The unfairness of it all

Have you ever been wronged so badly, that you were stuck in a negative situation?
Have the actions of others caused you to be separated from those you love?
Have you ever felt like the legal system is stacked against you?

Injustice can hit us from many different angles.  Often times, there isn’t an easy solution to the situation, either.  Since we live in a fallen world, we can’t completely stop injustice from ever happening.  It’s all too easy to snap-react out of self-protection and the elevated emotions of the moment.  Instead of getting caught up and swayed by our circumstances, let’s think about how we’re going to handle unfair situations.  Looking to how others managed their situations can help us manage our own.

The Apostle Paul knew what it was like to suffer injustice.  He was railroaded out of Judah for preaching about Jesus.  After appealing his case to Caesar, he was transported to Rome – and left under house arrest for 2 years!

Think about Paul’s situation.  He had a specific calling from God to preach the gospel to the non-Jewish world.  He preaches for years in Antioch, with great success.  He takes three mission trips, traveling all over the Mediterranean, making converts, starting churches, writing letters that became Scripture, creating disciples, mentoring, teaching, and on and on.  Yes, he faced dangers and threats on his life – but he was able to move from community to community and share Jesus with anyone who would listen.

But now, he’s stuck.  He can’t leave.  People could come to him, but if one of his mentees or planted churches needed him…he can’t go to them.  He can’t face their opposition with them.  His spiritual children will not have their spiritual father by their side.

How would you feel in this situation?
What would you do?
How would you bide your time until your court date arrives?

It would have been easy for Paul to get lost in the helplessness of the situation, sulk, and withdraw.  Or he could have chosen to rant and vent about the unfairness of it all.  I could easily imagine myself fluctuating back and forth, between those extremes.  But what did Paul do?

He started to write.

During that two year period of house arrest, Paul produced four of the letters that you and I now read as vital, God-inspired Scripture: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.  These letters address situations, doctrinal beliefs, and practical Christian living in ways we don’t find in the rest of the New Testament.  Part of me wonders how different the letters would have been, or if Paul would have written the letters at all, if he had not been unfairly stuck in house arrest.  (Of course, God in His sovereignty would have found another time or author to communicate His truths…but it would not have been the same as what we have now)

All four letters reference his current “stuck” situation, but he says the most curious perspective-setting statement in his letter to the church in Philippi:

Philippians 1:12-13
Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ.

Are you telling me…that Paul sees his experienced injustice – as a good thing?

He had been wronged.  The legal system was against him.  Those in power had not done the right thing when they had the chance.  And as a result of all this, he was stuck.

But in his stuck-ness, Caeser’s whole imperial guard has now heard the good news that Jesus gives eternal life to all who believe in Him for it.  The injustice put him in a position that actually advanced the gospel.  Others had hoped to hinder the good news from spreading, but God used the situation to actually do the opposite.

So, let’s go back to our earlier questions, now that we see from Paul’s example what God is capable of:

How would you feel when you experience injustice?
What do you do?

However, this is the main question we should be focusing on:
How will you make your unfair situation about advancing the gospel instead of only searching for a way out of it? 

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: Receiving personal instruction

I didn’t realize how unique the situation was at the time, but one of my favorite college experiences became a great lesson when studying the Bible.

Receiving personal instruction
Originally posted on June 19, 2015

In one of my year-long college courses, I was fortunate enough that the professor who taught the class had also written the text book.  This might not seem like a big deal from the outside looking in, but it made a huge difference in how we learned from him.  We knew that what he taught us in the morning was going to be reiterated in the same style and with the same emphasis as we read the text in the evening. 

Prof could easily explain how the different sections fit together and even cross-referenced chapters as we were being taught.  He knew the exact layout and intention of each part of the text because he was the one who had put it all together.  There was never any conflict between the teaching and the text – they were from the same man.  Not only was the text well-written for the subject matter, but the class became almost like a personal tutoring session with the author.

We get the same dynamic as we go through the Scriptures.  Although it took hundreds of years and many different authors to complete the text, God superintended the process such that it all hangs together as one, and communicates truth directly from the Creator of Everything to each of us individually.

The author of Psalm 119 did more than just acknowledged this reality of Scripture – he enjoyed it thoroughly.  Take a look through this section and note the role God’s Word plays in the author’s relationship with God.

Psalm 119:97-104
How I love Your teaching!  It is my meditation all day long.
Your command makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me.
I have more insight than all my teachers because Your decrees are my meditation.
I understand more than the elders because I obey Your precepts.
I have kept my feet from every evil path to follow Your word.
I have not turned from Your judgments, for You Yourself have instructed me.
How sweet Your word is to my taste – sweeter than honey to my mouth.
I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.

The psalmist doesn’t distinguish between communicating with God and reading the Scriptures, they are interactions with the same person.  The psalmist gives the reason why he follows what God has taught him when he says for You Yourself have instructed me.  He trusted God’s teaching because it was coming from God Himself.  Nothing was second-hand, there was no need for an interpreter or any guess-work.

And just look at the results of this personal instruction from the Lord – success over enemies, gaining insight and wisdom, the ability to avoid every evil path, gaining understanding, and he can also recognize every false way.  The psalmist has become fully mature because his instruction has been taken directly from the Lord.

The Lord will mature and develop us as well.  He’s ready to give each of us personal, one-on-one instruction.  The teacher and the text are from the same person.  As much as the teaching or writing of others can sometimes help, there is nothing like direct communication and instruction from the Author of Life.  He knows how it all works and why it all works.  

We have an open invitation to be instructed by God Himself.  Will you accept the invitation and meet Him in the Scriptures?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Only what they can understand

Growing up in church, I can distinctly remember many times our pastor would tell the congregation the importance of “sharing the gospel” with everyone you meet.  “After all,” he said, “you never know when a person’s last day on earth will be.  What if you missed the chance to tell them about Jesus?”  I could feel the pressure mounting in my adolescent brain…would I be responsible for someone’s eternal destination, based upon whether or not I gave them the whole gospel message every time I talked to them? 

I was insecure enough having general conversation with my peers, let alone having the self-confidence to talk to them about Jesus.  I knew I wouldn’t have any answers to their questions, but I was more concerned they would laugh me off anyway.  I didn’t expect a rehearsed speech about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection would be of any interest to them, either.

Whenever we learn a new subject, we don’t haul off and jump straight into the deep end.  Instead, we start with the basics.  This is true at all of our education institutions: you start with the 101 class, move up to 102, then 103, and afterward you can progress to the upper level courses.

Jesus took the same approach during His ministry.  Throughout all four gospel accounts, His teaching is mainly in parables.  A parable is an earthly story meant to convey a heavenly meaning.  Jesus used many parable-stories to explain what God was like, or what the Kingdom of Heaven would be like, or how we should relate to each other.  These parable stories connected something tangible the audience could relate to, in order for them to understand the spiritual lesson.

We may be tempted to think that Jesus taught everyone every thing about Him at every encounter.  However, that just wasn’t the case:

Mark 4:33-34
He was speaking the word to them with many parables like these, as they were able to understand.  He did not speak to them without a parable.  Privately, however, He explained everything to His own disciples.

When speaking to the crowds, Jesus would present truths in a manner that the crowd could relate to, but then decide for themselves if they wanted to pursue more.  Being a disciple – or a “learner” – was an opportunity afforded to those who returned for more teaching and explanation.  Outside of the 12 disciples that Jesus chose as His closest students, there were others that followed Him.  As one example, we see Jesus sending out 72 followers to spread the message of the Kingdom coming near (Luke 10).

However, someone in the crowd could also set aside the parable-story and not pursue what Jesus was trying to share.  Jesus was leaving it to the listener to decide his or her next step. 

I take a lot of comfort from seeing Jesus take this approach, especially when reading the words as they were able to understand.  Jesus didn’t back up the theological dump truck and flood the crowd with all truth about Himself and the Kingdom.  Instead, He met them where they were and gave them the space to digest His teachings further. 

Have you ever asked a question and the answer you got back was way more than you bargained for?  Or you were introduced to a new concept and you couldn’t wrap your head around it at first.  Maybe you needed time to ponder what was said, or perhaps you didn’t fully trust the source…but for whatever reason, there was only so much of the topic you could handle in one sitting.

I think the same situation exists the first time someone hears about Jesus.  Seeing Jesus for who He is will completely change the way you view the world, and it can be hard to wrap your head around it.  Questions are to be expected, and some people need more time than others.

So don’t feel like you have to overwhelm another person in a gospel presentation.  Share something you know – like how Jesus has impacted your life in a way they would be able to understand – then let them see it in how you treat them and others.  They may come back with questions, or they may decide not to.  Our job is to simply be available to share the gospel…we are not to carry the burden of what they do with it.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Generational mentoring

A proverb is a saying that is usually rather short and easy to remember, but contains a profound nugget of truth.  This type of memory device is not unique to any particular culture.  In fact, we use plenty of them today. 

For example, we say things like “A stitch in time saves nine.”  This little phrase reminds us that taking care of an issue early will prevent us from having to do additional work in the future.

There are many proverbs in the Scriptures, in addition to an entire book of Bible being a collection of them.  Most Christians know that the majority of the wisdom sayings in the book of Proverbs were written by King Solomon.  However, do you know why Solomon brought together the collection of proverbs?

Solomon’s proverb collection doesn’t actually begin until Chapter 10, so Chapters 1 through 9 form an introduction to the proverbs.  It’s in this introduction that Solomon repeatedly states why he considers wisdom to be so important.  However, it’s equally clear that he had a specific audience in mind.

Nineteen times in Chapters 1 through 9 Solomon addresses either “my son” or “my sons”.  Take a look at a small sampling:

2:1  My son, if you accept my words…
3:1  My son, don’t forget my teaching…
4:20 My son, pay attention to my words…
5:7  So now, my sons, listen to me…

We can definitely see that Solomon’s heart is to mentor and develop his sons.  However, in one portion of the introduction, Solomon reveals how he learned about the importance of wisdom:

Proverbs 4:1-9
Listen, my sons, to a father’s discipline,
and pay attention so that you may gain understanding,
for I am giving you good instruction.
Don’t abandon my teaching.

When I was a son with my father, tender and precious to my mother,
he taught me and said:

“Your heart must hold on to my words.
Keep my commands and live.  Get wisdom, get understanding;
don’t forget or turn away from the words of my mouth.
Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you;
love her, and she will guard you. 

Wisdom is supreme – so get wisdom.
And whatever else you get, get understanding.
Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
if you embrace her, she will honor you.
She will place a garland of grace on your head;
she will give you a crown of beauty.”

Solomon knew the importance of wisdom because that is what he was taught.  King David instilled the lessons he learned into Solomon, who in turn passed these lessons down to his sons.  How each generation handled wisdom certainly varied, but they all knew of wisdom’s importance because its value was taught to them.

We don’t have to have the full wisdom of Solomon to be a mentor, either.  We just have to be willing to pass on what we have been taught.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Receiving personal instruction

In one of my year-long college courses, I was fortunate enough that the professor who taught the class had also written the text book.  This might not seem like a big deal from the outside looking in, but it made a huge difference in how we learned from him.  We knew that what he taught us in the morning was going to be reiterated in the same style and with the same emphasis as we read the text in the evening. 

Prof could easily explain how the different sections fit together and even cross-referenced chapters as we were being taught.  He knew the exact layout and intention of each part of the text because he was the one who had put it all together.  There was never any conflict between the teaching and the text – they were from the same man.  Not only was the text well-written for the subject matter, but the class became almost like a personal tutoring session with the author.

We get the same dynamic as we go through the Scriptures.  Although it took hundreds of years and many different authors to complete the text, God superintended the process such that it all hangs together as one, and communicates truth directly from the Creator of Everything to each of us individually.

The author of Psalm 119 did more than just acknowledged this reality of Scripture – he enjoyed it thoroughly.  Take a look through this section and note the role God’s Word plays in the author’s relationship with God.

Psalm 119:97-104
How I love Your teaching!  It is my meditation all day long.
Your command makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me.
I have more insight than all my teachers because Your decrees are my meditation.
I understand more than the elders because I obey Your precepts.
I have kept my feet from every evil path to follow Your word.
I have not turned from Your judgments, for You Yourself have instructed me.
How sweet Your word is to my taste – sweeter than honey to my mouth.
I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.

The psalmist doesn’t distinguish between communicating with God and reading the Scriptures, they are interactions with the same person.  The psalmist gives the reason why he follows what God has taught him when he says for You Yourself have instructed me.  He trusted God’s teaching because it was coming from God Himself.  Nothing was second-hand, there was no need for an interpreter or any guess-work.

And just look at the results of this personal instruction from the Lord – success over enemies, gaining insight and wisdom, the ability to avoid every evil path, gaining understanding, and he can also recognize every false way.  The psalmist has become fully mature because his instruction has been taken directly from the Lord.

The Lord will mature and develop us as well.  He’s ready to give each of us personal, one-on-one instruction.  The teacher and the text are from the same person.  As much as the teaching or writing of others can sometimes help, there is nothing like direct communication and instruction from the Author of Life.  He knows how it all works and why it all works.  

We have an open invitation to be instructed by God Himself.  Will you accept the invitation and meet Him in the Scriptures?

Keep Pressing,
Ken 

Seeking and expressing

I’ve always liked stories and analogies.  You can speak a sentence of truth to me, and I’ll hear you.  Relate that same truth in a word picture or in a story, and I will understand you.

I think that characteristic is what draws me to the psalms, especially ones that David wrote.  While he wasn’t afraid to express his raw emotions, he was also rather creative in communicating how his circumstances were affecting him.

Read the psalm carefully, looking for David’s word pictures:

Psalm 61:1-4

God, hear my cry; pay attention to my prayer.
I call to You from the ends of the earth
when my heart is without strength. 

Lead me to a rock that is high above me,
for You have been a refuge for me,
a strong tower in the face of the enemy.

I will live in Your tent forever
and take refuge under the shelter of Your wings.

Since his heart is without strength, David is figuratively looking for a refuge, a safe place for shelter.  In just a few lines, David describes his heart’s refuge in three distinct images.

Lead me to a rock that is high above me.  In any military campaign, the high ground has strategic advantage over any enemy.  The attacker has to contend with lousy sight-lines and little cover; whereas the one who controls the high ground is safe from many attacks and can readily defend against most others.

A strong tower in the face of the enemy.  A tower was the best defended position in the city.  Not only was it elevated, but it would also house supplies and weapons to keep it defended.  The most important people took shelter in the tower when an enemy launched a full-frontal attack.

I will…take refuge under the shelter of Your wings.  Clearly, this is a metaphor – David isn’t advocating that God has feathers.  However, the image that comes to mind here is quite powerful.  Under the protection of a parent’s wings, the young birds are protected from all sorts of outside influences.  They are kept safe and have a special nearness with the one who is providing the protection.

David uses all three descriptions to explain the kind of refuge for his weary heart to find in God.  Each of these images can grab our attention in ways that a normal, straight-forward statement cannot.  By using these very descriptive words, David is able to express exactly what he needs and clearly relay that to us. 

What metaphor would you use to describe your relationship with God when your heart is without strength?  How could you communicate your desire to know Him when times are difficult? 

Evaluating our relationship with God in these picture-driven words can help us express our feelings to God, and potentially draw in others.  I encourage you to give it a try.

Keep Pressing,
Ken