Blog Archives - Michael Mercer: teacher. writer. father. husband. follower.

In The Tomb

3/31/2018

Saturday is the end of Holy Week. On this day, Jesus lay in the tomb...dead. He was buried by Joseph of Arimathea in a new tomb among the rich, just as prophesied by Isaiah the prophet (Isaiah 53:9). Those that loved Jesus were in deep mourning. The apostles were trying to figure out their next move and laying low because they could be next. It was the Sabbath, so that made it a bit easier.

Can you imagine an entire day where all of your thoughts are consumed about what just happened and what will we do next? What happened to Jesus being the Messiah and putting Jews back on track? Our leader is dead, what now? The apostles and extended disciples were at an all-time low. I cannot even imagine all that they had to bear in this one day.

We become low and have seasons of deep grief and mourning. We have had hectic weeks where at the end we find only sorrow and nothing to show for our hard work. We have seasons where we cannot find the light. And if we are believers we will find ourselves asking questions of God, that may not be answered. We long for light and an end to the despair.

And all we can say is that Sunday is coming. There is a resurrection and life will once again appear, where it seemed death had conquered. While our seasons of life and our grief may never come to the conclusion we were hoping for, God is still in control. It cannot be taken from us that God killed his own son and raised him from the dead. But how can we be confident in a resurrection if we cannot fully believe death has occurred?

So we wait...and rest...and mourn...and live in the death of Christ. We live in the death of our own happiness. We live in the death of the world's despair. We live in this death...with hope!

Hope is on the Horizon!

Our Hope is not manufactured, but true, because Jesus wasn't just presumed dead...he was dead...in a tomb.

ALL DAY SATURDAY...DEAD!!!!

Thank God we know about Sunday!

Good Friday

3/30/2018

Good Friday is probably the best known day of Holy Week. Some schools still dismiss to honor the holiday, and it's one of the core moments of Christianity.

Some people make the cross THE core. I think that may be somewhat misguided for several reasons. 1. I like to think that there was more to Jesus than just death (something we all can do). 2. Without the resurrection Jesus is just another dead deity. 3. The cross as the core puts everything on Jesus and there is a responsibility that every follower has in response to Christ. 4. No one at the time saw the power of God at that moment, except the centurion (that in no way means power was absent, just unseen and deniable). The power of God cannot be avoided upon the resurrection of Jesus, by those eye witnesses and even today.

Don't get me wrong the cross is extremely important. It is prophesied about and God did not save Jesus from that reality. It reminds us Jesus is human and teaches us the fullness of God's love. And I can also argue that raising the importance of the cross is due to the fact of the resurrection and maybe I'm splitting hairs.

But being Crucifixed (fixated only on crucifixion) has at least two dangers.

1. We can become so fixated on the crucifixion and what Jesus did that we feel no pull or tug on our lives to be true disciples of Christ because we place all responsibility and response on Jesus.

2. We can easily neglect the entire story of God for only a small (although of high importance) piece. We won't see the need to pour over the Torah or be amazed at the prophets proclamations. We won't find genealogies fascinating and we won't have much use for serving others and following Paul's exhortations.

This is why on Good Friday we challenge ourselves to live Cruciformed (formed by the crucifixion) lives. Then we see our place in the story. We answer the call to true discipleship (not just church membership). We lived shaped by God because he gave his only Son for our sin and for us to live Kingdom Lives.

Now that's a Good Friday!

Good Friday Readings: Matthew 27:32-56, Luke 23:26-49
Challenge: write down 3 ways you live a Cruciformed life.
Write down 3 more/different ways you could live a Cruciformed life

Maundy Thursday

3/29/2018

While evil lurked on Wednesday, Intimacy, compassion, and prayer rule on Thursday. There is a great deal of things that happen on Thursday. It is probably the busiest day of Holy Week. Jesus breaks bread with his disciples (Last Supper), calls Judas out, washes his disciples feet, spends half the night in prayer, and before the hours tick into Friday is betrayed and arrested.

Jesus sends his apostles to make preparations for the passover meal and while they eat, he institutes a meal that my tradition commemorates every Sunday and every Christian church celebrates at some time. In the midst of what is to come and betrayal that is at hand, Jesus takes time to have a meal and share with his closest friends, all the while giving them something that they will be able to hold onto even after his death, after his resurrection, and after his ascension. The meal still holds today for the church. This is not a funeral dirge type meal. It is festive and meaningful. There is laughter at the table, stories being told. There is also anxiety and many questions. Jesus takes the opportunity to finally set up what God has been wanting to do this entire time. Jesus is being set as the savior and focus of God as the true Messiah that demands our attention and our worship forevermore. The bread is his body that will go on the cross as human. The cup is the blood that will be shed not to save himself, but to save all of humanity. This simple act of making something everyday, meaningful takes Jesus from head knowledge, something to be grasped, into a true savior that through his own flesh and blood becomes our gateway to God and a one-time sacrifice...our victor!

In an act of complete compassion and humility, Jesus takes the form of a servant, the lowest of servants, and gets down on his knees and picks up the dirty, nasty feet of his closest friends and disciples and begins with a towel and wash basin to change their souls from darkness and void to pure and Spirit infused. This one act of servanthood along with a command to follow this kind of way, gives us just what we need to know of Jesus. He did not come on Horse for war, he came on a donkey of peace. He didn't come to condemn and tear us down so we had no choice out of weakness to follow, but he came with tenderness and love to draw us into God's true nature. He came gently and would leave in brutality as a human. But as Divine he was in the beginning and would return for eternity. Life is not lived on a high and exalted platform, but on one's knees with the dirt of the world under their nose, so the stench of the world can be overtaken by the aroma of a perfect, compassionate, humble Christ. And only Jesus can wipe the nastiness of our life away, and yet finds us completely capable to do the same for others. That's the way of Christ, whether we can comprehend it or not.
Jesus is right where we would expect him to be as those come to betray and arrest. He is with His father in intimate prayer. This is a lesson to us all. Jesus in the midst of giving up his very own life for the salvation of humanity takes time to pray. It's pure. It's earnest. It's holy. If there were ever a call on our lives to pray, it is the example that Jesus leaves us before he left us. Pray and do it with your full being. Jesus prays for God's will, His obedience, His disciples, His enemies, and the world. What a humbling notion, to think that our very names were on Christ's lips before he gave his final breath up on the cross. That could change how we live for him. And well it should!
Maundy Thursday Readings: Matthew 26:17-27:26, John 13:1-38
Challenge: Rise up and show compassion to those "less" than you. Pray in great Earnest for the Kingdom of God and His will. Share a meal with those you love and let Jesus be the focus

All is Quiet

3/28/2018

The Wednesday of Holy Week is sometimes been referred to as the day of Silence. Simply because there is no recorded action or event involving Jesus directly. However, something is happening on Wednesday. It is a day when idle hands become the devil's handiwork.

This entire week evil is lurking about as Jesus makes his way from a festive parade in his honor to a grave sealed out of contempt. I love the movie the Passion of the Christ, because from time to time we see the ghastly image of Satan and evil lurking around as the events of this last week of Jesus' life before his death and resurrection unfold. This day of Holy Week is unsettling and challenging.

Evil is on the move. Judas has fully given over to his own greed and makes plans with the chief priests. What is telling is that Judas approaches them and sees the chance at a great business proposition. Evil has entered his heart and the darkness that has encircled his soul dims any hope of what we all know is to come. Jesus is sold out for 30 pieces of silver, about 4 months worth of wages. For the average American household this would be somewhat under $17,000. Maybe if Jesus wouldn't have given him such a hard time at the anointing. Maybe if Judas had been compensated better. Maybe if he would have been voted class secretary instead of treasurer. No! That's the thing about Evil. If it fills the heart, encircles the soul, and drives the actions it won't matter, you have lost control and you will give yourself to its enticing stench. Judas becomes the Anakin Skywalker of Jesus' council and allows hate, pride, jealously, greed, and irrational feelings overcome him and turn his ways to dark.

So how can we read Matthew 26:14-16 and want to celebrate this event on a week we call, Holy! Because even when evil is on the move, it does not take into consideration what good and holiness can bring about. Yes, evil may be on the move, but it is playing into the hand of the Almighty God, who does not create evil, but can unveil its ugliness and expose its wretchedness only to allow good and purity to rise to the top.

Judas plays his part and sells out Jesus with the intent to hand him over to his enemies. It is Judas, though, that will give a significant push that will put things in motion where Jesus dies and the full power of God is seen in his ultimate resurrection. Evil may have been lurking, but it is its nature to fall to pride and when it falls God has overcome...once and for all!

Holy Wednesday Readings: Matthew 26:14-16, Mark 14:10-11, Luke 22:3-6
Challenge: Look introspectively for ways that you might purge evil from your own life and pray for God to bring his glory in all situations.

On A Tuesday with Jesus

3/27/2018

What if you knew that this would be your last Tuesday with Jesus? What would you do with Him. How would you respond to Him? On the Tuesday of Jesus' last week before his crucifixion and resurrection, there were people spending time critiquing, learning, and anointing.

On Holy Tuesday we are reminded that Jesus had authority to teach about his father, God. It didn't matter whether or not the chief priests, teachers, and elders believed him. They thought they cornered the market on knowledge of God and law. They definitely knew ABOUT God and law, but they didn't KNOW God. Jesus knew His father and in this last week leading up to his death and resurrection, he does a great amount of teaching to set some things up and to set some things straight.

I love how the gospel, Matthew, shares so much of this teaching. He loads it on and we get to see Jesus' heart and exactly how he reflects God to the people. I encourage you to read through Matthew 21:23-25:36.

The last big scene we see with Jesus on Tuesday is his anointing. Mary comes and pours pure nard over him. The fragrance fills the room and in an act of complete humility and love she wipes his feet with her hair. And of course no good deed goes unpunished. With a great indignant spirit, some that were there call this woman out and make a case for the poor. Matthew says disciples. Mark says some that were present. John calls out Judas as the indignant voice. It doesn't matter who, the problem is still the problem. The ones who should get it, don't and those that should be furthest from godly things, run to it.

Today we must keep in consideration that when Jesus taught, he was trying to reflect the full nature of God. He wanted to share what the Kingdom truly was and what it could continue to be even after he leaves.

Also, we must realize that we must run to God. We must see Jesus for who He really is. We must learn in humility and then worship him, even if it is with tears.

Tuesday Readings: Matthew 21:23-25:36, Mark 11:27-14:11
Challenge: Examine our lives and what we believe about Jesus and listen for God's call on our lives

Holy Monday

3/26/2018

This was not a good day to be on Jesus' bad side. On the Monday of Holy Week, Jesus sets things straight for the Temple and curses the fig tree.

This may be why Mondays are so bad still today. Maybe it all started when Jesus walked into the temple and saw how people were desecrating the holiness of God in such a public way. People had not come to worship and give glory to God and revere him as the father. They had come to make some cash. In reality, they weren't interested in God at all and were willing to help their poorer Jewish neighbors give a sacrifice at passover, but for a price. This was a great weekend to make some money. 300,000 to 400,000 Jews would be ascending on Jerusalem to celebrate passover and many of these travelers would need something to sacrifice. And if they were poor, then all the better. Jesus was at the end of his rope and could not stand to see how disrespectful people were to God, his house, and his prized creation...his people. On a side note, this wasn't the first time the temple had been treated with such contempt. In Nehemiah's day (Neh. 13) the temple was being treated with disrespect when Tobiah had been given a room in the temple. Do I need to rethink my office at the church building? No, Tobiah shouldn't have been there because it was Law that no Ammonite or Moabite should be admitted into the assembly of God, because they had not met the Israelites with food and water but had hired Balaam to call a curse down on them (Neh. 13:1-2) Not only had Eliashib provided a room for Tobiah in the courts of God, but had also neglected the Levites and the portions they were to be receiving. So what does Nehemiah do about such a travesty on the house of God. "I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah's household goods out of the room. I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense." (Neh. 13:8-9) He then called upon Judah to bring tithes and take care of the neglect of the Levites. There is a lot more going on here too as Nehemiah tries to reestablish the temple of God. But back to Jesus...what does he do about the crimes against God's house? "Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 'It is written', he said to them, 'My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.'" (Matthew 21:12-13) Jesus was angry! But he had a right to be angry. Just like the day of Nehemiah, Jews had forgotten what it meant to be at the temple in the presence of the Lord. They forgot their worship. They forgot his holiness. It was a bad day to be on Jesus' bad side.

You know its a Monday when you go to get a fig and the tree hasn't bore any fruit. So what does Jesus do about this? He curses the tree and right then it withers (Matthew 21)

And before Monday can get away let's make these connections. It isn't necessarily about commerce or fruitless trees. This is about faith and the realization for Jesus that Friday will have to come, because the people who should be closest to God, don't have a clue who they worship or why. They need to drive away the distractions that have made God something he is not. They need to dig deep for an ounce of faith that doesn't depend on human ability, but the power of God. They need to realize that the Messiah is right in front of them and instead of always taking a cynical look at God's message and messenger, they must trust in the God that has chosen them, given them life, and provided them a savior.

As we think about Holy Week and especially the Monday of Holy Week, we must focus on the fact that God is to be our focus of worship, that faith is real, and that Jesus is our Savior...now and forevermore!

Holy Week Monday Meditation: Matthew 21:12-22, Mark 11:12-26, Luke 19:45-48

Triumphant in His Own Way

3/25/2018

God rides in on a donkey. What? Why doesn't God ride in on a horse. After all He is the great God who can do anything and all powerful. Well, plain and simple, a horse is an animal of war and a donkey is an animal of peace. So God rides in on a donkey.

It doesn't mean that there is not a battle. There is! A cosmic battle...spiritual warfare where the crowd is torn between Hosanna and pre-meditative murder. There is also the idea that the people who actually knew Jesus (those riding into Jerusalem with him) and the people who came out to meet him, thought that they were laying down palm branches and cloaks for a King that would take Israel, where it always has wanted to be...Over All Other Nations.

But Jesus didn't come so that Jews would have civic power or political domination. Jesus came so that Jews and Gentiles alike could be reconciled back to God, once and for all. Jesus came for peace. A peace that passes our understanding. A peace that brings hope back to the people. Maybe not the hope they wanted, but the hope they needed.

He came in triumph. He hadn't even had his final battle yet. That was to come at the end of the week. And the ultimate victory would come the following Sunday. It was a battle no one could conceive was coming. It was the end of the war and yet, in all the celebration, in all the parade and fanaticism...people rightfully gave praise, even if it was for an entirely different and maybe wrong-headed reason.

The world will always be at war. We fight battles every day. We fight for the rights of the oppressed. We fight to keep our value systems strong and in place. We fight terrorists as a nation. We fight personal demons of sin. And we fight for the Kingdom of God. But Jesus didn't go around bombing clinics, hating those who sin, or using the poor and needy as a way to make himself look holier. Jesus came with an extra measure of peace...and the world hated him for it.

The world wanted war and a king that could drive out those in power. The Jews wanted a Messiah to free them from bondage of other rulers so that they could control their own destiny (which in their minds would surely help them redirect their nation and people back to purity with God). But Jesus didn't come to change the world. He came to save it. He came to save it from itself. He came to save the prisoner and the free. He came to save the wealthy and the poor. He came to save the oppressed and the advantaged. He came to save the lost and the godly.

And when Jesus comes to save he rides a donkey. Now who saw that coming?

Thief by Third Day

3/22/2018

Nothing At All -Third Day

3/20/2018

In honor of the Third Day Farewell tour I will post from time to time some of their songs here. The opening chords of this song, take me all the way back. Thank you Third Day for sharing your gift with us.

The Word on Rest

3/19/2018

This week is spring break for us. Here are some encouraging scriptures toward resting and taking a break. Enjoy!

Genesis 2: 2-3 “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

Exodus 20:8-11“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Exodus 33:14“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Leviticus 25:4 “But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.”

Psalm 73:26“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Psalm 61:1-4b “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”

Psalm 62:1-2 “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”

Isaiah 40:28-31“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Hebrews 4: 9-11“Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”

Hebrews 4:15-16“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Matthew 11:28-29“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Psalm 127:1-2 “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.”

1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

Psalm 62:5“Yes, my soul, find rest in God: my hope comes from him.”

Psalm 116:7 “Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.”

Mark 6:31“Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

1 John 3:19“This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence.”

1 Peter 3:4 “Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

Psalm 131:2 “But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.”

Proverbs 19:23” The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.”

Philippians 4:12“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

1 Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”
John 14:27“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

John 16:33“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Philippians 4: 6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”