Branches and Grafts

This morning I am reflecting on some interesting verses from Paul's letter to the Roman's.  He is discussing ingrafted branches and Israel's salvation.  Here are the verses -  Romans 11:11-24 NIV:

[11] "Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. [12] But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring! 

[13] I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry [14] in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. [15] For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? [16] If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches. 

[17] If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, [18] do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. [19] You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” [20] Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. [21] For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. 

[22] Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. [23] And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. [24] After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!"

This is such a good perspective, at least in my mind.  We have no place for pride, no reason to consider ourselves as superior, as we owe all to the original root (Jews) who were the first called, the first to believe, the first to follow Christ Jesus!  There should be no pride, no superiority, no looking down on anyone, for we are here, only of God's choice and free gift!  Our prayers should be for the fullness of the whole Body of Christ to be joined together in unity!  We need the whole Body of Christ, and our inclusion should be a reason for gratitude, not pride, for it really has nothing to do with us, and everything to do with Jesus!  

Oh Lord, please forgive me for any spiritual pride, any judgment towards others in the body of Christ.  Clean my mind, my thinking, my proclivity to think that my way of thinking is the right/correct way and help me to embrace humility in my thinking, my writings and my speaking and dealing with others.  It is clearly all about You Jesus, and I am just so glad to be considered one of Your own!

Parallels and Signs

This morning I felt led to reflect on some verses from Leviticus 9, which is definitely not in my normal reading cycle. I am always interested to turn to some of the more exotic locations (scripturally) as I am often pleasantly surprised by a hidden gem, and this morning was no exception.  Here are the verses I read - Leviticus 9:22-24 NIV:

[22] "Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. And having sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offering, he stepped down. 

[23] Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. [24] Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown."

This is the day that Aaron and his sons began their priestly ministry, the very first sacrifices they made for the people in the "new" sacrificial system. As I was reading this, I was thinking that in some ways this paralleled the day of Pentecost.  Jesus, through His passion, Death and resurrection, had perfectly fulfilled the requirements of the Law, made the perfect sacrifice and ended any requirements for further sacrifices.  The people were gathered and waiting, and the coming of God's Glory and the Holy Spirit, in the form of the mighty rushing wind and fire is very similar.  This time the fire came out and settled on the people, and empowered them, rather than burning up the sacrifice.  Instead of falling facedown the people started praising God, filled with joy.  I guess with these parallels, one could suggest that Pentecost is the day the Church began its priestly ministry!  

Here are the verses from Acts 2:1-6 NIV:

[1] "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. [2] Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. [3] They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. [4] All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 

[5] Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. [6] When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken."

I find it quite interesting looking at the parallels.  One other thing I was researching was the Hebrew word for blessing.  In Lev. 9:23 it says Moses and Aaron blessed the people, and the Hebrew word there is "barak", which literally means to bend the knee. In Acts 2, following Peter's exhortation, in verse 41 we are told that 3000 received salvation that day and were baptized, which is a recognition of Jesus' Lordship, a bending of one's knee and life before Him.

Recently in our church we have been learning how to better "pay attention" when reading scripture.  We have been looking at parallels in scripture, symbology that repeats through all of scripture, signs that point to Jesus, and the way the Lord caused all of this to draw us to Him.  This morning I am reminded of the one major theme, that all of scripture points to Jesus, and this morning that is clearly the case. Jesus chose to be the perfect sacrifice, fulfilling every requirement that we might be restored to the opportunity to step back into the Edenic relationship with God!  God loves us and wants to be with us, and wants us to be with Him!   Jesus has made that way possible through Himself.

I am reminded of something Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Colossae.  He draws this whole theme (its all about Jesus) into a wonderful summary.  Here are the verses Colossians 1:15-23 NIV:

[15] "The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. [16] For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. [17] He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. [18] And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. [19] For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, [20] and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." 

[21] "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. [22] But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation--- [23] if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant."

Thank You Lord, that You have made a way for us to be restored, and reconciled to You!  Thank You that Your life has restored that which was lost!  Thank You Lord for the gift of salvation, paid for by You!  Thank You for drawing us back to You!

Amen and Amen!

He Touched Her Hand and the Fever Left her

This morning my prayer time is a bit of recounting my recent experience, a testimony of sickness, God's promise, my recovery and God's commentary on that recovery.  

For the last week I have been sicker than I have ever remembered, and so sick that I have been unable work, unable to do much of anything.  Symptoms were very flu-like, fever, chills, body aches, exhaustion, no appetite, night sweats, etc.  The symptoms came on quickly last Sat., and I have been relegated to the recliner or bed for all but maybe 2 hours all week, when I tried to attend a meeting or two or doctor appointment, but those events which would leave me utterly exhausted and require 2-3 hours of sleep to marginally recover.  I would literally have to save up energy for five minutes just to pick up my phone to reply to a text message, such was the level of my fatigue.  I was sleeping close to 14 hours a day, feverish  anywhere from 100 - 103F.  The scary part is that I had a five day bout of almost the same symptoms that ended only six days prior, so I missed 10 of the last 15 days of work. As the week progressed, I seemed to be getting worse, I was starting to have trouble breathing, or I should say maintaining a good oxygen level.  I found myself breathing hard all the time, having difficulty sleeping because I would wake up breathing hard.  By this past Thursday, we were strongly considering going to the ER.

Back to God's promise.  On Monday morning, with the little energy I had, I asked the Lord if He had a word for me, and I heard Ps 91:4.  At this point my feverish brain could only remember a couple of bible-verses and this wasn't one of them.  I turned there and saw this promise - Psalm 91:4-6 NIV:

[4] "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 

[5] You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 

[6] nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday."

I must say those were welcome words, and they settled strongly into my heart and mind.  They were about the only thing I could pray, and remember for the next 4 days.  

At this point we hadn't done any testing, seen the Dr., or anything, but based on my last experience I figured this was another bout of the flu, which although rare, it was possible that I caught the other variant that was out and about. I made an appointment to get into the Dr. on Monday and started the path of diagnosing my condition.  I was feeling rough, and not getting better.  By Tues. we knew it wasn't FLU, COVID, RSV of the recent surge of Pneumonia, or bacterial infection. I had a imaging appointment for my liver, spleen, gallbladder, kidneys and pancreas, and everything except my gallbladder looked normal.  They are not sure what they saw on my gallbladder, and I have an MRI scheduled on this coming Mon.  I had additional testing conducted and so far everything is coming back normal.  I had no abdominal pain, no sinus or bronchial infection, no sinus drainage, nothing that would indicate an issue, and yet my body was acting like it was being poisoned, as my symptoms were getting worse.

We had been enlisting the prayer help of close family and friends and Thursday ramped it up a notch.  My honey was talking to people, and sending out a more urgent summons to prayer.

Thursday afternoon, because of the issue I was starting to have with oxygen, my honey picked up an Oximeter, and we started monitoring my O2 levels, and I started taking my blood pressure.  My O2 was hovering at 92-93% at complete rest with plenty of heavy breathing ( my normal is 96-98%), and when I took my first blood pressure it was 134/45.  We were both pretty shocked as I never have a low blood pressure.  We checked it again and it was in the same range.  Note: I took it while reclined in my recliner.  We didn't panic yet, but we started thinking about ER at this point. 

Our Doctor had called in a prescription of Prednisone on Thurs. so that afternoon I took the first big dose. 

We decided to wait on ER, and monitor my temp, O2 and Blood pressure throughout the night and if we saw any negative change we were going to head to the hospital.  My fever broke at 10pm, but it had done so the previous 3 nights, for a 2-3 hour window before it would come roaring back about 1am and spike to about 102F.  I was experiencing severe night sweats, and ended up changing outfits 5 times through the night. As I monitored my vitals through out the night, my fever never came back, my O2 levels moved up into my normal range and my BP returned to my normal ranges as well.  I woke up at 7am Friday morning and had more energy that I had over the last 6 days.  I carried my massive load of laundry downstairs, started it and found myself whistling, something I always do, but hadn't done in 6 days!  To say I was well was a bit early, but I actually felt like myself for the first time since Sat. afternoon. 

I felt so good I told my boss I thought I could work!  I started work at 7:30am and finished my day at 5:30pm, feeling totally normal, having had a productive day, and feeling 100% like myself .  Today, I am every bit as normal, and feeling great. 

This morning as I sat down to pray I was thinking about this all and asked the Lord if He had anything to say and I was immediately reminded of Peter's mother-in-law.  The story is short and found in all three synoptic Gospels.  I am quoting the version from Matthew 8:14-15 NIV:

[14] "When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. [15] He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him."

I have to say, that is an astounding recovery, and my mine is no less so. I was literally bed-ridden from Sat. afternoon until Fri. morning.  I was unable to do almost anything, without experiencing crippling exhaustion.  The effort to think about something would cause me to sweat profusely and I struggle to maintain coherent thought and conversation. My sweetheart cared for me constantly.  I either took a miracle drug, or experienced the effective prayer of many, or both, this has resulted in the most complete 180degree swing I know of, with the exception of the story above!  As a man of faith, I think the Lord's word and ability to do exactly what He did for Peter's mother-in-law is every bit as true to today as it was back then, and I believe that is exactly what happened in my case.

I didn't feel His touch, or a heightened presence, but the results are undeniable. He touched me and the fever left!  I was talking to the nurse on Friday and she was equally astounded in my swift almost immediate recovery.  

We are still going to pursue the cause, trying to track down what inside my body was causing this attack, but for today I am celebrating my healing and living my life, enjoying every moment of my wellness!

Thank You, thank You, thank You, God!

Amen and Amen!

I Want To Be Like You

Last night I was reading one of my blog entries from May 2014, and a line I wrote grabbed my attention.  I was reflecting on how we are supposed to reflect or represent Jesus, who was representing the Father to the world. My concern was that the world is not convinced that we (the Church) represent God.  As I read that I thought, and the world is equally afraid that we do represent God, and that God is like the Church!  Ouch!

This morning my reflection starts at this point, how can I better represent, or reflect Jesus to our world?  

When I look at Jesus, at the years of His public ministry, at His love for the people, at His ability to walk in lock step with the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit, at the miracles, signs and wonders that bore witness to His representing the Father, I realize how far away I am from effectively representing Him.  However, rather than being discouraged, I am filled with the belief that if this is my call and my invitation, then God has made a way for me to be able to represent Him, and that is my pursuit.  Hopefully that makes sense.

Looking at this another way, there are many people with skills and gifts that I greatly admire.  Quite a few of them I am not inspired to try and emulate, for I know their level of giftedness and skill would be unattainable to me.  I will never be a professional athlete, musician, nor singer, nor will I try to emulate them.  That type of gifting and skill doesn't reside in my old and tired body, nor will it ever.

When I look at Jesus, at His ministry of love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness and invitation to relationship with the Father, I see something I not only greatly admire, but believe myself capable of attaining some small success in representing Him.  What I lack is mostly the experiential reality of walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, something that has no age limit, nor reliance on physical gifting or skill!  I believe that Holy Spirit indwells me, and my main issue these days is how do I get out of His way, so that He can work through me, directing and guiding me?  

How do I surrender my life in such a way that I am literally saying the things the Lord wants me to say and doing the things the Lord wants me to do?

In this pursuit, Jesus is my great model and Holy Spirit my great encourager.

As I was writing that last bit, I was reminded of a song from "The Jungle Book" when King Louie, the Orangutan is talking about how he wants to be a man.  Here are the words to the chorus: 

"Oh, oobee doo 

I wanna be like you 

I wanna walk like you 

Talk like you, too"

If I remember the continuation of the scene correctly, King Louie wanted Mowgli to teach him the secret of fire, for in his eyes that would make him like a man.

In my case, it is this "fire from heaven" that I am in need of!  I am reminded of Acts 2:1-4 NIV:

[1] "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. [2] Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. [3] They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. [4] All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

To be clear, none of what Jesus modelled for us is really possible on our own, under our own strength.  I don't have the natural ability to walk in the level of love, compassion, mercy, and forgiveness that Jesus modelled, and I certainly have no natural ability to follow Him, in lock-step with the Father.  That is why I need the "fire from heaven" the Holy Spirit to empower, and enable me supernaturally!  

I want to learn to walk in a consciousness of the Holy Spirit's direction and guidance throughout my day, and in my interactions with others.  I want to be able to  experience the reality of what Jesus promised in John 16:12-15 NIV: 

[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.”

Oh Lord, Help me!  I want to be like You, and in so doing, represent and reflect You to the world!  My prayer is that one day someone might say, 'I do believe you represent Jesus, and He is clearly God, for only God can do the things He has done through You!'

Yes, Lord, I truly want to be like You, as much as I can.  I want to walk like You and talk like you!

Amen!

Breaking Our Comfort Box

Yesterday I was reading some of my writings from 2015, having to do with Miracles as a part of the proclamation of the Kingdom.  Here are links to the three reflections in order in which I read them:

1) https://amomentwithgod-srh.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-proof-of-pudding-is-in-eating.html

2) https://amomentwithgod-srh.blogspot.com/2015/03/relying-on-lord-to-confirm-their-words.html

3) https://amomentwithgod-srh.blogspot.com/2015/03/power-for-change-our-response-to.html

As I finished the last reflection, I was thinking about how interesting it is that we have whole church streams committed to preaching that all such miracles ceased with the end of Apostolic age, and many churches who are not specifically cessationist, but who do not regularly preach and see miracles.  I was pondering these thoughts and had a new thought run through my mind, that seemed like something I should dig into a bit more.

The last reflection had to do with something Jesus said, found in the Gospel of Matthew 11:21-24 NIV:

[21] “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. [22] But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. [23] And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. [24] But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

Part of Jesus' point here is that miracles are supposed to change us, to cause us to repent, to recognize that God is real and moving in our midst.  If we are confronted with these realities, and we don't change, woe to us. 

The thought that ran through my mind yesterday morning was as follows, "however, if they never see miracles, then they don't have to change, and they don't want to change, as they like their religion just the way it is." 

That thought was like an alarm bell going off in my spirit!  

Is it possible that, especially in the western church, we prefer our nice orderly services, where everything fits and we don't really want to be confronted with God in our lives, more than our "nice" Sunday gatherings, where we leave feeling good about our lives, and blessed because of our material wealth?  Is it possible that we have an undercurrent of unbelief that is essentially a "Holy Spirit not welcome sign", because we don't want to be confronted by something that will force us to change?  We hold ourselves better than Chorazin because we "believe", but I wonder if we are better, or actually more deluded?

Are we more like the people who didn't want Jesus to actually visit their villages?  (Luke 8:37)  

Are we afraid of the changes that might be required?

Are we happy when we hear about miracles happening somewhere else, as it affirms our general belief, but also glad its somewhere else so we don't need to change what we are doing, or how we are living?

If miracles are truly happening, why are we not hunting down the proof, proclaiming to the world that God is alive and working miracles on the earth, even today!?

I find myself very uncomfortable with these questions, for I find in myself some similar thinking, if I am totally honest!  I say I am all in, but I also love my comfortable life, my quiet evenings, my Sundays watching football, my generally normal life.  I like my little comfort box.  How would this change if the Lord started working miracles in our midst?  

Continuing on in this vein of thinking:

How will I react to moves of the Holy Spirit that are uncomfortable? 

How will I respond if I see God do something so significant that it causes me to re-evaluate my faith, my life pursuit, my future plans?

I was reminded of the story of the Lord healing (through Peter and John)  the lame beggar outside the temple, found in Acts 3:6-12,16 NIV:

[6] "Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” [7] Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. [8] He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. [9] When all the people saw him walking and praising God, [10] they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. [11] While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade." 

[12] "When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?" 

[16] "By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see."

- continuing the story to its conclusion in the following chapter - 

Acts 4:3-4 NIV:

[3] "They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. [4] But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand."

Doing some quick math, its possible that 2000 people converted to belief because of this one miracle and the following proclamation!  Imagine how that messed up the fledgling church!  Except it didn't, the church continued to grow in favor and believers!  Continuing on we find the following description of the church - Acts 5:12-16 NIV:

[12] "The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade. [13] No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. [14] Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. [15] As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. [16] Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed."

Oh Lord, that we would have more hunger for You than desire for our own comfort!  Lord, we desire to see You glorified, to see Your name help high, to see You church respond in repentance and changed Lives!  We desire to see You move in the miraculous!

Oh Lord, forgive my unbelief, my own desire for comfort more than passion for You! Help me to lay down anything that would keep me in my comfort box!  

Lord, I want to see miracles, and proclaim Your Name, even as Peter did 2000 or so years ago!  You are the same today!

Amen and Amen!

Restoration and Abundant Blessings

Yesterday during our time of worship after the sermon, I felt like I heard something from the Lord concerning those who have gone through some difficult times.  The verses that I was directed to are as follows -  Jeremiah 33:6-11 NIV:

[6] “ 'Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. [7] I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. [8] I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. [9] Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.' 

[10] “This is what the Lord says: 'You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more [11] the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, “Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before, ' says the Lord."

We were reflecting on the Lord's presence, His indwelling Holy Spirit, and His desire to be with us.  As we were reflecting I felt led to the scriptures above and had this strong sense that the Lord wanted those of us who are living in difficult situations to have hope!  

In the scriptures above the Lord had just talked about Israel's rebellion, and disobedience being the cause of their present captivity, but that their hopes and dreams to return to their own land were going to be fulfilled by Him!  The sense I had was that the Lord was starting to put in motion processes of restoration, with the goal being rest and relationship! 

This restorative process flows out of relationship with Him! It is interesting all the "I will" statements in verses 6-8:

I (God) Will - 

Bring Health and healing to the land

Heal my people 

Let my people enjoy abundant peace and security (rest)

Bring my people back from where they are captive (freedom)

Rebuild my people and their homes/cities

Cleanse my people from their sin

Forgive my people's sin of rebellion

I love the imagery found in verse - [9] "Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.' "

The Lord will be so good to His people that all the nations will tremble (fear) because of the goodness of God, the very prosperity and peace He provides!  That is definitely more than just a Sunday "feel good" from going to church!   

Oh Lord, we pray that You would launch your grace, mercy, compassion and blessing and fulfill Your word in all its completeness in our lives!  Lord, bring healing and restoration especially to those in hopeless situations!  Please bring health healing, rest, freedom, abundant blessing, forgiveness and cleansing to  Your people!  Help to press into You for You are the one that will do all of this!

Amen and Amen!

Spiritual Vision Impairment

The verses for this morning come from the end of the story of Jesus healing a man who was born blind. The story is a great read, but today I am just focusng on the last few verses  - John 9:35-41 NIV:

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

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

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

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

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

[40] Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” 

[41] Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains."

Yesterday my theme in prayer was listening to Jesus, and this morning the theme is Spiritual Blindness, so I see a bit of a pattern.  Lord, help me to see and hear!

If I were to create a definition of Spiritual blindness from these verses, it would be those who think they can see and understand God but don't have relationship with Jesus.  

It is such an interesting thing that the Pharisees and other experts of the law, knew the words so well, but completely didn't recognize the author was in their midst!  Not only that, but when Jesus pointed out that they were misinterpreting the very meaning, they wanted to kill Him!  They were so committed to their understanding that they refused to change or even consider that they might be wrong, even when confronted with signs and miracles, healings and deliverances.

As I was thinking through this I was reminded of a story about a magician named the Amazing Rudi who created a fake psychic "Carlos" and worked with 60 Minutes in Australia.  The show was a complete hoax and at the end of it, they revealed it as such, but there were people who would not believe they had been tricked.  They were so firm in their belief, and judgments that when confronted with the truth by the author of the hoax, they refused to change their minds.  In the same way, the Pharisees were so committed to their way of understanding the Law and God, that they were unwilling to change their minds.

I know that at times I  certainly have been spiritually blind, or maybe vision impaired!  Especially when I was younger in my faith, I thought I had most everything figured out, and understood exactly what God was like, based on my own experience and what I had heard from trusted teachers.  I was convinced that the beliefs of our church were representative of the complete truth, and every other church only believed part of the truth.  I was spiritually vision impaired for sure.

There are many such churches out there, denominations that teach such,  and many of our brothers and sisters that refuse to believe anything other than what they have been taught or seen themselves.  There are those that hold the Bible as the complete record of God, and anything experienced that is not specifically found in the Bible as being not of God.  We have many ways of being spiritually vision impaired, of seeing things only through the lenses of our own limited understanding and perspective.  

The Lord has been gracious to me, providing me ample opportunities to change my mind (repent) about my beliefs and perspectives.  He has been gentle and merciful, knowing that it requires a level of humility to admit my own wrongness, and He is willing to help me get to that point!  

I guess if I were to modify my definition of spiritual blindness I would add spiritual pride, as a sort of spiritual vision impairment.  We can see in part, but be convinced that we see the whole thing and understand every bit perfectly.

I am reminded of the story of the blind men who encountered an elephant and each defined the elephant by what they could touch, but none were able to describe the whole elephant.  In my spiritual walk I have realized that I have only experienced a very small portion of God, and that as such, I better keep my eyes and ears open to further understanding and opportunities for repentance!  

I am impressed more and more how true God's words through Isaiah are , “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." ( Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV).

I am also impressed to be aware of anyone claiming to know everything about God, for while I once had similar thoughts myself, I have been mercifully corrected.  :-)

May the Lord bless us and help us to see!

Amen!

Listen to Him!

This morning I was reading from Mark, Chapter Nine.  There are so many things to think about and reflect on in every chapter of the Gospels, its almost impossible to really reflect on a whole chapter at once. That is why I read through the chapter and then think back over it and see which bit stands out the most in my recollection.  Often times it is not the one I would think going into the chapter.  This is just one of the many ways I have learned to listen to the Lord.  The verses that stood out to me today are the following - Mark 9:2-10 NIV:

[2] "After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. [3] His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. [4] And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 

[5] Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters---one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” [6] (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) 

[7] Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” 

[8] Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. 

[9] As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. [10] They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant."

The single verse that stood out to me this morning was verse 7, specifically - "a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!"   The thought that ran through my mind when I read this was how interesting that God the Father would choose to say that last bit, of all the things He could have said!  I think this is obviously REALLY IMPORTANT! 

In looking at the other accounts of this event, we have very similar words.

Luke 9:35 NIV:  "A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”   

Matthew 17:5 NIV:  "While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

All three of the accounts end the Father's statement with the command to "Listen to him!"  I find it interesting that in my recollection of the different stories of the transfiguration, I remembered the first phrases, but not the last. I clearly need to get better at listening to Him.

In my reflection this morning, listening is the obvious focus!  This leads to the obvious question for those of us reading these words a couple thousand years later, "How do I listen to Jesus?" 

I am not an expert, that is for sure, but this is one of the things that I have worked on for the last 40+ years of my life, listening to Jesus.  I think it safe to say that if this was the last thing the Father said audibly about Jesus, we should probably pay attention to it.  I like to believe that if this is the Father's command, then it must be possible to listen to Jesus.  Secondly, if its possible to listen to Him then it is something I can learn to do, and even get better at it.

Listening for me includes all the following:

1) Actively taking time every day to quiet myself, focused just on my relationship with Jesus.

2) Reading Scripture and reflecting on it

3) Praying, which is really just having a conversation with Jesus, where I both speak and listen

4) Learning to discern what His voice sounds like, and the different ways He can speak

5) Reading about others who have learned to listen to Him, and how He speaks to them

6) Talking to other who follow Him, hearing how they hear the voice of the Lord in their lives

7) Working to be aware of His voice through out my day, and not just in my quiet time

8) Often reflecting at the end of the day, how I have encountered Him

9) Journalling my conversations, and interactions so that I can go back and read all that He has said to me

Each of the actions above could be broken into several sub-points, for I have discovered that listening to the Lord is a rich experience.  He speaks in so many ways, and I am working to be more attuned to each of the ways I have experienced Him speak.

This morning I am encouraged to make sure I "Listen to Him!"

Amen and Amen!

When Jesus Comes to Dinner

This morning I am reading again from Luke 11, and will spend some time reflecting on what I think is a somewhat humorous interaction between Jesus, the Pharisees and experts on the Law.  Here are the verses - Luke 11:37-46 NIV:

[37] "When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. [38] But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal. 

[39] Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. [40] You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? [41] But now as for what is inside you---be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you. 

[42] “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. 

[43] “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces. 

[44] “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.” 

[45] One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.” 

[46] Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them."

My first thought on reading this was that I didn't want Jesus as a dinner guest!  :-)  Lately, I have been reflecting on the interactions between Jesus and the Pharisees and other "experts".  This morning, as I was reading these "woes" I initially was thinking, 'yeah that's right give it to them good and hard!'   However after a bit more reflection, I started wondering if I have similar issues in my life, where if I asked, the Lord would point them out?  As painful as that would be, I believe my heart wants to know so that I can do a better job of reflecting the Lord in my life! 

In both verses 41 and 42 above the Lord provided clear guidance on how to change or do better.  I know I need that in my life!  I do want to do better!  I want to reflect Jesus in my life, in my actions, and most importantly in my heart!  

In reading the verses above, I sort of felt sorry for the one expert of the law who had the gumption to try and correct Jesus, saying He was insulting them too!  I guess we can see from the Lord's response how concerned He is with hurting someone's feelings!  :-)

Seriously though, the Lord does bring correction and direction, and in my experience it is much more gentle and merciful if I am willing to hear, have a teachable heart, and a humble attitude.  I do want to be able to reflect the Lord in my day to day life, and I want to do better.  The Lord is gracious, merciful, compassionate and gentle when He brings correction.  A few weeks ago I was reading about the epileptic boy the apostles couldn't heal (See Mark 9: 14-29) and the Lord pointed out something in my belief that was incorrect, and provided me the opportunity to change my thinking and belief!  It wasn't a harsh word, more of a gentle revealing of an incorrect assumption, that led to a wrong belief.  

I think the Lord is looking for those who will follow Him, and not get offended with Him.  If we look at the verses following this dinner party,  the response of the Pharisees and experts of the Law was anything but that - Luke 11:53-54 NIV:  "When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, [54] waiting to catch him in something he might say."

Oh Lord, help us to receive and embrace Your correction!  Help us to desire to reflect You more accurately to those in our lives.

Amen!