Reflections On Jesus As A Baby

This morning I have been contemplating the fact that Jesus became human, and in that, experienced a truly human life, including being a helpless in fact, newly born. I was thinking through these verses in Luke 2:21-32 NIV:

[21] "On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

[22] When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord [23] (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord” ), [24] and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

[25] Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. [26] It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. [27] Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, [28] Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

[29] “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. [30] For my eyes have seen your salvation, [31] which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: [32] a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

As I was reading this through, I was remembering the utter helplessness of a few day old child and I was wondering whether Jesus knew who He was at that time? I was thinking about the natural development of a baby, and how the first few months there is very little interaction, or personality evident. The baby is learning and experiencing, just developing quickly, but still very helpless and vulnerable. Clearly God thought all of that through when He decided to have His son become fully human. It really is astounding!

So my question is how much was Jesus, as a baby interacting with His Father in heaven? We know that even in the womb, that the Holy
Spirit was upon Him, because the reaction of Elizabeth, and John who was still in the womb (Luke 1:39-45). So are our spirits fully functional as a baby? Do we develop spiritually as well as physically? Are we conscious of the difference at that point in one's life?

Personally I have seen babies respond to the power of the Holy Spirit, so I believe our spirits are fully functional even as a baby. I believe there was a level of communication between the Father and Jesus, but clearly not the type of understanding Jesus would later develop. I believe that the Lord does put spiritual deposits into us as babies, and I believe that children operate in spiritual giftings early on, as well. Just interesting things to think on...

Regardless of all these questions and thoughts, we do know that Jesus came, was born fully human, having chosen to live as us, emptying himself of his divinity. Paul writes about this in his letter to the Philippians 2:6-8 NIV:

[6] "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; [7] rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. [8] And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death---even death on a cross!"

The Young's Literal translation says this:

Philippians 2:6-8 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

6 "...who, being in the form of God, thought [it] not robbery to be equal to God,

7 but did empty himself, the form of a servant having taken, in the likeness of men having been made,

8 and in fashion having been found as a man, he humbled himself, having become obedient unto death -- death even of a cross,.."

It really is amazing. Thank You Jesus for humbling Yourself to become like us, so that You might fulfill the requirements perfectly and open the way for us to come to the Father.

The Dynamics of Prayer

I just opened my bible to Daniel 9, and was encouraged by reading the following verses - Daniel 9:17-23 NIV:

[17] “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. [18] Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. [19] Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

[20] While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill--- [21] while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. [22] He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. [23] As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:"

I was encouraged when I read this because of the swift response from Heaven. Gabriel says to him that it was as soon as Daniel started praying that word went out. The understanding is that the word, that command as other versions translate it, was response from God. I love how quickly the Lord responds, yet it is at the end of his prayer that Daniel sees Gabriel and receives the answer, or I guess it is more appropriate to say that Daniel's prayer ended when Gabriel showed up. Either way, he received an answer quite quickly.

The answer, however, plays out over the next many years, for he was praying about the restoration of Jews to Jerusalem. So if we think about it, the prayer was heard, the command was issued and things were set in motion by the command that were in answer to Daniel's prayers. I like that because it helps me understand the dynamics of prayer, and answers to prayer. So often we think we must see a specific answer to our prayer when in reality it is the proper answer from Heaven's perspective. A command comes forth with God, in response to our prayer, and it accomplishes exactly what it is commanded to do. Sometimes the notification of the answer comes immediately, sometimes a bit later, but the results are guaranteed by the God, for they are His commands. That helps me.

The final bit of encouragement comes from Gabriel's answer to Daniel, saying He was highly esteemed. The Hebrew word here translated highly esteemed, actually literally means the "heat of God", and is a proper name Chammuw'el. In other words God has a term of affection for Daniel, and its a bit of a nickname. I really do believe that the Lord looks at each of us in the same way that He looked at Daniel. We are all highly esteemed. The same Hebrew word is sometimes translated treasure, precious thing, valuable. Each of us has been personally called, individually redeemed, and our sins have been paid for by the blood of the Son of God. If that doesn't make us valuable in God's eyes nothing will. Because we are valuable and precious to him, he listens to our prayers and answers them with a command from Heaven.

So, today I am encouraged that my prayers do make a difference. God's words will fulfill that which they are meant to do (Isa. 55:11), and He answers my prayers with commands! Amen!

Jesus Delays His Visit to Jerusalem - JOHN 7

This morning I am reading from John, starting in the 7th chapter. It starts with Jesus not going to Judea, because the leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. The issue was that He had healed the man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath, and then when questioned about it, He said He was God's son, which to them was blasphemy. This healing and conversations that followed caused widespread wonder as well as hatred among the leaders (See John 5: 1-30). Anyway, here are the verses I want to focus upon today - John 7:1-8, 14-15, 25-27 NIV:

[1] "After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. [2] But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, [3] Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. [4] No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” [5] For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

[6] Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. [7] The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. [8] You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” [9] After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.

[14] Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. [15] The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”

[25] At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? [26] Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? [27] But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

I had forgotten about the situation with the leaders in Judea thinking of ways to kill Jesus. I guess it just caught my imagination this morning, thinking of Jesus going to the festival in secret. How would he do that? Did he send the Apostles away so He could travel alone?

Also, its interesting that His brothers encouraged Him to go to Jerusalem. I believe that their encouragement wasn't related to the death threats Jesus knew existed, but rather they wanted to see Him on more of a national stage. The feast of the tabernacles, was one of three feasts where all men were supposed to go to Jerusalem, so it was a perfect time to reveal oneself to the masses, at least that is the way we humans tend to think. If a stage is available use it.

However, Jesus was following the Father's plan and the time wasn't right, but would be soon. Also, it wasn't about Him, as His brothers thought. He was fine operating in "secret'. Galilee wasn't exactly secret, but it was the more rural, back country area. There was a time and a place for His to "up His game " and He would do that when the Father said to, not a moment sooner.

I did a bit more reading on this set of verses and it is interesting to note that there are many who think that Jesus lied in telling His brothers that he wasn't going to the feast yet, then went secretly. That wasn't my focus at all, I was focused on why He wanted to go alone. I think it had to do with His desire to protect them from themselves, and trying to glorify Him in some way, for they still thought that anyone who would be the Messiah was going to become the ruler, and there would be positions of glory waiting for his companions. Also, if they were trying to kill Jesus, his companions would be in danger as well, as we see later the night that Jesus was betrayed.

Additionally, the feast of the tabernacles was in the 7th Month, and Jesus knew that the feast of significance for His sacrifice was Passover, for He was the Lamb of God. So truly it was not yet His time, nor the time when the Father would glorify Him. Thus, the key to understanding this verse, and Jesus actions is seen later in John when He was again in Jerusalem for a feast, but this time His time had come and entered in full public view.

Finally, my thought are simply that Jesus embraced His purpose fully, and was completely obedient to the plans and desires of the Father. He also, through the power of the Holy Spirit, knew the hearts of men, and understood what they were thinking, and why. He was not afraid of opposition or danger, or anything else of man, for He knew the Father was firmly in control, so He just did what the Father showed Him to do, and explained to His brethren what He could say.

Taking Time To Pray

This morning I was reading from The Gospel of Mark, mainly because its been a long time since I read His Gospel, and the following verse caught my attention - Mark 1:35 NIV: "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.". I was encouraged when I read this because that is exactly what I do, get up in the morning, find some place quiet where I can pray. I am blessed in that I can use my living room, rather than a mountainside, as Jesus did regularly.

I was also struck by the fact that Jesus took time to pray even though He walked in perfect obedience to the Father. He said that everything He did (John 5:19-20) and everything He said (John 8:28-29) where at the direction of the Father. Despite this intimate relationship Jesus still needed to take time to go and pray. Often times after a time of prayer He would introduce something new to His ministry - in the case of the verse above, it was after this time of prayer that Jesus started His itinerant ministry. In Luke 6:12-13 He went up on the mountain and afterwards announced and appointed the 12 Apostles. The simple point is that Jesus needed time to pray, and so do we. So, let us learn from Him and do the same!

Jesus' Proof He Is The Messiah

This morning I felt that I should read from John 10:24-38 NIV:

[24] The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

[25] Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, [26] but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. [27] My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all ; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. [30] I and the Father are one.”

[31] Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, [32] but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

[33] “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

[34] Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’ ? [35] If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came---and Scripture cannot be set aside--- [36] what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? [37] Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. [38] But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

This is an interesting dialogue between Jesus and some Jews. The clearly ask Him if He is the Messiah, and He clearly answers them in verse 30, and yet their response is that they want to stone Him, rather than welcome Him and the salvation He brings.

These verses caused me to do a bit of research on the term messiah (which I did not include here for the sake of brevity) because so much hinges on the expectations of the Jews, and how Jesus presented Himself. Jesus equates Himself to the Father, as He claims sonship. He does not make the claim without proof, and for those proofs, He points to the miracles, or the works of the Father, as He answers in verse 25 and again in verse 37&38. One would thus make the logical transition that if these are the signs Jesus points to that identify and prove who He is, that His Body that remains, namely the Church, should be able to point to the same, as proof that they are the Body of Christ (Greek for Messiah). In fact Jesus clearly states that they should not believe Him unless He does the works of the Father.

So, as I look at this line of thinking, one wonders how the church could have ever developed cessationist theology, claiming that signs, wonders, healing and miracles were only for the direct apostolic age, and are no longer needed? As I reflect on the church today, it seems to be growing exponentially in places where miracles and signs are worked regularly (South America and Africa) and it is losing power, influence and people in places where we have few miracles, and generally rely on rhetoric and well-meaning teaching (USA and Europe). For reports on the growth of the church in South America see ( https://globalawakening.com), and for Africa see either Heidi Baker's ministry ( http://www.irisglobal.org/home) or the Ministry of Reinhardt Bonke ( http://us.cfan.org).

I can only cry out for more of the Lord as He ministered, as He did the "works of the Father". Our desire is that the world would know that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah the Savior of all. Let us pray that the Lord would come and demonstrate the same proofs in the church of America, that He did in His days.

A Deep Personal Relationship With Jesus - An Invitation

This morning I was reading through the introduction to the next section of the Ignatian spiritual exercises I am working through, and really like what the author had to say. He said, "We really can not love someone unless we first know him or her on a deeply personal level. Ultimately, it is possible to follow Jesus, with the sacrifices that entails, only if we a rooted in our love for him."

This is exactly the theme and pursuit of my life for the last several years, establishing and building a more intimate relationship with Jesus. It is something we are all called to do, but I fear that many don't. It is in relationship with Him that we understand who we really are and recognize His motivations are always rooted in love. His command to "love one another" is followed by the statement, "as I have loved you" (John 13:34). His love is always first, or previous as Graham Cooke says. He doesn't begin to love us once we come to Him, He has always loved us and has always been calling us into deeper relationship with Him. There is nothing we can do to earn His love because He already loves us. That would be like working at a job to earn the money that is already in your bank account, it is already yours.

We do however, need to understand Him to understand His love for us. It is much the same for any child. They don't really understand love, but grow up under the love of their parents, as they grow older, they begin to understand their parents love, understand the choices the parents make to continue to love them. Even is this model, with the constant presence and interaction, love in relationship takes time to understand.

Take a new couple as another example, there may be an immense attraction, but over time that develops into love as their relationship blossoms, and deepens. As they come to know one another more thoroughly, more intimately (not speaking of the physical nature presently) they hopefully grow in love for one another. Relationships are always a two-way street.

Conversely, we say someone is sick in their mind if they believe they have a relationship with someone they have never met, the term we often use is 'obsessed', and if they become active in pursuing that relationship they become a 'stalker'. One sided relationships are not relationships at all, and at the very least are unhealthy. I was just thinking that much of the wrong behaviors in the name of Jesus or in the name of the church must come about because of this type of one-way relationship. People become obsessed with rules, totally misrepresenting Jesus, because they don't know Him. We are not called to this type of relationship with Jesus, but rather to a normal two-way relationship. We are called to love one another the way He loves us, and that means loving one another, He and us.

So, if we are called to a two-way, healthy relationship with Jesus, than we must be able to come to understand Him more. We must be able to converse, to share, to learn, to communicate with one another. That is what prayer is supposed to be, not some rote recital, but a living conversation. There are several prayers I learned as a child which are meant to give us words, and ultimately give us understanding of the Lord, but they are not meant to replace real communication. Our conversations with the Lord may be audible, or of the heart or mind, He doesn't mind what form, for He actually does know what we are thinking (Psalm 139:2), unlike our spouses. :-)

The Lord has made a way for us to know Him more, and He is named the Holy Spirit. Look at these verses from John's Gospel focused on the role of the Holy Spirit - John 14:16-18, 26-27 NIV:

[16] "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever--- [17] the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. [18] I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

[26] But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. [27] Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

And continuing in Chapter 15 - John 15:26 NIV: “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father---the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father---he will testify about me."

In other words, one of the reasons the Holy Spirit has been given to us is to help us know Jesus, who is the exact representation of the Father (Heb 1:3). This is the wonderful mystery of the Trinity, they all speak for each other and when we know one, we know them all.

Jesus continues on about the Holy Spirit in John 16:7, 12-15 NIV:

[7] "But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

[12] “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. [13] But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. [14] He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. [15] All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

The Lord couldn't be any clearer, the Holy Spirit will speak and we will be able to hear Him. He will guide us, and will make known to us, and will speak to us. For this to work, we must be able to understand His guidance, know what He makes known and hear want He says. This is what our times of prayer will bring about - an understanding, knowing and hearing.

So let us endeavor to listen, know, and understand, that we might know Jesus more, and love Him more. He wants us to have a two-way love relationship with Him, and that is only possible if we know Him on a deeply personal level. Let us dive deep into His love, for He has made the way, and has sent us the Holy Spirit as our guide.

Jesus Is The Way

This morning I have been thinking about and reading from Hebrews 9:2-3, 5-7, 11-12, 15, 22, 24-25, 28 NIV:

[2] "A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. [3] Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,

[5] Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now. [6] When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. [7] But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

[22] In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

[11] But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. [12] He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.

[24] For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. [25] Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. [28] so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

[15] For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance---now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

I rearranged the order a bit to bring a bit more focus to certain things. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews does a great job of explaining the significance of the temple and the sacrifices offered there which served as a pattern that was fulfilled by Christ Jesus. The author also does a great job of explaining why it is only through Christ that salvation and eternal unity with the Father in Heaven is available. He calls Jesus the mediator of the covenant, and the word used there is the Greek word Mesites whose definition is "one who intervenes between two, either in order to make or restore peace and friendship, or form a compact, or for ratifying a covenant."

The within the temple and tabernacle is the Holy of Holies, the Most Holy Place, which is where the presence of God dwelt, and spoke. This represents Heaven. In the same way that man cannot enter Heaven bearing sin, the High Priest could not enter the Holy of Holies unless the were sprinkled with blood, which clean seed them of sin, providing forgiveness, so they could appear before God's presence without sin, and thus live.

Jesus, through His perfect sacrifice, entered Heaven for He was without sin, yet His blood was shed. His blood was not shed for himself, but rather for us all purchasing forgiveness for all who believe. It is His blood that covers us, that cleanses us and allows us to enter into the real Holy of Holies, that is Heaven itself. There is no other way, no other person, no many ways, there is only Jesus. You can't get into Heaven by being a nice person, by thinking good thoughts, the only way is through Jesus.

He is called the mediator because He offered Himself, and His blood as the means to restore relationship between us and the Father, the two parties mentioned in the definition. He took our place, took our sin upon himself, paid the price, poured out His blood for the forgiveness of all sin (Isa 53:4-12), and even now interceeds for us at the Father's right hand (Rom 8:34)!

Amen! Thank You Jesus!

Waiting On God To Move -2

So my meditation yesterday was a bit new to me, and somewhat helpful, at least to me ( see: http://amomentwithgod-srh.blogspot.com/2014/05/waiting-on-god-to-move.html). Thinking about the way the Lord allowed the normal course of human development and His previously ordained time-lines and such to influence the way in which He moved on earth, gave me a whole new perspective on the patience of the Lord. And more importantly, it gave me perspective on our own impatience. We so often think that because God can act in an instant, that He should act that way. We think that instantaneous response to prayer is what demonstrates His divinity, and to one extent we are correct, but He also clearly doesn't always respond that way.

When we reflect on the 30 years He waited to begin His ministry on earth, the fact that He became truly human, being born and developing like any of us, it is just amazing! Jesus was coming to earth bringing the single greatest revelation of the Father that the world would ever see this side of eternity, and He patiently waited for 30 more years, at the Father's direction, before revealing Himself. I was trying to think of an analogy, but nothing comes close, no gift we have ever received, no awesome surprise that we waited to receive even comes close to the massive revelation of love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness that Jesus bore. Yet, He lived a lowly life, starting as a baby, developing normally as any child, working as a carpenter, 'living a completely normal human existence for 30 years. He did such a great job of being human, that when He started ministry, his home town couldn't believe in Him, and couldn't figure out where He gained all the wisdom and understanding and authority. Here are some verses from Matthew that show their surprise:

Matthew 13:54-58 NIV
[54] "Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. [55] “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? [56] Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” [57] And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.” [58] And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith."

So why am I fixating on this point? I think it is really important that we gain an understanding of this particular way God chose to wait. This was the greatest message of all time, the most profound revelation, the single most important thing to happen between creation and the end of the world, and God sat on it for 30 years, and then when He started to reveal Himself, did so in a lowly manner. If He had this type of patience with this revelation, He might have some similar patience with other things He is doing in and through our lives. We are such a microwave, want it now culture, that for us waiting is unacceptable. I won't wait more than 30 minutes for a table at a restaurant, I don't like to wait in traffic, I don't like cooking meals that take more than 30 minutes to prepare, I don't like waiting more than a few minutes for someone to reply to my text, email is too slow sometimes so I use texting and even that is too slow for my liking. We want everything now, and yet God sometimes demonstrates great patience, allowing things to take a natural course, and if we don't understand that we may miss what He is doing, and may miss some of the greatest things He will ever do.

One of the things we need to understand about God is His patience. We need to learn to wait on Him, trusting in His timing, trusting in His faithfulness. For example, I was reading about the healing ministry of John G. Lake, and was amazed at the fact that they would sometimes pray daily for people to get healed, and sometimes they were healed on the 30th day. I was recently listening to Bill Johnson, Pastor of Bethel Church in Feeding, CA which is a church that regularly sees God move in healing and miracles, and he was saying that recently they have been receiving reports of people being healed after 2 years of praying for the same sickness. That is an amazing example of faith and persistence.

So often we associate a delay in the Lord's action as either a lack of will, or maybe attention on His part. The enemy tries to convince us that it is because God doesn't love us, or that we don't have enough faith, and that is why He isn't moving upon the situation. The problem with all of this is that our time perspective and understanding of the patience of God is off. Waiting 30 years to move didn't mean Jesus didn't love the world or wasn't paying attention. I imagine his heart was breaking for the pain and suffering he saw all those years while He waited for the Father's release, trusting Him completely. We need to learn to have faith and persistence for the long run, as Paul writes about training and persistence to win the crown (1 Cor 9:24-27) speaking of years of preparation and training. James speaks about the farmer waiting patiently for the land to yield its crop (James 5:7-8). We need to learn to lean into the Lord, and realize that His timing is perfect, and years of waiting doesn't mean He has forgotten or isn't going to move.

Going back to Jesus birth, and the prophecies spoken and signs that accompanied this event, it says in Luke 2:51-52 that Mary, "...his mother treasured all these things in her heart. [52] And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.". As I was reminded of those verse, I realized that this meant Mary was holding onto the promises of God concerning Jesus. For 30+ years she treasured in her heart the promise of God concerning her son Jesus, patiently waiting for the day He would fulfill His destiny, and the promises spoken to her and about Him. That is a very long time to hold onto a promise, waiting expectantly, trusting that all she had heard would come to pass. No where in the recorded revelation of the angel, or the prophecies of Simeon or Anna does God mention 30 years of waiting, yet she waited and trusted.

So my encouragement this morning is to realign my expectation of God, to include long times of waiting, knowing that He is still a actively engaged and planning to move. My encouragement is to dust off the promises that have been made, that haven't been fulfilled yet, and to let the Lord renew them to me. I am encouraged anew to realize that His delay doesn't mean He doesn't love me or plan to fulfill His promise. I am encouraged and renewed in my long prayers for healing for those that need His touch so desperately. I am encouraged that God will move, and I will treasure these promises until He does move!

Waiting On God To Move

The theme of reflection this week in my Ignatian exercises is the revelation of God, and how He chose to reveal Himself in Jesus. I was reading this morning though the first couple of chapters of Luke's Gospel, and was drawn back to a theme I have reflected on from time to time, namely the quietness of Jesus' life prior to His ministry. Not only was His life quiet, but so was John's prior to His release into ministry. What I find interesting is how God moved in power for both John's and Jesus' conception and clearly was moving on the earth, after about a 400 year drought, and then waited about 30 years before revealing them to the world. The following verses date the time of John's beginning ministry:

Luke 3:1-3 NIV
[1] "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar---when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene--- [2] during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. [3] He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."

One wonders about the purpose of the waiting, the time of quietness prior to their release into ministry. I include John for he was the last of the Old Testament prophets, and from the perspective of the Hebrew people, they had been waiting for a very long time for God to speak again through an prophet. The common belief is that the last prophetic book Malachi was written about 430BC, shortly after the return of Jews from their Babylonian exile. This is an incredible amount of time without a visitation of God, and I wonder if they were ravenous for a fresh word of God, or if their hearts had grown accustomed to the dryness.

Good question for us is how long has it been since we were stirred by a word of God for us? How long has it been since you felt the touch of God in your life? How have you responded to this time of quietness?

It is evident that there was a hunger in the land by the time John is released to preach the message of repentance, or turning back to God, for shortly after his ministry begins there crowds coming out to hear him speak. In Luke 3:15 it says "The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah." Clearly 430 years had not put out the fire of faith, for many people were waiting, and when John started speaking they knew he was from God.

So again I ask myself, why did God wait another 30 years or so from the time of Jesus birth to reveal to the world this new move on the earth?

I can think a of a few answers, and also draw from the writings of some of the commentaries I read. First, God chooses to work in both natural as well as supernatural ways. He could have just appeared as Jesus, as a human, but that would have caused us to question whether he became fully man, which was essential to the fulfillment if the law. He chose to come as a human, and to completely embrace our condition, down to being born of a woman. He didn't accelerate the natural process of pregnancy, but chose to limit Himself, to that which was already known and understood.

This is really a significant point, for so often we expect God to always work in supernatural ways, and yet in the birth of Jesus we find a very normal and natural birth (other than the external angelic announcements). God allows the natural to bring about the supernatural. He works within the confines of time, patiently allowing the natural course of things to work out. Jesus grew in stature and maturity as a normal child. So often we want to accelerate everything, to have Him move in power right now, and yet when the world desperately needed a savior, when it had been waiting for 400+ years, God still chose to be patient and take a low and slow approach. He allowed Jesus to become fully man, growing through his childhood, teen and even all His 20s, before He started to move and reveal himself. I wonder how many moves of God we are missing because we are looking for the supernatural, while God is patiently working things out in the natural? Clearly the Jews would have had a completely different response to Jesus, if He had come surrounded by all sorts of supernatural signs, kingly pomp and trappings, and miracles from the time of His coming, yet He chose to be born into a lowly life and live in relative obscurity until He turned 30.

The second possible reason that Jesus and John were not released into their ministry until their 30th year has to do with the law and also the life of David. The required that a priest be 30 (Num 4:2-3), and King David although anointed as King over Israel while still a youth, did not begin his actual reign until he was 30 (2 Sam 5:4). Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy concerning the reign of David's line, and so the parallelism was significant. Again we find God choosing to wait on the time lines He had previously established, rather than supernaturally accelerating things.

God sees all things, know all things and having an eternal perspective, is always perfectly on time. We must learn to flow in the ways of God, and understand that sometimes He will allow the natural course to set His timing. We must learn to see God at work in the natural, and enjoy the times He works in the supernatural.

Lord, open our eyes and hearts, and help us to see and know You more, and help s to learn to wait.

The Revelation of Jesus

The meditation this week is focused on God's view of the world, how He is involved, how He sees us and interacts with us, and has chosen to interact and reveal Himself to us. This is actually a pretty significant topic, for it is in recognizing God, and understanding how He works that we become more aware of His ways.

I was thinking of what verses to read to give me clearer insight into this theme and I was reminded of the Letter to the Hebrews. Here are two sets of verses that are helpful:

Hebrews 1:1-4 NIV
[1] "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. [3] The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. [4] So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs."

Hebrews 2:1-4 NIV
[1] "We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. [2] For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, [3] how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. [4] God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will."

Summarizing these two sets of verses, God has chosen to reveal Himself in the past through the prophets, but now through Jesus has revealed Himself fully, at least as much as we can grasp. Jesus is the exact representation of the Father, and is our savior and now sits on His throne. He announced salvation, redemption and restoration of relationship to the world, and the Father confirms His words through signs, wonders, miracles and the pouring forth of the Holy Spirit. We should pay most careful attention to that which Jesus revealed and said, that which we have come to understand, for His word and reality is superior to ours and that which is eternal and life giving.

Finishing this thought with a Quote from C.S.Lewis (via Bill Young)

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important." C. S. Lewis

Wealth and Prosperity

This morning I felt like I should read some verses from 1 Timothy. There are two sets of verses:

1 Timothy 6:3-5 NIV
[3] "If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, [4] they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions [5] and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain."

- and -

1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV
[17] "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. [18] Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. [19] In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."

It is clear the theme is financial gain and wealth this morning. Paul has two significant things to say. First, in verse 5 he makes it very clear that the idea that godliness is a means, or path to financial gain is devoid of the truth! This doesn't mean that God doesn't bless us, but it is directly opposing the prosperity gospel message that God wants to bring financial gain to all His followers, and the more you have the more He loves you and is pleased by you and your godliness. He says that those who think that way have a corrupt mind, and are robbed of the truth.

He also doesn't have a problem with wealthy people, as he indicates in verses 17-19. His only encouragement is that they do good with their resources. He encourages them to be generous and willing to share, to do good deeds. He doesn't command them to sell everything and give to the poor. The truth is that we need people with resources in the Body of Christ, in the church, to help provide for those without. He doesn't preach a redistribution of wealth, but rather a good deed and sharing focus. He does warn the wealthy against arrogance and pride, reminding them that God is ultimately the provider of all.

I think it is refreshing to hear balance and right perspective in this area of wealth and prosperity for so often this is an area of abuse, and wrong teaching. The church is not in place to make the pastor wealthy. There is not a requirement to sell all and embrace poverty to be holy. There is no special blessing on believers to make them wealthy. God loves us all and He provides for us all. He invites all of us, rich and poor to enter into relationship wth Him, and with the rest of the Body of Christ. He calls us to have compassion and mercy on each other, and as our hearts lead us, to share that which we have been given with those in need. The NIV translation, in verse 17 and 18, uses the word command, and that can give a wrong connotation to what Paul said. The Greek word can be translated that way, but its first definition means to give a message or instruction. In other words, it is not a hard command, but rather encouragement and instruction.

So let us think with a balanced perspective about wealth and prosperity. Let us recognize that the Lord is our provider, and let us do good deeds and share freely from what we have received.

Purveyors of Hope

Recently we got together with some friends and talked, catching up on each others lives. As the night wore on the conversation was a bit depressing, as we caught up on people, and revealed the pain and brokenness around us affecting so many. At one point my friend asked, "and what can we do about it?". Which I think is exactly the right question we should be asking. What can one person do to make a difference?

I think for me the answer is to be a beacon of hope and a fountain of life, God's life, to those I meet and those I know. We talked yesterday about a renewed mind being the ability to see things from God's perspective. When we are confronted with the pain and sorrow, we need to see it from His perspective, and then speak of the life and hope that He has for that person. Sometimes, it just takes a different perspective.

God never sees a hopeless situation, He never sees defeat or an unalterable situation, for He is the God of the impossible. In James 4:2b, he writes "You do not have because you do not ask God." That is what I must learn to do, when confronted with the hopeless, distraught, hurting, wounded, or depressed, I must learn to ask for God's perspective. That is what we must learn to do for each other, so that we can bring that light of hope, the change of mind-set.

We are called to be purveyors of hope, carriers of the Word of God, bringing His perspective! We must learn to ask "how does God see this situation?" And then speak that forth. We don't need to have the answers, we just need to introduce the One that does! As purveyors of hope we bring the belief that things can change, that things can be different. We bring to light God's belief that all can be saved and redeemed, and He is able. When Jesus was talking to the disciples about their not understanding, after having seen Him multiply the loves and fishes to feed thousands, He was encouraging them to start looking at life and the situations the way His Father did, for to Him all things are possible (Mark 8:17-21).

So I am encouraged today, to endeavor to look at the world, the people around me and to see with God's eyes, and to then speak that which I see from God's perspective. He is the God who loves us, who cares for us, and who is capable of all things.

Why Do We Follow Jesus?

This morning I am reading from John 6:1-2, 14-15 NIV:

[1] "Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), [2] and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick."

[14] "After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” [15] Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself."

These verses discuss an interesting dynamic, that of Jesus refusing to be exalted. He was gathering thousands of people, he was ministering miracles, signs and wonders, healing everyone, and yet he did the very thing that most men would ever do, He walked away. He walked away because He knew the thoughts of men, He knew they were misunderstanding His purpose and goal for being on the earth. They wanted to make Him king, which would have caused a major issue for both Romans who had Caesar and the Jewish people who had King Herod. In one way, Jesus was protecting the people, for they would have born the brunt of the reprisals, had they tried to make Jesus King.

I think the same type of thing happens when a person, especially a minister gains a level of recognition, and people flock to him, or her. This is an exceedingly difficult test, for so often we look at the greater numbers, and think they are impacting so many for the Lord, yet there is great danger for those that are gathered, as well as for the minister. If the Lord is not continually glorified, continually lifted up, the people can mistakenly put the minister on some sort of pedestal, or dais. This is very unhealthy and ultimately will lead to disappointment, wounding, betrayal, and even destruction. Jesus is the Lord, we are all just His vessels, through whom He chooses to move. We must be willing to lay down everything for the sake of our relationship with Him. He is more important than any ministry we do, any great work. He is the Lord of all, and everything we do should be at His direction and with His approval.

In this case, Jesus walked away, went to the other side of the lake, went to a different group of people. Interestingly, many of the previous group followed Him and when He saw them, He confronted them - "Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill." John 6:26. He knew what drew them, and it wasn't the healing or miracles, it was because He had fed them. They were willing to look right past the spiritual food, the healing of their bodies, minds and spirits, and going for that which would sustain them just for the day. There is a sad reality there. How often do we bypass that which is for our deeper need, so we can just satisfy our immediate need?

There is also an important point concerning why we follow Jesus, or why we pray to Jesus. Do we come to Him for the blessings He bestows? Do we expect Him to answer our prayers for stuff, and then get angry and abandon Him, when we don't get what we want? The purple of signs and wonders, healing, multiplication of food, is to draw people to the Lord, which is good, but the result is supposed to be relationship. We are called to deeper relationship, deeper purposes than just having our needs met. God loves to heal us, loves to bless us, but the purpose is for relationship, shared life.

So, let us pursue the Lord, for His sake, for the sake of deepening relationship. Let us seek Him, and His leadership, not the leadership of one of His messengers, one who ministers in His name. Let us be grateful for the blessings and immediate needs He provides, but let us press on into deep abiding relationship.

A New Heart and Spirit

The verses for my reflection this morning are from Ezekiel 36:25-28 NIV:

[25] "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. [26] I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. [27] And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. [28] Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God."

As I read these verses, I am amazed at how much God does, and how little I need to do. He will cleanse, He will purify, He will put a new spirit within me, He will give me a new heart, He will put His Holy Spirit within me to move me, I just need to cooperate. What a great deal! It is amazing that our flesh and will buck against this most awesome deal. Yet it is true, we don't want to be obedient, we long after things that are not good, not healthy, or downright sinful. We have the blessing of the Lord, passion for Him and His things available and yet we repeatedly choose the wrong path.

I don't know if its really a consolation, knowing that the nations of Israel and Judah struggled with exactly the same issues. This really is a divine romance, or a sad divine comedy. God is constantly drawing us, wooing us, speaking gently to us, extending us mercy and forgiveness. He has beautiful plans for us, purpose and destinies, and He offers it freely, only asking for affection and relationship in return (the divine romance). Yet, we continue to give ourselves to the opposite stuff, things that will hurt us, wound us, demean us, and ultimately kill us, the whole while seeking for life, meaning, purpose, love and belonging, which are the very things God offers us (this would be a comedy if it wasn't so sad).

Those of us who have found the Lord, and experienced His love, mercy and forgiveness still find ourselves wandering the paths of disobedience, which is equally sad. I am not sure how I find myself thinking that anything other than the Lord, and His plans are good, but I do. The good news, is that I recognize over and over again that I am choosing poorly and come back to the Lord, where He continues to extend mercy, forgiveness and grace. I am His, and He will never reject me nor forsake me. I am so grateful that He always forgives me, always maintains relationship, and is constantly calling me to the higher ground, to my destiny and purpose. He never gives up on me, never abandons me.

Lord, I am so grateful for the new spirit, the new heart and Your Holy Spirit which You put within me. I am so grateful that more and more I am choosing You and walking in Your purpose and calling. I am so glad that my life is more and more focused on You, for You are worthy of all my life. I pray that You will continue to stir the passions within me, to move me in accordance with Your will.

Bringing Back The Lost

The verses for meditation today come from the Gospel of Luke 15:1-7 NIV:

[1] "Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. [2] But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

[3] Then Jesus told them this parable: [4] “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? [5] And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders [6] and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ [7] I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."

I have always liked this story, and specifically the first two introductory verses, for they speak volumes about the attitude of Jesus toward the lost. As the Pharisees accurately said, "He welcomes sinners". Not only that, but He attracted them!

There are several churches that have taken up this model for church, being what is called seeker sensitive, and when I look at these verses, I can see the wisdom of the approach. We are meant to expand the Kingdom of God, and to do that we need to reach those that aren't in the Kingdom. To do that we need to find ways to attract them.

I don't know that personally I would want to go for that model of church, but the basics of what really must be included in all churches is clear, it is about relationship with Jesus, and drawing people relationally. They gathered to eat and drink, and talk, and listen. These are things that the vast majority of people in the world are comfortable doing, and these situations open the doors relationally. If I wanted to introduce one friend to another, I would do it over a meal or coffee, often times at home or in some public setting where both would be comfortable.

Where the seeker sensitive church approaches this thinking programmatically, I would approach it at a personal level. If we look at the directions that Jesus gave to the disciples when He sent them out, it was focused on establishing relationships, staying with the same person the whole time they were in the town - see the following verses:

Matthew 10:6-8, 11: "Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. [7] As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ [8] Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. [11] Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave."

The focus at that time was the lost sheep of Israel, and that is whom Jesus is speaking about in the verses we started out with from Luke. These are people who were raised with an understanding of God, a lifestyle of religion, but who didn't recognize Him, or understand the relational opportunity they had with God. They had lost their way, were starving and thirsty. He wanted to bring them back to the true source of life and nourishment. Later, first through Peter and then Paul, the Gospel message was expanded to include the gentiles, and for that I am eternally grateful.

So drawing this all together, at least in my mind, there is in the Lord a call to reach to those who are lost sheep of the church, those that once knew their way, were once part of the flock, but have now become lost or separated from the church (clearly not saying that reaching the lost, who never knew God, is a wrong focus). The heart of the Lord is certainly on them, and there is great rejoicing in the Heavens when one is brought back. The way to do it is through invitation and relationship, feasting and conversation. Showing them, allowing them to see there is more than religion, that there is rich relationship with the Lord.

If one wants to get really controversial, one could dig deeper into where the focus of the Lord was in this story, for it clearly wasn't with the 99 other sheep, but was focused on the lost one. I won't go there, but it does cause one to stop and ponder where should I be putting my focus? Clearly this is just one of many stories that Jesus shared, and as such can not become a theological position on its own, but I do think there is a legitimate calling of the Lord to this type of ministry. His heart aches for the lost sheep, those who have lost their way, those who knew the Good Shepherd, but have some how become separated and can no longer hear His voice.

Lord, help us to find the lost sheep and bring them back to You!

Neither Do I Condemn

This morning the verses for reflection are from John 8:3-11 NIV:

[3] "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group [4] and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. [5] In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” [6] They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.

[7] When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” [8] Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. [9] At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. [10] Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

[11] “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

I have always been intrigued by this story, as the situation was such a dangerous one for the Lord. As I think about it this morning, I can see the hand of Satan all over this trap, trying to accuse the God of being an angry, punishing God, trying to force Jesus' hand to either negate the law of Moses or to standby and let this women be killed, and thus have blood on His hands. He did neither, and instead turned the question back on the accusers and they all left the scene - it was a brilliant, if nothing else, tactic.

More importantly, it was about the life and salvation of the woman. I think about another verse from John 3:17 where Jesus says, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." Jesus was demonstrating that truth here, not condemning her but saving her. He will judge all men, but this was not the time. Her life, like the life of every sinner, could still be redeemed, and she could repent and be saved. That was His invitation to her, and although we have no proof in scripture that she did repent and leave her life of sin, I certainly believe she did, for she had encountered the Son of God.

I am so encouraged by the mercy of God, by His individual care and concern, by His forgiveness and compassion, and by the fact that He took upon Himself, as Jesus, my sins, and paid for them all with His blood. In this case as well, He paid for her sin, and this helps to put a face on the sin and the payment required. Her punishment would have been stoning, a brutal and bloody way to die, and Jesus paid with His blood on the cross.

This payment and punishment is described in Isaiah 53:5-6 NIV:

[5] "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. [6] We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."

And again in Colossians 2:13-14 NIV:

[13] "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, [14] having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross."

So, let us be grateful this day, for the forgiveness and mercy of God, for we had all gone astray, and every day we need His new mercies. Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV: [22] "Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. [23] They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Amen!

We Were Once Lost

This morning I am reading out of the Gospel of Luke 18:9-14 NIV:

[9] "To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: [10] “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. [11] The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people---robbers, evildoers, adulterers---or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

[13] “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

[14] “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

When I read these verses, I am reminded of the verse from James 2:13, "Mercy triumphs over judgment." That is so clearly evident in this story, for the Pharisee comes before God judging others, while the tax-collector just pleads for mercy. One has misunderstood the heart of God, the other is aware of his need for a merciful God.

I think these verses demonstrate an important theme for all of us in the Body of Christ, namely that we must never lose sight of our own humble state. We would all be condemned if not for the gift of mercy, grace and forgiveness from the Lord. We would all be lost except that He called our names, and drew us out of the darkness and deception we lived under. We are the results of God's actions, not our own, and the only righteousness we have comes from Jesus. For us to look down on the lost, the lowly, the sinner, those who have not yet responded to the Lord, is foolish, for we were exactly like them, we were once lost.

Amen Lord, Thank You for Your mercy.

Obeying Into Weakness

Yesterday we were listening to a sermon by Bill Johnson where he was speaking about radical obedience and the effect it can have on our lives, and how the Lord responds. This morning, the verses I am reading are related as they are talking about obedienceand God's ability in the midst of our lack or weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:6-10 NIV:
[6] "Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, [7] or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. [8] Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. [9] But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. [10] That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

This is another set of verses that most us would prefer were not in the Bible, if we were honest. Talking about one's weakness, one's embracing weakness, insults, hardships, difficulties and persecutions is not something we like to do. In fact our natural inclination is the opposite. We would rather boast about our awesome experiences in God and inspire people forward with stories of God's awesomeness, with our miraculous redemption from a former way of life, into the abundant blessings of God - none of which is bad. Paul, however, has recognized that there is a different level, an understanding of the nature of the God, and the limitations in our humanness that really only comes from the place of weakness or extreme need.

Again, just as a note - this kind of talk might not be welcome in the prosperity gospel crowd, or the word of faith crowd, as they often see weakness, difficulties, troubles and hardships as either the attack of the enemy or a sure sign that you are walking outside the will of God. The truth is that sometimes the Lord will use difficult times to teach us about His great love, mercy, compassion and provision. That is what Paul speaks of here, and what Bill Johnson was discussing as well. Bill was describing how sometimes the Lord calls us into place where our obedience leads us into uncomfortable places of need. It is important to note that he was speaking about obedience to a Word from God, not just poor judgement on our part.

The example that Bill used to describe this whole area came from 1 Kings 17, where Elijah was fed by a widow who had to give up her last bit of flour and oil, to receive a miraculous supply of flour and oil for the next year, for the jars never ran dry. My guess is that the jars didn't fill up either, they just always looked like they had just one meal left in them. Another great example of this is when the Lord asks the apostles to feed the crowds, and they ask a boy with some loaves and fish to give them up, which obviously was his own lunch, or dinner. In both of these examples the Lord invited the people to willingly step into hunger, into real need, prior to releasing His blessing. It is one thing to give out of the overflow or over abundance of our stuff, it is a completely different experience to give in such a way that we must now depend on the blessing of the Lord just to eat. As Paul recounts this, he provides the answer to his many questions with the statement the Lord gave them. The Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ”

For Paul, ultimately his obedience led to his being sent in chains to Rome, but in all that the Lord worked through him in power and authority. In Bill's case, the Lord gave him a word that He was going to provide Bill a new home, much larger than his present home, in response to that, and some additional guidance from the Lord, he and his wife gave away their old house, and ended up living in a smaller condo for three years before the Lord opened the way for them to move into the house that has been prophesied. The fruit of radical obedience is often a period of testing and trial and difficulty where they are tested in their belief in the Lord. From the outside, well meaning brothers and sisters will say or think that the ones living out the radical obedience are crazy for doing what they did. Paul was a continually warned that his obedience would lead to him being bound and led where he didn't want to go, yet he persisted, because He had a word from the Lord. It is as if in every city Paul's dedication to following the express word of the Lord was tested. For the widow, it was every morning as she poured out the last bit of oil and flour, for Bill the testing was in being grateful for less than what he had, but still believing in the promised house.

On the other side, there will be those who out of religious fervor try to press the Lord into things He didn't say, by taking radical steps or actions. This is not an area to be taken lightly, or steps to take on just a single thought from the Lord, or single verse received in prayer. These are things the Lord draws us into, and often times warns us about ahead of time of the cost, things that even very mature believers will be challenged by. The Lord loves the one who is running after Him with fervor and passion, and I do not want to dissuade that in anyone, but rather am trying to provide some guidance. In my experience, if the Lord is calling someone to this place, He will make make it very clear, and will often times provide warning statements as He did to Paul (Acts 20:22-24). That being said, there is a definite biblical precedence for this type of experience in the Lord, so let us encourage one another, give grace to those who are pressing into the Lord, and not judge those who are in the time between the promise and fulfillment of the promise. It is in these places of weakness and need that power of Christ will rest upon us (2 Cor 12:9).

Overcoming a Lack of Belief

I felt led to read from Mark 9:21-25 this morning:

[21] "Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. [22] “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

[23] “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

[24] Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

[25] When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

I love the humility of the father's response in verse 24. I think this is true for all of us, we believe, but we can always grow more in our belief, because there is some level of unbelief in us. We haven't seen everything that God can do, and so when confronted with something new, some new need, we often respond in unbelief, or wondering if God could or would act - which is the same thing. We all can grow in our understanding and experience of the Lord, and the more we see the more we believe.

Adversely, some people take Jesus' statement in verse 23 and turn it into a theology that blames unanswered prayers on the belief of the individual who is praying. It is important to note that Jesus didn't require the father to belief any more before He healed the child, He didn't chastise the father for his lack of faith, rather He healed the boy and gave him to his father. I dare say that after that event the father had more belief than previously, and Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit had answered that man's prayer and helped him overcome his unbelief.

There are so many great examples of Jesus healing people, where their belief or faith is never mentioned. We often want to figure out some equation of action and belief that results in answered prayers every time, and the Lord just doesn't work that way. Sometimes, Jesus says your faith has a healed you, (Matt 9:22) sometimes He forgives sins (Matt 9:2), others times He never mentions sin or faith (Matt 8:15), one time He heals a blind man by touching him (Matt 9:29), another blind man by spitting in the dirt rubbing it in his eyes (John 9:6-7), another by spitting in his eyes (Mark 8:23-26). Sometimes Jesus heals all the sick that are brought to Him (Matt 8:16) and another time he walks into a room of sick people and heals one man (John 5:1-15). We are mistaken to try and develop a theology around one verse or one statement, as we must look at all the examples that Jesus gave us, and recognize that it is walking in perfect step with the Father that will increase our success in praying for people.

I love reading about some of the men and women who have had successful healing ministries. One of my favorites is John G. Lake, who ministered in the USA extensively in the late 1800's up to 1935. He had an amazing gift of healing, and as he got older and looked at his life and his desire to see everyone healed that he prayed for. He never saw that level of success and in explaining this, he stated, it must be within himself, not the people, that the faith or understanding was lacking, for Jesus healed everyone that was brought to Him, regardless of the level of faith, sin, or understanding. It is for this similar understanding that I love the statement of the father in verse 24, he believed, but he knew that he could grow in his belief. That is a very honest position to take. He didn't know what to do, but he knew the one who did. He didn't give up, helpless at his own lack of belief, but persisted out of love for his son.

We would be wise to take a similar approach in recognizing our own lack, and ask the Lord to help us overcome this in our lives.

Mother's Day - I am Blessed

A fitting set of verses for today from Proverbs 31:10-12, 15, 20, 22, 25-31 NIV:

[10] "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
[11] Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
[12] She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
[15] She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.
[20] She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
[22] She makes coverings for her bed (I assume this means quilting); she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
[25] She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
[26] She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
[27] She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
[28] Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
[29] “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”
[30] Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
[31] Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

I must say that I am exceptionally blessed to have both a Mother and a wife who have noble character, and have blessed me and loved me.

My mother has been a great source of inspiration in my life. She is one who worked everyday to feed and nourish her family, who was always there to love and comfort us, who taught us the value of family, the value of discipline and dedication, creativity in the kitchen, successful parenting. She sewed, cooked, cleaned, did the laundry, often in less than modern environments, and yet she always amazed me with her consistency, strength and love. Much of who I am today is because of my mother. Thank You Mom!

The rest of my refinement is due to my lovely wife, and mother of my children. She is truly one in a gazillion, and I am forever blessed. I am so blessed to have a wife who continues to amaze me daily with her love and care, her capacity for love and affection for all, her smile and generosity, her peaceful and sweet spirit, her dedication and loyalty, her strength and endurance, her listening and empathy, her love for the Lord, her sense of humor and willingness to laugh at herself, her care and concern for our children, her support of me, her encouragement, her resiliency, and her lovable personality. I have been married to her more than half my life and I couldn't be happier. Thank You sweetheart for all you do!

Thank You Lord for the gift of these amazing women in my life. I am a better man because of them, and I am blessed beyond measure.

The Least of These...

This morning the verses for meditation come from Matthew 25:31-33, 41-46 NIV:

[31] “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. [32] All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. [33] He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

[41] “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. [42] For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, [43] I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

[44] “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

[45] “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ [46] “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. ”

The focus of the Ignatian exercises I have been going through for the last few weeks has been on my own selfishness and sinfulness, never fun topics, and I think something we spend less time thinking about than we should. I know in my life, maybe because I am an optimist, liking to focus on the positive things, I spend very little time thinking about my own actions and how they might affect myself or others negatively. I spend even less time thinking about how my absence or lack of action might affect others or myself. The last 5 verses aren't even underlined in my Bible!

These verses are meant to make me think, make me examine my life and see how my perspective is not the same as the Lord's, so that I can change to take on His perspective, and more importantly His actions. Yesterday I was looking at Jesus' comments about being sent to the sinners and being a light to those in darkness. In these verses, He takes the conversation up a notch and identifies the eternal significance of our actions, or lack of action. In Catholic services we ask forgiveness for the things we have done and the things we have failed to do, and that is exactly what Jesus is pointing to here.

There are plenty of good ministries out there that allow us to get involved with the "least of these" making a difference in many lives and enabling us to follow Jesus example. These are great opportunities and things we should support with our time, actions and money. I think that Jesus wouldn't stop there though, but would press on with us to see our hearts truly changed, that ministry to the least of these would flow naturally out of who we are and what we believe.

This is also not a command to do everything for everyone, for not even Jesus did that. When He healed the man at the pool of Bethesda, He walked right by a room of sick people. He did what the Father showed Him to do, and so should we. The charge is more to do that which the Father shows us to do, to actually ask for direction and then act upon the direction. Finally it is about our heart. Care of others comes from our own sense of gratitude and understanding how much we have been given. As Jesus says, "freely we have received, so freely give" (Matt 10:8). Our heart and our actions should be in unison, and our actions most effectively show what we really believe - James 2 paraphrase.

Lord help me to look at my life and recognize the opportunities for change, and then act on those opportunities. Help me to see the "least of these" and recognize their significance and treat them as I would treat You.

Light To The Lost

The verse for meditation this morning comes from the Gospel of Mark 2:13-17 NIV:

[13] "Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. [14] As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

[15] While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. [16] When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

[17] On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

These verses are so encouraging, in that we see Jesus openly ministering among the sinners. Last Sunday we were talking about how Jesus is not offended by or uncomfortable with sinners. He is not looking for the perfect, the person wth their act together, the one who is convinced of their own righteousness by way of some works or religious observance (Pharisee), rather He is looking for those who need forgiveness. He was sent for all who are sinners, and that being the case is totally at home among them.

I remember another meditation I had concerning these verses, or similar ones, that Jesus went to the sinners homes. He did experience many of them coming to him to hear Him speak, but He also went to their houses and visited wth them and their friends. He was not willing to let them come to Him, he went to where they lived. If the church is going to effectively represent Jesus, we need to learn to do the same.

There is sometimes a focus in the church on separating ourselves from the world, making sure that the world doesn't influence us, that we might be holy and pure. The focus can become so extreme, that there becomes a fear of associating with sinners lest some of there sinfulness taint us. I think Jesus clearly demonstrated that this was not His ministry style, nor should it be ours.

I am so grateful that Jesus called me while I was yet a sinner, and that is the case for all of us, we were called while we were yet sinners. The church must learn to do the same, and must learn to be comfortable around sinners, that they might see the light of love that burns within us. We must learn to visit them where they live, to show them their significance, and lead them to the life that is eternal. As Jesus says, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matt 5:16NIV.

Thoughts On Sin And Forgiveness

The meditation for today is on Psalm 51:1-17 NIV:

[1] "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
[2] Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
[3] For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
[4] Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
[5] Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
[6] Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
[7] Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
[8] Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
[9] Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
[10] Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
[11] Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
[12] Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
[13] Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.
[14] Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
[15] Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.
[16] You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
[17] My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."

This such a beautiful psalm, and it is surprising to me in a few ways. It was written by David after his adultery with Bathsheba, and murder of Uriah. Most of the verses are actually focused on the mercy of God and his forgiveness, rather than wretchedness of David himself as a sinner, adulterer and murderer. He has a simple recognition of his sin, and the reality of the seriousness. David acknowledges his sin and his state, in verse 4 he writes, "...so You are right in Your verdict and justified when You judge." David isn't trying to blame shift, to side-step his own guilt, but when confronted He admitted and recognized his sin, and the fact that he rightfully deserved judgement.

Another interesting note, is that David did not try to earn his way back into favor. There is not action plan of redemption, no re-earning the Lord's trust, but rather a simple acknowledgment, and contrition for his sins. Most of the heavy-lifting in this situation was on God's side. David knew there was nothing he could do to re-earn His trust, or to earn His forgiveness, rather he depended on God's compassion and loving kindness.

I was just thinking about forgiveness and the incredible gift that it is in our lives. Forgiveness from God and forgiveness from one another. There is a conscious choice that is made to cancel the debt of sin, to restore relationship and to choose love. Sorrow and contrition are important on the one side, the sinners side, but the one who has been sinned against must choose to forgive. Forgiveness is not so much a feeling, as an active, conscious choice. The feeling of forgiveness seems to me to be the restoration of relationship and renewal of trust, or the healing of the wound caused by the sin.

One other note, forgiveness is not always about sin, but can also be related to unintentional wounding. Again, the one who wounds another must express sorrow and contrition, but that is usually after they have been confronted, or made aware of how they hurt someone else. We can easily hurt someone and be completely unaware. Our words can be received completely differently then they were meant, we can interfere, cause trouble, fall short of expectations, all without any conscious knowledge.

In the same way we can actually be sinning in many areas of our lives and be completely unaware, due to a lack of knowledge, or understanding. When we first come to the Lord, we have little or no knowledge of His purpose or plans for our life, nor of His law or will. In the same way when we first enter into any relationship, we don't know the other person's sensitive areas, where they are easily wounded or hurt. We may be doing something that is completely wrong, and not know it at all. One of the things that is interesting in reading the Catholic saints, especially those that focus on the internal struggle, the closer they get to God the more they are aware of their own sinfulness. They become aware of things they have been doing wrong their entire life, but until they have revelation from God, they had no idea. I find this is the case in all our lives, that the deeper we go in the Lord, the more areas He touches and the more areas we understand need to change, because we are outside His will for us. We could just choose to never grow deeper and thus remain unaware, nor is this an invitation to remain naive about sin in our life. In reality we must understand the flow of revelation, and how it related to an awareness of sin, and the see the grace we must extend to ourselves and others as we potentially all operate at different levels of revelation.

Another important thought, there is a huge difference between the sins that we knowingly commit and those we commit unknowingly. Sin is sin, and the Greek word that is most often translated as sin, actually means to miss the mark. In other words, anytime we miss the mark, miss God's will or purpose, we are sinning. Sometimes we knowingly are sinning, other times we are sinning, missing the mark, and have no idea. The Catholic description of sins had something called venial sins, sins that were not serious. I think this is somewhat related to those sins that we are unconsciously committing, although not completely as we could be committing some serious sin, just completely unaware that it is sin. Anyway, I think the Lord, considers our heart, our conscious choice, in the same way that we would consider the conscious choice a loved one or acquaintance makes in doing something they know will hurt us, but still chooses to do that very thing. It is the conscious choice to sin that I think the Lord considers serious, for this is outright rebellion and rejection. We may not think we are trying to hurt God, but we are saying we don't want to follow him, or that we like anther plan for our life better than His.

Lord, my desire is to live my life within Your plan and purpose for me, as well as to live in such a way that I am not hurting others. Help me to grow in revelation, and strength of will to consciously choose the right path always.

Scripture and Revelation

Last night one of the topics we discussed was interpreting the Bible, and how to read it and understand it. One of the things that I believe, and that is demonstrated literally in scripture, is the progressive nature of the revelation about God found in scripture. In other words, if you don't fully understand who God is and what He is like, you may not be able to perfectly and accurately communicate His motivation for His actions. We know this is experience personally, as I know there are many times my perspective about a person's actions and motivation completely changes once I get to know them. This is clearly the case with our parents as we grow up and gain a more mature perspective of their actions and motivations, we come to understand why they did what they did, and often find ourselves doing the same or very similar things, things we might have detested as a child.

In the same way the authors of scripture, especially the old testament were growing in their understanding of God, and their language reflects that growing revelation. When I read my journals from years ago, I see many areas where I have grown in my understanding and knowledge of the ways of God. This doesn't negate my earlier views, or what I felt that God was saying to me at the time, for God knew my mind, knew how I thought about Him and related to me in ways that I could understand. As I have matured, I have adjusted my thoughts to more closely align to what He has revealed to me. He hasn't changed, it is my thinking that has changed. How He addresses me has changed, as well, as I have grown. Again, using the example of parents and children, I don't talk to my son, now that he is 23, like I did when he was three. Conversely, I didn't talk to him like a young-adult when he was three. My language and conversation with him has changed as he has grown and matured. One could argue that I have changed and that is why I talk differently to my son, and that is true of me, but that is not true of God. He is I Am. He is the same always. He is the one who was, who is and is to come. He is the same today as always and eternally He will be.

So as we read the scriptures, we must understand that our understanding over time can change. We also must understand that the revelation the authors had in the old testament was limited. As I wrote a couple of days ago, Jesus is the perfect representation of the Father and we must always interpret the Old Testament through the revelation of Jesus. Also, we must understand that we will never fully comprehend or understand God fully, for His ways are above our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts (paraphrase of Isaiah 55). That being said, we also must understand that God knows our limitations and has mercy on us, and speaks to us within the limitations of our understanding.

Applying this to scripture interpretation, we can see the evidence of limited understanding in the response of both the disciples and the Pharisees to the revelation provided by Jesus. One of the reasons the Pharisees didn't accept Jesus is that He didn't fit their expectations of the messiah. They had studied scripture and knew the prophecies concerning the Messiah, yet totally misunderstood the real meaning of those prophecies. The disciples were constantly thinking that Jesus was going to overthrow the Romans and establish His kingdom here on earth. Again, these thoughts were based on the revelation or understanding they had at the time.

Another great example is the revelation of the throne of God, as described in scripture. The perspective changes from Isaiah to Ezekial to John in the Book of Revelations (Isaiah 6:1-13, Ezekial 1:1-28, Revelations 1:9-20) One thing that doesn't change is their inability to describe with words, what they experienced and saw. The best they can do is say it is like something else we can understand. One day we will see for ourselves and then our revelation of Heaven will be much better than it is now.

So how do we approach the reading of scripture? How do we work within the constraints of our own limited understanding? How do we deal with others who think differently or teach differently. First we must settle in our hearts that Scripture is part of God's revelation of who He is to us. What is written is the Word of God. This is not the complete revelation of who God is, for words cannot possibly, or adequately describe the eternal, infinite creator of all things. We must read the old Testament with an understanding of who God is, as revealed by Jesus. We must read, seek to understand, and prayerfully meditate on the Word of God, for this must become our frame of reference for our interactions with God, His conversations with us. We must give others the grace to be on the same journey of revelation that we are on, recognizing that there are those further along in their revelation of God, and those just starting out. We must learn to dive deeper into who God is, knowing how He thinks, how He acts and how He loves us and others. We must mediate on the life of Jesus, for He is the perfect revelation of the Father.

Arguing about certain words, certain ideas and facts contained in scripture, while sometimes helpful, really distracts us from the real purpose, that of revealing to us the nature and character of God. That doesn't mean we don't try to understand the correct interpretation of the words, don't endeavor to clearly understand the truth contained in Scripture, or don't believe and understand all that is written in Scripture. What is does mean is that our study must always lead us to Him, to understanding Him. If we are stumbling over something that we don't understand, move on and the Lord will bring you back to that point later, when you can understand it. It is impossible to intellectually know all about Scripture and settle everything in our mind, without knowing God, and that is the whole purpose of Scripture, to bring us to relationship with Him.

So let us pursue God together, encouraging each other, sharing with each other our revelations of God, and give each other grace t think differently and understand differently from each other. Let us dive into scripture with the purpose of coming into deeper relationship with God. Let us pursue God in relationship, knowing that He is pursuing us.