Behind the Eight Ball

Personal reflections on Advent: Hope
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 1:46-56

  

Often times when a young couple is first married, they start off a little behind the eight ball. One of the first places that my wife and I lived was a small bungalow. It had a claw bathtub in it, which sounds kind of cool until you took a bath. In order to fit in it, you had to bend your knees in half. Even then, it was a tight fit.

 

And if you wanted to take a shower, you had to go to the basement where someone had Gerry rigged a showerhead. There were no walls; not even a shower curtain. You were down there with the spiders and whatever other little creatures might be watching you. It probably looked like a hopeless start to our marriage.

 

Mary and Joseph started out “behind the eight ball” too. First, Mary became pregnant with an unwanted child before the wedding. On top of that, Joseph wasn’t even the father.

 

The Jewish culture was one of laws and judgement. She could have been stoned to death for such an indiscretion, but instead, Joseph was going to “divorce her quietly”.

 

But then God intervened through the angel Gabriel. He appeared separately to both Joseph and Mary explaining that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. As unbelievable as it sounded, they both trusted the Lord and were obedient. But still they had to start off their life together with this stigma hanging over their heads.

 

Can you imagine what people thought when Mary or Joseph explained that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit? This poor carpenter and his wife? Who were they to be chosen for such a calling? No doubt they were social and religious outcasts, starting their marriage poor and rejected. A life without hope.

 

But listen to Mary’s song of praise in The Magnificat.

 

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
⁴⁷     How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
⁴⁸ For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
    and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
⁴⁹ For the Mighty one is holy,
    and he has done great things for me. NLT

 

That doesn’t sound like someone living behind the eight ball; living without hope. In fact, from a hopeless situation, Mary gave birth to the hope of the world; hope for you and for me.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

A Series on the Beatitudes
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 5:8; James 1:22-25; Psalm 24:3-4

 [In this series, we will be looking at the Beatitudes from the perspective that Jesus came to establish his kingdom. In order to do that, he needed to set new expectations; to let his followers know that his was a spiritual kingdom, not a political one. To teach them what it means to bring in his kingdom; what it means to turn the world upside down.] 

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.      NIV

 

 

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” These are the words of the Evil Queen in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. This story may be a fairy tale, but there’s a lot of truth in it.

 

For instance, when the Evil Queen looked into the mirror, she didn’t really want the truth, just affirmation. And when she was told the truth, she sent her Huntsman off to find Snow White to kill her. No, the Evil Queen didn’t want to know the truth about the ugliness of who she really was on the inside.

 

Like the Evil Queen, our human nature leads us to deflect, rationalize and justify our flaws that are ugly. We prefer to point our finger at someone else rather than to look at our own shortcomings. James gives us some insight into how to avoid this.

 

²³ For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴ You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. ²⁵ But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. NLT

 

If we look carefully… do what it says… and don’t forget… then God will bless us. The Beatitude for this week affirms James’ words.

 

⁸ “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.     MSG

 

If we get our inside world right, then we will see God, or at least see Him at work. Listen to what David wrote about climbing the mountain of the Lord. He confirms that like Moses on Mount Sinai, Elijah on Mount Carmel and Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, we too can see God and His work.

 

³ Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
⁴ Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
    who do not worship idols and never tell lies. NLT

 

Do you want to “climb the mountain of the Lord”? Do you want to see Jesus? Then let him change you from the inside out. Let him make you pure.

 

Then when you look into the word of God, which is our mirror, you will see the truth. Not only the truth about yourself, but the truth of what Jesus has done for you. And the truth will set you free.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

My Short List

A Series on the Beatitudes
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 5:7; Matthew 18:21-35

[In this series, we will be looking at the Beatitudes from the perspective that Jesus came to establish his kingdom. In order to do that, he needed to set new expectations; to let his followers know that his was a spiritual kingdom, not political. To teach them what it means to bring in his kingdom; what it means to turn the world upside down.] 

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.      ESV

 

 

The first real job that I had was as a busboy/dishwasher at a Jerrys Restaurant in Morehead Kentucky during the summer of 1968. It was located right across the street from Morehead State University, and during peak hours it was packed. I did the job of two people and earned a whole 88 cents an hour.

 

One Friday night at the end of the summer, the owner had invited the high school football team to the restaurant after their game. He must have been a booster, or frustrated coach or “has been” football player. Whatever the case, he was NEVER at the restaurant, but on this occasion he was at the grill ready to cook steaks.

 

As we waited for the team to arrive there was absolutely nothing to do, so I made some small talk. He turned to me, and looked me in the face and said, “You know if you worked as good as you talk, you’d be a good worker”. To this day, I wish I had walked off the job. What a jerk.

 

It’s easy to hold a grudge, but Jesus doesn’t call us to live that way. He calls us to forgive; to show mercy; to bring in the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

Peter must have held a few grudges in his day, because on one occasion he asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him?” Jesus proceeded to tell him the story of the unforgiving servant.

 

The point is that Jesus shows us mercy and in turn, we should show others mercy. He put it like this in the beatitude.

 

⁷ “Happy are those who are merciful to others;
    God will be merciful to them!   GNT

 

⁷ “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.       MSG

 

While thinking about this beatitude, I asked myself the question, “Who do I hold a grudge against”. It was a fairly short list, but obviously those grudges go deep and far; as far back as 1968.

 

God showed the depth of His love and mercy for me by sending his only son to die for my sins. In doing so, he made it possible for me to be forgave. Can I do any less for my short list?

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

I Can’t Get No… Satisfaction

A Series on the Beatitudes
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 5:6; Micah 6:8

 [In this series, we will be looking at the Beatitudes from the perspective that Jesus came to establish his kingdom. In order to do that, he needed to set new expectations; to let his followers know that his was a spiritual kingdom, not a political one. To teach them what it means to bring in his kingdom; what it means to turn the world upside down.] 

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.      NIV

 

 In 1965, the iconic music group the Rolling Stones, released a song titled, “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction”. The lyrics tell a story about a man who tries to find satisfaction in his life, but no matter what he tries, he “can’t get no satisfaction”. It’s not the best English, but you get the point.

 

Of course, he’s not the first person to experience dead ends in their life. Solomon, the wisest man on earth, wrote in Ecclesiastes about hopelessness; about desperation. He tried every avenue available to find satisfaction, but in the end he wrote, “I can’t get no satisfaction”.

 

² “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
    says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
    Everything is meaningless.”    NIV

 

However, the Beatitude for today gives us hope. Here are two different versions that help us to understand how.

 

⁶ God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
    for they will be satisfied.            NLT

 

⁶ “Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires;
    God will satisfy them fully!       GNT

 

Jesus seems to be pointing his disciples back to the voice of the prophet Micah who also gave us insight on how to find satisfaction in life.

 

⁸ 

…the Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.                       GNT

 

There are lots of bunny trails that we humans run down trying to find satisfaction. Sometimes, they seem to work for a while. But none of them are eternal; none of them have the power to weather all the storms of life; none of them usher in the kingdom of God.

 

Only the Living God, King of the universe, has that ability, and Jesus points us towards Him.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams