest is not about merely stopping work, but stopping to remember. To remember God’s sovereignty over our lives, to remember God’s calling us away from the destructive bent in human life, to remember God’s promise to us, and to remember that this is God’s will for all people. Work is good. The world, as God created it, is good. But if that is all we are surviving on it is like cotton candy to the digestive system. It gives a momentary lift, but does not nourish, does not last, does not satisfy, and simply leaves us thirsting for something else.

That is what Genesis claims. We will never find the good life if we seek it only in wealth, health, religion, relationship, or anything else the world may offer. Those who find the good life seem to have one thing in common. They do not find the good life in the circumstances of their life. All of that may have a place, but not a priority. The priority has something to do with God. Their faith is the foundational fact of their life.

Sabbath rest means that we are to remember that our life is not about what we are about for six days of the week, but rather what we are about on the seventh day, the Sabbath, when we recall what God has done for us and what we do in gratitude and commitment to God. The Good Life is this truth that we need regularly to remember and to receive, for the Good Life is ultimately not something we can work to achieve. It can be received only in gratitude and lived out in faithfulness. As one Rabbi has said it, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.”

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope January 26, 1992

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 155 - A Genuine Imitation

Genesis 1:25-27  (NRSV) ²⁵God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind^* in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth,^* and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ ²⁷ So God created humankind^* in his image, in the image of God he created them;^* male and female he created them.

In the culture surrounding Israel was the belief that people were little better than animals. But during the same times, there were kings and rulers who claimed, and often were considered, to be gods. God says we are more than an animal that needs to be trained, more than a beast at the mercy of our desires. We need pleasure. We need possessions, but we need more. We can raise our prayer higher than the desire to be a healthy animal. Pray instead, “Restore my soul.” Though God also says we are not gods either, do we indulge in god-like behavior in our homes and the places where we work, announcing our absolute judgment with absolute certainty on every issue and person around?

To be human is to be created in the image of God. The image of God does not mean that we physically look like God, though the body is said to glorify God. The image of God means that as God is Spirit, we are Spirit, We were created to have a relationship with God, to have dominion over the earth. God rules the Universe but has committed the earth to our care, to rule over it as stewards of God’s will. The image of God means we have been given the gift of God’s wisdom, power, and authority to fulfill our responsibility. And above all, the image of God means that we are here to represent the thoughts, the feelings, the attitudes, and action of God in our daily lives.

People found themselves immensely helped and supported in this responsibility when they met a man named Jesus. The image of God means we are to represent God’s will as that will has been made known in the person of Jesus Christ. We are human, created to represent the life and will of God. That is the purpose of our life. It is a life-time task, to discover how we can represent God and what specifically we are being called to do, but it is also the one task that is worth our life. For some of us that task may seem too big and too vague. For others it may seem too small and unappealing. But those who have accepted it know it is the only purpose that seems to fit. It is the one purpose that brings any measure of fulfillment to life.

Are you an authentic human being? Do you have a sense of living with a deeply felt purpose or do you feel you are simply pretending at life. If we are living in God’s image it will make our lives full rather than flat, rich rather than shallow, alive rather than simply going through the motions.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope January 12, 1991

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 154 - Let’s Make a Deal!

From Genesis 2 (NRSV) ⁹Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.15 ¹⁶And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; ¹⁷but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat...’

Matthew 26: 26-28  (NRSV)  ²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ ²⁷Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; ²⁸for this is my blood of the^* covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Here’s the deal, the covenant of the God of Eden: eat freely of the tree of life. Eat. That’s what it’s here for. Eat. That is what God wants us to do. In the Old Testament the tree of life is the promise of the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. A place where all needs will be met. In the New Testament, the tree of life is the promise of the Kingdom of God, the life Jesus came to give. In the book of Revelation, John tells of this life: and on each side of the river was a tree of life … and its leaves are for the healing of the nations.  The tree of life is a summary and a symbol of all God provides so that we might have the life He wants for us. The tree of life is that abundance of God’s provision to us.

If God so provides, it also means that we are dependent on His provision. From the first breath we take to the last, we are made and meant to depend on God and to trust Him to give us what we need. God may provide for us through the work of our minds and hands, through money we receive, through other people. But the word is always, through and not from. We receive from God through these channels of His gifts of work, money and people. God wants us to live with awareness of His generosity toward us and of our dependence on Him.

For some of us, our daily dependence on God is so much a part of the way we think, feel, and act that all we need is a an occasional reminder to acknowledge that dependence. For others, that sense of dependence somehow gets lost from our mind and heart in the daily activities of our lives and needs to be recovered. Recovery comes to us as a moment of recognition and revelation when we realize our vulnerabilities to storms within and storms without, and realize our need for the help that only God can offer.

We recover an awareness of God’s provision and our dependence by obedience. The Lord God commanded that we eat freely of the Tree of Life. And taking bread and breaking it Jesus said, “Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you.” Then He took a cup, gave thanks, and said “Drink from it. All of you. This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” In Him we find the Tree of Life.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope January 5, 1992

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 153 - Jesus On The Road To Emmaus

Luke 24:13-21, 28-31 (NIV) ¹³ Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶ but they were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷ He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”  They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”   ¹⁹ “What things?” he asked.   “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰ The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹ but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.  ²⁸ As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.  ³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

Sometimes it looked like Jesus almost had a habit of disappointing people. The people of Israel had hoped He would heal them of all their diseases, and Jesus did heal many of the diseases. But He would withdraw from healing their disease that He might preach the gospel. And in the distance we can hear someone saying “But I had hoped He would heal me.” On another occasion Jesus fed a crowd of 5,000. Here was one who would relieve them of one of life’s most basic worries. But, Jesus withdrew and went across the Sea of Galilee.

Have you even been disappointed in Jesus? Have you ever prayed and prayed and nothing seemed to happen? Have you asked God for help with a problem and received no solutions? Have you hoped that Jesus would lead you into a rich and fulfilling life and all you have gotten is one struggle after the other?

Of all the disappointments in life, disappointment in God is the most shattering. To be disappointed in God is to feel that God is not really in charge. God really does not care. God really cannot be trusted. For a while on the travels to Emmaus, Jesus is present but unseen. Sometimes faith is simply a matter of staying on the road when Jesus seems absent. We believe God is in control and God cares even when it does not appear that way. This is a raw faith, a bare knuckles faith, but a faith that helps us.

Jesus does not abandon us on the road to Emmaus. Jesus does not leave us to live by this unproven faith. He moves in along beside us. For this is the work of faith, to stab our dull spirits awake to see and to sense the presence of Christ with us. So the two people and Jesus come to Emmaus. They invite Jesus in. They prepare to have supper. Jesus took the bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him.

 

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope June 4, 2000

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 152 - In the Cross of Christ I Glory

From John 12 (NRSV) ²³Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.  ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. ²⁸Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ ²⁹The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ ³⁰Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. ³¹Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. ³²And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people27^* to myself.’ ³³He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

Glory is that moment of awareness when we see and sense the reality of God. It is that moment when the veil that seems to hide God parts and we experience a moment of glory. Jesus is saying that in His death people will see and sense the presence of God in a way they have not seen or sensed it in His teaching or His miracles or in anything else. In His death people will experience the presence of God, will experience glory. How can this be? Why would His death reveal God?

We can give the explanations of love poured out for us, God’s judgment on our sin, God’s forgiveness of our sin, the beginning of eternal life. But with explanations all we have are explanations. The explanations do not give the experience of glory. They do not provide us with the experience of God’s presence.  That comes in a moment of being touched by the awesome love of God. We do not explain glory. We experience it.

Unless a grain of wheat dies… We see the glory of God in the death of Jesus. And the key to seeing the glory of God in the death of Jesus is this: Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Jesus is talking about self-denial. Self-denial is not simply the effort at self-control, not some kind of rigid restraint we put on our life. Self-denial is holding on to God’s yes to us in Jesus and saying “no” to self. Self-denial is the laying down of the burden of needing to get our own way. Self-denial is letting go of the need for things to go our way, and is a submitted willingness to God.

Self-denial is not easy. Even Jesus wrestled with it as He faced the need to deny Himself and accept the Cross. Self-denial is difficult. Self-denial can be difficult and can be a struggle, but just beyond the struggle is the glory, the glory of eternal life in the presence of God.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope April 9, 2000

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 151 - I Just Can’t Believe It

Mark 8:31-35  (NASB) ³¹And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³²And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. ³³But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."  ³⁴And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. ³⁵"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.

I just can’t believe it. I just can’t believe that by being kind and serving her I can bring any change in that tyrant I have to call a supervisor. I just can’t believe that I can help best by leaving him alone – then he will really mess up. I wonder. How often does I just can’t believe it keep us from seeing the work of God, deprive us from experiencing the blessings of God, and prevent us from following the lead of God. How often does I just can’t believe it cut us off from God?

It had been an unbelievable three years with Jesus. Things had gone remarkably smoothly. The crowds were astonished at His preaching and so were the disciples. And then there were the miracles, the young boy snatched from death, the folks with failing eyesight who could now see, the stilling of the storm, the feeding of five thousand people. But then Jesus said he must go to Jerusalem and suffer and be put to death. "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” The disciples just couldn’t believe it. What was He talking about?  How were they supposed to deny themselves?

To deny self can happen only when we become aware that there is a conflict between what we want for our life and what God wants. We can deny ourselves only when we become aware that the plans we have made for our life, even the plans we have made for today conflict with God’s plans for us. We can deny ourselves only when we discover that the job we thought we had to have, the success we thought we needed to be happy, the relationship we just could not live without are in conflict with the job, the success, and the relationship God wants to give us. To deny self is based on this kind of awareness.

Once we become aware of the conflict we have a decision to make. If we say yes to God, we begin to sprinkle our days with words of yieldedness to God, as simple as saying “Ok, God. If that is what you want.” To deny self is to make decisions in the face of doubt and uncertainty and in a spirit of trust in God’s sovereign rule. To deny self is an awareness. It is a decision. Beyond the agony of our conflict with God comes the ecstasy of living in the flow of God’s will. Denying self brings peace within.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope March 19, 2000

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles