Words that Heal

During my devotional study in Proverbs last year, my readings often focused on the power of words. Tim Keller's devotional book on the Proverbs has been my guidebook through the wisdom we find, and for a successive number of days, the various proverbs relating to speech were in view.

I've considered the nature of words from the many types of speech discussed there. Solomon speaks of words that are true, and not just factually true, but honest--without any attempt to mislead. Words should be faithful in their intent, reflect integrity in the speaker, and bring grace to the recipient (I was going to put all the references in here, but all you would see would be parentheses and numbers!).

Words can be kind or cruel; they can have power to hurt or even kill. They can encourage and build up, or they can wound and tear down. They can refresh or cause anxiety. Sometimes they can be both needed and hard to hear when they contain the faithful rebuke of a friend. Even as I say these things, some of you are remembering various verses from the book that say these things.

Recently, I have been impressed by the discussion of words that heal. In 16:24 we read, "Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." That's an image that requires some experience. Mine comes regularly in Israel.

On our Israel tours, the hotels we use provide very large breakfast buffets. One of my favorites features a large section of fresh honeycomb, dripping with honey. It is a treat to enjoy and I do almost every morning we are there. Spreading it on some of the wonderful breads available makes the morning meal a "sweet deal."

In a culture that didn't have the abundance of sugar in everything that we have, honey and the honeycomb were a treat, and came to symbolize a special refreshment. We are told that both Samson and Jonathan found themselves refreshed and sustained in eating from it.

Similarly Solomon says words that are empowered by grace ("gracious words" are not just "nice," they are reflective of grace to others) have a similar effect. They can bring a lightness to the soul that may be weighed down. More than that, they can bring healing--a restorative power--to the person who may be suffering.

I think most of us would want our words to be able to have this kind of impact on others when they are hurting, and perhaps even when they just need to be encouraged. So, how might we make sure our words are restorative and healing when that is needed?

I started working on a list of the other characteristics I find in Proverbs that give healing power to words. Here it is--you can probably add more.

1. They should be true. You don't help anyone or show grace in any real sense by not being honest.
2. They should be "hear" able. What I mean by that is that what I say needs to be both understandable and receivable by the hearer. Sometimes I may have a gracious message, but the person I address is not in a state of mind to hear it. I should gauge the moment to see if I can speak in a way that will be heard in the right way.
3. They should have credibility. That means that the person has reason to believe that I am a credible witness and a trusted voice. This is especially true if the healing needed involves any measure of correction.
4. They should have the effect of "blessing." The way they are spoken and the aim in the speaking should be seen as seeking the good of the hearer. When we say something "for their own good," that is what we mean, but sometimes the way such messages come across is less healing than harsh.
5. They should reflect and line up with wisdom. Many of the proverbs extol wisdom, and healing words will bear the evidence of flowing from wisdom we have gained through our experience of God's truth and his work in us.
6. They should be regular. Just as we may need multiple doses of a medicine, healing words sometimes need repeating and regularity to have their desired effect. 

That's my initial list. As I said, you might add to it out of your experience. But this has become my personal challenge--to find ways to make my words and conversation a greater source of healing to those around me. 

A Tale of Two Easter Sundays

You can see me facing the congregation with the orchestra
in the foreground and the choir in the distance.

Yesterday here in Cedarville, the Grace Church family celebrated the Resurrection with two services filled with music and Word--we have our children worshiping with us on this day, and so the whole service was geared toward the whole family. We considered three themes together, "Lost, Waiting, Rescued" as we recounted the story of Jesus death and resurrection in the context of the Bible's grand story. It was a great day of worship and celebration. We arrived and left without incident. We always do. Surprisingly, last week, the new Chief of Police, a believer himself who attends a sister church, stopped by on Sunday morning to speak to our safety team here and ask if there were any ways that he could be of any assistance to us. It was a very kind gesture. We haven't had any need for the police to protect us, and in my tenure here, we have not had to have the police intervene during a service or offer us assistance, other than in an occasional medical emergency when they accompanied EMS workers who came to help.

In contrast, the Zion Church in Sri Lanka did not have their expected Easter Sunday. Instead, a bomb ripped through their building killing dozens of people. The pastor, a graduate of Singapore Bible College, lost his son in the blast. The picture you see was taken at Zion Church just ten minutes before the bomb exploded and killed half the people you see in that room. The authorities are convinced that this was the work of terrorists targeting Christians, but they have not yet named the group responsible [UPDATE: The government has named a known Islamic terror group as the perpetrators, but says they could not have acted alone and must have had outside help from other like-minded groups. The government was warned of these attacked by the US and other intelligence services weeks in advance but did not issue warnings or take steps to protect Christians].

This is a picture of the children of Zion Church in Sri Lanka,
ten minutes before half of them were killed in a bomb
blast that targeted the church along with others across
Sri Lanka, on Easter Sunday morning.

Sri Lanka is an island nation where the majority religion is Buddhism, and the next largest is Hinduism. These groups were at war for decades ago, as the minority Tamil Tigers, made up of members of the minority Hindu people, waged a guerrilla war against the Buddhist Sinhalese majority. It was a terrible time, but a peace agreement ended such terrible carnage over a decade ago, and Christians were not in the crosshairs then. No one expected such large scale violence again in the country, and especially not against Christians on Easter. But the longstanding Catholic presence, along with a small but fast-growing Evangelical presence, has brought opposition from the larger religions, including Islam.

Sometimes these stories make us momentarily sad, but they are easy to hold at a distance. Not so this time. We have two members of our own Grace Family from Sri Lanka, and each of their families was touched by this string of church bombings, losing members of extended family. I spoke with them Easter Sunday at our services, and they were still awaiting word on the rest of their families. Thankfully, no immediate family members were harmed.

I see some Christians who seem to be reacting with anger toward those who did this: anger that probably is due, at least in part, to being taken by surprise in both the incident and its violence toward people we know were not a threat to anyone. I'm troubled, but not angered. Here's why.

Jesus told us a number of truths about being his people. One is that we should expect hatred, just like he himself faced. Further, he told us that we are blessed when we are persecuted for his name's sake, and that is clearly what was happening here. Speaking to the church in Smyrna about the persecution they would face, he did not urge anger or retaliation, but rather, "be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life." These martyrs will receive that special gift from Jesus himself.

We grieve the loss of life, and we weep with those who weep. This was not deserved, nor was it anything other than criminal and evil. But it really should not surprise us that it happened--even if the particular occurrence was a surprise. It has been happening throughout Asia for years, even as the evangelical church is growing rapidly there.

Those who plotted these bombings believe they can silence Christians and stop the gospel from moving forward by their actions. Not only are they wrong, but they will find what many before them have discovered--"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." And in what might be one of the most ironic of results, some of those who plotted this deed may themselves come under the conviction and saving power of the One they were trying to fight. Just ask Saul of Tarsus.

We had a great Sunday, but it was a bit more sobering than normal, for the events in Sri Lanka had already occurred and we noted them, praying for our brothers and sisters there. But right after we prayed, we sang a song that included the following words:

There's a reason why our hearts can be courageous,

There's a reason why the dead are made alive,

There's a reason why we share his resurrection,

Jesus is alive."

(From "Praise the King" by Shane and Shane)

Believers in Sri Lanka and other places need that courage right now, and God will give it. And we may need it sooner than we realize--may we seek it in the power of Christ's resurrection!

"Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!"

[Originally published on Easter, 2014]

I've actually been to this tomb in Israel many times--a rolling stone tomb along the road that is probably the closest we
will get to a good representation of what Jesus' empty tomb would have looked like.

A very well known "cutting edge" Christian famous for his iconoclastic life and writings wrote a book a number of years ago that was every "wanna be cutting edge" Christian's favorite book. In it, the writer echoed one of his mentors in saying that the beauty of the teachings of Jesus is so great, and the power of his instruction so overpowering, that even if the whole story of Jesus wasn't true, and there was no heaven ahead, he would still want to be a Christian because of these qualities.

At that point as I was reading the book, I threw it across the room.

Why? Because that is what Paul the apostle would have done.

Actually he says, in 1 Corinthians 15 that if Christ is not, really and truly, raised from the dead, we Christians are "most to be pitied." That is Bible talk for "losers," "idiots," or just about any term of derision and foolishness you would want to pin on us. Why, Paul says, would we go through all the self-denial, the enduring of wrongs in hopes that they will be made right some day, the offending of others, and who knows what else, if this whole matter of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus isn't real?  Good question! 

Christianity, thankfully, is not just a self improvement program because, let's face it, even if I improve myself to my highest potential, I am still falling short of God's glory, still selfish, still thinking more about myself than I should, only now I'd just have more about me to brag and think highly about. And I can't save myself from myself--from my sinfulness. 

Christianity is about resurrection, not just reformation. It is not just weak becoming strong, but dead coming to life. The resurrection of Jesus figured much more prominently in the apostles' preaching in Acts than it often does in our thinking. We focus on his death--a vital focus to be sure. But they loved to proclaim his resurrection--his power over death, and the guarantee of right standing before God forever in his presence. His death, without the resurrection, gave his followers only grief. They didn't think about how noble it was, or even of it as a possible appeasement of God's wrath. Only the resurrection made it real to them.

And it keeps making it real to us. He is risen. He's alive, now and forevermore. And as he ascended into heaven the message of the angels at that event was the same as he had been giving--he is coming back!

Links to the "Holy Week" posts up to this point...

It's Wednesday of Holy Week. You can find the post about it here.

The Tuesday post is here.

The Monday post is here.

The Palm Sunday post is here. 

Dangerous!

Sometimes just being a witness to Jesus' power is dangerous

"When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account  of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus."

John 12:9-11

The Saturday night before Palm Sunday (tomorrow) is the anniversary of Mary, the sister of Lazarus, anointing Jesus with costly ointment in an extravagant display of her love for him. Jesus said it would always be remembered about her, and obviously, it is.

The setting of that special gift was at a dinner that Lazarus and his sisters gave for Jesus in their home that evening, as the Sabbath was coming to a close. It wasn't just a meal for the family, the disciples, and Jesus, although they are clearly in focus. Apparently others of their neighbors came--and not just a few. The clearly stated reason is in our text. It was only a matter of days (or at most a few weeks) since Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. Talk about a rock star! Had this happened today, Lazarus would have been on every news and talk show imaginable. They didn't have such things then, but people had heard about it, and then heard that Jesus, the miracle worker himself, was back at the home of this family in Bethany. So they came in large numbers. I don't know if they fed them all, but I wouldn't put it past Martha.

However, some of those who knew all about it were not there and were not fans. They were the religious leaders of the Jewish nation in Jerusalem. What they saw distressed them greatly. People were moving toward Jesus because of the newly raised Lazarus. Rather than let the miracle touch their hearts or even challenge their thinking, they came up with what they believed was the only sensible solution. Since they didn't want people believing in Jesus, they didn't want them to see evidence that he should be believed in. Lazarus was, right now, Exhibit A; therefore, Jesus had to die, but to make sure his legend didn't live on, Lazarus had to go back to the grave, too.

Imagine that. People hate you because a miracle gave you life. Just his being alive was enough to want him dead.

Reading the story again made me think. All around each of us are other believers, and we all are those who have been raised from spiritual death by Christ (and with Christ). We are, in a real sense all a "spiritual Lazarus," called out of the grave. And in a real way, our lives ought to be just as much a testimony of the power of Jesus as his--so that we would become dangerous to the kingdom of darkness.

Now I know, you can't see being spiritually raised to life like you can see a physical raising. But just a minute. It was the fact that Lazarus was showing all the signs of life that made him the miracle. Are there signs of spiritual life that should be evidence that we have experienced the miracle of new life? I think you know there are.

• Faith in Jesus
• Trust in his Word
• Love for other Christians
• Faithful witness to the gospel
• Growing hatred of sin
• Increasing joy in holiness
• The fruit of the Spirit

That is just a start. And I might suggest that these signs may be enough to put you in danger! Not from Jewish religious leaders, but from a greater enemy. Satan hates to see the evidences of spiritual life, and he will do all he can to kill them off in you. He may stir up unbelievers to persecute and threaten you, as he has done in so many places and eras. But he may also throw all sorts of temptations, discouragements and challenges your way as well. He hates you for the life you show. If he can't keep Jesus dead (and he couldn't), he will do his best to stop you and your life from being seen. Why? Because just like Lazarus, your life might also be enough to draw others to Jesus.

Let's live out the reality of what we are--alive from the dead, to the glory of our Savior!