You Are Invited

How blessed are those who eat bread in the Kingdom of God! ~ Luke 14:15

There's going to be a party, and all the A-Listers are invited. The best artists and cleverest teachers, the top politicians and even foreign dignitaries, the millionaires and billionaires and zillionaires. A who's-who of who's-who. There won't be a single name on the list Wikipedia hasn't written an article about. 

But they won't come. They'll all be too busy with their lives and their "brands." One just bought a piece of land, and he wants to go check it out. Another is having some recording equipment installed in her new studio; she's anxious to try it out. Things that can wait, but the invitations wind up on the top of the trash. 

So, the host sends out another round. To the local women's shelter and the children's hospital. He invites prisoners and those in crisis and addicts, and even, people like you and me who have trouble paying their bills and sometimes feel overwhelmed at our little lives with big responsibilities. He invites the folks in the nursing home that no one ever comes to visit. He invites the homeless guy who talks to himself because no one else will answer him. He invites the pastor who preaches to an empty church every Sunday and the mom who just wants her child off drugs and off the streets. He invites the man-child and the woman-child who are trapped in the pain of growing up with parents to protect them who did them the most harm. He invites those burdened with shame and sickness and scars the world rejects. He invites them all. And they will come.

Americans, maybe humans in general, miss the blessing in brokenness. It's in those dark places we become desperate for what is good, so desperate we move toward it. Jesus knew that when He was telling this story. The times I have been the most undone by a gift or simple act of kindness is when I was at the end of my rope, unable to visualize any solution to my condition but the kindness and mercy of another. Having resources at hand --even limited resources-- gives us the false sense of self-sufficiency. As poor as the solution is, it is my solution; I have fixed the problem, pulled myself up by my bootstraps. And the kindness and mercy of another lies unwanted, "unneeded" on the top of the trash. It is not until we come to the end of ourselves, in a place where we have nothing to offer ourselves or our situations, where it is of no use to look into our coffers, for they are empty, that we turn to Another, that we even see the presence of Another.

So, be encouraged! If you have wept at the torment of rejection, if you are living daily with the finality of your current diagnosis, if you cannot see the tomorrow for the stack of bills in front of you, if you are weak and powerless and irrelevant and alone, you are positioned perfectly to see the King. Only He's not passing by in some motorcade, waving behind bulletproof glass. He's inviting you to come to His celebration, He is wanting to sit with you and sup with you, He is offering His hand to you. In this life and for all eternity. Blessed are those who eat bread in the Kingdom of God!

Photo courtesy (and bread made by) Rebecca Werner

Review: NIV Student Bible

Yes, another Bible! 

This time BibleGateway Blogger Grid offered a free copy of Zondervan's NIV Student Bible for review. It's a hardcover edition, complete with satin ribbon marker and some really helpful notes from authors Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford. It's three pounds of double-columned, comfort print (even for these old eyes!) and comes with a dust jacket. The notes that accompany the Scriptures range from blurbs that clarify a term or concept, to full-page articles on topics like "Is a War Ever Holy?" or "Final Glimpses of Jesus." There are notes on "100 People You Should Know," and a glossary of people and places mentioned in the supplementary notes. There are helpful indexes of things such as "Well-Known Events" and "Some Notable Psalms," introductory pages on each book of the Bible, a quick reference of Israel's rulers, a subject guide (similar to a topical concordance), and of course, maps. 

The thing I like best about this Bible is, although it is identified as a "student Bible," a moniker that usually describes a Bible geared toward college students and young adults, I think this Bible is suitable for just about anyone. There are three different reading plans described in the beginning pages; they call it a "3-Track Plan." The first track is suggested for those who are maybe just beginning to read Scripture. It consists of fourteen weeks of readings broken into two-week increments, seven different topics. "Passages every Christian should know," is how they are described. It's my opinion, however, this reading plan might be just as helpful for someone who has been reading the Scriptures, but is just beginning to teach, or someone simply looking for a brief study of any of the seven topics. The second track, "A Guided Tour of the Bible," is made up of 180 readings; its goal is "to present the underlying story of the Bible." Each reading is a single chapter of the Bible and its attendant note; and each note ends with an application-type question or challenge. Lastly, Track 3 is a complete Bible reading plan, a chapter each day, alternating between Old and New Testaments. This requires at least a three-year commitment but will result in you having read the Bible cover-to-cover. 

If you are looking for a study Bible that explains things simply and creatively, this is the Bible for you. Its available at FaithGateway and on Amazon. Don't forget to check out BibleGateway for some great study tools and download the Bible Gateway App!

Brokenness Is Worth the Brag

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:7

Have you ever felt the need to brag about something you've done or something you own? Chances are, at the time, you either felt a little out of your league and believed boasting could make you larger, or you smelled someone else's fear or weakness and the survival-of-the-fittest in you took the opportunity to go in for the kill. But have you ever bragged about something you don't have the resources to do, something you will likely never be able to accomplish or own, or something you've done that was a complete flop? In John 10:14, Jesus calls His followers sheep. He says He is the Shepherd and we are His sheep. Well, who wants to be a sheep, right? Aren't sheep incapable of doing much absent their shepherd? Aren't sheep prone to wander and get lost? Imagine bragging about that.

In 2 Corinthians 11:22-12:10, the Apostle Paul does quite a bit of boasting. In the beatings he took. In  voyages scuttled. In failing to win friends and influence people. In making himself a target of robbers and false prophets. In going without sleep or food or clothes. In spending days in jail. In being harassed and harangued. In living day after day with some messenger of Satan which his very own Savior would not remove. What kind of boasting is this?! We are but jars of clay, Paul tells us elsewhere. To be used of our Creator, the Potter for His glory and our good, that we might be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Humbly serving. Loving and esteeming others greater than ourselves. Being emptied of self in this world that we might be filled perfectly by His Spirit in His Kingdom. And the more we are used and broken in His gentle hands, the more His treasure pours forth.

As I was meditating on these verses, I had a vision of someone I love. She was broken, shattered into pieces and thrown onto a garbage heap. She was a worthless vessel possessed by the enemy rather than used for the glory of God. She had been rendered dry and empty, never filled with real treasure, only the meaningless baubles the world has to offer its lovers. Because she had never been filled by the Holy Spirit, when Satan, the deceiver, the father of lies cast her aside, nothing but emptiness met the world. No beauty. No fragrance. No virtue. No treasure. She had bragged in her strength, in her accomplishments, in her value, which is really no sort of strength or success or worth at all. Her intelligence was proven to be the greatest foolishness it could be. Her perfect features as warped and decaying as any flesh. There was void and desolation. I was undone.

But the fear and hopelessness I felt is the product of a lie. I am a vessel of the Holy Spirit and my Father hears my prayers, for myself and for others. I am praying I will continue to hold fast to the truth that God saves all He desires and He is good. I am praying the Holy Spirit will embolden me to pray in faith for this person and others who have not yet come to know Him. I am praying for hearts to be softened and lives to be transformed, that vessels might be filled with the Treasure that is Jesus Christ and broken for Him, His glory spilling out for all the world to see. I can do nothing to rescue this person from herself. She can do nothing that would make her worthy of God's pardon. It is grace upon grace, turning our brokenness into His glory. And that sort of brokenness is worth all the boasting there could ever be!