Adopted Children of God

This morning I am thinking about the following verses from Paul's letter to the Galatians 4:4-7 NIV:

[4] "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, [5] to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. [6] Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba , Father.” [7] So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir."

As someone who never knew what it was like to live under the law, the first verse and a half don't really have as much weight as they would have to a Jew, living during that time.  To the Jew, the Law controlled much of their life, and their identity was interwoven with the Law.  Much of who they were and how they thought about themselves was because of  the Law.  Thus, being redeemed out from under the law would have had a huge impact in their life.

Another thing that we probably don't fully understand is what it means to be redeemed.  The word used by Paul that is translated redeem is the Greek word Exagorazo:

Definition:

1) to redeem
    a) by payment of a price to recover from the power of another, to ransom, buy off
    b) metaph. of Christ freeing the elect from the dominion of the Mosaic Law at the price of his vicarious death
2) to buy up, to buy up for one's self, for one's use
    a) to make wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good, so that zeal and well doing are as it were the purchase money by which we make the time our own

The primary definition is related to the practice of attacking villages and or other tribes and taking hostages or slaves.  The rescue of these hostages through either monetary exchange (ransom) or battle is what exagorazo means.  The second definition under this is described as Jesus freeing the elect out from under the dominion of the Law by His death.  His death was the price that He paid.  Think of it as a hostage exchange.  For those who are familiar with the book, "The Lion, the witch and the Wardrobe", C.S.Lewis included a great example of redemption when Aslan the Lion (symbolizing Jesus) offered to be exchanged for Edward, who would have died for His actions.  This is such a great example of redemption, and what Jesus has done for each of us.  I like that the author, who wrote the definition above, described Jesus' death as vicarious.  Webster's Dictionary defines vicarious as follows:

1 a : serving instead of someone or something else
    b : that has been delegated
2 : performed or suffered by one person as a substitute for another or to the benefit or advantage of another :substitutionary

Again relating this to modern literature, in the book and movie "The Hunger Games", Katniss volunteers to take her sister Prim's place in the Reaping, which was a sort of human sacrifice to maintain peace for all or her region.  This is a great example of what vicarious means.  She served the sentence, which was effectively a death sentence, and suffered through the Games rather than allowing her sister to go to her almost certain death.  In the same way, Jesus vicariously died for each of us, taking upon Himself the suffering that we might have experienced, the condemnation for our sins, and allowing His blood and Life to pay the ransom for our life.

One could stop right here, and we would have enough to be extremely grateful to Jesus, redeeming us and setting us free from the Law.  However, God is the God of abounding love, and rather than just redeeming us, He takes another step and adopts us as His own children!  Paul says that we become God's child, and because of this we also become heirs!
I know I have no idea what God means when He says I am His heir, but that is what He calls us.  We can somewhat understand this word through its use in our culture.  A good example would be the children of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart.  They are all on the list of the most wealthy 100 Americans, and they are on the list because of what they inherited from their father. This is just a microcosmic understanding of what it must mean to be God's heir.  The Lord doesn't just bless us with material wealth, but pours forth spiritual blessings, identity, authority, and the like.  The story of the wayward son found in Luke 15, is a good example of how the Father blesses us.  When His wayward son comes home he immediately calls for his robe, his ring, his sandals and a feast.  These three articles are signs of his restored identity, authority and provision, and the feast is indicative of God's joy in his salvation and redemption.

In summary, I am so grateful for Jesus taking my place, and redeeming me.  I am so grateful for His vicarious death.  I am just beginning to grasp what it means to be His adopted child! Lord, I pray that you would help us all understand this great gift that You have provided to us in adopting us as Your children!

Power to Witness to the Ends of the Earth!

This morning I am considering the beginning of the Acts.  Here are the verses - Acts 1:1-8 NIV:

[1] In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach [2] until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. [3] After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. [4] On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. [5] For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

[6] Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

[7] He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. [8] But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

There are a few things that stick out to me immediately:

1) Jesus spoke to them about the Kingdom of God.  He knew now that His time on earth was very short, so He would have been speaking about the most important things, and his subject was the Kingdom of God.  Thus, we can place the Kingdom of God very high on our list of important topics to understand, pursue and experience.

2) He taught them about the Kingdom and then He told them to wait for the baptism in the Holy Spirit that they would have the power to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth.  If they were called to be His witnesses, that which they were supposed to bear witness to was His teaching, His death, His resurrection, and the Kingdom of God.  If the Apostles and other disciples, those that were personally taught by and lived with Jesus, needed the power of the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses, how much more do we need the power of the Holy Spirit to enable our witness to these very same things.

3) Jesus speaks of a baptism with the Holy Spirit, and then describes it as the Holy Spirit coming upon you, and power being received.  The Greek word used by Luke here, and the meaning conveyed by Jesus, is the word Baptizo.  Here is the definition and a brief explanation of this word:

1: to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk)
2: to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash one's self, bathe
3: to overwhelm

"Not to be confused with the Greek word 'bapto'. The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be 'dipped' (bapto) into boiling water and then 'baptised' (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptising the vegetable, produces a permanent change. When used in the New Testament, this word more often refers to our union and identification with Christ than to our water baptism. e.g. Mark 16:16. 'He that believes and is baptised shall be saved'. Christ is saying that mere intellectual assent is not enough. There must be a union with him, a real change, like the vegetable to the pickle!" Bible Study Magazine, James Montgomery Boice, May 1989.

Thus, Jesus is speaking of more than just a temporary power boost, but an infilling and changing of the internal nature of oneself. I think the pickle is a great example.  You can wash a cucumber in water - which would be a proper use of the word 'Bapto', but the pickling process is representative of a complete change of the character of the cucumber.  Depending on the solution, one can make either sweet pickles or dill pickles using the same cucumbers, and depending on the solution the taste of these same cucumbers becomes quite different.  I believe that this kind of change is what Jesus is referring to in these verses.  The Apostles had operated in the power of the Holy Spirit while performing miracles and healing during their ministry tours, and they had been breathed on by Jesus (John 20:22) to receive the Holy Spirit, but this was different.  This time a permanent change would be experienced.  We see this coming to pass in Acts 2, they are filled with power and courage!

I am conscious of the fact that I need this type of change to my character!  I also know that in many ways I am significantly different than the person I was prior to the infilling of the Holy Spirit, but I don't think I have experienced the complete change of my internal character that Jesus refers to here. My experience so far, although I have been filled with power several times, not a change of nature or character.  I have read several biographies of men and women whose nature and character were radically changed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, people like Smith Wigglesworth, Rees Howells, David du Plessis, Kathryn Kuhlman, St. Francis, Heidi Baker, Che Ahn, and John Wimber.

I am also aware of the fact that much of the church would limit the Holy Spirit to being basically Godly wisdom, a sort of wise counselor who helps us figure out what we should do.  There are those who understand and teach about the fuller release of power that accompanies the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and are open to the full release of the Power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  As I noted above, if the Apostles required this power, how can we think for a moment that we could accomplish God's purposes and plans without also experiencing this infilling, this coming upon by the Holy Spirit?

Lord, I pray that You would once again move upon Your Church, and release onto us the Holy Spirit!  I pray that the Holy Spirit would come upon us and would radically change us, change our character, and our gifts.  As I was praying this - I was just thinking of the difference between a manual hand-drill, the type that was used for hundreds of years, compared to the powerful electric drill.  They are both capable of the same thing at a basic level, drilling holes in wood.  However, when the material is changed to metal or stone, the one using the electric drill will have a distinct advantage, and much quicker success.  In a way, the addition of power provides acceleration, as well as the ability to do more than previously experienced.  Lord, that is my prayer for the Church!

I am reminded of verses from:

2 Corinthians 9:10-11 NIV
[10] "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. [11] You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."

- and -

1 Thessalonians 3:12 NIV:  "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you."

- and finally -

Amos 9:13 NIV:  “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills,..."

Yes Lord, make our Love increase, provide an increase of seed which will result in an increase of generosity, and finally release the days of acceleration, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that the one planting is followed immediately by the one harvesting and treading the grapes!  We want to see new wine pouring forth, overflowing!

Amen and Amen!  Release to Your Church the power required to be a witness, even to the ends of the earth!

Perseverence Through Trials

This morning I felt lead to read from the Letter of James. It is interesting that he is addressing the 12 tribes that are scattered among the nations.  In other words, he is writing to the Jewish believers, those whose background was the Covenant of the Law.  Like the Letter to the Hebrews, the background of His audience has a very different background than the believers that Paul was generally writing too, those previously considered gentiles.  Sometimes it is good to be mindful of the audience when reading the letter.

The verses I am meditating on this morning are from James 1:2-8, 12 NIV:

[2] "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, [3] because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. [4] Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. [5] If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. [6] But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. [7] That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. [8] Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do."

[12] "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."

These verses are an interesting mix of encouragement and direction. James starts out by directing people to adopt an attitude and perspective when they are confronted by trials, namely that they rejoice in them, or as he says "consider it pure joy".  This is perhaps one of the hardest things to do when confronted with trials, changing one's perspective.  He is saying that we should take on a Heavenly mindset when confronted with trials.  The heavenly mindset allows us to see things from God's perspective, and everything from Him is Good!  I love the following quote from St. Alphonsus de Ligouri,, he said: "All things in our life are either for God's greater glory or our own greater sanctification."  This is a great example of choosing a heavenly mindset.

If we look at out situation from God's perspective, we will see His provision, His love and His mercy.  When we look to Him, our focus on our trials and problems becomes much less.  God is good all the time, and when we look at our situation from His perspective, we start to see His goodness towards us.  If we embrace trials as things that will cause us to grow in love and faith, which should be our goal in life, than we can welcome them with pure joy.

James continues on with that thought, directing people to take on the attitude that testing produces perseverance, which results in maturity and completeness.  That is such an interesting concept.  If I say it another way, we aren't mature nor complete until we have experienced and overcome trials.  There is something in this, namely perseverance, that we all need to become mature.  A good analogy would be our drivers license, we don't receive our drivers license until we take and succeed at two tests, both a written test and an actual driving test.  Having one's drivers license is in some ways a right of passage to becoming an adult, and trials which require perseverance fulfill the same role in our faith lives.

Another perspective is that as Christians we are called to be like Christ in all things, and perseverance during trials was one of the things that Jesus did, and thus we must do as well.  His perseverance was rooted in His understanding of who His Father was and what He was like.  Jesus understood that everything the Father directed Him to say and do was for our good, and the Father's greater Glory!  He knew the Father intimately, knew His character, knew His enduring Love, His mighty Power and His ability to save. Jesus was fully confident in His Father's love, so He could endure everything.  He persevered on the path set before Him, never losing hope or faith, nor His way.  We are called to a similar maturity.  We are called to Know the Father (and Jesus demonstrated exactly what the Father is like) and to be mature in our walk, believing and knowing the Father will deal with us exactly the same way He dealt with Jesus.

Another thought is that the Father must have great perseverance, as Jesus, during His time on earth, was an exact representation of the Father (Heb 1:3).  Thus, Jesus is really just reflecting the Father in every way, and perseverance is one of the character traits He was reflecting.  The Father demonstrates incredible perseverance in all of our lives.  Graham Cooke says it this way, "whether we do well or badly, the Lord is consistent in His heart towards us."  In other words, He perseveres in His love through all of our ups and downs, our faithfulness and our sin, our victories and our defeats, the Father never changes His heart towards us!

James continues on with another character trait that some might need to become mature, namely wisdom.  He said all we need to do was ask the Father for this, and He would give it to us.  He said we must ask with no doubt, in other words, we need to believe in the Father, in His goodness and character just like Jesus did.  James cautions us against double-mindedness, and what that basically means is thinking two things about God at the same time an example would be - 'that God is Good, and that He hates me and is punishing me'.  He can't do both, for God is eternally consistent.  Being double-minded towards God means that we really haven't matured in our faith and in our understanding of God.  I keep going back to the words of A.W.Tozer - "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."  We must learn who God is and allow Him to show us His character, so that we can think correctly about God, and not be double-minded.

Finally, James comes back to perseverance, and gives one final encouragement to the reader to persevere, so that they might receive the crown of life, given by the Lord to those that Love Him.  It is interesting that here James basically equates love with perseverance, that one proves the other, that perseverance proves the Love.  If we want an example of that we need only look at marriage.  Marriage is an outworking of our relationship, which is based on love.  However it is only those who persevere in marriage who are able to prove their love.  The traditional marriage vows say that the individuals will be true (persevere) in sickness and in health, whether wealthy or poor, in good times or bad. That is a great example of perseverance.  James says that those of us who do persevere will receive the "Crown of Life".  Some of the commentators that I read talk about the crown signifying a Kingdom, our relation to the King, our eternal inheritance.  I like all of that - but mostly I just want the Lord.

I have heard some people preach about attaining positions in the new millennium, the 1000 year reign described in Revelations.  They have identified all the things needed to become one of the favorites of the Lord, and have plans on being one who gains the right to rule over cities through their faithfulness to God.  Me, I might be wrong, but I figure when I make it to heaven, I will be too engrossed in the Lord to care about ruling over cities!  I just want to know the Lord, to Love Him and be loved by Him, to marvel at His ever-increasing Kingdom and Glory!

So today, I am encouraged to persevere in my love for the Lord, my faith in the Lord and my reliance in the Lord, regardless of the trials I encounter.  I find that in life, if I encounter a trail in my life, as a married man I can either try to tough it out on my own, or I can turn to my sweetheart and walk through the trial together.  If I choose the latter option, I find that my relationship with her deepens and becomes stronger.  That is what we are being encouraged to do in our relationship with God!  Walk through the trials with Him and let Him show you His love and faithfulness!  He isn't punishing us, He is giving us an opportunity to grow in love and intimacy!

Amen!

Hope in Predicaments!

This morning I am reflecting on verses from John 11:1-7 NIV:

[1] "Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. [2] (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) [3] So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

[4] When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it.” [5] Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. [6] So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, [7] and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

There verses should bring comfort to anyone who is waiting on God to do something.  If we grab hold of the spiritual principles revealed here, we will find ourselves, and our spirits well guarded against the lies of the enemy.  He would try to convince us that God doesn't care, that God doesn't love us, that He is unaware of our circumstances.  All of these are lies from the pit of hell.

The truth is that the Lord loves each and every one of us deeply.  The truth is that He knows the intimate details of our lives.  The truth is that He is actively interceding for us to his Father.  The truth is that any delay is going to result in greater Glory of God.  The truth is that He is moved by our pain and suffering.  The truth is that He knows exactly how we feel!  The truth is that it is because of His love for us that He waits to fulfill the Father's will.

As I have quoted many times, 'our ways are not God's ways' (Is 55:8) and 'His thoughts are not our thoughts'.  His perspective is completely different than ours, for He views us outside of time and knows every detail of our lives.  He knows how it will work out, how He will bless us, how He will be glorified, etc.  We just need to trust Him, and trust His promises.  He doesn't act like us, and thus we can't figure out exactly what He will do, and our expectations are often wrong.  Regardless of our thoughts, our belief that we know what He will do, we need to trust in the One who loves us!

So let us turn to the Lord in prayer over the situations and struggle, the predicaments and trials we face. Let us remember that even though the situation looks beyond hope, that God is the God of the impossible, and it is right to hope in Him.

Maturity and Gifts in the Body

This morning I am reading from Paul's letter to the Ephesians 4:11-16 NIV:

[11] "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, [12] to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up [13] until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

[14] "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. [15] Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. [16] From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

Recently I have been reading a book by Alan Hirsch where he talks about the importance and necessity of the five-fold ministry as described by Paul here in Ephesians.  I have always believed that it was important for the Church to learn to encourage these ministries and gifts in the body.  When reading through Paul's writing again, it is clear that these ministries were meant to work together to bring about spiritual maturity in the Body of Christ.  I think it is fair to say that alternatively, if these ministries are not present in the church that the church will not mature to the level it needs to, in Christ.

Immaturity is a very difficult thing to overcome, because the spiritually immature may not know they are experiencing less than the Lord desires for them.  Physically, immaturity is easy to see for the Lord has designed into us key indicators like physical size, certain attributes that are only experienced when maturity is reached, but spiritually maturity is much more difficult to identify. An analogy that might be helpful is that if a person was only ever exposed to baby food, and never saw a regular meal they would think that all food came in a jar and was soft and pureed, and this was true of all food.  They would have no knowledge of real food preparation, or the texture of different types of food, or even the need for forks and knifes.

In the same way, churches who are only exposed to pastoring or teaching, would have no real experience or understanding of true apostolic ministry, discerning strategic and tactical approaches to grow the church and protecting the truths of the Gospel.  They would have minimal understanding of the revelatory gifts of the prophetic ministry, and either fear them or misunderstand the purpose of these gifts.  They would be very limited in their evangelical outreachs and understanding of how to approach diverse people groups.

As Paul writes, all five of these gifts, at least, are required for the body of Christ to grow and mature, for each part must do its work.  In a church that is lead by an individual with a teaching gift, they will learn much, but have no idea how to move forward as a body, and what pitfalls they need to steer away from.  Likewise, churches that are only experiencing teaching do not experience the pastoral care required to deal with the hurts and pains caused by our broken humanity, nor would they likely have any real strategies for reaching the lost.

Finally churches that do not regularly experience all the giftings and ministries, would have no idea how to grow people in each of these disparate areas.  Maturity in ministry is best accomplished through mentoring and the guidance of other more seasoned individuals who have experience operating in these gifts.

If we want to grow to maturity, and not be tossed back and forth by every wind of teaching and cunning craftiness and deceitful scheming, we need to encourage these ministries, align ourselves relationally with others that operate in these gifts and ministries, have regular experience of these ministries, and have these gifts called out  and recognized in the local body.  If these ministries are called out through the Holy Spirit in Paul's writings, we can be sure that they are part of God's plan for the church, and as such that He has made provision for these gifts within the local church, and through relationships with other parts of the Body.  These are not gifts and ministries that were limited to the time of apostles, but are meant for every church throughout all the ages.

So, let us pray for the Church.  Let us pray that all of the gifts and ministries planned by the Lord and encouraged by the Lord find their home in our churches.  Let us pray that Church might mature and reach a place of unity and connectedness.

Amen and Amen!

Sent Into the Harvest

This morning I was reading through Matthew and came across one of my favorite verses, one that inspires me to try to love and accept everyone I interact with in my day to day life.  Here are the verses - Matthew 9:35-38 NIV:

[35] "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. [36] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [37] Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. [38] Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

I love the fact that Jesus' primary reaction to seeing crowds of people, who were hungry for the touch of God, was compassion!  The Greek word that is translated as compassion is the word Splagchnizomai.  It is defined as follows:

1. to be moved as to one's bowels, hence to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity)

The root of that word is Splagchnon and it is defined as follows:

1.  bowels, intestines, (the heart, lungs, liver, etc.)
    a.  bowels
    b.  the bowels were regarded as the seat of the more violent passions, such as anger and love; but by the Hebrews as the seat of the tenderer affections, esp. kindness, benevolence, compassion; hence our heart (tender mercies, affections, etc.)
    c.  a heart in which mercy resides

Matthew writes that Jesus had compassion on the crowds of people when He saw them.  It wasn't when he interacted with them, or healed their diseases or wounds, but rather at his first sighting of them.  I pray that compassion will be my first reaction as well, for at present I am much more inclined to classify people and judge them when I first see them.

Secondly, Matthew writes that Jesus had compassion on them.  The word he used, and the root of that word talk about deep feelings, being moved in one's deepest places, having a heart of mercy towards someone or something.  When I read through the definitions, in my mind this is much more than just kindness or gentleness, but rather something that is visible and moving.  I think that Jesus' emotions were visible to everyone, and that they could see Him being physically moved by the crowds, and see His heart expressed in actions towards all these people.

I love the fact that Jesus was moved deeply by the crowds.  Later in John 5:19 Jesus says that everything He does comes from the Father, so if Jesus is moved with compassion, then the Father is moved with compassion when He sees the crowds of people who are hungry for His visitation!

What an encouraging thought as we prepare to gather with others on a Sunday!  We should go to church with an expectant heart, knowing that the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are all moved with compassion when they see us.  They desire to fill us with their love, to touch us and heal us, to let us know that they care for us deeply!

Finally, Jesus encourages the apostles to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into the fields that are ripe for the harvest. I believe He is looking at the hearts of the people when He says this, and we should recognize that people truly are hungry for God, ready to be harvested (to receive salvation and God's touch).  Specifically Jesus says to ask that workers be sent into the Lord of the harvest's fields.  In other words, He will direct and guide us to His fields, to the ones where the harvest will be plentiful because it is already ripe for the harvest. Notice that Jesus said this to His disciples, the very ones that He would send out to world as His last words on earth, recorded by Matthew as follows - Matthew 28:18-20 NIV:

[18] "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Amen!

A Foundation for Thinking

This morning I am reflecting on verses from James' letter to the Twelve tribes of Israel, chapter three.  I like James' letter because he takes a practical look at the Christian walk, and counters some of the extreme positions that developed over time.  Here are the particular verses I am  reflecting on this morning - James 3:17-18 NIV:

[17] "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. [18] Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness."

In these verses James is providing a counter to the other type of thinking, or wisdom,  that is common in the world, and calls that thinking bitter envy and selfish ambition. He is addressing those that might desire to follow the way and gives them a good list of internal checks to validate when their thoughts are in line with God's.

First off, he says that before all else the thoughts must be pure.  This is the foundational description, and all the others build upon it.  The Greek word used by James is Hagnos and it is defined as:

1. exciting reverence, venerable, sacred
2. pure
     a. pure from carnality, chaste, modest
     b. pure from every fault, immaculate
     c. clean

One gets a sense of what James is encouraging his fellow Christians, and former Jews to pursue, namely thinking like Jesus did.  Elsewhere in scripture it talks about how Jesus was fully human and tempted in every way we are, yet never sinned (Heb 4:15), and this would include His thoughts.  His thoughts were always holy and pure, and in this one characteristic, He set himself apart from all of mankind, for we, by our very nature tend towards selfish thoughts.  If we want to act like Jesus, we first of all need to think like Jesus.

I am reminded of the Seinfeld show where in one episode George decides to act in the exact opposite way than his natural instinct. This is similar to what James is encouraging his audience to do, to live and think in a way they normally do not.  The good news is that after a while, this becomes our default way of thinking, as we build a pattern of thought, modeled after the Lord.

I find this single area one in which the Lord has helped me significantly this past year. For years I struggled daily with my thought life, and at times it was a real battle. My issue was that there were so many thoughts that were clearly vain, selfish and brought forth by evil.  I didn't realize that I had given the enemy an open door to my mind, and was allowing him to have access to my mind where he could harass me and introduce all sorts of vain and selfish thoughts, and thoughts that were clearly sinful.

The Lord, in His great mercy, opened my eyes to this and showed me how to shut that door.  Since that time and through a couple of other personal revelations, I am much much more at peace in my thought life, and more often than not actually able to think pure thoughts.  It is wonderful being at peace internally!  I find that this allows me to more easily pursue being peace-loving, considerate, submissive, merciful, impartial and sincere in my thoughts and actions.

Lord, thank you for helping me to establish a firm foundation for my thought life, patterned after You.

A Prayer for Oneness

This morning I have been reflecting on the seventeenth chapter of John's Gospel, which is where the Lord is praying His last prayer for His disciples, and really for the Church.  There is so much to think about and try to assimilate into my understanding that it could probably take months if not years to really grasp the fullness of what Jesus is saying.  Today I am just going to chew on a few verses, as follows - John 17:20-23 NIV:

20] “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, [21] that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22] I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one--- [23] I in them and you in me---so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

What an incredible prayer!  I am so grateful for verse 20, because clearly Jesus us including you and me in His prayers, for we are those who believe in Him because of the message of the Apostles.  I love that Jesus is praying for our oneness (verse 21), for our intimate connection and relationship with one another.  This really is the precursor to Paul's message concerning the Body of Christ in the twelfth chapter of His first letter to the Corinthians.  It is out of this prayer for unity, but more than that, out of His prayer for oneness that we understand our connection to, and our being part of the Body.  There is only one Body of Christ, and we are all part of it, all those who believe in Jesus, regardless of our doctrinal or denominational affiliation.  I like to think of those human lines of separation, as merely names of different parts of the body, much like we have hands, feet, fingers and toes.

I also love that Jesus prays for us, asking that we might be joined into the very oneness that the Holy Trinity enjoys (verse 21). This is where my grasp of understanding starts to become practically non-existent, when compared to the reality of what Jesus is praying. The Trinity is one of the great and unsearchable mysteries of God, and Jesus is basically asking the Father to invite us into it!  Oh that we might truly have the mind, heart and perspective of God!  I am greatly encouraged, because if Jesus prayed it, the Father initiated that prayer, and it reflects His heart as well.  If Jesus prayed it and the Father desires it, and the Holy Spirit empowers us, then what can keep this from becoming our reality?

In verse 22 Jesus says that He has given us (both the Apostles and those who believe in their message) the glory that the Father gave Him.  The verb tense of this statement is called perfect tense, described here by the lexicon I use: "The perfect tense in Greek corresponds to the perfect tense in English, and describes an action which is viewed as having been completed in the past, once and for all, not needing to be repeated.  Jesus' last cry from the cross, TETELESTAI ("It is finished!") is a good example of the perfect tense used in this sense, namely "It [the atonement] has been accomplished, completely, once and for all time."

So Jesus says He has given us (already completed in perfection, never needing to be repeated) the glory the Father gave Him.  The Greek word used here is doxa and it is defined as follows:

1) opinion, estimate, whether good or bad concerning someone
    a) in the NT always a good opinion concerning one, resulting in praise, honour, and glory
2) splendour, brightness
    a) of the moon, sun, stars
    b) magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace
    c) majesty
        1) a thing belonging to God
             a) the kingly majesty which belongs to him as supreme ruler, majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of the deity
        2) a thing belonging to Christ
             a) the kingly majesty of the Messiah
             b) the absolutely perfect inward or personal excellency of Christ; the majesty
        3) of the angels
             a) as apparent in their exterior brightness
3) a most glorious condition, most exalted state
     a) of that condition with God the Father in heaven to which Christ was raised after he had achieved his work on earth
     b) the glorious condition of blessedness into which is appointed and promised that true Christians shall enter after their Saviour's return from heaven

What an awesome statement, and one that we clearly are not experiencing to our full potential!  Again, if Jesus said it, The Father wills it, and the Holy Spirit is empowering this how can it not happen?  I am laying a claim to this, to seeing this become my reality.  I don't know what it fully means (and likely never will this side of Eternal Life) but I know it is much more than what I experience now!

Lord, we pray that You would breathe again on this promise for the Church, Your Body, and refresh and renew our understanding of oneness!  Draw us into You, reveal Your Glory through us!  That the world might know that You love us all!

Amen!

Courage and Humility

This morning I am reflecting on the following verses from Acts 14:8-22 NIV:

[8] "In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. [9] He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed [10] and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

[11] When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” [12] Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. [13] The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

[14] But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: [15] “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. [16] In the past, he let all nations go their own way. [17] Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” [18] Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

[19] Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. [20] But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

[21] They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, [22] strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said."

In reading this I am amazed at two things, Paul and Barnabas' humility and their courage.  First, I am really impressed by the fact that they wouldn't allow for a moment the thought that they were someone special, once they realized what the Lycaonians were thinking of them as God's and planning to sacrifice to them!  I think that for any of us that God decides to move through powerfully, the temptation to think of ourselves as someone special is very dangerous.  It is dangerous for the individual being raised up, and for those who are entering into idolatry by doing so.  I hate to say it, but pastor worship is a dangerous thing in the Church, and something that our celebrity and big church mindset fosters.

The truth of the matter is that in God's eyes we are all equally precious and valued, no one individual more so than any other, regardless of the depth of gifting, calling or anointing.  The other truth is that no matter how powerfully anyone ministers, they are still sinners, made righteous only through Jesus' gift of salvation, redemption and forgiveness.

Secondly, I was impressed with the courage of Paul, especially after getting physically dragged from the city, stoned and left for dead, he gets up and goes back into the city.  He does continue his journey the next day, and continue preaching like the stoning in Lystra never happened.  After a successful time of ministry in Derbe, they go back to Lystra again, and continue to strengthen the disciples there, and encourage the church.  They clearly loved the Gospel and the Lord, more than their own lives.

Finally, my last reflection relates to Paul's statement in verse 22, that "we must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God."   This verse is probably in the top 100 list of verses not quoted. :-)  It is likely that none of us, if we were honest with ourselves, would joyfully welcome this word if it was spoken over us.  We like things that are easy, come easily and don't require much effort.  The Greek word used by Paul is thlipsis and it is defined as follows:

1) a pressing, pressing together, pressure
2) metaph. oppression, affliction, tribulation, distress, straits

At the very least, Paul is speaking about being quite uncomfortable.  I am reminded of his statement from his letter to the Romans 8:35-39 NIV:

[35] "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? [36] As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” [37] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38] For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, [39] neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Amen and amen!  We have one who loves us who is faithful, and His love for us will never fail. If we hold onto His love, we too shall attain fulfillment of His promise, eternal life.

Reflections on the Parable of the Weeds

This morning I am contemplating the Parable of the weeds, found in Matthew's thirteenth chapter.  Here is the parable and Jesus' explanation as well - Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 NIV:

[24] Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. [25] But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. [26] When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

[27] “The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'

[28] “ 'An enemy did this,' he replied.

“The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

[29] “ 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. [30] Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' ”

[36] "Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” [37] He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. [38] The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, [39] and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. [40] “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. [41] The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. [42] They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [43] Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear."

My first thought on reading this is that this doesn't sound like the rapture at all, in fact it sounds like the opposite for it is the evil ones who get collected first.  Second, it seems that the culling of the weeds (evil ones) will actually cause the Kingdom of God to shine, as it will no longer be affected by anything that causes sin.  Thirdly, Jesus appears to be talking about the actual end of the age for the workers are angels, and this description by Jesus has no apparent ties to signs and portents (at least not recorded by Matthew).  

On a slightly different theme, God's reasons for allowing the weeds to grow is that He doesn't want to uproot the wheat.  It appears that He really isn't concerned with "judging" the weeds, because it might affect good wheat growing right next to the weed.   That is an interesting twist for those who prophecy judgment over peoples, cities, regions and nations because of their sin.  Here God withholds judgment on just such people for the sake of His people (good wheat) living and growing in the midst of the weeds.

Finally, Jesus is very clear that there will be a judgment day, and we will be judged. However, as Paul writes in his letter to the Romans 9:22-24 NIV:

[22] "What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath---prepared for destruction? [23] What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory--- [24] even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?"

I am grateful that God has extended mercy and patience to this world, to all that inhabit it, for in doing so, there has been an opportunity for me to respond to His invitation to relationship.

One last thought, I find it interesting that the weeds (people) in this parable could actually become wheat, through hearing the word of God and responding to the offer of salvation that God extends to them.  Paul does refer to the objects of God's mercy as being prepared in advance, and to me that sounds much like Paul's statements in Ephesians 1:4-14 NIV:

[4] "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love [5] he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--- [6] to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. [7] In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace [8] that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, [9] he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, [10] to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment---to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ."

[11] "In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, [12] in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. [13] And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession---to the praise of his glory."

Amen!

When Things Don't Work Out Like I Thought They Would

This morning I was reading Ezk 17.  It is an interesting chapter as God has Ezekiel prophetically speak an allegory to Israel, and it is about The Babylonian exile, and the King put in place to rule Israel by the King of Babylon.  The placed King decides to make an entreaty to Egypt to try and break away from Babylon and God is not for this at all!  Here are the verses where God explains the situation and His response -

Ezekiel 17:11-21 NIV:

[11] "Then the word of the Lord came to me: [12] “Say to this rebellious people, 'Do you not know what these things mean? ' Say to them: 'The king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and carried off her king and her nobles, bringing them back with him to Babylon. [13] Then he took a member of the royal family and made a treaty with him, putting him under oath. He also carried away the leading men of the land, [14] so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to rise again, surviving only by keeping his treaty. [15] But the king rebelled against him by sending his envoys to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the treaty and yet escape?

[16] “ 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, he shall die in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose treaty he broke. [17] Pharaoh with his mighty army and great horde will be of no help to him in war, when ramps are built and siege works erected to destroy many lives. [18] He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Because he had given his hand in pledge and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.

[19] “ 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will repay him for despising my oath and breaking my covenant. [20] I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment on him there because he was unfaithful to me. [21] All his choice troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to the winds. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken."

The interesting thing to me is that viewed from Israel's perspective (being His chosen people), God's plan doesn't seem to make sense.  How could taking away their sovereignty, removing their leading families, and having a king put in place by a foreign conquering king be God's plan?  Yet that is exactly what God is saying here.  In verse 19 God talks about the placed king "despising my  (God's) oath and breaking my (God's) covenant".  God would not have spoken an oath or made a covenant if it was not in His plan - He doesn't negotiate, He is in total control!

From a human perspective, this king was trying to break away from the Babylonian influence, trying to re-establish Israel's sovereignty and create an alliance with Egypt, which seems right.  It is interesting that this would have been written after the book of Isaiah which speaks in Chapter 19 of a relationship that gets established between three nations, Assyria, Egypt and Israel.  That being said, one could have come up with a prophetic word, based on the prophecies of Is 29, confirming the idea to reach out to the Egyptians, as a relationship with Egypt was prophesied, and the Kingdom of Babylon was going to fail according to similar prophesies found specifically in Isaiah 21 & 47 and Jeremiah 51, both which were likely written before the book of Ezekiel.

My point being this, we can make the Bible say what we want prophetically, for there are allegories and parables, and so many verses where God addresses His people, both historically and covenantly that we could come up with some mix to support our ideas and opinions.  There are types of understanding and thought that go in and out favor in our human circles, but God's word is perfect, and His ability to enact His will perfect.  We have at best a limited perspective, as described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:8-10, 12 NIV:

[8] "Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. [9] For we know in part and we prophesy in part, [10] but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears."

[12] "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."

Thus, I am always a bit leery of those who speak prophetically about seasons we are entering into, based on scriptures pulled together, and non-historical understandings of specific verses.  I am not saying that God doesn't speak prophetically to the Church, what I am saying is that our understanding before the fulfillment of prophetic word is most likely always imperfect.  There have been many times where the Holy Spirit has quickened something in my heart, and I think it means a particular thing, and I begin to pray for this to occur, believing God's word and my interpretation of His Word.  More often then not, when His word is revealed it is often very different than I thought.   I could get angry with this disparity or I could learn from it.

There are other times where my life takes a direction change and doesn't taker a path I thought it would, and I am surprised by the Lord.  I can get myself all worked up, start fighting against the change, which I don't think fits in God's plan for my life, or take a different approach.  I have decided my only (and best) recourse is to entrust myself fully to God, to believe in His goodness and His perfect will!  I believe that He loves me, has a plan for my life and is in complete control, regardless of how things look around me circumstantially.  He is a compassionate, loving and merciful God who has saved me!

So whether I understand, think I understand, or haven't a clue why my direction has changed and things didn't work out like I thought they would, I will trust God who loves me.

Amen!

Hearts and Actions Aligned

This morning I felt like reading from Mark's Gospel - and it is somewhat related to my most recent theme.  Here are the verses - Mark 7:6-8 NIV:

[6] "He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “ 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. [7] They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.' "

[8] "You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”

The topic of conversation was the fact that Jesus' disciples were not following all of the prescribed rituals surrounding washing their hands before eating.  The Pharisees believed this defiled them, and were using this as an example of how Jesus couldn't be from the Father, for He allowed this blatant disregard for the Law and its accompanying teachings.

Jesus on the other hand goes right to the heart of the issue (excuse the pun), namely their heart condition. It seems that the Pharisees loved the tradition and law more than they loved God.  They said all the right things, but their hearts were far from Him, and the Father.  The word here translated hypocrites is the Greek word "hupokrite" which is defined as follows:

1) one who answers, an interpreter
2) an actor, stage player
3) a dissembler, pretender, hypocrite

In other words, He could see their hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit, and knew that even though they were saying the right things, their hearts were far from Him, and that they had lost focus on the Very Words of God and instead were focused on the traditions of men.  They were in actuality playing a part, but underneath were unchanged and unresponsive to the invitation of Jesus.  What a terrible diagnosis to receive, especially if you think you are doing the right thing.

Jesus was all about shifting the paradigms of everyone He encountered!  He was representing the Father as He truly is, and correcting years of misundestandings about the purpose of the Law. He was inviting them to relationship but they preferred the praise of men.  The Lord desires our hearts first, then guides us to become more like Him through willful acts of obedience.

Oh Lord, help us to have our hearts and actions aligned.   Help us to love You first.

Amen!

The Lesson From The Fig Tree

This morning I felt like reading from Mark's Gospel and I was reading the following verses which made me stop and do some more research, for I didn't fully understand what Jesus was doing, and more importantly the why He was doing it.  Here are the verses - Mark 11:12-14 NIV:

[11] "The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. [13] Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. [14] Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it."

To fully understand this story, one  must understand something of the nature of these type of Fig trees.  Apparently (according to several commentators) these trees only have leaves when they have fruit.  Thus, even though it wasn't the season for figs, the tree had leaves and was in essence proclaiming that it also had fruit.  David Guzik's thoughts were that the Lord rebuked the tree not so much for being fruitless, for it wasn't the right season, but rather for false-advertising.  Here is an excellent excerpt from his Bible Commentaries:

a. Seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it: Essentially, the tree was a picture of "false advertising," having leaves, but no figs. Ordinarily, this is not the case with these fig trees, which normally do not have leaves without also having figs.

i. For it was not the season for figs: It wasn't that the fig tree didn't have figs, because it wasn't supposed to. The problem is that it had leaves but didn't have figs. The leaves said "There are figs here," but the figs weren't there.

ii. There were many trees with only leaves, and these were not cursed. There were many trees with neither leaves nor fruit, and these were not cursed. This tree was cursed because it professed to have fruit, but did not.

b. In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again": The tree is cursed for its pretense of leaves, not for its lack of fruit; like Israel, it has the outward form but no fruit. In this picture, Jesus warned Israel - and us - of God's displeasure when we have the appearance of fruit, but not the fruit itself. God isn't pleased when His people are all leaves and no fruit.

i. In all works in the ministry of Jesus, this is the only "destructive" miracle. The Old Testament is filled with miracles of destruction and judgment, but Jesus most perfectly showed us the nature of God. If this was the only miracle of its kind, we must see there is a great and important lesson in it. God doesn't approve when there is profession without reality, talk without walk.

As I read these comments I am reminded of Jame's discourse on faith without works, which is a very similar theme.  James 2:17 NIV: "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."  Jesus apparent focus here, and message to concern us, is that we do not put on airs, that we do not pretend that we have fruit, when we are really empty.  I believe this is also an important message for the church, for we can have a desire to appear fruitful, and can be tempted to cover our lack of fruitfulness with activity and manufactured excitement.  The real danger in this, is those who have never seen real spiritual fruit, the real presence of God, can become satisfied with the fake, never knowing there is real power and real life available to them.

Finishing my reflection here are a few verses where bearing fruit is the focus:

John 15:1-2 NIV:
[1] “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. [2] He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."

John 15:5 NIV:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

John 15:7-8 NIV:
[7] "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. [8] This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

John 15:16 NIV:
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit---fruit that will last---and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you."

Romans 7:4 NIV:
"So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God."

We were chosen and appointed to bear fruit, fruit that will last and this can only be accomplished if we remain connected to Him, for He is the source of all life!  We cannot generate fruit on our own, but we must remain in Him.  Let us examine our lives and view our fruitfulness, and let us pray for the church to bear real fruit!

Amen!

He is the Gate, He is The Good Shepherd!

This morning I am reflecting on these familiar verses from John 10:1-11 NIV:

[1] “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. [2] The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. [3] The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [4] When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. [5] But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.” [6] Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them."

[7] Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. [8] All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. [9] I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

[11] “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

I was reading the first few verses this morning, trying to put myself in the shoes of the person hearing Jesus say these things.  The first question that came to my mind was what is this gate he says the true shepherd will enter through?  I believe that is exactly what He wanted the people thinking, what is this gate?  Is it a person, is it a teaching school, a certification, what is the gate?

Sure enough, if you read through verse seven (or continue listening as the people did that day), Jesus answers the very question He wanted to create in the mind of the listener. Jesus says He is the gate!  Not only for the sheep, but also for the true shepherds.  Jesus, is laying the foundation for understanding here of the new covenant.  He is the way, the door, the gate, and any other way will not lead to life.  He is the only way.

Finally, in answer to the second question that would have popped into people's minds, 'who is shepherd that Jesus says enters by the gate, the one whose voice the sheep know, the one the sheep follow'?  Continuing on Jesus says He is the Good Shepherd!  Not only is He the Gate, He is also the Shepherd!

I can just imagine the confused looks on the faces of the Pharisees, as Jesus continues to lay out this new paradigm of relational covenant, for that is what He is describing.  He knows the sheep, the sheep know Him.  The sheep trust Him and follow Him, they know His voice, He leads them.  He is willing to lay down His life for the sheep.  The Pharisees likely got stuck on the gate analogy, for they thought they were the gate, for they thought they understood the Law, all of the scriptures and traditions and yet Jesus is saying they aren't the gate, that He is.  If they are like me, that is where they stopped listening, and John alludes to that by saying the Pharisees didn't understand what Jesus was telling them.  The new relational covenant is not based on the law, and obedience, but rather on relationship and faith (as described in John 6:38-40).

Finally, Jesus is really laying out and invitation to those who want to be His sheep.  There were likely hundreds of people, maybe thousands, and I can see them in their simpler understanding of Jesus' analogy thinking that they wanted to be sheep under this good shepherd, because they would be fed, looked after protected, they could follow without fear, knowing that  a good shepherd makes life good for the sheep.  His final statement in verse eleven (obviously He continues on, but I just wanted to focus on these verses) was that He was this good shepherd. That is the revelation He invites us all to encounter.  He knows our names.  He calls our names.  He invites us to follow Him. When we finally hear and decide to follow Him, we enter into this full life!  My reflection yesterday was on eternal life through relationship with and faith in Him.  We enter through Him and in doing so, encounter Him and His life, and are invited to experience both to the fullest!

Amen! What an awesome invitation!

The Promise of Eternal Life

Today I am meditating on the wonderful promise made by Jesus in John 6:38-40 NIV:

[38] "For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. [39] And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. [40] For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Talk about a reassuring promise and statement of the Father's heart and His will!  Jesus makes it all very clear here, It is the "Father's will that everyone who looks to (beholds) the Son (Jesus) and believes in Him shall have eternal life".  The Greek word here translated looks is the word Theoreo and it is defined as follows:

1) to be a spectator, look at, behold
    a) to view attentively, take a view of, survey
    b) to view mentally, consider
2) to see
    a) to perceive with the eyes, to enjoy the presence of one
    b) to discern, descry
    c) to ascertain, find out by seeing

And the word here translated believe is the Greek word Pisteuo and it is defined as follows:

1) to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in
    a) of the thing believed
        1) to credit, have confidence
    b) in a moral or religious reference
        1) used in the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul
        2) to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something: saving faith 1bc) mere acknowledgment of some fact or event: intellectual faith
2) to entrust a thing to one, i.e. his fidelity
    a) to be entrusted with a thing

This is clearly the foundation that Paul uses when He describes our salvation as dependent on our faith.  We must be presented with Jesus, look at Him and at what He did.  We must ascertain if what He said and what He did is true, and if we do, then our confidence must be placed in Him. I have heard it said before that Jesus either is who He says He is, or He isn't, and if He is, then our choice should be clear.

The promised reward is eternal life, and this is not just everlasting life, as we sometimes would think and as the Greek word literally means 'without beginning and end', but according to Jesus and other New Testament writers, also has to do with the quality of one's life.  Here is how Jesus defines eternal life, with an obvious point back to these original statements, later in John 17:2-3 NIV:

[2] "For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. [3] Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."  The Greek word, here translated know, is Ginosko and it is defined as the following:

1) to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel
    a) to become known
 2)  to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of
    a) to understand
    b) to know
3) Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman
4) to become acquainted with, to know

It is clear this refers to a growing intimacy in relationship.  We learn, we come to know, we grow in knowledge of, we experience, we perceive, all of which are in the context of relationship.  The idea that Eternal life is a a never-ending relationship with Jesus, His Father and the Holy Spirit, spent enjoying them, enjoying their life, sharing in their joy, is so much more than a life that never ends. This is the promise given to us by Jesus, and it is the will of the Father! If the Father wills it and if Jesus is always obedient, and has all authority on Heaven and Earth, then it is going to happen!  That is really good news!

So today, I am encouraged that I am going to inherit Eternal life, because I have looked at Jesus and I have placed my confidence in Him, and it is the Father's will!  That is a good way to start a Wednesday!

Thank You Lord for Your precious words, and Your eternal promise that one day I will enjoy!

Deep Thoughts and the Bread of Life

This morning I am reflecting on a couple of quotes from A.W. Tozer's book, "The Knowledge of the Holy".

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."

"For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech. She can never escape the self-disclosure of her witness concerning God."

"Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, "What comes into your mind when you think about God?" we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man. Were we able to know exactly what our most influential religious leaders think of God today, we might be able with some precision to foretell where the Church will stand tomorrow."

"Without doubt, the mightiest thought the mind can entertain is the thought of God, and the weightiest word in any language is its word for God. Thought and speech are God's gifts to creatures made in His image; these are intimately associated with Him and impossible apart from Him. It is highly significant that the first word was the Word: "And the Word was with God, and the Word was God." We may speak because God spoke. In Him word and idea are indivisible.

"That our idea of God correspond as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us. Compared with our actual thoughts about Him, our creedal statements are of little consequence."

"The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him - and of her. In all her prayers and labors this should have first place. We do the greatest service to the next generation of Christians by passing on to them undimmed and undiminished that noble concept of God which we received from our Hebrew and Christian fathers of generations past. This will prove of greater value to them than anything that art or science can devise."

This introduction to the idea of thinking about God, and more importantly, thinking correctly about God, is so important.  I believe that one of our greatest losses in our busy and fast-paced world is that we have lost the ability to think deeply!  We are quick to take in sound bites, to let someone else tell us what we should think, but do we really spend time thinking through the deep things of life, God being the deepest and most important?  Is our worship and praise of God served up for us in energetic songs and music, or do we really think those words we are singing?

Last night a couple of good friends and I were talking about a recent time of communion where the song "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus" was the accompaniment. We were discussing the deep thoughts concerning the Blood of Jesus, and how this type of deep thinking is rare in our church experience these days. I was reminded of Psalm 42:1-2, 7 NIV:  "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?"  "Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me."

I believe that within each of us is a longing to know God, to be known by God, and to experience God.  There is a deep place in our soul where our hunger can only be sated by an encounter with Him!  The way to draw near to Him is in conversation and listening, as it is in every relationship.

What I think might surprise many of us, is that God desires this type of deep relationship with each of us!  This is not only available to the "great ones of God" or our pastors, but is meant to be the daily bread of each of our lives.  When God caused manna to appear to feed the Israelites in the desert, it was food for every person, and they all went out and collected it. Here is the introduction to manna found in the book Exodus 16:15-16 NIV:

[15] "When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. [16] This is what the Lord has commanded: 'Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.' ”

Notice, this was not the job of the leaders, the heads of the household, or any designee, it was commanded that everyone was to gather. They were to gather an omer for each person, that is about 3 pounds.  In other words this was not something they were to nibble on, but was real nourishment, and much of it.

I believe in the same way the Lord wants to nourish our souls daily with more than just a nibble, or passing thought.  He desires that we fill ourselves, that  we think deeply and experience Him regularly throughout our days, not just on Sunday. If I imagine that I had 3 pounds of bread to eat that I had to consume in one day, I would likely eat it not just at meal-times, but also snack on it throughout the day. For the Israelite, this manna and the quail that covered their camp at night was their source of food for the remainder of the 40 years - it was this nourishment that gave them life.

Jesus told us that He Himself is the Bread of Life (John 6:35), and I believe this is the way He desires to interact with us in our lives.  He desires that we feast on Him, allow Him to fill that deep place in our soul, through conversation, deep experiences, hearing Him speak the words of Life. He doesn't want us subsisting on crumbs, or week-old bread, but on the fresh bread of daily interaction and relationship!

Let us embrace this invitation to come to the table and eat!  Let us all encounter God personally, everyone of us!  Let us nourish our souls, let us think deep thoughts, and have deep and lasting conversations with the Lord. He desires that each of us might eat daily and fill ourselves with this rich bread!

Amen!

Revelation of Jesus!

This morning I am reading from Paul's letter to the 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."

Again, Paul fills a few lines with such depth and richness, it is impossible to fully grasp all of which Paul speaks. Take the following statement as an example, "God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him (Jesus)".  How are we to fully comprehend this truth, when can't comprehend the fullness of God?

I love that Paul has been given revelation about the centrality of Christ Jesus.  Here are the points of the revelation as he lists them:

1) Jesus is the image of the invisible God (The Father)
2) Jesus is the first born over all creation (The Word)
3) All things were created in Him
4) All things were created through Him
5) All things were created for Him
6) He is before all things (He existed before, and is preeminent)
7) In Jesus all things hold together
8) He is the head of the Church, which is His body
9) He is the beginning (Gen 1:1)
10) He is the first born among the dead (to raise form the dead)
11) He is supreme over everything
12) All God's fullness dwells in Jesus
13) Through Jesus all things are reconciled to the Father (things on heaven or on earth)
14) Peace is made between man and God through Jesus' blood, shed on the cross

Wow, when you put Paul' sentences like this, one begins to grasp how deep and wide Paul's revelation was concerning Jesus! Any one of these short lines could be expounded into a chapter or even a book.  I have a 362 page book just on Jesus' precious blood, which is just part of the revelation for point 14!

So often I think we allow ourselves to feel acquainted with Jesus, like we understand Him  because we read the Gospels, know the stories and can imagine Him as a man.  When I read a list like this, I realize how God's plans and purposes are so much deeper, wider, longer and higher than I can comprehend!  We can never reach an end in our quest for revelation concerning Jesus, we can never fully understand Him, His ways, His purposes or His thoughts.  However, this should not dissuade us from pursuing Him, and diving into revelation of Him. He loves when we pursue Him and rewards us with deeper revelation.  I have no doubt that this is a worthy life-long pursuit.

Paul continues on with equally astounding understanding.  He says that we have been reconciled to God through Christ's physical body, through death.  The goal is that He might introduce us to the Father, holy in His sight, without blemish and free of any accusation.  This is the result of our faith in Him, continuing in our faith, continuing in our relationship.  Later in his letter to the Colossians (3:3) Paul says we are now hidden in Christ.  It is because of this, that when we are presented to the Father that He receives us as holy in His sight, without blemish and free of any accusation.  It is because Christ Jesus has cancelled our debt of everything we have ever done and will do, and because when He looks at us, He sees us as we exist in Jesus (clean and holy, purified and free of any debt).

Taking one step further into revelation, if we are hidden in Christ (Col 3:3) and all of God's fullness dwells in Jesus, then we are surrounded by and immersed into all the fullness of God when we enter into Christ.  OK, that is enough thinking for my poor brain today!

Lord, I know that You want us to understand and experience the depths of Your love, and revelation available to us in You!  Help us to go deep, to never stop pursuing You and Your revelation!  You are so good, and I am amazed that You would ever consider me interesting and worthy of Your affection, but You do!

Thank You Lord!

There is NO Condemnation

I am continuing my backtracking in Paul's letter to the Romans.  This morning I am looking at the following verses - Romans 8:1-4 NIV:

[1] "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, [2] because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. [3] For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, [4] in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

What an awesome set of verses to meditate upon!  First, the final statement of Paul's conclusions from Chapter Seven, therefore (because of his reasoning previously) there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. It is important to note, this is not less condemnation, but a complete absence of condemnation.  How can that be, if we still are sinners, if we still sin daily?  Many of our churches preach forgiveness to a point, but always the danger of condemnation and judgement in the future, yet Paul clearly states there is no condemnation!

This is such a powerful point - if there is no condemnation than there can be no punishment, for that follows judgment and/or condemnation. The Greek word which is the root of the word used by Paul is Katakrino, and it means "to give judgment against, to judge worthy of punishment".  Again, if there is no condemnation, there is no judgment, and no punishment!  How often do we wonder if God is punishing us when we become sick or something bad happens?  This simple statement from Paul destroys that way of thinking.  If we are in Christ Jesus (if we have accepted His salvation and are in relationship with Him), then there is NO condemnation, NO punishment!  Amen!

The why of the above statement becomes clear, as Paul describes the Law of the Spirit who gives life.  The basis of the Law of the Spirit is simple, Jesus took our place, took our punishment, and met the requirements of the Law.  These requirements are met in us, through the indwelling of Christ.  His sacrifice becomes ours and  gets applied to our lives.  This is why there is no condemnation, no punishment, no judgement, because Jesus' sacrifice is applied to us, when we are in Him (and He is in us).  As Paul says later, we are hidden in Christ (Col 3:3), and as such have been set free from the law of sin and death (verse 2 above).  God will not punish us, because we are in Christ!

Paul continues on that the Law (Old Covenant) was powerless because it was weakened by flesh.  In other words no man was capable of meeting the requirements of the Law, but Jesus , the sinless one, the very Son of God, became a sin offering for us all.  Again, Jesus met the requirements of the law for us all.  The Law of the Spirit is really this, Jesus took our place, and we receive His place! We receive freedom and life when the requirements of the Law would condemn us to death. We now live hidden in Christ, empowered by Spirit, receiving life from the Spirit, and living according to the Spirit.  As Paul says a few verses later, the very Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is now living in us (Rom 8:11). Wow!

This morning I continue to be aware of the fact that I only grasp a very small potion of this reality.  Lord, help to understand, to apply, to walk in this truth!  Your purpose in all this was that we might live free! Jesus, You said in John 8:36 NIV: "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."  I desire to live this reality!  Help me Lord to experience and embrace that which You provide to me, and to us all!

The Lord Wants to Give Us Life!

This morning I am backtracking a little in Paul's letter to the Romans.  That letter is so full, you could study it for years and still be unpacking awesome truths.  Today I am focused on the following verses - Romans 8:9-11 NIV:

[9] "You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. [10] But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. [11] And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you."

First, let me say verse 11 is a great promise, and I aim to claim it and experience the fullness of it in my life. I can't even for a moment grasp what it means to have the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead living in me, but I know that I am experiencing far less of the Spirit than is available.  He desires to fill us, to give life to our mortal bodies.  The Greek word used by Paul here is Zoopoieo and its defined as follows:

1) to produce alive, begat or bear living young
2) to cause to live, make alive, give life
    a) by spiritual power to arouse and invigorate
    b) to restore to life
    c) to give increase of life: thus of physical life
    d) of the spirit, quickening as respects the spirit, endued with new and greater powers of life
3) metaph., of seeds quickened into life, i.e. germinating, springing up, growing

All of the definitions sound good to me - to have within me the ability to bring life to others, to be restore and invigorated,  to receive an increase of life, to have my own spirit quickened within me!  Sign me up!  The even better news is that I have already been signed up and this is available to me!

If this is what the Spirit wants to do, than I know there must be a way to appropriate this into my reality and experience.  God is not one to promise something and then not deliver, He desires us to understand there is more available to us, and desires that we hungrily pursue Him for that more!  That is what these type of verses do for me, they open my eyes to the greater dimension of intimacy and awareness that is available to me.  If Jesus, living in me, and the Holy Spirit, Living in me, want to give me more life, they are going to lead me to exactly that in my life.

The continued good news is that I don't need to qualify, as Jesus already provided me the qualifying righteousness.  It says the Spirit provides this life because of righteousness, not mine but Christ's which is His gift to me, through faith (Rom  3:22, Philippians 3:9).  What an awesome opportunity - to experience the life of God poured into us, because of Christ's righteousness given to us through faith.  As I wrote that, the thought came to mind that faith is basically the currency we use in our interaction with God.  We extend faith (which is also His gift to us- Eph 2:8) and He returns righteousness, life, power, salvation, etc.

Paul writes in these verses that we are in the realm of the Spirit of God who lives within us, which is the result of Christ living within us, which is the result of our salvation experienced through faith, also a gift of God.  This is not an option, but the result of our faith. Whether we recognize this and experience it as reality are another matter, but these must be true for us all, if they are true for any one of us, for the Lord is the same, and His word is true. Each of us has the same life available to us and His desire for us is expressed here, that we might have life, to restore, to invigorate, to release, to quicken to see things come to life!

Oh Lord, I can only ask for more!  Help me to understand and experience the life you desire to give me!

Amen!

God's Intentions for Us!

This morning I am reading from Paul's letter to the Romans 8:26-30 NIV:

[26] "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. [27] And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God."

[28] "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. [29] For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. [30] And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified."

What great verses!

The Holy Spirit helps us in  our weakness!
The Holy Spirit intercedes for us!
The Holy Spirit intercedes for all of God's people in accordance with God's will!
In all things, God works for the good of those that love Him!
We are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ!
We are called, according to His purpose!
We are justified!
We are glorified!

Talk about reasons to be hopeful!  God Himself, through the Holy Spirit is helping us, is interceding for us, has called us, is working for our good, has predestined us to  be like Christ Jesus, and has justified us and glorified us!  Notice how much we participate or add to these intentions of God! Our job is to love Him, God is doing the rest!  In spite of our weakness and not knowing what to pray, God helps us.

I can embrace this type of a relationship! :-)

Thank You Lord for doing pretty much all the heavy lifting in our relationship.

Amen!

The Lord's Patience

This morning I am reading from Matthew 15:29-38 NIV:

[29] "Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. [30] Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. [31] The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

[32] Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”

[33] His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

[34] “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

[35] He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. [36] Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. [37] They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. [38] The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children."

What I found encouraging about this story was the patience of Jesus.  It doesn't stand out at first as the main issue, as Jesus is doing miraculous works, and people are amazed, and the crowds are following Him, and there is much to be distracted by.  However, I believe that the statement that Jesus makes about the people being hungry (verse 32) was meant to test the Apostles and Disciples to see if they were leaning to walk in faith.  In the previous chapter, and thus likely previous in time before these verses, Jesus had fed 5000 (Matt 14:13-21) and He had clearly demonstrated His ability to multiply food.  I think that when He made the statement that the people were hungry, He was looking for one of His followers to say, "we have a few loaves and fish, can you multiply them again?"  It seems that would have been the logical conclusion from the previous feeding of 5000.  However, the disciples answer it with the faithless statement, "where could we get enough bread in this remote place".  I can almost imagine Jesus with a hopeful look in His eyes, as He makes the statement about the people being hungry, that maybe one of the group would suggest He multiply the little food they had, but no one did.

At this point Jesus could have clearly smacked them upside their heads and chastised them for being so slow to grasp His nature, and God's will and desire (which is what Jesus said).  Instead He leads them back down the same path as before, asking them what kind of food they had and proceeds to do exactly what He did before, and after giving thanks over the food, distributed it to everyone. He was apparently patient and kind towards them all.

The reason I am encouraged, is they (His followers) sound just like me.  I am so slow to pick up what Jesus is doing and saying.  I am slow to learn from what He teaches me, so He has to take me back down the same paths over and over.  He never chastises me for not learning, but always approaches me in love and mercy.  He is always hopeful I will learn, and so am I , but I am easily  distracted and forgetful.  I am so glad that Jesus came to earth and met followers who were like me, so that He could understand our weakness and inadequacy!  I am grateful that He extends grace to me today and every day,

Thank You Lord for Your patience!

Amen!