Considering the Lilies: The importance of the name

True Lily

"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the  grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!                                            (Luke 12:27-28 NASB)

In case you're just stopping in, we've been considering the lilies for the last few days. We began by considering the lily bulb, and  lily propagation. Yesterday, we considered the lily's disposition. Today, we turn to the topic of true lilies.

I've learned a surprising fact about the lilies in my garden. They aren't lilies. I've called them lilies for years. The landscaper who sold them to me called them lilies, but they are simply not lilies, no matter what we've called them. As it turns out, only plants in the genus Lilium are lilies. True lilies grow from the bulb we considered earlier, with overlapping scales. Leaves grow around the stem in a spiral pattern and the flowers always have six petals and six anthers. (1) 

Daylily

Daylilies, on the other hand, grow from a tuberous bulb with leaves growing in a clump at the base of the stem. Instead of six petals, the daylily flowers have three petals and three sepals. 

One of the most striking differences between lilies and daylilies is that the true lily bloom persists for a week or so but the daylily bloom only lasts a single day.

Not every flower that bears the name lily is one. In that same way, not everyone who bears the name Christian is one. In our culture, the person who attends a Christian-oriented church is called a Christian. The person who was reared in a "Christian home" is called a Christian. This is done in much the same way that a person reared in Mississippi might call themselves a Mississippian. Sometimes a person who has conservative values is called Christian.

Dictionary.com reflects our changed culture. Christian is first defined as "derived from Jesus Christ". The fourth definition is "exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ", but the remainder of the definition includes "decent, respectable" and "human, not brutal, humane". It's no wonder we're confused.

Acts 11:26 tells us that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians at Antioch. It was a name given them by the Gentiles, and it was used for people who lived their lives according to Christ's teachings. They were strict adherents of The Way, people willing to die for their faith. 

These first "Christians" were people who persisted in their faith despite persecution and tremendous opposition. There was nothing casual about their faith. They were not occasional attenders or merely adopting the faith of their parents. They had staked their lives on their belief in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God.

When Jesus called people to be disciples, He told them "Follow Me." That's what disciples do. Follow their master. If we are true Christians, we are followers of Christ. We study His words and obey them. We persist in faith even in the face of opposition. We press on even when it's hard.

Disciples don't pick and choose which part of Jesus' teaching fits our thinking. If I am a Christian, I adapt my life to fit His teaching. He is my standard.

It's a matter of relationship. We serve a living Savior, a risen Lord. He is with us, by His Holy Spirit, every day, every moment. Our job is to please Him with our words, our actions, our thoughts. Are we perfect? Certainly not, but our goal is to constantly become more like Him. 

Being a Christian is not simply being decent and respectable. It's not about making moral choices. It's about laying down our lives and following Jesus every day for the rest of our lives. 

For today, let's pause to consider our own perspective on life. Am I a church-attender or a Christ-follower? Am I a moral person or one transformed by the Blood of the Lamb? 

Am I simply a decent, respectable person or am I a follower of Jesus? 

There is a difference and it makes all the difference. In this world and the next.

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Our Father, who lives and reigns in Heaven, holy is your name. Show me my heart as you see it and reveal my motivations and priorities. I choose to follow Jesus. Help me to relinquish my life to you. Help me to live for you and not merely to please myself. In Jesus' name, Amen.

(1)http://gardening.about.com/od/perennials/qt/Lilies-versus-Daylilies.htm
images courtesy of freeimages.com 
http://www.freeimages.com/photo/pink-stargazer-lily-1199018
http://www.freeimages.com/photo/wild-daylily-1369652

My morning confession: Tongue-taming

For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.

But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. (James 3:2, 8-10 NASB)

Yep. Another detour. It's a morning confession. You may have thought that the post from yesterday, about not saying anything if you couldn't say something nice, was for you. It wasn't. It was for me. I read it several times, because I knew it was for me, but, before I could turn around, the day began to unfold.

So that I don't have to repent again for the many-ith time, all I will say is that I had repeated encounters with someone, and they did not go well. The first time, I managed to keep my cool but grumble to the Lord. The next time, I got tense. I was calm on the outside, but very upset on the inside, which is where God sees. That's the place that matters most. It went downhill from there. (You might not view this as downhill, but I do.) 

I grumbled all day long about the situation. I repented over and over again. Last night, as I reported in to my writing group with my daily word count, I realized that all the grumbling had severely affected my productivity. In my report, I wrote, "I need some time at the foot of the cross and an attitude adjustment." It was true. Finally, at the end of a long grumbly day, that's exactly where I went and what I received. After I dried my tears of repentance, I thought, "Why did I waste all that time grumbling when I could have left this at the cross?"

No one can tame the tongue except God, and it's quite a job. Maybe you're a little like me in this tongue problem, but let's take it to the cross and try to be done with it. No matter the situation, it is never the right thing to speak ill of someone. It is never the right thing to grumble to others about someone. It's never the right thing to hold onto our anger all day while we fret and fume. I know this from experience.

With all that said, I'm determined to be more faithful with the way I use my tongue today. I'm going to bless instead of grumble. I'm going to leave it at the cross, and I invite you to do the same. 

If we are disciples of Christ, we must do what He wants. Jesus is shockingly clear. Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. That translates into praying for the most aggravating, irritating person in your life. Pray until you love them. I'm doing that now. In fact, let's do it together. 

Just think what God could do with our sacrifice if we stopped grumbling and loved the most unlovely people in our lives. It would take a miracle of tongue-taming, of course, so let's give our tongues to the only Tongue-Tamer, who can transform our words and, through them, change the world.

The Journey, part 10: The Rejection

And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them." (Luke 9:5 NASB)

As the twelve assembled for their instructions, they were likely filled with anticipation. Jesus was sending them out with power and authority. They were going to do the things Jesus had done, and everyone knew that what Jesus did was very exciting. Perhaps they felt as if they were on the brink of fame, of becoming first century "superstar" evangelists. People were going to receive them and provide for them, just like they did for Jesus. This journey business was going to be fun!

Everything sounded good until Jesus added a little postscript. "And about those who reject you..." He said. Reject us? What happened to those receiving us? "About those who do not receive you," Jesus went on to explain. It turned out that not everyone would embrace the twelve, nor the truth they hoped to share. Some people would actually reject them. Considering what happened to first century people labeled as heretics, they probably thought, "This might not go so well." 

The response Jesus recommended to rejection was a little surprising. They were not to stay and argue with the rejecters. They were to leave that town and shake the dust off their feet as they left in symbolic testimony against them. Jesus had given them power over demons but not every battle, not even every spiritual battle, was theirs to fight. Sometimes, they were to walk away. 

There is a tendency to feel a sense of relief that the twelve were not required to stay and suffer through the rejection and humiliation it could bring. It gives us hope for avoiding similar situations, doesn't it? If we aren't careful, though, our relief will cause us to overlook a tragic fact. The rejecters were costly to their town. When the twelve encountered those who rejected them, they were to leave. When they left, no one else in the town would hear them preach the truth of Jesus. No one else would experience the healing they had come to give. They might find His truth elsewhere, but it would not be from the messengers Jesus had sent. 

When you consider the implications, the price of their rejection of Jesus is heartbreaking! We see this and are appalled that a few could cost the rest such an important gift, but do we stop to consider what our own rejection of truth costs us? What it costs those around us?  When we embrace the truth of Christ, it changes us and makes us more like Him. When we reject His truth, even portions of it, it changes us, too. Forgiving your enemies is not optional for believers, but it is a principle that is often rejected. When we live a life of unforgiveness, it affects everyone around us. 

A careful Holy-Spirit-powered inspection  of our lives is in order. Let us carefully consider the ways in which we reject truth, the ways in which we fail to live as Christ would live. As we consider our own rejections, let us not lose sight of the price those rejections of truth will exact for the ones most dear to us. May we embrace the truth of our Lord and demonstrate it by the purity of our lives so that all those who know us will be drawn to Him. 

Let us live "the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth, so help me, God."

Apostles and Disciples: the choice (Luke 6:13)

And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: (Luke 6:13 NASB)

The Greek word translated as disciple here is mathētēs. It literally means "learner" and can also mean one who follows the teaching of another. The word translated as apostles is apostolos and it literally means "one sent forth" or a messenger or delegate. Jesus had "a great multitude" of disciples by this time. Many people were following Him, listening to His teachings, and taking them to heart. 

Of all those people, Jesus picked only twelve to be apostles. What He needed were men with the commitment, understanding, and stamina to go throughout Israel and teach His truth, carry His message. He needed men He could trust, men who would not let Him down. 

I would not have picked the group He picked, but Jesus had help choosing. Remember, He had just spent the entire night praying about His choice. The twelve men He selected would be His messengers to take the Good News of Christ throughout the world. These men had the toughest job, but the sweetest reward. They had the closest contact with Jesus. They knew Him best. 

Just before Jesus returned to Heaven, He gathered these friends together and gave them their final marching orders. I think those are our final instructions, too. 

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 28:19, 20 NASB)

There were two kinds of followers surrounding Jesus. Some were learners and some were messengers, taking the good news of Christ to all they saw. Which are you?

Pray today for a willingness to become a messenger of Jesus. Pray, too, for the words to share Christ with loved ones in a way they can understand and embrace. 

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Here's the link to last night's Lenten devotional in case you missed it:

http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/03/lenten-series-4-noah.html

Maggie's Turn: Levi Meets Jesus

Sometimes grown ups tell stories in the most complicated way. They love all those details. Wonder Dogs, however, like the basics. My mama has been writing about when Levi and Jesus became friends. She's gonna take days to tell it, so I thought you might like the Maggie version. 

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Levi worked collecting the taxes. No one liked to pay taxes, so they didn't like him either. He had a lot of money, but he was sick of his job. He didn't know what to do. 

One day, Jesus came in to His office. Jesus looked around and said, "Levi, this is a terrible job for you! Aren't you sick of this yet?" Levi looked around, too, then said, "Yes I am!!" Jesus just laughed out loud and said, "Great news! Why don't you come with Me? We will have a God-adventure together!" Levi thought that was a super idea! He hopped out of his chair, headed out the door with Jesus and never looked back. 

Levi was so glad to have his new friend that he had a huge party to let all his friends know. Jesus was so nice! He laughed and visited with everyone at the party. They wanted to be friends with Jesus too!

If you haven't met Jesus yet, you should! He is super nice and lots of fun!

Wonder Dogs like a simple point. Here it is:

Make friends with Jesus. 

He's where all the adventure begins!

The end. By Maggie the Wonder Dog

Faces in the Crowd

One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. (Luke 5:17 NASB)

We are just beginning the story of the paralytic whose friends brought him to Jesus. To set the stage, Jesus was preparing to teach, and a crowd was assembled. News had spread throughout the land about Jesus and there was speculation that He might be the Messiah. There was talk of His miracles and His healing power. 

We will see that some people had come for healing, and some to hear the man they hoped was the Messiah.  Pharisees and teachers of the law had also traveled (on foot) from Jerusalem, Judea, and every village in Galilee in order to hear Him that day. They were not like the murderous crowd in Nazareth, but they were not disciples, either. Most likely, they had come together at an agreed upon time to "check Him out". 

There were several kinds of people in the crowd that day. There were skeptics, critics, disciples, and seekers. There were also likely those who just wanted to be entertained by some miracles.  Some would leave unchanged, but there were a few who would embrace the truth of Christ and be transformed. We approach Jesus in much the same way today.   Some of us are antagonistic towards faith, and some will follow Christ with blind faith in the unseen. Others are earnestly seeking truth and will embrace it with every fiber of their being when truth becomes clear to them. That's the one I want to be.  What about you? Where are you in the crowd around Jesus? 

Today, pray that we and our loved ones will clearly see Christ and His truth, find the answers to all our questions in Him, and follow Him unreservedly and enthusiastically.  

Leaving the Boat Behind (Luke 5:11)

When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him. (Luke 5:11 NASB)

For days, I've been saying, "We will see..." At last we arrive at part of that seeing. 

This is who was seized by amazement:

Simon Peter

All his companions in his boat

James and John the sons of Zebedee

When "they" arrived at shore, they left it all and followed Jesus. We don't know whether or not Simon's companions were among the leavers but we do know that James and John were. The three business partners stepped out of the boat and walked away. The word for leaving here is also used to denote divorce. They made a complete break with fishing. 

Let's look again at what they left. They stepped out of the boat and left "it all" behind. What else was there? All their "stuff", including nets, fishing tackle and gear, and (don't forget) that miraculous catch of fish. I imagine one of the companions arranged for the disposition of the fish and for the distribution of the proceeds from the sale, but we don't know that for sure. What we do know is that their possessions and their wealth paled in comparison to Jesus. 

These three men walked away with a miracle-working preacher who they hoped was the Messiah. They almost certainly  imagined a political kingdom and a return to the days of King David, and for a while that would seem a real possibility. These men changed their lives forever with their decision that day. Old ways were passed away. Behold, new things had come. Paul would write about that change in the believer years later, but Simon Peter, James, and John were among the first to experience it. 

What is amazing is that, more than 2000 years later, the same kind of change is still possible, and we are still called to leave the "old things" and the old ways behind. Is there anything from your life before Christ that you need to leave behind?

Today, pray that we and our loved ones will willingly walk away from whatever keeps us from Jesus and will embrace His truth, His righteousness, His ways.