Thursday, November 12, 2020

My Eyes Are On Him

I learned to snow ski at Wintergreen Resort when I was 14.  One of my friend's father taught me.  I remember him saying to me at the top of the mountain, "Keep your eyes on me, and do what I am doing."  In a matter of minutes, I was skiing.  I slowly followed him all the way down the slope.  

That experience has become a life metaphor for me.  I am still on a mountain, but now it's with Jesus.  And He too is speaking, "Keep your eyes on me, and do what I am doing." 

Keeping our eyes fixed on something does not prevent us from knowing the peripheral activities that surround us.  But it prevents us from becoming seduced by them.  Fixation on the edges of life and faithfulness in Christ will lead us off the mountain rather than down it.

Right about now you are guessing that I'm going to start naming the edges for you, thus, revealing my bias and convictions.  Sorry to disappoint you.  But if I were to do that, the focus of this reflection would be on the peripheral rather than the center - the very thing I'm trying to discourage.

So with Jesus in the center, what does it mean to keep our eyes on Him?  It means that...

  1. Jesus is the Gospel - the Good News.  The Gospel is a person not a thing or an idea or a mission.  All faithful activity by His Followers, which should happen consistently, flows from Jesus but is not a replacement or facsimile of Jesus.  We are not "Jesus" to people in our mobilization efforts.  We are commissioned to introduce people to Jesus, make disciples, and baptize them.
  2. Jesus should be at the center of everything in our lives not compartmentalized to a weekly gathering.  He should be at the center of our families, thoughts, politics, businesses, decisions, sermons, ideas, outreaches, churches, generosity, and conversations.
  3. Jesus accomplishes the Father's plans in the midst of any earthly governmental structure.  Some contexts are more challenging than others but none can prevent Kingdom expansion.  God is so much bigger.
    • The Roman occupancy did not thwart the first Coming of Jesus
    • House churches and personal revival flourish in Communist regimes
    • Prisons were the setting for the Spirit to inspire many New Testament writings
    • Capitalistic and free enterprise economies produce a prolific increase in the sending out of missionaries and giving of substantial resources that fund Kingdom activity
    • There are both radical followers of Jesus and atheists in Democracy and Socialism.
    • Faithful Christians in our public schools cannot proselytize, but they can influence people towards Jesus through their relationships, actions, work ethic, and off-line conversations. 
  4. And finally, Jesus' teachings and beliefs are necessary for spiritual maturity - all of them not just the easy ones.  Don't misinterpret what I mean by this.  We need to discern the right timing for people to be challenged.  It's fun to say, "Jesus loves you."  It's difficult to say, "Deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Him." But what kind of discipling are we doing if we always say the former but not the latter?
I have often been known to say, "We can disagree on a lot of things and get along.  But if you start messing with Jesus, I will draw a line in the sand."  The moment we replace the Supremacy of Christ with the supremacy of peripheral matters, we will lose the essential distinctive of our faith.  

So my eyes are on Him.

Ex nihilo,


RJ Rhoden



Sunday, July 26, 2020

Breathe on Us Again, O Breath of God: A Prayer for Ministers

God put this prayer on my heart.  It is for all our Ministers who labor faithfully to bring about God's purposes in the space they have been given to serve.  Share it with a Minister you know and love. 
R.J. Rhoden


Good, Gracious, and Creative Father,

You breathed human life into existence in the Garden.  You blessed and declared humankind as good.  You proclaimed fruitfulness, increase, provision, and purpose to be upon us.  So, on this day, grant a reminder to Ministers that they are blessed; they are good; and they are created for fruitfulness, increase, provision, and purpose.  And may that moment of remembrance possess staying power in their hearts and minds so as to be a continual reservoir of encouragement. Because you have not changed Your mind on the matter, Good Father.

Breathe on us again, O Breath of God.

When Moses and Aaron were leading people who had rebellious hearts, personal agendas, unfounded accusations, and a selfish desire for power, they fell on their faces before You.  In that place of being prostrate before You, Moses and Aaron began with the words, "O God, the God who gives breath to all living things...(Numbers 16:22)."  So, on this day, hear and receive the words from all Ministers who are facing intense opposition and criticism.  As they fall on their faces before You, breathe abiding hope, sincere joy, renewed courage, and Spirit-empowerment over them.  Do not withhold Your breath now for You are the God who faithfully gives breath to all.

Breathe on us again, O Breath of God. 

The prophet, Ezekiel, is not the only one You have taken to a Valley of Dry Bones.  Men and women, Called by You to minister on the front lines, have also been shown their valley of dry bones.  You have taken them, like You did Ezekiel, to a place where the dead can resurrect to new life in You. So, on this day, whisper once again those familiar words of old, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!  This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones:  I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life (Ezekiel 37:4-5)." And as You speak, may Ministers everywhere begin to instantly feel and reaffirm the mantle of anointing that is upon them.  May they trust that the prophetic words they speak will be used by You to move people from death to life - from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light.

Breathe on us again, O Breath of God.

Finally, victory in the midst of pending defeat is found in You, Gracious Father.  Skeptics and naysayers may coldly gaze upon Your Called ones, waiting for his/her final demise, but You always have the final say.  Satan was celebrating Friday night and all day Saturday, but then Sunday morning arrived.  And in Revelation The Two Witnesses were being gloated over "but after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet...(Revelation 11:11)."  So, on this day, breathe victory over defeated circumstances; breathe victory into defeated hearts; and breathe victory all around those Ministers who are concerned that defeat might be looming around the corner.  You are the God of victory who takes us by the hand and leads us through the valley of the shadow of death bringing us to the other side where You desire to breathe on us again.

Breathe on us again, O Breath of God.


Ex nihilo,


R.J. Rhoden