11/7/2022
Ben Kay
has written about things to remember before you vote. He says that in any election, voters are
seeking—consciously or subconsciously—for someone to step into the role of
messiah. A candidate who will right
wrongs, wield power for good.
This
belief in messiah did not originate in politics—it is deeply rooted within the
core tenets of Judaism and Christianity. American Christians embrace Jesus in this
role. For many, however, his messiahship
is limited to the spiritual realm. This
viewpoint ignores a fundamental truth about Jesus’ life and work: while Jesus did not fulfill the Jewish
expectation of a political messiah, his teachings were anything but apolitical.
First-century
Palestine was a raging political firestorm. The Romans violently conquered the known world
and then quite brilliantly, rebranded their hostile takeover as the Pax Romana,
the Peace of Rome. Smaller nations like Israel were caught in the crossfire and
had little choice but submission. Once
the Romans established a new government, polarizing Jewish political parties
grappled for what scraps of power remained.
The
Pharisees honored tradition. They
resisted political and religious change and fought for the preservation of
Jewish culture. They were self-appointed
guardians of law and life and are often seen confronting Jesus and his
followers around issues of politics and faith.
The
Zealots were violent extremists who engaged in a guerrilla style campaign to
overthrow the Pax Romana. They sought to
expel the Empire from Palestine through the use of force.
The
Essenes chose the way of the desert. They
removed themselves from the polluted culture and built self-contained
communities far from the corruption of the city centers. They sought peace with God and humanity
through isolation.
The
Sadducees were opportunists who embraced the reigning political regime. They operated as the political and religious
elite, ever-posturing to the foreign political epicenter. Their cooperation with Rome helped them
maintain an oppressive grip over political and religious life.
The
political friction these parties created was palpable. Every faction had a competing agenda and while
they all sought Jewish independence, their beliefs were fundamentally
irreconcilable. The resulting spectrum
spanned from bloody revolution to cultural escapism.
Into this
hostile climate stepped Jesus. Revolution in the air as thick as smoke, a
polarized country threatening to tear at the seams and on the brink of war with
one of the most powerful empires in history.
It is
important we recognize Jesus had political options, in some respects more even
than you and I. However, when pressured
to choose a party, he rejected the options available to him. The messiah walked away from every political
faction and chose instead to model a new way to be human, to declare the
inbreaking of a new kingdom.
Jesus
condemned the legalism, violence, escapism, and posturing of the political
parties. In its place, he offered a
different path—another way to politic. This
alternate path didn’t fulfill the political expectations of his audience—a
people longing for a king to overthrow Rome. To them, his kingdom was too radical to be
realistic, too weak to be strong, too deferential. Ultimately, he was discarded as a political
option and replaced by the party who offered a more practical way to end the
tyranny. What resulted less than 40
years later was a war waged that could never be won and the utter destruction
of a nation.
Jesus is
tolerated by many within the American church today as a Savior who has little
to offer in the way of politics. His
teaching is relegated to the private and the spiritual. As a result, many are left searching for a
political messiah, a Chosen One to end the tyranny of the left or the right.
While we
live in a political system that requires our participation, we’ve gone too far
in expecting our leaders to carry a messianic weight that can only crush those
who attempt to bear it. There is only one
Messiah, and He does not share His title. Our misguided expectations leave us
disappointed by politicians who were never meant to fill these God-sized shoes.
How should
we then politic?
1. Set realistic expectations
Your
candidate is not a messianic figure. They
are a human being applying for a job. The
only difference is they’re applying for a job that comes with a thousand
bosses. The job of a politician is
rather simple: to represent you and
serve the public. Like any job, if they
abuse their power or aren’t the right fit, their bosses (you) have the ability
to fire them. If you walk into the
voting booth with the realization you’re voting for a human, not a messiah,
you’re bound to spare yourself future disappointment.
2. Allow Jesus to influence your politics
If you are
a follower of Jesus, his words should influence how you operate in the
political space. Instead of assuming a
candidate’s position, take some time to watch a speech or two. Visit their website and read their beliefs. If you want to go the extra mile and take the
words of Jesus literally, try praying for the politicians who represent your
district, city, state, or country. As
you commit yourself to pray, you will find your thoughts towards these women
and men shifting and aligning with Heaven.
3. Make space for others
It’s
impossible to love those you don’t understand, and it’s difficult to understand
those you don’t know. If you have a
co-worker with different political views, take them out for coffee and learn
more about them. Proximity is a powerful
force for good. The more time you spend
with people who have a different way of life, the more you will find yourself
changed. So why not host a dinner party,
set up a playdate for your kids, or invite the neighbors over for dessert? As you make space in your lives for others,
you will find your mind renewed, and your political perspective enlarged.
4. Have grace for those in power
Public
leadership is a heavy burden. While you
may not agree with those currently in power, most of us would be crushed by the
pressure politicians face on a daily basis. Public servants deserve not just our prayers,
but also our grace. What would it look
like for us to assume the best about those who have taken on this burden? How might that change how we live on a daily
basis?
Following
Jesus should transform our personal and spiritual lives, but his words
shouldn’t stop there—they must seep into our politic. Jesus as Messiah didn’t avoid the muck and
grime of politics—he fearlessly confronted the hypocrisy, corruption, and
oppression of his time not by choosing sides but by modeling a new way to be
human and announcing the inbreaking of the Kingdom of Heaven. We should regard his invitation to this new
way to be human as an invitation to a new way to be political.
-Michael
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11/14/2022
I was asked
if there’s a certain way to pray, especially if it feels like you’re not saying
the right things. Well, there’s not one
right way to pray, but there’s benefit in learning from the prayers of others.
You might
want to read Richard Foster’s book: Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home.
You might
want to pray prayers of people known for their devotion to Christ:
https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/prayer-index/protestant-prayers
You might
want to pray prayers like the ones you can find here:
https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/prayer/
You might
want to check out multiple reading plans about prayer on YouVersion Bible app.
What’s
important is that you actually do pray, whether the words are completely your
own or sometimes the words of others.
For example, today I prayed this prayer written by Henri Nouwen:
Dear God,
I am full
of wishes, full of desires, full of expectations.
Some of
them may be realized, many may not, but in the midst of all my satisfactions
and disappointments, I hope in you.
I know
that you will never leave me alone and will fulfill your divine promises.
Even when
it seems that things are not going my way, I know that they are going your way
and that in the end your way is the best way for me.
O Lord,
strengthen my hope, especially when my many wishes are not fulfilled.
Let me
never forget that your name is Love.
Amen.
-Michael
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11/21/2022
As we enter the holiday season and our social interactions
become more frequent, there’s a likelihood that emotional triggers will surface
for some people. Often there’s an unspoken and unrealistic expectation
placed on “the holidays” that can be problematic. As believers, it’s
important that we guard against this.
In the blog “Worth Beyond Rubies”, Diane Shirlaw-Ferreira
writes about how to deal with holiday expectations.
Unmet expectations in life cause us to be ungrateful.
When we have expectations in life that are met with
something other than what we wanted, it can seem unpalatable to us. We
instead despise it because it didn't meet our expectations.
When we have expectations of people or circumstances that
are not met, we can feel disappointment, disgust, anger, and even resentment.
It could have been that what we got instead would have been
acceptable to us or even made us happy if we hadn’t placed that expectation on
it. But because WE decided what the outcome should be, it was no longer
pleasing to us, even if it was good.
Unmet expectations can cause you to miss a blessing!
What expectations are you placing on people or situations
that are causing you to not enjoy the blessings you receive?
Expectation in the Bible – What Are You Expecting from
God?
Have you been harboring your own expectations of God and
then getting upset when He doesn’t meet those expectations?
Do you have unmet expectations from your prayer life?
Are you expecting Him to answer a prayer the way YOU want rather than just
seeking His will in the situation? Are you looking at His answers, His
blessings, with disappointment just because your expectation wasn’t met?
The God of hope, in His abundant mercy, may be answering
your prayer, but it may not look like what YOU determined it should, so you
feel your prayers go unheard.
However, it may be answered in the way you NEED.
In the process you could be missing the blessing.
Praying in a State of Expectation – Praying like Jesus
Jesus gave us the perfect model of praying with expectation.
It was not an expectation that the powers of the heavens
would suddenly rain down and destroy those who sought His life and that the
hand of the Lord would pluck Him up and take Him out of the great suffering He
was about to experience.
No, it was simple.
Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane crying out to the
Father in prayer. Jesus said: “Father, if You are willing, take
this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Luke 22:42 (TLV)
Unmet Expectations
Jesus didn’t tell God what to do. He didn’t lay out
what He thought it should all look like. And if anyone could, it would be
Him. No, He prayed (and I paraphrase) “If You are willing, take this from
me, but it’s not my will but yours, and I put no further expectation on You
than for You to do Your will.”
Jesus didn’t get upset or angry because He had to go to the
cross in spite of this prayer.
The Son of Man surrendered His will in that moment of His
humanity, that moment of pain and fear, to His Father, and He accepted the
answer God gave.
His only expectation was God’s will.
Often we pray for God’s will to be done, but then get upset
when it is not what we expected. Praying God’s will for our lives should
be more than just a flowery phrase we utter during prayer. It is the
total surrender of our will to His sovereignty.
Not my will, but Yours be done!
How to Deal With Unmet Expectations in a Godly Way
1. Pray – Ask God to reveal to you any expectations
that you may be placing on Him or on the people in your life and trust God to
meet your needs according to His will, not your own!
Keep a War Binder where you can keep track not only of your
prayers but the answers and then your responses to those answers. How did
they make you feel? How can you let God take over?
2. Confession – Confess any times you may have put
expectations on God or other people. Surrender yourself to His will in
all things knowing He only desires the best for you.
3. Journal – Keep a journal each day and examine your heart
to see if there are areas in your life where you have been placing
expectations, especially unrealistic expectations, on people at home, at work,
at church, etc.
But also write down each day what you are grateful for.
Gratitude is the perfect antidote for being upset because things didn’t
go your way.
While a War Binder is centered around prayer, a gratitude
journal will help you to recall the blessings in your life and help you to
practice gratitude in a way that can change how you view times of
disappointment.
4. Be Accountable – Give people permission to let you know,
in a loving way, when they feel you are placing unfair expectations on them
without you becoming defensive. This is accountability, not blaming or
finger-pointing, and shouldn’t be done during arguments as a form of gaslighting.
So, establish boundaries for this accountability. It
should be a loving reminder and not a blame game. Arguments or times of
conflict should be times that are off limits for this – that is just the right
thing to do so it is not taken the wrong way or used as a weapon. It
should always be done lovingly and in a way that helps and not hurts.
5. Give Grace – There may be times when, under other
circumstances, our expectations may have been acceptable, but people may be
going through circumstances that make meeting those expectations difficult.
Try to be cognizant of people’s circumstances and good
things will come out of assuming people have the best intentions. If they
explain to you that they feel over-burdened, give grace and be willing to
change those expectations where possible. Great things will come from
just assuming the best of people.
What ways can you think of to manage not only unmet
expectations but also how to avoid placing those expectations on others?
Bible Verses About Unmet Expectations
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but longing fulfilled is
a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12 TLV
My soul waits in silence for God alone, because my hope
comes from him. Psalm 62:6 CJB
Trust in Adonai with all your heart; do not rely on your own
understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him; then he will level your
paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 CJB
For however many promises God has made, they all find their
“Yes” in connection with him; that is why it is through him that we say the
“Amen” when we give glory to God. 2 Corinthians 1:20 CJB
Have a blessed holiday everyone!
Not OUR will, but God’s will be done!
-Pastor Melody
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11/28/2022
James
Emery White writes that the barracks where Corrie ten Boom and her sister,
Betsy, were kept in the Nazi concentration camp Ravensbruck were terribly
overcrowded and flea-infested.
Corrie and
Betsy had been able to miraculously smuggle a Bible into the camp, and in that
Bible they had read that in all things they were to give thanks and that God
can use anything for good.
Betsy
decided that this meant thanking God for the fleas.
This was
too much for Corrie, who said she could do no such thing. Betsy insisted, so Corrie gave in and prayed
to God, thanking Him even for the fleas.
Over the
next several months a wonderful, but curious, thing happened: They found that the guards never entered their
barracks.
This meant
that the women were not assaulted.
It also
meant that they were able to do the unthinkable, which was to hold open Bible
studies and prayer meetings in the heart of a Nazi concentration camp.
Through
this, countless numbers of women came to faith in Christ.
Only at
the end did they discover why the guards had left them alone and would not
enter their barracks:
It was
because of the fleas.
This
Thanksgiving, give thanks to God for every good and perfect gift (James 1:17),
but also thank Him for how He will use all things for good in the lives of those
who trust Him (Romans 8:28).
In a time
of economic uncertainty, in a time when many are facing physical and emotional
challenges, there can be little doubt that such a trusting prayer of gratitude
will be challenging to consider.
But when
you feel that challenge, take a moment and remember the fleas of Ravensbruck.
And thank
God anyway.
-Michael