Hugging Stop Signs, or I Fell in Love with the Law

Does anyone remember sitting through Sunday school classes and feeling like, “dang it, if they tell me one more time about that dude that ate the lion that jumped off the boat the whale thing spit up, I’m gonna cry”? Anyone? It’s that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, cramping nervously as you hear the virtues of those “great men” of the Bible repeated over and over… and over and over. The binding, clenching, tightening of your jaw when you hear about the dumb kid that got dragged off by Bubba-chadnezzar (or whatever his name is) and, yet, still took down a den of lions.

What the heck? Who are those guys? I mean, are they even real? Seriously.Perhaps I was the only kid who thought they were either fake or exaggerated. I can own up to it.

Recently, though, another spiritual gauntlet was thrown down in front of me. And, oh yeah, I took notice.

In my discipleship program with church, I’ve been reading through Psalm 119. I have to say, this one takes the cake. It is, I kid you not, 176 verses all about how King David loved God’s law.

No joke.

Now you just have to be an imaginary person for this one. I mean, “I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands” (v 131), and “I delight in your commands because I love them” (v 47)? Really? I don’t know about you, but I don’t exactly make a habit out of hugging stop signs or panting as I run toward the local courthouse (although, for most, that would be true of going in the opposite direction). So what on earth is David talking about here?

Love? Law? Is he for real?

Yeah. I can tell you that he is. And furthermore, if you’ll take the challenge, I dare you to fall in love.

As I pondered this Psalm, I kept coming back to this question: how on earth could it be possible for a human to feel this way about God and His Law? Then I realized there are two fundamental errors in this question. First, it doesn’t start with David. Second, it doesn’t end with the Law.

You see, there are really only two things I could find on David’s background check that even make him stand out at all. When he was called to be king as a wee lad, this is more or less what went down:

1 Samuel 16:12b-13

Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

God chose him. God anointed him with his Spirit.

That’s it.

This whole business doesn’t begin with David. It begins with God. God called David from before the foundations of the earth. God said of him, “This is the one.” And God orchestrated an entire prophet interruption into David’s daily life to cover that kid with oil in a physical representation of the baptism of the Spirit he was receiving. David was more of a bystander than anything! The kid clocked out of his minimum wage shepherding job, walked through the door, and before he could get his Halo II headset on, some prophet was in his face with anointing oil.

Something inside of me wants to pout right about there. Why not me? Why do you always choose someone else? Why can’t I have the Spirit come powerfully upon me? I think right about there—that moment where someone steps out in their anointing, where someone does something crazy for God—is where most of us derail. Envy, discontent, feelings of unworthiness, incompetence, simple anger or maybe even a sense of disbelief all seem to creep into the dark corners of our mind. We see a David rise up and make a crazy statement like, “I LOVE THE BIBLE,” or a Daniel shout out, “You can put me in a den of lions, but I will pray to God just the same!”

And poof.

It’s like we get this invisible wall around us. We stare at “those guys” with wide-eyed wonder like it’s some spiritual height only attainable to the elite or we stand off in bitter jealousy, murmuring about how those things “aren’t for today” so whatever they’re doing must be wrong. We stand by the sidelines, kicking the dust with our shoes, wishing to join the game but angrily refusing to simply ask to play.

What if we could establish, once and for all, that the two basic qualifications that set David’s life on fire for God are actually met in the finished work of Christ for every man, woman, and child who confesses Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? If we could prove that God has done everything for us David ever hoped he would do for him, would we be willing to take those saints out of our stained glass windows and start looking for the saints God is already bringing to our prayer groups?

Check this out.

Requirement #1: Chosen by God

Isaiah 41:9

I took you from the ends of the earth,

   from its farthest corners I called you.

I said, ‘You are my servant’;

   I have chosen you and have not rejected you.

1 Thessalonians 1:3-5

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.

Any questions?

See, I could go into the original languages here and try to prove to you that somehow there’s something magical in the original tense that shows God’s divine election. But if you are waiting to see the proof, you’re really just buying time for your doubt.  Either God chose you or He didn’t. Make up your mind.

Requirement #2: Anointed with the Spirit

Acts 1:4b-5

“…Wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Joel 2:28

And afterward,

   I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

   your old men will dream dreams,

   your young men will see visions.

***

Church, what on earth are we waiting for? Why do we read our Bible like it’s some museum art piece meant to be admired from afar and talked about with a nasally, authoritative tone? For crying out loud, people!

I have so many people tell me that they want God’s guidance. People say they want to hear God’s voice. Girls tell me they don’t know what to do and wish God would just give them an answer. People walk through life hurting and confused, wondering who that big “G” in the sky is.

Can I pose a question to you right now?

What if what we re-defined what David called “the Law”?

In David’s day, he was referring to the entirety of what God had revealed to mankind. David didn’t have John 3:16 to fall back on. David didn’t get Proverbs to meditate upon for wisdom. He didn’t even get what we refer to as the Prophets. I’m telling you, I don’t know how David did it, but his love for the law came out of the books we love to rag on. David, the “Man After God’s Own Heart,” was so in love with God that Deuteronomy was just… enough. Because David wasn’t concerned about which translation is the most spotless. He didn’t bother himself with proper Biblical methodology. That man went through the word like a rabid dog on a scent trail. A Bloodhound on the hunt, David sniffed out every comma, every verb, and every preposition that would bring him closer to his God.

I like to imagine that David’s Bible (OK, scroll) would have been tattered and worn and completely bent and probably written in. I bet he would have had servants and attendants offering to bring him a more kingly-looking scroll. But if I know David, my guess is he just smiled and said, “It’s all I need, just like that.”

People, are you reading the Bible to fill a time slot? Are you looking for great examples of morality that can guide you through the monotony of your life? Are you looking for information?

Or, by God, are you shoving your hands into the blood and guts of humanity, digging through the chaos and heartache that God felt from the time man rejected His love, and holding on for dear life as you see your Savior crucified, and dancing for joy when he bursts forth in glory from the grave that cannot hold him?

Let’s try that definition on for size, shall we?

Psalm 119, the remix

Verse 127: Because I love [your promise, revealed to me 

     in the finished work of Christ] more than gold, more 

     than pure gold.

Verse 111: Your [love letter is] my heritage forever; the 

     joy of my heart

Verse 47: for I delight in [your living and active words], 

     because I love them

Verse 32: I run in the path of [Jesus, the fulfillment of your 

     Word] for you have set my heart free.

I believe the only real thing that set David apart from you or me was that he was just crazy enough, just simple enough, and just radical enough to take God at His Word. We spend so much time wondering about following God that we end up stopping in mid-track, rubbing our chins, and losing him all together.

What if God meant what he said when He told us we would do greater things than he did? What if God meant what he said when he told us to go into all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit? What if we just stopped arguing and accepted that God not only chose us, but anointed us with His very Spirit? What we stopped treating the Bible like a chore and started devouring it as though it were our last meal?

Friends, ignorance of the Word does not give you a get-out-of-jail-free card. Ignorance of the Word means just that: you will ignore everything, everything God has told you he wants to do in you and through you. And you will never find out just how much He wants you to be in Him. And God will not bless it.

There is absolutely no reason why we have to keep mighty people of God chained to the Bible. They should be jumping off the pages and into our hearts. You want to dance like David danced? Stop sitting there and talking about it. Get up and dance, for crying out loud. You want to heal the sick like Paul did? You get a hold of God’s promises for healing and you stick your hands up on some sick, nasty people. Don’t tell me about healing the sick from your vacuum-sealed house. It’s time for God’s people to get our hands dirty. It’s time for us to stand and believe that God is telling the truth about us. And we have to know what that Truth says in order to stand firm.

God is stirring the hearts of His children. But unless we learn to love His law like that crazy old Jewish king, we really won’t get very far. The secret to being “in the know” with God is to pick up that book he left you—the one you think is called “Bible” but is really called “The Secret to Being in the Know.” If David can get to Psalm 119 on Leviticus and Numbers… Man, I don’t care how dumb you are, you can go to the moon with the gospels. And besides, you’ve got the Author right there with you. I’m sure He is fully capable of explaining anything and everything you need help with.

I believe that every single one of us has a divine calling upon our lives so great, so infinitely unique, so monstrously unfathomable, so remarkable, and so perfectly fashioned for our hearts that if we could catch but the tiniest glimpse of it, we would fall on our face before God and, for once, be right in crying out, "Why me, oh Lord?"

"another fine bit of writing brought to you by yours truly"

Rolling Stones, Zombies, and Jesus

 I think you can probably understand the sense of business that accompanies the holidays. Like an Olympic diver, you hold your nose and jump right before Thanksgiving… only instead of getting a medal you just hope to resurface sometime after the New Year. At least, that’s how I picture it. Before you know it, you’re rushing off into a whole new year of life. Many people take time to reflect and make resolutions for the 12 months to come, but if any of you are like me, you’re making them at about 11:30 pm. Culturally, I think America sets itself up for failure. I do not know how on earth we have managed to train an entire nation to run almost without sleep for over a month, and then expect them to stay up past midnight and come out with some earth shattering “resolution” sheathed with the power to change lives. If you really think about it, our way of going about things is almost laughable.

Seriously.

Who decided that we should make resolutions in January?

Why do we make resolutions?

Upon what, or whom, do we base our resolve?

Yet, somehow, people really put themselves through the mental gymnastics of trying to figure out what they have to do to better themselves. Like eerie fortune tellers, we gaze into the anonymous mass of “next year” and decide what we will need to bring, do, and prepare or look like to get there. As if we understood for even one nanosecond what God has for us in the coming year!

So this year, in the spirit of both “Mexican time” and a deep-rooted yet cheery rebelliousness, I waited and took my sweet time reflecting on the year to come. Then, finally, I realized that I had no idea and just asked God to give me what I needed.

Boy am I glad I did!

God gave me this verse:

John 11:39

   “‘Take away the stone,’ he said.

    “‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man,  ‘by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.’”

            At first, I was a little confused. Smelly dead people? Really, God?

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this passage, Martha’s brother, Lazarus, has been dead for a few days. He was a really good friend of Jesus, so she’s a bit frustrated that the Messiah couldn’t leave his healing ministry for like 15 minutes and share the love with her family. Understandable, don’t you think? I would be upset too! Here comes the chosen Redeemer, but he can’t make it on time to redeem his BFF. Nice. Now, for those of us who have read the rest of the story, we know that Jesus does go on to raise Lazarus from the dead.

But is Lazarus really dead at this point?

All jokes about zombies aside, the only words we have in John about this exchange between Jesus and Lazarus is when Jesus says, “‘Lazarus, come out!’” (v. 43). Wouldn’t you think he’d say something like, “come to life!”? But he just tells Lazarus to come out, which seems to imply that Lazarus is in there listening already. Now, I’m not introducing some new theology, or trying to say that Martha is in the habit of burying relatives alive. What I am trying to point out here is that it is indicated in scripture that Jesus is really performing a rescue operation. He knows that his friend has been raised to life, but he’s got to convince the people around the tomb to let the poor guy out.

For those who have seen a few action movies, wouldn’t you expect him to call 911, or at least blurt something out along the lines of, “We’ve got a guy buried alive! Get him out!” Seriously? I mean, he’s almost toying with the situation here. What on earth is he doing? Roll away the stone? Really? That’s the best Jesus can do here? Call in the army! Call in a demotion crew! Get the paramedics! He doesn’t even tell Martha why he wants the stone away! For all she knows, he just wants to say good-bye to his friend.

Jesus, however, knows something she does not. And by aggravating the situation in this way, I believe he’s making a very important point. What’s going on here is more than a great miracle to demonstrate Jesus’ power. That is certainly true, but there’s more to it.

Literally, there’s a guy trapped inside of a tomb, and because people on the outside are worried that he smells bad, they’re trying to convince Jesus to just keep the stone—the doorway to the tomb—in place. Buried alive.

Can anyone relate? 

Have you ever felt trapped by something? Like you can hear the audible voice of God himself calling you in, but there’s some barrier there? And you’re so far into the darkness that you can’t even see what it is? And just when you try to push through, you hear…

Them…

“Don’t let him come. He smells bad.”

“She ruins everything.”

“He’s a total backslider.”

“She made her bed. Let her stay there.”

“He’ll just screw it all up again.”

We’ve all heard something like that. In the midst of this situation, though, we see Jesus calmly yet firmly saying, “take away the stone.” If he had power to raise Lazarus from the dead, I’m sure he had power to roll the stone. Buy he chose to make the people standing around gossiping about Lazarus’ stench do it. It was as much an act of faith for them to move the stone as it was for Lazarus to walk into the light. How long do you think it took those people to stop believing that Lazarus smelled dead?

How long does the church tell broken believers they’re not “quite there” yet?

            Here’s the second verse God gave me:

Hebrews 12:1

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”

Now, let’s use a mathematical formula here. Everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles = stone blocking the tomb. Race marked out for us = pathway to Jesus.

Got it? 

Friends, I believe that there are way too many believers wandering around inside of tombs, waiting for their stones to be rolled away. See, Lazarus was under what is known as the Old Covenant. Dead people were unclean. Even if people just thought you were dead, you were still probably unclean. Lazarus had absolutely no right to come out and be around clean people. Under the law, he was in such close proximity to death—tombs often contained more than one person—that he had nowhere to go. As long as he was in the tomb, he was unclean. As long as he was unclean, he couldn’t leave the tomb.

Then Jesus spoke the craziest phrase Lazarus ever heard.

“Lazarus, come out!”

Now, insert your own name here. Come out. You are no longer bound by the tomb. Jesus was raised from the dead, conquering death in the very act of dying. Lazarus had to wait for other people to roll away the stone. But in the resurrection power of Jesus, we are called to throw off everything that hinders us.

What is hindering you? What stone is blocking the doorway between you and Jesus? What has so deceived you that it’s got you wandering around a tomb in the dark?

Is it the voices of the people that say you’re too dirty,

           too smelly, 

                too broken, 

                     too fallen

                                       to hang out with the Almighty?

Have you gotten so used to the tomb that the idea of fresh air scares you?

Do you doubt Him?

  

Friends, the word God gave me for the year 2012 is that this is a year when God is going to be moving some really big boulders. God does not want you to spend even one more second wandering around a tomb. Come out. If Jesus wept at the thought of Lazarus in a tomb, you can be sure he weeps over your tomb as well. God would not have called you to roll away your stones if He was not going to empower you to do it. Ignore the voices waiting for you outside of your tomb. You are his sheep. And you listen to His voice. There is something God wants to do inside of you, but you’ve got to hand over your rocks. If you don’t know where to start, pray. If you do know where to start, pray. God will reveal to you exactly what you need to know. And if He reveals it to you, it’s because He’s wanting to help you with the load.

Second, let us be a new “cloud of witnesses”. Let us not be a church characterized by gossip, or slander, or by putting people down so we feel better. Let us be the kind of bystanders who dive in headfirst, go knee-deep in mud, and get that dang boulder out of the way to rescue those who have been buried alive. Let us be a different breed of witnesses.

I believe that if we will just let God move in us, He will move through us, and you can bet He’s going to move some boulders.

Are you ready?

"another fine bit of writing brought to you by yours truly"