Handling Discouragement

I have been somewhat discouraged the last few days. No specific reason for my melancholy spirit; although a lack of spiritual food is usually an accomplice to the problem. With that said, as I recognized the onset yesterday, I immediately shifted my thoughts to God. I prayed for encouragement and focus. I immediately remembered a message I gave a few weeks ago at a women’s conference at a local seminary. The breakout sessions of this particular conference focused on pouring ourselves out into the lives of others…praying for others, women’s ministries, girls’ ministries, teaching others, reaching different generations, etc. I was asked, however, to speak on inpouring; specifically, ways we can fill ourselves up so we are then able to pour into others.

My points from that message were what God brought to mind when I found myself in need of a little inpouring. John 13-17 tells the story of Jesus' last moments with His disciples before His crucifixion. The words He spoke in those hours are the ultimate inpouring; they had to sustain the disciples through what may have been the hardest three days of their lives and even more so after Jesus ascended into heaven.

Jesus never intended for the disciples to keep His words to themselves. The disciples knew the power and importance of the message they received; they spent the rest of their lives pouring that message into those with whom they came into contact. The message has trickled down now for two thousand years. In light of that plan, I want to pass on some of the key points to each of you as well…

TRUST ME – John 14:1

KNOW ME – John 14:6-10

BELIEVE ME – John 14:11-14

LOVE ME – John 14:15, 21-24

BE HATED FOR ME – John 15:18-25

REMAIN IN ME – John 15:1-8

TESTIFY OF ME – John 15:26-27

Hover your cursor over each Scripture reference and you will be able to read the passage. I could write so much about each one of these but there isn’t room for that here. Don't worry, though, a book is in the works to learn more. For now, take a moment, read the verses, and let God speak to you through His Word. Hopefully you’ll be encouraged and empowered to keep on serving Him.

Jesus' Tomb: Why it isn't finished

Last week I wrote Visiting the Mount of Olives and the Garden Tomb because visiting those sites in Jerusalem had an important spiritual impact on me. I didn't write much about the Garden Tomb; however, after I posted it I spent some time thinking about that experience and trying to come up with some words for it. While doing this, I had a new insight into the Garden Tomb that I am so excited to share with you! 

Before I go there, however...

At church yesterday, my pastor spoke on "The Whole Package." The focus of Easter isn't the crucifixion. It's not even the crucifixion and resurrection. The whole package of Easter is believing in the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. I won't go into the importance of all three here, but we must recognize that you can't pick to believe in one or two. They all go together. 

His sermon had one more focus - believers are spiritually crucified, buried, and resurrected with Christ. "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--because anyone who has died has been freed from sin." (Romans 6:1-7)

Which brings me to my insight regarding the Garden Tomb...

The Garden Tomb has different sections as you can see in this picture showing the blueprint of the tomb. Visitors are only allowed into the Weeping Chamber (6). From there, an iron fence has been added to separate you from the loculi, or the places where the bodies would have been laid (4 & 8). I say bodies because the tomb was hewn to hold two bodies. Matthew 27:59-60 records for us that Joseph of Arimethea asked for the body of Jesus after He had died on the cross. Joseph wrapped the body in cloths and placed it in his own, new tomb. At the time of our visit I joked that the Unfinished Loculus (8) must have been meant for Mrs. Joseph of Arimethea. 

This weekend, as I thought about the distinction between the finished and unfinished loculi, I remembered Jesus' words as He hung on the cross. "It is finished" (John 19:30). My next thought was this - the loculus for the bride wasn't finished. That was my light bulb moment. Joseph of Arimethea may have planned the tomb and had it hewn in his garden but he and his bride were never buried there. The tomb was Jesus' tomb; the unfinished loculus is for His bride. His bride isn't finished yet. "'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.'  This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5:31-32).

For two thousand years, many of us have spiritually shared in His crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. Our work isn't finished though; more are still to be called! The bride isn't complete. Once the bride is complete, those of us who have spiritually shared in His death, burial, and resurrection will also physically resurrect. "But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith (1 Corinthians 15:12-14).

For me, this thought challenges me to help get the work done! 

• What area of my life do I need to work on to become more like Him?
• Who can I share His message with so they may put their faith in Him and help bring the Bride to completion?
• Who can I disciple that they may grow in their faith and knowledge of Him?
• What ministry can I support so that others may share the Word of God with those who haven't heard?    

Perhaps there are others...what areas can you think of where we need to help get the work done that the Bride may be finished? Please leave a comment!

If you want to read more about the our spiritual and physical resurrection with Christ, you can read Romans 6 and 1 Corinthians 15.

Worship Jesus: Remembering the Mount of Olives and the Garden Tomb

Isn't it amazing how a certain physical location can affect you spiritually, even years later? While traveling through Israel in 2008 I had not one, but two, such experiences. This weekend we celebrate Passover and Jesus' resurrection; and the holidays remind me once again of that trip. 

I remember standing on the Mount of Olives and becoming too emotional to continue singing praise songs with our group.

Notice my clenched lips (trying not to cry)
and the Temple Mount in the background.

Throughout our trip, we visited many locations which were probably where a biblical event happened. "We think this is where the angel visited Mary.” Or, "This might be where Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount."

However, when we stood on the Mount of Olives, I had no doubt in my mind that Jesus had spent some of the last hours of His life in that location. Jesus spent the night before His crucifixion eating the Passover meal with His disciples. Scripture tells us that after the meal was finished, "When they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives" (Matthew 26:30). It was there that He said, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (Matthew 26:38). In those hours He prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as You will" (Matthew 26:39). It was on that ground that He knelt "and being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:44).

On that mount, He fought and won the spiritual battle to bring salvation to mankind. From this point forward, Jesus fought the physical battle - His death on the cross - with resolve and focus. 

Standing in the location of those moments should have been enough to bring me to tears. Indeed, recognizing my own sinful state before Holy God and the gravity of His sacrifice has brought me to tears many times. However, on that chilly, windy day, my reflection on the history of that location didn't bring me to tears. It was the location's future. "On that day [the day of the Lord], his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south" (Zechariah 14:4).

I was standing in a spot where Jesus fulfilled prophecy; even more, He is going to do it again in that same spot. For me, I became part of the plan in a very real way. I was standing between two defining moments of history.

I saw that I have a part to play in the here and now, in the gap between His sacrifice two thousand years ago and His return sometime yet future.

The second physical location of spiritual impact was the Garden Tomb. I've had four years to mentally process that moment and, even as a writer, I have yet to think of words to describe it. I walked through the stone opening with a high level of cynicism. Cynicism grown from the high number of religious sites we had visited thus far. As I entered the natural sanctuary, though, my heart was hushed and my spirit humbled. Someday, perhaps God will grant me words to describe it but for now it was a holy moment between him and me.

Despite their differences, these two locations had a common outcome. God never called me to worship the places; He used them to draw me closer to Him. They became a pathway to worship, not the object of worship. They were a sign of our relationship; not a source of relationship.

I'm sharing them with you today because both places are part of the reason we celebrate this weekend. Jesus spent the hours before His crucifixion on the Mount of Olives and the days between His crucifixion and resurrection in the tomb. Not just history but all of eternity changed in those days. God had denied us access to heaven from the time Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Jesus’ death restored access. The vile and wicked can be pure and righteous. The condemned were set free. Life conquered death.
 

I Was on the Inside

Today I get to share a guest blog by a friend of mine. I can’t share her name with you but I'll call her Chica. I can't even share where she calls home, other than it's in northern Africa. However, her heart for the Lord, her desire to grow spiritually, and her perspective on life make her one of my favorite people in the world. She sent the following to me via email; once I read it, I had to get her permission to share it with all of you. May you be as blessed by her experience as I was…

I needed to see a doctor, so I went to a new non-profit hospital. After the main road, we turned onto a hard dirt path that forked and weaved in-between sparsely situated homes and buildings. It seemed we were in the middle of nowhere, but then the low wall of the hospital appeared.

Behind the wall was the large sandy courtyard where a throng of people had waited since dawn in hopes the healer would see them. On the other side of the courtyard, another wall, much taller than the first, separated everyone from the entrance gate to the hospital.

After my appointment, where wisdom and skill shined way beyond the rudimentary resources available, I went to pay my fee. That's when a realization struck me – stopped me.

I was on the inside.

Just meters in front of me people filled the entrance gate, grabbing, smashing themselves up to it, clamoring to be seen. It was loud; it was desperate. A male nurse had a stack of papers; he was calling out names, “Mahmood? Mahmood?” When Mahmood squeezed his way through, another male nurse pulled out a set of keys, unlocked the gate, and allowed him a small opening through which to enter. Then the crowd swelled back in close again.

I felt myself stop all thoughts. Our days here have not been easy. It's hard living here. Too many interactions with others seem to involve deceitful motives.

But I saw it. Our Father is calling out to those from the utter ends of the earth. They will hear His voice and will come and be healed. Restored. Atoned for. The renown of His name will be throughout the earth.

I was able to close my eyes for a moment and ask, “Okay, show me. Show me who you are calling.”

Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you. Thank you, Father, for showing me that you are our Hope.

“The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved” (John 10: 3-4, 9).

Are you, like my friend and myself, “on the inside?” We're in; we’ve seen the Doctor who gives spiritual rather than physical healing. He restored us; He atoned for our sins.

Let's work together to see who else God is calling through the gate. Pray, as my friend did, for God to show you who He is calling. I then challenge you to reach out to the person He lays on your heart. Maybe you'll be the one to help them come in and see the Master Healer who gives new spiritual life!

“I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints” (Psalm 52:9).