Set Free to Become Who We Really Are...

This morning I was thinking about how important it is to understand how the Lord sees us. I was immediately reminded of the Samaritan woman that Jesus met at the well (John 4). I believe that Jesus was on a mission from the Father to meet with her, and it was because of who the Father knew she was inside. I believe that it was Jesus' job was to release her into her true identity.

There are a few things to know before reading these excerpts:

1) The only way the woman could have had 5 husbands was if they died, or divorced her - either of these would have given her a bad reputation.
2) She was likely out to the well at midday, when it was hottest, because she was shunned by the community.
3) The Samaritans followed the Law of the Jews for the most part, so by living with a man who was not her husband, she was considered a sinner.

Here are some select verses:

John 4:4-7, 9-19, 28-30, 39-41 NIV

[4] "Now he had to go through Samaria. [5] So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. [6] Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

[7] When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”

[9] The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. )

[10] Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

[11] “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? [12] Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

[13] Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, [14] but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

[15] The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

[16] He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

[17] “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. [18] The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

[19] “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.

[28] Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, [29] “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” [30] They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

[39] Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” [40] So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. [41] And because of his words many more became believers.

Thinking back over this story, seeing who she was before her meeting with Jesus and who she became after meeting Jesus, it is clear this is a great example of someone being released from a wrong perspective of who they are.

She was likely living up to other's beliefs and expectations of who she was, or how they viewed her. Regardless of whether her husbands died or were divorcing her, she was going to be considered an undesirable, maybe even tainted individual, the term "used goods" comes to mind. She was living with a man who wasn't her husband, and knew that was wrong, but what other option did she have, having been married five times?

She was likely living with the only man who would take her, which says much about her state of mind and belief about herself. More than likely she was living under a blanket of shame, and was out at the well in the heat of the day so she could go there in peace, and not feel so bad about herself. Life hadn't turned out the way she thought and she didn't like being reminded of that every day. She hasn't abandoned her faith completely, but certainly couldn't see how her present life connected to God at all, certainly not as a sinner.

Yet when we look at God's perspective, the Father sent Jesus there to meet her. There were no coincidences in Jesus life. He said later in John that everything He did and said was at the direction of the Father (John 12:49 & John 14:10-11). So Jesus was at that well on that day at the specific direction of the Father, and even though verse four is correct from a geographic sense, I believe that this verse was actually speaking about the Father's direction that Jesus must go through Samaria.

Anyway, we come to the interaction of Jesus and the woman, and He starts the conversation, which startles the woman, for as she said Jews and Samaritans did not associate with each other. Jesus starts the conversation because He is trying to draw her out and ultimately set her free. He sues the very thing she seeks, water, to draw here into deeper conversation, and reveal what she really needs. She was desperate for love and acceptance, was willing to live with a man in sin, just so she could feel someone cared for her. She needed to know there was more to life than what she had experienced, and Jesus continues to draw her into that realization.

Finally He reveals Himself to her and by this time she is changed, overflowing already with the living water of salvation. She is so completely changed that she hurries back to town and starts telling me very one about Jesus, encouraging them to meet Him! Gone is the shame, in fact she uses His uncovering of her sins as an example of His ministry. She has been released from all that bound her in the lies and deception of who she was, and instead she steps fully into who The Father saw her as from the beginning. She is one of the most successful early evangelists we see, for on her word alone many had already believed in Jesus (verse 39) and many more came to believe because they encountered Jesus for an themselves, because of her words. Imagine, in one afternoon she went from being the shame of Sychar to being the conduit for its salvation!

This was her true identity, who she was and who the Father created her to be. Her life wasn't wasted, her sins and failures didn't define her, instead she was redeemed and restored by Jesus. The Father has the exact same heart for each of us, desiring to release us from anything that keeps us from being the person He created us to be. He has a plan to encounter us, to draw us and ultimately set us free. Regardless of our sin, our shame, our failures, our disappointments, He accepts us, loves us and offers us freedom and restoration.

Let us experience for ourselves that moment of revelation of Jesus as did the woman - John 4:25-26 NIV:
[25] "The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
[26] Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you---I am he.”

Amen, come Lord Jesus!

Set Free From That Which Binds

This morning I am reading from Luke 13:10-17 NIV:

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

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

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

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

This is a great story about the compassion of the Lord, free of any trappings of discussion around whose faith resulted in the miracles, or other stuff. This is simply Jesus loving and having compassion on a woman who was bound. He doesn't mention her faith, the faith of anyone else, or her sin or forgiveness or anything else that we often try to use to describe why Jesus heals, creating some sort of formula. Rather Jesus heals her because His heart is moved to heal her. He recognizes the fact that she is bound by a demonic force and breaks it's bonds and sets the woman free. Amen!

It is also such an interesting response from the religious leaders, who associated healing with work, and thus thought it should banned on the Sabbath. They didn't have room in their narrow perspective of what worship was supposed to look like to allow for God to move in their midst. They were so worried about the program and making sure that people followed the rules that they completely lost sight of the fact that it was all supposed to bring Glory to God. Here was Jesus bringing Glory to God by setting this woman free and they were upset. They wanted people to come any other day for healing, just not the Lord's day! Crazy!

I see in this reaction a similar focus on program and flow in our churches today. One wonders how many of our churches and leaders would get bent out of shape by someone breaking the rules or interrupting the flow of the service to heal someone? How many churches conduct prayer for people in another room so as not to interrupt the flow of the service, if they even pray at all? How many of us would get angry if someone raised their voice out of turn, or interrupted the song, by yelling praises to God? How many of us would judge the woman as crazy, or just having another emotional outburst? How many of us would be embarrassed by such unsettling behavior?

Lord, let our hearts be burdened to see You move, to see You glorified, to see You magnified in our churches and in our lives! We want to make Your day about You and give You freedom to be Yourself, doing what You want to do on every Sunday and every other day of the week. We want to see the outflowing of the river of life, rather than worship by the stream bed of a stream long dried up! We want to honor You as the Living God active now, rather than the one who used to walk on the earth. Lord set us free from the chains that bind us and bind our thinking!

Getting Out of Boats and Such

This morning I am reading from the Gospel of Matthew 14:22-36 NIV:

[22] "Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. [23] After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, [24] and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

[25] Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. [26] When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

[27] But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

[28] “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

[29] “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. [30] But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

[31] Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

[32] And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. [33] Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

[34] When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. [35] And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him [36] and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed."

There is so much happening here, its tough to focus on a single important point, so here are a few observations.

1. This whole thing was a setup by the Lord. He sent the apostles in the boat ahead of Him. How was He going to catch up to them? He knew what was coming, an was unafraid, and not willing that the Apostles would miss this experience.

2. They were doing something they knew (traveling by boat), but the Lord was going to grow their faith, and give them an encounter with the power of the Holy Spirit. They were struggling along in their own power and it wasn't going well, then Jesus came walking up and everything changed.

3. Peter was the only one willing to get out of the boat, or even really speak up to the Lord. My guess is everyone of them wanted to walk on the water too, but only Peter had the opportunity, because he requested it of the Lord.

4. The rest of the apostles missed the opportunity because they were mired in fear, overwhelmed by it. Fear is one of the enemies of faith.

5. Peter started sinking when he became fearful. Jesus asked him why he doubted and the root of the Greek word translated doubt is the Greek word that means twice. In other words Peter thought twice about what he was doing, and started to sink. I think Jesus was less rebuking Peter's doubt as He was disappointed in Peter. He had stepped out of the boat in faith, was making huge faith strides and then fear came in and caused him to sink. Regardless of any disappointment, Jesus immediately saved him and escorted him back to the boat.

If you have started out something in faith, but now are experiencing some waves and wind of opposition, do not stop, do not think twice and give into fear. The Lord won't let you flounder, but He would rather have you keep walking!

6. When the Lord stepped into their boat the opposing wind died down immediately. Nature does not resist the presence of the Lord. The breath of the Holy Spirit (Greek word Pneuma) is more powerful than the natural wind (Greek word Anemos).

7. The Father was glorifying Jesus in this instance. There was no way the apostles could witness this and think that He was an ordinary man. This is one of those miracles for which there is no natural explanation. The Sea of Galilee has a steady slope downward and at any point East to West it drops sharply to depths that more than 30ft.

8. When Jesus hit land people immediately recognized Him and started bringing people to him to be healed. All who touched even His cloak were healed. There was a strong Spirit of Faith rising up among the people concerning healing. It was awesome how people weren't satisfied with just keeping the healing for themselves, but immediately called everyone they and all who came were healed. Praise God!

Anyone of the above points is worth meditating on and letting the Lord speak to us. Lord thank You for the clear example of Your sovereignty over everything! You clearly do have great plans for us! Some of us just need to get out of the boat and trust, others just need to wait on the Lord's timing to free us from the opposing wind, and some of us just need Him to reveal himself to us in a more sovereign way.

Lord, Thank You for Your word which is alive and bringing life even in these dark days.

A Bit of Encouragement

This morning I needed some encouraging words. I felt like I should read from Proverbs 21:2-3, 5, 21, 23, 30 NIV:

[2] "A person may think their own ways are right,
but the Lord weighs the heart.

[3] To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

[5] The plans of the diligent lead to profit
as surely as haste leads to poverty.

[21] Whoever pursues righteousness and love
finds life, prosperity and honor.

[23] Those who guard their mouths and their tongues
keep themselves from calamity.

[30] There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
that can succeed against the Lord."

Good stuff to think upon, good stuff to plant in my heart!
Thank You Lord for Your faithfulness and Your mercy and compassions.
You do understand our human frailty, our condition,
and You love us exactly where we are at this moment.
Your love in never ending and You fill our lives with joy.
Walking in Your ways will bring peace and blessing!
Help me to stand on Your Word, for it never fails.
Your plan will stand, none can thwart You.
As the old song says, "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow"

Amen

Unmet Expectations and Doubt

This morning I am reading from Luke 7:18-23 NIV:

[18] "John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, [19] he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

[20] When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’ ”

[21] At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. [22] So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. [23] Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

I was just thinking about the fact that John sent his disciples to ask Jesus this question. It seemed to me that Jesus baptism made it quite clear that He was the messiah, at least to John. I am guessing one of two things were happening in John's eyes, either unmet expectations or the lies of the enemy were causing him to doubt.

First, John understood his role as the forerunner for the messiah, but I am guessing the Father didn't tell him exactly how Jesus would act when he appeared. Jesus clearly didn't meet the. expectations of the religious leaders, nor did he appear in a form they recognized. The gospels are full of places where they, the Pharisees, quoted scripture as a proof that Jesus couldn't be the messiah. John grew up listening to these same things and likely was influenced by them, so was expecting one who was more a national leader, more kingly, etc.

Secondly, I think maybe John was looking at his ministry which was waning at this point and probably wondering if he had done the right thing, if his ministry had any merit. It seems he was looking for some validation that he hasn't wasted his life, or missed the will of the Father. I think the same fears and doubt's assail pretty much anyone who is called by God, and they come from the enemy of our souls Satan. He is the father of all lies, the deceiver and the accuser of the brethren. He is constantly at work trying to steal our joy, to cause us to lose hope, and to embrace a spirit of unbelief.

Jesus provided an answer that would have been enough for the John, he answered with his deeds, which were scripturally connected to the Messiah. John had to know the scriptures, especially the book of Isaiah, which is the book that speaks of his mission (Is:40:3-5). Jesus referred to the blind seeing (Is 29:18, Is 35:5) , the lame walking (Is 35:6), the leprous cleansed (Is 35:8, Is 53:3-5), the deaf hearing (Is 28:18, Is 35:5), the dead raised (Is 26:19), and the good news being proclaimed to poor (Is 61:1).

I think we can learn from John here. We want to make sure hat we do not miss what the Lord is doing because of our unmet expectations. Almost every time I know the Lord is going to do something, it is different than what I expected. I find my expectations a very poor measuring stick for the works of the Lord. Secondly, we must not listen to the lies of the enemy, but rather hold firm to the Word of the Lord. His words are perfect, His purpose will be accomplished. His plans for us will be fulfilled, if we wait on Him and turn to Him. He will not let us fail. So let us hold fast too His word, trust fully in Him, expect Him to amaze us and work outside our expectations, and let us rejoice that we are His.

Phoebe the Deacon

This morning I am reading from Paul's letter to the Romans 16:1-4 NIV:

[1] "I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. [2] I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.

[3] Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. [4] They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them."

I am just interested in Paul's simple commendation of a few women of the faith. We can take some meaning from the fact that this is clearly the greetings section and Paul starts with Phoebe. Several of the commentary authors believe that she carried this letter and that us why she is listed first. It is clear that she was traveling to Rome and Paul is giving her his personal recommendation.

Several of the other translations would change the word deacon to servant because it is less controversial, but that is clearly what Paul wrote. This is the same term he used in his first letter to Timothy 3:8. The word has several potential meanings, but within the church, the role of deacon was pretty firmly established. I would find it hard to believe that Paul would use the same word and not mean the same thing in two different letters, spanned by a few years. His letter to the Romans was written in 57AD, either Titus or 1 Timothy were written in 62-63AD.

Although this is the first time the word deacon is used in the letter to the Romans, the idea and role dates back to the church in Jerusalem much earlier, as recorded in the book of Acts, chapter 6. It was here that we first see deacons selected and ordained for active ministry. The description of their roles were waiting on tables and distributing food, but look at the character requirements list in verses Acts 6:3-4: "Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them [4] and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” In other words, they were looking for much more than table waiters. In the next section of that same chapter in Acts, we hear about Stephen doing miraculous signs and great wonders, and he was one of the deacons they had just selected.

My point in all of this is to say that Phoebe was not just a servant of the church, but was likely one who was well respected, had been ordained to a position in the church, and had Paul the Apostle's personal recommendations and reference. She is called a Prostatis of Paul and others and that Greek word means: 1. a woman set over others 2. a female guardian, protectress, patroness, caring for the affairs of others and aiding them with her resources. Some would - read a women of station and resources. Again, regardless of which definition, we find ourselves faced with the recognition of some authority, definite significance and a ministry to many including Paul. This is not someone of insignificance.

Secondly, Paul greets Priscilla and Aquila, and calls them his coworkers. Again, he makes no difference between Priscilla and Aquila. They are equal coworkers with him. It was Priscilla and Aquila who instructed Apollos concerning the whole Gospel, and they worked alongside Paul, and were mentioned in several letters (Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians and 2 Timothy). They were clearly heroes of the early church. They had a church that met in their house, ministered together as a husband and wife and were the companions of Paul.

In summary, we are so often encouraged to embrace a male-centric ministry model, and Paul here demonstrates that is hardly his understanding. He does speak clearly about his take on men's and women's roles in other letters (1 Cor., 1 Tim), and specifically speaks about their teaching or authority in the church, but he certainly makes room for full and active ministry, as well as models that support individual women in ministry and equally yoked husbands and wives.

Let us open our minds and hearts to the significance of all our brothers and sisters in the church, and not disqualify someone due to their gender or situation in life (married or single).

Further Up And Further In!

This morning I am reading from Paul's letter to the Colossians 2:6-7 NIV:

[6] "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, [7] rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."

I like the simplicity of these verses - which can be summarized by saying that we need to continue to live our lives a Christians. I don't know about anyone else, but continuing is difficult to do. It is easy to start something new, but I find it difficult to maintain most anything after a couple weeks, sometimes even a couple of days. The ability to continue, to maintain a course is one of the things I pray for regularly.

Continuing to live in Him, rooted and built up, indicates a permanence and growing maturity. We are called to put down roots, to allow the water of life that flows from Him to fill us and cause us to grow. We must draw deep, drinking in His presence, His word, His love. We are encouraged to be built up in Him, as in exercising causing muscles to grow. Actually exercising and eating right, lots of protein, causes muscles to grow. In the same way we need to exercise our faith, becoming strengthened through the exercise and eating (the Word).

Speaking of the natural, I find physical exercise one of the most difficult things to maintain, my body rebels and I always find a good reason not to exercise. I had a teacher who used to say when he felt like exercising he laid down until the feeling went away. It is a humorous saying but all too true. My good intentions can be a easily overcome by distraction or lethargy. In the same way, our desire to exercise spiritually, to be strengthened in our faith can quickly wain with a little distraction, a little lethargy.

One of the few consistent areas of long-term successful "continuing" in my life has been my consistent quiet and prayer time. I had plenty of fits and starts early on, but I decided I needed to spend time every day in God's Word and in prayer. It is only through making an effort, and making time in my schedule that I have been able to maintain or continue. It is also one of my most treasured things - my opportunity to daily meet with the Lord and be instructed by the Holy Spirit. The insight and understanding, as well as guidance and correction are of eternal worth.

Even with my consistent time in the Lord, I still find myself easily sliding in my conviction, or my passionate pursuit of Him. I really must continue every day to be rooted and built up, and strengthened. I have never, nor do I expect to ever achieve a level of relationship where I can stop my efforts at growing and strengthening my faith. I want to live my life more fully in Him every day. I am reminded of a quote from C.S. Lewis's last book in the Chronicles of Narnia titled "The Last Battle". In the book the afterlife with Christ is imaged as a mountain where they are called to "Come further up, come further in!” Although that was the invitation in the afterlife, I believe we all have the same invitation here, to press in and find more and more and more of God. Since the invitation is to relationship, literally to live our lives in Him, that is only possible through time and conversation, the same things that are required for any relationship.

So let us be encouraged to "continue to live our lives in Him", growing in our relationship daily, being rooted and strengthened, maturing and growing. There is always more, so let us pursue Him further up and further in!

Remembering Who We Are!

This morning I woke up with two simple sayings running through my mind - Remember who you are, and remember whose you are! These are both aimed at setting and establishing my identity, and are just such a good perspective to gain in life.

One of the major struggles in all of our lives is trying to understand our true identity. There is no more core need than belonging, and that has to do with who we are, who we belong to, who we connect with, and who our family and friends are. We long to be significant, to belong, to be accepted, to have purpose, to make a difference, and all these things are encapsulated in our identity.

One of the great deceptions that many of us live under is that we are insignificant. We believe that our lives don't matter that much, that people don't care about us, that we have no real meaning to our life, and nothing could be farther from the truth! We are, each of us, created! We are not an accident, or the chance pairing of a couple of cells, the accidental combination of the fastest sperm cell and egg, we are lovingly created by God. David correctly describes this in his Psalm 139:13-14: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

We need to know who we are, and whose we are. Paul wrote several times (Romans 8, Galatians 4, Ephesians 1) about our adoption by God, the fact that we are His sons and daughters. If this is true, and I believe firmly that it is, then we are all very significant. Just thinking in the natural about the royal family of England, it doesn't matter how distant a cousin, the fact that they are members of the royal family is significant. In the same way, we are each of us members of a far greater family. We were all created to be part of this family, wanted and loved from the moment of our conception by God our Father, regardless of our earthly experience. This is the truth, and much of our society and the messaging today would try to convince us of everything but this truth.

The awesome thing about adoption is that anyone can be adopted into a family that bears no resemblance to them, in this case I am speaking about the family of God. Regardless of our upbringing, our life to this point, our skin color, our gender, our looks, our abilities, our hair color, or lack of hair, we are all able to be adopted into God's family! Our past failures, our hurts, our wounds, our needs, our anger, our sorrow, our sinfulness, our mistakes, our broken promises, our wrong thinking - none of these can disqualify us from our adoption by the Father. He has already chosen us, we are not waiting to be adopted! That is the truth! He loves us, He wants us, and He accepts us as we are!

So the answer to the question of "who we are" is that we are the adopted son or daughter of God the Father! No one is any less than all the others, all the rest of us!

The answer to the question of "whose we are" is very similar. If we are the adopted son or daughter of God the Father, than we are His - as in "This is my son Sam". He claims us as His own! Not only that but we belong to the family of God, or to say it differently using Paul's analogy - the Body of Christ. We belong, in that the rest of the Body of Christ claims us as well. We may, like me, be the crazy uncle, or the slightly strange brother, or the different son or daughter, but we all belong to the same family, the same Body of Christ and we are all loved and accepted.

Let me say it again - We belong! We belong, in that each of us is essential and significant no matter how young or old. No one else can take our place, or fill in for us. We all have received gifts to be shared with each other! I like to think of the gifts we have received as like one of the board games we played as kids. You can't enjoy those games by yourself, they must be enjoyed with others. That is what our gifts are like - they are meant to be shared with the family. All our gifts are significant and meant to benefit the whole family. Having a certain gift doesn't make us more or less significant to either the family or to our Father.

I could go on writing pages, but let me stop here. So, this morning I am encouraged to remember who I am, and whose I am! It is good to remember this simple truth, and to tell myself that throughout the day, especially those days where I am under the circumstances. Lord, thank You for creating me and choosing me to be a part of Your family as Your adopted son, and brother to all.

The Role of the Holy Spirit

This morning I felt like reading some of the verses where Jesus explains the role of the Holy Spirit. Here are a selection from the Gospel of John.

John 14:15-18, 26-27 NIV:
[15] “If you love me, keep my commands. [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."

John 15:26-27 NIV
[26] “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. [27] And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning."

John 16:7-15 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. [8] When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: [9] about sin, because people do not believe in; [10] about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; [11] and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

[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.”

So summarizing the role and action of the Holy Spirit:

1. To help us
2. To be with us forever
3. To be in us
4. To teach us all things
5. To remind us of Jesus' words
6. To testify about Jesus
7. To bring conviction to the world concerning sin, judgment ad righteousness
8. To guide us into all truth
9. To speak what He hears
10. To tell us what is yet to come
11. To glorify Jesus
12. to make known what Jesus reveals

Jesus calls Him the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, other translations use the word helper. The Greek word translated Advocate is the word Parakletos whose definition is as follows:

1. summoned, called to one's side, esp. called to one's aid
a. one who pleads another's cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defense, legal assistant, an advocate
b. one who pleads another's cause with one, an intercessor
1. of Christ in his exaltation at God's right hand, pleading with God the Father for the pardon of our sins
c. in the widest sense, a helper, succourer, aider, assistant
1. of the Holy Spirit destined to take the place of Christ with the apostles (after his ascension to the Father), to lead them to a deeper knowledge of the gospel truth, and give them divine strength needed to enable them to undergo trials and persecutions on behalf of the divine kingdom.

There is much to dig into here, but hopefully this gives a sense of His role. He is there to help us, to intercede for us, to encourage us, to teach and guide us, to represent us legally, and to empower us.

Suffice it to say that we all need the Holy Spirit active in all our lives. We need His guidance, direction and intercession. We need more of Him in our lives! Holy spirit I invite you to take up residence in me.

Choose Love Over Position And Authority In The Body!

This morning I opened my Bible and felt like I should read Paul's letter to Philemon. This so such an unusual letter compared to the rest of Paul's more formal letters to churches. Here he is writing a very personal letter to Philemon. I was reading it through and the following two verses caught my attention. I guess it is always interesting to me when authority is discussed in the New Testament, because I feel this in one of the areas that is often misused and abused in our churches. Here are the verses - Philemon 1:8-9 NIV:

[8] "Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, [9] yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul---an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus---"

On first reading of this, it appears that Paul is saying He could pull rank and order Philemon to do this thing, and in some ways that is correct, but not in some petty power hungry way. When I reviewed the original Greek, it is clear that the translation could be written several ways, and this particular version misses some of the nuances that are important to Paul's statement. The NASB translates verse 8 - "Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper,..."

The word translated either confidence (NASB) or bold (NIV) is the Greek word Parrhesia whose definition is:

1. freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech
a. openly, frankly, i.e without concealment
b. without ambiguity or circumlocution
c. without the use of figures and comparisons
2. free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, assurance
3. the deportment by which one becomes conspicuous or secures publicity

This word is prefaced by the Greek word translated much or very. The translation could read - much freedom, very open, very frank, much confidence, much boldness...etc. The point is that Paul is confident in his relationship with Christ, and his position in the Body of Christ.

The second Greek word that is translated order (as in a command) is the Greek word Epitasso whose base definition is:

1. to enjoin upon, order, command, charge

This Geek word is made up of two other Greek words Epi and Tasso, which mean over and a position or authority. In other words Paul is in a position or had authority over Philemon in Christ, or more specifically in the Body of Christ.

So we could have a translation that reads more like this - "Therefore, because of my position in the Body of Christ I could freely ask you this..."

In other words Paul is choosing not to relate to Philemon as an Apostle, whose place in authority over the Body of Christ is clearly understood, but rather he is asking Him as one brother who loves the other brother (agape). I believe Paul is actually appealing to the higher level when he approaches him as a brother that he loves, and choosing not to approach this from the position of authority.

Since the command of Jesus is that we love one another(John 13:34-35), and the great focus and treasure in His Kingdom is relationship, not positions of power and authority, Paul is going to the top level in the Body of Christ, that of love. Paul knows he is an Apostle, and from a governmental perspective, he could provide an opinion, but instead he is choosing to relate one on one, or brother to brother. Paul is showing Philemon that he values him as a brother more than his own position. He is clearly showing his love and applying the teaching of Jesus in laying down his life (John 15:12-13) for His brother Onesimus, as well as Philemon.

So my encouragement is that I should always lead with love, choosing brotherly love over position and authority. My prayer is the church, specifically leaders in the church, might come to understand and move in this manner. That the significance of every one, the Lord's love for them and acceptance of them might be the first consideration. That we would choose to relate to one another as brothers and sisters first, even though organizational position or authority would allow otherwise. That we would always default to agape - brotherly love.

He Is Good And Faithful

This morning I felt lead to read from Psalm 100. It is a pretty short Psalm so I thought I would include it in its entirety.

Psalm 100:1-5 NIV:

[1]"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
[2] Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
[3] Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his ;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
[4] Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
[5] For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations."

I find it is hard to read this Psalm and not have a better outlook on life afterwards. There is so much good about the Lord, He is so loving and faithful in all His ways. His ways are always good! He welcomes us into His courts, into His presence. We have a God who cares for us and is intimately aware of us, and loving us every day. He is worthy of our praise and worship! When we think about God our hearts should be joyful!

If we have a hard time with this positive Psalm, chances are that we are under the weight and cares we all experience. The Lord's plan for us all is to come into relationship with Him, so that we might exchange our perspective for His. When He looks at us, He sees us as we will become, perfect in His eyes, perfectly fulfilling His purposes for which He created us. He sees our struggles, but He also sees our victory over our present struggles and our growth and maturity that will come.

He is God, the enemy and the world and bad circumstances do not challenge Him, frighten Him, or concern Him, other than their effects on us, whom He loves. He is loving and faithful to all. Don't believe the lie that He doesn't love you, or care for you, or even know your name.

One of my favorite authors, Graham Cooke, says behind every struggle is a greater provision and blessing from the Lord. I like that perspective and know it is true. So let us praise God and join with all creation in joyful anticipation of His blessing. He is good, loving, faithful and kind!

Amen!

Kindle A Fire

I was reading in Luke's Gospel this morning and came across two interesting verses - Luke 12:49-50 NIV: “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!"

A few things jump to my mind as I think about these verses. First, Jesus says that He has come to bring fire to the earth, and He is wishing that it is already kindled. The belief is that He was talking about the power of the Holy Spirit, and that/ certainly makes some sense. He also was establishing His Kingdom, and I think that could also be the object of this comment. The Kingdom is supposed to shine like a light to all nations - back then all lights were flames.

Second he says that He is constrained until after His baptism (death and resurrection) is completed. Since that already happened, He is no longer constrained. Some other translations use the word distressed here, but the original Greek is closer to constrained. The word means to be held together, tightly bound, held back or bound. Clearly He was constrained by the limits of His human body and humanness, having laid down His divinity. Once he accomplished his death on the cross and Resurrection, He was no longer constrained to the limits of His nature. We see this in evidence when he walks through walls, appears to people in person in different likenesses, He disappears, etc.

Finally if He desired the fire to come to earth, but first had to pass through His baptism, then He is now free to kindle it fully on the Earth. He has passed through His baptism into death and the tomb and risen from the dead. He has complete that which He needed to do, and now He is free to fulfill all else He desires.

Lord, we pray that you kindle on the earth a massive fire of passion for You! Let Your power loose upon us, to cause us to shine a light of love to all people! We desire to see You glorified! We pray that You would destroy all that binds us and constrains us, for we are called to walk in the fullness of Your ministry here on earth!

Contentment and Hope

A couple of verses from Proverbs today - Proverbs 23:16-18 NIV:

[16] ..."my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
[17] Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
[18] There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off."

Just a simple meditation...there is in us a desire to hear what is right. We long for truth, we long for justice, we long for understanding. When the Lord speaks into our lives, He brings everything we need.

Some times we look around and we see people whose lives appear perfect, who have things or jobs or cars or houses that we would like. We think how nice it would be to live like that, but we don't see the hidden issues of overwhelming debt, or unhappy relationships, wrong priorities leading to wrong choices, fruitless striving and emptiness. Things don't bring joy, happiness or fulfillment, they really just bring responsibility.

Our purpose and destinies are found in relationship with the Lord, and it is in that place alone that we find true fulfillment, rest, identity and hope. He holds our hope securely, and is waiting for us to turn to Him. Our lives are greatly affected by our attitude and focus. If we are always focused on ourselves, we miss much of what the Lord would have for us. If we are always dissatisfied or longing for more we miss the treasure that surrounds us every day.

I love what Paul writes - Philippians 4:11-13: "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. [12] I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. [13] I can do all this through him who gives me strength.".

And to Timothy - 1 Timothy 6:6-10: "But godliness with contentment is great gain. [7] For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. [8] But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. [9] Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. [10] For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

So I choose to run after the Lord, to cultivate my relationship with the one who holds my future, my joy and my hope. He will not disappoint my trust in Him.

Dueling Ministry Styles?

This morning I was rereading some of Matthew, chapter 11 and came across these two verses - Matthew 11:18-19 NIV:

[18] "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ [19] The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

This was Jesus' commentary on that present generation, and how they rejected both John and Jesus. What I find interesting here is not only the social rejection of the two different paths, but also the rejection of them within the religious community. I think we can see a similar model in action today as well. Suffice it to say that any legitimate move of God and the people who embrace it are often rejected by both society and much of the rest of the church. Society does not like conviction, and the moves of God bring exactly that. The religious community doesn't like competition.

John was a voice calling for repentance, a turning back to God, a restoring of faith and focus, and because he lived a lifestyle of radical obedience, they said that he had a demon. The religious community were the ones that leveled that charge, for he was making them look bad. The people were very responsive to his call and he baptized thousands. The religious community couldn't stand the competition, so they claimed he was doing the works of, and by the power of a demon. They didn't look at his message and compare it to previous prophetic messages and voices to see if it was legitimate, but cast it all aside with their proclamation of demonic influence.

So often we see churches doing the exact same thing with churches or groups who are pursuing the Lord in radical or extravagant news ways. Every pastor that I know that is pastoring a move of God is regularly being attacked by the status-quo church. They were called cults, heretical, demonic and the goal is not to test the word being spoken by these pastors, but rather to reject them and their teaching wholesale. They are in competition and you can't have your good people leaving to join some other more active church!

In my lifetime, alone, there have been legitimate moves of God in the church in North America that have been pooh-poohed or ignored by the majority of the rest of the church, movements and outpourings like John Wimber and Vineyard conferences, John Arnott and Toronto blessing, the Brownsville outpouring, Bill Johnson and Bethel Church in Redding, CA, the Jesus People movements, and the charismatic renewal in the Catholic church, etc. Each of these had significant affects on the church in general, and yet they were proclaimed to be false, demonically inspired, founded on heresy, clearly not from God.

Similarly, Jesus was rejected for being too soft on sinners, too loving towards the lost, not judgmental enough. This is often the case for churches that espouse mercy, compassion and grace. The hard-line purists will a attack any group that is not echoing their call for perfect righteousness in one's actions, a works based mentality. Jesus was called a drunkard, a winebibber, someone who drank wine, and He hung out with worldly people (sinners). There are church groups that would say He couldn't be a Christian because of those activities, as silly as that sounds.

I guess the point is that both of these ministry styles and their focus was legitimate and from the Lord. Jesus didn't attack John's ministry, in fact he held it up and even submitted himself to his ministry. In like manner, John pointed towards Jesus and sent some of his followers to Jesus. We are called to unity in the Body of Christ, but it seems like all we do is fight and call each other names and sow division. We must learn to bless those ministries that are different, that have a different plan and path. We must learn to build up the Body, rather than fragment it. We must be willing to believe that everyone is called and many will be called to a different style of worship and interaction with the Lord. Must at the same time know what we believe and why, and we must guard that truth. However rather than casting someone wholly aside for one area of disagreements, let us hold onto that which is good and right, and identify that which is not and why. Let us love those whose ministry is different and welcome them as brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ!

Followers of Jesus

I was reading recently about how a certain large church in America has a strict don't preach Jesus rule for their church, and I have no idea if this is true or not, but it certainly made me stop and think. I pray that it is not true, for many people are affected by their ministry.

Upon further reflection, I find it amazing that any church, founded on Christian principles and beliefs, can not talk about Jesus. He is the only reason we have a "Christian" church. He is the one we follow, the one we want to be like, hence the name Christian from the Greek word Christianos or Christ-follower. It is sad that in our day and age that many are afraid to proclaim their allegiance to their leader, Christ Jesus. Of course their are many who claim the title Christian who do not follow the teachings and leading of Jesus, or who poorly represent Him to the world. There is also a strong media bias against Christianity, and the portrayal of Christians in the news and TV and Media is often as ignorant or bigoted people. But, we cannot and we must not abandon the very one we follow and worship, for that is idolatry in its worst expression.

It is not enough to teach the feel-good messages found in the Gospels. We must follow Christ, and like it or not Jesus has established His Kingdom here on Earth, and it is in conflict with the worldy kingdoms. Jesus knew that would be the case as He clearly stated in Luke 12:49-52 NIV: “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! [50] But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! [51] Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. [52] From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three."

I don't think we can effectively preach the gospel, which is the Good News, without it causing conflict. It will cause that which is in us that is aligned with other kingdoms, or our own fleshly desires, to resist. It will cause conflict for those that experience conviction, knowing the truth but not walking in it. It will cause conflict when we walk fully in His ways choosing His will over ourselves. The life of a Christian is supposed to be a light of life to those around him, and light will conflict with darkness and drive it away. This does not mean that we need to have a battle mindset, but we must recognize the truth that He that we follow is the King, and He rules with sovereignty and has defeated the enemy, and will ultimately come again in victory. The battle was waged and was won, and we are drawn into that battle as His followers. We don't get to choose to fight, there can be no conscientious objectors.

The way we fight though is with love, mercy, compassion, prayer, intercession, service, self-sacrifice, laying down our lives for each other, loving our enemies. As Paul said, "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." 2 Cor 10:3-4. We must not shy awy from the Lord, His words, all His teachings, and His call to us to preach the gospel of the Kingdom to all nations (Matt 24:14) Our lives lived out before men are meant to be our message to the world that we follow Jesus.

John 13:34-35 NIV:

[34] “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. [35] By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Amen Lord! Let the world know that we are Your disciples, that we follow You. Jesus, we are proud to be your followers.

Keep Pressing Onward

This morning I was thinking about how blessed I am to have a significant amount of time every morning to sit with the Lord. I was thinking of how much my time with Him has strengthened my faith and my knowledge of Him. I guess I would say I was feeling pretty good about my faithfulness to my time with Him. As I was sitting here thinking somewhat proud thoughts, I felt like the Lord directed me to Philippians 3:3, 7-14 NIV:

[3] "For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh---

[7] But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. [8] What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ [9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ---the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. [10] I want to know Christ---yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11] and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

[12] Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. [13] Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

When I read these verses from Paul, I realized that in reality I have attained next to nothing, and certainly can not feel settled in my relationship with Jesus, nor even satisfied with the level of relationship I have, for there is so much more. Here is Paul writing about how he considers everything that he had gained to that point as mere garbage. Instead he continued to press onward, forgetting everything that was in his past, even the successes of the day before, and continued to pursue the Lord with passion and zeal. There was a sense of more, and understanding that Paul had of the depths and breadth and height of life in Christ and he knew he hadn't reached anything that resembled a resting place. There is always more in Christ, and He doesn't want us to be satisfied with what we have seen, but He wants us always longing for more of Him.

We must not put any confidence in any of our works, no matter how good and righteous they seem. Ith is only through Christ living within us that we will see His purposes for our lives fulfilled. We cannot rest on our accomplishments, our relationship, our intimacy, our knowledge of Him, for there is always more. This is not a scenario of a taskmaster always demanding more from us, but rather that of a Father who knows what we are capable of, has new experience in Him planned for us and is encouraging us into that which is new, better and more fulfilling. He is glorified in and through us, and we are fulfilled in Him.

So my personal encouragement this morning is to keep pressing forward, to never settle for anything I have attained, but rather to press in and onward knowing that I haven't even scratched the surface of the fullness and glory of God. I haven't achieved all the I am capable of, nor called to, so I desire to continue strain forward in passionate pursuit of the One who loves me, Christ Jesus my Lord.

The Storm Stopped

This morning I am once again reading out of Luke's Gospel, and also going back a few days to the book of Jonah, for when I was reading Jonah, I saw some parallels to these verses in Luke.

Luke 8:22-25 NIV

[22] One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. [23] As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. [24] The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. [25] “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

And from Jonah 1:3-6, 11-16 NIV

[3] "But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish . He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

[4] Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. [5] All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. [6] The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

[11] The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” [12] “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” [13] Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. [14] Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” [15] Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. [16] At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him."

In the reading of the story of Jonah, I saw some things that reminded me of the previous story from Luke. One of my beliefs is that much of what we see in the New Testament, in way of miracles, we also saw in the Old Testament as well. In this case Jonah was on a ship, sleeping while the ship floundered in a storm. In the story from Luke Jesus was also sleeping during a storm, unaffected by that which raged about him.

Jonah was running from the will of God, Jesus was completely in the will of God, yet both saw storms raging about them. Jonah's disobedience lead to his situation, while for Jesus He was in perfect obedience. It is interesting how it would be be very difficult from an outside perspective to determine which was the cause. I think too often we are quick to judge people who find themselves caught in the middle of a storm, as having caused it by their disobedience, or bad decision.

In both cases the storm immediately subsided and the waters grew calm at the word of the Lord. In Jonah, the word of the Lord had come to Jonah and he knew what they needed to do (throw him overboard) but they didn't want to do that and tried to outrun the storm. It was finally evident they couldn't so they finally relented and through Jonah overboard and immediately the storm subsided, fulfilling the word that Jonah had received. In Jesus case He just stood up and spoke to the wind and waves and they immediately calmed.

As I write this am encouraged, for in both cases the Lord stopped the storm with a word, and that is really good news if you find yourself stuck in a storm, it is nice to know who can make it stop. In Jonah's case it was confession, in Jesus case it was obedience, but in both cases it was the Lord. So if you find yourself in a storm, have faith that the Lord can stop it and that He won't let it destroy you. He may seem like He is sleeping or not paying attention to your situation, but the Lord is fully aware and able to calm the storm in an instant. If you seek the word of the Lord in the midst of the storm, and heed it, you will be saved.

Amen!

Do Unto Others, Even Your Enemies

This morning I am reading some challenging verses from Luke's Gospel. These are the kind of verses that I generally skip over, or just gloss over believing they don't really apply to me.

Luke 6:35-38 NIV
[35] "But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. [36] Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

[37] “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. [38] Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

That first line is really almost unbelievable, until you add the second sentence. I mean who love their enemies, does good to them and lends them money without any concern for getting it back. I seems we barely would do all that for our neighbors, and sometimes not even family members. Yet this is the teaching of Jesus and the life He lived. He was demonstrating the Father's heart, as He says in the next passage, and if we want to be His representatives, then we need to learn to do the same. Paul writes how when we were yet sinners, Jesus died for us (Col 2:13-14). We are called to be kind to the ungrateful and the wicked, merciful to all.

The second set of verses is equally challenging, but in a different way. We are called to be the initiators of forgiveness, mercy and acceptance. As we live those in our lives, we will experience the same from God, but with greater measure. The challenge here is to believe God and trust that His word is true and that He will do what He says He will do. We don't need to judge anyone, because He is the judge. He sees all and knows all and will judge correctly. He doesn't need our help or insight, although we often feel its necessary. He will extend condemnation to those that deserve it, we do not need to.

Finally, He will forgive us if we forgive others. I find my struggle is that I want God to go first. It is much easier to forgive someone if they have already extended forgiveness to you, just ask most any married couple. Believing that God will forgive us if we forgive others can help set us free from holding onto past wounds and hurts. If we don't forgive those that have wounded us, then we will experience a similar response from the Lord.

I believe the last line (38b) applies to all the statements made in verse 37. The measure we use will be the measure used for us, by the Lord. If we live a life of judgment and condemnation, we will receive as much. If we extend forgiveness we will receive forgiveness. Paul writes something similar in his letter to the Galatians 6:7b "A man reaps what he sows.". In other words, this is a spiritual truth, as much as a natural truth. What we sow with our lives is what we will reap; judgment will reap judgment; condemnation will reap condemnation; forgiveness will reap forgiveness; mercy will reap mercy!

The encouragement to me in all this is that I can influence what I experience in life by the way I think and act. If I extend mercy and compassion, give freely and forgive quickly, I will experience the same from the Lord. We don't need to keep score for the Lord will, and He will provide the increase and abundance that will overflow into our lives. So, let us treat others as we would want the Lord to treat us. Let us extend love, mercy, compassion, kindness and forgiveness to all, even our enemies, for that is what the Father does, and will do to us.

Jonah the Angry Prophet

This morning I felt like reading the book of Jonah. This is such an interesting book, with such a colorful character in Jonah. My verses for meditation come from chapters 3 & 4:

Jonah 3:1-5, 10 NIV:

[1] "Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: [2] “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” [3] Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. [4] Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” [5] The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

[10] When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened."

Jonah 4:1-4 NIV:

[1] "But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. [2] He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. [3] Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

[4] But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

I guess you could title Jonah the "angry prophet" for his response to the Lord having mercy on the people of Ninevah was to become angry. In fact, he expected the Lord to relent from the very beginning, which is why he tried to flee from the call of God. He was so judgmental that he had lost all connection to the heart of God. He knew God was merciful and compassionate but he wanted God to bring judgment! He was angry with God for having mercy! It would almost be a comical story if this wasn't so true of some Christians.

I have personally witnessed this same spirit at work in the Body of Christ, where fellow Christians prophesy calamity or judgment over a people or region, and sit back with a judgmental heart just waiting for God to unleash judgment. Often times this prophesied judgment is related to areas where sin is prevalent, and the prophecy is directed at a particular sin. I have heard prophecies against California, Las Vegas, and New Orleans over the sins of sexual promiscuity that pervade certain areas. I have heard prophecies against the US in general over abortion and homosexuality. While the definition of sin is right, the heart of the prophetic people is often wrong, and they wrongly prescribe God's heart and actions.

Where the prophetic people lose sight of the heart of God is when they desire to see judgment unleashed, rather than seeing God relent out of mercy and compassion. The judgment would validate their message and prove them right, and thus they hope for judgment. Where they lose sight of God's heart is when they don't consider the impact of God's judgment on the innocent people that would also be affected. They are essentially praying for judgment on all so that there would repentance for those that remain. The problem is that directly goes against the teaching and ministry of Jesus and the church which is under the new covenant.

Jesus came preaching restoration of relationship, not judgement. He preached mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. He established His Kingdom, not through battle, judgment or warfare, but rather through healing, deliverance and miracles. He does speak about judgment, but in context of the day of judgment at the end of the age. Jesus confronted the lies and deceptions of the enemy, and destroyed his works, but He never touched the people. He summed up His mission in these famous passages from John 3:16-17 NIV: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn (judge) the world, but to save the world through him."

Peter in his second letter sums this all up nicely, as follows:

2 Peter 3:8-15 NIV

[8] "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. [9] The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

[10] But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

[11] Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives [12] as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. [13] But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

[14] So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. [15] Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him."

As Jesus said, He came to save the world not condemn it. Condemnation requires judgment and He has reserved that for the end of the age. As Peter writes, until that time He is being patient so that all might be saved.

So, let us preach the Kingdom not judgment, extend mercy, compassion and forgiveness and pray that all might be saved. Let us be a people known for our love and compassion, not our angry prophetic calls for judgment.

Faith and Forgiveness

This morning I am continuing my reading from Luke 17 from a few days ago. I was digging a bit deeper into these verses - Luke 17:3-6 NIV

[3] "So watch yourselves.
“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. [4] Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

[5] The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

[6] He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you."

This morning as I wasa rereading these verses, I realized that I might have been seeing them wrongly for years, specifically verse 6. Normally my thought on reading that verse has been that Jesus was rebuking them, or at least exasperated with them. After reading the same verses today, I just felt that the Lord was really trying to encourage the disciples.

Looking at Faith, I think that the Lord in discussing it, was always encouraging people in their faith, for faith is really based on their knowledge and experience of God, as well as being a gift from the Father. Faith is one of the things that is absolutely required in the Kingdom, and thus is highly treasured. So why would the Lord rebuke someone for not having faith.

There are several scriptures where He says they have little faith, and I have always read that as a rebuke. However after a quick rereading of all those passages, it appears that Jesus was instructing them in the ways of the Father, and essentially increasing their faith. I am now seeing this more as a diagnosis than rebuke. Its like observing someone hasn't learned to swim yet, and then giving them their first lesson. Diagnosing that they haven't learned to swim isn't meant to be a rebuke, but rather it is identifying the problem that needs to be fixed. In this case they need more faith to be able to extend forgiveness.

One of the commentaries by David Guzick that I read states that the mulberry bush and forgiveness in these verses are related. He says that the mulberry bush is extremely deep rooted, and that in this case the imagery chosen by Jesus was meant to demonstrate forgiveness of long held, deeply rooted things. These are the kinds of things that can hold us in bondage, and the Lord is saying through faith in Him, we can see those things uprooted and cast into the sea where they will never be able to take root again. That actually is very encouraging!

So let us allow the Lord to encourage us, to grow in our faith and knowledge of Him to such an extent that we can lay down our past, forgive those that have hurt us, and move forward in our relationships with Him.

Amen!