Archive for the ‘Testimony & Purpose’ Category

The Good Shepherd

Posted by Tim

I’ve always been amazed when the Scriptures tell us how Jesus looked at someone and said, “Follow Me.”  Regardless of prior contact or what they’d heard about Him, I believe there was something powerfully attractive in His eyes.  Take the call of Matthew.  One minute Matthew was sitting in his booth collecting taxes for Rome, and the next he “left everything behind” (Luke 5:28) to follow Jesus.

To fully appreciate Matthew’s calling, you have to understand his profession.  The Jews of that day considered tax collectors to be legalized thieves, traitors, the worst of sinners, and moral lepers.  They were excluded from any religious fellowship and were considered to be justifiably condemned by God.  We have no modern-day equivalent that even comes close.  So despised, they were not even lumped in with all the “normal” sinners like prostitutes, drunkards, murderers and thieves.  No, they had a special category all their own as the Bible often records the expression: “tax collectors and sinners” (Matt 9:11; Matt 11:19; Luke 5:30).

But Matthew found favor in the eyes of Jesus and walked away from his old life to pursue a new one.  His first impulse: throw a big party at his house and invite all his friends to meet Jesus!  Matthew, as he remembers that day, writes, “…and behold, many tax collectors and sinners came” (Matt 9:10).

When you read the word “behold” in Scripture, you are meant to inhale rapidly and make a gasping sound like something took your breath away.  Try it now to make sure you get it – “and GASP, many tax collectors and sinners came.”  Now, look around the room and picture the crowd at the party – the sinner, the outcast, the hurting, the rejected, the abused, the scorned, the damaged, the needy, the sick.  Keep looking until you find Jesus.  What do you see?  Is Jesus standing in the corner hoping no one comes near Him?  No, Jesus is hanging out and “dining” with them.  He’s having a good time – laughing – listening – building bridges.  Hmmm.

Why am I telling you this story?  Because unlike the Pharisees that came there only to lecture Him (Matt 9:11), Jesus was comfortable being at this party with these people.  More than that, Matthew’s friends felt welcome around Jesus!  I’m not suggesting Jesus shrugged His shoulders at their sins.  Hardly!  He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  Rather, I’m saying the only ones who felt uncomfortable in Jesus’ presence were the self-righteous Pharisees.  Ask yourself, “do I make others feel welcome in my presence?  What do others see when they look in my eyes?”

Jesus answered their grumblings with, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt 9:12-13 NASB).  In other words, “Think about what you’re saying.  Would you go to a doctor’s office and complain about all the sick people sitting in his waiting room?”

If we are going to learn what it means to follow Jesus…if we are going learn to look through the eyes of the Savior, we must learn mercy.   Just a few verses later Jesus says, “Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt 9:36 NASB).  Other versions say “harassed and helpless.”  Literally, Jesus saw them as “downcast.”  If sheep lie down in the grass and accidentally roll over on their backs, a shepherd calls them “cast” sheep.  Like a turtle on its back, they become totally helpless, fully exposed to the scorching sun, and even more vulnerable to predators.  They are doomed to die without the intervention of a shepherd.

Do you get it?  When Jesus looked out at people, He saw them for what they truly were: cast sheep lying helplessly on their backs unable to save themselves – and He was moved to act with deep compassion.  Such is the heart of the Good Shepherd.

Jesus is still calling, “Follow Me.”  But He’s training shepherds, not Pharisees.

© 2013 Tim McKenzie – www.OnEveryWord.com 

Here am I, send me!

Posted by Tim

It was in the year King Uzziah died. A time of national mourning and fear. He had been a good king for most of his reign and Judah enjoyed peace and prosperity. But in his latter years, pride led him into sin and God judged him. To the east, Assyria was growing strong and rumblings there were a source of great concern. Now, a leadership transition was inevitable.

That’s the moment God revealed Himself. Isaiah saw the living Lord “sitting on a throne high and exalted” (Isaiah 6:1 NASB). The king was dead. The earthly turnover rate is 100%.  Everyone dies. Kingdoms rise and fall, but the King reigns from everlasting to everlasting. In transcendent majesty and beauty, He sits in complete sovereignty over all. Seraphim (“burning ones”) around the throne declare, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3 ESV). Incomparable perfection beyond words. Glorious. Awesome. Overwhelming.

Isaiah saw the Lord and then himself: a sinful man in the presence of the Holy One.  “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5 NASB). Isaiah heard the thunderous voice of angels, but God heard the faint cry of a humble sinner. In great mercy, God moved quickly to forgive and cleanse as He withdrew from the altar of sacrifice (Isaiah 6:6-7).

Then God asked a very unique question before the heavenly host: “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8 NASB). The angels were created to execute the Lord’s every command, but God was seeking a willing heart from among the redeemed. Have no doubt, God will sovereignly send, but first He wanted to know who was willing.

Having been made clean, Isaiah was transformed into an honorable vessel prepared for the Master’s use. No longer “ruined,” he expressed his burning desire to be used by God, “Here am I. Send me” (Isaiah 6:8 NASB).

Today’s news reports aren’t much different than in the year King Uzziah died.  Fear, rumblings in the east, a leadership transition. Bad news seems to dominate the headlines, but we have good news! However, many of us are so busy pursuing the American Dream, we have lost sight of God’s Dream: “that My house may be filled” (Luke 14:23). We need to walk in Isaiah’s sandals and…

See a fresh vision of God as the holy, eternal, sovereign, majestic, glorious Lord Almighty. Worship through verses like these: Psalm 90:2, 103:19: 93:1-2; 47:8, Isaiah 46:10, 40:25, Habakkuk 2:20.

Humble yourself before His throne of grace. Experience the cleansing made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus. Ask Him to make you “a vessel of honor” (2Timothy 2:21).

Hear His call. Specific, personal, purposeful.

Present yourself as a “living and holy sacrifice” (Romans 12:1). Ready, willing, available. “Here am I, send me!”

“Go!”  Your mission field is all around you. Go into the streets. Go into the main highways. Go into the city. Go into all the world! “And as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast” (Matthew 22:9)!

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20 NASB).

© 2012 Tim McKenzie – www.OnEveryWord.com

Jars of clay

Posted by Tim

However, Moses “used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away” (2Cor 3:13 NASB). Though truly marvelous, his was an old covenant, reflected glory. On this side of the empty tomb, the Lord has deposited His glory within us so that ours is a radiated, ever-increasing glory –  “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27 NASB).

Contrary to that solemn, graveside pronouncement, “ashes to ashes and dust to dust,” “we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2Cor 3:18 NASB). There is a huge difference between “I will be with you” and “I will be in you.”

Miraculously, the trajectory of a believer’s life spans from “glory to glory” as we are being progressively “transformed” (Greek “metamorphoo” from which we get our English word “metamorphosis”) into the image of Christ. “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2Cor 4:16-17 NASB).

I’m pretty sure most of us would not put anything of great value in a piece of pottery that is easily broken. And yet God says “we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2Cor 4:7 ESV). What treasure?  It’s the transforming glory of the gospel – “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2Cor 4:6 NASB).

But it’s kind of hard being a jar of clay in a world that tosses you around! “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2Cor 4:8-10 NASB).

These are words of personal experience that testify not only to our weaknesses, but also to God’s surpassing power! Herein lies the paradox of living as a believer in this fallen world. Though our jars crack, this only allows whatever our jar contains to be readily seen. For those who walk with Christ, the light of the glory of Jesus shines out through our brokenness.

Praise God for our fragile jars. And praise Him that though they crack and wear out from the Master’s use, these are but greater opportunities for His light to shine. Are the stresses of this world pressing down hard? Got any cracks or breaks in your jar?

Then shine!

© 2012 Tim McKenzie – www.OnEveryWord.com

Leave room for God

Posted by Tim

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men” Romans 12:17-18 NASB.

It’s hard to fake this.  We have to be talking supernatural stuff since I prefer the natural.  I like getting even or seeing my “enemy” get what’s coming to them.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cursed someone in my heart if not with my lips or tried to disprove grandma’s saying “two wrongs don’t make a right.”

The end result of this natural tendency is escalation of warfare, bitterness, giving justification to your adversary’s actions against you, and discrediting your testimony.  In short, we get in God’s way.

“Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” Roman 12:19 NASB.

Topos is the Greek word translated “room” and means “a marked off place as a city, village, or location; a parcel of ground – real estate” (it’s the root of our English word “topography”).

It’s as though God has given us a clearly defined area for the real estate of our life.  If we move off our topos in judgment and unforgiveness, we overstep our authority and trespass on His land.  We need to let God be God.  When we take revenge, people hate us; when God judges, people often repent.  So leave room for God.

Similarly, the Bible says, “Be angry and yet do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity” Ephesians 4:26-27 NASB.  Would it surprise you that “opportunity” is also the Greek word topos?  The warning is to not let anger marinate and degrade into a root of bitterness, resentment or hatred thus allowing the devil to move onto your property!

Since your “enemy” is most often being driven by the Enemy, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34 KJV) works well to restore God’s perspective.  So say it.  Be diligent to guard your God-given topos by renewing your heart and mind according to the Word of God and being transformed into those who supernaturally live according to Spirit.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir once said, “Peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us.”  Could it be that peace in our lives will come when we love the Lord more than we hate our enemy?

Where are you currently in God’s way?  Forgive and step aside.  Where have you given the devil an opportunity to camp out on your property?  Forgive and tear down that stronghold.

© 2012 Tim McKenzie – www.OnEveryWord.com

Don’t be outdone by a rock

Posted by Tim

Riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus was showered with shouts of praise, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:38). Enraged, the Pharisees ordered Jesus to rebuke His followers and silence the crowd. Jesus answered, “If these become silent, the very stones will cry out!” (Luke 19:40).  Surely He was exaggerating just to make a point…or was He? God’s Word consistently talks about the seas lifting up their voice (Psalm 93:3), the heavens having a universal voice that goes out to all the earth (Psalm 19:1-3), and mountains singing together for joy (Psalm 98:8). Romans 10:18 even uses the Greek word for “musical sound or note” to describe their “voice.”

Still not convinced?  In a rare glimpse of God’s heavenly throne room, we see a mighty chorus of praise erupt around the throne and ripple outwardly to encompass all of creation:

“Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.’  And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever’” (Revelation 5:11-13).

It may be worth noting that “every created thing” is fairly all-inclusive not to mention the fact that John “heard [them] saying…” God not only created it all, but also gave creation a magnificent voice, a glorious song, a mighty chorus to praise His great Name.

So what about these stones Jesus pointed us to? He could have at least picked doves cooing or lambs bleating, but pebbles? They had to be the least glamorous thing around. But then again, maybe He chose them since they are largely ignored with no apparent voice and yet are foundational to everything!

All things considered, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!” (Psalm 107:2). May we live in such a way that we never cease to sing His praises, tell of His greatness, or speak of His amazing love. Praise is foundational to everything. Don’t be outdone by a rock!

© 2012 Tim McKenzie – www.OnEveryWord.com

When we build

Posted by Tim

As another new year arrives, I have been challenged to consider what I’ve started that still remains unfinished. Many of us like to build and we all have a few unfinished “projects” that we constantly tinker with probably more out of therapy or enjoyment than with an actual end in mind. Those are both necessary and healthy. But I am talking about another kind of construction project: what we are building into the lives of others – about how the next generation of leaders will be impacted because of our labor.

A couple of months ago, my wife bought a set of books on construction and craftsmanship written in the early 1900’s for our middle son who is great with his hands and has always been a builder. But as fascinating as their subject matter, it is the inscription pasted in the front of each book that captures our attention:

“When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think as we lay stone on stone, that a time is to come when those stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us’” ~John Ruskin.

While you may be adding onto your home, building a fire pit at your ranch or sanding down your latest project, I hope you will be moved by a century old inscription as if the ink was still wet to consider what you are building into the lives of others.

I have a feeling we all have some unfinished “building” projects. Sacred stones that still must be strategically stacked. Eternal truths that still must be carefully constructed into the coming generations. Think about the incredible impact you were meant to have on your children and grandchildren…your colleagues and friends – all to the glory of God.

So tell your story. Share your heart. Speak of God’s great love and faithfulness. Teach Truth and impart wisdom. This is your legacy, and it’s a living one. For we are “living stones” (1Peter 2:4-5) and each one of us must be careful how he builds upon the solid rock of Christ’s foundation (1Cor 3:10).

“But as for me, I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness a nd of Your salvation all day long; for I do not know the sum of them. I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone. O God, You have taught me from my youth, and I still declare Your wondrous deeds. And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, your power to all who are to come” (Psalm 71:14-17).

© 2012 Tim McKenzie – www.OnEveryWord.com

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