Ignore

Hebrews 12:25a (NIV) "See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks."

We have all been ignored. I hate it! I would rather have a rousing disagreement or even a verbal battle with someone than to be ignored by them. Usually a person who will engage you in an argument will at least be open to dialogue and you can eventually come to some kind of an agreement in the end. But silence isn't productive and it speaks to me of abandonment, lack of motivation, shutting down, rejection. Now I understand that sometimes there needs to be a period of cooling down, but even that can be done with an explanation like "give me a bit of time first..."

So the author of Hebrews warns us to not refuse to hear the voice of God... not to ignore Him.

My son hurt me severely awhile back. It was right after Church at a lunch with several people and not only did he hurt me but he embarassed me... you could say humiliated me. Hurt with humiliation is a potentially lethal combination to your emotions. In the car, I exploded and he knew how what he did made me feel. We took the rest of the ride home in silence. I went to my room and locked the door, falling into the bed and staying there motionless, struggling.

I knew that God was speaking to me but I was closing my ears, purposefully wallowing in the dirt. I was refusing His voice. Then I heard something slide under my door. I was sure it was a note from my son, but I wasn't "in the mood" yet. I didn't even look. Then I heard the note being drawn back out. It was then slid under my door again a few minutes later. A couple of hours later, I finally got up to read it.

The first part said, "i am sorry" followed by a frowny face and a picture of a broken heart then with "so so sorry sorry Sorry"
The second part of it was what he wrote after I didn't respond and he took the note away and then re-submitted it. "if you don't accept my apologi thats ok Just thro me in the trash"... he is 10 years old.
Manipulation? Of course. Real feelings? Of course! Both.

I refused God's voice and I refused my sons voice. Because of my ignoring of the two, I had made a bad situation worse. I had hardened my spirit towards God and I had harmed my son.

The scripture goes on to explain that God shakes us with His voice in order to shake out of us those things that need to go; much like chaff gets shaken off of grain or rice so that only those things that cannot be shaken remain. Then comes verse 28 which I want to present in two versions:

Hebrews 12:28 (NKJV) "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear"

Hebrews 12:28 (NIV) "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe"

The big difference in the two translations is the word which in english is translated to "grace" in the NKJV and "be thankful" in the NIV.

This is a grace which does not come from God (the more common kind of grace we talk about), but it is a grace or a thankful attitude that we must develop in out own character and spirit. We must become gracious. How do we develop this grace? By serving and worshipping God in reverance and Godly fear (or awe). And so we go back to the beginning of the scripture: we graciously, reverantly and as a form of our worshipful service, refuse to refuse the voice of God. We soften our hearts to let His voice come in and shake us. And not only God's voice, but the voices of those that we struggle with in this life. Everyone has a voice and everyone needs to be heard.

If we don't allow ourselves to be shaken by the voice of God, even by the voices of other people, then our circumstances and our consequences will shake us even more. It is better to be shaken by voices than by consequences.

And then the final verse of this passage seals the deal: Heberews 12:28 (NIV) "for our “God is a consuming fire.”

The implication is this. God is going to burn the chaff. Better let go of it and allow the shaking to get it all out and off or else you are in danger of getting burned.

Father, I need your voice, I want your voice. Help me, help my brothers and my sisters, help your Church. We willingly ask you to shake us, mold us and make us into vessels pleasing to You. Amen

"Bind Up"

The term "bind up" is found in multiple locations in the Bible. God "bind's up" wounds and broken hearts. This is a way of healing which takes time. Wounds (or bones) are bound together or set in place so that they can heal through natural processes and time. Another way the term is used is that you can be bound up in the midst of battle so that you can finish the task even before healing can occur.

We all get wounded from time to time and some of the wounds are incredibly deep. The broken hearted are particularly affected... you can see it in their eyes.

Many suffer because of broken or difficult family relationships or friendships. Others from loss. But some of the most wounded, some of the most broken hearted people that I know are ministers.

I watched a Senior Pastor who I worked with for years, pour his life into one of the men who came to know the Lord in the Church. The guy had been gay for most of his life but experienced true salvation and became a leader. He also succeeded in business in such a way that it was obviously the hand of God. Today, he is married with children. My Pastor met with him virtually every Thursday evening for years and years. He invited him to accompany him for ministry locally and even internationally. But the every Thursday mentoring commitment wasn't the only price my Pastor payed for this guy. He fasted and he prayed for him regularly. I watched him lift this man's name before the Lord on a regular basis. What a price my Pastor payed... Honestly, I have not seen many receive that kind of consistent favor in that form. It was unusual to say the least.

Then came the difficult situation... the mis-understanding. You know what they say... "You don't know that you have a real friend until you survive a real fight." It's not in the Word, but I find it to be true.

This man not only quit the Church, but completely turned his back on Pastor and gave him not just a cold shoulder, but a frigid one. It was a "super snub" for sure. My Pastor never said an unkind word about it but I could see how deeply hurt he was.

To have invested in seen and un-seen ways into the life of somebody just to have them turn with a snap with no grace or understanding is simply heart wrenching. And to then withstand the rumors and lies without lashing back. Not just rumors started by "Johnnie Q. Member", but by a very "credible" person who many would believe. Wow. It's enough to make most people give up.

But God's ministers are not most people. They persevere and overcome. They get their wounds bound up and finish the race, finish the fight, running through the pain, continuing to pour into the lives of those who in the future may reject and snub them. At least the true ministers do.

You may be wondering why this is on my mind. Am I going through something like this? Yes. For about the 20th time so far in my life time. It's fresh and it hurts, and one of the worst things about it is it tries to drag up the memories of the past similar experiences, but Jesus has already visited me and He has been binding me up. He is so faithful and wonderful!

My prayer is that we all will allow the Lord to bind up our wounds and hearts so that we will be able to persevere in pain. Healing will eventually come with time, even if that time is at the end of time as we know it now. But God promises to bind us up so that we will be able to finish the race. Someday we who know Christ will all sit at the same banquet together and there will be no more tears, no more suffering and no more sorrow. As long as we finish well.