Holy Knee-cessity

By Brenda Black

A tingling, taught sensation pulsated through my knee. I knew it was swelling and I could detect instant puffiness since the problem has become all too familiar the past couple of weeks. I prop up my foot and ice down the right knee after every workout now and I've started using a brace. By all indications, I've pushed this old knee a little too far with weights, lunges, 4 mile walks and up-and-down circuit training that have all depended on support from this small, but invaluable joint.

As I tolerate the aggravating set-back, I'm thinking about those in the family who have endured or are facing knee surgery. And I think about the hundreds of miles my husband has jogged our gravel road and the thousands of hours he has ground his knee cap into cement floors, crawling and troweling to give concrete customers a satin finish at the cost of a calloused patella. My husband's denims are thread-thin evidence of such hard labor.

Our efforts to exercise and his dedication to duty are taking their toll on both cartilage and the blue jean budget around here, but our bigger concern is whether our knees are worn out from holy use. Holiness isn't a condition, it's a position – a humble, kneeling crouch at the foot of the cross. We spend time trying to get physically fit. We use our physical strength to work diligently, but are we spiritually down in the trenches, humbly praying?

God made knees for sitting and running and bouncing grandkids and kicking soccer balls. But He also made them for kneeling, not just bearing a load or baring skin through a pair of worn out britches. I want to wear my knees out for a holy cause! Tim Hansel's book Holy Sweat says it best right on the font cover: “Holy Sweat – The remarkable things ordinary people can do when they let God use them!” I want to be used! How about you?

If you are like me, the only way we will ever fulfill this knee-cessity is to ice down our old ways and wrap ourselves in the Word of God so that we know how to live and know what to pray. “Therefore, prepare your minds for action;” Peter instructs in his first letter to “God's elect, strangers in the world...” (1 Peter 1:13a).

“...be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'” (1 Pet. 1:13b-16)

Still wondering what to pray? “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess yours sins to each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:13-16)

This is a wholly, holy revelation when you stop and think about it. In back-to-back books on pages bound through the ages to appear right next to one another, in parallel passages that have been identically numbered, 13 through 16, James and Peter subscribe a healthy protocol for holiness.

Peter says prepare you minds for action while James says ask for help. Holiness is half as effective when we practice it apart from our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is best demonstrated when we put it to use. We might just be someone's only intercessor. Always be ready to pray for those who ask.

Peter warns be self-controlled and set your hope fully on the grace of Jesus Christ. James says call for help. People will only ask for help if they know it is safe. Holiness offers compassion, not judgment. As we stand in the gap for others, we must be careful to pray from a place of grace.

James compels us to confess our sins so that we might be forgiven. Peter promises that holiness is possible for those who are obedient and do not conform to their evil desires. Holiness follows repentance. We can't pray for others until we first pray for ourselves.

Holiness is born out of humility on the part of the those who ask for prayer and those who offer it. Together, we can brace one another for the long haul and enjoy a pain free eternity if we strive to be holy because Christ is holy. This is the work that is knee-cessary.

When the Rope Won't Hold

When the Rope Won't Hold
By Brenda Black

There is a story about a monastery in Europe perched high on a cliff several hundred feet in the air. The only way to reach the monastery is to be suspended in a basket which is pulled to the top by several monks who heave and tug with all their strength.

Obviously the ride up the steep cliff in that basket is terrifying. A daring tourist braved the trip one time and got exceedingly nervous about half-way up when he noticed that the rope by which he was suspended was quite old and frayed.

With a trembling voice he asked the monk who was riding with him in the basket how often they changed the rope. The monk answered, "Whenever it breaks."

Are you at the end of your rope! Does it look like it won't hold much longer. Can you see the sharp, jagged rocks slicing away each thread of your trusty, once-solid cord. While you fret and grow increasingly hopeless, others seem serenely indifferent, like the monk in the basket. You're each experiencing risk, so what's the difference?

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible...

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:1-3, 6-10)

A monastery on a cliff is not the destination. Beyond the highest apex, on the other side of lofty clouds, heaven waits for the faithful. It's a city not built by human hands and the in-road is not a bouncing, precarious basket ride dangling by a frayed rope. The way to heaven is certainly not easy and there are mountains and valleys and dangers. But the journey's route is well marked by the blood of a Savior who goes ahead and levels the path.

Our trials here drive us onward if we believe such a place exists. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” The rope looks strong even if tattered because “what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

When times are filled with strife and sorrow, remember, we are beckoned to a reward -- the promised land -- a “city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Our permanent dwelling is not in this world, but in the one to come.

When Noah saw rain, he built an ark and saved his family rather than sit on the bank sulking. Abraham had a home, but left it to live in a tent. He could have dug in his heels and ignored God's leading, but he would have sacrificed a great inheritance. In their trials, they tested righteous for their obedience and endurance. And most importantly, they were counted as heirs to the throne of heaven for their faith.

Don't lose faith. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything...Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

Hang on! Heaven's coming!