Bitterness: The Painkiller Jesus Refused
33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, 34 they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink. Matthew 27:33-34 (NASB)
Gall: 1 a: especially : bile obtained from an animal and used in the arts or medicine b: something bitter to endure c: bitterness of spirit
As I have been studying the Scriptures dealing with unforgiveness, the Lord has been unveiling the “self-preserving” painkillers we as humans turn to in times of hurt and offence. The Scriptures are full of promises, including promises no one wants, such as the promise that we will get hurt and offended by those closest to us. I have found that I don’t get tempted to pick up an offense by people I don’t have close relationship with, no I am tempted to get offended with those that are the most beloved to me.
In times of hurt and personal offence, we have to look to Jesus as we are tempted to pick up the offence and thus tempted to pick up the painkiller called bitterness. Bitterness is birthed out of another soulish painkiller called unforgiveness. Only Jesus holds the healing to our wounded hearts and souls and only the CROSS holds the power of destroying these deceitful painkillers.
As we fix our eyes upon Jesus, we see that on the way to the CROSS, He was offered a painkiller of wine and gall. Upon what appeared to be an act of mercy, Jesus refused the drink. He willingly refused to take anything that would numb His pain. We live in a culture that “at all costs” escapes pain through all sorts of pain reducers. Go to the drug store and walk down the multiple isles of “pain relievers” that line the shelves.
Let me ask you some question: When the pain comes, how do you survive? What do you turn to in order to reduce the pain? Do you drink the soulish painkiller of bitterness birthed from unforgiveness or do you refuse to allow your soul the opportunity to escape pain. Do you operate in self-preservation and choke those around you until they pay you back? Do you let bitterness eat at the core of who you are and thus destroy the work of grace Jesus has done inside of you?
I suggest we go to the CROSS with Jesus. He refused the cup of bitterness as he drank the cup of His Father’s wrath. Imagine, he refused one cup (the painkiller) only to exhaust another cup (God’s wrath)! See Jesus desires us to bring to Him an offering…a freewill offering. He desires us to pour out our bitterness upon Him, because He already endured it. He knows that this painkiller will ultimately destroy us. He knows that this painkiller will only lead to others becoming spoiled by our bitterness. He knows what it is like to suffer to the depth of perfection in regard to having those closest to Him offend Him and turn upon Him. YET, He refused to drink the cup of bitterness, so that you and I would not have to drink this cup of poison.
As Jesus hung on that cross, He was able to strike a death blow to these painkillers of unforgiveness and bitterness as He cried out these words, “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing!” As you read this, begin to refuse the cup of bitterness. Don’t drink from this inferior offer of pain reduction! Look to the CROSS and displace the bitterness by drinking from the cup of mercy and grace…forgive those that have hurt you! Release them from the debt they owe you. They will never be able to “pay you back.” Offer up to Jesus an offering that is acceptable to Him…take the cup of bitterness and give it to Him, certainly He will know what to do with it. Certainly it will be swallowed up by His grace and forgiveness!
Pastor Bryan
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Last Chance
Last Chance!
Today is a day that God has providentially set apart for His purpose. Once the votes are cast we will be left to prayerfully watch and listen as the results come in. As a Christian, I have no choice but to a TRUST in God’s sovereignty when it comes to this election. Don’t misinterpret what I am communicating, I don’t believe in just taking my hand off of the wheel and simply and politely praying, “let Thy kingdom come, let Thy will be done as it is in Heaven,” no I have been praying specifically for Him to move in a very specific direction, yet there is a time to TRUST Him in His foresight and divine wisdom to simply move upon His people (saved and unsaved) to fulfill His purpose in the EARTH, not just the United States. That means we will have to accept the results and “put our hand to the plow and not look back.” Today, regardless of the results, is not a day to think in terms of victory or defeat. No today is a day to take up the Biblical posture of “standing still” and seeing the hand of the Lord move upon His people.
As Christians, we tend to be myopic and very short-sighted when it comes to moments like today. We tend to look through our political lenses all the while sometimes missing the kingdom perspective of our Lord Jesus. I believe now is the time to continue to pray, but pray for the courage and stamina to submit to the next President and when the results come in, to be a people who doesn’t sit back apathetically now that the results are in, but be those who will actually step up to the plate and say “here I am Lord, send me…use me!”
The results of this election will give a clear and wonderful direction to us as a people! We will now have new marching orders and a clear understanding of how now to pray and operate. I am reminded of Psalm 37 as I write this…the psalmist says, “…fret not, it leads only to evil doing.” The entire Psalm is a declaration of trust and assurance in the Providence and goodness of the Lord. The Word is very clear that whoever our leaders are, we are deserving of them. Meaning, they are simply a reflection of US as a people. No matter what your political bent, can you as a man or woman of God look into the mirror and let God illuminate how you can better govern yourself, so as not to have to rely upon a man or woman to bail us out or save us!
Cast your vote! Let it be a vote of trust to our great Sovereign. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASB)
Pastor Bryan Schwartz
Today is a day that God has providentially set apart for His purpose. Once the votes are cast we will be left to prayerfully watch and listen as the results come in. As a Christian, I have no choice but to a TRUST in God’s sovereignty when it comes to this election. Don’t misinterpret what I am communicating, I don’t believe in just taking my hand off of the wheel and simply and politely praying, “let Thy kingdom come, let Thy will be done as it is in Heaven,” no I have been praying specifically for Him to move in a very specific direction, yet there is a time to TRUST Him in His foresight and divine wisdom to simply move upon His people (saved and unsaved) to fulfill His purpose in the EARTH, not just the United States. That means we will have to accept the results and “put our hand to the plow and not look back.” Today, regardless of the results, is not a day to think in terms of victory or defeat. No today is a day to take up the Biblical posture of “standing still” and seeing the hand of the Lord move upon His people.
As Christians, we tend to be myopic and very short-sighted when it comes to moments like today. We tend to look through our political lenses all the while sometimes missing the kingdom perspective of our Lord Jesus. I believe now is the time to continue to pray, but pray for the courage and stamina to submit to the next President and when the results come in, to be a people who doesn’t sit back apathetically now that the results are in, but be those who will actually step up to the plate and say “here I am Lord, send me…use me!”
The results of this election will give a clear and wonderful direction to us as a people! We will now have new marching orders and a clear understanding of how now to pray and operate. I am reminded of Psalm 37 as I write this…the psalmist says, “…fret not, it leads only to evil doing.” The entire Psalm is a declaration of trust and assurance in the Providence and goodness of the Lord. The Word is very clear that whoever our leaders are, we are deserving of them. Meaning, they are simply a reflection of US as a people. No matter what your political bent, can you as a man or woman of God look into the mirror and let God illuminate how you can better govern yourself, so as not to have to rely upon a man or woman to bail us out or save us!
Cast your vote! Let it be a vote of trust to our great Sovereign. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASB)
Pastor Bryan Schwartz
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
HE DIDN'T SAY A WORD!
7 He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn't say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence. 8 Justice miscarried, and he was led off— and did anyone really know what was happening? He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people. Isaiah 53:7-8 (MSG)
Note: the Message is a paraphrase of the Bible, not a word for word translation, nor a phrase for phrase translation. The author chose to use this paraphrase to illustrate a point, not to point to the original language.
As humans we struggle immensely with self justification, especially when it comes to getting wounded or hurt. If we can justify why we are hurt then we can simply put up our convenient walls of “self preservation” and shirk the responsibility of actually having to work things out. What happens many times is we “dehumanize” people, thus making it much easier to defend ourselves and easily reject others.
Imagine if Jesus (who had Divine Right to feel justified in His hurt) had looked to us as humanity and approached His call, death by love, with an attitude of self justification. We see just the opposite. We see a brilliant Rabbi who continually lived and taught about self-renunciation. We see an anointed (by the Holy Spirit) God-man who habitually exercised His choice of denying His self justification, so much so that even when He was being tortured, beaten, mocked, falsely accused, etc that he DIDN’T SAY A WORD!
The proof of our self justification many times is our sinful habit of defending ourselves verbally. What is usually our instinctive reaction when accused (falsely or honestly), offended, hurt or mishandled? Is it not our soul immediately dipping into the reserve of our sinful nature and quickly jumping to the defense of self? Of course it is. We are a self justifying people who have simply missed the centrality of the cross. We, especially Charismatics, are notorious for ignoring the cross and substituting it with the person of the Holy Spirit. If we miss the cross we miss Jesus…if we miss Jesus we miss true freedom from self or death to self.
What if we imbibed the truth of what it really means to deny ourselves the right to be right? We might actually experience pure joy and a pure love for others. It is time for the people of God to understand what it means when Jesus, without a thought for His own welfare, intentionally laid down His privilege, defense and self justification. Again it was a death by love. It was His immense love for you and I that drove Him to such extreme measures.
Today, maybe look into the mirror of your soul and investigate how much evidence you have stored up in order to defend yourself, especially when it comes to getting hurt by those closest to you.
Pastor Bryan
Note: the Message is a paraphrase of the Bible, not a word for word translation, nor a phrase for phrase translation. The author chose to use this paraphrase to illustrate a point, not to point to the original language.
As humans we struggle immensely with self justification, especially when it comes to getting wounded or hurt. If we can justify why we are hurt then we can simply put up our convenient walls of “self preservation” and shirk the responsibility of actually having to work things out. What happens many times is we “dehumanize” people, thus making it much easier to defend ourselves and easily reject others.
Imagine if Jesus (who had Divine Right to feel justified in His hurt) had looked to us as humanity and approached His call, death by love, with an attitude of self justification. We see just the opposite. We see a brilliant Rabbi who continually lived and taught about self-renunciation. We see an anointed (by the Holy Spirit) God-man who habitually exercised His choice of denying His self justification, so much so that even when He was being tortured, beaten, mocked, falsely accused, etc that he DIDN’T SAY A WORD!
The proof of our self justification many times is our sinful habit of defending ourselves verbally. What is usually our instinctive reaction when accused (falsely or honestly), offended, hurt or mishandled? Is it not our soul immediately dipping into the reserve of our sinful nature and quickly jumping to the defense of self? Of course it is. We are a self justifying people who have simply missed the centrality of the cross. We, especially Charismatics, are notorious for ignoring the cross and substituting it with the person of the Holy Spirit. If we miss the cross we miss Jesus…if we miss Jesus we miss true freedom from self or death to self.
What if we imbibed the truth of what it really means to deny ourselves the right to be right? We might actually experience pure joy and a pure love for others. It is time for the people of God to understand what it means when Jesus, without a thought for His own welfare, intentionally laid down His privilege, defense and self justification. Again it was a death by love. It was His immense love for you and I that drove Him to such extreme measures.
Today, maybe look into the mirror of your soul and investigate how much evidence you have stored up in order to defend yourself, especially when it comes to getting hurt by those closest to you.
Pastor Bryan
Friday, February 1, 2008
Faith?
Why do we torture ourselves by making everything more complex than it really is? I do this regularly. Faith is a subject matter that has become increasingly complex as we study the Bible and walk through life. Some package it up in the form of 'self-help' or reduce it down to a quantity. Some will say, "you must build up your faith, faith is like a muscle and we must exercise it." I believe there is truth in those statements, yet if we distill faith down into the simplest of terms what do we come up with.
I believe we get some insight from the Scripture found in Genesis 15:6, "And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness." God said something to Abram (Abraham), Abram heard the words... they were filtered through his mind, past experiences, encounters with God, his upbringing, his issues, his weaknesses, his very core of who he was, etc...and he simply believed the Lord, and God himself, credited to Abram's very being, simple righteousness. You can see that this Scripture explains faith to us in simplest terms with no "BUT" on Abram's part.
Now remember, God promised Abram a bunch of descendants. In order to have descedants you must have babies. Abram was at least over 75 years old if not older at this time. To make things more complex Sarai his wife was barren. God promised Abram the immpossible. Don't worry I am not going to launch into the whole "with God all things are possible" routine (true as it is).
See it says in verse one of Genesis 15 that Abram was struggling with fear, because God spoke to him and said, "Fear not, Abram, I am your sheild, your reward shall be very great." Abram then questions God and asks how this can be since he has not children. Then God takes Abram outside and simply has him look up! Sometimes we need to simply go back to looking up.
Abram came from a family line that struggled with indecision and settling in the crossroads of life. He knew firsthand what doubt felt and looked like. Yet, in this moment of fear and anxiety something 'shifted into gear.' He simply believed God. How did he believe God? He simply believed His words that He had spoken.
Simple faith looks like this: A heartfelt inner confidence that God is who He says He is and does what He says He will do. When someone gives us a promise we generally believe that person based upon what we know about that person. Is he or she willing to fulfill the promise? Is he or she capable of fulfilling the promise? What is the track record of the person who is doing the promising...is there proven reliability? Abram believed that God was willing and able and that God had proven His ability to fulfill. He simply believed.
As you read this, how would you describe your faith? Do you have trouble simply believing God's word, why or why not? Do have trouble trusting others? Have you spent adequate time getting to know God and His word?
Remember, Abram before this moment in Scripture had deomonstrated over and over that he believed, but when it came to this one area of weakness or barrenness he struggled and wavered in fear. All God requires of us to simply take Him at his word...
Hebrews 11:6 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Bryan
I believe we get some insight from the Scripture found in Genesis 15:6, "And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness." God said something to Abram (Abraham), Abram heard the words... they were filtered through his mind, past experiences, encounters with God, his upbringing, his issues, his weaknesses, his very core of who he was, etc...and he simply believed the Lord, and God himself, credited to Abram's very being, simple righteousness. You can see that this Scripture explains faith to us in simplest terms with no "BUT" on Abram's part.
Now remember, God promised Abram a bunch of descendants. In order to have descedants you must have babies. Abram was at least over 75 years old if not older at this time. To make things more complex Sarai his wife was barren. God promised Abram the immpossible. Don't worry I am not going to launch into the whole "with God all things are possible" routine (true as it is).
See it says in verse one of Genesis 15 that Abram was struggling with fear, because God spoke to him and said, "Fear not, Abram, I am your sheild, your reward shall be very great." Abram then questions God and asks how this can be since he has not children. Then God takes Abram outside and simply has him look up! Sometimes we need to simply go back to looking up.
Abram came from a family line that struggled with indecision and settling in the crossroads of life. He knew firsthand what doubt felt and looked like. Yet, in this moment of fear and anxiety something 'shifted into gear.' He simply believed God. How did he believe God? He simply believed His words that He had spoken.
Simple faith looks like this: A heartfelt inner confidence that God is who He says He is and does what He says He will do. When someone gives us a promise we generally believe that person based upon what we know about that person. Is he or she willing to fulfill the promise? Is he or she capable of fulfilling the promise? What is the track record of the person who is doing the promising...is there proven reliability? Abram believed that God was willing and able and that God had proven His ability to fulfill. He simply believed.
As you read this, how would you describe your faith? Do you have trouble simply believing God's word, why or why not? Do have trouble trusting others? Have you spent adequate time getting to know God and His word?
Remember, Abram before this moment in Scripture had deomonstrated over and over that he believed, but when it came to this one area of weakness or barrenness he struggled and wavered in fear. All God requires of us to simply take Him at his word...
Hebrews 11:6 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Bryan
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Some thoughts on prayer… Suppose your children believed that you never did anything differently because they asked you. i.e. you will give them money on Friday evening regardless of whether they ask you for it or not. But they also believe that you require them to go through the motion or ritual of asking. And so they do it. On Friday evening they approach you and ask you to give them some weekend money. They do it even though they believe that you will or will not give it to them regardless of what they do, and that you know they believe this.
Now this is actually how many people pray to God…with no expectation that their requests actually make a difference to God. The approach Him as a cosmic “fix it” or cosmic “butler.” He is a personality…He thinks, He wills, He expresses emotion, He loves, etc and we are formed in His image. We are image bearers…what a privilege!
Can we change God…or a better question: Do our requests really make a difference in what God does or does not do?
These questions haunt most people and are a fundamental cause of prayerlessness. Can God be prevailed upon by those who faithfully stand before Him? Boy, I sure hope so. Check out these Scriptures.
Exodus 32:10-14; Exodus 33:1-17; 2 Kings 20:1-6. In these Scriptures we see the power of the request in praying. God loves us as a Father. The thing that honors God tremendously is children who fundamentally believe that God is good all the time (even when He says no) and dare to ask of him or make requests of Him based upon this belief of His rule and goodness. They are the children who actually believe God can be prevailed upon. This is not arrogance or false optimism this is the unique relationship between created personalities and the Creator…it is a personal relationship.
Requests may be granted or they may not. This is actually good news for us because He only does what is best for His children. C.S. Lewis writes, “God has retained a discretionary power of granting or refusing it (our request). Except on that condition prayer would destroy us. It is not unreasonable for a headmaster to say, “Such and such things you may do according to the fixed rules of this school. But such and such other things are too dangerous to be left to general rules. If you want to do them you must come and make a request and talk over the whole matter in my study. And then we’ll see.” The truth is, we do not know enough, and our desires are not perfect enough for us to be given everything we want and ask for.
Jesus longs for us to seek Him and gives us the option or free will choice to continue seeking, knocking and asking in spite of the answer NO. I encourage you today to study the above Scriptures and keep going to the Living Water and the Bread of Life. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking! Don’t treat prayer like plunking money into a soft drink machine…you do a simple one time act, and then the mechanism takes over to produce the inevitable result. Prayer is never a mechanism…it is always a personal negotiation.
Peace, Bryan
Now this is actually how many people pray to God…with no expectation that their requests actually make a difference to God. The approach Him as a cosmic “fix it” or cosmic “butler.” He is a personality…He thinks, He wills, He expresses emotion, He loves, etc and we are formed in His image. We are image bearers…what a privilege!
Can we change God…or a better question: Do our requests really make a difference in what God does or does not do?
These questions haunt most people and are a fundamental cause of prayerlessness. Can God be prevailed upon by those who faithfully stand before Him? Boy, I sure hope so. Check out these Scriptures.
Exodus 32:10-14; Exodus 33:1-17; 2 Kings 20:1-6. In these Scriptures we see the power of the request in praying. God loves us as a Father. The thing that honors God tremendously is children who fundamentally believe that God is good all the time (even when He says no) and dare to ask of him or make requests of Him based upon this belief of His rule and goodness. They are the children who actually believe God can be prevailed upon. This is not arrogance or false optimism this is the unique relationship between created personalities and the Creator…it is a personal relationship.
Requests may be granted or they may not. This is actually good news for us because He only does what is best for His children. C.S. Lewis writes, “God has retained a discretionary power of granting or refusing it (our request). Except on that condition prayer would destroy us. It is not unreasonable for a headmaster to say, “Such and such things you may do according to the fixed rules of this school. But such and such other things are too dangerous to be left to general rules. If you want to do them you must come and make a request and talk over the whole matter in my study. And then we’ll see.” The truth is, we do not know enough, and our desires are not perfect enough for us to be given everything we want and ask for.
Jesus longs for us to seek Him and gives us the option or free will choice to continue seeking, knocking and asking in spite of the answer NO. I encourage you today to study the above Scriptures and keep going to the Living Water and the Bread of Life. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking! Don’t treat prayer like plunking money into a soft drink machine…you do a simple one time act, and then the mechanism takes over to produce the inevitable result. Prayer is never a mechanism…it is always a personal negotiation.
Peace, Bryan
Friday, December 14, 2007
The Psalm Says it All
Psalm 101 (NLT)1 A psalm of David. I will sing of your love and justice, Lord. I will praise you with songs. 2 I will be careful to live a blameless life…I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. 3 I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them. 4 I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil. 5 I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride. 6 I will search for faithful people to be my companions…7 I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house, and liars will not stay in my presence.
If everyday we woke up praising our God and committing our hearts and ways to Him, imagine how much nonsense we would avoid. David not only had a heart of worship, but also a heart that longed to walk in integrity. It sounds like David was careful about how he lived. He wouldn’t allow the vile or the vulgar into his home. He stayed away from those who were crooked. He rejected perverted ideas and would not hang with those who were gossips and slanderers. He would not allow pride and conceit to dominate his life or be with those who walked in them. He cried out for and searched diligently for companions that were faithful and believed as he believed. He did not allow liars to serve in his house or be close to him.
I wonder if this empowered him to stay out of trouble and please his God. What if we became a people of integrity. A people that was whole. Maybe we should be careful what we allow into our homes and be careful who we allow to influence us. I believe that the Holy Spirit will give us this divine direction we need…let’s ask Him to help.
I was just struck by the power of this idea of integrity…I need more and want more! Have a great one!
If everyday we woke up praising our God and committing our hearts and ways to Him, imagine how much nonsense we would avoid. David not only had a heart of worship, but also a heart that longed to walk in integrity. It sounds like David was careful about how he lived. He wouldn’t allow the vile or the vulgar into his home. He stayed away from those who were crooked. He rejected perverted ideas and would not hang with those who were gossips and slanderers. He would not allow pride and conceit to dominate his life or be with those who walked in them. He cried out for and searched diligently for companions that were faithful and believed as he believed. He did not allow liars to serve in his house or be close to him.
I wonder if this empowered him to stay out of trouble and please his God. What if we became a people of integrity. A people that was whole. Maybe we should be careful what we allow into our homes and be careful who we allow to influence us. I believe that the Holy Spirit will give us this divine direction we need…let’s ask Him to help.
I was just struck by the power of this idea of integrity…I need more and want more! Have a great one!
Friday, December 7, 2007
Jealous for Us
Exodus 34:14 (NLT)14 You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.
Have you ever had days where you wake up and feel absolutely lousy and you don’t want to be around anyone? I think we all have. As I was reading Exodus 34 I was struck by this particular verse above. Contained in this verse is God’s heart for his people.
Just a few verses earlier Moses was praying for his people, “O Lord, if it is true that I have found favor with you, then please travel with us. Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our sins. Claim us as your own special possession” (v. 9). Basically Moses is saying, “I know we are an absolute stench in your nostrils, but please be and go with us. We need you and we need to know that we are Yours in spite of how awful we are.”
I find it unfathomable that this holy, righteous God would have anything to do with us. Here we are in our restless state attempting to run from God and from others and He says He is jealous for us and that He desires an intimate relationship with us. AMAZING!
So next time you wake up feeling horrible and are tempted to isolate yourself, draw near to God in your state and ask Him to travel with you on your journey. Know that He sees you as His special possession and that He is jealous about His relationship with you. Peace, Pastor Bryan
Have you ever had days where you wake up and feel absolutely lousy and you don’t want to be around anyone? I think we all have. As I was reading Exodus 34 I was struck by this particular verse above. Contained in this verse is God’s heart for his people.
Just a few verses earlier Moses was praying for his people, “O Lord, if it is true that I have found favor with you, then please travel with us. Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our sins. Claim us as your own special possession” (v. 9). Basically Moses is saying, “I know we are an absolute stench in your nostrils, but please be and go with us. We need you and we need to know that we are Yours in spite of how awful we are.”
I find it unfathomable that this holy, righteous God would have anything to do with us. Here we are in our restless state attempting to run from God and from others and He says He is jealous for us and that He desires an intimate relationship with us. AMAZING!
So next time you wake up feeling horrible and are tempted to isolate yourself, draw near to God in your state and ask Him to travel with you on your journey. Know that He sees you as His special possession and that He is jealous about His relationship with you. Peace, Pastor Bryan
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