Strength to Stand Firm In Chaos and Clamour

This morning my reflection comes out of the Letter of James.  I spent quite some time just reflecting on the following verses, trying to understand the connection and active word of the Lord in them, as it wasn't at first apparent.  Here are the verses - James 5:7-11 NIV:

[7] "Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. [8] You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. [9] Don't grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!"

[10] "Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. [11] As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."

If I were to pull the focus words for this morning out of these verses they are patient, waits, patiently waiting, patient, stand firm, patience, persevered, perseverance.  I think those words set the thematic overview nicely.

In the midst of chaos, confusion, disparate voices, arguments, opposite opinions, it is hard to wait, to be patient and to stand firm.  This is especially true when one's life, or the lives of those you love are being negatively impacted.  How much more difficult is it to stand firm in one's convictions and faith, when one is in pain, anxious, fearful or frightened? 

James was writing to a dispersed church, to those Jews who believed in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, who were scattered among the nations, a group of people who were doubly persecuted, first by their own brother Jews, who didn't believe Jesus was the Messiah, and secondly by the governmental forces of Rome that considered the practice of Christianity illegal.  The letter is clearly written after the persecution that broke out following Stephen's martyrdom, as James addresses those scattered among the nations.  It is also very clear he is writing to a troubled people for he begins the letter as follows - James 1:2-5 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."

This is certainly not the opening lines to a great celebratory tome, but rather a repositioning or retuning of a mindset in the midst of a struggle.  Its more pep-talk, rallying the troops, focusing on the inner strength and benefits to a group under siege, enabling those to rise above the struggle and see the benefits, see the growth, see the strengthening that is occurring in their lives.

I believe that it is in this light that James writes the verses we looked at earlier.  It is so helpful if we have a goal in mind, and understand our personal growth and betterment as we are encouraged to stand firm, patiently waiting in the midst of the struggle all around.  I am reminded of the childhood game, King of the Hill, where one would try to stand at the top of whatever hill (growing up in Minnesota it was often a pile of snow) and push down all that tried to take your place.  I don't think we had any view for personal growth, but I do know that it was an exhausting game. 

Right now we are being assailed on all sides, we are separated from those in our fellowship, we are hearing constantly changing reports, battling opinions and competing "facts".  This battle is all around us, and affecting those who believe and have faith in the Lord, every bit as much as those who don't.  So why the encouragement from James?  I believe its because we need to get our hearts and minds above the fray, to understand the season we are in so that we can prepare for the season that is coming. 

In verse 7 above, James uses the analogy of the farmer waiting patiently for the autumn and spring rains.  This isn't a cattle famer, but rather a produce farmer.  The farmer is waiting patiently for the time of the harvest!  As I was reading these verses this morning, this is the goal that stood out to me!  The harvest!  I was immediately reminded of something Jesus said in Matthew's Gospel.  Here are the verses that came to mind - Matthew 9:36-38 NIV:

[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.”

Could it be that we are entering into a time of great harvest of souls?  Is is possible that the harassed and helpless, the milling and confused masses could recognize their need for the truth of the Gospel?  Are we being encouraged to look around and see a changing season so that we might prepare ourselves?  When harvest time approaches, the farmers get everything ready, they make sure the barns are ready, the combines are working, the crews are hired, whatever is necessary, for the time of harvest is short. 

Going back the original verses and the focus words I pulled out, I believe the need for patience, perseverance, and standing firm, is so that we can be found in place and ready to move to the task at hand.  We must rise above the fray, not just to see, but so that we can be seen by those who need direction!  W need to stand strong in our faith so that those around us can rally to our position.  In the midst of chaos, those who are at peace will shine bright!

Finally, I am reminded of some very appropriate verses from Isaiah 60:1-4 NIV:

[1] “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
[2] See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
[3] Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
[4] “Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip."

Amen, Amen, let it be so Lord!


May the Lord strengthen you this day!  May He give You His peace in the midst of this chaos and clamour!  May He give you strength to wait patiently for the coming season!


Sam

What Time Is This?

This morning I felt led to read from another Old Testament book, Ecclesiastes.  I seldom read from this book, but I know a couple of famous verses from that book, so that was what I thought about as I opened it, and that is exactly where I turned.  The verses might be familiar as there was a song written in the 60s by the Byrds to these words - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NIV:

[1] There is a time for everything,
 and a season for every activity under the heavens:
[2] a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
[3] a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
[4] a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
[5] a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
[6] a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
[7] a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
[8] a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace."

These verses always seemed a bit comforting, as they help to explain the seasonality of life.  We definitely go through different seasons, and change is one of the only constants in our lives.  We are constantly changing, developing, learning, interacting with people.

What I found myself thinking this morning, is that we are in an in-between time, as several of these statements apply equally well right now.  I think that is part of the struggle for many of us, we need clarity and direction, and yet, things are muddy and confusing. 

Times where we are in-between are always times of transition.  We are leaving something to go into something new, but when the transition is slow it can be confusing, almost like we are stuck somewhere in the middle of a maze, and we don't know which way to go to move on!  This is why its so important to look to the One who can see the beginning from the end, to the One who has a different perspective, to the One who loves us and guides.  The Holy Spirit is our helper, our counselor, our teacher, and our guide (John 14:161,27 & John 16:13).  He will help us every day, but especially during times like these. 

I don't know what things will look like on the other side of this time, but I do expect them to be different.  We are moving forward, not backwards.  As we turn to the Lord, we can lean upon His understanding, and we can trust that He is good, loving, merciful and kind.  We can pray and ask the Lord for greater understanding and perspective, so that we might be ready when we leave this time of transition.  We can ask the Lord to prepare us, to train us, so that when the next door opens we can move through it and into our purpose and calling, fully engaged.

As I was writing that last bit I saw in my mind's eye the landing craft from D-Day steaming towards the distant shore.  I don't know that I like that image, but the truth is that the men that were in those landing craft were trained to do what they needed to do the moment the ramp went down. They were part of a much bigger plan, and huge move that was the beginning of the end of the German war machine.  They were prepared, and had been trained to rely on each other, to work together, to advance into the face of danger, but a danger that they were able to defeat. 

Let us believe that we have in us the strength and character to move past this present time into our purpose and calling.  As Paul preached to the people of Athens, "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings," (Acts 17:26 NKJV).  In other words, He chose us to be alive in this exact time, living exactly where we live, and it is part of His plan for us all.  We are not here by mistake, we are a people of destiny!  Just like the generation f men that struggled in WWII, we are a generation that has been appointed this time.  Rest assured God has this all in His hands.

In summary, I am encouraged to look to the Lord, to allow Him to guide me and direct me, to listen to His voice to tell me which way to walk, how to move forward!  I can expect Him to prepare me for anything and everything I might encounter once this time of transition ends.  Lord, help me to move forward in You, in Your peace, in Your strength and power.  Help me to step into the new season prepared and ready!

Amen!


May the Lord Bless you with clear vision and a clear mind this day!  May He give you understanding and courage to move forward into His Glorious purpose and plan.

Sam

Vengeance or Mercy?

This morning I started my reflection in Lamentations, which was apparently written by Jeremiah.  I was reading through chapter three and there are some challenging verses to understand concerning God, and His judgement and vengeance.  These are a great example of verses we must read and understand through the revelation of the Father, as represented by Jesus' life.

While I much prefer verses 23-26, which talk about new mercies and compassion evey morning, I found myself drawn instead to the verses where the prophet is asking God to destroy his enemies.  Here are a couple of verses from the end of the chapter - Lamentations 3:61-66 NIV:

[61] "Lord, you have heard their insults, all their plots against me---
[62] what my enemies whisper and mutter against me all day long.
[63] Look at them! Sitting or standing, they mock me in their songs.
[64] Pay them back what they deserve, Lord, for what their hands have done.
[65] Put a veil over their hearts, and may your curse be on them!
[66] Pursue them in anger and destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord."

This is some pretty heavy stuff the Prophet is praying God will do to his enemies.  These types of judgments and curses sometimes seem right to us, as we focus on God's hatred of sin.  There are even prophetic voices speaking of our present afflictions as judgments of God.  When we just consider Old Testament verses like theses, and look to our own human desires for justice, these type of proclamations seem right. However when we compare these to the words and actions of Jesus, we quickly run into something very different.

If we look at some of the final words of Jesus, as He was hanging on the cross, we find an almost completely opposite prayer.  Here are some verses from Luke that record this prayer - Luke 23:33-34 NIV:

[33] "When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals---one on his right, the other on his left.

[34] Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

And they divided up his clothes by casting lots."


If anyone had a right to call down judgment and punishment, it was Jesus, for He was perfectly without sin (See Heb 4:15).  Rather than call down judgment, He cries out for mercy and forgiveness!    One would think that if God were vengeful like man, then Jesus, after He rose from the dead, would have visited destruction on each and every man who had a part in His death.  We have plenty of movies and stories where people are left for dead, but they recover and then come back and kill each of those who had tried to kill them.  We like that sort of vengeance, and yet we see Jesus coming back from the dead, and rather than spend even a moment on vengeance, instead meeting with and teaching His disciples (Acts 1:3), calling them back to their purpose, speaking words of restoration (John 21:15-19).

If we look at Jesus' earlier teachings, we find a similar theme of mercy over judgment, of love rather than hate for one's enemies. Here are a few examples -

Matthew 5:38-39 NIV:
[38] “You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' [39] But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also."

Matthew 5:43-45 NIV:
[43] “You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' [44] But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [45] that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

Jesus maintains this attitude, this heart of mercy, this love for one's enemies all the way through the cross.  He never swore down vengeance on those who were responsible for His death.  He never even judged the sinners, instead He said He was sent for the sinners.  Here is a short exchange between Himself and some teachers of the Law, found in Matthew 9:10-13 NIV:

[10] "While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. [11] When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

[12] On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. [13] But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”


Lastly, we have a couple of verses from James that speak of mercy and judgment - James 2:12-13 NIV:
[12] "Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, [13] because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment."

It is not that judgment won't happen, its that judgment seems to be reserved for a specific Day of Judgment.  Jesus references this day several times in Matthew, Peter refers to this day a couple of times, and Jude calls it the judgment on the Great Day.  God is just.  He is also patient, loving, compassionate and good.  He is all these characteristics and more, and He is always, all of them.  He never sets aside one characteristic to embrace another seemingly incompatible one.   I believe there will be a day of judgment, a day of final decisions rendered by God, His justice requires this, and He has promised this will occur.

We, however, are not God.  We do not think like Him, and He doesn't act like us (paraphrase of Isaiah 55:8-9).  We don't know people's hearts, their life experience, nor their intent.  We don't have God's patience or understanding.  We are quick to lump people by geographic region, or city and call down judgment over a whole area, but God looks at the individual hearts of everyone, and will judge us accordingly.  Thank God!

Finally, I want to quote from Paul's letter to the Roman's as he sums up this whole theme nicely - Romans 12:9-21 NIV:

[9] "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. [10] Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. [11] Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. [12] Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. [13] Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

[14] Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. [15] Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. [16] Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

[17] Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. [18] If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. [19] Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. [20] On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

[21] Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

We can trust God to be loving, merciful, compassionate, good and just!  We are called to love and bless, to prayer and belief, to mercy and compassion. We are called to represent Jesus, and continue His ministry here on earth.  Let us leave the judgment to God, and work to love all those around us, even those we find most challenging.

Amen!

May the Lord's blessing be with You this day!  May His peace reign in your hearts and in your minds.

Sam

Holy Spirit Led and Validated

This morning I am continuing on reading where I left off, and I am reading from Acts, chapter 8.  Again, this is where the church is scattered due to a persecution that breaks out after the stoning of Stephen.

Acts 8:4-8 NIV:

[4] "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. [5] Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. [6] When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. [7] For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. [8] So there was great joy in that city."

Samaria is a very interesting place to start preaching, for the Jews basically rejected the Samaritans for false religion, and tried to have little to nothing to do with them.  Jesus had spent a bit of time there (See the story of the Woman at the well - John 4:1-42) but in general had focused His ministry on the Jews, and to this point, it was apparent the Apostles had followed His example.  Peter hasn't had the vision nor visited Cornelius's house yet, that occurs in Acts, Chapter 10, so this is pretty new territory for any of the Apostles, but Phillip appears undeterred.

One would believe that similar to his experience later in this chapter where Phillip feels led by the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:26-40), that He also felt led to visit this specific city in Samaria, for, as noted before, this would not seem a normal next step for a Jew.  Anyway, he enters the city, again, likely feeling led there, and proceeds to proclaim the Gospel, speaking about Jesus, the Messiah.  The Samaritans did apparently believe in the coming of the Messiah (See John 4:25), so for Phillip to be proclaiming that Jesus was the Messiah, is definitely in-line with their core beliefs, but taking them to the next step in those beliefs.  The fact that Phillip was ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit, provided the validation that what He was saying was true.

That thought just stopped me.  The Holy Spirit used this scattering transition to send Phillip to the Samaritans and help them take the next step in faith, enabling them to step into a relationship with Jesus as their Savior and Messiah.  The question popped into my head, "I wonder what next steps, and what people the Lord will touch during and following our present time of transition?"  Could it be that the Lord is preparing a time of the outpouring of His Holy Spirit directed and validated ministry that will open eyes, and help people move forward into active belief in and acceptance of Jesus as Savior and Messiah?  Is it time for us to leave behind the structure and comfort of what we have been doing to press into new peoples, places and groups we would have previously ignored or not visited?

Going back to the verses, we see three specific groups of people receiving healing and freedom from this Gospel, those with impure spirits, the paralyzed and the lame.  As I read those, I thought of some of the ways they could be represented in the church today, for while the Samaritans were rejected by the Jews, they shared a very similar faith, and belief system, even following the Law.  Anyway, my thought was that those with impure spirits could represent those in the church who have embraced the spirit of religion, rather than relationship with Jesus.  The spirit of religion will judge, and control, and constantly steer away from the Gospel of Grace. The paralyzed could represent those in the church who are not moving forward in their faith and relationship with Jesus.  Finally the lame could represent those that have been wounded, or have grown up under unbalanced teaching, or those who have a hard time walking out their faith.  Oh that the Lord would pour out His Holy Spirit on all of us, that we might become healed, and healthy and pursuing Him.

Finally, the Holy Spirit is fully capable of actually casting out impure spirits, healing the paralyzed and the lame today, through us!  He is the same Holy Spirit, and He is our advocate, helper, teacher and guide.  He can do the same things through us, as Jesus promised in John 14:12 NIV:  "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."

Amen!  Today,  I am encouraged to listen to the Holy Spirit, to allow Him to direct my steps, and specifically to allow myself to be directed to those I would not normally visit or engage.  I am encouraged to be willing to be used to preach the Gospel of Jesus our Savior, and to allow Holy Spirit to work through me to set people free and heal them!  I am encouraged that He is leading us through this time!  I am encouraged that in the Lord's eyes, people taking the next step in faith is very important, and something He is about validating!  Lord, help me to hear and follow Your direction!

Amen and Amen!

May the Holy Spirit lead you today, providing direction, the words to speak and the results to validate His words spoken through you!  May the peace of Christ, the One who finished all that had been given Him to do, reign in Your heart and minds.


Sam

Scattered, But Spreading!

This morning as I asked the Lord where I should read, a couple of verses from Acts popped into my mind.  Here are the verses - Acts 8:1-5 NIV:

[1] "And Saul approved of their killing him (Stephen).

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. [2] Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. [3] But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

[4] Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. [5] Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there."

As I read these verses, my mind immediately saw the parallels in the scattering of the early church, and what has happened in large part, to the world-wide church.  We have been scattered, each to his own home, house, apartment or flat.  We have been forcefully separated, and while we are not suffering an actual persecution for our faith (at least openly and actively because of the virus), we are seeing a deep impact on the Body of Christ world-wide. 

I am not going to reflect on this whole persecution theme, although it is worth thinking about, instead I want to focus on the church's reaction to this scattering.  Looking at verse 4 above, we see that the church didn't forget the Gospel, the Good News, in the midst of their scattering and struggle.  Instead they embraced the opportunity to become evangelists! 

Isn't that an interesting reaction to being threatened for their faith?  Rather than sheltering and hiding they actually take this opportunity to proclaim the very beliefs for which they were being persecuted.  For them, the Gospel became not just something they lived, but now something they actively proclaimed!  Wow!  One could argue effectively that this persecution really caused the explosion of Christianity, it certainly produced the church's greatest evangelist of the time, Paul. The other fact that is clear is the church was never the same once the persecution broke out, and the believers were scattered.  I think it was made better, as they turned to the Lord to guide them and direct them.

This makes me think about our present situation in a new light.  Am I using this opportunity to advance the Gospel?  Am I embracing this time as a time to learn to live the Good News?  Am I turning more towards the Lord, depending on Him, or am I turning to myself?  Do I see God using this time to change the make-up of the church?  Do I see this as an opportunity for change, or more as a set-back?  Am I taking the Word with me into my home, into my life, as I am separated from the rest of the church?  Do I have within me the belief, knowledge and capabilities to effectively proclaim the Gospel and advance the Kingdom of God?

Lots of questions to think about!  I do believe that we are at a turning point in the life of the Body of Christ, the Church here on earth!  I believe that we need to each look at our lives, and see how we are living out this scattered life!  Like what happened in the early church, this change could be the beginning of a great outpouring and multiplication, and for that to occur, we each must become bearers of the Gospel!

Lord, strengthen us! Lord, help us!  Lord, protect and direct us!

Amen!

May the Lord bless you this day, in the place where you have been scattered to.  May He give you strength and encouragement in Him, through the power of His Holy Spirit.

Sam

At The Entrance Of Our Tents

This morning I have been spending some time in the Book of Numbers, which is definitely not a book I regularly read, however I felt led to read from there today.  I spent some time in Numbers 10, looking at the way the Lord moved all the people of Israel when they would set out from place to place.  He gave them very specific instructions about the order in which they were to move, effectively orchestrating their times of transition from place to place. (See Number 10:13-36)

As I was reflecting on this, I realized that there is a certain parallel to our present time.  We, as the Church, are all camping in our own tents (homes) if you will, no longer gathering together.  We are clearly in a time of transition, and while this time caught us by surprise, the Lord's presence is clearly still with us.  He is leading us through this time, and while we don't know exactly where we will end up, we can be confident that God is still firmly in control.

A couple of things I noted, as I continued reading into Numbers, chapter 11, the people started complaining about their hardships during their transition, and later were complaining about the lack of tasty food, for they were eating manna.  In both cases, they angered the Lord, primarily because they lost sight of all He had done and was doing for them, and instead focused on the things they once had, but now didn't.  I don't want to get into a long bit about how we live under a different Covenant now, established by the Blood of Jesus, but suffice it to say that these types of actions do not call down God's wrath upon us now.  That being said, the effect of our losing sight of God's blessing upon us is still something we need to be aware of, and deal with in our lives.

It is interesting how quickly I can lose sight of the goodness of the Lord when I am looking at myself, and focused on me.  In this time of transition, I am tempted to look back at how much better life was before this time, and think that I want to go back, but the way of the Lord is forward, into something new.  I must keep my eyes focused on Him, and lean into Him for understanding and His provision, for clearly the Lord provided for His people during this time. If I am focused on myself, I can become angry, bitter and resentful, and lose way.  I am no longer a good witness to the blessings of God, nor am I able to see well the path the Lord has laid out for me, because I am not looking at Him.  I can walk past His blessings, never seeing them (see Jer 17:5-8).

Going back to Numbers, one of the verses found in Number 11:10 says Moses heard all the people wailing at the entrance to their tents. Again, in a bit of parallelism, we are all in our own homes, and if we are complaining and wailing to the Lord, it is from our own tents.  As I was reading this, I was reminded of a few verses from Exodus, where instead of complaining, the people were attentive from the entrance of their tents (See Exodus 33:7-11).  The people would watch from the entrance of their tents when the Cloud of God's presence would settle over the tent of meeting, when Moses went out to meet with God.   The people, from their own tents were watching the Presence of God, and when it settled on the tent, they would all worship from their own entrances to their tents (Ex 33:10).  How much better for our us to be worshipping from our homes, rather than complaining and wanting to go back to what is past?

In summary, I am encouraged this morning to set my heart and mind upon the Lord, looking forward to Him, rather than at myself, or at our past.  He is doing a new thing!  As the Lord said through Isaiah, "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." (Isaiah 43:19 NIV).

I can choose this day, who and what I will focus on.  I can choose and set my heart to follow after the Lord, or as Joshua said, "But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." ( Joshua 24:15 NIV).  What I choose to do in my tent, matters to God.

Amen!


May the Lord bless you and provide for you during this time of transition.  May He guide your feet, your thoughts and actions!  May His peace be your constant companion.

Sam

Our Stone of Help

This morning I have been all over in scripture, 1 Peter, James, and 1 Samuel. Some mornings are just that way, me trying to listen, and following the wisps of the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to lead, seeking His direction and guidance and word for me this day.

I ran across a story that caught my eye in 1 Sam 7, where the Ark is returned to Israel, and Samuel gathers all of Israel together to repent and change their ways.  While they are gathered the Philistine's hear about it and come up to attack them.  Samuel cries out to the Lord, sacrifices a lamb unto the Lord, and the Lord thunders from Heaven, and routs the Philistine's completely.  As a memorial, Samuel erects a memorial stone, and calls it Ebenezer, which means "Stone of Help"  (See 1 Sam 7:2b-12).

What I found interesting was there is a story three chapters earlier where Israel is defeated by the Philistines at a place called Ebenezer.  In this case, Israel has a first battle with the Philistines and lose the battle and a few thousand men.  They thought to themselves, 'its because we don't have the Ark of the Covenant', and so they send off and have it brought to them.  The problem is they never inquired of the Lord, nor even asked His help, they just brought the Ark into the camp, like His presence was a weapon they could yield at their own command.  Not a good plan, and they end up getting defeated terribly, even losing the Ark of the Covenant in their defeat (See 1 Sam 4:1-11).

As I was reflecting on these two stories, I realized there were some key things to consider, starting with the story from Chapter 4.

1) Israel had apparently lost most of their sense in how to follow God's direction in their lives.  They just figured they could grab God's presence (The Ark) at their own command, and use His presence as a weapon.  God never allowed this type of behavior previously, and if they had taken a moment to consider their history, they would have known that was true. 

2) They didn't seek the Lord's help, or cry to Him, turning their hearts to Him, they just expected Him to help them, because they had the Ark.  They didn't repent, change their ways, or humble themselves.

3) Looking at this situation, the Israelites were only worried about their stuff and their glory.  They thought God served them, rather than the other way around.


Looking at the story from chapter 7, we find a completely different mindset and response from God.

1) The people gather and repent, asking God's forgiveness, recognizing that they have departed from His ways, and turning back to Him. 

2) Rather than turning to themselves and their own ideas, they cry out to God for His help!  They had the Ark back in the Land, but they don't try to retrieve, it they turn to God in humbleness and confession of their need for His help.

3) Samuel sacrifices a lamb, a clear prophetic link to Jesus, the true Lamb of God, and God answers their cry and prayers!  He hears our cries when we turn to Him humbly!  He has paid the price for our sins, He has been wounded for our healing!  He has defeated the enemy!

4) When God intervenes, He thunders from Heaven, and by the time the Israelites join the battle it is effectively all ready over!


Thus, as we consider these two stories, we find that God does not help the prideful and arrogant, but helps the humble, those that turn to Him in repentance.  One of the sets of verses from 1 Peter that I happened just to read this morning, says the same thing - 1 Peter 5:5-7 NIV:

[5] "In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

[6] "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. [7] Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."


Thus, this morning I am encouraged to look at my life, to see where I am forgetting to seek the Lord, looking to see if there are areas or things that I am trying to do on my own power, in my own arrogance, areas where I am not asking for His help, but just expecting it!  I am encouraged to look at my life and change how I am thinking and acting in any of the areas that the Lord highlights.  He truly is my Rock of Help, but I need to turn to Him to receive it!  He is not being spiteful, but rather honoring my free will.  If I ask for help He is ready and willing to help, but if I don't ask for His help, He will let me try to wage the battle on my own, but gently encouraging me to remember and turn back to Him for help and guidance.

Thank You Lord for Your encouragement and help!  You do care for me!

Amen!

May the Lord, in His mercy and compassion help you this day!  May His peace, which is founded in His faithfulness settle in your heart and mind.


Sam

When Life Doesn't Go As Planned

This morning I am reflecting on some verses from James, which seem somewhat appropriate today.  Here are the verses - James 4:13-17 NIV:

[13] "Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” [14] Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. [15] Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.” [16] As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. [17] If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them."

Although these verses are a bit sobering, the truth of them is certainly apparent at this present day.  I think about all the plans that have been ruined by this unexpected viral scourge.  I think of people's daily regimens being totally transformed. So much of what we took for granted, so many of the things from our typical life have been affected! I think of the jobs that have been lost, the businesses that are in danger of closing.  I think of the yet unseen impact of all the closings, the interruption of our supply chain, of our food processing, and I believe we still have a long way to go before life returns to anything like what we considered normal.

In this light, as I look at James' words, I see truth.  We were definitely living our lives as if nothing was really going to change, nor were many prepared for the cataclysmic changes that hit so quickly.  James goes on and calls all such planning arrogance.  The actual Greek word that is used is alazoneia, defined as follows:

1) empty, braggart talk
2) an insolent and empty assurance, which trusts in its own power and resources and shamefully despises and violates divine laws and human rights
3) an impious and empty presumption which trusts in the stability of earthy things

I think that the second and third definitions ring most true, for while our thinking and planning might not have been particularly insolent, or impious, the trusting in earthly things and ways was certainly in evidence, even those of us who are working to entrust our lives to the Lord, and to His direction. 

As I look at my own life, I certainly feel like I have been given an opportunity to reexamine my life and my affections and thoughts and plans.  I have been given the opportunity to look and see what things I have been relying on rather than the Lord.  I have been given the opportunity to see what things are most important in life, and frankly I was surprised toilet paper was so high on the list. :-)

Seriously, as I read and reflect on these verses, the sense of our smallness and lack of control over so many facets of my life is evident.  It is in times like these that we should be thinking about our lives, our significance, those things that are most important and ultimately our eternal destiny.  Last night my honey and I were discussing end-times, talking about some of the different interpretations of scripture, and all the different voices out there clamoring for an audience.  I believe the Lord is speaking into our lives and we must listen. 

However, whether or not we are in the "Last Days" or not, really doesn't matter to me.  I will have a personal last day in my lifetime, and I have no idea when that day will come, and it is that day for which I need to be prepared.  In the meantime, my life's goal is to live in such a way that I bring honor and glory to God, that I love Him and love others, as He loved me.  I do try to do the good I know I should do every day!  I try to make a positive difference in the lives of those around me, and represent the Lord in my actions and words.  Sometimes I fail miserably, but the next day I am back at it, working to live my life in the best way I know how. 

As I read these verses from James today, I am reassured that this simple life focus of loving God and loving others is enough for me.  Whether I ever do anything others consider significant or not, I plan on following the same path, daily loving God and loving those around me, up until my own last day.

Amen!

May the peace of God, His calmness in the storms of life, be yours today!  May He fill your life with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control, that you might represent Him in all your ways!

Sam

The Judgment of the Lord Brings Peace

Yesterday, while I was trying to stay awake during prayer, I felt encouraged to reflect on the story of Gideon, which is found in Judges 6 & 7.  I am pretty familiar with the story, but spent some time reading it again last evening.  I definitely saw a few things that I thought were helpful.

Here are some excerpts from the beginning of the story - Judges 6:2,6,10-16,20-24 NIV:

[2] "Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds."

[6] "Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help."

[10] "I said to you, 'I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me.”

[11] "The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. [12] When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. ”

[13] “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, 'Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

[14] "The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?”

[15] “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family. ”

[16] "The Lord answered, “I will be with you , and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

[20] "The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. [21] Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared."

[22] "When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

[23] But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

[24] So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites."


I have spent quite a bit of time in the past reflecting on this story, and today it seems to relate even more, in our present situation.  While we don't have an oppressor people, we are certainly all sheltering our selves from this new virus.  While I haven't been significantly affected financially, there are many who have been.  A good friend got laid off on Friday, one of my nephew's was furloughed with a start back date of August 1st, hospitals are laying off staff in droves, and many businesses large and small may never recover, and the world-side economy has certainly taken a major hit. 

In this story, God is portrayed as the one who is allowing this to happen, as the Israelites were worshipping other God's, which they were warned against.  In verse 6, it says they were so impoverished that they turned to the Lord, and cried out to Him.  The unspoken here is that prior to that they had not turned to God, so they must have been turning to other gods or to their own works to try to stop the oppression.

Yesterday, I listened to a really good teaching by Bob Sorge  on Facebook, where he walks through the book of Habakuk.  One thing he said that really resonated was that satan doesn't have the power to shut the doors to all of the churches, that this has to be something the Father is doing, a form of judgment.   We often associate judgment with something bad, but God never stops being good, loving, merciful and compassionate, even in His judgments.  A doctor's diagnosis is a judgment against whatever disease, sickness of problem you might have.  The doctors have looked at the facts and made a decision and prescribed a sentence of treatment to rid you of whatever sickness or problem you might have.  While the treatment might be difficult, the end result is what we keep our eyes focused on, for the end result is healthiness. The other thing that the doctors judgment does is provide you an answer as to why you are suffering the effects that has caused you to seek out the doctor in the first place.  Having a diagnosis brings peace.

I see the distinct possibility that the Lord is allowing us a time of difficulty to get our attention, to bring us to a point of seeing things clearer, to bring about a time of right judgment concerning our faith and following of Him.  As I was writing this,  I was reminded of the story of the man  born blind that Jesus heals, after being questioned about the reason the man was blind.  This story is found in John 9, and the following is the conversation between the disciples and Jesus - John 9:2-3 NIV:

[2] His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

[3] “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him."

Its easy to read this line, as a person who has never dealt with blindness their whole life, and think, "yeah that makes sense."  I would imagine the blind man, had a completely different experience and opinion, for he bore the affliction his whole life to that point.  His life was not an easy one, and yet after His healing He is nothing but grateful, and defending Jesus' ministry, even though He didn't know who it was that healed Him.  He ends up getting thrown out of the temple, and afterwards Jesus finds him again, as recorded here in John 9:35-39 NIV:

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

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

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

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

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


Again we are confronted with the interesting statement Jesus makes after the man worships Him, saying that He has come into the world for judgment.  This judgment will provide sight to those that are blind.  Going back to Jesus' initial statement about the reason for the man's blindness we see that is was to result in God's works being displayed in him.  Judgment requires truth, and the truth of who Jesus is, was revealed in this man, and to this man!

It is also safe to say that the man's condition was better following his healing by Jesus, even though he was thrown out of the religious meeting.  In the same way, Israel was in a better place after Gideon was raised up.  God demonstrated His power and authority by allowing Gideon to defeat the Midianites with just 300 men.  He set Israel free from the oppression of the Midianites, and the end result was that Israel was better off.

Finally, going back to the story of Gideon we see that His personal situation was greatly improved through his interactions with the Lord.  He sets his heart to worship the Lord, prior to his leading the defeat of the Midianites.  He went from being the lowliest of his tribe to leading the nation.  The people went from worshipping other gods, to worshiping the only God, Yahweh! 

I find it interesting that Gideon didn't really realize that he had been talking to the Angel of the Lord, until the angel caused fire to flare up from the rock, and then disappeared.  He sort of freaked out, and the Lord said to him "Peace! Do not be afraid, you are not going to die!"  What a great message for us today!  In fact that peace was so real, that Gideon built an altar there and called it "The Lord is Peace."  One of Jesus' revealed names is the "Prince of Peace".  The angels when they came to herald His birth cried out, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:14 NIV)

In summary, if this virus is accomplishing judgment, God is still loving, merciful, compassionate and good!  He means to leave us better than when we started.  He means to bring us to a place of peace, of intimacy, and of recognition that He is our savior, and He is the only true God!   Let us turn our eyes and hearts to Him, let us hear His voice, and follow Him, and let us worship Him in the midst of this time, realizing that the end result will be healthiness, wholeness and freedom from oppression!

Amen and Amen!

May the Lord establish His Peace in Your life, for the Lord is Peace! 


Sam

Lying to the Holy Spirit

This morning I woke up out of a dream that was very unique and one that brought up an issue I have rarely dealt with in my Christian walk.  Here is the dream:

I was at a church and we were praying for people after the service which is quite commonplace for the congregations I have been a part of for many years.  Anyway, there were some ladies who knew me and asked me to come join them as they were praying for three other ladies.  They had moved from the main sanctuary to another prayer room, and when I walked in I saw the three ladies that were being prayed for, all laying next to each other on the floor (Again this is not uncommon in the churches I frequent).  It was quiet and people were praying for them, and they all looked quite serene. 

As I walked into the room, I felt the Holy Spirit say to me that one of them was lying to Him!  That certainly stopped me in my tracks, and it was certainly not something I expected to hear.  I felt like the Holy Spirit gave me some quick understanding and a loving approach, so I went over and leaned over the ladies and very quietly asked them if one of them was lying to the Holy Spirit?  The little old lady in the middle raised  her hand sheepishly.  I again felt inspired by the Holy Spirit to tell her the following bit, "If you go to the doctor for a sore throat, but you don't tell him that you recently poured scalding water down your throat, he won't be able treat you correctly!"

That is where I woke up!

To say I was surprised by the dream and the theme would be understatement!  I share it this morning because I once again felt led by the Holy Spirit to do so, and because this is a very interesting topic, and one that bears reflection.

Scripturally speaking this topic is raised a few times, and usually with pretty scary admonitions.  We have the story of Ananias and Sapphira found in Acts 5:1-11, and that section is titled "Lying to the Holy Spirit" in my Bible.  If you are unfamiliar with the story, it is worth a read.  Basically Ananias and Sapphira conspire to lie to the Apostles about how much they made when they sold a piece of property, and they end up dead.  Secondly we have Jesus' words found in Matthew 12:31-32 NKJV: "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. [32] Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

Let me say this clearly, these are not the same things as what I feel the Lord is addressing through this dream.  Thinking back on the dream a few things that lead me to believe that I was not dealing with the serious issues listed above.  First, I didn't get any impression that the Holy Spirit was mad, angry, upset or warning her, rather that He was trying to set her free.  Second, going with the first, was the absolute gentleness that He asked me to show in bringing up the issue.  As I reflect back on the dream, it was very peaceful, and the response of the woman was one of conviction and repentance.  In my limited experience, that is exactly how the Holy Spirit works, and what He is after, conviction and repentance.  He doesn't require a big show, or yelling or people doing anything else, He is dealing with people's hearts and spirits, and desires to set people free, to heal them, to see them respond in ways that will encourage them forward.

So, what is the purpose of the dream?  I believe the Holy Spirit is asking me, and any who would read this, to reflect on our lives and on our requests of Him in prayer to see if we are being truly honest.  As I was reflecting on this dream, after waking, I felt like the Lord gave me the following example that resembles the dream -  where someone is continually asking for prayer for healing, when one is ignoring what one already knows they are supposed to do, as directed by the Lord.  Here is a fictitious example similar to the one used in the dream.  A person has a bad neck and is constantly seeking prayer for the bad neck.  However, the Lord has told them they need to change their heart and mind and forgive something and someone in their past, and that the two things are tied together - the pain in their neck and the unforgiveness in their heart.  However, this person refuses to deal with the unforgiveness, instead just asking for physical healing of their sore neck. 

The theme of the above example could quite possibly be applied to many different areas in our lives.  I find that in some problem areas that I know of in my own life, that it has taken me several years to come to the place of humbly and honestly admitting my issue to the Lord.  He is ever gentle, and yet ever persistent.  He doesn't want me living in denial, in pain, or in sin, and desires to set me free from all of that.  Sometimes, His word of diagnosis is a complete surprise to me, other times, I have heard Him speak it many times, but I just don't want to change.  Most of the time, I do want to change and try my best to follow His direction, because I know that He loves me and desires my health, growth and maturation.

Let me give you an example from my life.   A few years ago I was reflecting one morning on a recent experience I had with some friends, where one of the couple was very judgmental about their spouse, even critical.  I was thinking how difficult that must be to live with, and suddenly I heard the Lord say to me, "You do the exact same thing!"  Immediately thoughts in my mind, attitudes in my heart, and words I had spoken came back to my mind, and I knew the Lord was right!  I was immediately convicted and chose to embrace change as much as I could, and I went to my honey and asked forgiveness for the things the Lord had shown me.  The Lord didn't hit me over the head with this diagnosis, nor did He threaten me, He just showed me my heart, taking off my selfish blinders, and I was absolutely convicted.  In this case my response was pretty instantaneous, but had I been of a certain mind, I could have ignored His prodding, and probably had been ignoring it for years.  Ugh!

I believe the Lord's point in all of this, is that He is for me, and for each of us.  He desires to set us free from that which binds, that which holds us back, and that which wounds us, and sometimes that which does all this is our own selfish, prideful self.  He desires us to be completely honest with Him, and in doing so, He will be able to help us most effectively, for one thing the Lord does honor is our free will!  Going back to the fictitious example, if I need healing in my neck, but its caused by unforgiveness, the Lord isn't going to step in and force me to forgive the other person, it is always my choice.  He also, probably isn't going to heal my neck, because that's not going to really help me or heal me.

Anyway, if this resonates with your heart, please receive this all in love, for I believe and know that is the Lord's primary motivation towards me and towards you. 

May the Lord deal with us gently, in love!  May His word and love set us free from all that wounds us, and holds us back.

Amen!


Sam

He Who Is In You Is Greater

This morning I am spending some time in 1 John, reflecting on a verse that was running through my head when I woke up.  However, I thought I would share a few verses from the preceding chapter, as they are very much in line with what I have been reflecting on, of late, and certainly worth some thought.

1 John 3:16-18,23-24 NIV:

[16] "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. [17] If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? [18] Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."

[23] "And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. [24] The one who keeps God's commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."

What great words to allow to affect our lives today!  Believe in Jesus and love one another, in actions and in truth.

So the phrase that was running through my mind this morning when I woke up is 1 John 4:4b NKJV:.."because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."  I am not sure why I was quoting the New King James Version in my sleep, but that line was literally the first thought I had as I woke up this morning. 

I must say that it is a comforting thought, in these strange days where so much seems out of kilter.  In a matter of months so much of what has been our life experience has changed, and its seems that many have radically changed the way they think.  As we look at this new "reality" with natural eyes, we see a virus that is new and seemingly fast spreading, and may countries and states are taking basic precautionary measures, and these measures include shutting down much of society, to try and limit the spread of this virus. 

As Christians, we must also pray for understanding of the spiritual reality behind all of this, for we live in a world that is both natural and spiritual.  In our western mind-set, we often struggle to see with spiritual eyes, for we tend to dissuade ourselves and others that the spiritual realm is real, and yet the Holy Scriptures teach us consistently that there is a spiritual realm, and as such, we must accept this and seek to understand this realm.

John, said that the Holy Spirit which we have received is a sign that God lives within us, this is the first and most critical foundation of the spiritual realm for us to believe and understand!  We are triune beings, and we have our own spirit within us, from conception.  This spiritual part is in us all, and whether we understand it or not, it is present.  It is here that our connection to God exists, here that He lives and makes His home!

In the New Testament, the word spirit is used 360 times, and it is assumed that there is a basic understanding of this concept in the hearers of these words.  Jesus spoke regularly of the spirit realm, and often addressed spirits in people, casting them out, causing them to be silent with a command, and effectively dealing with those spirits.  He also spoke at length of the Holy Spirit coming to guide us, teach us, and help us!  He said the Holy Spirit was essential and even told the Apostles to wait in Jerusalem until He was poured out on them (Acts 1:4-5).

So why this focus on our spirit, the Holy Spirit and the spiritual realm? I believe that for us to understand these times and respond correctly we must look to the natural realm, as well as the spiritual realm.  We must learn to listen to the Holy Spirit, who is living inside of us!  This is the point of John's statement, He that is in us, living inside of us, is greater than the spirits that are in the world!  As we learn to listen and be led by the Holy Spirit, we will find our lives more in-tune with the actual movement of God.  We will find ourselves recognizing the pull and push of the spirits of the world, for they do seek to influence us regularly.  We will find ourselves strengthened in hope, in faith and in understanding.

Paul writes the following - 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV:  "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  Do we believe and understand this?  We have been given by God a Spirit of Power, love and sound mind!  This Spirit within us is greater than he who is in the world!

So applying this all to my life today, I am encouraged to look to the Holy Spirit, living inside me, to give me power, to propel my love, and to settle and secure my mind!  The spirit of fear, is not from God!  I am encouraged to reject this reaction to these times, and instead to ask God for revelation, that I might see what He is about all around me in and in me!   I am encouraged to listen to the Holy Spirit, to give real attention to Him whose job is to guide me, teach me and  strengthen me.  Based on my first thoughts this morning, apparently I need this more today!

Lord, help me to see and understand You!  Help me to recognize Your presence in my life!  Help me to listen to You, for Your perspective is greater and more complete for sure!

Amen!

May the Holy Spirit fill you with faith, hope, power, love and sound mind this day!


Sam

Discipline or Education and Training?

This morning I am going to spend some time reflecting on some of my less favorite verses found in Hebrews 12:7-13 NIV:

[7] "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? [8] If you are not disciplined---and everyone undergoes discipline---then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. [9] Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! [10] They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. [11] No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

[12] "Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. [13] “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed."

In this whole section, verse 7 is the key foundation, and the NIV translation is a bit overstated.  Here are two additional translations of verse 7. 

Hebrews 12:7 NASB:  "It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?"

Hebrews 12:7 TPT:  "Fully embrace God's correction as part of your training, for he is doing what any loving father does for his children. For who has ever heard of a child who never had to be corrected?"

I am certainly no Greek expert, and each of these takes a slightly different twist on translation and The Passion Translation, seem to come closest to what I see in the Greek.  The word that is translated discipline, is the Greek word paideia and it is defined as follows:

1) the whole training and education of children (which relates to the cultivation of mind and morals, and employs for this purpose now commands and admonitions, now reproof and punishment) It also includes the training and care of the body
2) whatever in adults also cultivates the soul, esp. by correcting mistakes and curbing passions.
     a) instruction which aims at increasing virtue
     b) chastisement, chastening, (of the evils with which God visits men for their amendment)

As the author of the letter is talking about a father and his children, it seems that the first definition is most accurate, "the whole training and education of children".  Now when I read the NIV translation, I don't get that image in my mind at all.  If we replace the word discipline in the above verses, with "the whole training and education of children" it actually becomes quite a positive verse.  We are so used to seeing discipline with a negative light, but its actual root is disciple.  So, maybe as adult examples we imagine the training that the disciples went through when they followed Jesus!  Again, that cultivates a much more positive perspective about these verses.

Secondly, the Greek word that was translated hardship in the NIV, is the word hupomeno which is defined as follows:

1) to remain
     a) to tarry behind
     b) to remain i.e. abide, not recede or flee
2) to preserve: under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one's faith in Christ
     a) to endure, bear bravely and calmly: ill treatments

I guess this is one of those sections where the translation is influenced strongly by earlier passages, in this case the quoting of Proverbs 3:12 in verse 5 (which I didn't copy here).  We have in Jesus a perfect representation of the Father (Heb 1:3) and yet when the translators look at these verses, it appears that they relate the theme more closely to wording of Proverbs, which is revelation about God, prior to the full revelation of Jesus.  When I look at these verses, thinking of the loving Father revealed by Jesus, and His own treatment of the disciples, I just get a different picture in my mind.  Rather than endure  hardship of chastisement, I see the encouragement to persevere in one's education and training!  The call to holdfast to the relational interactions that encourage growth, new revelation, repentance (as in changing the way I think) not as a negative experience at all, but rather as personal growth!

Think of this as the Father providing you an exercise plan to build your strength and endurance for an upcoming adventure in the mountains, maybe.  Its not just education for educations sake, but a personalized training regimen with a specific goal and adventure in mind.  Several years ago I was planning an Elk Hunting trip in the Mountains of Colorado, where our base camp would be close to 9000ft.  In the months prior to that trip, I started running and working out, I was able to train at 5000ft multiple times, and I was able to prepare in some way for the trip.  The training itself was work, and I was pushing myself harder, knowing that the upcoming trip would certainly require me to be stronger and in better shape.  There were days that my muscles were sore from the previous day, but I didn't take a negative view or perspective to this training, for it had a purpose. 

If we take out the negative context we read into these verses, and look at the goal or purpose that is communicated, again we can embrace these verses with a positive attitude.  Here are the purposes and goals extracted:

1)  for our good
2)  in order that we may share in his holiness
3)  produces a harvest of righteousness and peace

With these for my goals, I find that I might have a bit more determination in continuing my present time of education and training.  I find that this is an encouragement into strengthening and healthiness, for that is how the author continues!  "Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. [13] “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed." (Heb 12:12-13NIV).  He is encouraging us to become stronger ourselves, and to make the path more straight for our own feet and those who need healing.  This sounds to me like sound body, sound mind, sound emotions, and sound doctrine!  For our own good, that we might share in His holiness and produce a harvest of righteousness and peace!

Amen!  I guess these verses are higher up on my list of favorites now!

May the Lord bless you to see His loving interaction, education and training in this time!  May You understand His purpose and plan for you that you might remain in your present course of preparation!  May He bless your efforts and give you peace in the process!

Sam

Let Us Not Become Weary

This morning as I sat down to pray I was really pretty empty minded, no major theme, no "word of the Lord" stirring in my heart, just kind of empty.  As I was looking forward at this new week, there was a bit of weariness in my approach, a tiredness of our present situation, a certain degree of helplessness, as in there is nothing I can do to change this present situation.  I am not one to be depressed, but I am one to become tired, to grow weary, and that is what I saw in my heart.  I thought that might be a good theme to study, and surprisingly its a pretty brief theme, only mentioned a few times in the New Testament.  First we have Jesus addressing those that are weary and then we have a couple of other encouragements from Paul and author of the letter to the Hebrews, and that is about it. 

The first set of verses are some of my favorite verses found in Matthew 11:28-30 NIV:

[28[ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

I don't know about you, but I have been tired lately, feeling like I just need to sleep!  I was thinking that I just need a vacation, and its not the weariness of my body, but of my spirit.  I find this time of "social distancing" tiring as it requires me to constantly adjust my thinking, my heart attitude, my motivation.  I do well when there is much to be done, activity all around.  I enjoy the challenge and demand, and it actually energizes me!  Normally my life is cyclic, with times of intense activity, followed by slow times.  However, now the ebbs and flows are not much different, and for some reason that is more wearisome. 

Anyway, as I read these verses, I find an invitation to a different approach, an invitation to intimacy with the one who will never "social distance" Himself from me.  I find in these verses, an acknowledgement of my own state, and an opportunity to trade that which feels burdensome to me over to the Lord, for that which He provides, which will bring promised rest.

To be truthful, I haven't really taken this time to press into relationship with the Lord.  I have maintained a pretty normal daily routine, and in the evenings been focused on working through some household projects, and my honey-do list, but now that I have checked those off, I am not sure what to do!  I hear in this verse, again, an invitation to deeper relationship, to times of refreshing and rest in the Lord!  I am not sure why I haven't pursued this invitation,but I can assure you, I am going to press in starting today.

The second verse having to do with being weary comes from Paul's letter to the Galatians 6:7-10 NIV:

[7] Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. [8] Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. [9] Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. [10] Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Here Paul is speaking of weariness of doing good, of sowing to please the Spirit, and I think that is right on spot.  How many of us, myself included, have approached this time and thought, "I have all this free-time, I am going to sow to please the Holy Spirit!"?  I don't know about you, but my focus is almost 100% on myself!  What do I want to do, whether its what TV show to watch, what project to do on my list, what activity to do to keep me busy, my focus is on me.

Paul, in these verses, and the ones immediately preceding these, is addressing our focus and our activity.  He speaks of doing good, the Greek word is Kalos, and it is defined as follows:

1) beautiful, handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious, useful, suitable, commendable, admirable
     a) beautiful to look at, shapely, magnificent
     b) good, excellent in its nature and characteristics, and therefore well adapted to its ends
     c) beautiful by reason of purity of heart and life, and hence praiseworthy
     d) honourable, conferring honour
     e) affecting the mind agreeably, comforting and confirming

Talk about an encouraging definition, I feel better just reading this!  The point is that this is about bettering ourselves and those around us!  Its not about killing time, entertaining ourselves, distracting ourselves to make it through this period, but rather about pursuing that which makes us better!  I go back to the first set of verses from Matthew, what would make us more beautiful than pursuing the Beautiful One and becoming more like Him?

The third and final set of verses comes from the Letter to the Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV:

[1] "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, [2] fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. [3] Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Two phrases stand out to me in these verses, "run with perseverance" and "grow weary and lose heart".  The picture of a long distance race seems to be the analogy in use, and while I was not a distance man in Highschool track, I ran distance for training.  I found that running was more of a mind-set than anything, for it was easy to stop running when I got tired or short of breath, but if I forced myself to continue to run, I found I had much more in me than I previously thought.  I was a sprinter and pole-vaulter, and the nice thing about those events, is you pretty much never had to force yourself to keep going.  I find I am still the same in my day to day life!  I can do anything for a short "sprint" of time, but ask me to run a marathon of consistency and focus, and I lose my way and drive within a couple of days.  I find that I can grow weary of the repetition quickly, or lose heart at the effort required and forget what my original motivation even was when I started.  I am pretty bad at finishing long-term projects, as my attention drifts away.

Here, I am being encouraged to pray for a different mindset, a different approach that I can embrace.  I need a marathon mentality, a mind-set that says I will keep on, keeping on!  I need to tell my body and mind to get over it and press onward!  Press onward into doing good, into relationship with the Lord, into sowing to the Spirit, into loving others as He loved me!  I am being encouraged to trade my weariness to the Lord, to embrace Him and set my feet on a course of His direction!

Lord, help me!  You know my inner "sprinter mentality" so help me to change to take on that marathon focus and determination!  Help me to better myself in You and at Your direction during this time!  Help me to not grow weary, but to embrace the opportunity to grow and run well the race marked out for me!

Amen!

May  the Lord grant you strength, endurance and refreshment as you pursue Him and His invitation.


Sam

I Will Not Fear!

Yesterday I started doing a study of fear, as it is discussed in Scripture.  I focused just on the New Testament, and of the 67 times its used in the New Testament, the vast majority were related to having a fear of God, a Holy Fear, or a response of fear to something unusual that God did in their midst.  However, I was reminded of the many times David and other Psalmists used the phrase, most o them had to do with addressing fear inside ones self.

I thought it might be a good thing to just quote a bunch of the verse from the different Psalms, sort of a mantra against fear.  I found reading through these quite uplifting.

Psalm 3:6 NIV: "I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side."

Psalm 23:4 NIV:  "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

Psalm 27:1 NIV:  "The Lord is my light and my salvation---whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life---of whom shall I be afraid?"

Psalm 27:3 NIV:  "Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident."

Psalm 34:4 NIV: "I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears."

Psalm 46:1-2 NIV: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. [2] Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,"

Psalm 91:5-6 NIV: "You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, [6] nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday."

Psalm 112:6-8 NIV: "Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. [7] They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. [8] Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes."


The point of all these verses is that if you have a relationship with God, you can turn to Him to vanquish your fear.  He is our protector, our helper, our healer and our provider.  We can trust the Lord, and entrust ourselves to Him, to His goodness.

Far more of the uses of fear in the Psalms had to do with a fear of the Lord, as in a Holy reverence.  This is experienced when a person understands how awesome, majestic, just and glorious is our God.  It is a natural reaction to the revelation of just a bit of God's Glory!  God told Moses that no one could see His face and live (Exodus 33:20), and I suspect that has to with the overwhelming Magnificence and Glory of God. My point is that when we encounter God truly, our hearts respond and we understand our lowliness and His awesomeness.  Our hearts are stirred to obedience, to desiring to please God, and that, in my mind is fear of the Lord!

As I was researching our present situation, statistically, of the Covid-19 infection, and reading about the wide-spread response, of literally billions of people responding and sheltering in place, or modifying their lives accordingly, of governments issuing stricter and stricter guidelines, I realized that fear is a great motivator.  I saw a meme yesterday that simply said, "Fear is the virus" and I have to agree.  More than anything that is what is motivating people, and while some of the results are helpful the overall emotional and mental state of people is not good, at least in my opinion.

The other thought I had when reading about this all was that it would be such a wonderful thing if the same number of people responded to the Word of God with the same diligence and passion and fervency.  The good news is that there are Billions of Christians, in fact recent estimates put that number at between 2- 2.5 Billion people!  That is an amazing statistic!  Oh, that the worldwide church would rise up and respond to the Word of God, with the same fervency and passion, as we have had to this virus!   That we would allow the word of God to penetrate our lives, our minds and or hearts, and be changed!  That we would follow the command of the Lord and love one another as He loved us (John 13:34)!

My prayer is that you might not live in fear of the virus, but rather in reverence of the Lord!  May your hearts be at peace, your minds at rest and your emotions unswayed, as You meditate on God's love, power, provision and blessing!

Sam

Let the Kingdom of God Arise!

Yesterday  I started a reflection, but due to waking up at 3:30am, I ended up falling back asleep sitting on the couch, and was unable to finish my thoughts.  That being said, I never worry about falling asleep while praying, in fact that is what I do anytime I have a season of disturbed sleep, I just begin to pray.  Some evenings I will pray for 2-3 hours before falling back to sleep, and I figure that time was well spent.  The other thought I have is that as a Dad, I never had a problem with my kids falling asleep in my arms, and that is the image I have of what falling asleep in prayer is like, the Lord has no problem with us falling asleep in the place of intimate conversation, and He just holds us in His arms while we slumber.

Anyway, back to the reflection from yesterday, This morning the theme of the Kingdom of God has been bouncing around in my head. This has been one of the themes that I have been studying for the last 12-15 years, ever since I read the whole of the Gospel of Matthew and saw how may times Jesus spoke about the kingdom (its mentioned 53 times in Matthews Gospel alone).  Last evening during a socially distant conversation with friends, we spent much of evening talking about our faith, our beliefs and a large part of the conversation was about the many faces of religion, the disagreements the judgments, the denominations, the wrangling that has occurred over the centuries about certain beliefs, etc.  It was a very interesting conversation, but no where in the conversation did we ever discuss the Kingdom of God.

This morning as I sat down I was recalling my reading from yesterday, where Luke (as the Author of Acts) describes that Jesus taught the Apostles about the Kingdom of God during his last 40 days here in the earth before He ascended (See Acts 1:3).  If we look back at the other gospels the word Kingdom is used 116 times, 53 in Matthew, 18 in Mark, 42 in Luke,  and only 3 times in John, making it one of the more common themes of Jesus.  In fact, if you look closely, that is Jesus' primary message, proclaiming the Kingdom of God is near or present (see Matt 4:17,  Mark 1:15, Luke 4:43).  It also seems to have been Paul's primary message, as the last words in Acts, describes Paul's primary message was the Kingdom of God and Jesus Christ (See Acts 28:30-31).

The thoughts rumbling around in my mind this morning have to do with the question "why isn't the Kingdom of God one of our primary themes in our churches?"  If this was one of Jesus' primary themes, the theme He spent all of His last 40 days on earth speaking about and Paul's regular topic, why don't we hear more about this Kingdom of God these days?

I don't have answers, but I do have observations.  In my life so far, to my knowledge, I have only heard the Kingdom of God preached 3 times on a Sunday morning, 2 of those very recently.  We are very familiar with sermons about how to live our lives, how to follow the Lord, how to make a difference, how to do what Jesus would do, and a plethora of other helpful and encouraging topics, but, at least in my experience, the topic of the Kingdom of God rarely comes up.

My point in this is now that we are mostly all experiencing our faith individually, maybe God is starting to cause our minds to shift towards His intent, and the establishment of His Kingdom.  Jesus said (Luke 17:21) that the Kingdom of God is in your midst, and the word that He used is equally translatable "inside", and we could understand Jesus to say the Kingdom of God is inside you!

We know that the Lord has said that He and the Father and the Holy Spirit all live within us (See John 14:17 (Holy Spirit) and John 14:20 (Jesus) and John 14:23 (Father)!  Thus, the Kingdom of God really does exist within us, for where God lives, His Kingdom is present.

Continuing this thought, if we all have the Kingdom of God within us, that is and always will be our primary citizenship.  We are His ambassadors, as His sons and daughters.  In the same way that Ambassadors and diplomats from other countries have "diplomatic immunity" where they are not subject to certain laws, because they are covered under the laws of their country, even while living abroad, we are all first and foremost citizens of God's Kingdom and His laws and dominion apply to our lives, and cover us.

This idea was actually quite common in the new testament church, and Paul spoke about it several times, and wrote about it in two of His letters - Ephesians 2:19 NIV:  "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household,"  and  Philippians 3:20 NIV:  "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,"

Paul speaks of us as being citizens of Heaven, for that is where the Throne of God is where He reigns, but Jesus made it very clear that the Kingdom extends to earth, and we are representatives of that Kingdom here, and we are to look for the Kingdom of Heaven to be established on the earth.  In fact He told us to pray those very words - Matthew 6:9-10 NIV: “This, then, is how you should pray: “ 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, [10] your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Going back to my thought of this time allowing us to shift our minds towards God's intent in the establishment of His Kingdom, I believe that we are all being given an opportunity to realign our allegiance to the Kingdom of God as our primary focus.  I think its no secret that the numerous denominations and differences in our churches is not the result of God's will, but rather man's imperfections, pride, and judgments against one another.  We are ALL part of the same Kingdom, with the same King, with the same citizenship, and its time to lay down our individual denominational flags, and unify under the single banner that is common to us all!

In the natural, in geographic kingdoms,  there were often many towns and cities, each with unique cultures, known for certain things, even for different dialects, but they were all citizens of the same kingdom.  The good Kings would allow for individuality and cultural differences to exist, knowing that this richness enhanced and made his kingdom stronger, but the king always saw the individual towns and people as citizens of His kingdom.

In the same way, I don't think God has a problem with our denominations, but His Kingdom is over all of them, and I think He desires to wake us all up to that fact!  We see this happening in many ways today, with global prayer being offered by all denominations, and the like!  During the many years prior to this pandemic, I  did associate with people from different churches, even different denominations,  but my primary focus of relationship was always my local church, sometimes to the exclusion of those outside that church.  Now, I am interacting every bit as much with those in my neighborhood, as I am my home church, but my primary interaction is with the Lord alone!

So back to my original thoughts, is it time for us to start thinking about the Kingdom of God, and our part in this global organization that is over every other faith based organization?  Is it time for us to start learning what Jesus meant when He said the Kingdom of God is "inside" you?  Is it time for us to start thinking like ambassadors of this Kingdom, better yet, as sons and daughters of the King?  Is it time for us to put aside our denominational banners and pick up the only banner that unites us all, the Banner of the Kingdom of God?  Is it time for us to learn to do what Jesus told His disciples to do, "As you go, proclaim this message: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' [8] Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give." ( Matthew 10:7-8 NIV)?  Is it time for us to embrace our true citizenship?

My prayer this morning is that I might, along with all my brothers and sisters worldwide, might embrace my role and my citizenship in the Kingdom of God!  I pray that we might see a global resurgence of understanding and focus on this most significant theme!  I pray that we all might learn to represent the Kingdom of God, everywhere we are, every day!  Let the Kingdom of God Arise!!

Amen!

May the peace of Christ settle in your heart, along with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!


Sam

Can We Hear Him Now?

This morning I found myself back in John 19, thinking about Jesus' final moments.  It seems that sometimes I an just read the words and never really give them much thought, but this morning I found myself wondering about the simple words I read.  Here are the verses - John 19:28-30 NIV:

[28] "Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” [29] A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. [30] When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

This morning my mind was drawn to the beginning of verse 28, where John asserts that Jesus knew that everything "had now been finished".  It is a simple enough phrase, and one that points to verse 30, where Jesus says pretty much the same thing, but I found myself wondering how John knew that was what Jesus was thinking?  This was closely followed by the question, 'I wonder if the Apostles asked Jesus about His death, after He rose from the dead?' 

What an interesting question...

I find myself trying to put myself in the place of the Apostles after they realize Jesus has risen from the dead.  How would they have related to Him?  Did they ask Him questions?  Did they give Him plenty of personal space?  Did they encounter Him like we encounter another person?  Its one thing to have a relationship with another live person, I would think its quite another thing to have a relationship with someone who died and is now alive.

We have some small insight into these experiences recorded by the Gospels, the majority found in the Gospels of Luke and John.  We know that Jesus could appear in human form, but not as Himself as described in Luke 24:13-35 which is the story of the Road to Emmaus.  We know that HE appeared to Mary in the Garden, and she thought He was the gardener - see John 20:15.  We know that He revealed Himself in both stories by saying or doing something that they were personally familiar with Him doing, breaking the bread and calling Mary's name.

We also know that Jesus appeared to them in a locked room (John 20:19 & Luke 24:36).  We know that He proved He was not a ghost by eating food (Luke 24:43).  We know that he showed them His wounds, and even had Thomas put his fingers into the holes to prove they were real (John 20:27).  We know from John that Jesus even appeared by the shore and cooked them breakfast, again revealing Himself by His command to cast their nets in a certain place and their catching an abundance of fish where there had been none previously, which was similar to the first time Peter, James and John were called to follow Him (see Luke 5:4-6).  Finally, we know from Acts 1:3 that He interacted with the Apostles and remaining disciples for a period of 40 days following His resurrection, teaching them mostly about the Kingdom of God.  Luke also notes that Jesus gave them many convincing proofs that He was really alive.

So, back to my original questions, how did John know what Jesus was thinking and did the Apostles ask Jesus questions?  I find myself imagining Jesus standing in front of a class of kindergartners trying to get through the lesson on the Kingdom of God, and being constantly interrupted by one question after another, like "what was it like to be dead?", "Was it dark?", "Did it hurt?", "Why did you die, again?" "Where did you go?",  "Did you seen anyone?", "How did you just appear like that?"  I am completely convinced that Jesus did have to answer these types of questions, because until He did so, He wouldn't have been able to really teach them anything else!

We know that the disciples and even the apostles were extremely slow on the uptake, often not understanding the most clear language possible, especially about Jesus coming death.  It seems that their minds were too occupied by other thoughts and ideas about what the Messiah was going to do to restore the Kingdom of Israel, and what role they were going to play.  Thus, I believe that now that Jesus had their attention, He probably had to answer their questions and then get down to the real lessons about the Kingdom of God, what it really was, and how they were going to be witnesses to this newly established Kingdom.  We do know that He was successful, for once they received the infilling of the Holy Spirit the world was never the same!

So, this begs the question, why am I reflecting on these thoughts and observations this morning?  I think I can glean some understanding as follows:

1) Jesus can and does appear to us in many ways, and we need to be listening and looking for Him to do so!  He won't always reveal Himself to us in the same way.

2) Jesus is ok with answering questions and helping us through the basic stuff so that He can get to the meat of the conversation.  In my daily prayer, I usually spend the first 15 minutes walking back through the day before, just clearing my mind of stuff, so that I can actually focus on Him, and I know He is totally fine with that.

3) Once Jesus does get our attention, He is able to instruct us in ways no other can, for He knows us perfectly, knows what will get our attention, and even knows how we think, so that He can lead us in ways that are familiar, to new truths that we couldn't have understood on our own.

4) Jesus provided convincing proofs that He was alive, and He can and will do similar things for us.  I don't always need to be reassured that He is listening and speaking to me, but sometimes it is VERY helpful! 

5) Jesus has entrusted the Kingdom to us! He has fulfilled everything that was written about Him, and now we are His witnesses, entrusted with the Kingdom of God.

6) Jesus totally gets us, understands our minds, understands our emotions, our thinking, everything.  He will provide us intimate encounters with Him to help us recognize Him!

7) Finally, now that He has our attention, and has us separated from much of the rest of the World, He can speak words of significance to us, release revelation and work in our lives  in ways that will change the world!

Amen!

Come Lord Jesus!  Speak to us, meet with us, help us put our minds to rest, and bring release world changing revelation!

I am praying that we all might encounter the Lord this day!


Sam