Who’s Driving?

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3: 5-6

Maybe for this New Year, this is one of the most critical questions to answer. You can tell a lot about where you will end up based upon your response. Let’s face it the one behind the wheel determines a number of important decisions. Even with all the ‘back seat drivers we have today in addition to those who want to ride ‘shotgun’, the most important seat is the one who controls the steering, gas and brakes.

Think about it for a second. When you are in control of the steering; I mean really in control of it without compromise or restriction, then that means that the direction and the route you take is in your hands. Not only is the direction in your hands but obviously the destination as well. It only makes sense that the direction and the route will always lead to specific destinations.

Could we be honest? There are many places where God has taken us and probably will do again where we have absolutely no desire to go! Come on … take that façade off! If it was completely up to us we’d rather go fishing instead of stopping by a lot of the ‘Samaritan’ places that God would have us to go.

Not only that but as far as the route we would take to get there … that opens up a whole new realm of disagreement between God and ourselves. Could I confess something? I don’t know the way to go unless God shows me! In fact, in most cases, I need all the clues, hints and instructions that I can get my hands on and that’s why I ask for them often! Why? Because apart from God’s wisdom, I really don’t know the way and I’ve never been to where I’m going before! However, although I don’t know the way; he does. Even better; he is the way!

Not only does he know the way, he also knows the rate of speed I should take to get there. Maybe that’s why the route he takes me on doesn’t always make sense to me at first. Sometime I think I should get somewhere faster and then on the other hand sometimes I’m wondering “Lord, what am I doing here?” “Nobody else is even here yet!”

Have you ever had those “Elijah moments” with God? Yes, clearly, it’s much better to get out of his way and decrease our ego enough to allow God his right to express his wisdom in not only determining the course we take but even the speed we take in getting there. Even when it seems like there is an unnecessary delay; just know that Father knows best. How many times have you seen a terrible wreck somewhere up the road that if you would have left out of the house just a few minutes earlier it could have been you? Have many times have you met a specific person that has proved to be a continual source of joy, inspiration and companionship by ‘accidently’ swinging by somewhere that you had no intention of going? These are only small hints and clues that when Dad drives, he drives a whole lot better than we do.

The last thing to consider about who’s driving is the one whose foot can reach the brakes. I’ll never forget decades ago trying to teach a family member to drive who wasn’t quite getting the concept and it just so happened that we were at the lake in a wide open parking lot … bad choice! To my surprise and alarm I eventually discovered why it wasn’t such a good idea to do this at the lake. Stay with me!  As he sped up, confusing the brake pedal with the gas pedal, right away I knew I was in a bit of trouble! Besides the grace of God it took two things to save us that day: 1. It took all of my lungs to make enough noise to finally get his attention and 2. It took all of my super stretching ability to reach way over from the passenger side and down to the floor to literally stop the car with my hands! I found out then that brakes can be critically important and whoever controls them should be ready and knowledgeable of how to use them! Please put that on your survival list! Yes, I can swim but let’s just say that I didn’t exactly have my shorts on for that occasion!

What am I saying? Good question. Who is in control of the brakes in your life? Who can cause you to stop when you are just about to get ready to get this thing going full speed? Who can cause you to stop on a dime even when you fully intended to burn rubber and peel out of there? Remember; stopping at the right time and in the right place is just as important as both speed and steering!

So, this year in 2012 if you are willing to commit to allowing God as our Father to be the one in the driving seat, it is your guarantee that you will get to all the right places and at just the right times just like you are supposed to. Maybe it won’t be all the places that we would choose but his providential wisdom is a whole lot better than our personal plans. After all he is God!

Isn’t it good to know that we can have someone driving who doesn’t have any blind spots; who can see everything way up on the road even before we get there? Better yet, according to scripture; he doesn’t even sleep or slumber so when we allow him to drive instead of ourselves we don’t even have to worry about road fatigue!

So, I ask you again: who’s driving? If the answer is not God as your father then allow me to suggest that you take action right here and right now and pullover to switch seats!

Prayer: Father thank you for allowing us to ride with you on the journey that you ordained before the foundation of the world was even laid. We relinquish our sometimes overwhelming desire to try to lead you into what we have made up in our minds to do. We no longer want you to bless our way and our will; instead we want to bless you and join you in what you are already doing. Help us each day to be daily reminded that nothing catches you off guard. Help us each day to take comfort in that….to walk with confidence not into ourselves but wrapped up in you . Help us to maintain a heart full of holy boldness in the authority we have when get out of your way and allow you to do the steering and to set our course. May it be well with us in the route that you will choose for us and the speed that you will take in getting us there. As long as we are with you and as long as you are the driver may

Hail Joseph, full of faith even in the desert

Matthew 2:13-14

¹³. . . . Behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.  ¹⁴When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt.

 

 

The original Christmas event had happened. Joseph had faced successfully challenges to his faith, (Mary is with child by the Holy Spirit), his economic stability (relocate your carpentry business to a new town where no one really knows you), his ego (what kind of husband can’t do better than an animal stall for his in-labor wife), and his sanity (shepherds talking about singing heavenly hosts, magi showing up with exotic gifts).

 

Surely he had earned rest.  Hadn’t God indicated that by sending Magi with gold and other expensive gifts? Now, he could buy his own house, expand his construction business. Surely he had the right to say, “enough with the dreams and angels, Jehovah.”

 

Maybe the spiritual reality is that Christmas, when Jesus comes into our world, never ends. Perhaps, the on-going blessings of knowing Immanuel/God with Us, includes constant dangers from Herod and his kind.

 

So Joseph is asked to protect the Messiah, to shield the one who was to restore the throne of David and return the Jews as a world power.  Isn’t that backwards? Shouldn’t the Messiah be protecting him? But that’s not what the angel said.

 

And Joseph, that righteous man, obeys.

 

The Weymouth New Testament says he “roused himself and took the babe and His mother by night and departed into Egypt.” He didn’t argue with God or stall. He got up and got busy—and removed Jesus from a scene of murder and sorrow.

 

Jesus showed us and taught us that a Godly life is about not demanding our rights, about emptying ourselves for the good of others.

 

Joseph did that too. He repeatedly gave up his rights as husband, craftsman and even to an undisturbed night’s sleep, to be faithful to his calls from God.

 

Prayer: God, we are thankful—if not always excited—that you disturb our sleep with dreams and direction. Help us to be prompt to obey, settled in our faith, and confident in our future under your care. Amen

 

René Maciel,

President, Baptist University of the Américas

Hail Joseph, full of servant-based work ethic (Third of four Christmas 2011 meditations)

Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

In our world of gated communities, alarm systems and fear of strangers it can be difficult to relate to the stressful situation Joseph encountered when he and Mary finally made it to Bethlehem.

We likely have been turned away from hotels (or airplanes)  that overbooked and frustrated anger is the emotion most of us assign to this part of the Christmas story.  But the tired couple didn’t go from Holiday Inn to Ramada to Motel 6 to Jacob & Sara’s Breakfast looking for a vacancy.

According to  Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes; Cultural Studies in the Gospels by Kenneth E. Bailey the Greek word translated as “inn” in most versions of the Bible is katalyma which, literally means “a place to stay” and can very easily mean “guest room.” (This is in contrast to the “inn” that is mentioned in the parable of the Good Samaritan, “pandochein,” which is a commercial establishment.)

The typical Palestinian home of the era consisted of two rooms—one of which was reserved for guests. Since Abraham hosted the three angels who announced Issac’s birth, Jewish culture insisted on providing guests with food and shelter. So a good translation could be, “because there was no room in the guest room.”

As Joseph sought shelter, he probably was going from house to house and talking with individuals who were conditioned by culture to say, “welcome, come in,” but constrained by the flood of people coming to register for the tax levy to say, “sorry, we already have as many guests as we can handle.”

Joseph, we can safely assume (without discounting the role of the Holy Spirit), was the one who begged the home owners for shelters, comforted Mary as they roamed the streets, absorbed the rejection and kept his temper in check.  His focus was on finding the best situation for the birth of not-his-son and he finally found a place among the animals.

He too was tired after the journey, a bit homesick and worried about having to start over in a new town. Surely he had reason to think, “I didn’t ask for all of this,” but he did all that was asked of him.

Joseph, that righteous man, is not even mentioned by name in Luke 2:7, yet his effort makes it possible for Mary to “bring forth” the Messiah.

What right then do we have to expect to be commended for doing our Christian tasks? Shouldn’t the reward be that we are part of preparing for Jesus to enter our world?

Prayer: Lord of the guestrooms and the stables in our lives, may our Christmas gifts to you include grateful acknowledgement that the call to serve often (usually?) goes overtime, that responsibilities don’t end with the normal work day, that the reward is God’s “well done” and not fame and fortune. Amen.

René Maciel, president

Baptist University of the  Américas

Hail Joseph, full of steadfastness and strength (Second of four Christmas 2011 meditations)

Luke 2: 1-5

 ¹And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. . . . ³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

 ⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. . . . ⁵with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And Joseph also went up. . .

So much story shielded by so few words!

Already blindsided by the announcement that his intended wife was supernaturally pregnant, already motivated by his righteousness to “do the right thing” and protect Mary, Joseph has another disruption.

Governmental decree requires Joseph to journey from Nazareth to his ancestral home at Bethlehem to register for taxes. Perhaps seeing an opportunity to flee gossip, he apparently decided to make the move permanent (because when the Magi arrive they find the family in a house, not in a stable).

That means he takes his “great with child” wife slowly and carefully on a journey of 70-100 miles.

Joseph accepts the burden without the glory.

What role does Joseph play in the nativity sets in your house?  In the Christmas pageants?  He’s a faithful sidekick at best. Yet he planned the trip to Bethlehem, packed the provisions, counted (and withdrew) his savings, and kept Mary as safe and comfortable as possible—she rode his donkey! (While there is no Biblical citation that Mary rode while he walked, surely that is what happened).  He totally disrupted his life, even moving his carpentry shop to a new city.

What magnificent lessons for us all!

As Believers we should challenge each other to be like Joseph: to serve first, pay the cost and be ready to move geographically and/or emotionally and to keep growing spiritually and as a servant to follow God’s plans for them.

Prayer: Father, help us to listen to your voice as you call us to service, to be willing to move or to stay in ways that most honor and glorify you. Make us servants like Joseph this Christmas 2011.

By René Maciel, president of Baptist University of the Américas

Hail Joseph, full of trust and faith (First of four Christmas 2011 meditations)

Matthew 1: 18-21, 24

 ¹⁸. . . Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.  ¹⁹Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

 ²⁰But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.  ²¹And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. . . .

  ²⁴Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife.

This Christmas season I’ve been drawn to Joseph—the lessons he learned and the lessons he teaches. He is the type of man who would fit in well at BUA, as a student or as a faculty member.

So much is encased by the few words in verse 24 when he “did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him.”

Stunned by the announcement that Mary was pregnant, Joseph prepared to do the right thing—not as determined by his culture, which would have been to renounce and shame her publicly at the least and to organize a stoning party at the extreme, but as dictated by his heart. His innate goodness meant he decided to dissolve the pre-engagement quietly and do nothing to cause Mary pain—even though he had to have been hurt and confused.

But God moved him even beyond that decent response. When he heard from God, he promptly married Mary. But at what cost to his self-esteem, ego and social standing? And what questions did he ask of God? Whatever they were, and whatever the answers, or lack thereof, he did as God told him.

From Joseph we learn to be open to unanticipated and non-logical (from a human perspective) acts of God; to listen to the clear word from God and obey it faithfully.

That is what want for one of my core value at Christmas.

By René Maciel, President of Baptist University of the Américas

When it comes to tabernacles: “Just You Jesus”

Matthew 17:1-5 (NIV)

 ¹ After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. ³ Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.  ⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”  ⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

How many tabernacles would you have made if you had been there?

More importantly, how many tabernacles are you building up in your life right now? One for mom; one for dad; one for uncle Charlie and one more for your favorite football  team!

When you think about it, believer and unbelievers alike, we all are the tabernacle building kind. We consistently show an inner desire to pay homage to those things or persons that we feel inwardly connected to and hold in high esteem.

For some it is our institutions. For others it may be our parents, friends or family members. Still for others it may be some sports team, a particular athlete or a coach. It could even be an idea, a political view or some form of spiritual conviction that separates us from those who believe otherwise.

The thing about tabernacle building that we should be careful about, however, is that only our Savior is worthy of certain  types of accolades. Sometimes, unfortunately, we move other beings much too far into the divine category. Oh, in most cases we mean well, but we, somehow, like Peter, James and John get our signals crossed.

Maybe we do have good intentions and we are merely trying to give honor where honor is due but we have to be careful to make the distinction between the creator and his created. Eventually, at some point we have to realize that there is absolutely no one else in His category.

In other words; No one can save us like He can! No one can reach us; no one can love us; no one can help us; no one can complete us; no one can comfort and guide us like He can; no not one!

That’s why we must learn to give Him the highest praise reserved for no one else. That’s why the tabernacles that we build should have only His name on it.

So, let’s correct whatever mistakes we may have made in the past. No need for guilt, let’s just get this critical area right. We are in good company with Peter, James, and John.  When the smoke clears; let’s tell our Lord; “Just You Jesus.” [Matthew 17:1-13]

Prayer: Father, help me today to trust you in all things. Give me the strength to allow you to tear down all the walls that keep me from you. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

By Rev. Mel Keyes, BUA student and pastor of Joshua House of Worship in San Antonio, Texas

www.joshuahouseofworship.org

When God intervenes without rescuing

I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  John 17:13-15 (NIV)

Have you ever wanted to yell out “Get me out of here!” when you found yourself in a boring meeting, an embarrassing situation, or a frustrating experience?  Have you ever felt a quick escape would be the best answer to your pain or problem?

Jesus’ prayer for his disciples in John 17 leaves out a plea of “Father, get them out of here!” and closes the lid on escape hatch rescues. Earlier, Jesus had promised that “in this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33, NIV). Jesus could have whisked the disciples out of the world and away from trouble.  Instead, Jesus asks of the Father “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world” (John 17:13a, NIV).

It wasn’t a secret prayer either.  “I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them” (John 16:13, NIV).  Jesus wanted the disciples – and you – to hear his prayer and know that a full measure of joy would be available even when an escape from the world is not.

How can we have joy without escape?

Jesus’ prayer went on to ask “protect them from the evil one” (John 17:13b, NIV).

Escaping trouble is not the only means to experience God’s intervention on our behalf.  God extends His protection to us in the midst of trouble.  And not just from the “evil one.”

God’s truth protects us from deception.  His strength protects us from weakness.  His peace protects us from anxiety.  His grace from self-destruction.  His presence from loneliness.   Even sin and death succumb to His protection – “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55, NIV).

Do you think that you would feel better if you could just “get away from all of this?”  Instead of looking for life’s ejection seat lever, join Jesus in his prayer.  Ask God for His protection today.

Prayer: Lord, in the midst of my trouble, help me to experience You and the full measure of Your joy.

By Jesse Rincones, a BUA trustee, pastor of Alliance Church in Lubbock and President of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas.