Believe First

Written by Ed Krampitz | 19 February 2010

Mary saw him first, followed by the two men on the Emmaus Road. Jesus was back from the dead. He was alive!

Hold on. Wait a minute. He's what?

This was the response from Jesus' closest followers. They rejected the account of fellow believers; refusing to accept their testimony. When Jesus finally did appear to them, the first order of business was a stern rebuke for their, “lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.” (Mk 16:14).

Why did they reject the testimony? Was is because they couldn't wrap their heads around the assertion that Jesus actually came back to life? I'm not so sure. They had seen numerous resurrections over the years. It had even been a part of their own ministry, when Jesus sent them out (Mt 10:8). But Mark records that they were, ...”mourning and weeping.” (Mk 16:10). It's clear that Jesus' promise of resurrection was not met with high expectations.

Maybe it was insecurity. Why would Jesus reveal himself to someone outside the group? Who were these guys from Emmaus, anyway? Were they credible? Perhaps the disciples were offended by Mary. After all, she was a woman. And her past...were they ever really comfortable with her hanging around?

The disciples had a hard time receiving the testimony or experience of others. When they saw a stranger casting out demons in Jesus' name, they wanted to put a stop to it (Mk 9:38). When Mary anointed Jesus at Bethany, They were indignant at her lavish, uninhibited display of love and worship (Mt 26:6-9).

I've come to see that I have a responsibility to believe what God is doing, in the lives of others, especially if it has not been my experience or something that I have valued. It may need to be. I am called to recognize what the Father is doing, even if it sounds like nonsense (Lk 24:11). It is not wisdom, or discernment, to reject that which I simply do not understand.

Suspicion, or lack of trust, is not a value of the Kingdom. Suspicion is born of fear; fear of deception, or, fear of being exposed as deceived already.

When God moves in a way we are not familiar with, or raises up someone we are not comfortable with, we have an opportunity to move in greater faith; to step into a realm of the Kingdom we have never experienced before.

This was an issue that plagued the scribes and Pharisees. Matthew 11:18&19, illustrates how they brought accusations against both Jesus and his cousin John. Their lives, representing opposite ends of the social spectrum, were nothing like the lives of the religious elite. Then, Jesus is accused of wielding demonic power (Mt 12:24). Why? Because his testimony; his experience; his expression of the Kingdom, was incongruent with the status quo. Accepting his life and ministry would call into question a deeply entrenched, religious edifice.

To dismiss the testimony or experience of someone, out of fear, is to reject the Spirit's call; an invitation into an encounter with Jesus. Doing so leaves us deaf and blind; oblivious to what Papa is saying and doing.

You see, if you and I have the very Spirit of God within us, we have an obligation to recognize His presence within and upon another. Like Mary at the tomb, or the Emmaus Road brothers, Jesus may actually entrust others with the very things we need.

Is it possible to be deceived? Absolutely. But if our first response is denial, we're deceived already. Trust requires vulnerability. Vulnerability comes with risk. That's the essence of faith.

How vulnerable are we to believe first; to risk everything for things we don't completely understand?

A word about flies...and words

Written by Ed Krampitz | 09 February 2010

Flies are drawn to decay. It's what they live for.

Long ago, it was actually believed that rotting meat produced maggots. It made sense. Whenever meat would begin to spoil, maggots and flies were always present. Today, we know that rancid food does not create flies, but it does attract them, every time.

Flies are quite filthy. In fact, one fly, landing on your food, carries more bacteria than hundreds of cockroaches marching over it! Not a very appetizing thought, but this much is clear: Flies are not only drawn toward decay; they spread it.

Demons are the flies of the unseen realm. Death and decay attract them. It's what they live for. They not only show up when they smell it. They spread it wherever they land.

Jesus was accused of being empowered by the prince of demons, Beelzebub, who's name can mean, “lord of the flies” (Mt 12:24). The religious leaders were incensed by the fact that Jesus was drawn toward filth. It's true. He was notorious for socializing with tax collectors and “sinners”; for befriending them; for having fun with them; for healing them. To do such things was an outrage.

By declaring someone “unclean”, The religious leaders would expect the community to avoid all contact with them; to shun them. Anyone who violated that decree of rejection would, themselves, become “unclean”. The decay would spread (Lev 5:3, 15:31).

Our words invite the unseen. Scripture tells us that the spoken word has power; life and death, in fact (Pr 18:21). The reality is, words of rejection, spoken over others, provide a place for the demonic to land. Then, it spreads (James 3).

Jesus' attraction to decay was redemptive. He came to destroy the work of the devil. Wherever he was drawn, he spread life. He would intentionally touch the weak, the despised, the diseased (Mt 4:23, 24). He loved them into relationship with Himself and restored them to the very community that spurned them (Mt 8:1-4).

When we speak life, we invite the Kingdom; the angelic; the very presence of God. Lives are changed; destiny is released; healing occurs; demons flee.

When we declare life, death is removed. The flies have nowhere to land.