A Low Key Angel For A No-Key Prison Recently I was reading about the apostle Peter's encounter with an angel as recorded in Acts chapter 12. A bonafide scriptural angel encounter. I found it interesting because angels and angelic-type encounters are a hot topic in many parts of the Church world these days. In fact, just before reading about this incident with Peter I had actually come across an internet posting of someone describing their own modern day angelic encounters. Comparing that person's encounters with Peter's proved to be quite intriguing. The internet author describes angels as being "comprised of the glorious breath, wind, light, and fire of God," and can appear as "brilliant heavenly lights, luminaries or orbs." On one occasion this person encountered seven rainbow-colored angels. On another occasion they witnessed "the spheres of light (which) came to orchestrate a most spectacular Heavenly light show (where) the vibrant circular lights danced in unison to the melodies, covering a wall with the overlapping colors of rich red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and violet..." Peter experienced a similar phenomenon. Sort of. Scripture says, "An angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell." Well, it was late at night and very dark inside the prison; so even a small light would actually have been very helpful then. The other account writer related how the seven rainbow-colored angels "flooded the altar area, producing such a forceful wind, that I was blown onto one foot and fought to maintain my balance." They also relate another encounter which produced "air (that) was electric and full of light energy, like walking into a pulsing magnetic field...(an) electrified heavenly atmosphere..." Interesting enough, Peter's account includes sensory contact with the angel's presence also: "He struck Peter on the side and woke him..." The internet author relates how many "great supernatural ministers" of the past "tuned their ears to hear and their hearts to perceive the angelic messengers sent to direct them into the Holy Spirit flow." They were in turn given "insights, revelation, and power to navigate the heavenly dimensions which released the miraculous to move..."
The angel in Acts 12 certainly had some amazing revelation to release to Peter also: "Get up quickly... Dress yourself and put on your sandals... Wrap your cloak around you..." Well, in all fairness, Peter had been asleep, and sometimes you're just not ready for a lot of heavy revelation first thing in the morning. Particularly before your first cuppa... Okay, let's be honest here: in comparison it was a rather lackluster angelic encounter that Peter had. The Apostle Peter, no less. No bells and whistles, no bling. It may have been this particular angel's first assignment, and therefore kept purposefully low-key. The bottom line is, it was successful. Mission accomplished. There inside the prison the chains miraculously fell off Peter's hands, and he miraculously walked out of a well-guarded and secure prison, all the way through the huge iron gate leading into the open city--a gate which, by the way, "opened for them of its own accord." I don't think Peter felt short-changed on the deal, however. And it's probably best that a lot of light and fire and wind and orbs and pulsing magnetic electrified atmosphere didn't accompany this particular angelic encounter. The let-down that followed would have been even more humiliating. All he wanted to do was to go inside the house and let his friends know they could stop praying for his release. He'd just been set free by an angel!
But no sooner had Peter miraculously walked through that iron gate to freedom than he then found himself stuck at a simple wooden door--a door outside that house he couldn't even open by himself. Now where's that angel when you really need him--again?
The Rescue I had just ordered my regular coffee drink and was preparing to pay for it when my friend behind the counter announced out of the blue, "Hey, it's on me today--we appreciate your business." As I was walking back to my car from the coffee shop, it suddenly dawned on me: I was in the process of being rescued. By simple kindnesses. And I began to retrace in my mind the events of the preceding few hours.
Before going to work today, I stopped by to say hello to a good friend at the local music store. That hello turned into a brief but encouraging visit. Later on at work, a friend took the time to express how much they had enjoyed looking over my website, and how impressed they were at the amount of creativity and work I had put into it. Another friend at work today took a spontaneous picture of the two of us together--just for fun. With my own camera. Then the free coffee, and my wake-up call. I suspect none of these folks even knew that this day I was dragging bottom emotionally. I didn't realize myself the depth of the well I had fallen into until I ran into the rope dangling in front of my coffee cup. But God had orchestrated in my behalf a series of encounters today where friends would extend a kindness or gesture of encouragement, all independent of one another. Simple things. Inexpensive things. Silly things. Sometimes they become life-saving things. I got around to reading my morning devotional book later this afternoon (you know how that works); today's reading was entitled, "The Initiative Against Despair." In the author's words, that initiative is simply to, "Arise, and do the next thing (that God puts before you)." My "next thing" today was simply to leave the house early enough to stop by and chat with my friend before going to work. Fortunately the next thing for my friends was simply to be themselves today. Friends. Thanks for the rescue.
Sorry, I Got Distracted...
Oswald Chambers once made this statement in reference to Jesus: "If you are depending upon anything but Him, you will never know when He is gone." Can you imagine a more scary thought?
It's that very awkward and sinking kind of feeling you get toward the end of the big party celebration when you suddenly realize the guest of honor is missing. "When did he leave?" "I dunno--I was so distracted with all that was going on..."
Could this actually happen to one of Jesus' followers, or to even a group of His followers? If I get distracted from following Him, then what am I actually following?
Distractions will come (as will temptations), and they are many and varied. They can be momentary or momentous in their effect. Their real danger comes in their cumulative effect on us. The "one thing" becomes the many things; our "first love" can become our least loved.
Jesus described such distractions in His parable of the seeds (Luke 8), labeling them as "the cares and riches and pleasures of life" which can, in effect, choke out the word of God in our lives. Occasionally I find acronymns to be helpful, and in this particular situation these distractions come out as the "C.A.R.A.P." of life. No picture worth a thousand words needed here.
Choking, as described in this illustration by Jesus, is a slow process. He likened it as the good seed trying to grow up amidst thorns. It is the quiet strangulation that occurs, in the words of Jesus, "as they go on their way," i.e. over the daily pace of life. As we go along in life, thorns can grow alongside and keep the fruit of God's word-- His life, from maturing within us.
How do we know when we are being distracted from our First Love?
When Jesus stops being more than enough for us.
When we forget that Jesus said, "apart from Me you can do nothing." [John 15:5]
When we feel a suffocating kind of tightening around our hearts, and find it hard to spiritually breathe... And then we call out for help--we call the doctor, or we call 911.
Dr. Luke, for example--Luke 9:11. "...and He welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing."
Take A Seat. Please.
I know you're busy, but take a seat. Please. Because in the midst of all your activities you're probably distracted too.
But you may not realize it until Jesus is in the house. Beware of inviting Him in...
Martha did. She opened her home to Jesus and welcomed Him in. Then she went on about doing things she and her sister Mary had done countless times before: the many tasks and preparations of hosting and providing a meal for a visitor (albeit a special one). Only this time Mary was not present to help her, and consequently "Martha was distracted with much serving." So much so that she then complained to Jesus about the unfair work load Mary had left her with, and ordered Jesus, "tell her then to help me."
What had Mary done to cause such an angry outburst? She "sat at the Lord's feet and listened to His teaching."
Had Martha ever been "distracted with much serving" before? Undoubtedly. It's a life experience Mary herself (as with any one of us) would most certainly be familiar with. But now--here in this moment, Jesus Himself is in the house. And He's speaking. So Mary sat to listen while Martha stood to serve.
Jesus commended Mary's actions with these words: "Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." Why was it the "good portion"? Because it is the one thing: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary." Being distracted is allowing the many things to cause you to miss the one thing. "One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after...to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD..." [Psalm 27:4]
Why is it the "good portion"? Because it also "will not be taken away from her." Not here in this instance, or ever.
When Jesus is in the house, take a seat. Please. Don't be distracted by things that can be taken away from you. When Jesus begins to speak, it is time to sit at His feet. If we don't, we may find ourselves ordering Him to attend to our agenda.
And then, when Jesus is done speaking, help your sister clean up the dishes. Pretty please?
[Next Time: A second dinner with Jesus: Did Martha learn her lesson? Will Mary learn to behave? Tune if for "The Meal Deal: Part 2"]
The Meal Deal: Part 2
It was six days before the Passover and Jesus' final journey to Jerusalem. He is once again at the home of Martha and Mary (and their brother Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead). During this visit also a dinner was prepared in Jesus' honor, a meal which this time also included Jesus' disciples and Lazarus as well. And Scripture tells us once again that "Martha served..." This time, however, there is no mention of her being distracted by all the preparations beforehand. Had she learned the lesson from last time (see previous blog, "Take A Seat")?
Mary was present at this dinner also, being herself again, once more at the feet of Jesus. This time she went from listening to His teaching to an act of extravagant worship at His feet, anointing them with costly perfume. Something had changed and deepened within Mary's heart toward Jesus; and something had apparently changed within Martha's heart also. No longer distracted by the "many things", she is also not detracting from the "one thing" her sister Mary is honoring through her act of adoration: Jesus. Perhaps His words from the previous dinner were still ringing in Martha's spirit that day: "...one thing is necessary; Mary has chosen the good portion..."
Jesus must once again, however, come to Mary's defense in this situation also; and ironically, He addresses His words to one of His own disciples: "Leave her alone..." This time the detractor was Judas Iscariot, who expressed great irritation that Mary's expensive gift was not used for something more spiritual than a pair of ordinary feet. It should have been offered toward a more noble cause, like the poor. Or like himself. For "...he was a thief, and having charge of the (disciples') moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it." [John 12:6] Unlike Martha, Judas was distracted not by much serving but by much stealing.
But behind the scenes, hidden from human sight, lurked another and more sinister thief. This one, as Jesus had said on another occasion, "comes only to steal and kill and destroy" [John 10:10] He was not after an easy target like money. His goal was something infinitely more valuable: worship. And if he could not have it for himself, then he would act to prevent or interfere with it being given to the only One worthy of it.
"Leave her alone." Rest assured your worship is always safe when given to Jesus. Safe from distracted detractors and from thieves on every level.
So when Jesus is in the house, take a seat. Please. If you are distracted by many things, you may miss the One Thing that really matters. Not only that, you may be used to distract someone else from their worship. And when Jesus says to you, "Leave them alone!", you may find yourself in some company you definitely do not want to be left alone with.
[Next time: "Joining The Circle of The Seated"]
Part 3: Joining The Circle Of The Seated
In Part 1 of this series, we noted how we can become distracted by the "many things" and miss the "one thing" that is most important in life. Even when He is in the house.
In Part 2 we touched on perhaps the greatest distraction of all when Jesus is in the house: a worshiper. The problem with a worshiper pursuing the "one thing" when I'm distracted with "the many things" is that it reminds me of the fact that I'm not worshiping. And when I attempt to redirect the focus of that worship, Jesus seems to take it personally.
In this final part, we will spend a few more moments where we began: at the feet of Jesus. And here we discover that Mary was not alone there.
While others were probably present with her, only Mary is specifically noted as sitting at Jesus' feet and listening to His teaching. As it turns out, she was in good company indeed--royal company, where a great king once sat. He was Israel's greatest king, and a man "after God's own heart."
On one occasion King David had been given an amazing promise from the Lord God that he was going to honored with an everlasting dynasty, through which God would continue His promise of blessing to the nations. There were so many things wrapped up within the scope of this promise which could have consumed David's attention; instead he was focused on the "one thing." He was overwhelmed by the One Who had given the promise: "Then King David went in and sat before the Lord." And with a humble heart he poured out his thankfulness to God.
David could only dream of doing what Mary was doing in her time, sitting before the literal feet of her Lord. This was Emmanuel--"God with us," the Word made flesh and bone--and feet. The promised Messiah whom David had longed to gaze upon up close and personal. But David did sit before the Lord, and there in His presence communed and fellowshipped with the living God. Centuries later the circle of the seated remained unbroken as Mary sat at Jesus' feet.
Will that circle be unbroken with you and I now? Jesus is not searching for people to do things for Him. Martha lost sight of the fact that Jesus was quite adept at supplying food for meals Himself, even for rather large gatherings. His challenge went much deeper: The Bread of Life could feed His listeners but found few listeners who would feed on the Bread of Life.
In 2 Chronicles 5 we read that during the dedication ceremony for Solomon's Temple, "the glory of the LORD filled the house of God...(and) the priests could not stand to minister..." There is a time for standing, and serving the Lord; but there is also a time for sitting, and being seated before the Lord. When God's glory is in the house, it seems best to be seated, not standing to attempt a lesser ministry.
Looking for God's glory? It's right there in Martha and Mary's house: "For God, Who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." [2 Corinthians 4:6] And that glory is awaiting your invitation also. Welcome Jesus into the house.