Stones to Bread: A Word From the Father

I just re-read the account of Jesus temptation. The first temptation really struck me as strange. I guess it always has. Jesus had been fasting in the desert. After 40 days Satan comes to him and tempts him to turn the stones into bread. Why would that be a sin? Especially since as soon as he comes out of the desert he goes to a wedding and turns water into wine. Now that's a problem. If you didn't know anything about the Bible and I told you that Jesus was going to be tempted which of those would you guess was the temptation? Water into wine seems like such an obvious choice for a temptation it seems like a no brainer. And it would be fairly easy to resist. Of course you wouldn't turn water into wine. But stones into bread? Jesus would multiply loaves and fish in a couple of months. Why is it a sin in the desert and a miracle on the hillside? I think the temptation was to fill his deepest need at the moment with his own power. Jesus responded to that temptation by saying,"Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." The last thing Jesus heard God say before going into the desert was, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Satan was offering Jesus a way to fill himself up. If I am right then that is the way Satan tempts me as well. All around me are stones he is telling me to turn into bread and try to use to fill myself with. My job. Satan says, "Take work Joe and fill yourself up with it. Put your value into what you do and not what God says about you." Or take your family or your children, or your possessions, or a hundred other things and use them to fill the emptiness. Everywhere I look there are stones waiting to be turned to bread. But Jesus tells me something else and he tells you something else. He tells us how the Father feels about us. He says, "Listen to the voice of the Father and let his love sink down into the hollow places. Hear how he loves you. Even as the Father loved me so he loves you now." Let that be food for your soul. Let this be your daily bread.

Feelings, Bruises, and the Healing of Grace

I am a piece of work. Let's get that out on the table right away. I was having a discussion with my wife the other day. It doesn't really matter what it was about. We didn't agree. It wasn't a disagreement where one of us did something to the other. It was a legitimate difference in opinion. I was surprised she didn't agree with me. I have over the years evidently adopted a fairly high view of my thinking process because it always seems like it surprises me when someone doesn't agree with me. This time I did not seem able to persuade her. She really thought she was right. I know, it seems mind boggling. Just think how I felt. Anyway, I found as we moved on through the day there was something inside of me that didn't feel the same. It was like something deep inside of me had been hit or bumped and now I was feeling the impact of a bruise. We talk about our feelings being hurt. But feelings don't have nerve endings or broken blood vessels. Feelings don't get charlie horses. So, what is it? I remember hearing a pastor say that whenever your feelings get hurt it is not your feelings but your pride. Pride is one of sins in the Bible that is listed among the most heinous. It is listed in the 7 deadly sins and in my opinion the most deadly. Pride is a movement away from God. Always. The good news is that pride is so sensitive it bruises very easily. If it didn't bruise so easily I might be able to convince myself that I don't have it or have finally gotten the best of pride. I could convince myself that I finally believe the Gospel at such a deep level that I am living completely on the love and grace of God my Father. But I was bruised just a couple of days ago by as gentle a woman as I know. I ended up having to tell her about the pride. It is the only way to deal with it. So, today if you have hurt feelings, now you know what is really wrong. It stinks doesn't it? But bruises are a gift in themselves and the good news is Jesus calls himself the great physician. We can take our bruised self to him and he can make us whole. Such is the wonder of grace and the power of the love of God

February- Black History

February has been designated Black History month here in the United States. The history of black people in America has been a tough one on all fronts. Even as I write those words it seems so understated that it is insulting. A blog like this begins on thin ice. The racial history of blacks in America seems to put every one's teeth on edge. It is one of shame and degradation. I watch black and white footage on the history channel and I cringe. How could anyone think any of that was OK? I have watched enough and read enough to make me experience a wide range of emotions. I have gone from shock to shame to sadness to outrage and finally to awe. Suffering is a wild card in the human condition. Pain can move into a person and make them brittle so their whole being seems fragile to the touch. It can make others as hard as stone or prickly like a cactus so no one can ever get close. But profound suffering can also make someone soft and deep and strong. I have seen it and have felt it. My friend Marshall Brandon is soft and deep and strong. Marshall is a black man and the closest black friend I have ever had. We have talked enough of his life that I know a little of the pain he has endured. Much of that pain was caused by people with my skin color and it was caused simply because of the difference in shade between him and them. The pain that bounced around in my friend's life could have done all kinds of things to him. Instead of making him bitter or brittle it has made him as much like Jesus as anyone I know. I know there are other races that have suffered. I have American Indian blood in my veins. But African Americans suffered deep and long. The fact that they are not all bitter and brittle is amazing to me. I celebrate Black History month because all around me are people who have suffered and their suffering has made them deep and strong. If you are white I would encourage you to spend this month praying that the pain that has bounced around in the black race for 400 years here in America would continue to make your neighbors strong and soft and deep. Pray for them. Pray for yourself. Pray for forgiveness as a country. Pray for redemption of a race. Pray for a friend like mine where you can see it up close and then thank our Savior who suffered and by his stripes provided healing for us all.