As We Follow the Path

from “Look At Me—I’m a Star!”

In my understanding of what a star is (extremely hot), and where it is (really, really far away), I see some difficulty in a star hovering very near Bethlehem or offering any guidance except very general compass points like north or west. The lodestar, or North Star, for example, tells sailors and navigators which way is north. . . .
These Magi knew their stars. They had fair knowledge of that astrology-astronomy mix—back when it was all mixed, before astronomy emerged as a proper science. They knew this bright light, low in the western sky, was not on their charts. And when they set out to follow it, slow going on camels, the light evidently paced itself. A star would not have waited for them, and would soon have slipped behind the mountains. Then what? Wait for it to appear the next night?
I’m proposing the “star of Bethlehem” may not have been a star at all. The way it led them, staying visible through the mountains, guiding them to Bethlehem and to a particular house, it was some other kind of light.

from “Encounter on the Road to Emmaus”
Back in Emmaus, when Jesus sat with the two disciples, I notice what happened just before their eyes were opened. Jesus broke the bread. Okay, that could do it. That would be the right moment for their eyes to recognize Jesus. But here’s a thought: Jesus picked up the bread with solemnity, broke it with a certain priestly air, so the disciples could just about hear "This is My Body which is broken for you." Jesus didn’t say that, but the text says He “gave it to them.” He extended His arms to give them the bread. That’s where I say “Aha!” His wounds, in the wrists (not mid-hand as commonly depicted), had probably been kept hidden by His garment sleeves. But in that act of extending His arms, those horrific wounds would have been seen by the two. “Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him” (Luke 24:31).

from “Designer Temptations”
A lobster gets caught because it wants what’s in the trap. That’s what traps are about. We have to make sure no trap could catch us. A designer or tailor-made temptation will work for us if we’re easy marks for it. If all our desiring and coveting were cleared up, our enemy’s traps would be a waste of his time. But if we’re still alive to sin, the adversary might have an effective tool to lure us off the path and rob us of joy. . . .
Our adversary can be patient, strategically patient, even wait years, until we are vulnerable. He will strategize to torpedo your marriage. He knows if a man in mid-life will have trouble guarding his eyes. We hear of pastors who had integrity in their ministry until something made them vulnerable. In comes the cute pianist with her skirts too short, or the divorced and lonely secretary, and pow! Tailor-made temptation. Lobster trap.

from “The Universe Doesn’t Love Me (and Sent No Son to Die for Me)”
It is misleading to propose there is a True Pattern which, once discovered, reveals the Bible to be full of “gateway truths” for novices. It is dangerous to suggest that some Over-Truth may be discovered, and that even the teachings of Jesus are only hints to some higher understanding. “Obey these precepts, and you may find that harmony.” It is proposed that even the commandments, given to a rude, uncomprehending people, were to keep them from grossly violating Universal Truth. . . .
The big lie is that there is a Universal Truth that operates without a Savior and without blood-atonement—that there are Cosmic Laws (don’t forget “frequencies”) that one may be in tune with without any thought of a Holy God and matters of repentance and righteousness.
Don’t buy into this.
Crediting some impersonal creation with the power to bless and favor, whether it’s a carved image or the whole universe—either of which is just a “thing”—is idolatry. Rejecting the Creator and seeking what we need from the creation constitutes having false gods before Him.
Run, don’t walk, from anything that proposes man has no need for salvation. If any philosophic views or quasi-religious ideas ignore the biblical teachings on sin, repentance, obedience, and righteousness, yell like a child in the airport, “This is not my Father!” Because you are being abducted.

from “Onion of Egypt”
But we are not like those Israelites, wandering in a desert, bereft of comforts. We sit at a table prepared for us (Psalm 23), we have nourishment in God’s Word, and we have our Savior as a Companion.
Because we love God so much, it is no hardship for us to forget those things which are behind (Philippians 3:13). The Holy Spirit wants to conduct us to greater usefulness and greater effectiveness. Revisiting the land of sin, our particular “fleshpots” and indulgings, would be counter-productive. The heart must not be split, divided in its affections. To have God’s compassion and God’s love-energy, with the very heartbeat of Christ pulsing in your ear, you must cut loose from old affections.
God would have you set sail, move on, but something keeps you tied to old moorings—remembering intimacies, or missing “the old gang,” or recalling how much easy money you made “back in Egypt.” You yearn to sail, to venture, to answer God’s call, to discover new things God has for you, but a portion of your heart is bobbing back there at the mooring of carnal desire or worldly values. “I’m merely reminiscing,” you say, but you are in fact desiring, and that’s more than a troublesome distraction—it’s a divided affection. And it gets in the way. Much yearning “rearward” hinders a moving on. “I’m not dissatisfied with Jesus,” you say. “I’m just . . .” Just what?