Use Your Gifts To Serve Others

This evening I am taking some time to pray, as I didn't take time this morning.  I was reading through Peter's first letter, and just really like this section from chapter 4  -  1 Peter 4:7-11 NIV:

[7] "The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. [8] Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. [9] Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. [10] Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. [11] If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."

It was verse 10 that stood out to me as  I read through that paragraph.  The idea that we, each of us, should use the gifts that we have received to serve others is a bit foreign to many people.  We have a predominant church model that holds up the gifts of a few leaders and often overlooks the gifts of the congregation, unless someone wants to work in the children's ministry.  We are ALL supposed to use whatever gift(s) we have received to serve others.  No matter the gift, the focus in supposed to be outward toward others not inward.  The gifts are also meant to serve the body of Christ, not elevate one's stature.

Gifts which are not used for service to others become twisted and unhealthy, even stunted.  As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of the Asian practice of binding feet in girls when they were infants.  The feet of the these little girls become misshapen and stunted after a few years. This is what can happen to people who are unable to practice and use their gifts to serve others.  Without the ability to practice and use their gifts, people become unsure of their gifts, even forgetting they have them.  The Body of Christ needs everyone to be operating in their giftings.

I am drawn back to verse seven, for this statement is more true today than when Peter penned it.  We are nearer to the end of all things, and we must pray.  One of the things we should be praying for is the release from anything that binds us or causes our gifts to become stunted or fruitless. We must pray that all the gifts would be used!  We should pray for environments of love and compassion and grace where we can practice the use of our gifts. We should pray for the gathering in of the Body of Christ, for many brothers and sisters are outside of regular fellowship.  The church for too may has become empty, tired and lifeless.  We need to pray for all the members to be united, flowing in the proper use of there gifts and serving each other.  Let us pray, let us speak freedom and let us provide freedom.

Amen!

Why Are We Worried About Bread?

This morning I continued my reading of Mark's Gospel.  I saw some things that caught my attention in the following verses - Mark 8:11-21 NIV:

[11] "The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. [12] He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.”

[13] Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. [14] The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. [15] “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

[16] They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

[17] Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? [18] Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? [19] When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,” they replied.

[20] “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

[21] He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

This is an interesting section for a couple of reasons.  First, the warning that Jesus gives about the Pharisees and the Herodians.  The Pharisees are a pretty common theme in the Gospels, and their focus on the rules of man, versus relationship with God is pretty clear.  They had their power base in religion, and Jesus was clearly upsetting their apple-cart.  When I read Jesus' warning this morning, the fact that he included the Herodians caught my attention as they are rarely mentioned.  Most of the dealings with Herod are found at the beginning of Jesus life  (three magi ) and the end of His life (interview during Jesus trial), and surrounding the death of John the Baptist, but otherwise very little coverage.

My thinking is that the Herodians were concerned about a few things.  First, Jesus did come from royal lineage, and He had an incredibly large base of followers. The Herodians were clinging to the vestiges of the former glory of the Kings of Judah.  They longed for a king, relished the grandeur of that individual, and his trappings.  They weren't big fans of religion, but held an uncomfortable truce with them, for each required the other, but anything or anybody that threatened their power base was a problem.  Jesus came and started proclaiming a new Kingdom, and in reality a new King.  He was directly confronting their whole power base, for everyone knew what happened when  a new King took over from an existing King, usually there was a bloody purge of the old King's family and friends.  On top of that Jesus was talking about the Kingdom of God, and that meant that Herod was not God's king.  Since the time of Saul, the Jew's had a king, in one form or another, and this position was supposed to be chosen by God, as Saul, David and Solomon were chosen.   For someone to be proclaiming a NEW Kingdom of God, had to be very unsettling to the Herodians.  Their sole connection to power had to do with the kingly position of Herod, and his "royal" title.  They had very little actual power to rule, or govern, but that little they had they clung to passionately.

So the yeast of the Pharisees was religion and religious practices, and the yeast of the Herodians would appear to relate to the royal position and throne and power to govern.   Both of these have the ability to control people, and as such are attractive to those who would desire such power.  Jesus came as a servant, not as a ruler.  He had authority and power, but He used it to free people from sickness, disease, demons and religion.  He was warning the disciples to not give themselves to the way of thinking that desires power for the advancement of one's self, or to have power over others.

The second thing that I found interesting was the logic behind Jesus' correction of the disciples.  His main point was that they were thinking about the wrong thing.  They were thinking about their own stomachs, and thought He was also thinking the same way.  He wanted them thinking about the bigger picture, the purpose and practice that go hand in hand, and they were thinking about their next meal.  He was warning them about dangerous paths to tread in life and they were missing the point because they were hungry.

What I thought was particularly interesting was the fact that Jesus was basically telling them that if they were ever hungry that He could do the same thing - multiply the food.  His question at the end - "Do you still not understand?" was directed specifically at His ability to provide more than enough food through the miracle of multiplication, apparently whenever He would need to do it.  Jesus talked only a few times about multiplying the food, and it was usually in response to people asking Him for a sign (food).  He didn't take kindly to this prosperity focus, for many of the people were interested in following Him so they didn't need to pay money to provide food for themselves.  They missed the point of what Jesus was doing, because they were focused on themselves.  I guess that is a main topic this morning.

Back to Jesus' statement about multiplying food, Jesus was saying that if we are in relationship with Him, in this Kingdom reality that He was proclaiming and demonstrating, that there is no need to worry about our provision.  He can, and will provide.  He could have multiplied that one loaf and fed them all.  He spoke about this several times, and the disciples were still not grasping the essence of what He was saying.  In Matt 6: 25-34, Jesus directly addresses the topic of provision of food, clothes and drink, and says that we should seek first His Kingdom, and then these things will be given to us as well.  We don't need to worry, to scheme, to run after power and authority so that we can turn those positions into more for ourselves, for He will provide all we need.  The key thing we should be worried about is relationship with Him, and having His heart and mind and focus of ministry.  We don't need to worry about our bread (provision).

So, this morning I am encouraged to reflect on my life, my focus, my relationship with Him.  Am I more worried about my food and drink, my daily provisions than I am about relationship with Him?  Am I following Him for what I can get in terms of power, authority and prestige?  Is my heart and mind focused on the Kingdom, or am I focused on myself?  Do I have an unhealthy attraction to religion or human establishments that provide power?

Lord, my desire is relationship with You first and foremost.  Help me break away from my selfish pursuits and focus.  Help me to be concerned about more than my bread!

Amen!

Our Motivation In Worship

So I managed to slumber through most of my time allotted for my daily prayer, it amazing I can sleep so well sitting up.  I am grateful that the Lord, doesn't have a problem with my slumbering in His presence.  I used to love it when my kids slept in my lap, or on my chest when they were very small.  On the prayer side of things, I was, however, reading and meditating on Mark 7 when I slid into my slumber.  There are a few verses that are good for reflection - Mark 7:5-7 NIV:

[5] "So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

[6] He (Jesus) replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“ 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
[7] They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.'"

These verses from Isaiah have been an important reflection point for me many times.  For they help me check the state of faith.  I have always remained active in my congregation, but many times my heart has been disengaged.   My desire is that I not only honor Him with my lips, and in actions, but do so out of true affection for Him.

I grew up in a denomination that had a very refined liturgy, and many of the things we did were empty of meaning to me, but I did them because that is what we learned to do.  It was later, as I grew in my relationship with the Lord, that I started understanding the meaning behind many of the liturgical acts, and chose to do them out of relationship, not out of training.  It is this transition of heart motivation that the Lord is after, and is commenting on concerning the Pharisees.  They loved their religious rules and requirements more than God, to the point where there was no real love for God in their hearts.  Worship is supposed to flow out of relationship, and their worship was following rules, thus their worship was in vain.

I heard a great definition of worship once that still is my operating definition.  The individual said worship should be like a child running into the arms of their loving father.  In this simple act the child speaks volumes about their relationship, and the father clearly responds in like manner.

So let us examine our hearts and our motivation for participation in worship in whatever congregation we belong to.  The Lord is interested in our hearts much more than He is our liturgical excellence.  He is about relationships, not rules. Let us pursue Him who loves us and is waiting for us with open arms.

Called, Prepared, Prayed-In, Released

This morning I was continuing my reading from Matthew's Gospel, and saw something interesting I hadn't realized before.  Here are the original verses I was thinking about - Matthew 9:35-38 NIV:

[35] "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. [36] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [37] Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. [38] Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

I was thinking about this very familiar passage, and the pattern that Jesus once again demonstrates, preaching the good news of the kingdom, then demonstrating the reality of the kingdom, by healing every disease and sickness. What is unique about this section is the comment about there not being enough workers - and the command to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out more workers.  I was thinking about that statement and the natural outcome of the prayer being to send out the twelve apostles.  When I turned to the next chapter, for these are the last verses of chapter nine, that is exactly what Jesus did, He sent out the twelve.

Now, that might not be a surprise to many, but my Bible application only puts one chapter at a time on the screen, effectively compartmentalizing the chapters.  Also, I have always tended to read my bible that way, usually focusing on a single section.  I more rarely will read large sections together and thus, in my daily reading sometimes miss these transitional occurrences.  I also don't have much scripture memorized and thus am often surprised by what I read next, as was the case this morning. Anyway, that's my rationalization for being surprised by Matthew 10:1, 5-8 NIV:

[1] "Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness."

[5] "These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. [6] Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. [7] As you go, proclaim this message: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' [8] Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give."

My whole realization this morning is this simple principle we can extract from these passages.  Jesus will speak about and call people to pray about something before He moves in a significantly new manner.  In Mt 9:38 He tells the Disciples to ask the Lord to send out workers, and in Mt 10:1 He sends them out to be workers.  We may miss the significance of this transition, for in these two verses Jesus completely transforms His ministry and the speed at which He was able to share the Gospel.  Previously all ministry was effectively carried out by Him, as the primary teacher, healer and minister, at least according to the scriptural record we have received.  He had indicated His intention of having the disciples join in active ministry when He called them (Mt 4:19), at least we know that was true of Peter and Andrew, yet we see no real record of them participating in ministry, other than as subjects who Jesus was teaching.

So, if we put this all together, we have an initial call to ministry, a training period and time of preparation, a call to pray for the needs of the mission field for workers, and then a release of workers into the mission fields.  It is nice to see that the Lord will provide direction and guidance over a period of time.  I think many of us have some fear that God will call us to drop everything and go be missionaries or work in some ministry role tomorrow.  God is not in the business of seeing people fail because of being ill-prepared.  He doesn't just change His mind one day, and the next send an individual out to minister.  He is the Lord of all things, He is outside of time and sees everything, knows every thought and desires of our heart.  He has our entire lives to prepare us for all that is before us, so why would He ever do anything without plenty of warning and preparation?

Also, of note, when He is going to change things up, He calls us to prayer.  There are many historical examples of great revivals breaking out around the world, and in each and every instance, that I have read about, there has always been a call made by God to pray prior to His releasing the fire of revival.  There are always some number of people that have been specifically tasked with interceeding for the move of God over a particular region or people.  Sometimes they prayed for months or even years.  In this case, Jesus specifically told the disciples to pray for the release of more workers.  We don't know how much time transpired between 9:38 and 10:1, but it may have been a few days, possibly even weeks, but Matthew understood the two events were directly connected.

Finally, let us be encouraged in any areas where the Lord has called us, but not released us yet.  Let us be encouraged if we are in a time of training and preparation, or even if we are just recently joined to the followers of the Lord.  He does have plans and purpose for each of us, and He will direct us and guide us down the appropriate paths of preparation.  He will give us insight and understanding as we grow and mature.  We may not always understand His plan, purpose or path, but He is THE GOOD SHEPHERD and He will not lead us astray.  He will let us know when change is coming, and ultimately He will give us everything we need to be successful, including power and authority (Mt. 10:1).  He will give us the message and the proof that the message is true.  We need not fear that we are or will be unprepared, for the Lord is the most prepared individual in the Universe, in fact one could argue that He is the ONLY really prepared individual in the whole universe.  Let us entrust ourselves to Him, and join Him in whatever He is calling us to today!

Amen!

The Gift of Faith In Action

So this morning I felt like reading through the ninth chapter of Matthew's Gospel, and it is fully loaded with great verses for meditation.  Sometimes when I read verses that are very familiar, I have to slow down and really read and think about what I am reading, otherwise I just skim over the words, because I know them so well, and potentially miss something.  This morning I noticed something I hadn't seen before, or thought about before.  Here are the verses that caught my eye -  Matthew 9:18-19, 23-26 NIV:

[18] "While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” [19] Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples."

[23] "When Jesus entered the synagogue leader's house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, [24] he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. [25] After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. [26] News of this spread through all that region."

What stopped me this morning was  what the synagogue leader said to Jesus in verse 18 - "My daughter has just died.  But come and put you hand on her, and she will live."  When I read those verses I started wondering if Jesus was already known for His raising of dead people, or if this was a moment where we see the gift of extreme faith in action?  Basically I wanted to know why this guy had the idea to ask Jesus to raise his daughter from the dead.

So doing a little research and quickly breezing over the earlier passages in Matthew (Chap 1-8) we see Jesus doing several awesome healings and deliverances, but no mention of Him raising anyone from the dead.  We know there were a few times in the Old Testament where God worked through one of the Prophets to raise someone who had died. In 2 Kings 4:8-37 Elijah restores the Shunammite's son to life after he had died, and this is probably the best example.  Anyway, since there is some previous scriptural precedence it may not  be quite so surprising of a request, but there is no doubt that this was an infusion of faith from the Father.  To have the certainty to approach Jesus, and make such a request required great faith.

Think about the family situation and practice of grieving that was prevalent at that time.  I am not super familiar with their practices, but we can tell something by reading the rest of the story.  They get to his house and there is a crowd of people, a noisy crowd, likely wailing and weeping, people playing pipes, etc.  I can just imagine how his wife felt when he took off to find Jesus, leaving her with the ensuing crowds.  I can imagine the crowds wondering where the father of this child had gone?  The man, left everything and everyone, regardless of the customs, and went to find Jesus!  Maybe he had heard Jesus was back in town, for this took place in Capernaum, which was where Jesus moved once He started His public ministry.  Reading the verses closely, it is possible that he found Jesus in Matthew's house, and that would be interesting since it was clear that there were many sinners present (Matt 9:10) and to enter there could cause the synagogue leader to be unclean, but apparently he didn't care.

Anyway, we see that Jesus responds immediately, and his disciples do as well.  They begin making their way to his house, and a woman gets healed on the way by touching Jesus' cloak.  I love that at a critical time like this, where they are likely hurrying to the man's house, Jesus stops and interacts with the woman who touched him.  He always has time for the one.  Anyway, back to the story of the dead girl,  Jesus confronts immediate unbelief at His statement when he enters the crowd, which, when you think about it, was to be expected.  The people knew she was dead, they had all seen death before, they knew what it looked like and smelled like, and the girl was clearly dead, not asleep.  I think the Lord, actually kind of enjoyed that setting because it was so clear that He had worked an astounding miracle.  The people (other than the girls father) had absolutely no faith for what Jesus was about to do, and thus when Jesus did it, it was that much more impactful.  It was such a significant miracle that news of that specific incident spread throughout all the region.  I can just imagine the faces on all the people when the father and mother brought the girl outside, alive and well!  That must have been fun!

So back to the original theme - the gift of faith that the man was operating in to go find Jesus.  It is clear that the Father was stirring this faith in the man, and he responded to this faith that was rising up in him.  He likely had a thought enter his mind, 'if I can just find Jesus, he can come and lay his hand on my daughter and she will live!' or something like that.  Rather than rejecting such an apparently foolish thought in the face of his daughter's death, he responded and began seeking Jesus.   He left his home, the rest of his family, and the growing crowd of people and set out, driven by the hope this thought had instilled in him.  When he sees Jesus he just blurts it all out, and his faith and hope are hanging out there for everyone to see.  He wasn't concerned how strange it might have sounded.  He wasn't worried if it was Jesus' will or not.  He probably didn't stop to make sure his hair and everything was in order.  Nope, He just went right in and professed his faith, and requested very specifically what he wanted Jesus to do.  He was clearly motivated by his own emotions and love for his daughter, but he was also just as clearly operating in the gift of faith, for there was no doubt or question expressed in his words to Jesus.

Jesus immediately responds, and as I wrote previously, once He moves the outcome is already known.  He didn't say, "well let me give it a try."  As soon as He started walking towards the man's house the miracle was as good as done.  He knew the Father's will and was on His way to fulfill it.

So, my encouragement this morning is to pray for two things, the gift of faith and the response of Jesus.  With either of these we know the outcome will be in perfect alignment with the Father's heart and will.  The gift of faith is to help us push past our own experience and knowledge into the unknown areas that the Father wants us to explore.  He calls us into that place, not to frustrate us or disappoint us, but to see how much He loves us and how great He is.  We can be confident that if we have such a God inspired gift of fait that the Lord plans on fulfilling the hope it instills - because the thought and hope came from Him in the first place.

Lord, I pray that You will pour out the gift of faith to all of us who are in need.

Chosen, Loved and Delighted In!

This morning I was reading from Matthew 12:15-21 NIV:

[15] "Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. [16] He warned them not to tell others about him. [17] This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

[18] “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
[19] He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
[20] A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
[21] In his name the nations will put their hope.”

This is a significant verse for me, as these verses from Isaiah are some of my core life-calling verses, verses the Lord has spoken to me over and over again.  I love the fact that there is a gentleness and lack of self promotion in Jesus' ministry.  These are verses that I have tried to live by and embrace in my life.

The message of being chosen, loved and delighted in, is significant for us all, for it is true of us all.  The Father has chosen each of us, has fashioned us and purposed destiny for each of us (Ps. 139:13-16).  He loves us with an intensity that we cannot comprehend, and takes delight in us.  He doesn't withhold His love or acceptance until we get our life together and cleaned up, but rather loves us in our sin, our wretchedness and our brokenness, even in our pride and stubbornness (see Luke 15:11-31 for a great example of the Father's love). He takes delight in us, which means that He likes us, enjoys us, enjoys spending time with us, likes our uniqueness, and that we make Him smile.

As I write these truths I am reminded of some verses from Paul's letter to the Ephesians 2:4-10 NIV:

...[4] "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions---it is by grace you have been saved. [6] And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, [7] in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. [8] For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith---and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--- [9] not by works, so that no one can boast. [10] For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Going back to the verses from Matthew, we see that it is from the Holy Spirit on Him and in Him, that He entered into His ministry.  We see this earlier in Matthew's and Luke's Gospels , as the details of His baptism and trial in the wilderness make it clear that it was the Holy Spirit who lead Him and empowered Him, after His baptism (Mattt. 3:16-17, Matt 4:1, Luke 4:14).  He was fully a man (Heb 2:17, Phil. 2:6-8), and fully God, yet He had emptied Himself and became a servant, relying on the Holy Spirit, in the same way that we all are invited to do.  He did marvellous things, but invited us to do those very same things and greater still (John14:12), also through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Additionally, Jesus ministered in humility and gentleness.  He did not act as if He was better than everyone else, He did not lord it over His followers, but rather lead them and guided them, feeding them and helping them to mature.  He was the good shepherd (John 10:11).  He loved and protected, spoke into and called his followers into their destinies.  He encouraged and trained, explained and provided correction when needed.  He did not reject them for their mistakes or misunderstandings, but called them forward to do better and to understand His heart more thoroughly.  He did not self-promote His ministry, instead choosing to minister in the remote areas, the countryside and in towns of common people.  He did not look for the stage, ask everyone to look at Him, or try to glorify Himself. When people started talking about making Him their leader, He purposely walked away so that He could maintain a humble servant based ministry (Matt 8:18, John 6:15).  He ministered to the crowds, fed them, taught them and healed them, and yet he had time to minister to the one.

He entrusted His ministry to His disciples, and encouraged them to go out and proclaim what He had proclaimed and demonstrate the truth of their proclamations.  One could argue that He did this because He knew His time was short, but I believe that in addition to this reason, Jesus did this because that is the nature of the Father.  The Father gives us good gifts (Matt. 7:11), in fact all good things come from Him, and He desires that we enjoy them and use them, and further His Kingdom by doing so.  He desires that we each step into our destiny, our purpose in Him.  We are all called, all chosen and all significant in the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:1-31) and given good gifts for the common good of all.

So let us learn from Jesus.  Let us emulate Him and serve.  Let us not promote ourselves or our ministries.  Let us minister with humility and gentleness, recognizing the significance of each every individual we meet.  Let us love well, for we are all chosen, loved and delighted in by our Father.

Amen!

Lord, Visit Your People

This morning I was reading a little from  Matthew 8:14-17 NIV:
[14] "When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. [15] He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

[16] When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. [17] This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

I was just thinking that this is exactly what we want Jesus to do, to come visit this house!  We want You Jesus, present in our midst. We love the stuff You do, but we are more interesting in You than in the stuff.  We know that when visit You will be Yourself, and as a result of that we will see healings and deliverance, for they flow out of who You are.

In line with the previous verse, I felt lead to these verses from Isaiah 64:1-4 NIV:

[1] "Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!
[2] As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you!
[3] For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
[4] Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him."

Yes Lord, this is what we pray!  That You would come down and visit us with Your very presence.  That You would do great and awesome things that we did not expect, that Your name would be glorified in all the nations.  Lord, that the people would know that You and You alone are the God who loves them, who has redeemed them, and who desires real relationship with them.

Yes Lord, visit Your people!

Thinking About and Seeking God

This morning two of my good friends and I were talking about some of the popular things people think and how, if they followed through what they were thinking to the logical conclusion, they would see the beliefs they hold as being wrong.  I think that much of the problem is that we don't think for ourselves anymore.  We like holding onto thoughts and beliefs that sound good, but haven't actually sat down and thought through what we say we believe. We don't want to be bothered with pondering, but rather just want somebody to give us what we want without effort.  We were talking about how we have become  more and more reactive to the news, and apparently stopped thinking for ourselves.

We see this same thing in church, where we just want someone to tell us what we should believe.  We don't want to be bothered with thinking things through for ourselves.  I think that it is a rare place that is OK with the fact that people can have different opinions and thoughts than the leadership.  We have created a bunch of non-thinking people, whose only relationship with God is based on what someone tells them about, not real experience, not having worked things out on their own, having read and pondered and asked.  We have ceased self-feeding and thinking and instead want everything delivered in short edible chunks  The problem is that God is found by those who ask, seek and knock, and wants to have a personal relationship with us.  He wants us to know Him personally.  We would prefer the wholesale generic relationship of the masses.  Lord, help us to understand the great value there is in You and our relationship with You!   Here are some good verses that speak about seeking the Lord.

Isaiah 55:6 NIV: "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near."

Matthew 6:33 NIV: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.?

Matthew 7:7-11 NIV:

[7] “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. [8] For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. [9] “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? [10] Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? [11] If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

Lord, help us to seek You and find You. We want to  know You, and be known by You.  A.W. Tozer, one of my favorite authors, said this:  "Sound Bible exposition is an imperative must in the Church of the Living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict meaning of that term. But exposition may be carried on in such way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts."  Tozer, "The Pursuit of God"

Amen!

The Impact of Effective Ministry

This morning I am continuing to work my way through Luke and came across these verses - Luke 6:17-19 NIV:

[17] "He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, [18] who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, [19] and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all."

I like when there are specific towns and cities listed, for that helps me understand the scope of Jesus' impact.  The area listed above is close to 10,000 square  miles depending on how you measure it!  I live in Kansas City, and this metro area is about 8000 square miles.  While KC is not so well known, this area would be larger than the Dallas/Ft. Worth,  Atlanta or Denver metro areas (all less than 9000 sq. miles). That is a huge area, and people were coming to Jesus, traveling for days to find Him.  It is also clear that the whole region must have taken notice of Him.  I was wondering why it seemed that there were always pharisees present, but when I think about the regional impact He was having, it makes sense.

I was also thinking about the drive that these people had to see him.  There was no fast way to travel back then, maybe if you were really rich and had a chariot, but otherwise camel or donkey, or walk were the common methods of travel.  A healthy human might be able to cover 20+ miles in a day, armies of fit and trained men in the Roman army were required to be able to march 25 miles with a quick march while carrying a load, but we are talking about sick people, people who needed healing.  I imagine it took many of them a week of travel to catch up with Jesus.  I imagine that for many of them, this type of travel drained their health further and their savings every bit as much.  They were desperate, and willing to do what they needed to do to be touched by God.

It is also interesting that Luke states they came to hear Jesus AND be healed of their diseases.  As I have mentioned previously, Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom and then demonstrated the reality of the Kingdom by healing the sick, casting out the demons, etc.  We see this same pattern alluded to here. The people were hungry for both, and His teaching was unlike anything they had heard before (Matt 7:28, Mark 1:22, Luke 4:32).

Finally, as described in some of my recent journaling, by this point, the power flowing out of Jesus, just by touching Him, was enough to heal people.  This was not an increase in the power of Jesus, but an increase in the faith of the people.  It was also much more expedient.   I also find it interesting that other than the sending out of the apostles and the 72, we don't see any indication that the healing ministry was accomplished by anyone other than Jesus when the huge crowds gathered.

I was rereading some of the stories about William Branham who was a healing evangelist here in the US during the 40s and 50s.  He used to have thousands gather nightly for his revival meetings, and there were several stories of people who followed him from meeting to meeting, stretching over weeks of time, trying to get into his healing lines.  He would pray for people 4-5 hours straight, night after night and still was unable to pray for everyone who needed healing.  I imagine that for Jesus it was much the same, for we see, over and over, thousands of people gathering around Him. By this time in His ministry, power was flowing out from Him and healing people without His active interaction, other than hosting the presence of the Holy Spirit.  People were being ministered to  in the thousands, and ALL were being healed.

Oh, for these days to return to the church.  Oh, for the Lord to be glorified in this way.  That whole cities, whole metro areas might be ignited with hunger for the Lord, and thousands would flock to those places where His presence is manifest, where the Kingdom is proclaimed and people are healed by the thousands.  Lord, please visit Your church with this type of effective ministry once again!

New and Old - Wine, Cloth and Paradigms

I was reading some scripture last night before going to sleep and ran across these familiar verses in Luke 5:36-39 NIV:

[36] "He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. [37] And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. [38] No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. [39] And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, 'The old is better.' ”

I was thinking about that last line - "no one after drinking old wine wants the new."  I think this is so insightful, and speaks of the paradigms that we have become familiar with in  our lives, and especially in our faith.  Jesus does not say there is anything wrong with the old, or the new, but He is speaking about two things - the need to change, and our choices.

He introduces, both in talking about the cloth and the wine, the fact that the old is unable to change to accommodate the new. In both cases the new and the old become ruined.  It is only the new wineskins, and new cloth that is is capable of supporting the amount of change the new wine or cloth brings.  The old is fine, and leaving it to itself will continue to serve its purpose, but the new requires new.

When I read this, and think about this, I am lead to look at our modern model for large congregational churches.  Sorry, that is just where my mind goes.  Having been a part of several very good churches, I am familiar with the good this model for church produces, and the for vast majority of Christians in America, this is our paradigm of church.  However, there are also limitations to this model, and it is not that the model is bad, just not flexible enough to meet all the felt needs of all the people.  I, like many others, have grown hungry for something different.  I know many who have bounced from church to church looking for something that they are missing or hungry for in their Christian walk.  I believe that the Lord, is giving some people a taste for new wine.  The old wineskins and old cloth (models for church life) cannot change enough to meet their needs, but those seeking change often don't see any alternative.

This is the very thought that has lead me choose the small, home church model that we are presently working out and investing in with our lives.  There is a level of connectedness, a level of flexibility, an ability to practice and experiment that is not possible in a larger congregation.  There is the ability to sow into, to encourage, to mature the spiritual giftings in all.  There is a flexibility to chuck all and follow the flow of the Spirit rather than the liturgical program.  There is a richness to the times of fellowship that are not just happenstance, but rather a planned part of our gatherings. There is the opportunity to process and discuss aspects of our faith, and the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles, that allows us to apply that which we learn to our lives.  There is a level of trust and intimacy that develops that makes our times both safe, and flexible.

Finally, the real goal of all of this is to experience more of the Lord, and His manifest presence, in my life.  I am not satisfied with my level of intimacy with the Lord, my knowledge of the Lord and His ways, my ability to represent the Lord to others.  I realize there is so much more and that is the hunger that has not been sated.  There have been times of glorious encounters with the Lord, both in the large congregational settings as well as in my own daily prayer, but I am hungry for more, both for me and for those that I love and share life with.  Our faith journey is all about growing in relationship with the Lord and with each other, and I believe for me this will most easily be accomplished in a smaller and more intimate setting.

It is my prayer that as we grow and pursue the Lord, we will all mature into a healthy and strong body of Christ.  It is my prayer that we will learn to build new wine skins for the new wine. It is also my prayer that we of the new wine appreciate and value the old wine and wine skins, for they are good!  It is also important that we all recognize the new wine and new cloth and make allowances for them to change and mature.

Amen!

Jesus Puts People First

I am continuing to work through the Gospel of Luke this morning.  I love this story of Jesus healing a women - Luke 13:10-17 NIV:

[10] "On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, [11] and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. [12] When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” [13] Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

[14] Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

[15] The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? [16] Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

[17] When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing."

As I am reading this story I imagine a couple of things - based on the text.  It appears that it was while Jesus was teaching that He saw the women and called her forward.  The temple was a busy place and I am wondering if He was teaching in one area and happened to see her walk by, all bent over. I think this is totally the way Jesus would have been, for He always had time for the individual.  Anyway, without any hesitancy or fear, He calls her over and without any statement of faith on her part, any comment from Jesus on her sin or anything, He sets her free. He just lays hands on her and immediately she straightens up.

So often we think we need to negotiate with the Lord for our healing, or get our lives right, or fast or pray, or whatever.  Here we have a lady who Jesus calls forward and heals without so much of a question or comment, other then the statement from Jesus concerning her healing.  I love the simplicity of this encounter, and the fact that the women immediately understood what had happened and praised God.

This may not seem like a huge miracle, but it was significant enough that it was repeated long enough for Luke to be able to write about it some 30-50 years later, depending on your dating of the gospel of Luke.  Recently I had a knee injury where I wasn't able to straighten my knee out for 2 weeks.  This injury required that I completely change many things in my life to accommodate the injury.  I was so ready to be able to straighten it out after surgery.  Imagine being bent over for 18 years.  Sleeping, standing, sitting, carrying, cooking, anything and everything was affected by this infirmity.  Muscles and bones would adjust over time to the point she probably couldn't have straightened, even if whatever was causing it was removed.  In an instant Jesus did just that, but also healed her muscles and bones and joints, for she immediately stood up straight.  Imagine being able to look people in the eye for the first time in 18 years.  Wow!

The fact that the synagogue leader immediately stood up and told the people that they could come on other days for healing tells me there was probably already a line forming in front of Jesus with people wanting to be healed.  It is amazing that this leader was so worried about the religious duties of the temple that he missed the importance of the women being set free.  The temple was supposed to be a place where people worshipped God, and she breaks into wild praise, and he tries to shut it down.  While this might seem far fetched, I wonder how many churches would do the very same if someone interuppted the pastor's preaching or the program flow to get healed and start praising God?

Jesus will have nothing to do with this stupid attitude and brings the focus back to the women.  Don't for a moment think that God is more concerned about a worship service than He is about each and every individual in the room.  Jesus tells the story of the man who leaves the ninety-nine to go find the one that is lost (Luke 5:4-7), and that is His heart.  He Loves our worship, but not because its good music, but rather because we are expressing individually our love for him.  God does not love programs or preaching more than people, and it is my prayer that we, as the church, start demonstrating this aspect of the Father's heart.

Finally, it is my prayer that the people would once again be delighted by the wonderful things that the Lord is doing in their midst.  The Lord desires to touch us, heal us and set us free, and the church is supposed to be the vehicle through which that occurs.  We are His representatives, and we are called to do the same things that He did.  Lord, help us to once again, through the power of the Holy Spirit, do wonderful things.

Amen!

The Fire is Kindled

This morning I continued reading from Luke.  I was stopped by the following verse - Luke 12:49 NIV: “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!"

The following verses are important as they continue His thought around this first statement.  Here they are for reference - Luke 12:50-53 NIV:

[50] "But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! [51] Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. [52] From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. [53] They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Going back to verse 49, this is such an interesting verse, one where Jesus is pointing to the time after His death and resurrection.  In the next verse He speaks of having to undergo a baptism, and that this fire comes after the baptism.  The baptism He speaks is definitely His agony and death.  So what is this fire?

I think it is one of two things, or both.  He is speaking either of the Holy Spirit or of the church.  There is no doubt that when the Holy Spirit fell on Pentecost that He fell as tongues of fire.   However, the language Jesus uses in the following verses indicate He was speaking about people being divided and struggling.  The Holy Spirit, while all powerful,  brings peace, joy and unity (Romans 14:17, Eph 4:3).   There are those who argue about the role of the Holy Spirit, those that don't trust the Holy Spirit, those that fear association with people who move in the power that comes from the Holy Spirit, but that all came later. I really don't think He was speaking of the Holy Spirit here..

So, the alternative is that the fire Jesus speaks of is the Church.  That would not be the way I would describe the church of America today.  In many ways the church's fire has been reduced to barely above the level of the pilot light.  Jesus says He came to bring this fire to earth, and He wishes it were kindled.  The Greek here is the word Thelo whose Definition is: 1) to will, have in mind, intend; 2) to be resolved or determined, to purpose; 3) to desire, to wish; 4) to love; 5) to like to do a thing, be fond of doing; 6) to take delight in, have pleasure.
So, it is clear that Jesus is looking forward to this fire being kindled.  He takes great delight in this thought. If you look closely at the following verses, He does not take delight in the division that will come, but only in the fire.  The division He speaks of will occur and was seen in the early church, as it came under persecution.  Thus it is my belief that He speaks of the church as a fire!

It takes a bit of an adjustment of my thinking about the church to think of it as a fire.  As I said earlier, it seems that much of our fire has been reduced presently, but that was not always the case.  There were great fires of revival that spread across this land, where people were set on fire for the Lord.  It is my prayer that once again the church might be this very fire, this raging inferno of passion for Him.  The church is Jesus' delight, let us delight in Him and shine forth His light to all the world.  The fire has been kindled, it is time for it to burn once again!

Amen!

The Kingdom Is A Gift We Have Been Given

I continue on, working through Luke's Gospel.  Today I was reading form Luke's twelfth chapter and i ran across these familiar verses - Luke 12:27-34 NIV:

[27] “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. [28] If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you---you of little faith! [29] And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. [30] For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. [31] But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

[32] “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. [33] Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. [34] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

My eyes and my heart were drawn to verse 32, especially since my recent focus has been on the Kingdom of God.  I love this verse -"The Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom".  It is spoken in past tense, meaning the gift has been given already.  This is not some future event, but the continuation of Jesus' proclamation and reality.  The kingdom was established here on earth, and our inclusion in the Kingdom is pleasing to the Father.  If He is pleased to give it too us, that means two things - 1) we don't need to ask or beg or wonder  2) the kingdom is for us!  I mean think about it, if we have already received a gift, we don't need to ask for it again, or wonder if it is ours to possess.  If we have been given a gift, it is for us.  We might share it with others, but it is meant to bless us. this is true of the Kingdom of God!  Wow!

I also love the fact that the Lord encourages us to focus on the kingdom, rather than on our stuff and our needs.  The reason He does that is that He knows those are guaranteed in the Kingdom.  The Father, who is the very definition of good, knows our needs and has all resources at His finger-tips.  He knows our need and will meet it.

So often we are tempted to live in the state of unbelief - belief that God doesn't love us, isn't capable of freeing us,  isn't paying attention to us, or has it in for us.  None of these is true, but many of us hold some variant of these in our fearful hearts, and these thoughts come out when we are under duress.  Jesus calls us to focus on His kingdom, looking to heaven rather than our earthly situation.  We are encouraged to look heavenward, recognizing that the all the blessing and awesome things we experience here, are as nothing compared to the eternal glory that awaits us in heaven.

Let us be encouraged today that the Kingdom is for us, and it has pleased the Father to give it too us!  His intention is clearly that we experience the blessings of His kingdom, and invite others to join us.

Just Ask, The Father Intends to Provide

I am continuing my reading from Luke's Gospel, this morning moving over to Chapter 11.  This section is where Jesus teaches the disciples to pray.

Luke 11:2-13 NIV:

[2]He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come (some manuscripts add: "your will be done on earth at it is in heaven") [3] Give us each day our daily bread. [4] Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. ' ”

[5] Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; [6] a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.' [7] And suppose the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' [8] I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

[9] “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. [10] For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. [11] “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? [12] Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? [13] If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

I like these verses from Luke for they expand upon the teaching on prayer.  The Lord didn't just teach them what we call the Lord's prayer, but continued on giving them greater understanding of their situation and the Father's heart.  In fact you could almost look at this, starting at the end.

Starting at the end of the story, the understanding that Jesus points to is that what we really need is the Holy Spirit.  The one who can meet this need is our Father in heaven.  He is like our own earthly fathers in that when He gives us gifts He gives us that which we need and ask for, but He is much more good than our earthly fathers.  He will meet our needs, He will answer if we ask, He will open if we knock, He will be found if we seek Him.

He will provide us with what we lack (story of the man and the bread).  He will reward our shameless audacity. I did a study of this previously and the focus of His story is the heart of the one asking, not the reluctance of the one who is in bed.  The one who asks for bread has nothing, but he knows where to get it, that is why he goes to his neighbor.  This is about need and knowledge of where to go to get the need met.  The Father is much more good, exceedingly beyond comprehension better than the man in the story. He has what we need (The Holy Spirit), so we can go to Him and ask Him, no matter how late.

Finally the purpose of this whole exercise was to teach them how to pray, how to converse with God the Father.  The focus of our prayer should be to bring the Father Glory, acknowledging His awesomeness, and to ask for His will to be done here on earth, as it is already done in Heaven, an expansion of His Kingdom come to earth.  We can't do this on our own, we need the Father to act, and we NEED the Holy Spirit to empower us.  Because He is good, we can go to Him with expectant faith (shameless audacity is the same thing basically) and ask, knowing that He will provide what we need.

So let us be encouraged to pray, to seek, to ask, to knock, to go to the Father requesting more of the Holy Spirit, that we might see His Kingdom come to earth!  He has instructed us how to pray, which means that He is waiting to meet us in this prayer.  He instructed us to pray this way!  Why? Because He intends to answer in this way.

I was just thinking of an example.  I think that this is like the Father instructing us to ask Him for the $100 bill He is holding in His hand in front of our face.  He instructs us to ask Him, and when we do He will give us what He is holding directly in front of us.  It is clear  what His intention is - to give us the $100, since He is holding it in plain sight.  Which of us, in this example would doubt the will of the Father?  We don't need to perform, or change or do anything other than ask, and He will give us what He intends to give us.  This is exactly what Jesus was teaching here, that the Father is just waiting to pour out the Spirit to those that ask.

Amen Lord, I am asking!

Proclaim the Kingdom, Bring Nothing...

This morning my Bible opened to the following passages - Luke 9:1-6, 10-11 NIV:

[1] "When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, [2] and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. [3] He told them: “Take nothing for the journey---no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. [4] Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. [5] If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” [6] So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.

[10] When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, [11] but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing."

Every time I read passages like these my heart is quickened to Jesus' message about the Kingdom and His demonstration of the Kingdom by healing.  The two are completely connected. He proclaimed the Kingdom and healed the sick (verse 11).  He sends out the twelve and tells them to "proclaim the Kingdom of God and heal the sick" (verse 2).  Proclamation AND demonstration are essential to the advance of the Kingdom, and the church for that matter.

Secondly, when I read these verses this morning I was thinking about verses 3-5, for they are an interesting command in relation to the proclamation of the Kingdom.  There is a simplicity to this call which goes against most of our natural inclinations.  He didn't want them to be overly prepared, or even marginally prepared.  They were to set out with nothing.  This simplicity, I think, underlies the importance of humility in the proclamation of the Kingdom.  It is the exact opposite of what an earthly King would command his ambassadors to do, for when they traveled it was usually with some sort of royal retinue.  Jesus is providing a stark contrast for all to see.  Humility and simplicity are some of the characteristics of the proclamation of the Kingdom. The good thing about this command is that it qualifies everyone to be sent, at least from a materials perspective. There can be no material excuse, no reason to hold back from going if you are to bring nothing.

Another perspective is that this  command required them to depend on the Father, in faith, for their provision and place of rest.  This is also not in line with our natural inclination, at least I know it isn't for me.  I am a fairly capable individual, and I am a planner.  To go on a trip with nothing, no food, no money, no extra clothes, no bag, nothing would never be my choice.  I have means to provide all that for myself, so to do anything different would require some serious faith.  I can just imagine them getting all pumped up when Jesus gives them authority and power to drive out demons and cure diseases, and then the utter confusion when Jesus tells them to take nothing.  I like these human moments, for they show how well Jesus knows us.  We need to learn to rely totally on the Lord, for the power and authority to do what He has called us to do, but also for the mundane things like daily food and shelter.  God is fully capable of providing both, and sometimes the miracles that stand out most are the ways He meets even our simplest needs like food.

I am reminded of a time where the Lord was introducing me to this concept, and He asked me to ask Him for my food.  One Sunday I was out of food and rather than going to the store I prayed, asking God for my food.  I was stepping out in faith just a little bit, and within 5 minutes a friend of mine called me and asked if I wanted to come over for steaks.  I couldn't believe how the Lord had provided so easily.  This friend had never before called me to ask me if I wanted to come over for dinner, nor had we even discussed anything somewhat related.  It was completely unanticipated and unexplainable, other than to know that Father wanted me to understand His ability to provide.

I believe this is part of the message of the Kingdom - we can proclaim it, but we bring nothing, He provides everything.  Too often we are tempted to add our ideas and baggage to the message of the Kingdom, and the Lord wants it pure and simple.  He doesn't want people wowed by our cars, our clothes, our lifestyles, our abilities.  He wants people wowed by the reality of the Kingdom.

Oh Lord, I pray that the simplicity and pureness of this example would be rediscovered by Your church.  Help us to learn to lean into You, to rely on You, and to reveal You, Your Kingdom and Your power and authority to all.  Lord help us to learn that the Kingdom is best advanced by proclamation AND demonstration, and help us to walk in Your authority and power to do so.

Amen!

When the Lord Intends to Visit

Last night I actually read my Bible a little before sleeping.  It's been a while since I did that.  I was reading from Luke 9 and specifically was thinking about the story of how the Samaritans rejected His plans to visit their town.  Here are the specific verses - Luke 9:51-56 NIV:

[51] "As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. [52] And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; [53] but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. [54] When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them ?” [55] But Jesus turned and rebuked them. [56] Then he and his disciples went to another village."

My first thought when reading this was that this probably could go down in the history of bad decisions, as near the top.  Jesus wants to visit and spend time in your town and you tell him no thank you.  The one who heals all the sick, deals with all the demonized, cleanses lepers, heals the blind, and whose visit brings hundreds of people who buy food and need shelter (revenue) and you say no.  Just not very smart in my opinion.

It says they rejected Him because He was headed to Jerusalem, and this is definitely one reason for rationalizing their decision.  The Jews and Samaritans had a long standing feud over where to worship, how to worship, and they did not welcome each other in general.  We know from other stories in scripture that Jews traveling from Galilee to Judah would go around Samaria, and Jesus even told the surprising story of the "Good Samaritan" where the help of a Samaritan was completely not expected.  Anyway, suffice it to say that there were significant religious differences.

As I read this story I thought about how many times we might have rejected Jesus ourselves, in our own lives, because of where we thought He was going (as in leading us)?  I know personally more than a few churches that have basically rejected the presence of God manifesting in their congregation because where that would lead them.  They weren't in favor of being labelled, of being infested with crazy Jesus people, or even worse being visited by those who act out in the Spirit and all sorts of craziness.  They chose the need to be in control over the presence of the Lord.  Sad.

I also know that there have been several times in my own life where I have backed away from things I felt the Lord was saying, because I didn't like where I thought it would lead me.  I know there are also many of us who don't want to follow Jesus whole-heartedly because we don't like the thought of the changes we think He would require in our lives, like things we would have to stop doing that we like.  It is a sad reality that we often choose to not have Jesus visit us because of selfishness or fear, religious differences or inconvenience.

On the positive side, I also found it interesting that the Lord sent messengers ahead of Him to get things ready.  When I read that, I immediately thought of those intercessory forerunners for every single revival that has occurred in history.  There are always those whose are called/sent to prepare the way for the Lord,  sowing prayer sometimes for years prior to the Lord's visitation. Let us be encouraged if the Lord has called us to such an endeavor.

I am also convinced that the Lord signals His intent about what He is planning to come and do, and that if we are listening we will hear His messengers.  Often times I have seen the hearts of a group of people moved around certain unrealized promises.  These are things or themes that several people in an area or church hold in common and are waiting for expectantly, that each has heard personally from the Lord.  In our present church we all have this deep desire for more of the Lord, and especially the experience of His healing as a part of the Kingdom proclamation.  It is my belief that these common messages, that we hold onto and are believing for, are from the Lord signalling His intent.  If we have a welcoming heart, He will visit as He intends.

Lord, it is my prayer that we will always welcome Your visitation, regardless of how scary, inconvenient or messy it might appear.  We want You in our life, and we are willing to be visited.

Amen.

When Jesus Moves...His Will Is Accomplished

This morning I was reading from Luke's Gospel.  The seventh chapter has several significant stories., however I wanted to spend some time discussing the first story of the chapter, the cure of the centurion's servant. Here are the verses - Luke 7:1-10 NIV:

[1] "When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. [2] There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. [3] The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. [4] When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, [5] because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” [6] So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. [7] That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. [8] For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it.”

[9] When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” [10] Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well."

I like this story for several reasons and am encouraged today by reading it.  First, the fact that Jesus was moved by the requests of others on the Centurion's behalf is significant.  We often ask people to pray for us or for situations, and here we see that being demonstrated.  The Centurion asks people to go and intercede for him with the Lord.  He isn't Jewish, and in reality it probably didn't even matter that He was a good man, only that He asked for Jesus' help.

Second, Jesus does respond and starts walking towards his house.  We should be encouraged by the fact that when the Lord gets engaged, it is as good as accomplished, because His movement never was frustrated by failure or refusal to act once He is on site.  The Centurion had probably given instructions that if Jesus were to start coming to his house, that he should be notified immediately so that he could send the second message.  He was clearly just waiting and hoping to see that Jesus responded at all to his earlier request.  Again, once he knew Jesus had responded and started to his house, he knew that his servant would be healed.

Thirdly, he understood authority, and must have studied Jesus ministry and knew that He had authority over sickness, disease, demons and even death.  Authority means the power and the ability to act, and the ability to enforce and enact one's will.  That was what the Centurion depended on both for his livelihood, for the enforcement of Cesar's will was his job, and his ability to command his troops.  He had been given authority over his men and over a region, and in both arenas he had complete authority.  He had witnessed, or studied Jesus demonstrating His own authority in the realms of sickness, disease, spiritual oppression and death, and knew that He was always successful.  There was no doubt in His mind that if Jesus decided to act His servant would be healed.

 Finally, Jesus was moved by His faith, without even meeting him.  We often times associate the Centurion's faith with the fact that his servant was healed, but Luke doesn't make that correlation.  He just reports the facts, and Jesus commented on His faith, and then as far as we know, turned around went back home.  He didn't say anything about the servant being healed, or that the reason He was healed was because of his faith.  I go back to my second point, the fact that Jesus responded meant the servant was going to be healed, nothing else in the story really mattered.  The fact that Jesus started in His direction meant that He had seen this was the Father's plan and started walking, and that signified His decision to heal.

As I was writing that last bit I was reminded of the story of Lazarus from John's Gospel.  We see that Jesus knows the Father's will and does not respond to the summons, for to do so would have likely meant that He would have healed Lazarus, rather than raised him from the dead (see verses 4 & 6).

John 11:3-7 NIV:
[3] "So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

[4] When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it.”

[5] Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. [6] So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, [7] and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

It is so interesting that John wrote in verse 5 that Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus, and the  followed it with verse 6 - so he waited two more days before responding.  We would normally associate the delay with a lack of concern or interest, but John said it was because He loved them that He waited two more days.  I think that John was really focused on the fact that it was dangerous for Jesus to go back to Judea because of the recent death threats, but the way it reads is that it was because of His love, and the Father's and His glory that He delayed.

Lord, help us to be encouraged this day, that when You being to move, we know that Your will is to heal.  Let us not be discouraged by any delay, for it is Your love and for Your and the Father's Glory that You delay.

Amen.

Our New Self, Hidden in Him

This morning I am reading out of Paul's letter to the Colossians 3:9-14 NIV:

[9] "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices [10] and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. [11] Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

[12] Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. [13] Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. [14] And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

This whole concept of being a new creation, a new man in Christ is hard for many of us to grasp.  Paul's foundational statement concerning this is found in Colossians 3:3 NIV:  "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."  He is speaking of the spiritual reality. We have died with Christ, and been raised to life in Him, as a new creation, with a new self.  Some of us experience this radical change when we come to Christ, becoming a radically new person.  Others of us, not so much, but it is no less true for all of us.  When we unite ourselves to Christ, receiving His salvation which He purchased through His suffering and death, we become united with Him. Whether we feel this transaction or not, it is true for all of us who have come to Christ Jesus.

Paul understood that we also participate in making this spiritual reality a natural reality.  We can choose to embrace and encourage ourselves to live in this new reality.  We can put on a new self (the Greek here means to put on like clothes), clothing ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, forgiveness, patience and love.  We can pursue further renewal of our minds, of our self, as we pursue Him.  In doing so, we join in with the work our Savior is about in our lives.  He is renewing our new self in knowledge in the image of our creator (that is Christ Jesus).  In verse eleven, Paul says that Christ Jesus is us, and is in us all.  In other words, this renewing of self into His image is because we have joined ourselves fully to Him and He to us.  Our lives are so hidden in Christ that the Father when looking at us sees His Son Jesus.

In the same way, Paul is encouraging us to have the same attitude externally, to those around us.  His encouragement is that when people run into us, it is like running into Jesus.  The daily clothing ourselves in the good things listed above, enables us to become one with Christ Jesus, so that we exude from our lives, His.

Oh Lord, help me, for that is my desire, to become Like You, hidden in  You!

My Flow of Thought During Prayer

Last night I was also thinking about how we want to step under Jesus authority when we are ministering.  We  are hidden in Christ (Col 3:3), and from that place  we can minister just as Jesus demonstrated, for we are ministering as Jesus.  Bill Johnson speaks of hosting the Presence of God, and this is that.  It is not like we put on the Holy Spirit like a cloak, rather we step into Him, and become hidden in Him.  We step into His presence, come under His authority and minister as His representative.  We don't really want to be like Him, but rather we want to learn be Him, learn to be hidden in Him.  I clearly don't grasp this reality Lord, but I pray that I would come to know and understand this in the fullest measure possible.

I was just thinking some more about this verse from Revelation 21:4 NIV:  "'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  I was thinking about the fact that the old order that is passing away is the order that was established in Genesis, with the creation of Adam.  

Paul writes of Christ being the second Adam in this text from 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 NIV:

[45] "So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being” ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. [46] The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. [47] The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. [48] As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. [49] And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man."

Thus since Christ came as the second Adam, and established a new covenant through His sacrifice, He is the beginning of the new order of things.  In Revelations, we see Him coming and establishing His supreme rule over all the earth.  Here are a couple of sections from Revelations.

Revelation 19:11-16 NIV
[11] "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. [12] His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. [13] He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. [14] The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. [15] Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. [16] On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
king of kings and lord of lords."

Revelation 21:5-7 NIV
[5] "He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” [6] He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. [7] Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children."

More on Being His cloak -  I was just thinking about the fact that we really just want to be like His cloak, that we would allow the Power of the Holy Spirit to flow through us and out to those that come to Jesus for healing.  The cloak was merely an avenue or conduit through which power ran, and our lives can be much the same.  He is the one moving, and we are in essence that which covers Him, that which the world sees.  It is His power, nothing that we possess, His will and purpose.  There is a realness to the prayer of less of me and more of You, in this model, for we want to be translucent so that people can see all of Jesus when they meet us, and very little of us.  Lord, help me to learn to be so in alignment with You that I am just like Your cloak.

Musings from the Night Watch - The Invitation of God

Recently, one of the things I have been thinking about again is the 30 years of hiddeness  that Jesus experienced.  I was thinking about how He lived in Nazareth, and had to watch people become sick, had to watch them die, had to walk by blind men, had to remain obedient to the Father's timing.  I can barely imagine His heart ache, seeing people in difficult straits, but being hidden. I imagine He had many heartfelt discussions with the Father, asking pleading, desiring, in His humanness, to step in and release the Kingdom.  There is definitely a perfect time and season for the Lord's anointing to be released, and waiting for teat perfect time doesn't indicate anything about the Lord's desire or heart.  The Father loves us all equally, every last man, woman and child.  He desires to touch our lives, to reveal himself to us, and to have us enter into relationship with Him.  Period!  That is who He is.  

He, however, does have plan, purpose and timing for every move, every revelation, every promise fulfilled.  We are so limited in our understanding and perspective.  We, in our humanness, would never had made Jesus wait 30 years, so that He only actively ministered for 3 years.  When we see gifting and anointing we want to jump right in and release everything we have, or have seen.  Not so the Father.  He has a perfect plan that involves billions of people, celestial beings (angels) and purposes that fulfill His plan.  Not only that, but He can adjust on the fly for any glitch, mis-timed, or plain missed opportunity.  We are not just chess pieces that He moves around, but rather all of us have free will and can change to follow His direction or not, and regardless of what we choose, He can deal with it.  He is operating both in time and outside of time, and from that vantage point everything is possible for Him.

The Lord whispered something to me this morning that is quite profound - "He is not bound by space or time!" In other words, He operates freely inside and outside of both. His Kingdom is not just earthly, but also eternal, spiritual and heavenly.  On earth there are time and space limitations most of the time, but then we see how He transports Philip 40 miles in an instant (Acts 8:40) and how Jesus healed the woman's daughter from a distance  ( Matt 15:21-29).  He clearly is free to do what He wants, where He wants, and when He wants.  That is why it is so important to gain His perspective.  Jesus said that He only did what the Father was doing (John 5:19).  He had learned in His years of hiddenness to discern the Father's plan, and activity.  He made Himself perfectly obedient to the Father, and because of that He was the perfect representation of the Father (Heb 1:3).  

Our invitation is to enter into this same stream of awareness and discernment of the Father's will, through relationship with Him.  Jesus said that as His friends (relationship) we would be told His Father's plans (paraphrase of John 15:15).  What an invitation, what an opportunity!  We just need to press into relationship with Him, as His friends, and He will reveal the Father's plans to us through the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-15).  As we become adept at hearing and seeing what the Father is doing, we will see more and more glorious wonders.  Jesus said we would do greater things than He did (John 14:12).  The reality of this is really beyond our understanding and logic, but it is true.  I go back often to the verses from Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV:  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. [9] “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

That is good news! Who would want to worship a God that is little better than man!  Again, the invitation is to enter into this world of mystery, majesty, relationship and revelation!  The Lord desires that we would continue His ministry to the ends of the earth, and the only way to do that is to walk in the will and purpose and timing of the Father, just as Jesus did while here on earth.

Let us accept this invitation and press into relationship with the One who loves us, who created us and who has an awesome plan that we can join ourselves too.

Amen!

"Not One of Us"

This morning I felt led to continue reading from Mark 9.  I thought I had already mined that chapter pretty well, but the Lord apparently has other ideas.  That is His option. He is the Lord.  :-)

So the verses I am thinking about this morning are the following -  Mark 9:38-41 NIV:

[38] “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” [39] “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, [40] for whoever is not against us is for us. [41] Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward."

This is a very interesting set of verses, because apparently someone else, who was not one of the disciples, had come to understand that the name Jesus had authority on earth, and was walking under that authority and casting out demons.  He was demonstrating the Kingdom reality that Jesus came to proclaim and demonstrate, but he wasn't part of Jesus' team.

Oh that the Church would take on this same attitude towards those other denominations and congregations other than our own.  We need to recognize that those who are not against Jesus, are with us!  We are on the same team, working towards the same goal, just with different methods or training.  It is a wide swath of acceptance that Jesus swings here.  Anyone who is doing miracles in His name, anyone who is advancing the Kingdom, anyone who is not against Him, is for Him!  We need to pray for the same heart and mind as Christ.

So often the disagreements are over method or teaching, and this man might have watched Jesus, but he certainly wasn't trained by Him, nor was he one of the disciples at any time, as evidenced by John's statement.  It s apparent that the issue being addressed by Jesus here is pride.  John was apparently suffering from the malady of pride again for they had just been arguing who was the greatest in the verses immediately before the verses above.  You have to give John credit for his persistence down a path, even if its wrong.  They had just been instructed by the Lord concerning pride and positioning for His favor, and John switches  to a discussion around the topic of someone who didn't belong in the elite club of apostles, doing ministry like Jesus.  He was embracing pride, but this time for the sake of Jesus' reputation, at least that is probably how he rationalized it.  His goal was to shut down any ministry that wasn't officially sanctioned.  Boy does that sound like religion.

Finally let us embrace the last verse where Jesus speaks of showing kindness to those ministering in His name.  The gift of something as small as a glass of water catches His attention.  Let us choose to bless and not attack our fellow ministers in the Name of the Lord.  We may not like their methods or training but if they are effectively ministering in His name, let us bless them and give thanks for them, because the Kingdom is advancing.

Amen!

Salt Us With Peace, Love and Unity

This morning I have continued my reading from Mark's Gospel.  I often times will read a verse where the meaning takes a bit of study to understand.  This morning I was doing a bit of research on the last verses of Mark's ninth chapter, and have included a couple other verses to set context - Mark 9:33-35, 49-50 NIV:

[33] "They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” [34] But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

[35] Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

[49] Everyone will be salted with fire. [50] “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Verses 33-35 speak of the situation that Jesus was addressing in verse 50.  The disciples were arguing about their importance and this talk was causing division and strife, as it always will do.  This type of conversation is somewhat understandable, as the preceding verses included Jesus taking Peter, James and John with Him up on the mountain where He was transfigured.  One would think that this would have caused those three to think of themselves as favored by the Lord.  This conversation had changed to argument, and Jesus, who apparently was aware of their argument but who had not intervened at that moment, was not going to allow discord to settle into the group, so He addressed it when they were in private.

In verse 50, Jesus speaks of the disciples having salt in themselves and peace with each other.  To explain that a bit more I have included the following note is from the John Gill Expository of the Bible - "Salt is an emblem of firm union, concord, and agreement: hence the covenant of peace is called a covenant of salt, (Numbers 18:19)".  In other commentaries, salt is also compared to grace.  Jesus is encouraging them to strongly embrace servant leadership and do away with pride among themselves, which leads to division and strife.  Once division occurs, it is very difficult to reestablish unity and peace, and this is what Jesus was describing in salt that has lost its saltiness.

Taking that thought a bit further, if the symbols of our following Him are our love for each other (John 13:35) and unity, then if they are not present the witness of our following Him is called into question.  In John 17:23 Jesus specifically speaks of the fruit of unity -  "I in them and you in me---so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."  The unity was supposed to show the world that  Jesus was from the Father and that He loves us.  Without unity these things are not readily apparent.

It was this love and unity that set apart the early church.  We see this described in the following two sets of verses.

Acts 2:42-47 NIV:

[42] "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. [43] Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. [44] All the believers were together and had everything in common. [45] They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. [46] Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, [47] praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

Acts 4:32-35 NIV:

[32] "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. [33] With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all [34] that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales [35] and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

As we look at these verses, it is apparent that love for each other and unity were present.  As it was recounted in Acts 2:47 - there was favor among the people for this behavior.  Luke writes that this was due to God's grace (salt) working powerfully in them (Acts 4:33).

In stark contrast, as we look at the church of today, we see a largely disjointed body, rife with disagreements and strife.  We see churches competing with each other for members, disagreements over doctrine and teaching, distrust and rejection of those experiencing anything we have not experienced.  We see the constant fragmenting and splitting of congregations.  We see brothers and sisters attacking each other over disagreements concerning teaching, practice, or theology, rather than attacking the enemy and taking ground from him.  We have allowed our opinions and thoughts about ourselves to become more important than love and unity in the Body of Christ.   Is it any wonder that the impact of the church is weak, especially here in America?

Oh Lord, have mercy!  We need Your salt, for in many places we have lost our saltiness.  We have not guarded our peace, unity or love like we should have.  Lord, we need Your help!  Salt us with fire, the Holy Spirit, and purify and unify us once again.