Author: Jay Lehman

Eyes to See

I have been doing business with Fed Ex for several decades.  Like most of you, I would recognize their logo immediately.  The blue and orange letters are striking.  But in just the past year, a friend showed me something in the logo that I had never seen.  This may be old news to you, but it was brand new to me.

Between the orange capital E and the orange small x is a white arrow.  Do you see it?  It looks so clear to me now, but I had never noticed it.  And the strangest part of this revelation to me is that now that I know it is there, I can’t unsee it.  Every time I see the Fed Ex logo on a truck or store or package, ALL I SEE is the white arrow.  Literally.  I don’t see the letters.  I don’t see the colors.  I don’t see anything except the white arrow.  It is all I see.  The rest of the logo fades to dim.

I was thinking as I passed a Fed Ex truck on the freeway yesterday, that this logo revelation is the same way I see our freedom in Christ in the Scriptures.  Now that I have been captured by the complete gospel – Christ died for our sins, we are fully forgiven, Christ is living His resurrected life through us, His new covenant has given us a new heart, a new nature, a new identity, a new power, and a bunch of other new stuff – I can’t unsee it.  When I read the New Testament, this complete gospel of grace leaps off the pages to me.  I see it everywhere.

There was a time in my past when I was reading the Bible as if I was studying the blue and orange Fed Ex letters.  I saw the words.  But the words were contradictory, mysterious, confusing, a complicated list of commandments.  Shame, grace, condemnation, mercy, law, love, punishment; a confusing mix.

Then the light of grace shown through.  The promise and provision of the new covenant became clear.  So much of the New Testament now fits the overarching message of grace that Jesus came to initiate and the apostles sought to explain.  Now the Scriptures are a giant white arrow pointing to our freedom in Christ that was won at the cross.

The world of shame, condemnation, penance, and punishment have been put in their place; in the rear-view mirror once we have believed the gospel message of Jesus Christ.  And we are now walking in the world of love, forgiveness, acceptance, grace, and freedom that Christ brought to us.  Can I encourage you?  Follow the white arrow that points to Jesus; the embodiment of grace, the mediator of grace, the giver of grace.  His death and resurrection delivered to us a new life; a new life of freedom in Christ.

You Have a Story to Share

To the one who thinks they are unqualified; to the one who thinks they have nothing of value to share; to the one who feels untrained and not expert enough in the Bible to have a voice…THIS IS FOR YOU !

In the world of church organizations, celebrity pastors, and seminary degrees, it can be easy to think that you are unqualified for ministry.  But don’t believe it!  You are eminently qualified!

You are completely qualified to share, proclaim, teach, and explain the message of the gospel; the message of grace.  “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to human standards, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong” (I Corinthians 1:26-27).

These verses used to puzzle me.  I say it humbly, but as a geophysicist, I was considered pretty smart by “human standards”.  I made straight A’s in school.  I can do algebra in my head.  Does this ability disqualify me in God’s view?  What does Paul mean by “foolish things”?

I now believe that these verses have nothing to do with innate intelligence.  I think they are related to what I would call religious expertise and status.  And I think Paul’s point is that religious expertise and status as the world sees it is not required to proclaim the good news.  And I see a very practical side to this understanding as we see these verses come to life right before our eyes.

We are witnessing, in our day, an incredible grace revolution pouring out around the world.  And the part that is crazy and inspiring at the same time is that God is using the “foolish” in terms of religious status to proclaim it.  For the most part, you and I are not “the professionals” so to speak.

The grace message of the finished work of Christ to secure our salvation is being spread across the globe by realtors, school teachers, eye doctors, soccer players, homemakers, furniture restorers, rocket scientists, college students, mechanics, investment bankers, counselors, IT professionals, salesmen, pastors, blackjack dealers, craftsmen, business owners, hospital technicians, musicians, and even a lowly geophysicist.

If you have believed the gospel message of Jesus Christ, Christ Himself is living His life through you.  The Holy Spirit is teaching you.  Christ is guiding you.  The Father is empowering you.  You are qualified to proclaim grace to those God brings into your circle.  (And thanks to the internet, that circle is getting bigger and bigger.)  Never be ashamed of what training or expertise you lack.  You are fully qualified to announce the good news!

As I was writing the last paragraph, I recalled a gospel story of someone like us.  In Luke chapter 8, Jesus healed a demoniac in the region of the Gerasenes.  The cured fellow sought to follow Jesus across the sea of Galilee.  “But Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.’  And he departed, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him” (Luke 8:38-39).

Did the cured demoniac go to seminary?  Did he go through a training regimen?  Did he enroll in a discipleship program?  He simply shared his grace story of healing.  You and I all have our own grace story of the great things Jesus has done for us.  And your story is a story that you are fully qualified to share.

The Suffering Servant – Advent Day 19

“But He was pierced through for our transgressions.  He was crushed for our iniquities.  The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.  All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.  But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (Isaiah 53:5-6)

The book of Isaiah is the “gospel” of the Old Testament, and Isaiah 53 is the heart of the gospel message.  I encourage you to read the entire chapter.  You will see Jesus all over the page.

Look at these New Testament passages about Christ that echo Isaiah’s prophecy.

  • “He was pierced through for our transgressions.” (Isaiah 53:5)
  • “Christ was delivered up for our transgressions.” (Romans 4:25)
  • “He was crushed for our iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:5)
  • “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross.” (I Peter 2:24)
  • “By His wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
  • “By His wounds you were healed.” (I Peter 2:24)
  • “The Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” (Isaiah 53:6)
  • “Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many.” (Hebrews 9:28)

Jesus is the suffering servant of Isaiah 53.  His suffering accomplished our justification.  And His suffering came to an end when His sin offering was completed.

“When His soul makes an offering for guilt [our guilt], He shall see his offspring [those who have gone astray who have believed and returned as His children]; He shall prolong His days [death is not the end, the servant will live forever]; the will of the LORD shall prosper in His hand [all of this will be accomplished according to the will of the Father]” (Isaiah 53:10).

Jesus is the suffering servant who suffered and died in our place.  And God placed on Him the iniquities of us all.

Jesus is the suffering servant of Isaiah 53, because Jesus was there from the beginning!

The Glory of the Lord – Advent Day 18

“Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house.  The priests could not enter into the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house.  All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the Lord upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the Lord, saying, ‘Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting’ “ (II Chronicles 7:1-3).

“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (I Corinthians 3:16).

“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one” (John 17:22).

On the day that Solomon dedicated the newly constructed temple, the glory of the Lord came with power and filled the temple with His presence.  Fast forward 1000 years.  On the day of Pentecost, following Jesus’ ascension, the Holy Spirit came with power and filled God’s new temple, His believers.

In the Old Testament, God dwelt in holy places; the holy land, the holy city, the holy temple, the Holy of Holies in the temple.  God came to live in holy places.

Under the new covenant, God continues to dwell in holy places.  But they are no longer geographic locations.  They are holy people; you and me, children of God.  You are now God’s temple.  If you have studied the New Testament, you are aware of this picture that we are now God’s temple.

But did you know that God is still filling His temple with His glory?  The dedication by Solomon of God’s earthly temple was accompanied by an incredible display of God’s glory.  And as God’s temple today, you are an incredible display of God’s glory.  Jesus said it, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them” (John 17:22).

It is a false humility to call yourself anything less than glorious.  To do so is to make Jesus a liar.  You are glorious based on the promise of Jesus.  Believe it.  You and I, by the declaration of Jesus, are glorious.  And there is no room for pride in that statement; only gratitude.

The glory of Jesus, now present in you, was present in His holy temple, because Jesus was there from the beginning!

In the Fiery Furnace – Advent Day 17

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, ‘If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up’ “ (Daniel 3:16-18).

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:6-7).

Around 600 BC, the king of Babylon raised an imposing golden image of himself on the plain of Dura.  King Nebuchadnezzar instructed all his government officials to worship the statue when the music played.  Three Jewish exiles among the group refused to worship.  Nebuchadnezzar offered them a second chance but they did not need one.  Their mind was made up, they would worship God alone.

Look at their incredible statement of faith at the top of this page.  In essence, they were saying, “We have faith to believe that God can deliver us from the furnace, but even if He does not, we are all in.”  Staring at what appears to be certain death in the furnace of blazing fire, this is quite a claim.  Notice that their faith is not tied to their physical rescue, but to the God who is in control.  With or without physical deliverance, their faith is in the one true God alone.  Their faith is not dependent on an outcome.  It is dependent on a person; the character and person of God Himself.

But God did deliver them from the fire.  When the king peered into the furnace, “Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, ‘Look!  I see four men loosed and walking about in the middle of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!’ ” (Dan 3:25).  I believe the fourth person in the fiery furnace was Jesus Himself coming to their rescue.  And He is coming to your rescue in the fiery trials of life.

His rescue may not be a physical deliverance from your trials.  But His presence and peace are always with us, available to deliver us from the fires of fear, shame, guilt, anxiety, and loss.  “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Jesus was in the fiery furnace, because Jesus was there from the beginning!