On The Turning Away

⁴⁶ Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. ⁴⁷ When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸ “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him.
But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
⁴⁹ When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”
So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!”  
⁵⁰ Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.
⁵¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.
“My Rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!”
⁵² And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.

Mark 10:46-52 

 

I've rediscovered a song by Pink Floyd entitled "On The Turning Away" which has a haunting quality that replays itself over and over in my mind.  The more I listened to the lyrics, the more I came to realize that, like so many others before me, I had ignored the suffering of others.  There is one part of the song which says:

Don't accept that what's happening

is just a case of other's suffering

or you'll find that you're

joining in the turning away

 

To say that this pierced me to the very depths of my soul would be the understatement of my life.  To add to this verse, my devotion this morning was about blind Bartimaeus, and the writer asked a very poignant question: "How many people in the lifetime of Bartimaeus turned away from looking at him, deafened his pleas for mercy, and simply ignored him?  How many times in our lifetime to we do the same thing to the Bartimaeus' around us?"

 The punch to my forehead was almost audible!  I also read about a man who carries with him "Peanut Butter Kits" which consist of two loaves of bread, a large jar of peanut butter, and some sturdy plastic utensils.  When he encounters someone begging for food, he gives them a "kit" so they may eat several times.  

I also know of a police deputy who, when he knows he will be transporting someone to jail, will stop and purchase a hamburger, fries and drink.  When his transport is ready to go, the deputy will give them the food.  By the time they reach the jail, the one being transported is docile and cooperative.  And to think, a single act of kindness makes a HUGE difference.

Remember what Jesus asked of Bartimaeus?  "What do you want ME to do for you?"  At this point, Bartimaeus could have said any number of things which would give momentary pleasure.  Instead, he told Jesus, "I want to see."   Think about this, we have eyes yet we choose not to see.  We have ears yet we choose not to listen.  We have means yet we choose not to help.  We have become part of the turning away!  It's time we change that, don't you think?

 

 

Pray For Each Other?

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

James 5:16 

 

Why would James tell us to confess our sins to each other and pray for each other?  Permit me to offer an explanation from "The Gospel According To St. John (me being the St. John)":  I advise all of the new hires for the Sheriff's Department to get to know their coworkers (squads for the deputies).  Why? So you can help each other; so you can know when something is bothering your coworker; so your coworkers will know when something is amiss with you.  

 

I admit it...I'm not comfortable letting people get too close to me right away.  I tend to take this aspect of human relationships fairly slowly.  I do this on purpose: If someone gets to know me quickly then they may be stunned into insanity by what they learn.  The last thing I need is to have to explain why "Dave" is curled up in a corner babbling and drooling.  The other reason is one we can all understand...we've been burned by people whom we have trusted too soon.  

 

Now look at what James is telling us.  Does he REALLY expect me to confess my sins to someone else against whom I have no sin to truly confess?  NO!  What James is saying is that we need to be open and bare with each other.  Let's face it, when we have nothing to hide from each other, we have nothing to fear from each other.  When we have nothing to fear from each other, we are FREE to join together and make a positive difference in this world.

 

Let me ask you something...when was the last time you prayed for someone else?  Was it the generic "Father, be with 'Dave' and bless him in all he does"?  Or did you pray specifically, "Abba, thank you for bring 'Dave' into my life.  You know he is struggling financially with the birth of his daughter and his wife is not strong enough yet to return to work.  Please allow me to be Your servant to them and to show Your love and care to them.  Thank You for their daughter, 'Eileen', and for his bride, 'Barbara', for the joy and happiness they bring each other because of You..."  You see, when we are open with each other, praying specifically for each other is a privilege and an honor.  Not only that, we will ALWAYS have things to talk with God about because there are nothing hidden from each other.

 

Here's my challenge for each of us: Get to know each other so we can pray for each other, care for and about each other, and so we can be of service to each other.  One of my nuggets of advice is this: "If I don't know what's wrong, I can't help you". And guess what?  That means I also won't know how to pray for you!  The only way I can know what's going on with you is if you tell me OR if we are so close to each other with nothing to hide that we can tell when we need to pray for each other, and reach out to each other.

 

Think about that please.

How Could I Forget You?

¹⁴ Yet Jerusalem says, “The Lord has deserted us;
    the Lord has forgotten us.”

¹⁵ “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?
    Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible,
    I would not forget you!
¹⁶ See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
    Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.

Isaiah 49:14-16 

I am convinced that God placed animals on this Earth to teach us.  For example, Elephants...I like elephants!  A baby elephant weighs, at birth, 200+ pounds and is already 3 feet tall.....right out of the shoot.  The Mom carried this baby for 22 months and only gives birth once every two to four years.  The mother elephant will fiercely protect her child, but will also discipline her child without hesitation.  The love of the mother is evident in the fact she is in her child's life until that child is old enough to be self sufficient. She doesn't try to be her calf's friend or buddy, she takes her motherhood VERY seriously.

Now...in today's passage, Israelites are saying that God has forgotten them.  Guess what?  God never forgets us!  EVER!  Even when we tell Him that we don't want to be around Him any longer, He's still there.  God asks the question, can a mother forget her nursing child?  Think about this, do you think a mother elephant can forget her 200+ pound infant? 

God has written their names on the palms of His hands.  Why is that significant?  Have you ever written something on your palm?  You see it every time your hand is in eyesight so you can't forget.  I've seen Deputies do this a lot!  They write things on their hands so they don't forget and it's always in their eyesight.

God's love and caring is something we can not get away from.  True, He will allow certain things to occur in our lives that make us question whether or not God still loves us.  Truth be told, there is no way God can ever forget us because we are His! 

Sin is Fun!

Keep your servant from deliberate sins!
    Don’t let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt
    and innocent of great sin.

Psalm 19:13 

 

Let's consider sin for a moment.  Why do we do what we should NOT do?  Because it's fun!  Because it is pleasurable!  I heard a radio announcer just yesterday say, "The more you tell people NOT to do something.....they want to do it even more!"  And he's right!  There's something about doing what we aren't supposed to that seems to call to us and draw us in.

 

Let's face facts: if sin wasn't fun, we wouldn't bother with it and we wouldn't have to ask for forgiveness.  Look at some of the viral stunts we see....eating Tide pods....snorting condoms...  We can sit back and talk about what idiots these people are, but hang on a minute, what about the stupid stuff we do?  Criticizing instead of encouraging....having an affair....how about that entire "hold my beer and watch this" list of scenarios...

 

David, in today's passage, is asking God to protect him...well from himself!  Protect me from the things I might do because I think they would be fun but destructive to me, my reputation, my relationships....  Isn't this a prayer we should make every day?  "Abba, protect me from myself today.  Help me not to embarrass You."  Think on that.

Secrets

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
    Cleanse me from these hidden faults.

Psalm 19:12

 

As we go through our day, are we aware of the things we think, say, do, or neglect to do which are sinful?  Honestly, I can't remember everything that's included in each day.  David had the same problem, but he knew that God knows everything.  So David wanted to make sure his heart was clean before God.  

 

Then again, there are some things we know are sins, but we don't want to admit them to anyone else...especially others and God!  Let's think about this: what would happen to our reputation if it became known that we were angry with a coworker but pretended everything was fine?  What would happen if it became known that you got too much change back and kept it?  What would happen if it became known act one way in public but are a beast at home, terrorizing our family into silence?  What would happen if it became known.....?  So many places to take this question.  But remember, no matter what we try to hide, God knows.

 

What can we say then?  Is there no relief?  No grace? No forgiveness?  The answer is God is willing to cleanse us and we must be willing to be cleansed.  Remember to ask God to cleanse us from our hidden faults.

 

Purpose Is In The Details

⁶ And there was Jacob’s Well. Jesus then wearied in the journey, sat thus on the Well: it was about the sixth hour.

⁷ There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said unto her, Give me drink.

⁸ For his disciples were gone away into the city, to buy meat.

John 4:6-8

Believe it or not, Jesus always had a purpose for everything He did regardless how seemingly insignificant.  In today's passage, Jesus and the Disciples walked to Samaria to Jacob's Well.  It was then that Jesus told His Disciples that He was hungry and they needed to go find something for Him to eat.  What's the significance of this?  Jesus needed the Disciples to be out of the way so He could talk with the Samaritan woman without the Disciples freaking out because Samaritans and Jews did not usually interact or even like each other.

The Disciples went off into this "foreign" land in search of something kosher for Jesus to eat (and good luck with that search.  That's like sending the newbie mechanic to find a left handed ratchet set.)  Once they were off on their mission, Jesus sat on the well.  Now, here's where a bit of controversy comes about; many of the older translations of this passage have Jesus sitting ON Jacob's Well, while the later translations have Jesus sitting near or next to Jacob's Well.  What does it matter?  Good question.  If Jesus sat beside Jacob's Well or near Jacob's Well, He could have been easily brushed off and ignored.  However, since He sat ON the well, He had to be acknowledged (being "in the way").

Therefore, when the Samaritan woman came to get water from the well, she HAD to interact with Jesus.  Now it's also interesting that this woman came in the heat of the day to get water when most of the others came early in the morning to get their water.  This is an indication that this woman wasn't particularly accepted by the others. And Jesus was at the well at the precise time this ostracized woman came to get her water, just so He could talk with her.  

It's also noteworthy the reason Jesus sat on the well, scripture tells us that Jesus was weary from His travels.  Jesus, being human and prone to the same human limitations as we, was tired of walking and stopped to sit down and rest a bit.

And here's the good part: Jesus knows all about our human frailties because He was just like us when He was here, so He gets it.  But Jesus also has a plan for us and will make sure that the plan is completed in our lives before we are called home.  To be honest, that brings me a lot of relief (from trying to be perfect) and comfort (knowing that Jesus knows ALL about my struggles).

Daddy

And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”

Galatians 4:6 

 

Have you ever tried to pray and you stumble and fumble, "umm" and "uhh", and you just don't think your prayer was one God wanted to hear?  Ever feel as though your prayers weren't articulate enough; or your posture was not "prayerful" enough?  Do you feel self conscious about the way you pray?  Well, God, who hears your prayers by the way, is your Daddy.  You don't need to "WOW" Him with proper posture or polished words.

 

As a matter of fact, remember Jesus said, "Don't ramble on like heathens who like to talk a lot" - Matthew 6:7.  When Jesus taught us to pray, He made it very simple with no big words.  Jesus did not teach us a ritual of prayer!  Jesus taught us the simplicity of prayer.  We don't need to recite polished well-worded prayers from a book.  God has no need to hear recited prayers which we may or may not actually mean.  Parroting back a prayer from a book is easy and wooden...Talking to the One who knows more about you than you could ever hope to know is to speak in love to your Daddy!

 

When a child crawls into Daddy's lap, what would you expect that child to say?  Would you expect to hear, "Oh Father, thou art the giver of all things.  Thou hast given unto me thine blessing of good fortune.  Deliver me, Oh Father, from mine enemies...."?  Absolutely not!  A child simply tells Daddy what's on their mind and in their heart.  They talk about everything and anything.  When did we get to the point that we somehow believed that we had to follow a particular rules of ritual to talk to our Daddy?  

 

You see, God is not impressed with our "educated" vocabulary.  Nor is He impressed by the ritualistic posture.  Think about this, the bowed head began as the sign of humble submission.  Isn't that the same way we should bow our head?  Remember when Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector praying?  The Pharisee was all about being heard, seen, and praying without the slightest hint of humbleness.  Yet, the Tax Collector was so humbled that he couldn't even lift his eyes to Heaven.

 

We worry too much about praying the correct and proper way.  Let me ask you something, can a child hug you wrong?  Can a child love you incorrectly?  In the same way, our prayers to God, when they are from the depths of your soul, are always acceptable.

 

You see, prayer really IS that simple.  Prayer is having an ongoing conversation with your Daddy who loves you beyond all understanding. As a matter of fact, we have the right to call God "Abba" which is Aramaic for "Daddy."