Like Living Stones

1 Peter 2:4-6

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”

I have always admired those who have a "knack" for building.  I am told those people have a mental picture of the structure and how it will look, long before the foundation is laid and the framework begins. Things built are usually built to last, withstand strong storms, face other elements of nature, and be useful for a lifetime. 

Maybe it's because of my admiration of builders that I can grasp the illustrative language of Peter as he describes Jesus as the living Stone which has been chosen by God, and then lets us know that we too, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house. 

That picture we get of the living Stone and us being like living stones making a spiritual house, is Peter's way of describing the church. Any good builder will tell you the most important thing to get right when building a structure, is the foundation, and often times, the corner stone. Lots of work goes into making sure the measurements are correct as the entire building is laid out on the basis of having that corner stone exact and strong, because every other aspect of the building is based on the corner stone.

So Peter is on the right track when he calls Jesus the living Stone, the perfect stone to which we, like living stones, can be connected together in building a spiritual house, the church.  Notice also the tense in which the description of the building takes place. Peter says, "you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house."  That tells me the process of building the church is a ongoing thing as new living stones are produced.

Now a warning.  We have become a people that place a lot of emphasis on our church buildings. When we construct a beautiful structure and think of that as the church, we are missing Peter's instruction. The brick and wood, the windows and the roof, the sign and the lobby......those things are not the church. 

In every instance in Scripture where the church is mentioned, it refers to people, and not a physical building. Let me be clear and say when we build a structure in which to worship, and even have a special service to dedicate that building to God and the work of his people in the community, that is a wonderful gesture, but God's church is still not that building, it's the people.

We find no argument that anyone other than Jesus can be that living Stone. By virtue of who he is and especially what he accomplished at Calvary, only he can be that living stone. Your place is in the part where you share in becoming a living stone and being added to the spiritual house, the church. 

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Pardon the Interruption

Mark 10:46-52

⁴⁶ Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
⁴⁸ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” ⁵⁰ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
⁵¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
⁵² “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

It seems so natural that a person who is blind is anxious and excited about Jesus passing his way. This man had a need and had obviously heard about some of the things Jesus had done so he wanted to make sure his cry out to the Lord was heard. 

The scripture says that many rebuked this man and tried to keep him quiet. But he continued shouting at Jesus. He wanted mercy from the Lord. The result is the good part of the story, as the man was healed because of his faith. 

My focus on the story is to question those that tried to get Bartimaeus to be quiet. Did they think he is interrupting Jesus from some greater mission?  Could they think the Lord could be so busy he didn't have time to minister to one seemingly insignificant blind man?  The real beauty of this story is when our Lord stopped what he was doing and called the man to him. There is no doubt about the happiness of the blind beggar as the scripture tells us he "threw his cloak aside and jumped to his feet and came to Jesus."

The point is this. No one is insignificant in the eyes of the Lord. Whatever need we have, it's important to Him.  He will not be too busy, he will never ignore, he will always be interested in the situations of our lives.

If the Lord's ministry had been programmed by big company officials today, every time we called on him, we would talk to a recorded message, or we would be put on hold until a more convenient time, or we would have to make an appointment at some date and time in the future. 

Jesus cares. He is interested in YOU. He wants you to cast your cares on Him, for he cares for you. 

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Experiencing Freedom

Shirley was in her late teens when she became acquainted with Jenny.  Jenny had been sent to America from Africa in her early years.  It was a match made in heaven when Shirley became such a friend to Jenny that Jenny sort of looked to Shirley as a mother-figure. 

Shirley and Jenny are elephants.  They became such good friends when they found each other on a circus tour, and they developed a very close relationship.  Years passed and the circus decided they could only afford one elephant, so Shirley and Jenny were separated. 

Shirley then became close to her caretaker, the man in charge of feeding her, spraying her with a water hose several times a day, and staking her to her chain, an action that brought tears to the caretaker. Shirley was 30 years old when she became the lone elephant of the circus.  She did not see another elephant for over 20 years after she and Jenny were separated.

When Shirley was retired, she was accepted into an "elephant-retirement-farm," and was housed in a barn which had steel rail bars separating her from other elephants.  This would determine if the elephants were compatible with each other so they could eventually be placed in pastures with other elephants that were friendly.  Shirley's caretaker for over 20 years was with her when she was checked into the elephant barn.  With tears in his eyes, he stated that was the first time Shirley had her own stall and bed of hay.  She would no longer have to experience the bonds of chains around her legs.

Another elephant arrived at the facility and was placed in the barn stall next to Shirley.  The two elephants were immediately friends, their trunks actually embracing each other through the bars which separated them.  Their new caretakers immediately knew these two elephants were compatible and were soon allowed to roam together in the lush, green pastures.  You guessed it......the other elephant was Jenny.  After 20+ years of separation, they knew each other and continued to be together daily until an illness took Jenny's life.  (I could write pages on the rituals of Shirley and the other elephants during Jenny's illness and death.  Some day, I might!)

Jenny now has other friends from the elephant herd, not to mention the care and concern of her caretakers and the friendly people who visit the elephant farm from time to time. 

I was drawn to this story through watching some online videos about Shirley and Jenny.  I could not get the picture of agony out of my mind when her original caretaker spoke of having to chain her legs at night.  I will also remember his happiness in announcing her new home at the farm allowed her freedom from chains.

Another picture in my mind, and in my heart, is one of closeness of these two elephants.  They were together constantly, playing in the water and mud, roaming the pastures, sleeping side by side.  Their bonds of friendship were more than friendship. It had to be called a relationship. 

Much in the same way, we also experience freedom when we are made aware of the mission of Jesus, told in prophecy, and fulfilled in his ministry, to set the captive free. Freedom?  Do you need to be free from anything?  It's something we all need when we reflect on our sins, our attitudes, our habits, and our flesh.  And beyond all that, our freedom puts us in "relationship" with others who experience that same freedom.  Jesus said it like this:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free."   And today we can sing: 

   

"My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace."

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God's Kids

1  John 3:1-10

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,  we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. ⁶ No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰ This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

What a marvelous description of the children of God. By describing us as God's children, John also gives some indication of who is not a child of God. Look again at what he says. 

1. If someone's life is controlled by sin, he is of the devil, and therefore not of God. 

2. Anyone who doesn't do what is right is not a child of God. 

3. Anyone who does not love his brother is not a child of God.

However, the first part of the chapter brings hope and joy to those which the Father calls his children. John says, "That's exactly what we are because the Father's great love has been lavished upon us." Look at some of the attributes mentioned.

1. When Jesus appears, we are going to be like him. 

2. No one that lives in him keeps on sinning, because God's seed remains in him. 

3. The child of God is on that shows love to his brother. (Read 1 John 3: 11-24)

The last verse of the chapter, verse 24, sums the entire issue, "Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."

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Jesus prayed for YOU!

How's life?  How is your prayer life? Our blog has probably had more posts on the subject of prayer than any other subject. That's because I believe in prayer, I see the effects of prayer, and I keep asking you and others to make prayer a very important part of your Christian experience.

Now let me ask, "For what or whom do you pray the most?"  It's ok if you say yourself. We all need to have regular conversations with God about our needs, our weaknesses, our family life, and everything else that pertains to our life situations. 

Another question, "Does it matter to you when others say they are praying for you?"  It's ok to answer that question in the affirmative, too.  One of the greatest boosts you can give to another person is to let them know you are praying for them. It may be for some problem or difficulty in their lives, or maybe a major illness, or even just to let them know you remembered them to God the Father. 

We are instructed to ask God for the things we need, and we are given instruction and encouragement to pray on behalf of others.  Even when we do not know what to pray for or even how to express ourselves in prayer, Romans 8 tells us about this work of the Holy Spirit. "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God."  

There is one instance in the life of Jesus which should be a huge encouragement for us to be more diligent in prayer. During his earthly ministry, Jesus prayed for you. And he prayed for me.  This came at a time when Jesus prayed for himself, then he prayed for his disciples. Following his prayer for these who had followed him during his ministry, look closely at the continuation of his prayer.

 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message."

If you are among those who believe in Jesus through the message proclaimed by his disciples, then Jesus was praying for you.  And look what he prayed.  He prayed for us to be one.

"that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me."

In Jesus' prayer for you and me, he was seeking the blessings of the Father that we could be united as one just as he and the Father are one.  And he wants us to be one with he and the Father!

These are encouraging words from the Master as we pray for ourselves, and as we pray for others, that we may be one with each other, and one with the Son and the Father. 

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