A Theology of Weakness

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Take a few moments to ponder this famous painting from Rembrandt of The Return of the Prodigal Son. What do you see from his interpretation of Luke 15:11-32? I was challenged by this idea after listening to a book called “Emotionally Healthy Discipleship” by Peter Scazzero.

Scazzero pointed out that the three main characters in the painting. At the center you have the loving father embracing the prodigal who is bald, broken, and humbly bowing as he seeks forgiveness for leaving the father for the empty pleasures of the world. But off to the right side you have the older brother dressed like the father, but full of scorn standing in judgement of the younger brother.

The painting and the passage highlighted to me all week that our Father in heaven is attracted to weakness! In the story, we are reminded that both sons are lost. One was drawn to the world for love the other was lured to works. Countless sermons have been preached on the prodigal, but not many on the older son who sought love with a striving, legalistic spirit, thinking some how by his efforts and works the father would love him.

The younger son “came to his senses” and in a picture of true repentance turned his face from the world back to the father. Hoping that the goodness of the father’s love would take him back if only as a servant. The older son was invited into the party and the father’s love. But we are left with the story ending with him remaining outside of the banquet hall in anger.

As I studied the picture I find myself in both the brothers. How often I have turned to the world for acceptance, to heal the pain, and seeking to please others in order to mask my own insecurity. And how often can I relate to the other brother possessing a religious spirit and striving to earn the Father’s love, failing to see it is not earned through effort, but weakness.

I’m trying to remember back to all my theological studies, which is difficult the older I get. But I don’t think we spent a lot of time talking about a theology of weakness. And yet the Bible is full of characters that were weak and broken. Noah got drunk, Moses had a temper, David loved the ladies, Elijah had depression, Rahab was a prostitute, and how about the flaws of the 12 disciples.

As I kept meditating on the picture above a question arose in my spirit, “where is Jesus in the painting?” For sure we see Him in the Father, as Jesus said, “when you see Me you see the Father,” (Jn. 14:9). But for the first time I saw Him in the prodigal. Jesus became weak, broken, and bore the filth of all my sin on His being. The culmination of the cruse came at the cross where He cried out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

The wounded, weak, sinless Savior took my sin with Him and experienced the depth of hell to heal the worst of sinners. But because of His humble submission the Father ran to Him and raised Him from the dead to be our King and forever Savior. Jesus became the prodigal to bring us into the loving arms of a Father who runs to all who embrace their weakness and need for the wounded Savior.

I still have both the prodigal and the older brother plague my soul at times. So in my weakness I daily have to turn back to the Father and let Jesus carry me back into His forgiving and loving arms.

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble – Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” Jame 4:7-10 

Overcoming the Boomslang

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The mountain was covered with indescribable beauty as wild bouquets of flowers dotted the rocky mountain side. As we were enjoying this breath taking hike my heart stopped as just 2 feet ahead of me a snake crossed the trail into the bush. I jumped back at least two feet and grabbed my friend Johann, who was wondering why I was holding his arm, as I pointed to the rustling grass. Just as he peered over it the snake came flying out of the brush, yes it was airborne and flew to the other side of the trail and quickly slithered down the hill.

Still in shock I said to Johann, “what kind of snake was that?” “Oh thats a boomslang, one of the deadliest snakes in South Africa.” He went on to say that their venom is so powerful when it bites you with large fangs located in the back of the jaw the victim may die as a result of internal and external bleeding. “But don’t worry,” Johann said, “they are more scared of us than we are of them.”  For some reason those last words didn’t bring me a lot of shalom.

At least in the states rattlers warn you when angry and I have never seen a snake fly like I did the boomslang. As we hiked on I was told these snakes also like to hang out in trees.  Needless to say the beautiful spring day hike was ruined as not only did I need to keep my eye on the path, now I had to look above as well.

My family knows I don’t have a lot of fears in life but snakes happen to be one of them. As a young boy I would battle with ferocious snake dreams. Patty will never forget the time when we were first married and I woke her up by pounding a pool stick under our bed fighting off the vicious cursed creatures.

Now I’m not 100% certain, but perhaps my hate and fear for snakes is linked to Genesis 3:14ff and the curse that God the Father put on satan for tempting Adam and Eve in the garden.

“Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head and you will strike his heel.”

My encounter with the boomslang was a great spiritual reminder for me. Yes we have a very real enemy who is still very dangerous. He loves to frighten and control us by fear. A fear that has the capacity to paralyze you and me for the rest of our “earthly hike.” A fear that potentially can causes us to miss the beauty of the Father’s Kingdom all around us.

Praise be to God for the promise and fulfillment of Genesis 3! We as followers of Christ do not have to live in fear of the cunning cursed creature. His head was crushed at the cross along with his biting control over us.

Jesus shares this powerful truth with us as well:

“I saw satan fall from heaven like lightning! Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you,” Luke 10:18-19.

In the spiritual realm the serpent has been crushed by Christ at the cross. And the Christ who lives in all who believe has given us “authority over all the power of the enemy…” 

Just as Johann said the boomslang is more afraid of us as we are of him so too, satan is more afraid of Christ followers who claim their true authority in His rule.

And all of God’s children said – Amen!

 

 

 

 

 

What Matters Most?

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“Spend an hour thinking about what it will look like when you one day stand before the presence of God.”  This was the challenge given by Francis Chan in his book “Until Unity.” Not an easy thing to do, but so vital in the days we are living in. As I tried to place myself before the Holy Creator God who sees through my soul and nothing is hidden from His fire piercing eyes, I cried out like Isaiah:

“It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have see the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies,” (Isa. 6:5).

When that Day comes and we stand before a Holy God Francis Chan asked the question, “What matters the most?” It won’t be how much money you have in the bank, the car you drive, the house you live in, the church you go to, the political party you vote for, how many followers you have on social media, or any of the pleasures we run after, etc.

As I try to envision that Day, “What matters most” will be Jesus! His garments of salvation covering my sin and rebellion with His perfect righteousness is my only hope. All I can do before a Holy God is cry out, “Jesus, Jesus, have mercy on me a sinner!” And believe He will.

The teaching on the Heart of the Father that took place at YWAM had a big cross mounted to a pillar in the middle of the room, it was hard to miss. It served as a powerful visual for what brought students from different nations and tribes together in one place. The only way this could have ever taken place was because of the life changing blood of a crucified Christ who reigns as King of the nations. We were all united through the gift of the Father who gave us His one and only Son Jesus, and it is His blood coursing through our veins that makes us His forever family.

It is through the unity that comes through the Cross that the world will come to believe the message of the Gospel as seen in Jesus’ prayer:

“I pray that they will all be one, just as You and I are one – as you are in Me, Father, and I am in You. And may they be in Us so that the world will believe You sent Me,” John 17:21.

Our desperately divided world needs to see the Father’s love in Jesus through His family that are united around the finished work of the Cross. When you place yourself before the throne of God naked and exposed there is only one thing that matters, Jesus! And our response to the gift given us is to fall down and worship Him.

Francis Chan ends his much needed book on unity with this text from Ephesians 5:18-20:

“Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

A church filled with the Spirit will be a worshiping community overcome by glory of Jesus and the gift of the Father. This will attract a divided world.

Find some time this week and try spending an hour placing yourself before the judgment seat of God and let His Spirit speak to you. Ask yourself the question, “what matters the most?”

 

 

 

Knowing the Father’s Heart

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Blog Written by Patty Spykstra

I arrived on Day 3 of a lecture series entitled “The Father’s Heart.” Tim was asked to share on this topic for a group of students at a Youth With A Mission or YWAM Discipleship Training. The class ranged from adults aged 18-32 from France, Germany, The Netherlands, Rwanda, South Africa, Switzerland, and the USA. One student had a cold, another just had his tooth knocked out colliding with a surf board, one student was in a wheel chair, one was a dad, another understood English but had difficulty speaking it, one was sitting on the floor. Yes, it was a beautiful and diverse gathering, and the common link among all was a heart for Jesus and His Word.

Knowing God as Father is a subject that has been near and dear to Tim’s heart, in fact it is the foundation of Oceans Ministries, so I was excited to attend and share a bit as well. I tried to sneak in the back of the room, but Tim had already told too many stories. I greeted the students with a fist pump or a hug as I noticed the picture, a very special one, where Jesus is holding a young boy in a football uniform. Yes, this picture was the tangible reminder that Jesus was there with Tim during some tough days as boy and now there it was propped up in the front of the room.

Tim shared his story of the times he felt alone and how he wondered where God was when experiencing hurt and uncertainty, in his teaching he intertwined scripture as a reminder of the importance of hiding God’s Word in our hearts. As he spoke many nodded their heads in agreement and others had tears in their eyes. The teachings were powerful and held steps to healing. Some students needed to realize their earthly fathers or mothers were incapable of giving them what they needed, others recognized the need to forgive a parent or authority figure in their life, or perhaps even themselves.

As I sat in the back row, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit and found myself praying for the students and leaders. At the break my eyes connected with a young lady who was looking my way I smiled and she walked over. She asked for prayer. As we talked she shared how her dad had passed away when she was 18, he was a pastor. Her mom never really recovered from his death. Throughout the week others publicly or privately shared deep heartaches that left huge holes. Some really tough stuff that made my heart heavy just hearing about it. Such moments reminded me of the times I had asked for prayer as a young pastor’s wife and realized the need for bitter roots and fear to be removed. Tim continued his story with the group of how Lynn Brookside, a lady in our very first church, had walked him through forgiveness of family, himself and even God.

Over the next several days the students wrote various letters. Some offered to read aloud the words they had written. I was nervous, as I wasn’t sure I would want to do so. Some shared how burdens were removed, others laughed and smiled as they felt their Abba Father’s love, others broke down and cried uncontrollably, and others couldn’t believe the peace that overcame them. The letters were absolutely beautiful and powerful and freeing and healing!

Tears quietly flowed down my face as these students claimed their rightful position of Sons and Daughters of the King! Oh if we could truly see the heart of the Father!

“For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of Sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” Romans 8:15 Berean Study Bible

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36 BSBK

Spinning Is Winning

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We have a family friend named Bill who has been an avid cyclist for years. When he heard my son TJ was doing a ride called the Triple By Pass he had some great advice from his own experience. He lamented on how the first time he did the 100 plus mile ride with over 10,000 feet of elevation gain he went out way too fast and bonked before the last climb and had to abandon the race. He passed on to TJ the slogan, “spinning is winning,” which means put it is the easiest gear and spin away so you can save your legs to finish strong.

When Patty and I were back in the States we were able to head up to the Rookies and cheer TJ on. We positioned ourselves in strategic spots to hold up the sign and remind him “spinning is winning.”  As we were waiting to cheer him on before another big climb we noticed some riders were laying on the ground in exhaustion, still others were putting their bikes on the car rack and calling it a day.  They went out too fast and furious and their legs failed them.  TJ followed sage Bill’s wise advice and powered up the final pass because he still had fresh legs from spinning.

Bill’s phrase has been in my mind since that day in Colorado and it preaches powerfully not just about biking in the mountains but the journey of life.  When I look at the hall of faith in Hebrews 11 there is a list of hero’s that kept spinning up some pretty big spiritual mountains and they were able to finish the race marked out for them.  People like Noah who worked on a boat for 120 years before the rain came. And how about Abraham and Sarah who waited almost 25 years for the promised child Issac.  You could add Moses to the list of spinners who waited 40 years in the wilderness until he finally got the call. We could consider a host of other heroes of faith that kept spinning and persevering when it looked like they were being left behind by the world.

In God’s economy it’s not how you start the race but rather how you finish the race. It all about perseverance and endurance keeping your focus on the end game as the author of Hebrews says:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith,” (12:1-2).

Our friend and Oceans board member Steve travelled back with us to Africa recently to encourage us to keep spinning. God has given him a new slogan to live by after a heart attack just over a year ago, “Finish Strong.”  Our last day together we climbed up one of my favorite prayer spots and talked and prayed into finishing strong, to keep spinning until we have finished the race for the glory of God.

Life has been an up hill climb for many over the last year. It might feel like you are just grinding up a difficult mountain while it seems others are zipping by.  Keep spinning with your eyes on Jesus as your goal, listen the those heroes of faith cheering you on and by God’s amazing grace and love you will “Finish Strong!”