Out of Sight

Are you familiar with the Biblical story of Mary, Martha and their brother Lazerus? The story tells of these three good friends of Jesus' who are expecting Him for a visit in the very near future. During this wait, though, Lazerus becomes very I'll, and the sisters immediately send word to Jesus telling Him that their brother is so sick that they're afraid he might die. They urgently ask that He would quickly come to their home and heal their brother. Jesus tells them not to worry...Lazerus won't die. But he does. Eventually the Lord arrives at their home...days after the death. Of course the women tell Jesus that Lazerus wouldn't have died if He had come earlier...as if Jesus didn't know this. I believe what they were really saying is what any of us would say (or at least think)... WHAT TOOK SO LONG???? YOU SAID HE WOULDN'T DIE!!! WHAT IS GOING ON ?!?!?! Well, Jesus goes to the tomb and tells them to open it. They inform Him that this cannot be done because the stench would be intolerable. In other words...FORGET IT!! YOU DIDN'T CARE ENOUGH TO EVEN GET HERE FOR THE FUNERAL!!! But, evidently, they eventually opened the tomb because Jesus called to his friend Lazerus and he came alive and walked out of his grave!!!
Obviously, this is an amazing story displaying the power of Jesus Christ and demonstrating that He was God in the flesh. But, I'm interested in the story between the lines. To me, this is a story of FAILED FAITH. After all, these two sisters were very close friends of the Lord's and had undoubtedly seen Him perform many miracles. They certainly expected the Lord to heal Lazerus...so what happened to their faith? Probably what happens to our faith when things go from bad to worse...it disappears. Unfortunately, our so called "faith" is not really faith; it's more of a hopeful expectation that everything will be just fine because we prayed about it...except that it isn't fine; in fact, things can sometimes become catastrophic and suddenly our faith is G-O-N-E! Why does our faith fail us? Because it is not solidly vested in the TRUTH (God has everything under His control and things will go His way), but instead is vested in lies (like God is a big blessing machine and I deserve being blessed!).
You know, I want to learn from Mary and Martha's experience and TRUST GOD NO MATTER WHAT...even when things get worse than I ever could have imagined! After all, He is GOD, isn't HE??? Keep trusting Him...no matter what!

Self-Inflicted

I have been amazed lately at the many insidious ways I manage to hurt myself! I'm not talking about the obvious like lack of sleep or poor nutrition, I mean the ways I weaken myself emotionally and spiritually. I can not believe that I still talk to myself negatively, for example. I KNOW that negative thinking has a direct effect on my mood and an indirect one on my health...but do I stop??? Nooooo!! Even knowing that God's Word tells me that "as a man thinks, so is he" doesn't stop me! It's as if we are dead set on defeating our own selves. Why? Part of the answer is, of course, CHOICE. It may not feel like I am choosing my thoughts, but I am...and choosing to indulge in it, so some of this self destruction is really an easy fix. The question is not, "do I WANT to change?" but "WILL I change?" The other causes of this self- inflicted misery is not as clear. Some is vested in a weak faith...the result of not being in the Word consistently. Another part is the affect of the state of the Body of Christ. Christianity is sooo superficial, and I mean good ole evangelical Christians like me! Honestly, as a whole, we have compromised ourselves into such a weakened, copped-out type of belief that it barely makes a difference in our own lifestyles, much less the secular world! For example, believers look and act like the moral unsaved...we get tattoed, we socially drink, go to any type of entertainment (within the "norm"),curse occasionally, justify lying...need I go on?!!! The state of my own "family" is of no help at all, in fact I find it depressing and sad. No wonder churches are losing members...there are so many that only talk the talk and very, very few who walk the talk. I mean, how many Christians do you know that ever talk of personal holiness? We're all too cowardly to take any real stands for fear of being called judgmental or legalistic. I guess someone ripped the book of James out of the Bible...whose faith is really seen through good works (or attitudes or words or thoughts)? So, I'm not only hurt by this mamby-pamby behavior, but I'm also inflicting weakness and pain on others! What an abysmal mess.
I think I am going to try walking in some truth...maybe then I'll begin to self-heal. After all, "truth" defines God and nothing is more healing than He is...body, mind and spirit!