Question

In Matthew 15:21-28, Jesus said to the Gentile woman whose daughter was tormented by a demon, “I was sent only to help the people of Israel- God’s lost sheep- not the Gentiles.” This quote, along with Jesus’ statement, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs”, portrays a completely different Jesus than what we see in the four Gospels and Paul’s messages in latter books in the New Testament. Can you explain how our loving Christ would speak in these terms? – Barbara

Answer

We read the Scriptures as Americans living in the 21st Century. But we need to recognize that the stories of the Bible took place thousands of years ago in a different part of the world. That means there will often be things which are difficult to understand because of the cross-cultural context. Something that is offensive in one culture may be common in another culture.

Also, when we carefully read the Gospels, we will often find a Jesus that is much more controversial and offensive has been portrayed to us. Certainly, Jesus is the embodiment of God’s love to this sinful world. But that love would lead him to confront sin and be intolerant towards wickedness.

Think about Jesus overturning the table of the money changers. He starts by braiding a whip. Then he trashes the area by tossing tables. It doesn’t sound like something from Jesus. It sounds more like a professional wrestler creating a scene for entertainment. This was not mild-and-meek Jesus. This was get-out-of-my-way Jesus. It may be hard to picture Jesus’ rage in this scene as “zeal for God’s house would consume him.” (see John 2:15-17)

In the Mark 14:14, it says Jesus was indignant towards the disciples who were preventing the little children from coming to him. Being indignant is not a word that I would associate with being “nice.” I picture a scowl on his face as he rebuked his disciples with a tone of disgust.

Jesus also had choice words for the religious establishment. He called them a brood of vipers, hypocrites, and blind guides (see Matthew 23:1-36). In another situation, he called Peter Satan (see Mark 8:33). Jesus spoke the truth. The truth was not always pleasant to hear, but it was what needed to be heard. Compassion is often shown by saying the difficult and unpopular things that may be upsetting.

In this particular story, Jesus confronts this Gentile woman who was described as a Canaanite. The Canaanites were often portrayed in the Scriptures as idolators. They did not worship the Lord, Yahweh. They worshipped man-made idols. They did not seek the Lord. Rather they used idols to manipulate the gods to accommodate their worldly passions and desires.

As a sinner, she was unworthy to ask anything of Jesus. She only came before him as a beggar. Jesus had every right as the Holy God to ignore her and refuse her request. The compassion is that he grants her request. But he does not grant her request because of who she was nor because of what she did. Jesus grants her request because of who he is.

I believe the reason we struggle with this story is that we struggle with the depth of our depravity. God does not tolerate sin. We are not worthy. We are the dogs that are fortunate enough to get the crumbs that fall off the master’s table. But we don’t deserve even the crumbs. We fail to grasp the fact that we are beggars before a Holy God.

The only way we have to come before God is to humbly come before him. That is we mourn and grieve our sin. We should not only expect harsh words. We should expect his temporal and eternal punishment. All we have is to beg of God’s mercy. The truth is we have rebelled against him and offended him. He should cast us all to the pit of hell.

We also need to know that God does not overlook our sin. Our sin is not dismissed as being nothing. The full consequence of our sin is measured out. But the consequence is brought upon Jesus at the cross. He took our place as the dog on the floor so that we could become the children at the table. Our unworthiness is more than we ever imagine. Yet, God’s grace is more than we could ever conceive.

The cross is offensive because it exists. It is needed because I am a sinner. It is something that I don’t want to hear. I would rather have a God passes off my sin as nothing. The cross is offensive because people in this world don’t think they need it. We would rather stand defiant in our sin than beg for mercy.

Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy upon us.

Kathleen asks: “How do I know if I am living the life God wants me to live? How do I know if I am following his path for me?”

Another reader, Vicki, asks: “How do I find my purpose and feel confident it is in his plan? I feel so unsure!”

I received a good number of questions about purpose. The question of why I am here weighs on many. We want to live a life of significance. We want to do what God created us for.

There are three things that I would identify as our purpose. They are:

1. Love God
2. Make disciples
3. Do good

Love God

To further explain, there are a few Scripture passages that I will direct your attention towards. The first is commonly referred to as the Great Commandment.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4–5, ESV)

God calls us to love him. It is to give him our devotion and affection. It is that we make him the priority of our life. We seek to serve him and honor him. This means making worship a priority. It means spending time with him every day by listening to him (reading the Scripture) and talking to him in prayer. It is done by loving our neighbor. Through loving our neighbor, we show our love for God.

Make Disciples

The second verse I direct your attention towards is what we refer to as the Great Commission. Here Jesus says:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19–20, ESV)

The main verb of the Great Commission is “to make disciples.” This is at the heart of our mission as followers of Jesus. Discipleship starts with us. What are you doing to be discipled as a follower of Jesus? How are you learning, growing, and applying the principles of God’s Word in your life? How are you allowing yourself to be challenged in your pursuit of godliness?

As we move beyond ourselves, we look to how we are mentoring, teaching, and encouraging others to be followers of Jesus. You may not teach a Bible class, but recognize that discipleship doesn’t always happen in a formal setting. Some of the most effective discipleship takes place as we live life.

Discipleship happens at the dinner table. It happens in coffee shops. It happens in small groups. It happens as we commute to work. It happens every time we interact with others.

Do Good

The third and final verse I will point out is Ephesians 2:8-9:

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV)

Jesus saved us so that we might do good in this world. And there is much good that we can do. There is much suffering in the world. There are many people who lack. There are many people who are broken. God equips and helps us to make a difference in the lives of others. He empowers us to serve the need.

Instead of focusing on doing the right thing. Look to do good things. Do good things for the sake of the kingdom! You can’t go wrong when you do good for others. You can be so worried about doing the specific thing that God has called you to do that you miss all the good ways he puts before you to make a difference.

The good that God calls you to do is often in your home. He calls us to love our parents, spouses, and children well. It is hard to do good in our world if we can’t do good in our own homes.

Beyond that, most churches have ample opportunities to serve. And if a church does not have an opportunity for you to be put to work, then consider finding a church where you can serve. But don’t limit yourself to the church. There are many needs in our communities and many ways to volunteer and make a difference.

It is not as important what you do. What is important is that you are doing something. And when you set your heart on serving and start doing good in this world, God will make the path clear and open doors of opportunity to make a greater difference.

Get Involved

We live in a nation of consumers. More people are focused on receiving good things than they are in doing good things. You are not going to find your purpose:

• Watching hours of TV.
• Scrolling your Facebook feed.
• Shopping at the mall.
• Cheering your favorite pro sports team.
• Reading the latest and greatest mystery novel.
• Attending a church service and listening to a sermon.

All these activities are consumption activities. It is not that all these things are bad. But most people spend a disproportionate amount of time in consumption activities rather than activities that contribute to making the world a better place. Know that God would have you “do.” To do the good in this world! But so many people don’t “do” because it is too hard, uncomfortable, or inconvenient.

It is easier to listen to music than it is to play music. It is easier to read a book than it is to write a book. It is easier to listen to a sermon than it is to preach a sermon. It is easier to eat cookies than it is to bake cookies. It is easier to be served than it is to serve.

It’s About the Journey

It’s more about the journey than the destination. We sometimes treat our purpose as a destination. We think we are on a journey to discover our purpose. And once we discover our purpose we will find fulfillment in life.

But life is a journey. Our purpose is not something that is found underneath a rock. It is not something that we uncover. We don’t need to fear missing our purpose. Rather than making it about our purpose, make it about God’s purpose. Don’t worry about getting it right. Set your heart on following him. To do that, just ask three questions each day:

1. How am I showing love and affection towards God?
2. How am I being discipling myself and others?
3. How am I doing good?

I am confident that if you start asking yourself these questions, God will direct your steps.

Thank you to everyone who submitted a question to my blog this past week. I have received several dozen questions. Some of the questions were similar. So I may not answer every individual question, but rather combine some questions. I will be looking at one or two questions each week throughout the summer.

Question

I have been told all my life that I need to go to church every week. I would go, but I got nothing out of it. Someone told me you get out of it what you put into it. So what am I supposed to put into it, so I get something out of it? What am I supposed to get from going to church every week? – Holly

Answer

Holly, the first thing I want to say is that God does not call us to go to church. He calls us to be the Church. A big part of being the Church is attending worship with fellow believers. It is hard to be the Church if we are isolated from one another and do not gather on any consistent basis.

To go along with that, the idea of attending worship should not be about what we get out of it. Worship is about what we give. We gather to worship God. We give God the gift of our praises through song. We bring him tithes and offerings. These are ways we honor him for his amazing love and sacrifice. So we put into worship our time. We put into worship our voice. We put into worship our financial gifts. We put into worship our attention and energy. All these things are done, not to get something out of it, but to give glory to God.

Another thing, look for ways to contribute beyond simply showing up. Worship is not like a typical American consumer experience. Rather, it is the community of believers coming together with a common purpose. Each person has a role to play.

Every Sunday, our local church has ample opportunities to serve. We have people who serve as ushers and nursery workers. There are Sunday School teachers and sound techs. There are Praise Team members and Scripture readers. Ideally, it would be great if every person would find one way to serve on a Sunday morning. The life of faith is not to sit in a pew, but rather exercising our gifts and abilities with other believers for the building of the kingdom.

If you attend a church where there is not an opportunity to serve, then you might consider finding a different church. I am not an advocate of church-shopping. But if you don’t have a way to make a meaningful contribution to the ministry of said church, then I don’t believe you are where God would have you be.

Furthermore, serving does not mean we don’t get anything out of it. You may not always see the benefit of the discipline at the moment. For example, we know it is good to eat healthy food. When you choose to have a salad instead of pizza, you may not think you gained much from this choice. You may wonder what the benefit was. The salad does not taste nearly as good as the pizza. And the salad did not make you feel any better.

In our culture of immediate gratification, we look for quick fixes and immediate results. But the most beneficial things in our lives come through disciplined commitment and consistent habits. The benefit of a salad instead of the pizza does not come from making that choice one time. Instead, the benefit comes from making that consistent choice repeatedly.

In a similar fashion, it may feel more satisfying to sleep in or go to the beach on Sunday morning instead of gathering with fellow believers. But a consistent disconnection from the family of faith will leave us disconnected God. When we honor God, by consistently giving him the first hours of our week, the bond with our Lord will strengthen over time.

When we miss worship, we also miss out on the Sacrament. When Jesus gave his body and blood through the bread and the wine, he said, do this often. By faith, we receive the presence and power of God in our lives when we encounter the bread and the wine. What you may be failing to connect is that conflict with a spouse, a feeling of being overwhelmed and anxiousness, the anger and resentment that has been building towards your boss at work are the consequence of a disconnect with God. So many of our challenges difficulties in life are caused because we lack a deep and meaningful relationship with the Lord.

When we miss worship, we also miss an opportunity to pray with others. Maybe the illness or pain I am suffering is because I have not called upon the elders of the church to anoint me with oil and pray with me. I know a lot of people who could have saved a lot of money along with trips to the doctor if they had seen prayer as their first option rather than their last resort. Certainly, you can pray on our own. But so many promises of God connected to prayer involve the community.

Finally, if you are going to worship because you “got to,” then you are going for all the wrong reasons. Worship is a “get to” experience. We should not approach worship as an obligation to “please” God so that he will be generous and gracious to us. Worship is a response to what God has already done for us. When our faith is placed in Jesus as Savior, the desire to worship with others is the natural result. And if you do not have the desire to worship, then consider if it is Jesus in whom your faith is placed. We all worship something, the question is not if we worship, but what it is that we worship.

So why do you believe it is important to attend worship on Sunday morning with fellow believers? Please share in the comments section.

This weekend felt like being on a roller coaster. There were hills and valleys, ups and downs, highs and lows. On Saturday, we prepared more than 110,000 meals for children in Haiti. I am especially proud of this accomplishment. We are a little church, but that is a big number. We coordinated more than 500 volunteers for this event. That is five times the number of people we typically worship on Sunday morning. It was truly a work of God in the raising of the funds and the lifting up of so many volunteers. I am overwhelmed. A big thank you goes out to many of you who donated from some far away places.

After the high from Saturday, came Sunday. We went from a highest high to a difficult low. We have been working hard to negotiate the sale of our church property. It has been a long process, drawn out over 18 months. Unfortunately, I had to announce to our congregation that after all that time, the plans to sell our church property fell through. We were unable to come to an agreement with the other party.

I was disappointed because I believed in my heart that God had been preparing me as a leader for such a time as this. I believed that we were ready as a congregation to take a bold step. I had dived head first into this brave new future without looking back. You might have noticed that my attention to this blog has suffered the last year as a result.

What an emotional roller coaster! To go from such a great success one day and to face such disappointment the next. Through it all, I am reminded that our plans may fail but God’s purpose remains.

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. Proverbs 16:9 (ESV)

I love that verse. We often make our plans and we ask God to follow us. But that is not the way it works. God invites us to follow him. He is already at work and our role is to join him in what he is already doing.

I was convinced that I knew where God was leading us. Yet, it was not meant to be. I am sad. I am frustrated. I am disappointed. But in moments like this, I know that it is time to be still and quiet. When we don’t have the words, the Holy Spirit intercedes in our behalf with groans that words cannot express (see Romans 8:26).

It’s not for us to always have the answers. God does not expect us to have it all figured out. Rather, it is for us to trust his way and his purpose. We believe that he will guide us where he is taking us!

I imagine there was a good reason we needed to go through this experience for what comes next. Often our disappointments, frustrations, and failures will often lay the groundwork for the next chapter. The challenges make us stronger and wiser.

So it is time to turn the page. Onward and upward! There is a brave new future. It’s all in God’s hands. The best is yet to come!