We Who Live in Material Bodies

How easily do we who live in material bodies devalue the world of spirit. It occurs to me that although Jesus spent much time on issues such as hypocrisy, legalism, and pride, I know of no television ministries devoted to healing those "spiritual" problems; yet I know of many that center on physical ailments. Just as I begin feeling smug, however, I remember how easily I feel tormented by the slightest bout with physical suffering, and how seldom I feel tormented by sin.

~ Philip Yancey,

from The Jesus I Never Knew

quoted in Grace Notes

Having just endured a touch of physical sickness, I can relate easily to Yancey's last sentence.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven"...

...he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..."

~ Mark 2:5,8-10

Praying for Healing for Luke

I read the following words from Philip Yancey yesterday evening and planned to post them this morning. I never got around to it though; but mid-morning, I learned that a young friend of ours, Luke, was just diagnosed with leukemia. As I grieved at the news, I was reminded of Yancey's words; and they gave me direction and hope.

Dr. Vernon Grounds says that when he hears of someone in need of healing, he prays like this: "God, I know you have your own purposes and undoubtedly have a plan for this person, but I'll tell you straight out what I would like to see happen."

If diagnosed with a serious illness, I would ask directly for physical healing. We are commanded to pray for healing, Jesus decisively demonstrated God's desire for human health and wholeness, and dozens of studies have borne out the effectiveness of prayer in the healing process. Faith works. It aligns body, mind, and spirit, and galvanizes the healing process built into our bodies.

...In prayers for healing, as in all prayers of request, we should honestly present the problem and tell God our heart's desire.

~ Philip Yancey,

in Prayer: Does It Make a Difference?

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.

~ James 5:14-15

Grace - It's Amazing

Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more--no amount of spiritual calisthenics and renunciations, no amount of knowledge gained from seminaries and divinity schools, no amount of crusading on behalf of righteous causes. And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less--no amount of racism or pride or pornography or adultery or even murder. Grace means that God already loves us as much as an infinite God can possibly love.

~ Philip Yancey,

June 2 in Grace Notes

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

~ 2 Corinthians 13:14

Whatever You Do, Don't Turn Your Back

As I look back over the giants of faith, all had one thing in common: neither victory nor success, but passion...God's favorites responded with passion in kind. Moses argued with God so fervently that several times he persuaded God to change plans. Jacob wrestled all night and used trickery to grab hold of God's blessing. Job lashed out in rage against God. David broke at least half the Ten Commandments. Yet never did they wholly give up on God, and never did God give up on them. God can handle anger, blame, and even willful disobedience. One thing, however, blocks relationship: indifference. "They turned their backs to me and not their faces," God told Jeremiah, in a damning indictment of Israel.

From the spiritual giants of the Bible, I learn this crucial lesson about relating to an invisible God: Whatever you do, don't ignore God. Invite God into every aspect of life.

For some Christians, the times of Job-like crisis will represent the greatest danger. How can they cling to faith in a God who appears unconcerned and even hostile? Others, and I count myself among them, face a more subtle danger. An accumulation of distractions--a malfunctioning computer, bills to pay, an upcoming trip, a friend's wedding, the general busyness of life--gradually edges God away from the center of my life. Some days I meet people, eat, work, make decisions, all without giving God a single thought. And that void is far more serious than what Job experienced, for not once did Job stop thinking about God.

~ Philip Yancey,

May 29 in Grace Notes

They say to wood, "You are my father,"

and to stone, "You gave me birth."

They have turned their backs to me

and not their faces;

yet when they are in trouble, they say,

"Come and save us!"

~ Jeremiah 2:27

They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.

~ Jeremiah 32:33

Too Much to Deny, Too Little to Be Sure

Over time, I have grown more comfortable with mystery rather than certainty. God does not twist arms and never forces us into a corner with faith as the only exit. We will always, with Pascal, see "too much to deny and too little to be sure."

~ Philip Yancey

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

~ Hebrews 11:1

Tossing Peanuts to Behemoths

God makes most plain how he feels about the animal kingdom in a magnificent address found at the end of Job. Look closely and you will notice a common thread in the specimens held up for Job's edification: a lioness, a mountain goat, a rogue donkey, an ostrich, a stallion, a hawk, an eagle, a raven, and a behemoth. Wildness is God's underlying message to Job, the one trait this menagerie all share...Most wildlife writing focuses on these vanishing [Yancey previously mentioned some endangered species] animals themselves, but I find myself wondering about the ultimate impact on us. What else, besides that innate appreciation for wildness, have we lost? Could distaste for authority, or even a loss of God-awareness, derive in part from this atrophied sense? God's mere mention of the animals struck a chord of awe in Job; what about us, who grow up tossing peanuts across the moat to the behemoths and leviathans?

~ Philip Yancey

Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you...

Can anyone capture him by the eyes,

or trap him and pierce his nose?

Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook

or tie down his tongue with a rope?

~ Job 40:15,24 and 41:1

I could have--and wanted to--include many more verses from the last few chapters of Job. Actually, just read the last 5 chapters of the book. They're all good.

Chapter 38 begins with God answering Job out of the storm. He rips into Job and puts him in his place most convincingly, finally saying in 40:2, "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!"

The text continues: "Then Job answered the Lord: 'I am unworthy--how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer--twice, but I will say no more'."

But then--I love this--God doesn't say, "Oh, OK, Job. Thanks for repenting and seeing it my way. Here, let me give you a hug." Oh, no. God continues to cut him down to size by saying, "Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? Do you have an arm like God's, and can your voice thunder like his?" and on and on and on. He doesn't let Job off easy, but He continues the conversation with him until Job is completely and permanently humbled and blown away by the glory and majesty and power of God.

Finally in chapter 42, Job reaches the point of saying, "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." He was a changed man.

God's treatment of Job reminds me of Proverbs 3:11-12 (which is quoted in Hebrews 12):

My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline

and do not resent his rebuke,

because the Lord disciplines those he loves,

as a father the son he delights in.

The end of the book of Job shows us God's delight in Job. God accepts his prayer on behalf of his friends, God makes him prosperous again and gives him twice as much as he had before, God blesses him with 10 children, and most of all, God says to Eliphaz, "You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." High praise coming from the mouth of the Almighty!