“Jesus continued: ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, “Father, give me my share of the estate.” So he divided his property between them.
‘Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
‘When he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.” So he got up and went to his father.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”
‘But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” So they began to celebrate.
‘Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. “Your brother has come,” he replied, “and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.”
‘The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, “Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!” “My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”’” (Luke 15:11-32 NIV)
This is likely a familiar story to you, one that has long been interpreted to show God’s amazing grace toward those who have foolishly abandoned Him to pursue their own desires and lived to suffer the consequences. The father’s embrace of his repentant son symbolizes the Lord’s great mercy toward those who humble themselves before Him.
But there is more that we can learn from this beautiful story. Most of the focus historically has been on the younger son and the mercy the father showed him after he wasted his inheritance. But what becomes clear, if we look a little deeper, is how both sons, the older and the younger, wasted their inheritance. While the younger son draws the greater attention through the sheer audacity of his request for his father’s money and subsequent very poor choices in spending it, the older son, likewise, is wasteful with his inheritance with legalism and a lack of humility. It is clear by his reaction to his father’s show of mercy to his younger sibling that he has a sense of entitlement and the lack of appreciation for what he already has, which often accompanies it.
This story, if we look closely, is played out in modern times over and over. The younger brother represents the person who will be ruled by no one and thinks it’s his right to live as he chooses, even though all that he possesses has been given to him. Think of college students whose parents are paying all their expenses who choose to party their way through school and don’t attend their classes. Or gifted athletes who spend the millions they earn on lavish living and end up financially ruined within years of the end of their careers. Think of young people who have been raised in the faith, but upon leaving home, choose a different path. Many stories have these folks written about how they had to look up at the bottom before they realized their desperate need for God.
The older brother, as Jesus intended, represents religious people who are under the false notion that they have earned God’s favor by the way they live. This, too, is played out every day behind the walls of church buildings and homes in the hearts of those who fail to understand their desperate need for God. They are proud of their righteousness and, like the older brother, look down on anyone who fails to meet their standards of behavior. Think of the preachers who shout and condemn students every fall and spring on college campuses across the country. Think of people who refuse to associate with someone based on politics or lifestyle. Think of people who focus more on the sins of others than on their own.
Both groups, in essence, are wasting the inheritance the Lord has given them, and both arrogantly believe it belongs to them. The one believes it is theirs to do with what they want, while the other believes they have been given charge of it to keep and protect it.
The truth is the inheritance, the riches of God’s grace, belongs to Him. It always has and always will. And it is not something any of us has earned or is entitled to possess. We all are guilty of mishandling what we’ve been given. Thus, regardless of whether we are reflected more in the younger son or the older one, our need for the Lord’s mercy is the same.
Today, examine your heart. You have been given a great inheritance. How are you spending it? Regardless of your answer, be assured of the Lord’s offer of mercy and your desperate need for it.
© Jim Musser 2016
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (II Timothy 2:15 NIV)
I read an article this morning about a journalist who found high school students in a charter school were unaware of the death of Osama bin Laden several years after a U.S. Seal team killed him. He was appalled enough by their ignorance that he started the News Literacy Project, which focuses on getting young people interested in national and world news, and learning how to discern what is true and what isn’t—a very important skill in the age of internet, where fiction often co-exists with the truth, but without distinctive markers.
This article reminded me of my own sadness and frustration with people who have grown up involved in a church, but are basically ignorant when it comes to the Bible. They often know the popular stories, such as the ones about Noah, Daniel and the lions’ den, and Zacchaeus climbing the tree, but lack a comprehensive understanding of biblical teaching. I was heartened recently by a conversation with one of my former students who told me how grateful he was for the experience he and his wife had with the campus ministry I lead. They now lead a church small group and he told me how little the members know about biblical teaching or how to pray.
Sadly, this has been my experience with so many students entering college who have grown up in a Christian home and have attended church since they were babies. They know very little about what the Scriptures truly say and how to apply their teachings to their everyday lives. But even more alarming is the fact that there are many older adults who have been involved in church their whole lives for which the same can be said. I recall being a guest preacher at a church where the elders gathered around me requesting I handle almost every part of the service, including the Communion meditation and the prayer time. Perhaps it was their fear of public speaking, but it struck me as odd that not one of the men was willing to pray or to teach from the Word in front of the congregation of which they were the spiritual leaders.
In our campus ministry, we have long had what is the Christian version of the journalist’s News Literacy Project. We are seeking to do what Paul sought for Timothy—to help them know the Scriptures thoroughly enough to handle them correctly. We not only teach from the Word, we have them read it and discuss its application. We encourage them to read it regularly on their own, studying it and applying what they read.
As with the news, there are people out there teaching things they claim are biblical and true, but not all are as true as they seem when the whole of Scripture is brought to bear on their claims. Over the years of my ministry, I have had many students enter college with firm beliefs regarding the Christian faith, only to leave believing different things because they actually studied the Scriptures and let them be their guide on what to believe rather than their church or family tradition.
Today, consider what your biblical literacy is. How much do you really know about what the Word says beyond what other people tell you? How much time do you devote to personally reading and studying it per week? If these questions make you uneasy, then likely you are not as biblically literate as you thought or need to be.
© Jim Musser 2016
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV)
Time-Warner Cable has an ad on Pandora saying, “We’ll send you out ready for your day!” The ad refers to giving you the latest news, weather, and traffic reports. I have thought about that since hearing it during some of my morning workouts.
What truly prepares us for the day ahead? Is it knowing what has been happening in the world overnight, what the weather is going to be, or how congested the morning rush hour is? I suppose this information could be of some help, but I doubt it is enough or the appropriate information to send you out ready to face whatever is ahead.
Part of the problem is this information doesn’t do anything about yesterday. It doesn’t resolve the conflict we had with a friend. It doesn’t remove the regret of a poor decision. And it doesn’t change our present circumstances if they are less than favorable.
The writer of Lamentations was in a bad place. Before his eyes, his beloved Jerusalem, the Holy City of God, was being destroyed by the sin of its people. When he woke up each morning, the latest information was not going to change that. Sleep is a great escape from our troubles, but when we awake in the morning, we are faced with them once again.
But the lamenting writer found comfort in the timeless news of the Lord’s mercies (or compassions, as the NIV translates it). They are new every morning! So no matter what you experience the day before and what awaits you when you wake up, His mercies are right there as well.
In my life, I’ve had quite a few nights where sleep brought escape from my troubles, but reality was waiting for me in the morning. After my mother passed away when I was in grad school, this passage brought me great hope and comfort. And it has in times since when I have found life almost too hard to bear. Instead of being consumed with my troubles, the hope in the Lord’s mercy and faithfulness has kept me going.
This morning, if you are waking up to the troubles that are carrying over from yesterday, know the Lord is providing you what you need to be ready for your day—His mercies, which are new every morning.
© Jim Musser 2016
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’
These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God my Rock, ‘Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?’ My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42 NIV)
We all have them. They may change over time, but, in some form or other, they will be ever present with us. I’m referring to those things that create stress for us. I call them stress points. Working with college students, it is easy to identify at least three of their stress points—school, relationships, and the future. Every semester of every year, these three are predominant in causing stress for students. And they often mistakenly think that once they have finished school, their stress points will lessen or disappear altogether. If it were only so.
But those of us who are living life with school in the rearview mirror know this is a myth that only has legs on college campuses. We know from experience that the stresses of life typically increase rather than decrease. Financial pressures from student loan debt and just the demands of living life. Expectations of employers. The pressures that accompany marriage and having a family. Caring for aging parents. The list goes on and on. The reality is for all of us that life is stressful and, at times, overwhelmingly so.
The Psalmist, it seems, was experiencing the latter. The circumstances of his life were pulling him down. He believed in and trusted the Lord, but at the same time he was struggling to keep the faith and remain hopeful. He reminds himself of the faithfulness of God, not once, not twice, but three times. In the situation he finds himself, faith does not come easily. In fact, he is willing himself to believe, to trust, and to remain hopeful.
I find this very encouraging because I struggle with the same thing. In times of great stress, I can find myself overwhelmed and my faith in the Lord weakened. But in those times, I have tried to follow the Psalmist’s lead and not let my anxiety overwhelm me even if the circumstances of my life are doing just that. Rather, I try to remind myself (sometimes out loud) of God’s faithfulness and provision. But, as with the Psalmist, it is often a mighty struggle. And that should not be a surprise or a discouragement. Our flesh is weak and we have an Enemy who seeks to steal our joy. Life trusting the Lord will be a battle and we should expect nothing less. Yet, we have the promise of the Lord that if we trust in Him, we can overcome whatever stress we face in this world.
Today, or in the future, if you are feeling overwhelmed by life, take a lesson from the Psalmist. Will yourself to trust the Lord. He will help you overcome whatever you are facing.
© Jim Musser 2016
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13 NIV)
While I was working on my master’s degree in counseling, I worked one semester as a teaching assistant and taught my own class. It was a freshman-level class for students interested in exploring career options. As with all classes, there were projects and papers. I thought I did a decent job, but I was demanding.
At the end of the semester, the students filled out the required class evaluation forms and my supervising professor warned that students are often very negative in their critiques. When he handed me the stack of forms, he said, “Don’t take these personally.” Well over half said something like this: “Jim is a nice man, but…” and what would follow were their criticisms of how tough and demanding I was.
I was thinking about this the other day after hearing a student criticize another ministry. “They’re okay, but….” I admit saying similar things sometimes about people, ministries or situations. However, what I am also learning is grace is the bridge over the “but….”
None of us is perfect. We all have our flaws, idiosyncrasies, and shortcomings. In other words, we all need to be on the receiving end of grace. Since that is the case, Paul says, we should be quick to extend grace to others when their imperfections irritate us or even offend us. It is so easy, perhaps even natural, for us to descend into the valley of criticism, but recognizing our own need for grace can help us to take the bridge instead.
This is not to say we are to ignore people’s shortcomings. In fact, “bear with” implies a full knowledge and experience with imperfect people. Yet, despite the imperfections, we are to continue to love and accept our brothers and sisters. We are to take the bridge instead of going into the valley, remembering the words of Jesus, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35 NIV)
Today, as you interact with fellow believers and encounter their shortcomings, remember the bridge of grace is always the best path to take.
© Jim Musser 2016
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20 NIV)
My wife and I were walking around a nearby lake, a popular spot for both tourists and locals, when we saw this huge turtle going for a late afternoon swim. As we were watching it and marveling at its size, a mother and teenage daughter walked by. The mother, seeing us staring at something, turned to see what we were looking at. “Is that a turtle?” she asked. We confirmed her suspicions. Then she turned to her daughter, “Look at that turtle!” The girl didn’t say anything, but continued to walk and to stare at her phone. The mother tried again, “Did you see the turtle?” The girl, annoyed by her mother’s insistence, continued to stare at her phone and explained, “I’m trying to send a text, and, no, I didn’t see the turtle.” As they continued to follow the trail out of our sight, the girl never took her eyes away from her phone.
Some would say this is a modern-day phenomenon and a sign of the times, but people for a very long time have found it alluring to focus on things other than God’s creation. The phone and computer screens are only the latest distractions. Before that there were (and still are) television, radio, record players, newspapers, movies, books, games, etc. that have captivated our attention to the exclusion of what God has created. It seems our bent to be easily distracted by that created by humans and drawn away from that created by God.
Many years ago, I remember meeting some young men at a youth ranch in southeastern Kansas. They were from big East Coast cities and when I asked them what they thought of Kansas, they told me the dark and the silence of the prairie had frightened them initially. All their lives, they had lived amidst artificial noise and light, never traveling beyond the confines of the city. The countryside was a foreign and uncomfortable place for them until they grew accustomed to it. But then, they told me, they grew to enjoy it and embrace it as a place to more clearly see the awesomeness of God.
I live in a beautiful place that is a destination for many to experience the grandness of the forests and the mountains, and to breathe in the cool, fresh mountain air. But even so, I find I have to be intentional to break free from the distractions of the screens to take in what is around me, which, importantly, doesn’t just include the mountains, but also the people who the Lord also created. The allure of my devices created by humans is always seeking to divert my attention away from all He has created.
Today, consider how much attention you devote to your screens or other human-made things that allure you away from that which the Lord has created for you to enjoy. If He made them for your pleasure, then you are missing out on some wonderful blessings if you allow yourself to be allured away by other things.
© Jim Musser 2016
“But she carried her prostitution still further. She saw men portrayed on a wall, figures of Chaldeans portrayed in red, with belts around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers, natives of Chaldea. As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust. When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her naked body, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister. Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.” (Ezekiel 23:14-21 NIV)
I don’t know how it happened. I admit Ezekiel is not a book that I have spent a lot of time reading over my years as a follower of Jesus, but I have read it, a number of times. But when I read this passage a few days ago, it didn’t sound familiar. I wondered how could I have glossed over previously this little nugget—“there she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses”?! I was once again reminded how earthy and direct the Lord’s language can be.
Often I think we consider God some kind of cosmic prude, who is uncomfortable with the ways of the world with which we are so familiar. We can’t envision Him speaking in the type of coarse language we might use. Perhaps this passage can put an end to this sort of thinking.
The Lord seems to speak in such direct terms when idolatry is at issue. In this case, Israel longed to be like other nations. They had sought to form an alliance with Assyria, and when the terms proved too demanding, they then turned to Egypt. Both nations had their own gods and evil practices, such as sacrificing children. Israel turned her eyes away from the Lord and lusted for attention from these nations.
Have you ever been in a relationship where your deep devotion has been betrayed? If so, like me, you know the deep hurt that results. This was the position the Lord was in with Israel. He had shown her deep devotion, rescuing her from slavery in Egypt, providing her with her own land and blessing her with material wealth and worldly stature. Yet, she spurned His devotion out of lust for another. This is a love story gone bad, and God revealed His broken heart in the most graphic language.
We live in a different time now. God no longer makes covenants with nations, but with individuals. But His heart is no less devoted. He longs for us to have an exclusive relationship with Him. Yet, there are others lurking about who threaten the relationship, things in this life that seek to stir up our lust and to steal our devotion to the Lord.
Today, consider if there are individuals or things in your life that you are lusting after, which are drawing you away from the Lord. The graphic language He uses in reference to Israel’s betrayal can give you a sense of how deep His devotion is to you and how hurt He is when it is spurned for something else.
© Jim Musser 2016
