Blind Faith

"They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”  Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly." [Mark 8:22-25]

This passage has been resonating with me lately. It is full of questions: Why did Jesus take the blind man outside of the village for the healing? Why did Jesus spit on the man's eyes when He could have just touched him, spoke the healing into being, or put mud on the man's eyes with instructions for a bath after? He had done all those types of healings before...why the spitting? Why did Jesus have to touch the man twice for him to regain his sight?

It is a difficult thing to discern God's will for our lives, when our lives themselves are full of questions. Why do loved ones have to die? Why does healing sometimes come via death? Why do companies have lay-offs at the most inopportune of times? What will happen to this person, that person, this child, that child? Why?

My family and I are going through a very difficult time right now...dealing with a loved one's illness, managing daily life with a husband who is now at home because he lost his job, an impending two-week long mission trip, concerns and heavy hearts regarding the trials that close friends are facing. It is very difficult to discern God's will in all these things.

Yet (and I love how Jesus uses the word "yet" to mean Glory and Victory instead of defeat)... yet...."He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village..." Why outside the village? Going through the trials that my family and I are facing, I understand what this means....sometimes we are thrust headlong into a situation that we otherwise would not choose. My husband did not choose to be let go...yet...here we are, in the throes of a job search that we did not choose to be in, yet here we are. Outside the village. I did not choose to have back surgery twice in seven years, but it was necessitated by herniated disks...outside the village. How many times do we have to go through a fire for which we did not put flame to kindle?

Yet...God can always use these "outside the village" moments when we trust Him. Often times we will not trust or obey unless forced...like Jonah who found himself in the whale after turning tail and running away from God, only to be puked up on the beach like a bad piece of krill. Jonah obeyed then. Outside the village...

So Jesus has the blind man outside the village and spits on his eyes not once but twice....Let's look at the first vision recovery...after Jesus spits and rubs and asks the man if he sees anything, the man looks around and says, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." You almost see Jesus' grin when the blind man says that.

We are so tempted, when Jesus is working on our lives, to stop Him halfway, aren't we? We get to the point that this man came to....not blind...with definitely better vision...but not completely where Jesus wanted him. So many times we stop Jesus short of where He wants us, saying, "Oh I'm better now!" and we jump up from the dirt on the ground and run around, saying "Jesus healed me!" But He wasn't finished.

It wasn't that Jesus had to spit and rub twice to get this man's vision back...He had performed countless Making-the-Blind-See miracles before this. Jesus was wanting to see if the man was willing to have the faith and patience to sit there for a minute longer for Jesus to give him complete restoration.

This brings to another point: the man had faith that Jesus was still there while He was working. So many times we go through trials and we think, "Oh Jesus is working here," only to doubt when things get fuzzy and we can't see clearly. Jesus is still working, whether we see Him or not. We may see trials and tribulations as big fuzzy trees, overpowering us and walking around -- it is at these times we sit back, be patient, and wait for Jesus to complete the work.

Blind faith...blind faith is a call for trusting God when we see Him working and when we don't, knowing full well that the blind man did not see Jesus but he most assuredly heard Him spitting and felt His precious fingers touching his eyes. We as followers of Christ need to recognize that we may not actively see Him working in our lives but He is nonetheless.

Peace.

Terrie

(c) 2013 Terrie McKee

 

 

Ashes to Beauty

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah.  The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.” [Jeremiah 31:38-40]

When we're in the midst of a tragedy, or overwhelmed by everyday life, or dealing with chronic pain that won't cut us a moment's slack, there is a tendency to not see beyond that moment. I've had weeks where it all seemed piled on: problems with the kids, communication issues with the husband, schedule conflicts that added to all this, and then something (usually little) caused a volcano effect where Mommy blew her top, tears cascaded down like lava, and she needed a time-out. We wait for the One Last Thing to happen, or for the other shoe to drop. When in the middle of such a week, I often wonder, when will it end?

 

In life, there are times when those weeks will ooze out into months, and seasons. We call out to God and wonder what lessons, what joy is to be had? From parents dealing with little ones' major health issues, to mothers who are so very sick themselves trying to take care of their children, to fathers who are working to keep a roof overhead and food on the table -- it can all just seem so daunting. In my house, it seems like the closer I work, through study, prayer and service, to learn more about my Savior Jesus, the more Satan throws curveballs. My son with autism will have a meltdown at school or do something to get suspended. My three-year-old daughter will get a cluster migraine -- a disorder that has been newly diagnosed. Since I will be out of the country for two weeks in October on a mission trip, I have been praying with intensity for a hedge of protection against Satan's curveballs.

 

Once upon a time, I had a season where I wondered how in the world could good come out of the circumstances that overwhelmed me and my family. My beloved church went through a period of change: retired founding pastor, new interim pastor with new ideas, new order of worship, new seating arrangements, new and disturbing thoughts about Jesus, theology and Biblical teaching. My husband and I, usually quiet in the ways of church politics, found ourselves moved by the Spirit to do as John told us: "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world," [1 John 4:1]. The backlash to this questioning was heart-rending; people we thought were our friends turned, and we found ourselves deep in prayer, discerning what God would have us to do.

 

God led us to leave the church that we had been married in, had all our kids baptized in as babies or young children. God led us to leave the church that we had taught in, served in, and worshipped in. We thought we would never recover from what we perceived as betrayal.

 

During this entire season, my husband and I found ourselves engrossed in God's Word, learning what God says about events such as this. God used this time to build our faith like no time before. Jeremiah wrote, "The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.” God used this overwhelming time in our lives, filled with dead memories and the ashes of hopes and dreams, to become a most holy time -- a time in which we ministered to the homeless and looked around for a church home; a time in which we looked to God for direction and leadership instead of fallible humans.

 

Then, not by happenstance, but by Godstance, we found ourselves at a new-to-us church, that preached Jesus and Him alone. God took the ashes of the last year and made beauty out of it, and we discovered that you truly don't know what you've been missing until you know what you were missing. That time became holy to the Lord....and I rejoice and praise my Loving, Leading Lord Jesus that the time spent with Him will never be uprooted or demolished.

 

In His Name,

Terrie

 

(c) 2013 Terrie McKee

Dry Bones

"The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life." [Ezekiel 37:1-5]

Ezekiel is a hard book of the Bible to read. Full of imagery and prophecies, one almost needs a seminary degree to understand it. Yet, the Bible is full of similarities and comparatives that shine light on the hard places. This Scripture is one of those amazing passages that, if you pay attention, can help you study other verses too.

Whenever Scripture is very specific about something, there is usually always a nugget of knowledge to be gleaned. The Ezekiel passage was very specific that the bones in the valley were dry -- in fact, it says the bones "were very dry." The Lord tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones and address them as "dry bones."

They were dry bones.

The Lord said to the bones, "I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life."

Where else did the Lord God breathe on bones that were not yet living?

If we think back to the beginning, that is how man came to be. "Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being" [Genesis 2:7]. Without the breath of God, man would not live.

That was the creation of man. God formed Adam out of the dust and breathed into him life. The bones in the Ezekiel passage were so numerous as to cover a valley -- certainly the remnants of an aged battle. The bones, dried and withered with age, had no life in them -- until the breath of God breathed onto them and they came to life.

I was dried bones once. I had accepted Christ as my Savior but life had a way of sapping the energy and life out of me. I was hurt by my abusive ex-husband and believed the names he called me. The Lord led me to a spiritual retreat that last an entire weekend at the beach, and there I rededicated my life to Christ. I sat on the beach, breathing in the salt air, listening to the waves churn and dash against the retreating shoreline, and that is where God Himself reached down, drew me close, and breathed in my nostrils the breath of life. He made me a living being that day. I no longer was the dead woman shuffling through life, believing the lies the Enemy whispered in my ear. Instead, praise Jesus, I had His life in me. He gave His life so that I may have a new life.

No where is this new life more apparent than after Jesus had risen. John 20:19-22 states, "On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit." Jesus breathed into the disciples the life everlasting, the life filled with the Holy Spirit, to commission them to share Him and His message with the world. He ascended into heaven soon after.

Are you being beaten up by life? Have you been believing the lies spoken in secret by the Enemy? Believe in Christ, give your life to Him -- and He will tell you to have peace, the peace that can only be had In and Through Him, and will breathe in you new life, so that you may have the abundant life filled with His presence the He longs to give you. Allow the dead person to die, and live in Christ. Romans 6:4 plainly says, "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." We only have life through Christ....now, through peace instead of turmoil; and in the hereafter, in eternal life with Jesus.

Are your bones dry? You need the sweet breath of Jesus to wash over you. Pray for this, and He will do it, gently saying to you, "Peace be with you."

In Him,
Terrie

(c) 2013 Terrie McKee

Swaddling Cloths and the Meaning of Preparation

"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." ~ Luke 2:7 KJV

This often-quoted Scripture greets us at Christmastime. We like to think of the sweet Baby Jesus resting quietly and comfortably first in his mother's arms, then sleeping peacefully in a manger filled with sweet-smelling hay. This verse though as other meanings that are relevant in other months besides December.

As is usually the case in studying Scripture, the lesson is in the details. When Scripture is very specific in a description, there is a knowledge-nugget to be gleaned. In this verse, the nugget is in the phrase "swaddling clothes."

According to Hebrew history and culture, swaddling cloths were made from linen or cotton material, and were five to six yards long (15-18 feet). The width of the band was four to five inches. Salt was crushed and pulverized by the midwife until it was in the form of a fine powder. When the baby was born, the baby was first washed in water, then a piece of cloth about a square yard in size was laid out and the baby placed on it in a diagonal position. The baby was then wrapped with the bands so that his arms and legs could not flounder about. We do this today with newborns -- it gives them a sense of security.

The Luke passage mentions that Mary delivered Jesus and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths. These swaddling cloths took a long time to make, and it would have been up to Mary to make them. Like expecting moms who go to the department store and put baby items on registry lists, Mary must have thought about her baby with every turn of the loom while making the bands. She prepared herself while preparing the bands, thinking about the way in which He was conceived, wondering what The Lord God had in store for the baby -- and her. She was humbled and amazed God would choose her to be on this journey with Him. She was preparing to meet her Son -- and her Savior.

In a little less than two months, I will be traveling to Zambia, Africa on a mission trip. While shopping for UNO cards for the orphaned children there, clothing, toiletries, etc, I remembered this passage and the preparation of the swaddling cloths. Not that I'm preparing to meet Jesus, for I know He's already with me, but in preparing for this trip, I get the sense that Jesus is preparing me to witness a mighty work He will do -- in the orphanage, in the mission team, in the bush pastors we will train -- and to be involved in just the preparation is exciting.

When I was editing a nonprofit newsletter, I would write and edit the articles, outline which articles, ads, photos and graphics would go on each page, then methodically design the newsletter using the outline I made. It made preparing the newsletter a consistent process, and eliminated (most) of the stress involved in a monthly publication. The Bible is our "outline" for preparing to meet God in His work -- whether that is a mission trip, a community care day, a building campaign or teaching a Sunday School class.

"In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use.Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work." [2 Timothy 2:20-21]. Once we prepare to do God's work, all jobs take on special meaning, as unto the Lord. From teaching or leading a Bible study, to preaching -- to taking out the trash and changing baby diapers, all should be done in Jesus' name. 1st Corinthians 10:31 states, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

Once we put down our own egos, that's when God can really use us. It's through His strength and power, not our's, to do His work. For if it were our strength, where would the glory be for Him? He gives the strength and it's for His glory, not our's. "If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." [1st Peter 4:11].

Even as I wrap up a final fundraising push, and finalize packing lists so I don't leave anything (and certainly not go over airline baggage weight limits), it's at the forefront of my mind that God is preparing a great harvest. "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." [Ephesians 2:10]

How humbling it is that He has called me or you or us to share in His work. The Ephesians passage is remarkable to me -- that before I even accepted Christ as Savior, He had prepared this African mission trip for me and the other team members at church.

We are created in Jesus to do His good works, which God Himself prepared and outlined for us to do in and through Him. We are all commanded to fulfill His great commission -- to go into all the world, sharing His gospel, and teaching others about Him. To me, it is incredible that the God of the Universe, who sets the earth on its axis and paints sunsets with a silent word, would whisper my name and the word "Africa." Wow. That makes me love Him more.

To God be the Glory.

Terrie


(c) 2013 Terrie McKee

Just Gone -- 4 Rapture Scenarios

"Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. "Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." [Matthew 24:40-44]

The Husband
Kelly knew she didn't have much time left. She quickly threw clothes in a plastic shopping bag before placing it on the dining room table next to another bag, as quickly as she could. Quickly she ran to the kitchen, grabbed another bag out of the bag caddy on the wall and ran to the bathroom to pack her prescriptions...she heard Ed's keys jumble at the lock. She screamed, silently, and ran for the back door, through the kitchen. She turned, spied the bag of clothes on the dining room table...it was either risk being hit again and again for that bag of clothes, or jump in her car that sat, waiting with keys and purse in it, at the end of the cul-de-sac. "What are you doing!?" Ed screamed, the smell of cheap whiskey fresh on his breath. Immediately she started to cry. Kelly pleaded, tears coursing down her black and bruised eyes. "Ed, I can't do this anymore...you hit me..." Ed flung himself at her, screaming, rearing his fist back. She fell to the floor in a ball, screaming, "Jesus, help --" Ed's fist sliced through the air, aimed right at Kelly's left eye -- he never ever missed -- but this time, his fist slammed into the wall. He reared back, stunned...Kelly was gone. Just gone.

The Prisoner
Dan reached in the sink, grabbed another potato, and started peeling it. Tattoos covered his arms, neck and legs -- tattoos revealing gang affiliations and the like. He peeled one potato, grabbed another, got in a rhythm. Peeling potatoes went faster when there was a rhythm to it. He chuckled -- why make it go faster, I have my whole life to peel potatoes. Dan was in prison for murdering a man, in a drug deal, 23-1/4 years prior. He was in the 21-3/4 year of a life sentence. And here he was, wanting to make peeling potatoes go faster. Still, it did go at least easier when there was a rhythm, so he started singing a song that he had learned a couple of years ago in chapel, when the prison preacher came to do a service. In his deep baritone voice, Dan sang, "When the roll...is called up yonder..." A guard walked in the kitchen about that time, to check on him and the other prisoners on kitchen detail. Deputy Harris listened for a bit then laughed. "You think you're actually going to be going to heaven with what you did?" Dan stopped singing. "Well, I did do something awful, and I know that. And I know the Good Lord saw it too, but I also know 'cause I asked, He forgave me. So...yes. Come death or rapture, I know where I will be." Deputy Harris laughed again, picked up a potato out of the sack and examined it. This struck Dan as odd but he didn't say anything. Deputy Harris laughed again, still with his eyes focused on that potato. "Well, I know I'm gonna be in heaven....I'm a good person. I don't cheat on my wife that much or cheat on my taxes and I certainly never shot a man in a crack deal." He tossed the potato to Dan, just in time to see Dan standing there, holding the peeler...then the peeler fell to the floor from midair and the potato fell with it. Dan had simply vanished. Just gone.

The Preacher
The pastor was in the middle of a sermon on the Beatitudes. He liked preaching the Beatitudes, made people feel good and was a good way to get a good tinkle going in the brass-colored offertory plates. Life was just good, he thought to himself in his black robe and collar, reading from the sermon he had written between a hospital chat to a dying woman named Something-or-other, he couldn't really remember and the golf game he had been practicing for, with members of the church council. He smiled and inflected his tone and did everything by the book from his seminary preaching class. No wonder he made As in that class, he thought. He looked over his congregation and smiled inwardly. I've done some good work here, he thought, with not a small amount of pride. Membership was down but dollars in the plate were up; Vacation Bible School was just around the corner and most of the volunteer slots had been filled for that. He was just about to hit the proverbial preaching ball out of the ballpark with "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" when, right in front of his very eyes, people just up and disappeared. The rest of the congregation screamed and jumped up, some ran outside...all over town, all over the state, the country...the world...people everywhere were screaming and running outside and calling for loved ones, for co-workers, for children that were just gone.

The Government
The government soon met, quickly, even though Congress had far less people in it before. The senators and representatives that were...missing...could not be reached via telephone, or email, or pager....The media outlets were short people, too, as they tried to make sense of this. Millions of people across the world were just gone. The United Nations called for an emergency summit, elected a committee to do a fact-finding mission to find out where all the people went. The international organization declared that they would prosecute the person or persons responsible for such a global act of terrorism and kidnapping. Right in the middle of that meeting, a dashing, well-spoken and charismatic leader stepped forward. He talked them all down from their frenzied state and reasoned that first and foremost, the small nation of Israel must be secured....This man, the nations declared, would be their savior, to lead them in the absence of leaders, politicians and people who were just gone.

These are just four hypothetical fictional accounts of what the Rapture could be like. For those who have never accepted Christ as Savior, who have denounced God, who follow wicked religions and think they can get buy their way into heaven by "being a good person," woe unto you....you will be left to face horrors unlike you've ever seen on this planet, while Followers of Christ all over the world, dead and alive, will be just gone...to be with Christ Jesus and to worship Him forever and ever. At the end, though -- even Hitler, Hussein, Herod and millions upon millions of people will bow before Him. Every knee will bow. The fact remains: 'tis so much better, with a life worth living for the Lord, if you bow your knees of your own accord.

There is no doubt that Jesus is coming soon. World events and events happening in the United States alone make some Christians shudder and wonder how could America go so far from what the Founding Fathers conceived? But take heart, Followers of Christ. Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” [John 16:33]. We don't need to be scared...we need to keep our eyes upon Jesus, who will soon be coming for us. Soon we will look face-to-Face with the Risen, Ascended, Rapturing Jesus. AMEN!

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words." [1 Thessalonians 4:16-18]

Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Terrie

(c) 2013 Terrie McKee

Nourishment for a Crazy-Busy Life

"Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food — you haven’t eaten anything. Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves." -- Acts 27:33-36

Paul certainly had his share of crazy adventures. Arrested, on a boat that was clearly sailing in the wrong time of the year to be doing so, headed off to face Caesar and spread the Gospel throughout Rome. This passage of Scripture indicates a time on the ship when it was being flung around the Mediterranean, hurling through harbors and bouncing off islands, and everyone was on high alert. They knew death could be right in the middle of the next wave of the nor'easter.

Adrenaline was pumping.

There was no time to sit and chew the fat, much less food. There was no time to think about the ramifications of what they were doing or that the Roman government didn't understand proper timing of marine travels. The frenzied nature of their lives had every sailor and soldier on board calling for his mama. Peace? Please...no time for peace, let alone trips to the bathroom.

So Paul called a time-out.

"For the last fourteen days," he said, "you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food -- you haven't eaten anything. Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive."

Sometimes I read a passage and think, "Now that'll teach."

As a stay-at-home mom of four, we have our share of frenzy. Our oldest is 18, has autism, epilepsy, ADHD, spinal stenosis -- and was recently given the added diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Lord have mercy, when I write about Sam's difficulties and opportunities for God's grace, I get tired just reading about it. Then, Jacob, 15, has ADHD and his learner's permit to drive. Lord have mercy. Then, my beautiful step-daughter Ellison, 14, diagnosed ten years ago with diabetes. Growing up way faster than her daddy likes. Then, there's Laura -- a three year old ball of energy who, as I write this, is having a sword fight with our 14 year old tired cat. Lord have mercy!

This passage from Acts reminds me that I cannot be the person God intends for me to be -- wife, mother, writer, Sunday School teacher, daughter, sister, friend -- without calling a time-out in the midst of the frenzy and taking nourishment. Nourishment could be in the form of a healthy but filling lunch, not skipping breakfast, or having a dinner-date with my husband -- or it could mean not neglecting time with God.

I struggle with this last one. So many Christians have the discipline to have an early-morning quiet time with the Father. I have a confession: this stresses me out. I cannot compare myself with other Christians with their morning devotions. I have tried. But the moment some child (and I include teens and young adults in that description) smells the coffee brewing or toast toasting, that means one thing: Mom is Up. One cannot have quiet time when another has declared Mom is Up. If I don't brew coffee, their sharp albeit selective hearing can hear the pop of a new orange juice container lid -- and morning devotions are out the window.

But nourishment from the Father in His Word is what I seek. I have bedtime devotions. I read the Bible at night, in bed, before lights out. I write when I can but often its late at night when all are asleep, and my fingers can type ever so quietly. Before I get up in the morning, I pray, and most days I pray this simple but heartfelt prayer: "Lord, let me be a blessing to someone today, in Your Name." I pray in the shower. I pray while driving my herd to wherever it is we're going.

I remind myself though, that Jesus had to get away from the crowds too. He had to have communion via prayer with the Father. If it is good for Jesus, it is good for us. It is necessary to the Christian life to have time with Christ. In fact, it is also good for kids to see their parents exercise their faith by having quiet and not-so-quiet times with God.

So, how do we gain nourishment? How do we put ourselves in time-out so we won't go Nebuchadnezzar-crazy in the frenzy of life itself? Because sometimes life just hits all at once and piles it on. We don't even think about stopping to use the bathroom let alone eat correctly. When we do go to the bathroom, there's always some little kid in there with you. When we can sit down to enjoy a meal, there's always some little kid who won't eat the food on their plate but wants to share yours -- despite it being the same food. How do we balance the needs of the whole when we have one who requires so much more?

As a mom of four kids with various special needs, living in a cramped 1,200 square feet home where there are no good hiding spaces (particularly when Mom has squirreled away a piece of chocolate she has no intention of sharing), I have some experience and ideas on how to carve out time so you can indeed be the Follower of Christ and the person Father calls you to be.

• Enlist the aid of a babysitter and go out for lunch with a good friend. Babysitters don't always have to be for nighttime!
• Remove the guilt: Let the kids watch a 30-minute cartoon on television or DVD so you can shower, change into clean clothes, do your hair, and do your makeup. Even if you're not leaving the house.
• Refresh said makeup right before the husband walks in the door. The house may look like a disaster, but you don't have to.
• Take your devotional book or the Bible and let the kids play at a park. Bring along sandwiches, snacks, water bottles...and don't forget the sunscreen. Better yet: meet a friend, a fellow Mom with kids, there.
• Have a standing Sanity Date with yourself, Sunday afternoons. Go to the bookstore and browse, buy a fancy coffee drink, go to the mall -- do whatever it takes to have some time alone. Pray.
• For parents with kids with serious special needs -- investigate respite care options.
• Nurture your marriage. Flirt. Wink.
• Garden. Plant a plot of yard outside with veggies, or maybe just use flowerpots on the deck or patio. Good for kids, good for you -- good eating.
• Invest in a Slip and Slide, a kiddie pool, a sprinkler -- anything to get the kids outside, with you under a shade tree or umbrella. Pretend you're playing a game on your phone but secretly, you're videoing your ultra-cool teenagers laughing hysterically with arms flailing as they fling themselves down the Slip and Slide....Even if you don't post this on social media sites, the blackmail investment alone should get at least three nights' worth of dishes washed.

We are called by Christ to serve Him by serving others. But when our cup is empty, we risk burnout...more than that, we risk having heart attacks, strokes, or saying something we do not mean. Psalm 23:5 states, "You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." The Lord can only overflow our cups with blessings when the cups are empty of chaos. When Paul broke the bread, and began to eat it, all the others on the ship were encouraged, and ate bread themselves. When we are nourished and fed, the cup overflows to our whole family, and everyone is nourished.

Terrie

(C) 2013 Terrie McKee

mission:Africa ~ Putting Feet to my Faith

"For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!' [Romans 10:12-15]

It's been said, "Why should we send a mission team to Africa when we have unchurched people in our own community?" Being born and raised in the United States' "Bible Belt," with television evangelists on every Sunday, a church on nearly every street -- I would have to say, people need to take a certain personal responsibility in their walk of faith. In the United States, if you want to go to church, there are plenty of choices to be had. If you don't want to go to church, there's that option as well. In the United States, that still has a semblance of freedom of religion, citizens do not have the excuse that there are no churches nearby. In a country full of rights -- citizens must take the responsibility for those rights.

The church still has the responsibility, though, to reach out to the unchurched in the community...in the city...in the state...Jesus did not lay down any geographic barriers when He said "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” [Matthew 28:19-20].

Zambia, Africa, like many other regions on that continent, plays host to a deadly foe: the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The victims of this are not only men and women, but more often than not, children. Children who are left orphaned -- either losing one parent, or both. Children of all ages are left without someone to care for them, hug them, kiss them goodnight. Children of all ages die not knowing Christ. Children, men and women of all ages in Africa die without hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

And they don't have the luxury of a church on every corner.

Paul wrote, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" His emotional call to mission leaves me heart-heavy. How can these orphans hear about Jesus if Jesus' followers disobey Christ's Commission to us? How can the widows and widowers hear about Jesus? How can they have the Hope of Heaven if it is not shared to them?

Friends, we are called to preach and teach the Word. We are commanded to share Jesus to others -- "others" including the lady beside you in the dentist waiting room, the man behind you in the check-out line in the grocery store, the housemother raising five orphaned children, of whom none are her biological children.

This October, my church, Flint Groves Baptist Church in Gastonia, NC, is leading a mission team to go to the Village of Hope in Zambia and minister orphans and housemothers alongside the missionary organization All Kids Can Learn International. The team will be providing training and encouragement to nearby church pastors, provide discipleship opportunities to children, youth and housemothers, staff a medical clinic, and just love on them --- and share Jesus with them.

The Book of James states that we are to put Feet (action) to our Faith. What does Paul say when we do that? “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

We want to bring the children new red t-shirts (a semblance of a school uniform), children's vitamins, Lincoln Logs, and curriculum for Bible School. But to do this, and do fund the mission trip, I need your help. My husband and I are struggling financially as we all are. We have four kids who have grown fond of eating. Yet, the fact remains that the Lord has called me personally to serve on this mission trip to Zambia. So, I'm asking for your prayerfully-considered donations to fund this trip.

To make that easy for everyone, please go to this link: http://www.youcaring.com/mission-trip-fundraiser/missionafrica-putting-feet-to-my-faith/63517 and donate using PayPal. Any donation is appreciated. Any funds left over from paying for the necessary mission trip expenditures (airfare, in-country costs, etc) will pay for t-shirts, vitamins, toys, and curriculum. If there are any funds left over, they will be given to the Village of Hope as a mission gift.

For more info on All Kids Can Learn International and the Village of Hope, please go to http://www.akcli-voh.org/.

Please .... help me be the Hands and Feet that brings the Good News to the people of Zambia. May God richly bless you.

In Christ,
Terrie

(C) 2013 Terrie McKee

Bury the gods

"Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you, when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.” So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone. “So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.” [Genesis 35:1-5]

What happens after the altar call? What happens after you pray, ask forgiveness of sins, ask Jesus into your heart? Do you just get up the next morning, go about your day, and act like nothing incredible happened?

Jesus saved me over two thousand years ago, for it was His work on the cross that saved me. I had nothing to do with it; it was all Him, a profound and incredibly sacrificial gift from my Savior, to me [and the rest of the world]. But like any gift, it must be accepted and opened. After all, one does not leave a gift unopened, right?

July 17, 1983. I was 12 years old. I had heard my pastor, Dr. Rick Blackwood, preach a sermon that morning from the book of Revelation and I surely did not want to be left behind to experience the horror of the Tribulation. I wanted to experience new life in Christ, even though for the life of me now, I can't remember much before then. So, laying there, in reality looking up at my Holly Hobby canopy bed but spiritually looking way past it, I asked Jesus to save me from my sins, asked His forgiveness, and gave my life to Him. Even now I can hear the angels rejoicing. I was baptized a week later.

After that, my dear grandmother showed me what to read in the Bible that my dear Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Dorothy Pratt, gave me at my baptism. It's white, zipper binding, King James. Type is far too small for me to read now. But thanks to my Memaw and Mrs Pratt, the words from that Bible jumped clear off the page and right into my heart. I carried that Bible and several other Christian books around in a giant suitcase. Why, I don't know.

Through my teen years, I knew God was with me, even though I read a little less each day from the Word, and over time, prayed a little less each day. Then, in college, I got to know other people who believed in the totally unbiblical, false theology of the bumper-sticker movement "coexist." I tried to blend in, because at that time of Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Nirvana, it was not "cool" to be Christian. I did not know about the awesome Christian rock band Newsboys back then. Like Jacob's wife Rachel in Genesis, I yearned to fit in, to follow the crowd, to hoard the societal gods and not stand out; for someone, like me at the time, being painfully shy and scared to death of speaking to anyone trumped anything. I wanted to be the wallflower, blending into the background.

While I know that Jesus did wash me me white as snow and forgave me of my sins that warm July night, the periods of justification and sanctification came much later. These two concepts are sometimes hard to understand, especially along with the concept of salvation. "Salvation" is what Jesus did on the cross according to God the Father's perfect and divine will, the gift that God gave us through His Son (John 3:16). "Justification" is the biblical teaching that, by grace alone through faith alone, God counts believers in Jesus Christ (and only in Jesus Christ) to be perfectly righteous and totally acceptable in his presence forever. We are washed in His blood, we are made spotless because and through Him. "Sanctification" is what God does in our lives after salvation. It is placing circumstances, people, events, etc in our lives and paths so that He can work in us and build our faith. This is the part that Paul meant when he wrote "work out your own salvation" [Philippians 2:12]. This teaching means that we are conformed to the image of Christ in our attitudes, words and actions by the Holy Spirit moving in us through faith to make us more Christ-like. It is putting the "walk" to our "talk."

I went through a time in my life where everything was just hard. I was recovering from back surgery, a recovering victim of domestic violence, had just kicked my abusive ex-husband out, and was filing the separation/divorce papers -- and that was just in the months of February and March! Suddenly I found myself a single mom of two small children, an autistic ten-year-old and a seven-year-old with severe ADHD. Despite all these painful things, the Lord was using these circumstances to pull me closer to Him. I prayed one night, "Lord, I don't know what You want me to learn from all this, but please use it to Your glory, and teach me what You want me to learn."

Much like Jacob in Genesis, I had been living outside of the Promised Land far too long. I needed to bury my "gods" -- anything in my life that drew my attention away from Jesus or did not encourage me in the faith -- under the nearest tree and never look back. New Christians, renewed Christians, Christians coming back to the faith -- we all need to look forward to Christ and not look back.

But how does one do that? It's not like you're going to go bury everything in your house outside under a tree, right?

Perhaps.

With leading from God, and help from church friends, my house was literally cleaned and painted, removing all evidence of pain, violence and non-God-liness from every wall. I cleaned closets out and trashed whatever reminded me of my past life, a life where God was not at the center.

On fancy paper and using decals, I printed out Scripture verses that had special meaning, framed them and hung them on my walls. I surrounded my boys and myself with the Word of God. Phillipians 4:8 came alive for us: "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things" became our mantra. I erased all the secular, non-Godly stations from the radio memory buttons and programmed in Christian stations that encouraged and taught my boys and I in the faith. For me, being in the Charlotte, NC, area -- I was blessed to have two: New Life 91.9 and my personal favorite, 106.9 The Light, both also available online.

Its critically important to rid yourself of everything that reminds you or tempts you in the life you had without Christ -- music, books, beliefs, even people who are not good, Godly influences -- at the same time being deliberate about surrounding yourself with things, music, people and places that lift up Christ and encourage you in the walk of faith. To say you are a follower of Christ then to surround yourself with the reminders of your past life without Him is not walking the talk -- and it kills your witness and darkens the Light of Christ which is put there to lead others to Him.

Bury your gods.

~ Terrie

(c) 2013 Terrie McKee

 

 

 

The Truth about God's Love, or, What about Homosexual Marriage?

"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

I typically shy away from political discussions. They can never end well. Everyone has an opinion. However, with the recent events surrounding the United States Supreme Court hearing arguments both for and against homosexual marriage, people on both sides have been quoting Scripture. Armed with the knowledge that even Satan knows his share of Scripture and regularly twists it to conform to his evil plots, I wanted to explore what the Bible does indeed say about the love that God has for everyone, and homosexuality.

First, there are three points that must be made clear before we address these issues: God and Jesus are one; God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow; and the Bible is the inspired Word of God.

God and Jesus are One

God and Jesus are one, along with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was with God long before His precious body graced a manger. "Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” [Genesis 1:26 NIV 1984]. Notice God said "Let us make man in our image." The "us" here are God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is one of the most difficult concepts to grasp in theology; its one of those issues that must be accepted on the basis of faith. We don't have to -- and neither can we -- understand all there is to know about God. Job 38:1-7 responds to this level of understanding:

"Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

“Who is this that obscures my plans

    with words without knowledge?

Brace yourself like a man;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.

 

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?

    Tell me, if you understand.

Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it?

On what were its footings set,

    or who laid its cornerstone—

while the morning stars sang together

    and all the angels shouted for joy?"

 

As he stood in the warmth of the burning bush and being commissioned by God to go to Pharaoh to have his people released, Moses asked God what His name was, so that Moses might tell Pharaoh. "God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” [Exodus 3:14]. Compare this to Jesus' answer when questioned by a crowd about Jesus' origin, from John 8:56-58]. "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I AM!” (Emphasis added). The Jewish crowd, educated in the full meaning of the name "I AM," knew fully well what Jesus was saying: I AM God. Jesus and God are one and the same.

This concept that God and Jesus are one is crucial to understand the next point.

God/Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow

So, when we believe that God and Jesus are one, we also are required to believe that God/Jesus is the same yesterday (in the past), today (in the present), and tomorrow (in the future). Hebrews 13:8 plainly states, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

The book of Revelation echoes this in three different places:
 
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” [1:8]
 
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. [21:6]

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. [22:13]

Therefore, what God/Jesus says in the Old Testament, since God is the "same" [Hebrews 13:8], that applies in the New Testament as well. What God said in the Old Testament, Jesus confirmed in the New. Sins mentioned in the Old Testament are sins in the New Testament, for God does not change. The difference is that Christ came to fulfill the law, and He did that on the cross, ergo He created a new covenant, one built on grace and Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross, instead of daily animal sacrifices that did not forgive sin once and for all.

The Bible is the inspired Word of God

All the above hinges on the belief that the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God. God divinely inspired men of faith to write the various books of the Bible. How, we don't know. Like the Trinity, this must be taken on faith. We should praise God, instead of question Him, that He has given us Scriptures to follow. "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law." [Deuteronomy 29:29]

2 Timothy 3:16-17 states, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." This passage says all Scripture -- not just the ones we agree with, not just the ones that don't convict us, not just the ones that make sense. True followers of Jesus Christ treat the Scriptures as a whole -- they do not treat the Scriptures like a cafeteria line: "Oh, I'll have a huge portion of God's love, hold the chastity, and a bowl of love thy neighbor. No, thank you, I don't want the part about tithing or actually being involved in the body of Christ. Do you have any prosperity Scriptures?" No, Paul's letter to Timothy emphatically states that all Scripture is God-breathed (inspired by God to writers in the past) and should be used for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness...why? So that followers of Christ can be thoroughly equipped for doing God's work. If a follower of Christ does not know the Bible, how can that follower hold up with confidence the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God [Ephesians 6:17] against the attacks of Satan?

God loves everyone -- right?

The short answer is, yes. God loves everyone. If God did not love the people whom He created, He would not have sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." [John 3:16]

So what does God not love? Sin. In fact, God is so pure He cannot look upon sin or wrongdoing. "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing." Habakkuk 1:13. God loves us so much, He sent His Son Jesus to die for us, for the forgiveness of sins, so that we will leave the life of sin and live in Him. Romans 5:6-8 states, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

In fact, God wants to forgive us our sins. Micah 7:18 praises God for this. "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy." 2 Peter 3:9 echoes this. "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

The Big Question

Lately I've been reading disturbing articles from churches and "faith-based" organizations claiming that Jesus never condemned homosexuality. This is a tool Satan uses to further his purposes here on earth. God condemned homosexuality in the Old Testament (and if God/Jesus are one, and the same...then...) and Jesus condemned homosexuality in the Book of Revelation.

"Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous  that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” [Genesis 18:20-21] What was this "sin so grievous" that the Lord Himself needed to come down and see, and therefore burn Sodom and Gomorrah to the ground? Genesis 19:4-5 sheds light on this: "Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom — both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them." The word sodomy comes from the name of the city Sodom, which was destroyed by God.

Leviticus 18:22 states plainly: "Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable."

Homosexuality as a sin is not just an Old Testament concept. Paul wrote to Timothy that homosexuality is contrary to God's teachings. "We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers — and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me."

Perhaps the strongest case can be made from Romans 1:21-32:

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

Is there a way out? Of course -- God always provides a way out. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." [1 John 1:9].

Marriage

But what about marriage? Is it for people, any sexual gender, who love one another? God, the creator of marriage [Adam and Eve], ordained marriage to be between one man and one woman. 'The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him'...But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.' That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh." [Genesis 2:18. 20b-24]

Jewish leaders tested Jesus by asking Him about divorce. Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,' and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” [Matthew 19:4-6]

Therefore what God has joined together....since God cannot look upon sin, He will not -- cannot -- look favorably upon marriage between two of the same sex. No court can legislate what marriage is when God the Judge has already ordained what it is.

In today's world, you can either choose the way of the world, which is the popular, easy road -- a road that leads straight to death and hell. Or you can choose the Way of the Lord, which is difficult and narrow and not popular at all. But at the end, is Life, and Jesus, and Heaven. Jesus Himself said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." [John 14:6] This Way, which is Jesus, is not easy. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." [Matthew 7:13-14].

As the Joshua passage above states, "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." [24:15]. We are indeed living in a wicked land. We as followers of Christ must consciously, purposely, choose the things of God in every way -- to live according to what Jesus commands, and in order to not kill our witness to others.

I am sure this particular blog post will resonate with some and condemned by others. Such is the life of a blogger. However, I am not here on this earth to please people. I am commissioned by God to hold true to His word, to encourage others in the Christian faith, and to share His Gospel. I am here to please my Savior Jesus Christ. It bothers me tremendously that Satan is using the Scriptures that the Lord God gave us to further his wicked schemes in this country. But there is hope yet! "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." [2 Chronicles 7:14].

Followers of Christ, do not be saddened if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the homosexual lifestyle. Rejoice! For Scripture tells us that Jesus' coming is near! "Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires...But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. [2 Peter 3:3, 10-13]

But woe to those who continue in wickedness, blaspheming God by twisting Scriptures to suit their own evil purposes.

~ Terrie

(c) 2013 Terrie McKee

Who do you say I am?

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." [Matthew 16:13-16, NIV 1984]

Most churches have mission statements. Some are short and to the point. Others are paragraphs long or have bulletized lists. Some focus on Jesus' Sovereignity; others on social justice. Some mention the inerrancy of the Bible; others state that the Bible is a Holy Text like the Q'uron. It is important to participate in a Bible-believing, Chris-centered church; it is important to know what the church you attend believes, on a corporate level.

But that is not what Jesus asked His disciples.

Sure, Jesus threw out a survey question to His disciples first, maybe to gauge what the people that ate the loaves and fishes thought of him. Or maybe He was setting up a chain of questions to get His disciples -- the ones who needed to know Who in order to teach What and Why -- to look deep within themselves. The questions Jesus asked as followups were intended to take the magnifying glass off the people (the corporate entity) and focus it on the individual.

"What about you?" Jesus asked. "Who do you say I am?"

So...what about you? Do you believe that Jesus was a nice guy, who God allowed to perform miracles? That He was a prophet in a long string of prophets? That He was a Holy Man, the Messiah, but since the world has changed so much He's not exactly relevant today?

For myself, if you answered yes to any of those descriptions, I am so glad that He is not defined by you. Or me, for that matter. He is my Savior, my Messiah, my Peace. But from a purely grammartical point of view, the pronoun "my" does nothing here.

But the hingepoint of Peter's answer is the definite article "the." The little word, "the." It can make all the difference in the world:

"We're going to a ski slope."
"We're going to THE ski slope."
"We're going to see a race in Daytona in February."
"We're going to see THE race in Daytona in February."

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God." Notice he did not say, "You're a messiah, a son of the living God." No, the definite article here is part of a title, signifying the Oneness, the Only-ness, in Peter's statement. Jesus went on in verse 17 to applaud Peter's choice of words, saying “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven."

Jesus said in John 10:27, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." Peter here was given the answer to Jesus' soul-searching question by God, for Peter knew God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

It is not enough to know about Jesus. Before His earthly body graced a manger, hundreds of prophets came before Him. His own cousin, John the Baptist, was the last prophet, the last prophet in a long line of prophets that were all designed to point the way to The Messiah, or Jesus. There have been no other prophets since John the Baptist, for Christ came, died, rose again, and ascended to heaven. And right before Jesus' triumphant return to Earth, He will send Elijah and Moses down to point the way to Jesus again. He will "reuse" these prophets because they first pointed the way to Him, and there have been no other prophets since John the Baptist. You can say the prophets came, they pointed, Jesus came -- no more prophets were needed....until the time Jesus is about to return.

Right now, before Moses and Elijah come down, we as followers of Christ are to be His Light in the World, shining in the darkness and leading people to Christ, as people guide others along a darkened path using a flashlight. After His people ascend into heaven at the Rapture, this world will fall into a dark and evil time -- the Tribulation -- when Jesus' people are with Him but not here on Earth. So Jesus will send down Moses and Elijah to reup their prophet enlistment and preach Jesus...and be killed for it. They will point the way, and thousands will accept Christ. This is the "last resort" to escape hell.

For the followers of Christ today, it is very important, just like the Disciples who were questioned by Jesus Himself, to personally answer the question "What about you?" Jesus asked. "Who do you say I am?" For if a Christian -- one who claims to know Christ AND believes AND follows Him, not just some person who says they're a Christian as if to check off a box on a census form -- cannot answer Who do they say Jesus is, using the definite article the, they need to really evaluate some basic tenants of the Christian faith.

And find a church that believes and teaches Jesus as The Messiah, the Way, the Truth, and the Life -- and focuses more on Him, instead of buzzwords like social justice, missional, and unity.

What about you? Who do you say He is?

(C) 2013 Terrie McKee