First Gaze

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Rich Stevenson

Jesus eyesPeter and Andrew are walking at a pretty good clip.  Andrew has to give direction from behind Peter, because his brother must always lead the way.

“He’s the one in the white robe, the guy in the center of all those people.”  Andrew tells Peter while trying to maintain his brother’s pace and pointing toward Jesus.

Peter strides with his usual confidence, pushing through the crowd.  His hair is disheveled and his odor, well, let’s just say he’s spent more time fishing than washing!  As Peter comes close to Jesus, the Master senses his presence and swings around to see who has come.  It’s the first glance that Christ has of this man.  But it turns into so much more than a glance!  With wide eyes and the most engaging smile imaginable, the Bible says that Jesus “looked intently” at Simon (John 1:42 NLT).  The Greek word used in this passage (emplepō) describes more of a gaze than a glance.  Peter must have been stalled by this gaze; it won’t be the last time he is the recipient of it.   In fact, in Luke 22, this same word is used to describe the look that Jesus gives to Peter in the courtyard just after the rooster crowed.  This is a look that cuts right through and engages the truest part of you.

At this first encounter between Jesus and Peter, we don’t know how long their eyes locked on each other, but we do know what Christ said to him:

“You are Simon, the son of John –but you will be called Cephas (which means Peter).” (John 1:42)

Jesus gazes upon an ordinary man in an ordinary town from an ordinary family and an ordinary business, and speaks a prophetic promise that is very out-of-the-ordinary.  Cephas wasn’t even a real name.  As Jesus gazed through the Simon that everyone else could see, he saw something that the Kingdom needed:  a rock solid courage and loyalty that would stand up against the fiercest foe.  Jesus spoke to what was possible in this ordinary man.

“In very unlikely souls our Lord perceives qualities of unusual strength and beauty that He sets Himself to draw out, and His first act often is to reveal the fair hidden image and to impute it.  He saw Peter in Simon, Israel in Jacob, Paul in Saul—and told them so!”     (F. B. Meyer)

Is it possible that Jesus is gazing at you right now?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Power of the Present

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Rich Stevenson

nowJesus got to the tomb of His friend, Lazarus, after he had been dead four days. When Martha heard that Jesus had finally arrived, she rushed out to meet Him. She was focused on the past:

“If only You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

I wonder how many “If onlys” you have in your life? Some of us are paralyzed by things that have happened in the past:

If only I had a better childhood
If only I hadn’t been abused
If only I had been given a chance to go to college
If only by boss would recognize my true giftedness
If only my spouse would love me for who I am
If only I could rise above my shame

Jesus’ agenda with Martha was to get her to see the potential in the present. He responded to Martha’s “If only” with a strong promise:

“Your brother will rise again.”

Now watch what Martha did. . .she made a huge leap from the past to the future. She left “Ifonlyland” and jumped right into “hopesoland!”

“I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Some of us have put all of our hopes and dreams on someday.

Someday, justice will be served
Someday, I will get what I deserve
Someday, things will be made right

Jesus didn’t want Martha living in the past, and He didn’t want her putting everything on hold for a future promise. Jesus wanted Martha to engage the reality of His present power. Listen to His authoritative statement:

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25)

In “Screwtape Letters,” C. S. Lewis wrote from the perspective of a head demon mentoring a younger demon. Listen to this devilish advice:

“The humans live in time, but our Enemy (God) destines them to eternity. He therefore, I believe, wants them to attend chiefly to two things, to eternity itself and to that point of time they call the Present. For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity.
Our business is to get them away from the Eternal and from the Present. With this in view, we sometimes tempt a human to live in the Past. But this is of limited value. It is far better to make them live in the Future. It is unknown to them, so that in making them think about it, we make them think of unrealities. In a word, the Future is, of all things, the least like Eternity.”

Right now, at this very moment, Jesus is with you. He wants you to live, today, in the reality of His power and presence. Do you believe this?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bethany’s Prayer

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Rich Stevenson

bethany3Jesus,
We honor Your name!
You are Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. You are a strong tower. You are an ever present help in our time of need. You are Emmanuelle, You are with us right now.
Praise Your holy name Jesus!

Precious name, oh how sweet.
Hope of earth and joy of heaven.

Jesus, we need You now. We can cast our care on You because You care for us. We cry out to You because You hear us. We can’t go anywhere else because You alone are our source of peace. We are broken, but You can restore us.

Jesus, we believe You. We do not grieve as those who have no hope. You are the first born from the dead. Your cross has conquered our sin, Your resurrection has conquered our death and Your coming will conquer evil. Right now You command armies of angels. Your strength has no equal. And You are tender, You wipe away tears.

We honor You, we need You, we believe You…
But most of all, we love You!
Our pain will not silence our lips.
Our confusion will not dampen our passion.
We declare to You today: You are the pearl of great price.
You are the altogether lovely one.
You are the Rose of Sharon.
You are the Alpha and the Omega.
You are our Savior and our King.

We love You in life, we will love You in death.
We’ll praise You as long as You lend us breath.
We’ll say when the death dew lies cold on our brow: if ever we love You,
Lord Jesus it’s now.
Amen.
(Given at Bethany’s Memorial Service)

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Bethany Hunter Hardman

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Rich Stevenson

bethany2On May 9th, Bethany Hunter Hardman was killed in a tragic car accident. She was 29, a loving wife to Randy, a great mother to Noah (3) and Lilly (6 mo), my sister and brother-in-law’s only daughter and sister to four brothers.

She loved Jesus, cared deeply for troubled women and the life of children in the womb. Our family can’t express the degree of pain we feel.

I keep focusing on two things: mystery and miracle. There is no side-stepping mystery in our faith. I can’t imagine why this happened. There is no way to make any sense of it.

I’ve been thinking about the scene in the book of Acts where Peter is miraculously released from prison. God opens doors and chains just fall off Peter. It is an amazing display of God’s power. When he arrives at the house where the believers are praying, I can’t help but think of John. What must it have felt like for John to hear about Peter’s miracle from God?

Earlier in the same chapter, James, John’s brother, has been beheaded for his faith in Christ. What a loss for John.
John must have embraced the mystery. It didn’t cause him to falter. He wasn’t emotionally paralyzed or made numb. He weathered the confusion and came through it tender for Jesus.

We can move through this mysterious loss and stay tender toward Jesus too.

I’m also focusing on miracle. The power of God is being displayed on several levels. First, Jesus is the firstborn from the dead! Just the first…there are more to follow. And Bethany will live again in a glorified, eternal body just like Jesus displayed after the resurrection.

Miracles are all around us as the Body of Christ shares the love of Jesus. We are seeing miracles of love and generosity. The presence of Jesus is tangible through the love of family and friends.

Maybe the most important miracle is the felt presence of Jesus in each of our hearts. He really is a peace that passes all understanding. He is a strong tower. He is an ever present help in our time of need. I am amazed as I watch my sister walk through this loss of her daughter. What we say we believe about Christ is proving to be true in the midst of the fire.

Jesus is real. There is both mystery and miracle in following Him.

Sent from my iPhone

 

Posted in Uncategorized | 23 Comments

CorrieCorrie Emma – (def) – delight, strong, steady, beautiful, great laugh, clear thinker, youngest child, recent high school graduate.

It’s happening.  Our youngest child is a high school graduate.  Sunday was our celebration.  The morning was spent worshipping together at the church that we planted in 1995 in Wilmore, KY.  Great Commission Fellowship is where Corrie Emma spent her most formative years.  Sitting behind her this past weekend brought back a beautiful memory.  I watched her lift her hands toward Jesus while singing from her heart and I remembered one of the most significant Sundays of my life.

I was standing on the platform at GCF enjoying the beauty of hundreds of people passionately singing to Jesus.  I watched as Corrie Emma, probably only 7 years old, made her way to the front of the tabernacle.  She was wearing a beautiful new dress with pink flowers on it.  As the band played and the congregation sang, Corrie Emma began to dance before the Lord.  It literally took my breath away.  I stood there thinking that this was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.  Part of me wanted to rush down to her, lift her up and dance with her.  But she was so much more free to worship than I was.

I felt such strong love for her.

As I continued watching and worshipping, the presence of the Lord became so real.  I heard His voice.  It was inside, but I heard Him.

“The way that you feel about her is the way that I feel about you.”

It felt as though He were rushing down to me and lifting me up in a dance.  I will never forget how close He was and how loved I felt.

We spent Sunday evening celebrating with family and friends.  Corrie Emma’s siblings were there from Vermont and Indiana, so were aunts and uncles, a bunch of cousins, and both sets of grandparents.  What a wonderful day.  What an amazing girl.

Jesus, thank You for Corrie Emma.  Thank You for continuing to pursue her so that she has remained steady in pursuing You.  Continue to lead her in the dance.  Keep her heart tender and her mind clear.  Protect her from the evil one.  As she grows further into adulthood, help her to listen to you and follow each step that you take with her.  Give her even more strength and pour out your grace and power on her. 

Jesus, thank You for giving Corrie Emma to us and for using her to show us even more of Your love.  Amen.

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Rich Stevenson | 2 Comments