expectations of Jesus

Dear friends,

We all have expectations of Jesus. We believe that Jesus should respond to events in our lives in specific ways. When he doesn't respond the way we want him to, we become discouraged and lose faith in him. Times of trouble are best for revealing our expectations of Jesus. Even Jesus' disciples experienced this, as you can see below in Mark 4:35-40.

35That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." 36Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

When Jesus says, “Let us go,” we expect smooth sailing ahead. But these verses show something different. When Jesus says, “Let us go,” do you focus on the word “go” or on the word “us.” Jesus wants us to focus on both words. The word “go” is a calling, and the word “us” is a relationship. Following Jesus is a calling and a relationship.

Because Jesus did not respond according to the disciples’ expectations, they accused him of not caring about their lives. Like the disciples, we sometimes accuse Jesus about his lack of care for us. But the cross is Jesus’ ultimate sign of care for us. He gave up his life to die on the cross so that we might have life in God. Then he gave us his Holy Spirit as a personal sign of his eternal relationship with us. The next time you accuse Jesus in your heart of not caring for you, remember the cross and the gift of his Holy Spirit in you.

39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

Jesus calmed the storm with a simple command. He can do the same for us, but first he questions us: “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” He wants to get to the root of our unbelief in him. Instead of taking each new storm as a test of Jesus’ power and love for us, he asks us to believe in him.

How can we do this? We talk to Jesus and we preach to ourselves. For example, this is what I might say to Jesus and preach to myself: “Jesus, this storm is really scaring me. I’m afraid I might die or lose everything I hold precious. But I know that you love me because you went to the cross for me. I know that you have the power to calm my storms if you want to, because you rose from the dead in great power. I know that you are in the boat with me even in this storm. Thank you for calling me and starting a relationship with me. Forgive my unbelief and show me how to live in your love and power. ”

In His Peace,

Jonathan

Desert Places

Dear friends,

As I’ve struggled through the difficulties and worries of work – the “desert places” – the past few weeks, I have been encouraged by a passage in Deuteronomy which I’d like to share with you.

Deuteronomy 8:2-5 (New International Version)

2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

1. God leads us: The focus is not on the desert, but on God who leads. When I am weary, I can say with full confidence, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” I don’t need to understand or like the desert place or even trust myself, but I can trust the One who leads me and keep my eyes on Jesus.

2. God restores us: Verse 2 says that God uses desert places to humble us and to test us. God reveals what is hidden deeply in our hearts – the ideas and beliefs we have about God which are only revealed in times of deep crisis. As the poison of our heart bleeds out, he leads us to repentance and restoration and a renewed hope in him alone. Then he restores us to his calling and his mission with a right spirit. As Jesus questioned and restored Peter to himself, he restored him to his mission: “Feed my sheep.”

3. God feeds us: God causes us to hunger in order to teach us to feed on him. He removes our regular sources of food to redirect our hunger to him. The root of idolatry is a hunger (or over-desire) for something other than God – even an over-desire for a good thing (work, sex, relationships, money) can become an idol of the heart. Jesus uses desert places to root out the idolatrous hungers in our lives so that we can “eat and be satisfied.” What are your hungers?

4. God fathers us: Like most parents, I discipline my daughter because I love her. I know that if she gets everything she wants, she will become a slave to her own hungers and desires. Hebrews 12:7-8 says, “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons…If you are not disciplined, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.” God wants us to know in our hearts (see Deut 8:5 above) that we are his true children. He fathers us into a love relationship with him so that we can say, as Job said, “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.”

From a desert place,

Jonathan

Gethsemane Prayer

Dear friends,

Below is a passage from Matthew 26:36-46, followed by some reflections.

Matthew 26
36Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."39Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."40Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." 42He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." 43When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

As I reflect on this passage, I am struck by the following thoughts:

1. Jesus suffered sorrow "to the point of death." Jesus experienced both the highs and the lows of the human condition. He knows what it is like to be overwhelmed with sorrow. Jesus brought his sorrow to his father. He wants us to bring our sorrows to him as his children.

2. Jesus gathered close friends from his community to be with him in his time of sorrow and temptation. Even Jesus did this! Why do we so often isolate ourselves when we're suffering or depressed instead of surrounding ourselves with the support of close, believing friends?

3. It's not mentioned in Matthew's description, but in Luke 22:45 we read that the disciples fell asleep because they were "exhausted from sorrow." Jesus urges them to stop sleeping and to pray through their sorrow so that they will not fall into temptation. Satan uses our sorrows and struggles to tempt us away from God. Jesus shows us how to avoid this trap: prayerfully bring your sorrows and struggles to God.

4. Jesus wrestled with his own human will. He asked God to take away the suffering of the cross from him, even through he knew the answer. Wrestling with your will is bringing your deepest desire(s) to God and then asking that his will be done instead. Too often we do not give voice to our desires. They remain hidden, even from ourselves, and so we never give them completely to Jesus. When you are struggling with something, bring it to God and ask him clearly for what you desire to happen. Then ask that his will, not yours, be done. Jesus did it three times. For you and I, it may be one, five or a hundred times. It depends on how deeply we feel about what we are struggling with and how long it takes to reach the place where we fully surrender our will to God.

5. In the end, it was God's will to allow Jesus to suffer death on a cross - even though Jesus himself asked God to take it away from him! Here's a thought to chew on: The important thing in times of sorrow or struggle is not just what happens AFTER we pray. The important thing is first the submission of our deepest desires and will to God in each particular situation. We almost always focus on the results of our prayers, but God will take care of those. The first result he is looking for is the submission of the desires of our hearts and the will of our minds.

In Christ's love and grace,

Jonathan