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“Do you believe this?”

If you’ve been in or around Christian churches for any length of time, you’ve heard the story recorded in chapter 11 of the Gospel of John. The passage talks about the time Jesus raised His friend, Lazarus, from the dead. It’s a fascinating story, worth a quick review if you have a Bible handy.
Every person in this story (and, I would say, every person in the world) is believing things. We act according to how we believe the world works, choosing the behaviors (or even thoughts!) that are most likely to satisfy our needs or desires at a given time. It’s not that hard to see what people believe. But, if you want to know what someone (or even you) actually believe, you’ll have to not only listen to their words, but watch their actions.
What about the people in this story? When Jesus first received the message that His good friend, Lazarus, was sick, He did not go to Bethany right away. A few days later, when He told His disciples that He was going, the responses of the disciples are interesting. They apparently believed that Jesus had not gone to Bethany immediately because He was avoiding a personally dangerous situation. (Check out verses 8 and 16 of chapter 11.) Of course, Lazarus was already dead. So, once they arrived, we get to see what most people in town, including His friends Martha and Mary, believed. They believed that, if Jesus had been physically present prior to Lazarus’s death, He COULD HAVE and WOULD HAVE prevented it. (Check out verses 21, 32, 37)
To me, the tender exchange between Jesus and Martha in verses 20-28 is one of the most beautiful exchanges recorded in the gospels. I can relate to Martha. What she had expected of Jesus wasn’t matching up with what had happened. She knew-or thought she knew-that Jesus loved her and her family. But her brother was dead. Really dead, in the tomb, rotting and stinking. When Jesus tells her that her brother will rise again, she goes to a fall back theological answer (verse 24). And, again, I can relate to Martha.
When did Martha find peace? It’s tempting to jump the the end of the story, where Lazarus is physically resurrected and everyone goes home and says, “Wow, that was really amazing!” and goes on about their business. Look carefully. When did Martha find peace? Was it when everything made sense and all worked out? I want to suggest to you that Martha found peace when she believed the truth about Who Jesus is. Why do I think that? “And when she had said this, she went away and called Mary, her sister…” (verse 28). Martha didn’t know the outcome at that point. She just knew that her sister needed Jesus. Likewise, when everyone went to Lazarus’s tomb and Jesus told them to move the stone at the entrance, Martha objected at first. She still didn’t know what Jesus was going to do right then, but she trusted Him and had the stone moved.
If you continue reading in the gospel of John, you’ll see that, although this is an AMAZING story, it wasn’t exactly a “happily ever after” story for any of the characters. The story continues. So much for waiting to see how things turn out before you decide what to believe. If there is to be any peace at all, it must be found DURING the story. If we are ever to find peace, we, like Martha, have to find that peace by believing the truth about Who Jesus is.
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.'” John 11:25-27

Give Thanks…to Whom?

Psalm 145: A Psalm of Praise, of David

I will extol Thee, my God, O King; and I will bless Thy name forever and ever. Every day I will bless Thee, and I will praise Thy name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Thy works to another; and shall declare Thy mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Thy majesty, and on Thy wonderful works, I will meditate. And men shall speak of the power of Thine awesome acts; and I will tell of Thy greatness. They shall eagerly utter the memory of Thine abundant goodness, and shall shout joyfully of Thy righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works. All Thy works shall give thanks to Thee, O Lord, and Thy godly ones shall bless Thee. They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of Thy power; To make known to the sons of men Thy mighty acts, and the glory of the majesty of Thy kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Thy dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord sustains all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to Thee, and Thou dost give them their food in due time. Thou dost open Thy hand, and dost satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His deeds. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; but all the wicked, He will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord; and all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

Why get all stirred up?

“Stirrings” in my heart. Is it restlessness? Discontent? Anger or frustration about the way things are? Disappointment? Just plain boredom? It could look like any of those things, I suppose. That kind of stirring may very well result in movement or change of some kind. It may even alleviate the unsettled feeling that accompanies a “stirring”. For a little while, anyway. Until I become restless, angry, disappointed or bored with that new thing.

I say, though, that there’s something foundationally different about the kind of stirring that God does in a person’s heart. It still results in movement or change of some kind. And, it’s still quite unsettling. But…but…there’s the element of hope. The knowledge that God has something good, something lasting, at the end of the movement or change. I’ve never been a particularly daring person, nor have I usually been prone to change something for the sake of change. But, here I am, making drastic changes while fast approaching my 60th birthday. And, I can hardly wait…!

Our Hearts Burning Within Us

Early in 2021, our hearts were stirred with strange thoughts. We knew that we wanted to spend our life together serving God. But, what if He was calling us to serve Him in a different way, an unexpected way? What if He was calling us to serve Him as missionaries?!

Since that time, God has steadily led us along an exciting (and sometimes frightening) path. After much prayer and an extensive application and training process, we have been approved to serve as missionaries with Mission to the World! We have accepted a call to service in Nassau, The Bahamas, alongside team leader Julian Russell and his wife, Christiana. Our ministry will focus on the neighborhood of Yellow Elder Gardens, near the center of the city, and on a new, Bahamian-led church seeking to share the true light of Jesus with the residents of Yellow Elder.

Please keep visiting us here to learn more about our unexpected journey and, more importantly, about how God is changing the world through the good news of Jesus–one life, one family, one community at a time!