Isaiah 40:21-31 br...
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Isaiah 40:21-31
Walter Wink believes that for many, many people, violence is the real religion of our time. "This Myth of Redemptive Violence," Wink writes, "is the real myth of the modern world. It, and not Judaism or Christianity or Islam, is the dominant religion in our society today" (The Powers That Be: Theology For a New Millennium [New York: Doubleday, 199], p. 42).
If children, or even adults, nourish their spirits on a steady diet of so-called "action films," they will become brainwashed into believing this destructive myth. They will learn to see the world in stark, black-and-white, good-vs-evil terms. They will learn to locate evil outside themselves and to scapegoat anyone who's different. In time they will come to accept as common knowledge the unthinking assumption that "might makes right" -- both on the individual level and on the international stage. They will come to see strength as embodied in the almost mythological figure of a man who slides down a rope out of a helicopter, firing an automatic weapon into a crowd of enemies.
Is this the sort of strength the prophet is talking about as he writes, "those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength"? Hardly.
Isaiah 40:21-31
Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given.
-- G. Campbell Morgan
Isaiah 40:21-31
The purposes of God often develop slowly because his grand designs are never hurried. The great New England preacher Phillips Brooks was noted for his poise and quiet manner. At times, however, even he suffered moments of frustration and irritability. One day a friend saw him feverishly pacing the floor like a caged lion. "What's the trouble, Mr. Brooks?" he asked.
"The trouble is that I'm in a hurry, but God isn't!" Haven't we felt the same way many times?
(from Daily Bread)
Isaiah 40:21-31
According to a traditional Hebrew story, Abraham was sitting outside his tent one evening when he saw an old man, weary from age and journey, coming toward him. Abraham rushed out, greeted him, and then invited him into his tent. There he washed the old man's feet and gave him food and drink.
The old man immediately began eating without saying any prayer or blessing. So Abraham asked him, "Don't you worship God?"
The old traveler replied, "I worship fire only and reverence no other god."
When he heard this, Abraham became incensed, grabbed the old man by the shoulders, and threw him out of his tent into the cold, night air.
When the old man had departed, God called to his friend Abraham and asked where the stranger was. Abraham replied, "I forced him out because he did not worship you."
God answered, "I have suffered him these eighty years although he dishonors me. Could you not endure him one night?"
Isaiah 40:21-31
Eric was tired and sore. He spent several hours shoveling snow for an elderly neighbor the day before. Then he was asked, with other men, to shovel the walkway leading to church. He enjoyed the company of the others at church but the snow was still heavy, taking a toll on his back.
The previous month his church recognized people within the congregation for their ministry. Eric remembers that one of the women from the church was honored for her many years of service to the community. The church would collect food each month for the food bank. Sandy would spend hours separating and cataloging the food. When there was a request for food, Sandy would go to church to meet with the needy people. What Eric thought of that day was how Sandy never seemed to mind having her daily activities interrupted by a request for food. She never tired of serving others in the name of Jesus. In fact she was one of the most positive people Eric had ever met.
Eric decided that he wanted to be more like Sandy. Even though she was older, inspired by her example, he would continue serving the church with a joyful heart. The prophet Isaiah wrote of inner strength, "Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."
Isaiah 40:21-31
Arguably the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali was not known for his humility. He said, "I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round." "It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am." "I'm the most recognized and loved man that ever lived 'cause there weren't no satellites when Jesus and Moses were around, so people far away in the villages didn't know about them." And this ditty, "I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark."
When the Lord claims to be without equal in Isaiah 40, who can argue? The Lord is the creator of all things, no one can hide from God's eyes, and God never grows weary. Most remarkably of all, God shares that power with all who wait for him. Now that is greatness!
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Christians often smother the Christian faith with their own characteristics. If an individual is stern, he or she affirms a stern faith. If a group is jolly, it believes the faith is jolly. History also records the politicians who say anything to get a vote: in one town strongly "yes" for what the town wants, yet in a neighboring town professing with equal (non)conviction a contradictory "no."
The apostle Paul stands out as a person who took differing approaches in ministry not as a spiritually wishy-washy chameleon in order to please others. The cause of Christ had so overwhelmed him that instead of Paul's changing the faith to match his temperament, the faith dominated and replaced most (but, as Paul would tell us, not all) of his original self. He was a new person who now cared more for Christ and others than for (as Ralph Waldo Emerson put it) the "hobgoblin" of consistency.
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
A sightseeing bus was making the rounds through Washington DC, and the driver was pointing out spots of interest. As they passed the Pentagon building, he mentioned that it cost taxpayers millions of dollars and that it took a year and a half to build. While everyone was looking at it, a little old woman piped up: "In Peoria we could have built the same building for less, and it would have been completed even sooner than that!" The next sight on the tour was the Justice Department building. Once again the bus driver said that it cost so many millions to build and took almost two years to complete. The woman repeated: "In Peoria we would have done it for less money, and it would have been finished much sooner." The tour finally came to the Washington Monument, and the driver just passed slowly by without saying a word. The old woman was curious. "Hey," she shouted to the driver, "what's that tall, white building back there?" The driver looked out the window, waited a minute and then said, "Search me, lady. It wasn't there yesterday."
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
According to a story in the Grand Rapids Press, the owner of a small foreign car had begun to irritate his friends by bragging incessantly about his gas mileage. They decided on a way to get some humor out of his tireless boasting, as well as bring it to an end. Every day one of them would sneak into the parking lot where the man kept his car and pour a few gallons of gas into the tank. Soon the braggart was recording absolutely phenomenal mileage. He was boasting of getting as much as ninety miles per gallon, and the pranksters took secret delight in his exasperation as he tried to convince people of the truthfulness of his claims. It was even more fun to watch his reaction when they stopped refilling the tank. The poor fellow couldn't figure out what had happened to his car.
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
When the New Testament speaks of ministering to the saints, it means not primarily preaching to them but devoting time, trouble, and substance to giving them all the practical help possible. The essence of Christian service is loyalty to the king expressing itself in care for his servants (Matthew 25:31-46).
(from James Packer, Your Father Loves You (Colorado Springs: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986])
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
"Image is brass, reputation is silver, character is gold." Paul becomes all things to all people, changing his image so to better identify with those he's trying to reach. We seem to have trouble with that. We order our thoughts the opposite way: character is good, reputation is better, but image is what gets you places. It's difficult for us to put ourselves in the shoes of someone we consider "beneath" us. We don't want to associate with the people at the bottom of the ladder. We've fought hard to reach our rung! Why go back down? Paul lays it out there for us: In order for people to accept God's word, we have to present it to them in a way that they can understand. We must understand what motivates and discourages those to whom we're reaching out. The good news is like a good suit: It has to be carefully tailored in order to fit.
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Paul proudly declares that he has become all things to all people. "How can this be?" we ask. We tend to agree with Abraham Lincoln's thinking: "You can please some of the people all the time and all the people some of the time, but you cannot please all the people all of the time."
Paul understands that he must meet people where they are and be unconditionally accepting. He may have recalled the time when he had been demanding and inflexible in his own expectations of others. He had insisted that they behave in a certain manner and believe as he did.
Along the way, Paul learned that if he were to speak to people about Christ, he would first have to understand their life issues and needs from their perspective. Paul was willing to give up his own preference of correct doctrine so that others might come to know the freedom and joy that are central in the life of faith.
Mark 1:29-39
"Get lost!" We've all heard those words -- though, maybe not recently. Maybe they were spoken by an older brother or sister, annoyed with our nagging questions; or, by that group of neighborhood kids we very much wanted to join, in their tree fort or wherever; or, worse yet, by that one, significant person we'd considered a friend.
Those two little words "Get lost!" are painful. They cut ... they burn ... they carry the malodorous scent of rejection.
For some of us, if we've ever really been lost, those two words also carry the feeling of fear. Whether it was, as a child, being left behind in a department store -- or, at any stage of life, feeling cut off from God -- being lost is no fun, to say the least.
This reading from Mark's gospel tells of a time when Jesus got lost -- and it's not the time he got separated from his parents at age twelve, later to be discovered in the temple. No, this experience of lostness belongs to Jesus' adult life. He went to a deserted place, to pray. So thoroughly had Jesus done the job of detaching himself that his followers frantically exclaimed, "Everyone is searching for you."
Mark 1:29-39
A one-legged schoolteacher from Scotland came to J. Hudson Taylor to offer himself for service in China. "With only one leg, why do you think of going as a missionary?" asked Taylor.
"I do not see those with two legs going," replied George Scott. He was accepted.
(from Pillar of Fire, January First, 1983)
Mark 1:29-39
Some wish to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.
-- C. T. Studd
Mark 1:29-39
Kenny could hardly wait for the youth fellowship's winter retreat. They were going skiing 100 miles from home in the mountains. Kenny was quite good at snowboarding but had never tried skiing. There would be other youth from other churches present as well. It would be a great weekend to ski and make new friends.
The youth leader gave careful instructions to all the youth, emphasizing the importance of safety. Kenny and the others listened.
As Kenny was skiing down a medium slope he fell, the person behind him could not get out of the way and hit Kenny. Kenny suffered from a mild concussion, broken ribs, and some minor scrapes.
His parents were informed of his accident and asked to come to the hospital as soon as possible. Having received such a call his parents were naturally anxious and not sure what they would find two hours later. The church's prayer chain was activated. Mark and Sally prayed as they drove to the hospital to meet their son.
They were relieved when they saw their son. Although his condition was more serious than they were led to believe, this family felt the prayers of the entire church. Two weeks later, Kenny would return to school and church. He, too, was humbled by the experience, thankful for the many prayers.
After Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law, people brought others to him to heal. "And he cured many who were sick with various diseases."
Mark 1:29-39
According to psychologist, Hara Estroff Marano, one of the ways that humans can cope with the pressures of a busy world is through solitude. If we don't take time to recharge our batteries we soon feel overwhelmed and irritable. Solitude is that state of constructive engagement with oneself. During times of solitude, one can reflect, meditate, read, think, and be creative. Solitude replenishes us.
Jesus had a busy start to his ministry. People flocked to him bringing their sick and demon possessed for healing. Jesus needed to be replenished. So he sought solitude in which he prayed, equipping himself for what lie ahead.
Walter Wink believes that for many, many people, violence is the real religion of our time. "This Myth of Redemptive Violence," Wink writes, "is the real myth of the modern world. It, and not Judaism or Christianity or Islam, is the dominant religion in our society today" (The Powers That Be: Theology For a New Millennium [New York: Doubleday, 199], p. 42).
If children, or even adults, nourish their spirits on a steady diet of so-called "action films," they will become brainwashed into believing this destructive myth. They will learn to see the world in stark, black-and-white, good-vs-evil terms. They will learn to locate evil outside themselves and to scapegoat anyone who's different. In time they will come to accept as common knowledge the unthinking assumption that "might makes right" -- both on the individual level and on the international stage. They will come to see strength as embodied in the almost mythological figure of a man who slides down a rope out of a helicopter, firing an automatic weapon into a crowd of enemies.
Is this the sort of strength the prophet is talking about as he writes, "those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength"? Hardly.
Isaiah 40:21-31
Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given.
-- G. Campbell Morgan
Isaiah 40:21-31
The purposes of God often develop slowly because his grand designs are never hurried. The great New England preacher Phillips Brooks was noted for his poise and quiet manner. At times, however, even he suffered moments of frustration and irritability. One day a friend saw him feverishly pacing the floor like a caged lion. "What's the trouble, Mr. Brooks?" he asked.
"The trouble is that I'm in a hurry, but God isn't!" Haven't we felt the same way many times?
(from Daily Bread)
Isaiah 40:21-31
According to a traditional Hebrew story, Abraham was sitting outside his tent one evening when he saw an old man, weary from age and journey, coming toward him. Abraham rushed out, greeted him, and then invited him into his tent. There he washed the old man's feet and gave him food and drink.
The old man immediately began eating without saying any prayer or blessing. So Abraham asked him, "Don't you worship God?"
The old traveler replied, "I worship fire only and reverence no other god."
When he heard this, Abraham became incensed, grabbed the old man by the shoulders, and threw him out of his tent into the cold, night air.
When the old man had departed, God called to his friend Abraham and asked where the stranger was. Abraham replied, "I forced him out because he did not worship you."
God answered, "I have suffered him these eighty years although he dishonors me. Could you not endure him one night?"
Isaiah 40:21-31
Eric was tired and sore. He spent several hours shoveling snow for an elderly neighbor the day before. Then he was asked, with other men, to shovel the walkway leading to church. He enjoyed the company of the others at church but the snow was still heavy, taking a toll on his back.
The previous month his church recognized people within the congregation for their ministry. Eric remembers that one of the women from the church was honored for her many years of service to the community. The church would collect food each month for the food bank. Sandy would spend hours separating and cataloging the food. When there was a request for food, Sandy would go to church to meet with the needy people. What Eric thought of that day was how Sandy never seemed to mind having her daily activities interrupted by a request for food. She never tired of serving others in the name of Jesus. In fact she was one of the most positive people Eric had ever met.
Eric decided that he wanted to be more like Sandy. Even though she was older, inspired by her example, he would continue serving the church with a joyful heart. The prophet Isaiah wrote of inner strength, "Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."
Isaiah 40:21-31
Arguably the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali was not known for his humility. He said, "I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round." "It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am." "I'm the most recognized and loved man that ever lived 'cause there weren't no satellites when Jesus and Moses were around, so people far away in the villages didn't know about them." And this ditty, "I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark."
When the Lord claims to be without equal in Isaiah 40, who can argue? The Lord is the creator of all things, no one can hide from God's eyes, and God never grows weary. Most remarkably of all, God shares that power with all who wait for him. Now that is greatness!
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Christians often smother the Christian faith with their own characteristics. If an individual is stern, he or she affirms a stern faith. If a group is jolly, it believes the faith is jolly. History also records the politicians who say anything to get a vote: in one town strongly "yes" for what the town wants, yet in a neighboring town professing with equal (non)conviction a contradictory "no."
The apostle Paul stands out as a person who took differing approaches in ministry not as a spiritually wishy-washy chameleon in order to please others. The cause of Christ had so overwhelmed him that instead of Paul's changing the faith to match his temperament, the faith dominated and replaced most (but, as Paul would tell us, not all) of his original self. He was a new person who now cared more for Christ and others than for (as Ralph Waldo Emerson put it) the "hobgoblin" of consistency.
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
A sightseeing bus was making the rounds through Washington DC, and the driver was pointing out spots of interest. As they passed the Pentagon building, he mentioned that it cost taxpayers millions of dollars and that it took a year and a half to build. While everyone was looking at it, a little old woman piped up: "In Peoria we could have built the same building for less, and it would have been completed even sooner than that!" The next sight on the tour was the Justice Department building. Once again the bus driver said that it cost so many millions to build and took almost two years to complete. The woman repeated: "In Peoria we would have done it for less money, and it would have been finished much sooner." The tour finally came to the Washington Monument, and the driver just passed slowly by without saying a word. The old woman was curious. "Hey," she shouted to the driver, "what's that tall, white building back there?" The driver looked out the window, waited a minute and then said, "Search me, lady. It wasn't there yesterday."
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
According to a story in the Grand Rapids Press, the owner of a small foreign car had begun to irritate his friends by bragging incessantly about his gas mileage. They decided on a way to get some humor out of his tireless boasting, as well as bring it to an end. Every day one of them would sneak into the parking lot where the man kept his car and pour a few gallons of gas into the tank. Soon the braggart was recording absolutely phenomenal mileage. He was boasting of getting as much as ninety miles per gallon, and the pranksters took secret delight in his exasperation as he tried to convince people of the truthfulness of his claims. It was even more fun to watch his reaction when they stopped refilling the tank. The poor fellow couldn't figure out what had happened to his car.
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
When the New Testament speaks of ministering to the saints, it means not primarily preaching to them but devoting time, trouble, and substance to giving them all the practical help possible. The essence of Christian service is loyalty to the king expressing itself in care for his servants (Matthew 25:31-46).
(from James Packer, Your Father Loves You (Colorado Springs: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986])
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
"Image is brass, reputation is silver, character is gold." Paul becomes all things to all people, changing his image so to better identify with those he's trying to reach. We seem to have trouble with that. We order our thoughts the opposite way: character is good, reputation is better, but image is what gets you places. It's difficult for us to put ourselves in the shoes of someone we consider "beneath" us. We don't want to associate with the people at the bottom of the ladder. We've fought hard to reach our rung! Why go back down? Paul lays it out there for us: In order for people to accept God's word, we have to present it to them in a way that they can understand. We must understand what motivates and discourages those to whom we're reaching out. The good news is like a good suit: It has to be carefully tailored in order to fit.
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Paul proudly declares that he has become all things to all people. "How can this be?" we ask. We tend to agree with Abraham Lincoln's thinking: "You can please some of the people all the time and all the people some of the time, but you cannot please all the people all of the time."
Paul understands that he must meet people where they are and be unconditionally accepting. He may have recalled the time when he had been demanding and inflexible in his own expectations of others. He had insisted that they behave in a certain manner and believe as he did.
Along the way, Paul learned that if he were to speak to people about Christ, he would first have to understand their life issues and needs from their perspective. Paul was willing to give up his own preference of correct doctrine so that others might come to know the freedom and joy that are central in the life of faith.
Mark 1:29-39
"Get lost!" We've all heard those words -- though, maybe not recently. Maybe they were spoken by an older brother or sister, annoyed with our nagging questions; or, by that group of neighborhood kids we very much wanted to join, in their tree fort or wherever; or, worse yet, by that one, significant person we'd considered a friend.
Those two little words "Get lost!" are painful. They cut ... they burn ... they carry the malodorous scent of rejection.
For some of us, if we've ever really been lost, those two words also carry the feeling of fear. Whether it was, as a child, being left behind in a department store -- or, at any stage of life, feeling cut off from God -- being lost is no fun, to say the least.
This reading from Mark's gospel tells of a time when Jesus got lost -- and it's not the time he got separated from his parents at age twelve, later to be discovered in the temple. No, this experience of lostness belongs to Jesus' adult life. He went to a deserted place, to pray. So thoroughly had Jesus done the job of detaching himself that his followers frantically exclaimed, "Everyone is searching for you."
Mark 1:29-39
A one-legged schoolteacher from Scotland came to J. Hudson Taylor to offer himself for service in China. "With only one leg, why do you think of going as a missionary?" asked Taylor.
"I do not see those with two legs going," replied George Scott. He was accepted.
(from Pillar of Fire, January First, 1983)
Mark 1:29-39
Some wish to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.
-- C. T. Studd
Mark 1:29-39
Kenny could hardly wait for the youth fellowship's winter retreat. They were going skiing 100 miles from home in the mountains. Kenny was quite good at snowboarding but had never tried skiing. There would be other youth from other churches present as well. It would be a great weekend to ski and make new friends.
The youth leader gave careful instructions to all the youth, emphasizing the importance of safety. Kenny and the others listened.
As Kenny was skiing down a medium slope he fell, the person behind him could not get out of the way and hit Kenny. Kenny suffered from a mild concussion, broken ribs, and some minor scrapes.
His parents were informed of his accident and asked to come to the hospital as soon as possible. Having received such a call his parents were naturally anxious and not sure what they would find two hours later. The church's prayer chain was activated. Mark and Sally prayed as they drove to the hospital to meet their son.
They were relieved when they saw their son. Although his condition was more serious than they were led to believe, this family felt the prayers of the entire church. Two weeks later, Kenny would return to school and church. He, too, was humbled by the experience, thankful for the many prayers.
After Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law, people brought others to him to heal. "And he cured many who were sick with various diseases."
Mark 1:29-39
According to psychologist, Hara Estroff Marano, one of the ways that humans can cope with the pressures of a busy world is through solitude. If we don't take time to recharge our batteries we soon feel overwhelmed and irritable. Solitude is that state of constructive engagement with oneself. During times of solitude, one can reflect, meditate, read, think, and be creative. Solitude replenishes us.
Jesus had a busy start to his ministry. People flocked to him bringing their sick and demon possessed for healing. Jesus needed to be replenished. So he sought solitude in which he prayed, equipping himself for what lie ahead.
