Is Your Blade Sharpened?

Mark 1:12-13 - At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

 

It is assumed that Jesus was aware of his mission long before his ministry officially began.  However, with his baptism, his anointing by the Holy Spirit, and the verbal announcement of God the Father from the heavens, this mission has not been made public.    His public ministry is about to begin.  So what does Jesus do?  He withdraws into the dessert for forty days. 

It should be mentioned that 40 is a very significant number in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures.  It is mentioned nearly 150 times.  This number is usually associated with a time of testing, trial, and/or preparation.  Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai on two separate occasions.  Elijah fasted 40 days.  Jonah warned Nineveh for 40 days.  The Hebrews spent 40 years in the wilderness. Noah’s flooding rains lasted 40 days and nights.  The list goes on and on.  On purpose, Jesus evokes this “holy” number with the time he spent in the desert to begin his ministry. 

 

The time in the desert IS ministry.  It is not what happens BEFORE ministry.  It IS ministry. Purposeful time alone IS ministry.  Being sent somewhere by the Spirit IS ministry.  Addressing temptations IS ministry.  Being attended to by God IS ministry.  What Jesus does in the desert makes what he does after more effective and focused. 

 

We all a ministry/service to which we are called.  My question for all of us is this: does our ministry/service include the elements of spiritual direction, intentional solitude, addressing personal temptation, and submitting ourselves to God’s care a part of our service or are those things attended to “if we have time?”  Stephen Covey called these kinds of activities the habit of “sharpening the saw.” Using a saw with a dull blade takes exponentially more time to cut than one that has been sharpened.  The time spent sharpening the blade is way more than made up for by the shortened time it takes to cut.  Jesus’s service is “sharpened” by His time in the desert.  If Jesus needed to do that, how much more do we?  That takes me back to today essential question.

 

Question:  Does our ministry/service include the elements of spiritual direction, intentional solitude, addressing personal temptation, and submitting ourselves to God’s care a part of our service or are those things attended to “if we have time?”

 

Prayer:  Master Jesus, help us not to be so preoccupied with constant activity that we forget the activities/disciplines that drive our most effective service and remind us that our service is always to You.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Spend some time actively seeking God’s guidance on a specific issue in your life right now. 

 

Song:  Take Time to Be Holy – David & Steven Au

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WblkcQYxdp8

Carrying Extra Oil

Carrying Extra Oil

 

Matthew 25:1-13, The Message - “God’s kingdom is like ten young virgins who took oil lamps and went out to greet the bridegroom. Five were silly and five were smart. The silly virgins took lamps, but no extra oil. The smart virgins took jars of oil to feed their lamps. The bridegroom didn’t show up when they expected him, and they all fell asleep.

“In the middle of the night someone yelled out, ‘He’s here! The bridegroom’s here! Go out and greet him!’

“The ten virgins got up and got their lamps ready. The silly virgins said to the smart ones, ‘Our lamps are going out; lend us some of your oil.’

“They answered, ‘There might not be enough to go around; go buy your own.’

“They did, but while they were out buying oil, the bridegroom arrived. When everyone who was there to greet him had gone into the wedding feast, the door was locked.

“Much later, the other virgins, the silly ones, showed up and knocked on the door, saying, ‘Master, we’re here. Let us in.’

“He answered, ‘Do I know you? I don’t think I know you.’

“So stay alert. You have no idea when he might arrive.

 

                One way to see this passage is to simply take this weird story about smart and silly virgins as Jesus reinforcing His teaching on readiness in chapter 24 of Matthew’s gospel.  The smart young ladies were prepared and the silly young ladies were not.  However, we would be missing something important if we did that.  This story is not just about readiness; it’s about complacency. 

                You see, all ten ladies were prepared to do what they were supposed to do.  These bridesmaids job was to go out and wait for the bridegroom and when he arrived, they would form a lighted welcome line to welcome him and usher him into the wedding ceremony.  All ten ladies had their lamps and were prepared to do their job – if everything went according to plan.  But Jesus introduces an unexpected twist.  What if the bridegroom was delayed and didn’t arrive until much later than expected?  This unexpected problem is what separates the smart from the silly.  The smart virgins knew that things could go wrong and they might need more oil than they thought.  However, the others were complacent and thought they had oil all they needed.  They were overly confident in their resources and when the unexpected happened, it kept them from fulfilling their responsibility and participating in the great celebration. 

                I’m a guy who likes to play golf from time to time, but by no stretch of the imagination do I consider myself a golfer.  Anyone who has seen me play would probably agree.  When I hit the ball, only God knows where it’s headed.  For that reason, I never set foot on the first tee without several extra golf balls.  I’m pretty sure that in the course of 18 holes, I will lose at least a couple but more than likely more than a couple.  I am not overly confident about my golf game, so I expect the unexpected.

                Unfortunately, when it comes to my faith life, I haven’t always had the same humility.  At times, I will confess to “coasting.”  I get complacent with my faith resources being sufficient to carry me through whatever comes.  I skip my spiritual disciplines.  I “phone it in” as they say.  Almost without exception, whenever I let that complacency slip in, life throws something at me that leaves me coming up short.  I am unprepared and I miss opportunities.  When I go through life only expecting the expected, I will invariably be surprised (not in a good way) at some point.

                Jesus calls us to a lifestyle of preparation for the unexpected.  Spiritual practices like regular prayer, Bible study, worship, and others help us “store up extra oil” for our lamps.  Then, when life happens, we are ready. 

 

Questions:  What practices help you carry “some extra oil” for your lamp?  What is the current state of those practices in your routine right now?

 

Prayer:  Lord, show us the places in our heart and life where we have gotten complacent.  We don’t want to miss the opportunities you present when they come and we definitely don’t want to be unprepared when Jesus returns.  Show us how to store up extra “oil for our lamps.” Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Ask God to show you something you can do to better prepare you for the unexpected.

 

Song:  Give Me Oil in My Lamp – Nathan Jess

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txh1-93YNUE