More & More

This morning I felt led to read from Paul’s first letter to the 1 Thessalonians 3:9-10,12-13 NIV:

[9] “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? [10] Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.” 

[12] “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. [13] May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”

Continuing into Chapter 4 -1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 NIV:

[1] “As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. [2] For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.”

[3] “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; [4] that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, [5] not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; [6] and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. [7] For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. [8] Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.’ 

[9] “Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. [10] And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, [11] and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, [12] so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”

Lately in our teachings at Church, we are learning, as we read Scripture, to look at parallels found in the language and words, as they are meant to draw our attention to sections and often have some relationship, one to the other.  This morning I have highlighted the phrase more and more.  

The Greek word used here is “mallon” and it is added to verbs and adjectives, it denotes increase, a greater quantity, a larger measure, a higher degree, more, more fully.  In the two sentences above the encouragement is to live to please God, and love one another more and more!

I am reminded of Jesus’ response when asked the about the greatest commandments, found in Mark 12:29-31 NIV:

[29] “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. [30] Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ [31] The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Paul certainly is in line with the words of Jesus here. Sometimes we try to make our faith into the complex patterns of life, or demands, and Jesus just cuts through all that to simplify the core, as does Paul.  Love God, love people!  

We could take the approach of the Jewish Pharisees and ask hundreds of questions about what those words of Jesus actually mean, and define every last iteration and turn it into a massive list of what to do and what not to do.  For many of us that is the faith we have been taught, a long list of rules. 

The focus of these two commands is relationship, not rules. Paul encourages us to do both more and more!  Not focus on rules, but rather pour our efforts into relationship!  The only way to know what pleases God is to know Him! The only way to love our brothers and sisters more is to actually know them!  Such a simple path, without all the complicated requirements!  

If I am really loving someone, I am always trying to bless them, serve them, engage them, make them happy, do little things that mean much, meet them where they are, remove any conditions, and communicate!  I do all of these things from a place of relationship, not duty.  I could look at the things I do in my marriage as a duty, and I would probably learn to hate them, or I could look at them as expressions of my love for my wife, which causes me to love her more!  

Isn’t that interesting?  Operating in love, tends to lead us to loving more!  

Mallon!

The reason it leads to more, is that this love is then reciprocated by the one we love, at least that is the case in healthy relationships.  My expressions of love towards my wife, will often elicit expressions of love form her to me, not out of sense of duty, but out of love and gratitude, and desire for deeper relationship.  It is true of my relationship with my honey, and it is true of my relationship with the Lord!

This is supposed to be the path we are on in our Christian walk, loving God more and more, loving one another more and more! 

It is pretty simple, and my encouragement this morning is to make sure that this is my heart! 

Lord help me to love and please you, and recognize Your love for me!  Help me to love my brothers and sisters the way that You love me!  More and More!

Amen!

Five Loaves, Two Fish

This morning I am reading from Luke 9:1-6,10-17 NIV:

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

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

[12] Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” 

[13] He replied, “You give them something to eat.” 

They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” [14] (About five thousand men were there.)

But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” [15] The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. [16] Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. [17] They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.”

There is much to think about in these verses, the 6 mile walk from Capernaum to Bethsaida, the crowd of 5000 finding out and following him, the healings and teaching on the Kingdom, the feeding of 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish, not even enough food for the apostles and Jesus, the significance of the bread and fish, the correlation between that and the command Jesus had given them to set out with nothing and spread the Gospel of the Kingdom…etc.

This morning I have been focused on the significance of the 5 loaves and 2 fish. Rarely are things as simple as thy read, especially in scripture.  The Lord uses many signs, that often have deeper meaning. There are several ideas around the symbolism, and such and some of it seems to resonate with me today.  That this as basic sustenance is clear.  The loaves, likely cheap barley loaves, and 2 dried fish, represent a very small amount of food, barely enough for 1 or two people ( I know I could probably eat 2 and 2 at any single meal). Some scholars believe that the 5 loaves were symbolic of the 5 books of the Torah, and we could point to Jesus’ response in Matthew 4:4 NIV: “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

In my opinion, besides the real food, and multiplication of it, this symbolism seems to fit into the common theme of bread.  Later Jesus took the bread, broke it  and said it was His Body, and He is the very Word of God made flesh (John 1:1-4, 14). He is the literal bread of life! 

I could keep on working that theme of bread from heaven, etc. for He did that day what He did for the Israelites in the desert, although in this case the Manna was barley loaves in baskets.  

As for the fish, there are a few different ideas.  As I read through the different opinions, it seemed to me that these might very well represent, besides real sustenance, the coming age of the Church.  The early Chirsitan’s used the sign of the fish as a way of indicating who they were to other believers, and clearly the fish was significant. The Greek word for "fish," Ichthys (ΙΧΘΥΣ), is made up of the first letters of the words "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior" (Ιησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ). 

Continuing on, apparently, Joshua son of Nun, means Joshua son of the fish, and Joshua was the leader of the people when they crossed over into the Promised Land, and that story clearly has some Messianic themes.

All of this is interesting to me, and at the end, the more important thing is the representation of the Father, in this miracle.  He sees our needs, He provides for our needs, and sometimes does so through miraculous ways.  He can take the little we have and provide for the multitudes!  When things seem impossible, He likes to prove our “impossible” wrong.  

In closing, a quote from Mark 10:27 NIV:  “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

Amen and Amen!

Spiritual Counter-Punching

The other day I was walking in the park and praying for friends that are struggling, and under attack in several different ways.  As I was praying I felt like the Lord gave me additional insight into my own battles and those common to most.

First I should say that I am of the belief that there is a spiritual realm of which many of us in the western world are only somewhat aware.  I make the distinction about western world, because most of the rest of the world, Asia, Africa, Latam generally believe in the spiritual realm, and it is part of their worldview.

Secondly, Jesus clearly had the perspective that there was a spiritual world, one which He dealt with and discussed quite often. The church holds this belief as well, although I think many in the Western church downplay the significance.

That being said, I do believe that one of the realities of my daily life is learning to deal with the spiritual realm, especially that which is against the Kingdom of God and His purposes. The way I regularly encounter this could be described as spiritual warfare, and most often it is not overt, but rather hidden from obvious view. 

The Lord helped me to see the warfare I encounter is most often a distracting effort, something that is aimed at getting me focused on anything but the Lord and His purposes.  Probably 98% of the time, the effort is to get me to think about myself, my situation or circumstance, and to turn my thoughts inward, towards my self.  I am not talking about healthy self-care, and awareness of my own health, rather I am talking about unhealthy selfish focus, where my needs and wants are more important than anything else going on around me.  Whether I am thinking about how others see me, or how my life hasn’t worked the way I want, how I don't;t have the things I want, or whatever, these suggested thoughts are all about me!  

As long as I am thinking primarily about me, I am not seeing the world with the Lord’s perspective, I am not listening to Him, or looking to Him. Instead I am looking at myself, looking towards my selfish needs and wants.

Paul warns against this type of thinking in his letter to the Philippians 2:3 NIV: 

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,”

This selfish focus can come about in several ways, but I have noticed it almost always is the result of thoughts popping into my head, often at times when I am focused on better things, things that are of the Lord or related to His ways and purposes.  I have also seen that these thoughts regularly pop into my head when I am tired, when I am frustrated, feeling depressed, or several other scenarios when I am not thinking, but more reacting.

I say that the thoughts seem to pop into my head, as I do believe that often these thoughts are not from me, but rather the result of the spiritual effort to distract me, and even cause me to sin, or disengage with what the Lord is doing. As I said before, I know if I am focused on myself, I become blind to much of what is happening around me… because my thoughts are turned inward.

So, how do I combat such a distracting attack? Peter provides us some simple advice in his first letter - 1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV:

[8] “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. [9] Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”

James adds a similar note - James 4:7 NIV: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Resisting is the term, but how do you resist something you can’t see, and is often hidden?  First as Peter write, we need to be alert. Much of this has to do with us learning to identify the tactics and methods of the enemy.  Besides scripture, two books I have read that were very helpful are “The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis, and “The War in Your Head”, by Bill Johnson.  Both are excellent in helping to identify the way the enemy tries to distract and influence our thinking. 

In the sport of boxing a very effective technique is called counter-punching.  When the opponent throws a punch, you take advantage and throw a punch at the area that is in that moment unprotected.  Spiritually speaking I think this is one of the ways we can resist!  

In my life, when I notice I am under attack, or suspect that I am (Sometimes it takes me a bit to realize it) I start praying for the salvation of people that I know and love who are presently unsaved.  What I often find is the thoughts and train of thoughts that had been regularly popping into my head suddenly cease.  

This is partly because I am now thinking about God’s Kingdom and not so focused on myself, but I also believe that the counter-punch, if you will, of my prayers outweighs the effect of the distracting attack on me!  The enemy is swinging at my head to distract me and I am landing body blows to his efforts to keep someone in the park and unaware of the Lord’s love for them! 

There is much more to write on this topic, but hopefully this is helpful and encouraging.   I know I am encouraged to continue to be alert and continue to resist the efforts of the enemy to distract me and get me focused on myself.

Lord, thank You for revelation and help!  Give me strength to contine to pursue You and live my life representing You to those I meet.  Help me to effectively resist the works of the enemy, and shine Your light of salvation to all I encounter.

Amen and Amen!

Does God Have a Sense of Humor?

This morning as I opened my Bible to read, I turned back to the section I was last reading, from Luke’s Gospel. I was reminded of a funny experience I had with the Lord in prayer yesterday morning, and as I thought about it I felt the Lord indicate that this is significant. 

In short, the Holy Spirit cracked a joke. 

It actually was quite the funny joke (at least to me), and it took me a bit by surprise. As I was reflecting on that experience yesterday I was reminded of another thought I have had where the Holy Spirit plays a bit of a joke on Jesus (at least that is my interpretation).

So, here is the scripture and the joke, and please remember this is a joke, and not my opinion, nor anything other than a JOKE.  I was reading the following verses - Luke 9:1-6 NIV:

[1] When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, [2] and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. [3] He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt.”

And then I thought I heard Holy Spirit add - “and that’s why there weren’t any women apostles, because only men would be ok with a command like that!”

I had to laugh…

I had never had the Lord tell me a joke before… I certainly wasn't thinking about jokes or anything like that at the time…

So the question is why would the Lord tell a joke?

First, I think it is important to know that Holy Spirit, especially, is a person and has a personality.  I have heard Graham Cooke say that Holy Spirit is hilarious, and I so appreciate humor in people, that this encouraged me.  If the Lord created everything, and we are made in His image, then a sense of humor is something that comes from Him and that He intentionally gave to us.

Second, We need to understand that He enjoys us, delights in us, and experiences joy!  Sometimes in our religion we expect God to be all serious, all the time, and we forget that there are multiple times Jesus, as the Father's perfect representation (Heb 1:3) expressed overt joy, so much so that the Gospel writers remembered those occasions years later when they wrote the accounts.  I am reminded of the following verses from Luke 10:21 NIV:

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.”

Finally, what family doesn’t have one who is the jokester? Usually the second child…

I mean Jesus was the perfectly obedient son, which means Holy Spirit is…  (just kidding).

The point of all this morning is that the Lord invites us to know Him.  He wants us to know Him intimately, and a sense of humor is included in that (in my opinion).  I think our lives in Him should be filled with joy, and laughter, for where His Spirit is, there is freedom, and freedom releases joy!

This morning I am encouraged to press further into relationship with the Lord, because He really must be the funniest person ever!  And the most loving, compassionate, merciful, forgiving, gracious and kind person ever, too!

Lord help me to experience more of Your humor and joy!

Amen!

Picture  above from https://www.chuckgirard.com/religious-jokes.html