A Beautiful Christ-Like Ensemble

This morning I felt led to read out of Paul's letter to the Colossians.  I do love his letters and so appreciate his logical progressions, as builds upon truth, one thought at a time (at least that is how I experience his writings).  Here are my verses for today - Colossians 3:1-14 NIV:

[1] "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 

[2] Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 

[3] For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 

[4] When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 

[5] Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 

[6] Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 

[7] You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 

[8] But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 

[9] Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 

[10] and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 

[11] Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 

[12] Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 

[13] Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 

[14] And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

I noted in my blog yesterday that sometimes writing verses in such a way, with each sentence is given its own line, helps me to see the separate thought each contains, and helps me to stop and think about what I just read before continuing on with the next verse.  I read many materials very quickly, and I have to force my mind to slow down so that I can allow the truth to settle in my heart before moving onto the next verse.  Anyway, I hope it is helpful to you as well.

The verses that caught my attention were verses 8, 5 and 3 in that order.  I find that I do oftentimes read something in reverse order to understand the logical steps Paul is taking between each sentence and thought.  In verse 8 the word that caught my attention was "also" as in something in addition to what Paul had previously written (verse 5), which was a response to a fact (verse 3).  

One of the things that we can overlook is that Paul is addressing real people, with real issues, in His letters.  They were Christians much like ourselves, and Paul, is not shy in providing guidance to what our lives should look like in response to the gift of salvation, and relationship with the Lord!  The point is that there were people in the church of Colassae who were dealing with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language!  That is quite the shocking list of issues to find in any church, and yet, I think it is true of pretty much every church!  

Paul's list is an example of our human condition, and as humans, we struggle with similar things.  Many churches try to hide the fact that there are sinners in their midst, but the fact that there are sinners present is true of every single church.  We should not be surprised that sins such as these are present in each other, but we also should encourage one another to lay aside these self-focused, vain imaginations, these desires for personal gain at the expense of others, so that we might press forward into our new identity, putting on our new self.  We are not above such people, nor better than such people, we ARE such people!!

Oh Lord, help the church to lay down its spiritual pride, and judgment!  Help us to embrace each other, recognize our own brokenness and encourage one another forward to love, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience!  The Lord did not reject us in our brokenness, He came to heal us, forgive us and welcome us into His family!  As Paul says, we must endeavor to rid ourselves of such things, and we must bear with each other, forgive one another and over all of this, to constantly operate in love!

I love how Paul encourages us to "put on love", for often we think love is a feeling, but I find it is most often a choice I make.  When I choose to take my eyes off myself, refusing to idolize my imaginations, my "feelings", my own desires and wants, and choose instead to really look, hear and understand others, I find I am much more loving in my attitudes and actions.  Oh Lord, please continue to help me to love others as You love me!

This morning I am encouraged to choose to put on love, to operate from a place of mercy instead of judgment!  I am encouraged to clothe myself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and forgiveness, putting love on over the top for a beautiful fashion ensemble of Christ-likeness.

Amen!

Quest For Maturity

This morning I was reading from one of my favorites, Paul's letter to the Ephesians.  Rather than just looking at one or two verses, I am re-reading the first half of the fourth chapter, which is so significant in giving a high-level view of the Church and how we should operate.  Here are the verses (minus the 9th and 1oth, which are a note with another focus) - Ephesians 4:1-8,11-16 NIV:`````````````

[1] "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 

[2] Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 

[3] Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 

[4] There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 

[5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 

[6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 

[7] But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 

[8] This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” 

[11] So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 

[12] to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 

[13] until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 

[14] Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 

[15] Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 

[16] From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

Occasionally I will write the verses each on its own line, like above, to help distinguish the individual thoughts that each captures.  There is something about reading each sentence separately, allowing the fullness of the meaning to stand-alone, and then to build upon it with the next line.  

Reading it in this mode, the fact that Christ Jesus gave us the Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers as Gifts to the church is very evident.  It is amazing that somehow we have forgotten about the fact that these roles are gifts from Jesus to His Body, the Church, for good reason, to help us mature, and attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ Jesus!  

It seems to me that many of our churches today, at least in America, function without the full set of giftings, some even limit themselves to one or two, with limited or no connection (ligaments) to the rest of the Body of Christ.  Oh Lord, help us!!  How could these churches possibly produce mature Christians who will represent the full ministry of Jesus?  Christ Himself gave us these gifts, these ministries to us, and somehow we think we know better?  Why are we fearful of the gifts of Jesus?  How can we mature?

Oh Lord, help us!

I pray that You would release into this world a refreshment upon these treasures, these gifts that You have given us!  Help us to embrace and fully appreciate the unique aspect of each ministry, that we might truly grow and mature into the Body of Christ, unified in love, connected together with the full Body of Christ.  Help us to build ourselves up in love, doing the work that You have called us to do!

I don't want to take on some critical spirit as I look at the Body of Christ, yet it seems that we have many opportunities for growth and change as we press forward to embrace the fullness of Christ's plan for us.   Below are some good questions to ask ourselves:

Do we gravitate to the gifts that we can control, or the ones that allow us to be comfortably fed and nourished, but not the ones that challenge us and really grow us?  

Have we have allowed ourselves to be coddled and fed, and become convinced that this is all there is to Christianity, having someone feed us and look after us until we go to Heaven?  

Do we know what is in the Word of God without someone else telling us?

Have we have lost our sense of the mission and ministry, the advancing Kingdom of God, of which we are witnesses and bearers?  

Do we struggle to remember our identity as members of one world-wide Body of Christ, joined together as brothers and sisters, loving each other, laying down our lives for each other?  

Do we think the commands of the Lord are for the leaders, and those with special ministry calls to serve us?

Do we fear the gifts of apostle, prophet and evangelist because of some bad representations we have seen or heard about?  

Do we even believe these verses of Paul's are possible for our modern church?

Do we struggle with knowing what to believe or listen to in this world today?  Is our source for perspective the Holy Spirit?

Do we recognize these gifts in the local and our regional church expressions?  Are we in relationship with individuals who walk faithfully in these gifts?

This morning I am so convicted that there is much more growth available to us as the Church! I am encouraged that the Lord is stirring and moving and causing His gifts to enable us to grow and mature!  I am encouraged that the Lord isn't going to allow His Body to continue to be weak and ineffective.  I am encouraged that HE is about something far bigger than we can think or imagine!  

Oh Lord help us!  Oh Lord encourage us!  Oh Lord refresh Your gifts to us!  Help us to mature and grow!  Help us to embrace the quest for real maturity, as You would describe it!

Amen and Amen!

Thoughts on The Promised Land and Kingdom of God

This morning an interesting idea popped into my mind, concerning the Promised Land, and how that is some type, a shadow of what was to be revealed in Christ. I was reading through Nehemiah yesterday, and at one point they were called to confess their history, and their sins, and the following verses come from that confession - Nehemiah 9:19-27 NIV:

[19] "“Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. [20] You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. [21] For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen. 

[22] “You gave them kingdoms and nations, allotting to them even the remotest frontiers. They took over the country of Sihon king of Heshbon and the country of Og king of Bashan. [23] You made their children as numerous as the stars in the sky, and you brought them into the land that you told their parents to enter and possess. [24] Their children went in and took possession of the land. You subdued before them the Canaanites, who lived in the land; you gave the Canaanites into their hands, along with their kings and the peoples of the land, to deal with them as they pleased. [25] They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in your great goodness. 

[26] “But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies. [27] So you delivered them into the hands of their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies."

I have always read about the Promised Land, and part of God's whole promise was to help the Jews conquer that land, subdue it, and take possession of a land that was in the possession of others, and never thought much of it.  With the recent escalation of violence and battles for land and power in the Middle East, my mind, heart and prayers have been constantly turned towards them, and this morning I was once again drawn back to these verses.

Having read through the whole of the scriptures, it is quite clear that this was part of God's plan, and His plan as it is revealed in both the Old and New testaments is full of things we don't fully understand.  The Old testament was always pointing towards the future and the coming of the Messiah.   Much of the Old Testament Law was a type and shadow of things to come.  

The Jews, in Jesus' day were under Roman rule, and were crying out once again for redemption and rescue to God.  They were waiting for the promised Messiah, one who would rescue them from the Romans and set up God's kingdom on earth once again!  Their history pointed to this type of salvation, and we see it here in Nehemiah, as they reminded themselves of God's movement on their behalf. They were also aware of their inability to follow God's plan, His Law, or to even keep Him in their hearts!  Their history was one of constant falling away and God having mercy and compassion.  

With the coming of Jesus, and His ministry, they thought the time had come for their deliverance, and they were correct, but not in the way they expected.  They wanted a military leader, a  King to sit on an earthly throne, one who would lead them to victory on the battlefield, allow them to take possession of their promised land once again, and shower them with the riches of nations that he subdued.  Instead they received the Messiah of God's promise, one who set them free from the power of sin and death, one's whose Kingdom was not geography, but instead found in the hearts of men and women!  

Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God was at hand, and rather than defeating the Romans, He defeated the real enemy, and showed Himself powerful over sin, sickness, the demonic, and even over nature!  He has all authority and all power!  He has shown Himself merciful, compassionate, loving and faithful!  He knows our condition, our proclivity for sin and falling away, and yet again He has made a way for us all, offering salvation to any that come to Him.

His Kingdom absolutely is one that takes possession of 'a land previously occupied' but this is in our hearts, minds and souls!  We are all captives of the power of sin and death prior to our salvation! He has come to win back all that was lost and it is much more than a piece of geography in the middle East, He is after the hearts and souls of all men and women!  He is waging war against the kingdom of the true enemy of our souls.  Paul brings revelation to this when he writes in Ephesians 6:10-20 NIV:

[10] "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. [13] Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. [14] Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, [15] and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. [16] In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [17] Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

[18] And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. [19] Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, [20] for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

Let us pray for the real battle that is being waged.  There is a spirit behind the hatred, and we must protect our hearts and minds against such an attack.  We must be purveyors, messengers of the Gospel of Peace!!  Let us pray for the salvation of those in Gaza and Israel!  Let us pray for the salvation of our communities, our neighbors, and our sons and daughters!  Let us be about advancing the true Kingdom of God!  

Lord, protect and bless all your sons and daughters!  Oh that the son of righteousness would rise with healing in His wings!  

Amen and Amen!

Friends and Wounds

 

I was reminded of a conversation a friend and I had, about wounds from a friend (Prov. 27:6).  I mentioned that I wasn't sure of the verse, if it was "from" a friend, or "of" a friend, and that I probably needed to dig deeper into that verse.

This morning I thought I would at least look into it, and see what the Word says, and dig a bit deeper.  The whole verse is as follows with the context of the preceding verse - Proverbs 27:5-6 NIV:

[5] "Better is open rebuke than hidden love. 

[6] Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses."

Without going into all the research and word studies of the original Hebrew words and such, a my take on a rewrite of those two verses could be:

"To uncover correction is pleasant and good, more than love that is carefully concealed"

"Bruising from one who loves you is meant to confirm and support you. One who hates you just kisses you many times."

This is such an interesting statement, one that if we put it in context might be helpful.  In my mind I imagine that this is like two training partners, training with wooden swords.  The strike that gets through reveals a point of weakness in the other's defenses.  It is better to have this type of friend, than one who sits aside and loves you but is not active in bettering you.  An enemy, or one who hates you, would watch your sword practice and tell you you are magnificent, wonderful, and never point out your weaknesses.

Neither the one who loves from afar who is unhelpful, or the one who covers you with kisses but hates you and can't be trusted are beneficial in our lives.  We need friends we can trust to give us the straight scoop, the ones who see in us our flaws, and point them out to help us, not just to tell us about them.   They are active in their love, active in their support, active in working with us to help!  

I do like the sword practice analogy, for each individual is meant to strengthen the other, and from the place of friendship this is so valuable.  If we imagine the two friends going into actual battle, fighting back to back, each aware of the other's weaknesses, and so helping to cover them, to protect them from wounding, I think we can begin to uncover the richness of these statements.

This approach also addresses the heart of the one who is receiving correction, for it is for their own good.  A bruise given in practice, and learned how to defend against will save you from a killing or disabling blow in a real sword battle.  No one becomes a sword master by themselves, they must practice, must practice against those who are better, those that can identify additional weaknesses, those who understand how to protect and defend.  

Unfortunately these types of friends are few and far between, at least in my life experience.  I am sure part of the issue is my own, for I don't like having my weaknesses exposed, nor do I even like people really knowing me. My fear is that in knowing me, they might recognize my flaws and dislike me or reject me because of them.  

However, in looking at the wisdom of these verses, I see how such a friend will help me, not hinder me, will make me stronger, healthier, and more skilled in love and relationships.  Life is not about physical battles for most of us, our battlefield is in our mind and in relationships.  Our wounds come in our heart, our emotions, our families, even our faith.  

If you are anything like me, you are constantly barraged by thoughts and accusations about our weaknesses, our failures, our inadequacy.  In the place of these woundings, we either learn defensive techniques or we just suffer them and continue to be wounded in the exact same place over and over again.  Some of the times our defensive techniques are simple, we just avoid all such scenarios so that we will not get wounded!  Other times we believe the accuser who says we are inadequate, or a failure, and we just lay down our weapons and accept the wound over and over again.  Some of us go so far as to welcome the wounds in a way that confirms our agreements with the accuser's diagnosis.  

We must be willing to be loved and love others in a way that will help each other.  We must be willing to enter the real battle, to bring hope and healing, to love actively!  We must help our brothers and sisters to defend their hearts, their minds, their emotions and their faith!  

Oh Lord help us!  

Help us to love one another!

Help us to see the real fight, to engage in the real battle!  As Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV:

[10] "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. [13] Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. [14] Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, [15] and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. [16] In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [17] Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

[18] And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people."

Let us pray for one another, strengthen one another and love each other!

Oh Lord, release real brotherhood, and sisterhood, life on life, fellowship that is active and helpful and life-giving!

More than anything help us to hear Your Voice, and listen to the only real Truth about who we are!

Amen and Amen!

Familiarity and Unbelief

Sometimes a reflection take more than a couple of days, and this is one of those times.  This morning I am continuing my reflection from a few days ago...

I was reading in Luke's Gospel and I turned to the 4th chapter and read about his visit to his former hometown of Nazareth.  Here are the verses - Luke 4:13-30 NIV:

[13] "When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. [14] Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. [15] He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 

[16] He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, [17] and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 

[18] “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, 

because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 

[19] to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” 

[20] Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. [21] He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 

[22] All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn't this Joseph's son?” they asked. 

[23] Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself!' And you will tell me, 'Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.' ” 

[24] “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. [25] I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. [26] Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. [27] And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed---only Naaman the Syrian.” 

[28] All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. [29] They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. [30] But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way."

Both Mark 6:1-6 and Matthew 13:54-58,  have similar descriptions of Jesus' visit to Nazareth after He began His ministry.  Luke gets more into the details of what Jesus said,  which seems to be why they were offended at Him.  Mark and Matthew have very similar more expansive descriptions of the people's familiarity with Jesus.  There is something deeply true about how familiarity can lead to unbelief.  They knew Jesus, and they were clearly amazed at His "gracious words" and the authority of His teaching.  The crowds reaction was interesting, they ask one another, "isn't this Joseph's son?"  In other words, they were familiar with Him as the son of the carpenter, and had no high esteem of him in that roll, and certainly not of His ability to speak publicly.  I have written several times about the offense that I think they felt towards Jesus, and that clearly led to unbelief, or as Mark and Matthew write, "their lack of faith".

I was just thinking back over my life, and the times I have been aware of how familiarity has led to contempt, and how that has led to offense.  I was thinking about how familiarity causes us to be blinded to other aspects, options, or ideas.  We think we know someone and we stop thinking at that point, and reject anything else.  We label them, and expect nothing else from them, and reject anything that doesn't agree with our judgment.  I know there have been times where I was labeled, and essentially put in a box, and not considered for anything else.  I know how frustrating that was to me personally.  I think that is the danger of familiarity, it blinds us or others to a person's true identity and capabilities.  

It is a beautiful thing to know another person deeply, but we must maintain an open mind and heart towards them, for we all are immensely capable and beautiful people created in God's image.  We need to be willing to allow people to grow, mature, and decide to be different. We need to recognize where we are limiting someone through our own "familiarity" with them.

It seems to me that the people in Nazareth couldn't get past their previous labels of Jesus, and missed out on fully benefitting from His ministry and relationship!  What a terrible thing to have the Messiah in your midst, and your familiarity with Him previously, causes you to rise up in anger when He reveals Himself,  and to the point you want to kill Him.  I heard a preacher recently talking about how Nazareth would always be known as the town that rubbed-shoulders with Jesus but rejected Him (or something to that effect), and reading these passages one would think that is true, for they tried to kill Him.  

What I find so interesting, and so hopeful is the fact that Jesus referred to Himself as Jesus of Nazareth, even after His Resurrection and Ascension.  We find this in Acts 22:8,  where Paul is describing his experience when He got knocked off the horse.  This happened to Paul after the stoning of Stephen, so probably somewhere between 2 and 4 years after Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension.  In fact, seven time in Acts we find Jesus referred to as Jesus of Nazareth!  

The very fact that Jesus refers to Himself as being from Nazareth certainly redeems the name of that town, and I think that reveals the heart of Jesus.  While the fact that He was from Nazareth emphasises His humanity and humble beginnings, I believe His using the title 'Jesus of Nazareth' reveals His love and redemption of the very people that rejected Him.  He refuses to allow His familiarity of them to be His final word, or judgement.  In fact, later in His ministry when He is proclaiming woes over some of the towns He did so many miracles in Luke 10:13-15, He leaves Nazareth off the list.

Now I am not trying to force any theological point here, I am just thinking about Jesus and His willingness to forgive.  On the cross He prayed for those that had crucified Him (See Luke 23:34), He took upon Himself the sins of the world, and His treatment at Nazareth would be included. 

Finally, this gives me great encouragement today that Jesus does not label us and cast us aside, He does not proclaim "this one is only capable of..." He knows us, knows our weaknesses, our limitations, and yet He is always calling us, always inviting us higher up and farther in, He does not hold our sins against us, but forgives us and encourages us!  In spite of the wickedness of man, He chooses to be identified as one of us, Jesus of Nazareth!  

I am also encouraged to look at my thoughts about Jesus.  Do I think I know Him, and does this in some way limit my expectations, my faith, even my belief?  Am I willing to press past what I know about Him, into knowing Him fully?  Have I settled for head knowledge and judgment of Him, rather then pressing into the depths of who He is?  Have I settled for the words of other people, rather than getting to know Him truly for myself?  Have I let my past experiences of Him, or His Church limit my belief, my faith, my hope or my desire?

Oh Jesus, help me to press past any limitation, any familiarity, any judgment I have made about You and Your love for me!   Help me to press into the limitless knowing of You, Your splendor, Your majesty and Holiness!

Amen and Amen!  

What DO We Believe?

This morning I opened my Bible and started reading from John's Gospel, tenth chapter.  There is so much to reflect upon in this chapter, for it is full of the Lord's comments about His ministry as the Good Shepherd.  However the verses I want to spend time with follow that section and are every bit as important.  Here are the verses - John 10:24-30 NIV:

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

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

I don't know how more clear Jesus can be, "I and the Father as one."  Those words should end all discussion, end all dispute, and be the absolute unshakeable foundation of our faith!  I find His response to their question about whether He was the Messiah very interesting.  He starts by questioning their belief, talks about His works, then about His authority to give eternal life and finally about His unity with the Father, which in our backwards view makes total sense to us, but I am thinking was quite shocking to the Jews.

Going back to the verses, I think it is important that we take to heart what Jesus says in verses 25 and 26, for our belief is key in our encountering Jesus.  Jesus is alluding to the fact that there are people who witnessed His works (healings, deliverances, multiplication of food, etc.) who, after seeing these things, did not believe that Jesus was from God!  The prophets had spoken quite clearly about the signs of God moving, and what the Messiah would do, and these people should have known what to look, how to read the signs.  When confronted with these signs, at Jesus hands, they chose to not believe.

Thinking about belief, it is interesting how we can believe for a while and then seemingly change our minds and not believe.  I know many who have walked with the Lord, who have had relationship, and then walked away for one reason or another.  In the case of the Jews here, they wanted Jesus to admit that He was from God, that He was the Messiah, but their response when He does so is not worship.  Here are the very next verses - John 10:31-33 NIV:

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

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

It seems to me that they wanted a Messiah to their liking, one who did exactly what they wanted, their way!  They had something better here, the very Son of God, and they wanted to kill Him.  I think this demonstrates the religious spirit quite well.  It is a spirit that wants to control, wants to shape "god" in an image that is powerless and controllable. This spirit stirs up offense at anything that is different than what is allowed or desired... and does it with a sense of fervency and self-righteousness.  

I mean think about His last statement for just a few seconds, wouldn't it be better to have the Son of God your leader, rather than the some anointed military leader. It shows how twisted we we can become when we go all in with wrong thinking, wrong beliefs, or a spirit of religion.

How often do people get offended at God because He doesn't do what they want him to do?  I think that so often our belief about God is  that He is a helper, serving our selfish perspective in that moment.  Rather than looking at everything He has done, at all His provision and blessings, we instead look at what we want God to do, and when He doesn't do it we choose unbelief, because He clearly isn't the "god" we want!  Oh Lord forgive us!

Going back to the idea of belief, I think the questions is what do we actually believe?  

If we believe that Jesus is our Savior, the very Son of God who is one with the Father, our belief should never falter, should never change!

However, if we believe that Jesus is sent to make us happy, or healthy, or bless us, or help us, then when He doesn't do as we want, we no longer believe!  

Jesus at one point spoke about how people were only following Him because He fed them (See John 6:26).  One wonders how often we are following God for the very same reason, for what we want Him to give us.  We don't really want a God who thinks differently, or acts differently than we do.  God pointed out the problem back in Isaiah's day when He said, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV). 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said something like this, 'that part of the problem the Jews had with Jesus is that He always seemed to answer a different question than the one they had asked, or at least He answered it at a different level, or from a different perspective.

One would think that God, or His son whose every word came from the Father, would do exactly that!  From His vantage point outside of time, having all knowledge, when He addresses a situation He is operating at a completely different level, with a very different perspective.  I think this is the key decision point in our faith and belief of God!  If He is God then of course this is true, but if He isn't then He is incapable of anything supernatural, and Jesus was just a wise and gentle teacher.

He isn't God only when He does what we want Him to do!

We often times carry these beliefs in our mind and heart that are actually incompatible, but if we don't think hard about what we believe, we can live for years just ignoring this situation.  

God is either God or He isn't, there is no part-time truth here.

Jesus is either one with the Father or He isn't.

Our will and our own thinking, our wants or desires, have no impact on the statements I just made!  We are not the center of all things, the one whose thoughts and emotions all depend upon, yet this is often how we act.  Oh Lord, forgive us!

So this morning I am encouraged to dive much deeper into what I believe and why!  I am encouraged to look at my own thinking about the Lord, why I follow Him, why I love Him, why I believe He is God!  I am encouraged to look at how I respond to Him when things don't go the way i want!  I am encouraged to dig deep and make sure that my thinking aligns with my beliefs! 

Oh Lord, help me!

The Effects of Bad Seed

Recently some friends and I were talking about the crippling effects of unforgiveness. As I was thinking more about that I was reminded of a dream I had 10 years ago, about a woman who was literally shriveled up due to bitterness and anger at God.  I gained some additional insight as I ruminated on that dream and our recent conversations.

Here is the dream -  In my dream I met this older woman who was bent over, shriveled and just really bitter.  I asked the Lord what was wrong with her, and He said she had was angry at Him, and full of bitterness.  Many years earlier she had received a prophetic word about her life, and she had immediately set about trying to make it come to pass.  She had spent her whole life trying to see this word fulfilled and ended up exhausted frustrated and bitter. The Lord told me she had misunderstood the purpose of a seed prophetic word.  These words are meant to give us perspective about who we will become in time, not the next day.  Seed words, like all seeds, take time to produce fruit, and it is only by tending them and nurturing them that they become really fruitful.      

That was the totality of the dream, and I think it illustrates an important point about our need to become co-laborers with the Word/Promise of the Lord, to see it come to pass.  

Yesterday, what I understood was a bit of a different angle, and that is how negative experiences and even negative words about us can negatively impact our lives.  It seems to me that the woman had allowed a second seed, a negative judgment about the Lord,  to be planted in her shortly after the prophetic word, and unfortunately she had allowed that seed to mature and produce fruit.  When she was frustrated in her efforts to make that word come true immediately, she allowed a lie from the enemy to take root, and over time that is the seed that bore fruit.  She was angry at God for "lying" to her and that accusation had turned to unbelief, and even unforgiveness, and finally into bitterness towards the Lord! 

The seed to fruit principle is true both in the natural as well as the spiritual realm, both negative and positive seeds!  The seed we plant, turns into the fruit that seed came from, and will continue to do so over and over again!  That is why plants produce seeds.  In our spiritual life, if we allow unbelief, unforgiveness, or accusations against the Lord, or  other negative thoughts to be planted and continue to grow, they will bear that fruit in our lives over and over again.  It is a sort of self replicating thing, that must be dealt with!  

If I allow the seed of unforgiveness to be planted and grow, I will reap that harvest.

If I allow the seed of unbelief to grow, I will reap that harvest, over and over again.

If I allow the seed of self-hatred to grow, I will reap the harvest of self-hatred.

I am reminded of a few verses:  

Hebrews 12:15 NIV:  "See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."

Ephesians 4:26-27 NIV:  “In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, [27] and do not give the devil a foothold."

We must deal with these things, and the longer we have allowed them to grow, the deeper the roots will be, and the larger impact.  The verse from Hebrews indicates that it can affect many! Thinking about this all in the language of seed and fruit, the foothold we give to the enemy is exactly that, a seed.  I have seen, and know of many people who struggle with anger, frustration, self-hatred, unforgiveness, unbelief, or a victim mentality, and in every case that I know well, there is always a root cause.  In pretty much every case, they experience the same things over and over again, continually reaping the harvest of that negative seed.  Some folk I know literally have a litany of wrongs done to them that they repeat over and over and over, constantly feasting on that negative fruit!  Yikes!

So how do we deal with these things in our lives?  How do we pull them up by the root, and rid ourselves of their impact?  Thankfully the Word has much to say, and much has to do with forgiveness and repentance!

Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV:  "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. [32] Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

Colossians 3:12-13 NIV:  "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. [13] Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

The first thing we need to do is recognize that any of the bad fruit we are experiencing is not from God!  He doesn't want us to live our lives in such pain, anger, bitterness and frustration.  He desires us to be set free, and He has made a way!  In Jesus words, He came that we might have life and have it to the full (John 10:10). 

I have found that forgiveness is my first weapon, for by forgiving I am able to let go of the hurts, wounds and pain!  Most of the time I need the Lord's help!  Oftentimes it is something I need to continue to forgive, for I find that there are little roots still left in my emotions, in my spirit, in my thoughts towards those that have wounded me.  Setting my heart to forgive is really a decision I must make about what I will allow to grow in me.  What fruit do I want to harvest in my life?

Secondly, I must ask the Lord's help in repenting, thinking and acting differently!  Repentance is a beautiful word when You realize it is the means for transformation of our lives!  Learning to think and act differently is described by Paul as the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2) and this is essential.  If we do not allow the Word of the Lord to be planted, and then nurture and water that word, we will not harvest the fruit (See Matt: 13:3-9; 18-23 - The Parable of the Sower).

Thirdly, we must recognize any judgments we have made, or agreements we have with the lies of the enemy about God, or about ourselves.  He (the enemy) is constantly accusing God to us, telling us He doesn't love us, care for us, watch over for us, desire our good, have the power and authority to help, etc.  He is also constantly accusing us to ourselves, telling us we deserved the pain, that we are worthless, too damaged to be any good, failures, etc.  Sometimes we don't even know we have made these agreements, or believed the lies, and that is the nature of the deceiver, He deceives us into thinking his lies are true.  Again, this is something we should ask God's help in uncovering!  Once uncovered, we need to ask forgiveness for these wrong thoughts about God, and His creation (ourselves especially).  

The best indication of whether or not we have bad fruit in our lives, is by what we experience (harvest).  The Lord has provided us lists of what life He desires for us, and if we are not experiencing these all the time, then its a good bet we need to do some weeding and root extracting. 

Paul writes about it in his letter to the Galatians 5:22-23 NIV:  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." 

- and - 

Ephesians 5:8-9 NIV:  "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light [9] (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)"

James adds the following - James 3:17 NIV:  "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."

If I struggle to experience this type of fruit in my life then its a pretty good bet that I am need of some repentance, and maybe even some help in uncovering the roots of those things that need to be removed.  I am so thankful for Christian counselors, pastors and others the Lord has given wisdom in helping us step free of these negative harvests.  There is no shame in asking for help!

Finally, the watering and nurturing of God's word, knowledge of His love, and the blessed Gospel will likely involve creating a litany of God's promises, blessings and affirmations!  We need to be reminded daily of His love!  As Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians 4:4-9 NIV:

[4] "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! [5] Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. [6] Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. [7] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

[8] Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable---if anything is excellent or praiseworthy---think about such things. [9] Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me---put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

Amen and Amen!

NEW Wine

Yesterday there seemed to be some new things in the spiritual river that I was hearing, ends and beginnings, new things has been a theme for a while.  Lord, please help me to hear, help me to listen to what You are saying.  

Here are some helpful verses:

Isaiah 42:9 NIV:  "See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”

Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV:  “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. [19] 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 48:6-7 NIV:  "You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them? “From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you. [7] They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot say, 'Yes, I knew of them.'"

There is definitely something to the Lord bringing forth surprises, new things, new revelations!  I love the fact that He is still creating, still unfolding His plan and purposes and sometimes we are unaware, and when it falls into place, we see all the things that He has prepared in advance, and how certain aspects of our previous experiences were actually pointing to this, we just didn't understand it at the time.  

Often I find that He has been talking, but without the final context, I have misunderstood Him.  It is like what happened with the Apostles and Jesus' passion and death, He had been speaking about it very literally, and they just couldn't grasp it, and it didn't make sense, until afterwards when they remembered.

The danger in the new wine and new material to patch old, is that the new does not coexist well with old paradigms.  In fact, one could say they can be destructive.  The familiarity of the old can also limit our acceptance of the new!  We like the old better, we don't like change!

The version of this teaching as recorded by Mark is interesting, here it is -  Mark 2:21-22 NIV: “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. [22] And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

Looking at the version from Luke, we gain some additional information - Luke 5:36-39 NIV:  [36] "He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. [37] And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. [38] No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. [39] And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, 'The old is better.' ”

Important things to note:

1) Trying to path the old with new is bad, it ruins both.

2) Trying to contain new wine in old wine skins is bad, it ruins both.

3) Many prefer the old over the new.

4) New wine requires new wine skins!

What does new wine symbolize?

Here are a few verses - 

Genesis 27:27-28 NIV

"So he went to him and kissed him . When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed. [28] May God give you heaven's dew and earth's richness---an abundance of grain and new wine."

Deuteronomy 7:12-13 NIV

"If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors. [13] He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land---your grain, new wine and olive oil---the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you."

Psalm 4:6-8 NIV

Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?” Let the light of your face shine on us. [7] Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound. [8] In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.

New wine is symbolic in the Old Testament of the Lord's blessing, and abundance.  There is joy in the harvest, and peace in the provision of the Lord.

In the New Testament, we find the New Wine is symbolic of the New Covenant, and Jesus' blood, which is shed for us, washing us clean, paying the price for our transgressions, the greatest blessing of all time!

Luke 22:17-20 NIV:

"After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. [18] For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” [19] And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” [20] In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."

I am greatly encouraged this morning that the Lord is moving, is unfolding, is revealing new things!  I am encouraged because He is about it, and it is not of our doing!  His plans and purposes, as they are revealed will make sense, for then we will see in retrospect, and will understand that He has been speaking all along!  

I am encouraged that God's blessing in new wine, may very well require me to accept new things, new paradigms, new ways of doing things!  I must be willing to lay down those things I am familiar with, those things I prefer, in order to join myself to what New thing the Lord is pouring forth!

I love when the Lord is moving, there is joy in the revelation, joy in His provision, and joy provides endurance, for sometimes there is a process and timing that takes longer than we want.  

Yes Lord, pour out Your New Wine!

His Unsearchable Ways

This morning I am reading from Roman's 11, which is where Paul is speaking about the future salvation of Israel, and the ingrafting of the Jews.  It is an interesting chapter in that Paul is uncovering some small part of God's plan.  In the midst of it though Paul is warning the Gentile church to not become arrogant or conceited, which are the calling cards of spiritual pride.  Here are some of the verses - Romans 11:17-21,25 NIV:

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

[25] "I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in,..."

It is such a tempting thing to embrace spiritual pride when the Lord is blessing us.   We get to thinking that we have a special place in God's heart, which is true, but we start to elevate ourselves above others (in our own eyes and hearts) which is not true!  There is a fine line of going hard after the Lord, and not judging others who are pursuing Him differently.  

If we think our pursuit of Him, or our personal holiness has some impact on how God loves and blesses us, then we are embracing, in a way, a works mentality.  As Paul says a few verses earlier, "And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace." ( Romans 11:6 NIV).  We must always remember that our salvation, our relationship, our gifts are all grace, freely given and NOT earned.

In my logical mind, I can't see how all that Paul writes in this chapter is possible!  How will all of Israel be saved? (Rom 11:26 NIV)  I don't fully grasp the way the Lord moves across multiple generations and yet interacts with us in our present state, and somehow all of it works out perfectly.  It really is enough to make your mind break if you try to understand it all.  I think Paul gets to this place and thus ends this chapter with the following - Romans 11:33-36 NIV:

[33] "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! 

How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 

[34] “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 

[35] “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” 

[36] For from him and through him and for him are all things. 

To him be the glory forever! Amen."

To that I add my Amen! I don't need to understand it all, I know that God is worthy of my trust, belief and love!

When God Emptied Himself

Yesterday while walking my dog I found myself thinking about Jesus, and His emptying Himself to become man, and it just really got me thinking.  The best verse t describe this is found in Philippians 2:6-11 NIV:

[6] {speaking of Jesus Christ} "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 

[7] rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 

[8] And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death---even death on a cross! 

[9] Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 

[10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 

[11] and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

I am spending some time thinking about how Jesus made Himself "nothing" (see verse 7 above) in becoming man.  I believe this word nothing is used in contrast to the infinite, all-knowing and all-powerful nature of the Godhead.  In comparison, although in God's image, man is as "nothing", limited in our perception, limited in our life-span, limited in our abilities,  just plain limited in our finite-ness.  

Other translations say He emptied Himself, and I think that describes well Jesus' incarnation.  I am amazed that the Lord would humble himself to such an extent, for most of us rarely choose, of our own volition, a humbler position or existence, and if we do, it is certainly not comparable to what Jesus embraced in becoming like us.

He was eternal and outside of time, yet He chose to be bound by time, and its affects on our human bodies.  

All powerful, yet He chose to become fully man; embryo to fetus, to baby, to child, to adolescent to man.

All knowing, He chose to be limited to the confines of a human mind, depending on the Father and Holy Spirit for any other insight or understanding.

The Creator, He chose to fully embrace and accept being one of His creations.

Having all authority and power, He lived under the authority of His mother and father, under the power of the Roman Empire, under the power of the spiritual forces present at that time.

He was the greatest man to ever live, yet He remained hidden for 90% of His life.

He was part of the Trinity, Holy and Majestic, beyond comprehension, and yet He emptied Himself, to become a triune being like us, body, mind and spirit.  

Ultimately He suffered brutal beatings, humiliations and finally crucifixion and death, and raised not His mighty right hand or voice against His killers.

I find my mind just can't grasp any of this, the absolute unfathomable mystery of His becoming man!  I don't even have words to express what actually He went through in emptying Himself, becoming as nothing, for our sake!

I know that it is true!  I know that He chose this to reconcile us to Himself, to the Father and Holy Spirit, but it just seems too great a cost, too great of a sacrifice, just beyond anything and everything that has ever been done!  

Then, after having suffered, been beaten and dying for our sins, He comes back and extends to us the Gospel of Grace, giving salvation and eternal life to any and all who receive Him and believe!  He opens the door for the Holy Spirit to come and indwell us, pouring out living water!  

His "vengeance" against those who killed Him was to offer them salvation and full life!

Wow, wow, wow!

Lord, I am clearly not worthy of any of mercy, any of Your grace, and yet You shower it all down upon me!  You love me and desire relationship with me!  You have made a way where there was no way!  You paid the ultimate price, yet did so willingly!  

Thank You Lord for all that You did to set me free from sin and death, that I might accept Your Gospel!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!  

Revealed and Made Known

Today I felt led to read from John 17, the final prayer of Jesus over His disciples and over us.  I am always encouraged when I read His prayers and press further into Him for understanding.  The verses I am reflecting on this morning are as follows - John 17:1-8,26 NIV:

[1] After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

 “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. [2] For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. [3] Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. [4] I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. [5] And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. 

[6] “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. [7] Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. [8] For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 

[26] I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

The verses that stood out to me this morning were verses 6 and 26, where Jesus speaks about how He revealed and made know the Father.  This is such a  critical part of His ministry, and yet it seems to be missed, or at least not highlighted by many.  The ministry of Jesus was one of constantly representing the Father in word and deed.  He said earlier in John's Gospel that every word He spoke came from the Father ( John 8:28 & John 14:24) and everything He did was at the Father's direction (John 5:19).  In other words He was representing the Father to us all!  The author of the Letter to the Hebrews opens with this profound fact and says , "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being,..." ( Hebrews 1:3 NIV).

This reality that Jesus was representing the Father is so important for us to grasp!  If we want to know what the Father thinks or says we can look to tthe words of Jesus recorded in scripture and get a very solid idea of the exactly what the Father is like.

We don't need to wonder, or question.

What Jesus said is what the Father was saying!

The Father is unchanging, so everything that Jesus said about the Father then is true of the Father now!  

If the original sin of Adam and Eve was believing a lie and accusation about the Father, then Jesus coming and correcting that wrong belief and proving that accusation wrong is of critical importance in our understanding and relationship with Him!

Thank You Jesus for revealing the Father to us!  Thank You for faithfully representing Him to us all   Help us to dive deep into this revelation, into your representation of the Father, that we might rightfully love, honor and follow Him in all our words and actions!

Amen and Amen!

A Wholly Different Take On The Prodigal Son

Recently some members of our church spent some time in Ephesians 1, and walked through these incredible promises.  Here are the verses - Ephesians 1:3-14 NIV:

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

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

As we were talking through these sections, the theme of our adoption into a place of sonship and daughtership, was brought up over and over again.  Our identity as a son or daughter is essential for us to understand as all blessings are supposed to flow to us out of that relationship, to God's Glory.  In Christ, through our salvation and redemption, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ!  Wow, that is actually unfathomable!

These verses and others like them talking about our sonship, our adoption, and our inheritance like Romans 8:14-17 are key to how we must understand our identity for us to walk fully in God plans and purposes.  We are called to represent Him to this world, and part of that representation is our invitation to continue Jesus' ministry, operating in the power of the Holy Spirit, as first experienced in Acts 2, but demonstrated over an over again in the rest of Acts.  The miracles, the signs and wonders, the healings, the casting out of demons, the inspired preaching and prophetic insight are all ours to lay-hold of for they are part of our heavenly inheritance as sons and daughters of God!  Oh what a lovely and blessed invitation we have received!  Oh that we might live out the fullness of this in our daily lives!  This is definitely my heart!

Yesterday while walking in the park I was thinking very similar thoughts to what I wrote above, reflecting on my life, and my inheritance in Christ!  I was suddenly reminded of another son and inheritance as described by Jesus in Luke 15:11-32 in His parable of the wayward son.  Without quoting all the verses here, the basics of the story is that the younger son of a rich man, asked for his inheritance early, and went and squandered it in a distant land.  Jesus describes it as follows, “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need." ( Luke 15:13-14 NIV)  

The idea of squandering all of his wealth in wild living is a picture to me of someone who does everything they want to  do, a wholly selfish individual.  They see no value in the relationship, no importance to their authority as son, no desire to represent the Father!  Historically, I always thought this was a picture of those who have fallen away from the faith, who have lived in a place of relationship and blessing, only to reject it all for the sake of their own selfish desires.  

That understanding might be true, but yesterday the Lord opened my eyes to how in many ways I am like that younger son!  

Ouch!

I was not expecting that!

As I thought about it I realized this was absolutely true!  In light of the eternal blessing, spiritual blessings, wisdom and revelation, this incredible inheritance that I have received and been gifted in Christ, what have I done?  More often then not, my focus is wholly on myself, I am focused on what I want to be focused on, I am concerned about my little wants and needs rather than representing the Lord!  I might not of spent it all on wild living, but I certainly have not done much with it that would represent the Lord in a meaningful way!

I have used the gifts and talents given me by God for my own betterment, my own desires and purposes.  I think much more about my own desires and plans than I ever do of the Lords!  I am less concerned about His will and purpose than I am my own.  I don't operate in real authority, power or wisdom, yet they are all available to me!  I have squandered much of what I have been given!

Worse yet, I think much of the church is in a similar state!  We have as our inheritance all authority and power, the continued ministry of Jesus, and we settle for building churches that we want, lifestyles that suit us, feeling good about our weekly service, about how well we sang, or preached or whatever, yet lacking the power, the authority, the mercy, compassion and love demonstrated by Jesus!  The Church of God is meant to represent the ministry of Jesus to a fallen world, and more often than not we bicker and fight amongst ourselves, and are more focused on our stuff than what the Lord is about in the rest of the Body of Christ.

Oh Lord forgive me for squandering my inheritance!

Oh Lord, I need Your help!

Oh Lord, we need Your Help!  

Help us come to our senses!  Help us to recognize the truth of our inheritance, the authority and power, and heavenly blessings that are ours in You!  Help us to return to the Lord and receive the embrace, the robe, ring and sandals of our identity, those which represent our true inheritance!  Help us to wake up and recognize that You are waiting with loving arms, waiting for us to turn towards You, that You might run to us and embrace us and restore all that we have squandered!  

Lord, I want to step into my inheritance as Your son!  Help me to rightly represent You in ALL I do!  Help me to take my eyes off myself, off my wants and desires, that I might look to You to see what You care about, what You purpose for me!

The GREAT NEWS is that God does forgive, is waiting for me to return with open arms and plans to restore everything I have squandered!

Amen and Amen!

Our Daily Bread

This morning as I was praying I just had this thought about the importance of feeding ourselves on the Word, daily and immediately I was reminded of the Israelites going out each morning and gathering manna!  

Here are the verses where the Lord introduces manna - Exodus 16:11-18 NIV:

[11] "The Lord said to Moses, [12] “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.' ” 

[13] That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. [14] When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 

[15] When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. 

Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. [16] This is what the Lord has commanded: 'Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.' ” 

[17] The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. [18] And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed."

What a great picture of what we are invited to do, to have daily interactions with the Lord, "The bread of Life"! (See John 6:48)  Lord, you desire to meet with us daily, to provide real food for our hearts, minds and spirits!  You desire to feed us!  Its enough for today, but tomorrow I need to do the same.

Secondly, this morning I was led to read from Isaiah 43:18-21NIV:

[18] “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 

[19] 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. 

[20] The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, 

[21] the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise."

We need food and water, and the Lord is about providing us exactly what we need!  Not only does He provide bread, but He provides springs of living water! (see John 4: 13-14) Let us turn to Him today, to feed us and quench our thirst!  Let us learn to seek His "Bread of Life" and "Living Water" every day!

Amen and Amen!

Questions & Answers: Getting Personal

This morning I had a very different prayer time.  I have been meditating on John 21, which is the restoration of Peter, following Jesus' resurrection.  It is a very moving time of ministry, where we can see the gentleness and care of Jesus for Peter.  This morning as I was sitting down to pray  I asked the Lord, "What do You want to talk about?", rather than my normal question which is, "what should  I read?" 

It took me a little bit to settle my mind and heart, and just listen and as I did so, I felt led to go back to John 21, but instead of Jesus asking the questions of Peter,  "Peter, do you love me?"  I heard the Lord say to me: "Sam, do I love you?"

Actually it stunned me for a second, why would the Lord ask me this question?  But then as I pressed in I could almost hear the reverse of those questions and that conversation that was recorded by John!

Here is what I wrote down:

J: Sam, do I love You?

s: Yes Lord, You love me!

J: I will take care of your kids!

J: Sam, do I love you?

s: Yes Lord, You love me!

J: I will take care of your wife!

J:  Sam do I love you?

s: Yes Lord, I know that You love me, even though You know everything about me!

J: I will lead you and guide you all your life, I am the Good Shepherd, and I will take care of you!

I felt like the Lord wanted to press in, to have me look deeper at my relationship with Him.  There was an invitation to hear Him, to let Him ask questions, to hear how I really respond!  

These are the key questions the Lord asked me this morning, besides those above: 

Do I love you?

Do you trust Me?

Do you trust Me with your kids, and their lives?

Do you trust Me with Your life?

Do you trust Me with your spouses life?

I have the feeling this is the beginning of a great conversation, or actually several conversations that I am going to have with the Lord!  My answers to some of those questions need work, and show me areas that I need to grow, and surrender. The Lord was really getting personal today, and the invitation is open.

Lord, help me to press into You so that i might be able to answer each of those questions with a resounding YES based on my experience of You!

Yes Lord, I want to know You more, and know more of Your love and care! 

Amen and Amen!

Sweet Restoration

Yesterday during worship I was thinking about a couple of things.  First, I was thinking about the apostles and how their friendships with Jesus must have really seemed a bit strange after His resurrection.  I was thinking about how they would have related to Him after they realized He was actually the Son of God!  I think to some extent they never realized fully what that meant, Peter had revelation that He was Messiah, and even said so in Matt 16:16, but afterwards it seemed that they continued to relate to Him as a man, for what options did they really have.  They had a reverence and respect, and maybe even a little bit of fear at His power and authority, but still they related to Him as a man.  It was after His resurrection that the reality of who Jesus really is hit them, and it must have totally affected their relationship. 

Looking at it in the natural, their relationship with Jesus ended when He died on the cross, at least that is what they thought.  They were clearly grieving, trying to figure out what to do after His death.  I am sure all of their last conversations and experiences were playing back over and over in their minds... and when He appeared to them after He rose, it must have just been so jarring to their minds and emotions, especially since He had the scars that showed it wasn't just a bad dream.  It is definitely something to think more about, that transition from friend to savior!

The second thing I was reflecting on was the restoration of Peter as recorded in John 21.  As I was reading back over that I  was amazed at the completeness and merciful and compassionate care Jesus extended to Peter. There is a definite parallel between Jesus' restoration and Peter's original call as recorded in Luke 5:1-11 NIV:

[1] "One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. [2] He saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. [3] He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 

[4] When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 

[5] Simon answered, “Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” 

[6] When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. [7] So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 

[8] When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” [9] For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, [10] and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. 

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” [11] So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him."

Here is John's recounting of the events following Jesus' resurrection - John 21:2-17 NIV:

[2] "Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus ), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. [3] “I'm going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We'll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 

[4] Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. [5] He called out to them, “Friends, haven't you any fish?” 

“No,” they answered. 

[6] He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. 

[7] Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. [8] The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. [9] When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. 

[10] Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” [11] So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. [12] Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. [13] Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. [14] This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. 

[15] When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” 

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” 

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 

[16] Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” 

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” 

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” 

[17] The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” 

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” 

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep."

There is much to think about and reflect on in these verses, so I will just share the couple of things that stood out.  First, Jesus recreated His original call of Peter, with a very similar redirecting of where they were fishing and massive catch of fish.  This seems to me to be a restoring of His call on Peter's life.  I am sure Peter thought his call was over to some extent, especially after his public denial of Jesus.  

Secondly, Jesus did this in front of the others, to make sure they knew He was restoring Peter.  Jesus cared so much for Peter, and restoring Him, that He made sure the others knew that Peter was being restored, for they clearly might have had issues following him after his public denial of Jesus.  It is interesting to note that only 7 of the remaining 11 are there, and even Peter's brother Andrew seems to be missing, so it is possible there was already a bit of fragmenting of the unity of the Apostles.

Third, Peter didn't even push back on Jesus' direction to throw their nets on the right side of the boat whereas in Luke's recounting of the original Pater had basically told Jesus that He didn't know what He was talking about.  This to me shows the humility of Peter, something that was a long-time in the making. 

Fourth, Jesus very specifically cleared the denial off the books, for He provided Peter the opportunity to admit his love one time for every time he denied Him. I have read many author's thoughts on this restoration, and specially these three questions followed by commands, and they are very helpful.  I am just looking at the my own propensity to think poorly of my own words and actions, and how healing this must have been for Peter.  He essentially got to take back everything He had said, and while his denial was later detailed in the Gospels, he no longer bore the shame of those words!  

I could go on, but suffice it to say, the Lord cares for each of us in this exact same way!  There is nothing we can say or do that will cause Him to love us less!  He is always ready to invite us back into relationship, He is always ready to restore us, even as He did Peter.  He is merciful and compassionate and knows our thoughts and knows how to love us back into the fold!

Today I am so greatly encouraged by the Lord's love, compassion, forgiveness and sweet restoration! 

Thank You Lord!