At The Entrance Of Our Tents

This morning I have been spending some time in the Book of Numbers, which is definitely not a book I regularly read, however I felt led to read from there today.  I spent some time in Numbers 10, looking at the way the Lord moved all the people of Israel when they would set out from place to place.  He gave them very specific instructions about the order in which they were to move, effectively orchestrating their times of transition from place to place. (See Number 10:13-36)

As I was reflecting on this, I realized that there is a certain parallel to our present time.  We, as the Church, are all camping in our own tents (homes) if you will, no longer gathering together.  We are clearly in a time of transition, and while this time caught us by surprise, the Lord's presence is clearly still with us.  He is leading us through this time, and while we don't know exactly where we will end up, we can be confident that God is still firmly in control.

A couple of things I noted, as I continued reading into Numbers, chapter 11, the people started complaining about their hardships during their transition, and later were complaining about the lack of tasty food, for they were eating manna.  In both cases, they angered the Lord, primarily because they lost sight of all He had done and was doing for them, and instead focused on the things they once had, but now didn't.  I don't want to get into a long bit about how we live under a different Covenant now, established by the Blood of Jesus, but suffice it to say that these types of actions do not call down God's wrath upon us now.  That being said, the effect of our losing sight of God's blessing upon us is still something we need to be aware of, and deal with in our lives.

It is interesting how quickly I can lose sight of the goodness of the Lord when I am looking at myself, and focused on me.  In this time of transition, I am tempted to look back at how much better life was before this time, and think that I want to go back, but the way of the Lord is forward, into something new.  I must keep my eyes focused on Him, and lean into Him for understanding and His provision, for clearly the Lord provided for His people during this time. If I am focused on myself, I can become angry, bitter and resentful, and lose way.  I am no longer a good witness to the blessings of God, nor am I able to see well the path the Lord has laid out for me, because I am not looking at Him.  I can walk past His blessings, never seeing them (see Jer 17:5-8).

Going back to Numbers, one of the verses found in Number 11:10 says Moses heard all the people wailing at the entrance to their tents. Again, in a bit of parallelism, we are all in our own homes, and if we are complaining and wailing to the Lord, it is from our own tents.  As I was reading this, I was reminded of a few verses from Exodus, where instead of complaining, the people were attentive from the entrance of their tents (See Exodus 33:7-11).  The people would watch from the entrance of their tents when the Cloud of God's presence would settle over the tent of meeting, when Moses went out to meet with God.   The people, from their own tents were watching the Presence of God, and when it settled on the tent, they would all worship from their own entrances to their tents (Ex 33:10).  How much better for our us to be worshipping from our homes, rather than complaining and wanting to go back to what is past?

In summary, I am encouraged this morning to set my heart and mind upon the Lord, looking forward to Him, rather than at myself, or at our past.  He is doing a new thing!  As the Lord said through Isaiah, "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." (Isaiah 43:19 NIV).

I can choose this day, who and what I will focus on.  I can choose and set my heart to follow after the Lord, or as Joshua said, "But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." ( Joshua 24:15 NIV).  What I choose to do in my tent, matters to God.

Amen!


May the Lord bless you and provide for you during this time of transition.  May He guide your feet, your thoughts and actions!  May His peace be your constant companion.

Sam

Our Stone of Help

This morning I have been all over in scripture, 1 Peter, James, and 1 Samuel. Some mornings are just that way, me trying to listen, and following the wisps of the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to lead, seeking His direction and guidance and word for me this day.

I ran across a story that caught my eye in 1 Sam 7, where the Ark is returned to Israel, and Samuel gathers all of Israel together to repent and change their ways.  While they are gathered the Philistine's hear about it and come up to attack them.  Samuel cries out to the Lord, sacrifices a lamb unto the Lord, and the Lord thunders from Heaven, and routs the Philistine's completely.  As a memorial, Samuel erects a memorial stone, and calls it Ebenezer, which means "Stone of Help"  (See 1 Sam 7:2b-12).

What I found interesting was there is a story three chapters earlier where Israel is defeated by the Philistines at a place called Ebenezer.  In this case, Israel has a first battle with the Philistines and lose the battle and a few thousand men.  They thought to themselves, 'its because we don't have the Ark of the Covenant', and so they send off and have it brought to them.  The problem is they never inquired of the Lord, nor even asked His help, they just brought the Ark into the camp, like His presence was a weapon they could yield at their own command.  Not a good plan, and they end up getting defeated terribly, even losing the Ark of the Covenant in their defeat (See 1 Sam 4:1-11).

As I was reflecting on these two stories, I realized there were some key things to consider, starting with the story from Chapter 4.

1) Israel had apparently lost most of their sense in how to follow God's direction in their lives.  They just figured they could grab God's presence (The Ark) at their own command, and use His presence as a weapon.  God never allowed this type of behavior previously, and if they had taken a moment to consider their history, they would have known that was true. 

2) They didn't seek the Lord's help, or cry to Him, turning their hearts to Him, they just expected Him to help them, because they had the Ark.  They didn't repent, change their ways, or humble themselves.

3) Looking at this situation, the Israelites were only worried about their stuff and their glory.  They thought God served them, rather than the other way around.


Looking at the story from chapter 7, we find a completely different mindset and response from God.

1) The people gather and repent, asking God's forgiveness, recognizing that they have departed from His ways, and turning back to Him. 

2) Rather than turning to themselves and their own ideas, they cry out to God for His help!  They had the Ark back in the Land, but they don't try to retrieve, it they turn to God in humbleness and confession of their need for His help.

3) Samuel sacrifices a lamb, a clear prophetic link to Jesus, the true Lamb of God, and God answers their cry and prayers!  He hears our cries when we turn to Him humbly!  He has paid the price for our sins, He has been wounded for our healing!  He has defeated the enemy!

4) When God intervenes, He thunders from Heaven, and by the time the Israelites join the battle it is effectively all ready over!


Thus, as we consider these two stories, we find that God does not help the prideful and arrogant, but helps the humble, those that turn to Him in repentance.  One of the sets of verses from 1 Peter that I happened just to read this morning, says the same thing - 1 Peter 5:5-7 NIV:

[5] "In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

[6] "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. [7] Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."


Thus, this morning I am encouraged to look at my life, to see where I am forgetting to seek the Lord, looking to see if there are areas or things that I am trying to do on my own power, in my own arrogance, areas where I am not asking for His help, but just expecting it!  I am encouraged to look at my life and change how I am thinking and acting in any of the areas that the Lord highlights.  He truly is my Rock of Help, but I need to turn to Him to receive it!  He is not being spiteful, but rather honoring my free will.  If I ask for help He is ready and willing to help, but if I don't ask for His help, He will let me try to wage the battle on my own, but gently encouraging me to remember and turn back to Him for help and guidance.

Thank You Lord for Your encouragement and help!  You do care for me!

Amen!

May the Lord, in His mercy and compassion help you this day!  May His peace, which is founded in His faithfulness settle in your heart and mind.


Sam

When Life Doesn't Go As Planned

This morning I am reflecting on some verses from James, which seem somewhat appropriate today.  Here are the verses - James 4:13-17 NIV:

[13] "Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” [14] Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. [15] Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.” [16] As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. [17] If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them."

Although these verses are a bit sobering, the truth of them is certainly apparent at this present day.  I think about all the plans that have been ruined by this unexpected viral scourge.  I think of people's daily regimens being totally transformed. So much of what we took for granted, so many of the things from our typical life have been affected! I think of the jobs that have been lost, the businesses that are in danger of closing.  I think of the yet unseen impact of all the closings, the interruption of our supply chain, of our food processing, and I believe we still have a long way to go before life returns to anything like what we considered normal.

In this light, as I look at James' words, I see truth.  We were definitely living our lives as if nothing was really going to change, nor were many prepared for the cataclysmic changes that hit so quickly.  James goes on and calls all such planning arrogance.  The actual Greek word that is used is alazoneia, defined as follows:

1) empty, braggart talk
2) an insolent and empty assurance, which trusts in its own power and resources and shamefully despises and violates divine laws and human rights
3) an impious and empty presumption which trusts in the stability of earthy things

I think that the second and third definitions ring most true, for while our thinking and planning might not have been particularly insolent, or impious, the trusting in earthly things and ways was certainly in evidence, even those of us who are working to entrust our lives to the Lord, and to His direction. 

As I look at my own life, I certainly feel like I have been given an opportunity to reexamine my life and my affections and thoughts and plans.  I have been given the opportunity to look and see what things I have been relying on rather than the Lord.  I have been given the opportunity to see what things are most important in life, and frankly I was surprised toilet paper was so high on the list. :-)

Seriously, as I read and reflect on these verses, the sense of our smallness and lack of control over so many facets of my life is evident.  It is in times like these that we should be thinking about our lives, our significance, those things that are most important and ultimately our eternal destiny.  Last night my honey and I were discussing end-times, talking about some of the different interpretations of scripture, and all the different voices out there clamoring for an audience.  I believe the Lord is speaking into our lives and we must listen. 

However, whether or not we are in the "Last Days" or not, really doesn't matter to me.  I will have a personal last day in my lifetime, and I have no idea when that day will come, and it is that day for which I need to be prepared.  In the meantime, my life's goal is to live in such a way that I bring honor and glory to God, that I love Him and love others, as He loved me.  I do try to do the good I know I should do every day!  I try to make a positive difference in the lives of those around me, and represent the Lord in my actions and words.  Sometimes I fail miserably, but the next day I am back at it, working to live my life in the best way I know how. 

As I read these verses from James today, I am reassured that this simple life focus of loving God and loving others is enough for me.  Whether I ever do anything others consider significant or not, I plan on following the same path, daily loving God and loving those around me, up until my own last day.

Amen!

May the peace of God, His calmness in the storms of life, be yours today!  May He fill your life with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control, that you might represent Him in all your ways!

Sam

The Judgment of the Lord Brings Peace

Yesterday, while I was trying to stay awake during prayer, I felt encouraged to reflect on the story of Gideon, which is found in Judges 6 & 7.  I am pretty familiar with the story, but spent some time reading it again last evening.  I definitely saw a few things that I thought were helpful.

Here are some excerpts from the beginning of the story - Judges 6:2,6,10-16,20-24 NIV:

[2] "Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds."

[6] "Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help."

[10] "I said to you, 'I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me.”

[11] "The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. [12] When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. ”

[13] “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, 'Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

[14] "The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?”

[15] “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family. ”

[16] "The Lord answered, “I will be with you , and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

[20] "The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. [21] Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared."

[22] "When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

[23] But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

[24] So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites."


I have spent quite a bit of time in the past reflecting on this story, and today it seems to relate even more, in our present situation.  While we don't have an oppressor people, we are certainly all sheltering our selves from this new virus.  While I haven't been significantly affected financially, there are many who have been.  A good friend got laid off on Friday, one of my nephew's was furloughed with a start back date of August 1st, hospitals are laying off staff in droves, and many businesses large and small may never recover, and the world-side economy has certainly taken a major hit. 

In this story, God is portrayed as the one who is allowing this to happen, as the Israelites were worshipping other God's, which they were warned against.  In verse 6, it says they were so impoverished that they turned to the Lord, and cried out to Him.  The unspoken here is that prior to that they had not turned to God, so they must have been turning to other gods or to their own works to try to stop the oppression.

Yesterday, I listened to a really good teaching by Bob Sorge  on Facebook, where he walks through the book of Habakuk.  One thing he said that really resonated was that satan doesn't have the power to shut the doors to all of the churches, that this has to be something the Father is doing, a form of judgment.   We often associate judgment with something bad, but God never stops being good, loving, merciful and compassionate, even in His judgments.  A doctor's diagnosis is a judgment against whatever disease, sickness of problem you might have.  The doctors have looked at the facts and made a decision and prescribed a sentence of treatment to rid you of whatever sickness or problem you might have.  While the treatment might be difficult, the end result is what we keep our eyes focused on, for the end result is healthiness. The other thing that the doctors judgment does is provide you an answer as to why you are suffering the effects that has caused you to seek out the doctor in the first place.  Having a diagnosis brings peace.

I see the distinct possibility that the Lord is allowing us a time of difficulty to get our attention, to bring us to a point of seeing things clearer, to bring about a time of right judgment concerning our faith and following of Him.  As I was writing this,  I was reminded of the story of the man  born blind that Jesus heals, after being questioned about the reason the man was blind.  This story is found in John 9, and the following is the conversation between the disciples and Jesus - John 9:2-3 NIV:

[2] His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

[3] “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him."

Its easy to read this line, as a person who has never dealt with blindness their whole life, and think, "yeah that makes sense."  I would imagine the blind man, had a completely different experience and opinion, for he bore the affliction his whole life to that point.  His life was not an easy one, and yet after His healing He is nothing but grateful, and defending Jesus' ministry, even though He didn't know who it was that healed Him.  He ends up getting thrown out of the temple, and afterwards Jesus finds him again, as recorded here in John 9:35-39 NIV:

[35] Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

[36] “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

[37] Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

[38] Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

[39] Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”


Again we are confronted with the interesting statement Jesus makes after the man worships Him, saying that He has come into the world for judgment.  This judgment will provide sight to those that are blind.  Going back to Jesus' initial statement about the reason for the man's blindness we see that is was to result in God's works being displayed in him.  Judgment requires truth, and the truth of who Jesus is, was revealed in this man, and to this man!

It is also safe to say that the man's condition was better following his healing by Jesus, even though he was thrown out of the religious meeting.  In the same way, Israel was in a better place after Gideon was raised up.  God demonstrated His power and authority by allowing Gideon to defeat the Midianites with just 300 men.  He set Israel free from the oppression of the Midianites, and the end result was that Israel was better off.

Finally, going back to the story of Gideon we see that His personal situation was greatly improved through his interactions with the Lord.  He sets his heart to worship the Lord, prior to his leading the defeat of the Midianites.  He went from being the lowliest of his tribe to leading the nation.  The people went from worshipping other gods, to worshiping the only God, Yahweh! 

I find it interesting that Gideon didn't really realize that he had been talking to the Angel of the Lord, until the angel caused fire to flare up from the rock, and then disappeared.  He sort of freaked out, and the Lord said to him "Peace! Do not be afraid, you are not going to die!"  What a great message for us today!  In fact that peace was so real, that Gideon built an altar there and called it "The Lord is Peace."  One of Jesus' revealed names is the "Prince of Peace".  The angels when they came to herald His birth cried out, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:14 NIV)

In summary, if this virus is accomplishing judgment, God is still loving, merciful, compassionate and good!  He means to leave us better than when we started.  He means to bring us to a place of peace, of intimacy, and of recognition that He is our savior, and He is the only true God!   Let us turn our eyes and hearts to Him, let us hear His voice, and follow Him, and let us worship Him in the midst of this time, realizing that the end result will be healthiness, wholeness and freedom from oppression!

Amen and Amen!

May the Lord establish His Peace in Your life, for the Lord is Peace! 


Sam

Lying to the Holy Spirit

This morning I woke up out of a dream that was very unique and one that brought up an issue I have rarely dealt with in my Christian walk.  Here is the dream:

I was at a church and we were praying for people after the service which is quite commonplace for the congregations I have been a part of for many years.  Anyway, there were some ladies who knew me and asked me to come join them as they were praying for three other ladies.  They had moved from the main sanctuary to another prayer room, and when I walked in I saw the three ladies that were being prayed for, all laying next to each other on the floor (Again this is not uncommon in the churches I frequent).  It was quiet and people were praying for them, and they all looked quite serene. 

As I walked into the room, I felt the Holy Spirit say to me that one of them was lying to Him!  That certainly stopped me in my tracks, and it was certainly not something I expected to hear.  I felt like the Holy Spirit gave me some quick understanding and a loving approach, so I went over and leaned over the ladies and very quietly asked them if one of them was lying to the Holy Spirit?  The little old lady in the middle raised  her hand sheepishly.  I again felt inspired by the Holy Spirit to tell her the following bit, "If you go to the doctor for a sore throat, but you don't tell him that you recently poured scalding water down your throat, he won't be able treat you correctly!"

That is where I woke up!

To say I was surprised by the dream and the theme would be understatement!  I share it this morning because I once again felt led by the Holy Spirit to do so, and because this is a very interesting topic, and one that bears reflection.

Scripturally speaking this topic is raised a few times, and usually with pretty scary admonitions.  We have the story of Ananias and Sapphira found in Acts 5:1-11, and that section is titled "Lying to the Holy Spirit" in my Bible.  If you are unfamiliar with the story, it is worth a read.  Basically Ananias and Sapphira conspire to lie to the Apostles about how much they made when they sold a piece of property, and they end up dead.  Secondly we have Jesus' words found in Matthew 12:31-32 NKJV: "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. [32] Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

Let me say this clearly, these are not the same things as what I feel the Lord is addressing through this dream.  Thinking back on the dream a few things that lead me to believe that I was not dealing with the serious issues listed above.  First, I didn't get any impression that the Holy Spirit was mad, angry, upset or warning her, rather that He was trying to set her free.  Second, going with the first, was the absolute gentleness that He asked me to show in bringing up the issue.  As I reflect back on the dream, it was very peaceful, and the response of the woman was one of conviction and repentance.  In my limited experience, that is exactly how the Holy Spirit works, and what He is after, conviction and repentance.  He doesn't require a big show, or yelling or people doing anything else, He is dealing with people's hearts and spirits, and desires to set people free, to heal them, to see them respond in ways that will encourage them forward.

So, what is the purpose of the dream?  I believe the Holy Spirit is asking me, and any who would read this, to reflect on our lives and on our requests of Him in prayer to see if we are being truly honest.  As I was reflecting on this dream, after waking, I felt like the Lord gave me the following example that resembles the dream -  where someone is continually asking for prayer for healing, when one is ignoring what one already knows they are supposed to do, as directed by the Lord.  Here is a fictitious example similar to the one used in the dream.  A person has a bad neck and is constantly seeking prayer for the bad neck.  However, the Lord has told them they need to change their heart and mind and forgive something and someone in their past, and that the two things are tied together - the pain in their neck and the unforgiveness in their heart.  However, this person refuses to deal with the unforgiveness, instead just asking for physical healing of their sore neck. 

The theme of the above example could quite possibly be applied to many different areas in our lives.  I find that in some problem areas that I know of in my own life, that it has taken me several years to come to the place of humbly and honestly admitting my issue to the Lord.  He is ever gentle, and yet ever persistent.  He doesn't want me living in denial, in pain, or in sin, and desires to set me free from all of that.  Sometimes, His word of diagnosis is a complete surprise to me, other times, I have heard Him speak it many times, but I just don't want to change.  Most of the time, I do want to change and try my best to follow His direction, because I know that He loves me and desires my health, growth and maturation.

Let me give you an example from my life.   A few years ago I was reflecting one morning on a recent experience I had with some friends, where one of the couple was very judgmental about their spouse, even critical.  I was thinking how difficult that must be to live with, and suddenly I heard the Lord say to me, "You do the exact same thing!"  Immediately thoughts in my mind, attitudes in my heart, and words I had spoken came back to my mind, and I knew the Lord was right!  I was immediately convicted and chose to embrace change as much as I could, and I went to my honey and asked forgiveness for the things the Lord had shown me.  The Lord didn't hit me over the head with this diagnosis, nor did He threaten me, He just showed me my heart, taking off my selfish blinders, and I was absolutely convicted.  In this case my response was pretty instantaneous, but had I been of a certain mind, I could have ignored His prodding, and probably had been ignoring it for years.  Ugh!

I believe the Lord's point in all of this, is that He is for me, and for each of us.  He desires to set us free from that which binds, that which holds us back, and that which wounds us, and sometimes that which does all this is our own selfish, prideful self.  He desires us to be completely honest with Him, and in doing so, He will be able to help us most effectively, for one thing the Lord does honor is our free will!  Going back to the fictitious example, if I need healing in my neck, but its caused by unforgiveness, the Lord isn't going to step in and force me to forgive the other person, it is always my choice.  He also, probably isn't going to heal my neck, because that's not going to really help me or heal me.

Anyway, if this resonates with your heart, please receive this all in love, for I believe and know that is the Lord's primary motivation towards me and towards you. 

May the Lord deal with us gently, in love!  May His word and love set us free from all that wounds us, and holds us back.

Amen!


Sam

He Who Is In You Is Greater

This morning I am spending some time in 1 John, reflecting on a verse that was running through my head when I woke up.  However, I thought I would share a few verses from the preceding chapter, as they are very much in line with what I have been reflecting on, of late, and certainly worth some thought.

1 John 3:16-18,23-24 NIV:

[16] "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. [17] If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? [18] Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."

[23] "And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. [24] The one who keeps God's commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."

What great words to allow to affect our lives today!  Believe in Jesus and love one another, in actions and in truth.

So the phrase that was running through my mind this morning when I woke up is 1 John 4:4b NKJV:.."because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."  I am not sure why I was quoting the New King James Version in my sleep, but that line was literally the first thought I had as I woke up this morning. 

I must say that it is a comforting thought, in these strange days where so much seems out of kilter.  In a matter of months so much of what has been our life experience has changed, and its seems that many have radically changed the way they think.  As we look at this new "reality" with natural eyes, we see a virus that is new and seemingly fast spreading, and may countries and states are taking basic precautionary measures, and these measures include shutting down much of society, to try and limit the spread of this virus. 

As Christians, we must also pray for understanding of the spiritual reality behind all of this, for we live in a world that is both natural and spiritual.  In our western mind-set, we often struggle to see with spiritual eyes, for we tend to dissuade ourselves and others that the spiritual realm is real, and yet the Holy Scriptures teach us consistently that there is a spiritual realm, and as such, we must accept this and seek to understand this realm.

John, said that the Holy Spirit which we have received is a sign that God lives within us, this is the first and most critical foundation of the spiritual realm for us to believe and understand!  We are triune beings, and we have our own spirit within us, from conception.  This spiritual part is in us all, and whether we understand it or not, it is present.  It is here that our connection to God exists, here that He lives and makes His home!

In the New Testament, the word spirit is used 360 times, and it is assumed that there is a basic understanding of this concept in the hearers of these words.  Jesus spoke regularly of the spirit realm, and often addressed spirits in people, casting them out, causing them to be silent with a command, and effectively dealing with those spirits.  He also spoke at length of the Holy Spirit coming to guide us, teach us, and help us!  He said the Holy Spirit was essential and even told the Apostles to wait in Jerusalem until He was poured out on them (Acts 1:4-5).

So why this focus on our spirit, the Holy Spirit and the spiritual realm? I believe that for us to understand these times and respond correctly we must look to the natural realm, as well as the spiritual realm.  We must learn to listen to the Holy Spirit, who is living inside of us!  This is the point of John's statement, He that is in us, living inside of us, is greater than the spirits that are in the world!  As we learn to listen and be led by the Holy Spirit, we will find our lives more in-tune with the actual movement of God.  We will find ourselves recognizing the pull and push of the spirits of the world, for they do seek to influence us regularly.  We will find ourselves strengthened in hope, in faith and in understanding.

Paul writes the following - 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV:  "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  Do we believe and understand this?  We have been given by God a Spirit of Power, love and sound mind!  This Spirit within us is greater than he who is in the world!

So applying this all to my life today, I am encouraged to look to the Holy Spirit, living inside me, to give me power, to propel my love, and to settle and secure my mind!  The spirit of fear, is not from God!  I am encouraged to reject this reaction to these times, and instead to ask God for revelation, that I might see what He is about all around me in and in me!   I am encouraged to listen to the Holy Spirit, to give real attention to Him whose job is to guide me, teach me and  strengthen me.  Based on my first thoughts this morning, apparently I need this more today!

Lord, help me to see and understand You!  Help me to recognize Your presence in my life!  Help me to listen to You, for Your perspective is greater and more complete for sure!

Amen!

May the Holy Spirit fill you with faith, hope, power, love and sound mind this day!


Sam

Discipline or Education and Training?

This morning I am going to spend some time reflecting on some of my less favorite verses found in Hebrews 12:7-13 NIV:

[7] "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? [8] If you are not disciplined---and everyone undergoes discipline---then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. [9] Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! [10] They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. [11] No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

[12] "Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. [13] “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed."

In this whole section, verse 7 is the key foundation, and the NIV translation is a bit overstated.  Here are two additional translations of verse 7. 

Hebrews 12:7 NASB:  "It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?"

Hebrews 12:7 TPT:  "Fully embrace God's correction as part of your training, for he is doing what any loving father does for his children. For who has ever heard of a child who never had to be corrected?"

I am certainly no Greek expert, and each of these takes a slightly different twist on translation and The Passion Translation, seem to come closest to what I see in the Greek.  The word that is translated discipline, is the Greek word paideia and it is defined as follows:

1) the whole training and education of children (which relates to the cultivation of mind and morals, and employs for this purpose now commands and admonitions, now reproof and punishment) It also includes the training and care of the body
2) whatever in adults also cultivates the soul, esp. by correcting mistakes and curbing passions.
     a) instruction which aims at increasing virtue
     b) chastisement, chastening, (of the evils with which God visits men for their amendment)

As the author of the letter is talking about a father and his children, it seems that the first definition is most accurate, "the whole training and education of children".  Now when I read the NIV translation, I don't get that image in my mind at all.  If we replace the word discipline in the above verses, with "the whole training and education of children" it actually becomes quite a positive verse.  We are so used to seeing discipline with a negative light, but its actual root is disciple.  So, maybe as adult examples we imagine the training that the disciples went through when they followed Jesus!  Again, that cultivates a much more positive perspective about these verses.

Secondly, the Greek word that was translated hardship in the NIV, is the word hupomeno which is defined as follows:

1) to remain
     a) to tarry behind
     b) to remain i.e. abide, not recede or flee
2) to preserve: under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one's faith in Christ
     a) to endure, bear bravely and calmly: ill treatments

I guess this is one of those sections where the translation is influenced strongly by earlier passages, in this case the quoting of Proverbs 3:12 in verse 5 (which I didn't copy here).  We have in Jesus a perfect representation of the Father (Heb 1:3) and yet when the translators look at these verses, it appears that they relate the theme more closely to wording of Proverbs, which is revelation about God, prior to the full revelation of Jesus.  When I look at these verses, thinking of the loving Father revealed by Jesus, and His own treatment of the disciples, I just get a different picture in my mind.  Rather than endure  hardship of chastisement, I see the encouragement to persevere in one's education and training!  The call to holdfast to the relational interactions that encourage growth, new revelation, repentance (as in changing the way I think) not as a negative experience at all, but rather as personal growth!

Think of this as the Father providing you an exercise plan to build your strength and endurance for an upcoming adventure in the mountains, maybe.  Its not just education for educations sake, but a personalized training regimen with a specific goal and adventure in mind.  Several years ago I was planning an Elk Hunting trip in the Mountains of Colorado, where our base camp would be close to 9000ft.  In the months prior to that trip, I started running and working out, I was able to train at 5000ft multiple times, and I was able to prepare in some way for the trip.  The training itself was work, and I was pushing myself harder, knowing that the upcoming trip would certainly require me to be stronger and in better shape.  There were days that my muscles were sore from the previous day, but I didn't take a negative view or perspective to this training, for it had a purpose. 

If we take out the negative context we read into these verses, and look at the goal or purpose that is communicated, again we can embrace these verses with a positive attitude.  Here are the purposes and goals extracted:

1)  for our good
2)  in order that we may share in his holiness
3)  produces a harvest of righteousness and peace

With these for my goals, I find that I might have a bit more determination in continuing my present time of education and training.  I find that this is an encouragement into strengthening and healthiness, for that is how the author continues!  "Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. [13] “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed." (Heb 12:12-13NIV).  He is encouraging us to become stronger ourselves, and to make the path more straight for our own feet and those who need healing.  This sounds to me like sound body, sound mind, sound emotions, and sound doctrine!  For our own good, that we might share in His holiness and produce a harvest of righteousness and peace!

Amen!  I guess these verses are higher up on my list of favorites now!

May the Lord bless you to see His loving interaction, education and training in this time!  May You understand His purpose and plan for you that you might remain in your present course of preparation!  May He bless your efforts and give you peace in the process!

Sam

Let Us Not Become Weary

This morning as I sat down to pray I was really pretty empty minded, no major theme, no "word of the Lord" stirring in my heart, just kind of empty.  As I was looking forward at this new week, there was a bit of weariness in my approach, a tiredness of our present situation, a certain degree of helplessness, as in there is nothing I can do to change this present situation.  I am not one to be depressed, but I am one to become tired, to grow weary, and that is what I saw in my heart.  I thought that might be a good theme to study, and surprisingly its a pretty brief theme, only mentioned a few times in the New Testament.  First we have Jesus addressing those that are weary and then we have a couple of other encouragements from Paul and author of the letter to the Hebrews, and that is about it. 

The first set of verses are some of my favorite verses found in Matthew 11:28-30 NIV:

[28[ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

I don't know about you, but I have been tired lately, feeling like I just need to sleep!  I was thinking that I just need a vacation, and its not the weariness of my body, but of my spirit.  I find this time of "social distancing" tiring as it requires me to constantly adjust my thinking, my heart attitude, my motivation.  I do well when there is much to be done, activity all around.  I enjoy the challenge and demand, and it actually energizes me!  Normally my life is cyclic, with times of intense activity, followed by slow times.  However, now the ebbs and flows are not much different, and for some reason that is more wearisome. 

Anyway, as I read these verses, I find an invitation to a different approach, an invitation to intimacy with the one who will never "social distance" Himself from me.  I find in these verses, an acknowledgement of my own state, and an opportunity to trade that which feels burdensome to me over to the Lord, for that which He provides, which will bring promised rest.

To be truthful, I haven't really taken this time to press into relationship with the Lord.  I have maintained a pretty normal daily routine, and in the evenings been focused on working through some household projects, and my honey-do list, but now that I have checked those off, I am not sure what to do!  I hear in this verse, again, an invitation to deeper relationship, to times of refreshing and rest in the Lord!  I am not sure why I haven't pursued this invitation,but I can assure you, I am going to press in starting today.

The second verse having to do with being weary comes from Paul's letter to the Galatians 6:7-10 NIV:

[7] Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. [8] Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. [9] Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. [10] Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Here Paul is speaking of weariness of doing good, of sowing to please the Spirit, and I think that is right on spot.  How many of us, myself included, have approached this time and thought, "I have all this free-time, I am going to sow to please the Holy Spirit!"?  I don't know about you, but my focus is almost 100% on myself!  What do I want to do, whether its what TV show to watch, what project to do on my list, what activity to do to keep me busy, my focus is on me.

Paul, in these verses, and the ones immediately preceding these, is addressing our focus and our activity.  He speaks of doing good, the Greek word is Kalos, and it is defined as follows:

1) beautiful, handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious, useful, suitable, commendable, admirable
     a) beautiful to look at, shapely, magnificent
     b) good, excellent in its nature and characteristics, and therefore well adapted to its ends
     c) beautiful by reason of purity of heart and life, and hence praiseworthy
     d) honourable, conferring honour
     e) affecting the mind agreeably, comforting and confirming

Talk about an encouraging definition, I feel better just reading this!  The point is that this is about bettering ourselves and those around us!  Its not about killing time, entertaining ourselves, distracting ourselves to make it through this period, but rather about pursuing that which makes us better!  I go back to the first set of verses from Matthew, what would make us more beautiful than pursuing the Beautiful One and becoming more like Him?

The third and final set of verses comes from the Letter to the Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV:

[1] "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, [2] fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. [3] Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Two phrases stand out to me in these verses, "run with perseverance" and "grow weary and lose heart".  The picture of a long distance race seems to be the analogy in use, and while I was not a distance man in Highschool track, I ran distance for training.  I found that running was more of a mind-set than anything, for it was easy to stop running when I got tired or short of breath, but if I forced myself to continue to run, I found I had much more in me than I previously thought.  I was a sprinter and pole-vaulter, and the nice thing about those events, is you pretty much never had to force yourself to keep going.  I find I am still the same in my day to day life!  I can do anything for a short "sprint" of time, but ask me to run a marathon of consistency and focus, and I lose my way and drive within a couple of days.  I find that I can grow weary of the repetition quickly, or lose heart at the effort required and forget what my original motivation even was when I started.  I am pretty bad at finishing long-term projects, as my attention drifts away.

Here, I am being encouraged to pray for a different mindset, a different approach that I can embrace.  I need a marathon mentality, a mind-set that says I will keep on, keeping on!  I need to tell my body and mind to get over it and press onward!  Press onward into doing good, into relationship with the Lord, into sowing to the Spirit, into loving others as He loved me!  I am being encouraged to trade my weariness to the Lord, to embrace Him and set my feet on a course of His direction!

Lord, help me!  You know my inner "sprinter mentality" so help me to change to take on that marathon focus and determination!  Help me to better myself in You and at Your direction during this time!  Help me to not grow weary, but to embrace the opportunity to grow and run well the race marked out for me!

Amen!

May  the Lord grant you strength, endurance and refreshment as you pursue Him and His invitation.


Sam

I Will Not Fear!

Yesterday I started doing a study of fear, as it is discussed in Scripture.  I focused just on the New Testament, and of the 67 times its used in the New Testament, the vast majority were related to having a fear of God, a Holy Fear, or a response of fear to something unusual that God did in their midst.  However, I was reminded of the many times David and other Psalmists used the phrase, most o them had to do with addressing fear inside ones self.

I thought it might be a good thing to just quote a bunch of the verse from the different Psalms, sort of a mantra against fear.  I found reading through these quite uplifting.

Psalm 3:6 NIV: "I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side."

Psalm 23:4 NIV:  "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

Psalm 27:1 NIV:  "The Lord is my light and my salvation---whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life---of whom shall I be afraid?"

Psalm 27:3 NIV:  "Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident."

Psalm 34:4 NIV: "I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears."

Psalm 46:1-2 NIV: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. [2] Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,"

Psalm 91:5-6 NIV: "You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, [6] nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday."

Psalm 112:6-8 NIV: "Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. [7] They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. [8] Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes."


The point of all these verses is that if you have a relationship with God, you can turn to Him to vanquish your fear.  He is our protector, our helper, our healer and our provider.  We can trust the Lord, and entrust ourselves to Him, to His goodness.

Far more of the uses of fear in the Psalms had to do with a fear of the Lord, as in a Holy reverence.  This is experienced when a person understands how awesome, majestic, just and glorious is our God.  It is a natural reaction to the revelation of just a bit of God's Glory!  God told Moses that no one could see His face and live (Exodus 33:20), and I suspect that has to with the overwhelming Magnificence and Glory of God. My point is that when we encounter God truly, our hearts respond and we understand our lowliness and His awesomeness.  Our hearts are stirred to obedience, to desiring to please God, and that, in my mind is fear of the Lord!

As I was researching our present situation, statistically, of the Covid-19 infection, and reading about the wide-spread response, of literally billions of people responding and sheltering in place, or modifying their lives accordingly, of governments issuing stricter and stricter guidelines, I realized that fear is a great motivator.  I saw a meme yesterday that simply said, "Fear is the virus" and I have to agree.  More than anything that is what is motivating people, and while some of the results are helpful the overall emotional and mental state of people is not good, at least in my opinion.

The other thought I had when reading about this all was that it would be such a wonderful thing if the same number of people responded to the Word of God with the same diligence and passion and fervency.  The good news is that there are Billions of Christians, in fact recent estimates put that number at between 2- 2.5 Billion people!  That is an amazing statistic!  Oh, that the worldwide church would rise up and respond to the Word of God, with the same fervency and passion, as we have had to this virus!   That we would allow the word of God to penetrate our lives, our minds and or hearts, and be changed!  That we would follow the command of the Lord and love one another as He loved us (John 13:34)!

My prayer is that you might not live in fear of the virus, but rather in reverence of the Lord!  May your hearts be at peace, your minds at rest and your emotions unswayed, as You meditate on God's love, power, provision and blessing!

Sam

Let the Kingdom of God Arise!

Yesterday  I started a reflection, but due to waking up at 3:30am, I ended up falling back asleep sitting on the couch, and was unable to finish my thoughts.  That being said, I never worry about falling asleep while praying, in fact that is what I do anytime I have a season of disturbed sleep, I just begin to pray.  Some evenings I will pray for 2-3 hours before falling back to sleep, and I figure that time was well spent.  The other thought I have is that as a Dad, I never had a problem with my kids falling asleep in my arms, and that is the image I have of what falling asleep in prayer is like, the Lord has no problem with us falling asleep in the place of intimate conversation, and He just holds us in His arms while we slumber.

Anyway, back to the reflection from yesterday, This morning the theme of the Kingdom of God has been bouncing around in my head. This has been one of the themes that I have been studying for the last 12-15 years, ever since I read the whole of the Gospel of Matthew and saw how may times Jesus spoke about the kingdom (its mentioned 53 times in Matthews Gospel alone).  Last evening during a socially distant conversation with friends, we spent much of evening talking about our faith, our beliefs and a large part of the conversation was about the many faces of religion, the disagreements the judgments, the denominations, the wrangling that has occurred over the centuries about certain beliefs, etc.  It was a very interesting conversation, but no where in the conversation did we ever discuss the Kingdom of God.

This morning as I sat down I was recalling my reading from yesterday, where Luke (as the Author of Acts) describes that Jesus taught the Apostles about the Kingdom of God during his last 40 days here in the earth before He ascended (See Acts 1:3).  If we look back at the other gospels the word Kingdom is used 116 times, 53 in Matthew, 18 in Mark, 42 in Luke,  and only 3 times in John, making it one of the more common themes of Jesus.  In fact, if you look closely, that is Jesus' primary message, proclaiming the Kingdom of God is near or present (see Matt 4:17,  Mark 1:15, Luke 4:43).  It also seems to have been Paul's primary message, as the last words in Acts, describes Paul's primary message was the Kingdom of God and Jesus Christ (See Acts 28:30-31).

The thoughts rumbling around in my mind this morning have to do with the question "why isn't the Kingdom of God one of our primary themes in our churches?"  If this was one of Jesus' primary themes, the theme He spent all of His last 40 days on earth speaking about and Paul's regular topic, why don't we hear more about this Kingdom of God these days?

I don't have answers, but I do have observations.  In my life so far, to my knowledge, I have only heard the Kingdom of God preached 3 times on a Sunday morning, 2 of those very recently.  We are very familiar with sermons about how to live our lives, how to follow the Lord, how to make a difference, how to do what Jesus would do, and a plethora of other helpful and encouraging topics, but, at least in my experience, the topic of the Kingdom of God rarely comes up.

My point in this is now that we are mostly all experiencing our faith individually, maybe God is starting to cause our minds to shift towards His intent, and the establishment of His Kingdom.  Jesus said (Luke 17:21) that the Kingdom of God is in your midst, and the word that He used is equally translatable "inside", and we could understand Jesus to say the Kingdom of God is inside you!

We know that the Lord has said that He and the Father and the Holy Spirit all live within us (See John 14:17 (Holy Spirit) and John 14:20 (Jesus) and John 14:23 (Father)!  Thus, the Kingdom of God really does exist within us, for where God lives, His Kingdom is present.

Continuing this thought, if we all have the Kingdom of God within us, that is and always will be our primary citizenship.  We are His ambassadors, as His sons and daughters.  In the same way that Ambassadors and diplomats from other countries have "diplomatic immunity" where they are not subject to certain laws, because they are covered under the laws of their country, even while living abroad, we are all first and foremost citizens of God's Kingdom and His laws and dominion apply to our lives, and cover us.

This idea was actually quite common in the new testament church, and Paul spoke about it several times, and wrote about it in two of His letters - Ephesians 2:19 NIV:  "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household,"  and  Philippians 3:20 NIV:  "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,"

Paul speaks of us as being citizens of Heaven, for that is where the Throne of God is where He reigns, but Jesus made it very clear that the Kingdom extends to earth, and we are representatives of that Kingdom here, and we are to look for the Kingdom of Heaven to be established on the earth.  In fact He told us to pray those very words - Matthew 6:9-10 NIV: “This, then, is how you should pray: “ 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, [10] your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Going back to my thought of this time allowing us to shift our minds towards God's intent in the establishment of His Kingdom, I believe that we are all being given an opportunity to realign our allegiance to the Kingdom of God as our primary focus.  I think its no secret that the numerous denominations and differences in our churches is not the result of God's will, but rather man's imperfections, pride, and judgments against one another.  We are ALL part of the same Kingdom, with the same King, with the same citizenship, and its time to lay down our individual denominational flags, and unify under the single banner that is common to us all!

In the natural, in geographic kingdoms,  there were often many towns and cities, each with unique cultures, known for certain things, even for different dialects, but they were all citizens of the same kingdom.  The good Kings would allow for individuality and cultural differences to exist, knowing that this richness enhanced and made his kingdom stronger, but the king always saw the individual towns and people as citizens of His kingdom.

In the same way, I don't think God has a problem with our denominations, but His Kingdom is over all of them, and I think He desires to wake us all up to that fact!  We see this happening in many ways today, with global prayer being offered by all denominations, and the like!  During the many years prior to this pandemic, I  did associate with people from different churches, even different denominations,  but my primary focus of relationship was always my local church, sometimes to the exclusion of those outside that church.  Now, I am interacting every bit as much with those in my neighborhood, as I am my home church, but my primary interaction is with the Lord alone!

So back to my original thoughts, is it time for us to start thinking about the Kingdom of God, and our part in this global organization that is over every other faith based organization?  Is it time for us to start learning what Jesus meant when He said the Kingdom of God is "inside" you?  Is it time for us to start thinking like ambassadors of this Kingdom, better yet, as sons and daughters of the King?  Is it time for us to put aside our denominational banners and pick up the only banner that unites us all, the Banner of the Kingdom of God?  Is it time for us to learn to do what Jesus told His disciples to do, "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." ( Matthew 10:7-8 NIV)?  Is it time for us to embrace our true citizenship?

My prayer this morning is that I might, along with all my brothers and sisters worldwide, might embrace my role and my citizenship in the Kingdom of God!  I pray that we might see a global resurgence of understanding and focus on this most significant theme!  I pray that we all might learn to represent the Kingdom of God, everywhere we are, every day!  Let the Kingdom of God Arise!!

Amen!

May the peace of Christ settle in your heart, along with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!


Sam

Can We Hear Him Now?

This morning I found myself back in John 19, thinking about Jesus' final moments.  It seems that sometimes I an just read the words and never really give them much thought, but this morning I found myself wondering about the simple words I read.  Here are the verses - John 19:28-30 NIV:

[28] "Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” [29] A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. [30] When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

This morning my mind was drawn to the beginning of verse 28, where John asserts that Jesus knew that everything "had now been finished".  It is a simple enough phrase, and one that points to verse 30, where Jesus says pretty much the same thing, but I found myself wondering how John knew that was what Jesus was thinking?  This was closely followed by the question, 'I wonder if the Apostles asked Jesus about His death, after He rose from the dead?' 

What an interesting question...

I find myself trying to put myself in the place of the Apostles after they realize Jesus has risen from the dead.  How would they have related to Him?  Did they ask Him questions?  Did they give Him plenty of personal space?  Did they encounter Him like we encounter another person?  Its one thing to have a relationship with another live person, I would think its quite another thing to have a relationship with someone who died and is now alive.

We have some small insight into these experiences recorded by the Gospels, the majority found in the Gospels of Luke and John.  We know that Jesus could appear in human form, but not as Himself as described in Luke 24:13-35 which is the story of the Road to Emmaus.  We know that HE appeared to Mary in the Garden, and she thought He was the gardener - see John 20:15.  We know that He revealed Himself in both stories by saying or doing something that they were personally familiar with Him doing, breaking the bread and calling Mary's name.

We also know that Jesus appeared to them in a locked room (John 20:19 & Luke 24:36).  We know that He proved He was not a ghost by eating food (Luke 24:43).  We know that he showed them His wounds, and even had Thomas put his fingers into the holes to prove they were real (John 20:27).  We know from John that Jesus even appeared by the shore and cooked them breakfast, again revealing Himself by His command to cast their nets in a certain place and their catching an abundance of fish where there had been none previously, which was similar to the first time Peter, James and John were called to follow Him (see Luke 5:4-6).  Finally, we know from Acts 1:3 that He interacted with the Apostles and remaining disciples for a period of 40 days following His resurrection, teaching them mostly about the Kingdom of God.  Luke also notes that Jesus gave them many convincing proofs that He was really alive.

So, back to my original questions, how did John know what Jesus was thinking and did the Apostles ask Jesus questions?  I find myself imagining Jesus standing in front of a class of kindergartners trying to get through the lesson on the Kingdom of God, and being constantly interrupted by one question after another, like "what was it like to be dead?", "Was it dark?", "Did it hurt?", "Why did you die, again?" "Where did you go?",  "Did you seen anyone?", "How did you just appear like that?"  I am completely convinced that Jesus did have to answer these types of questions, because until He did so, He wouldn't have been able to really teach them anything else!

We know that the disciples and even the apostles were extremely slow on the uptake, often not understanding the most clear language possible, especially about Jesus coming death.  It seems that their minds were too occupied by other thoughts and ideas about what the Messiah was going to do to restore the Kingdom of Israel, and what role they were going to play.  Thus, I believe that now that Jesus had their attention, He probably had to answer their questions and then get down to the real lessons about the Kingdom of God, what it really was, and how they were going to be witnesses to this newly established Kingdom.  We do know that He was successful, for once they received the infilling of the Holy Spirit the world was never the same!

So, this begs the question, why am I reflecting on these thoughts and observations this morning?  I think I can glean some understanding as follows:

1) Jesus can and does appear to us in many ways, and we need to be listening and looking for Him to do so!  He won't always reveal Himself to us in the same way.

2) Jesus is ok with answering questions and helping us through the basic stuff so that He can get to the meat of the conversation.  In my daily prayer, I usually spend the first 15 minutes walking back through the day before, just clearing my mind of stuff, so that I can actually focus on Him, and I know He is totally fine with that.

3) Once Jesus does get our attention, He is able to instruct us in ways no other can, for He knows us perfectly, knows what will get our attention, and even knows how we think, so that He can lead us in ways that are familiar, to new truths that we couldn't have understood on our own.

4) Jesus provided convincing proofs that He was alive, and He can and will do similar things for us.  I don't always need to be reassured that He is listening and speaking to me, but sometimes it is VERY helpful! 

5) Jesus has entrusted the Kingdom to us! He has fulfilled everything that was written about Him, and now we are His witnesses, entrusted with the Kingdom of God.

6) Jesus totally gets us, understands our minds, understands our emotions, our thinking, everything.  He will provide us intimate encounters with Him to help us recognize Him!

7) Finally, now that He has our attention, and has us separated from much of the rest of the World, He can speak words of significance to us, release revelation and work in our lives  in ways that will change the world!

Amen!

Come Lord Jesus!  Speak to us, meet with us, help us put our minds to rest, and bring release world changing revelation!

I am praying that we all might encounter the Lord this day!


Sam

A Place of Balance and Peace

This morning as I was waking up I had the same thought pass through my mind as I did yesterday morning and that word was balance.  The image that accompanied that word was of a spinning top, spinning perfectly in one place.   I don't know if you played much with tops as a kid, as they aren't very popular anymore, but I did as a child, and it was such a simple but elegant toy.  If you managed to pull the string just right and release the top onto a smooth surface if would spin in place for a really long time, balanced on its little point, however if the surface was rough, or the top was at an angle on release, it would race or hop wildly and stay upright for only a short time. 

So what does this word and image have to do with anything today?  That's my question this morning as I sit down to pray, as thinking about tops is clearly not my norm, and I believe the Lord is beginning a conversation.  My first thought as I sat down was the fact that our lives are all out of whack, many are without jobs, many are stuck home, many are afraid to do the simplest of things like going to the store.  The normal cadence of what was our lives has definitely been changed, many for the worse.  As I look at the word balance, and the image of the top, I believe the message is clear, to weather this time we need to find a new place of balance, a new cadence of life and new pattern of behavior.  I don't know about you, but I do well when things run like clock-work, and as my honey mentioned the other day, the clock just seems to no longer matter.

How do we all work to make it through this period of uncertainty, as everything is in limbo, waiting for some decision to allow us to return to some semblance of normalcy?  Many are starting tom talk about a longer period of "shelter in place" and even if we being to restart things in may it will take months to get things back, as the return will not be smooth, nor bump-free. 

In my little view of the world, the first thing I do is to turn to the Lord.  The response to this worldwide pandemic is like nothing this generation has seen.  Their have been many pandemics in history, and we are trying to learn from history here. The steps that are being taken resemble steps that were taken back in 1918, during the Spanish flu.  My point in turning to the Lord, is that while we haven't seen this, He has, and He has a perspective!  The second reason I turn to Him is for His peace!  The worst thing we can do is to panic and be overcome by fear, yet in the race to report the newest fact, and to drive traffic to their sites, the news media seems intent on stoking fear in all of us.  They only provide a worldly perspective, and their window of view is extremely limited. BY returning tot he Lord, I can rest my heart and mind on His unchanging character and word.

Jesus, when asked the most important of the commandments quoted the following in Matthew 22:37-39 NIV: "Jesus replied: “ 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

If we allow the Lord to be our center point of balance, we will find that we are able to maintain our peace, and our ability to stand indefinitely.  He is our rock, and thus we can stand.  Jesus described this in Matthew 7:24-25 NIV:  “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. [25] The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock."

Our relationship with God is meant to provide us this foundation on the rock!  David often referred to God a His rock in the Psalms, in fact that image is used 28 times. Here is one of David's famous lines from Psalm 18:2 NIV:  "The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

The imagery David uses here might not be familiar in totality, but we get the picture, our relationship with God is a place of refuge, and strength.  When the floods and rains, and winds of life are blowing, it is to Him that we should look, and upon His word and promises that we should stand. 

Over the last 40 years, I have learned that God doesn't just want our attention and relationship on Sunday, but rather desires to be a part of our every day of the week, really all day long.  He isn't only aware of the holy moments, but is comfortable working in and through the stuff we walk through every day.  I once heard a speaker talking about his relationship with God and how he would turn to God for the most mundane decisions.  He was a Christian living in Beirut, during the war there, and as a Church body they felt God directing them to look to Him constantly throughout the day, so that He could guide them safely.  They found God interacting with them telling them when to go to the store, what streets to walk on, all sorts of things I would never think to bring to the Lord.  The reason was simple, God was protecting them and keeping them safe.  God would tell them to turn right, and walk one street over from their normal path, and  as the were walking a street over a bomb would explode on what would have been their normal path.  They had very few incidents among their church members, while all around them people were being hurt or killed daily.

For me, the reality that I could turn to the Lord for simple things had just never crossed my mind,  and after that day I started making it a practice.  I still do this to this day, sometimes more than other times.  What this has caused in me is the ability to turn my heart and mind towards the Lord regularly throughout the day. I have learned to listen and hear, and discern His voice.  This is incredibly comforting in times of widespread fear and panic.  I turn my mind and heart to Him and I am quick to come to peace, even in the midst of craziness like we are experiencing.   From the place of peace, we can act, not being forced to react.  I find as I turn my mind and heart to the Lord, that He often gives me very practical guidance and direction.  Other times He will cause Bible verses to be remembered, or give me someone who will confirm exactly what I was just thinking.  Overall, my life just has a whole lot less stress and anxiety, fear and panic than I see around me, and its not because I am so strong and confident, its because I am leaning upon the One who is.

As I walk out my daily life, the other things that i have realized is how absolutely personal God is to me.  My relationship with Him is unique, as I am unique.  My relationship with Him, while similar to others, has its own nuances, its own language and communication.  When my honey and I compare our faith walks, its amazing how different and unique they are, for they are perfectly suited to each of us.  She hears the Lord very differently than I do, her quiet time with Him is very different as well.  My point is that the same is true for all of us.  I can't project what the Lord is saying to me to my honey, because I know He is likely speaking about something that is completely different.  This has really helped me to reduce the amount of judgment I have towards others.  I have realized that our journeys through life while similar, are all unique, and God in His infinite wisdom, and perfect perspective, knows exactly how to speak to others, how to lad them and guide them.

So my  invitation in all of this today, is to make sure my mind and heart is focused on the Lord!  I am being encouraged to look to Him first and foremost, and make sure that I am not reacting, but rather listening to Him and that acting upon what He says.  He desires to be with me throughout the day, leading and guiding me as I walk through the normal stuff of my life.  He desires to be the rock upon which I can stand, my fortress in whom I can shelter.  He wants our relationship to be that stable foundation that allows me to stand in the midst of the storm, wind, rain, hail, pandemic, whatever.

I believe that is also His invitation available to you all today.  He wants to exchange sinking sand for the rock of relationship with Him.  HE wants to breath Hi peace into all our lives.  He desires nothing more than relationship, and through that relationship to allow us to find balance and rest.

Amen!

May the Lord, the Rock, bring you peace this day, and guide your steps and thoughts and protect you from the fear and panic that is all around us.


Sam

An Eye Witness To The Risen Man, Jesus!

This morning as I sat down to pray, I was thinking it would be good to look at some of the other references to Jesus rising from the dead, since today we celebrate Easter ( in the Western Church).  After a quick search, I was reminded of Peter's brief sermon to the gentiles gathered in Cornelius's house, capture in Acts 10:34-48 NIV:

[34] "Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism [35] but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. [36] You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. [37] You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached--- [38] how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

[39] “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, [40] but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. [41] He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen---by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. [42] He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. [43] All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

[44] While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. [45] The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. [46] For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, [47] “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” [48] So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days."

I love everything about this story, how God divinely arranged this meeting, how the Holy Spirit didn't even wait for Peter to finish speaking, how the Holy Spirit fell on them, before they even really had a chance to say they believed!  I love how God surprised pretty much everyone at that time.

However today, I am just reflecting on the words of Peter, about being an eye witness to Jesus' death and resurrection.  I am reminded of the analysis that has been done of the eye witness accounts, by the likes of Lee Strobel, and investigative reporter who was actually looking to disprove Christianity, but who become convinced through his analysis, and specifically through the unwavering accounts of the Apostles, even under torture and death.  If I remember correctly, He was also amazed at the long-term consistency and changed lives of the Apostles.  None of them went back to their previous life, but all became active ministers, following in the footsteps of Jesus, and none of them ever wavered from that path.

Here we find Peter, in the midst of a persecution, going into a Roman centurion's house, as a wanted man, as a Jew (who was not supposed to enter the house of a gentile) and through the divinely inspired invitation, begin to preach about about Jesus, the very thing for which they were being persecuted and killed.  The vision and experiences of the others must have given Peter encouragement, but regardless, he was putting his life on the line, to bear witness to what He had seen. He makes it personal in verse 41 saying Jesus was seen "by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead."

Peter had seen the wounds in Jesus' hands and on his side (John 20:20) and they saw Him multiple times, for 40 days following His resurrection (Acts 1:3).  This was no one time sighting, a mirage of their imagination, but rather regular gathering, eating and drinking with a man who they watched die on a cross.

Peter barely gets to the statements about their call to testify that Jesus is the Messiah and that forgiveness of sins is available to those that believe, when the Holy Spirit came upon all who heard his message, and they started speaking in tongues and praising God!  Wow!  Their hearts were clearly ignited by the message they heard from the mouth of Peter, an eye-witness to the death and resurrection of Jesus, and one who was sent to proclaim the Good News.

That is the same Good News we are celebrating today, that Jesus Christ is the savior of the world!  While we may not be eye-witnesses to His life, death and rising from the dead, we are eye-witnesses to our own changed lives, our own experiences of God's miracles, healing, love, forgiveness, mercy, compassion and provision!  He is every bit as alive today as He was that day, two millennium ago.  The Holy Spirit is every bit as engaged and desirous of confirming the words of those who witness to Jesus, with power and life!  We are called to celebrate our Risen Lord, and bear witness to Him this day and every day!

May the joy of the original Easter be yours today!  May the Holy Spirit rest upon you and confirm the truth of this Gospel!

Blessings in Him,

Sam

"Greater Love Has No One Than This: To Lay Down One's Life For One's Friends"

Today being Holy Saturday, I was thinking about what to reflect upon, and immediately I was thinking about Jesus' commandment to His disciples found in John 13:34-35 NIV:  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. [35] By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Jesus reiterates this command later and goes on to define it a bit more in John 15:12-13 NIV: 'My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. [13] Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."

Jesus then went on to fulfill exactly these words, laying own His life for those He loved, for those who were to come, and for those He loved since the creation of the world.  Today we celebrate this great love, the likes of which have never been seen before, nor will ever be seen again!  Today we remember Him as having given His life freely, offering Himself as the propitiation for our sin (1 John 2:2).  It was His body that was bruised and beaten, His blood that was shed for each of us. Today, we remember that this sacrifice, this love, this laying down His life ended in His death.

As I was thinking through this, I was also reminded that today we have thousands, maybe millions of health care workers, doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, and everyone else that are laying their lives down daily to care for those who are sick with this virus.  They, are loving those they are caring for, by willingly taking the risk, over and over again, of being exposed to the virus, and often it is for someone they barely know.  Paul writes Romans 5:7 NIV: "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die."  We have here before us a great example of love for one another that knows no bounds, a willingness to lay down one's life, and we should honor their sacrifice, their willingness to risk infection or death for those in their care.  It is a blessing to know that they are on the front lines, battling for each and every life!   We see in their heroic sacrifice, a shadow of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, and we honor them!

Today, I am encouraged to pray for those on the front lines of this battle, to pray for their families, for their co-workers, for those that are making this battle possible.  I am encouraged to do what I can to support and aid them in their struggle!

Finally, today, I am reminded of Jesus' great sacrifice in laying down His life for us all!  I am eternally grateful for His sacrifice that paid for my sins, that opened the way for relationship with the Father! 

Amen!

Thank you to all who risk their lives daily on our behalf!  Thank You to all that support them, and care for them, and make their service possible!


Sam

He Loved Them To The End

This morning I am reflecting on the happenings of Good Friday, and I have a feeling it will be a different perspective than I am used to seeing.  The first verse I read this morning was one I have read many times before, but as its an introduction verse, I haven't usually let the impact of it hit home. 

John 13:1 NIV:  "It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end."

This was John's introduction to the passion account, to the last days of Jesus' earthly ministry (other than the 40 days post-resurrection) and John's main impression was the love of Jesus!  It was the defining characteristic of Jesus' ministry and relationships with His followers.  He loved them well, and loved them unto the end!  His primary characteristic was love, His primary motivation was love.  It was for love that He endured the beatings, the scourging, the abuse and rejection, the nails and the cross. It was for love!

Oh, that we would recognize that this is every bit as true for us.  He loves us! He loves us well!  He loves us eternally!  He endured the cross for Love of us, for He knew us before the creation of the world, and loved us.  It was for love that He came into this world (John 3:16) that He might save us and redeem us.  It was for love of us all that endured what He did, that He might take upon Himself the punishment due our sins! 

This morning as I sat down to pray, in these very strange times, I was reflecting upon how so much has changed, and how we aren't sure its ever going to be the same again.  I was thinking about how quickly this pandemic hit, and how unprepared we were mentally, emotionally and spiritually for change of this magnitude.  I was thinking this must , in some small way, be what it felt like for Jesus followers, for His family, for those who were closest to Him!  Everything changed in a matter of days.  Jesus had just entered Jerusalem a few days earlier, to acclamations and praise!  Now he was being beaten and crucified, and things were never going to be the same! 

As I read that lone verse from John, it was clear Jesus knew this massive change was going to happen!  He was focused on the coming finality, unfortunately, His followers were generally clueless, despite His multiple warnings.  Life was just too good, and going the right way, so how could they grasp the words of Jesus when He said He was going to be betrayed and die?  When that is what happened, I can't imagine how shell-shocked they all must have been!  In a matter of days, everything changed!  Everything they thought about the future, everything they thought about their role, their relationship with Him, every one of their life goals in following Him were seemingly shattered!  It was clear nothing as ever going to be the same!

In those first hours, one imagines they could hardly function, hardly think, that they were just barely surviving.  They were afraid, they were despondent, they were shattered, they were overcome with grief, they couldn't believe their eyes and ears, they didn't know what to do.  Once Jesus was buried we are told they went home and stayed there according to the Sabbath rules (Luke 23:56). 

I believe the next day, the Sabbath rest, was a day of deep soul searching, a day of remembering what Jesus had said, a day of assessing the state of their own faith and belief.  I believe it was a day of wondering what they would do, where they would go, how would they move forward, or whether they should even think about continuing the ministry of Jesus.  I imagine there was a painful confrontation of their own weakness and betrayal of Jesus, to save their own selves.  We know Peter had sworn to Jesus that he would never leave Him, that He would follow Him unto death (Luke 22:23), and I am sure that others had thought the same way.

As we are, so many of us, confronted with massive change and concern about our future, about our own situations, I am convinced that the Lord knew this was all going to happen.  He knows our situation, He knows our plight.  We may not see it yet, may not yet understand what the future will look like, but He knows, and He has a plan.  Jesus was preparing his followers all along for the coming days, they just didn't know it!  He had instilled in His followers all they needed for the effective release of ministry, except for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, which was soon to occur!  He knew they were going to be ok!  He loved them well, He prepared them well, right up to the end!  In the same way, we will find our path forward in Him!  We will see the other side of this time!  We will be changed, but we will prevail!  We will realize that we have been prepared for such a time as this, and we will realize that the fate of the church, the future of the church now rests upon us! 

We still will have some dark days ahead of us, and we are still stuck in this time of rest and separation, but the day will come when the sun will shine, when the doors will be opened and we will come forth from our our shelters to a changed world.  We will have much to do, many to see, many to help, many to embrace.

Let us look to the One who loves us well, who gave everything to set us free and save us!  Let us look to the One who now sits at the right-hand of the Father, and who also lives within us!  Let us entrust ourselves to His plan, to His purposes, believing that He has been preparing us for this all along, we just didn't know it!   Let us give grace to our brothers and sisters who are still struggling, still grieving, still in fear!  Let us take up the ministry of Jesus and love them well, and love them through to the end!  Let us learn from our first brothers and sisters who witnessed Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, and let us help each other through this dark day! 

Finally, let us celebrate the love of God that is beyond comprehension!  Let us celebrate the salvation that was purchased with the most Holy Blood of Jesus!  Let us encourage one another into the love of God!!

Amen and Amen!

May the Lord bless you in this time of rest and separation!  May He keep you safe and speak to your heart His purposes, plans, and hope.

Sam

Holy Thursday - Through the Power of the Holy Spirit

Sorry - its a bit long today.

This morning as I was preparing to pray I was thinking about it being Holy Thursday, and wondering what I should reflect upon this morning.  The phrase the power of the Holy Spirit popped into my mind at that moment, so I am going with that theme this morning.

My first reaction was that was an interesting thing to focus on for Holy Thursday, but then i was reminded of Jesus sitting down to dinner with His disciples, including Judas His betrayer.  I was also reminded of the agony in the garden which also happen later that evening.   After those two thoughts, the theme the Power of the Holy Spirit made more sense.

Before we look at those scriptures I want to go back to when Jesus received the power of the Holy Spirit, which occurred at His Baptism, for really the whole public ministry of Jesus was really the demonstration of the Power of the Holy Spirit operating through a man, for Jesus had laid down the power of His Divinity (Philippians 2: 6-8).  Jesus baptism is covered in the three synoptic Gospels, but I will be quoting out of Luke 3:21-22 NIV:

[21] "When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened [22] and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Luke 4:1-2,14 NIV:
[1] "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, [2] where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry."

[14] "Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside."

My main thought here is that Jesus, received the Holy Spirit, and then spent the next 40 days being led by the Holy Spirit, being protected by the Holy Spirit, and being strengthened in the Holy Spirit, even as He emptied Himself of His own strength through fasting for 40 days.  I guess we could call it a trade, He traded food for that which truly brings life and power, the Holy Spirit.  In John's Gospel He quoted Jesus making a similar statement that just came to mind, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you---they are full of the Spirit and life." (John 6:63 NIV)

Jesus, full of the power of Holy Spirit, thus ministered and entered into His last days embracing that which lay before Him.  He knew fully what was coming, for He warned the disciples multiple times (The Gospels record three times) that He was going to die.  In fact He was quite specific, as seen here in Luke 18:31-34 NIV:

[31] "Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. [32] He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; [33] they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

[34] The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about."

Somehow the whole warning just never registered with the Apostles, and they were thinking Jesus was heading to Jerusalem to establish the Kingdom of God!  Jesus, though, clearly knew what He was walking towards.  They were going to be celebrating Passover, and He was going to become, for all, the  "Lamb that was slain" whose blood would purchase freedom for all from sin and death.  I can't even comprehend the strength it took for Him to walk forward into that time.  Add to this, the fact that Jesus knew one of His own closest friends was going to betray Him, and I just marvel at His composure, His love and His humble service as He washed their feet, even Judas's.  He then took the bread and broke it, referring to it as His body that would be broken, and shared the cup of wine, and spoke of it as His blood that would be shed, again sharing it with His betrayer (see John 13:2-30 and Matt 26:17-30).

I don't know about you, but I would have a hard time lovingly washing the feet and sharing my body and blood with the very one that would betray me.  Betrayal of intimate relationships is one of the deepest wounds, and the Apostles enjoyed that type of relationship with Jesus.  They had lived together, traveled together, ministered together for 3 years.  Jesus had poured all of Himself into them, had selected each one personally, and had given them personal instruction and teaching away from the crowds.  They were the ones that Jesus was entrusting the Kingdom of God to, the ones who would carry on His ministry and birth the church.  Jesus clearly didn't treat Judas any different than any of the others, ever, for none could guess who would betray Him after He announced one of them would.  Their response is recorded by Matthew 26:21-22 NIV:

[21] And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” [22] They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don't mean me, Lord?”

Going back to the theme of the power of the Holy Spirit, as I look at Jesus I see a man totally given over to that which was going to happen, not dragging His feet, not embracing this with fear and trembling (the trembling would come later in the Garden) but who embraced fully this most critical time with the same enthusiasm, the same fullness that He did everything else!  The disciples clearly didn't see this all coming, even though they had been warned, and even were arguing following this last supper, who was the greatest (see Luke 22:24), which doesn't sound like a doom and gloom type of celebration, but rather a group who thought they were stepping into a time of glorious revelation of Jesus as Messiah.

Again, I think of the internal strength it would take to watch all of this happening around you, knowing full well what was really about to happen, and allowing the disciples to think and act as they were.  I know this strength is not in me.  I know I wouldn't be able to lovingly wash the feet of the one who would betray me!  I know I would not have the strength to walk towards my execution smiling and encouraging my followers, continuing to pour into them everything that remains to be said and taught.  I would be focused on myself, focused on my own pain and suffering, and here is where I believe the power of the Holy Spirit was very evident.  He empowered Jesus to press on into the fullness of everything that was required, laying down His life, pouring out everything until He was empty.  All of John 13-17 were recorded as having occurred at the Last Supper, and in them we have some of the most significant final teachings, the introduction of the Holy Spirit and even the establishment of the New Covenant!  Wow, talk about finishing strong!

Again, I can only imagine that this was possible in and through the power of the Holy Spirit!

Lastly, we have Jesus lead his followers into Gethsemane and there He finally allowed the enormity of what He was about to embrace to rest upon His soul. I can't even imagine the agony that He went through, the wrestling with His own flesh, the knowledge of the coming torture and death, and the surrender to the Father.  I think this night was every bit as daunting as His 40 days in the wilderness, and really the bookend of His ministry.  He embraced fully the final self-sacrifice, giving up even His life for us all.

We honor those in wars who sacrifice themselves to protect those they are with, their brothers and sisters in arms.  Most of those sacrifices are not embraced with hours and days of foreknowing, but are rather decisions that are made in the instant, in the heat of the battle.  I am not in anyway lessening their sacrifices, but I am separating Jesus' sacrifice for His was one that was fully known, and yet fully embraced.  Again, I know I don't have that type of strength in me, and it would only be through the power of the Holy Spirit that I could stand in that place.

Finally as I allow this reflection to be applied to my life, I see so much of me that is not laid down, so much of me that would not embrace such a sacrifice!  In fact, I struggle with the simple sacrifice of not seeing and hugging my kids, and my grand-daughter.  I find myself conscious of all the things that have changed that I don't like.  I find myself angry with our circumstances, sometimes allowing fear and doubt to enter into my mind and heart.  I know that many have slid into survival mode, and are thinking only of themselves, and I find myself tempted to go there too.

It is in these times that I find I need to turn to the Holy Spirit, to His power, to His word of peace, to His guidance to get me through, to help me settle my heart, to give me purpose and meaning, to help me lay down my life for others.  That is really what we are doing during this time of "Shelter in place", we are laying down our lives for the sake of others.

It is through the Power of the Holy Spirit that we can embrace a perspective that looks beyond our own circumstances, our own situation and be the light of Christ in this troubled world. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to empower us today, to be people who look beyond ourselves, who do not give into fear, but who bring the words of Life to those in need.  Let us forgive those that have betrayed our trust, those that have wounded us, and embrace them in love and compassion.  Let us honor the one who gave everything that we might have eternal life!

Amen!

May the Power of the Holy Spirit fill you today with peace, love, joy and a sound mind.

Sam