The Gospel of Love, Presented in Love

This morning I had a dream where I was part of a ministry that was presenting the Good news.  In this dream our presentation was so effective that people were being forced to deal with the reality of what they just observed, people being set free and healed.  

One funny thing happened in the midst of our presentation, we had a man come out dressed like a chicken, walk around a bit and then leave.  I was speaking at that moment and said,  "You can't ignore the fact that a man dressed as a chicken just came out, you can chose to not let your life be affected, but you can't deny what you just saw!   In the same way, you can't deny what you are seeing in front of you, people being set free and healed in Jesus name!"

As I was thinking back over the dream, upon waking, the thing that was most evident was that we were presenting the Gospel in a loving way!  We weren't in people's faces, we weren't barging into people's lives, we were presenting the Gospel of Grace, proclaiming that God loved these people and then letting God demonstrate His love for them by affecting their lives in sometimes radical ways, like healing.  We were effectively presenting the Gospel of God's Love in a loving way and people couldn't deny what they were seeing.

I was reminded of the following verses, specifically verse 14 from Matthew 14:13-14 NIV:

[13] "When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. [14] When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick."

Jesus' primary motivation here is compassion, and it results in Him healing their sick!  What a great demonstration of the Gospel of God's Love, demonstrated through a loving encounter with God's authority and power!  

Oh, that we would represent God's love for all we meet in much the same way!  Oh, that we would be overwhelmed with God's love for His people!  Oh, that our motivation would be loving others the way we have experienced His love ourselves!  In fact, now that I think about it, that is exactly what Jesus said,  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” ( John 13:34-35 NIV )

Lord, help us to demonstrate Your love for others, by loving them and having compassion on them, healing them and setting them free in Your name!

Amen and Amen!

Who Am I Pleasing?

This morning I was reading through Paul's letter the Galatians, and came across a single verse that really made me think. Paul is obviously responding to some comments he heard concerning his ministry, how he handled himself, and the comments weren't good.  He was defending the Gospel of Christ, the Gospel he preached, and then he added this line - Galatians 1:10 NIV: 

[10] "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."

It is such an interesting statement, and although I have read this many times, today it grabbed my attention.   Paul is saying he used to live his life to please people, but that he was now only concerned about pleasing the Lord, and the two were mutually exclusive of one another.  

Isn't that interesting?  

Isn't that a bit of an over-reaction?

That last statement is the one my flesh makes, because I do want to please people!  However, to place greater priority on pleasing people, versus pleasing the Lord, means I am elevating people's opinions over the Lord's, and essentially making that an idol.  I am choosing to worship people's opinions of me... dang that is UGLY.

We see it all around us these days, people who are "influencers" who are trying to get followers and likes on social media.  We are seeing people obsessing more and more over what others think, over "likes" and "shares" and payouts from ads.  We see the church becoming concerned with the same, trying to win people's hearts and attention by being flashy, or "with it".  The church wants to be relevant, but watering down the Gospel to do so is idolatry. 

Jesus was very clear about our relationship with the world (spirit of the age).  He said the following, as recorded in the Gospel written by Matthew 16:24-26 NIV:

[24] Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. [25] For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. [26] What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?"

Make no mistake, our souls are at stake.  Paul saw this in his own life, and embraced that radical pursuit of God.  

My flesh doesn't like this line of thinking at all!  I want comfort, and I want people to like me!  I don't want to take up my cross daily!  That is the truth according to my flesh.  However, I am choosing to live by the power of the Holy Spirit filling me and flowing through me.  I am choosing to tell my flesh NO, and turning towards the Lord!  I am not perfect, for sure, but I am dogged in my determination.   

I am encouraged this morning to continue to pursue the Lord, to make my life about Him, first and foremost.  I am encouraged to worship Him, and not people's opinions of me!  I am determined to live a life of love, laying down my life that I might love God, and love His sons and daughters to the best of my ability.  I am encouraged to monitor my heart, my affections and to make sure that they are set on Him, first and foremost!  

Amen and Amen!

Scatter The Embers, Fan The Flame

Last night I had an interesting dream about the church being scattered in an end-times persecution.  I do have some very interesting dreams at times.  Anyway, that got me thinking about the early church and the persecution that arose after Stephen's stoning, and how the church was scattered.  I thought I would spend some time reflecting on that this morning.  The record of this is brief and found in Acts 8:1-8,  and in Acts 11:19-21 NIV:

Chapter 8: [1]"And Saul approved of their killing him.

[2] 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. [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." 

-and-

Chapter 11:[19] "Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. [20] Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. [21] The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord."

One thing is immediately clear when reading these texts, the scattering did not stop people from preaching the Gospel, and while possibly afraid for their lives, they considered the Gospel of utmost importance.  The Christians were likely traveling in small groups, sometimes even alone, but were continuing to live their lives of faith and openly demonstrating the kingdom realities.  Maybe they thought they were out-running the persecution, but it clearly spread as well for earlier in Acts 9, we find that Saul was actually pursuing the Christians all the way to Damascus. 

Anyway, back to the reflection, because of my dream, my thoughts this morning were on the instructions the church received before leaving Jerusalem. We don't know anything about the specifics, but we can glean some insight from the previous verses.  That they were headed out to areas that were not strong-holds of Christiandom is clear, they were being sent or scattered to largely unreached peoples.  I have reflected previously on how this persecution actually allowed them to begin to fulfill the great commission found in Matt 28, and we can clearly see this in both sections.  Philip was preaching to Samaritans, and in Chapter 11 we see the Gospel being preached to the Greeks, both groups of people that would have been excluded with a Jew's only focus. Thus, we can conclude that in their final instructions, there was an encouragement to continue to bear witness to the Gospel, regardless of where you ended up.

Secondly, both of these sections are followed by help coming from Jerusalem, so we know that people were still in contact with one another, despite being separated by miles and miles, with no direct communication methods that we enjoy today.  There must have been some sort of communications network in tact, enabling person-to-person news to be communicated back to the home church in Jerusalem, and there must have been some direction around this given to people before they left.  I find this encouraging, for we could think that in the scattering, people were just left on their own, each left to their own concerns and struggles, and we find the opposite.  They were connected, they did have a sense of being a part of the Body of Christ, despite their travels. If we look back at Acts 2 and 4, we can see the type of community that was developed, they were very close, shared with one another and looked after one another.  This type of connected life was absolutely essential to the continued well-being of the Church, especially under persecution.  We would be well coached to make sure that we are encouraging a similar life connectedness in the church today!

As I was just thinking about this whole event, I saw an image of trying to put out a fire by spreading the embers all over, causing them to be separated from one another.  This is actually a fine method, unless the embers are spread into dry grass, or other highly flammable substances, in which case this scattering would result in multiple new fires.  I see here the enemy trying to stomp out the fire of the newly birthed church through persecution, and ending up spreading wildfire that would engulf the whole of the known world!  Whoops!  Oh that we would have the same fire burning in our hearts today, for clearly the world is dry and ready for the fire of God!

I was reminded of a couple of verses from Obadiah 1:17-18 NIV:

[17] "But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and Jacob will possess his inheritance. 

[18] Jacob will be a fire and Joseph a flame; Esau will be stubble, and they will set him on fire and destroy him. 

There will be no survivors from Esau.” The Lord has spoken."

I like the imagery of Jacob being a fire and Joseph a flame, not for some sort of destruction, but rather for the rapid spread of the fire of passion for God!  The persecution of the church did exactly that, it spread the fire of God out amongst the Greeks, the Samaritans, and the whole world!   They heard in the words and passion for the Gospel, and saw the workings of the miracles and healings and this caught them on fire!

One wonders if when we pray for the Lord to fan the flames that sometimes He allows a scattering to better fan the flames into a bigger fire?!  The other thing that is evident is that the Church was encouraged by these new fires, and they sent those to help stoke the fires, and bring teaching and direction and guidance!  They weren't afraid to turn up the brightness, even with the persecution raging around them!  They understood they were about a world-changing effort and were encouraged by the continued growth in the very face of persecution.  This was not like the lost tribes of Israel where 10 tribes just seemed to disappear into the populations they were scattered to!  Instead of cowering in fear, and trying to blend into the communities in which they were hiding these early Christians instead proclaimed the Gospel, shining their light for all to see!   Oh, that we would have this same passion today!  

This morning I am encouraged to pray for the fire of the Holy Spirit to burn brighter in each of us.  I am encouraged to pray that the Lord might cause the fire of passion for Him to be spread!   I am encouraged that the plans of the enemy will back-fire and that which he tries to quench will instead turn into a wild-fire that sweeps the world! 

Amen, come Lord!

Greatly Blessed

This morning I am reflecting on the incredible blessings of our life.  Yesterday my reflection was on maintaining faith in the midst of difficulty, but today, as I thought through our life, I recognized that struggle and difficulty is just one perspective, a very real one, but certainly not the whole story. My honey likes to say that 'life is a matter of attitude' and attitude is how we choose to interpret our situation, based on our perspective, or what we are focused on.  

There are times I struggle to maintain my focus on the things that matter, as in this last week, when circumstances are changing fast and I was working hard to understand and adapt and overcome.  However, given a couple of days, I usually get my focus back and am able to change my perspective to view life with a clearer view.   

This morning, I am looking at our present situation and we are greatly blessed.  We have a warm and comfortable house, plenty of food, clean water and electricity and natural gas are readily available.  While we have some health struggles, we are both ambulatory, able to care for ourselves, able to do what we want, when we want.  We are not dependent on medicine or machines to keep us alive.  We have more luxury, more comfort than many of the people of the world.  We have wonderful neighbors, wonderful friends, and fantastic families.  We live peaceful lives, free of major contention, struggle, or even disagreements.  We attend a wonderful church with other like-minded believers and are able to meet freely, able to give voice to our faith.  We don't struggle to make ends meet, we don't struggle to find our next meal, we don't struggle to stay warm, or protect our belongings.  We live in a country that is the envy of many.  We have our own home, our own vehicles, our own phones, computers, appliances and whatever else we desire.  Our lives, in comparison to many people of the world, and most of history, are greatly blessed!  

When I think about the struggles of this past week, in comparison to all the blessings I am surrounded by, I realize they are not as important as they seemed, and that helps me to regain my focus on the more important things.  Sure my job is how I am presently provided for, how I feed my family and pay my bills, but in the greater scheme of things it is just my job, and I am sure I could find another.  What is more important are my relationships with the Lord, my wife, my kids, my family, and my friends!  In fact, if I took away all the physical comforts, my relationships would still qualify me as greatly blessed for they are the most valuable to me!  I may not communicate it well, but to me love, fellowship and friendship are the most important things in my life!  

I am reminded of a Psalm of David.  He is speaking of himself, the King, and if I replace "The King" with "Me" or "I" the following would be true for me, other than the Kingly stuff, like Gold Crowns, etc. .  - Psalm 21:1-7 NIV:

[1] "The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give! 

[2] You have granted him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. 

[3] You came to greet him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head. 

[4] He asked you for life, and you gave it to him---length of days, for ever and ever. 

[5] Through the victories you gave, his glory is great; you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty. 

[6] Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence. 

[7] For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken."

Thank You Lord for Your great blessings!!

Holding On In Difficulty

This past week has been a surprise, and not in a good way, at work.  We had a difficult situation revealed and have been working to identify how to overcome a significant deficit that will result.  While this is a strange way to start a reflection on my faith, this situation is absolutely impacting my relationship with the Lord, my faith, my belief and my will as I press in to hold onto promises and directions given to me. 

Every job I have taken over the years has been the result of my pursuing the Lord's plan for me, and while it seems like I have, at times, made bad decisions, each one has been with a single purpose of trying to follow the Lord's direction.  During my last discernment process, the Lord asked me who I was willing to help succeed, as I was trying to decide between two companies.  It was the most definitive question as the two options were polar opposites, and the choice was easy.  That question is my driving purpose in my present position, and while I could be making more $$ in other positions, I am trusting His purposes for me here, knowing that my life purpose is about more than just my own gain, or well-being.  

I bring all this up to frame my reflection this morning, for while I am in this position by my own choice, and I believe by His direction, I find myself in a very difficult place.  My flesh says bail-out, find something with a better future, better benefits, better pay, less stress, etc.  I am hounded by feelings of failure, even though the situation is not my doing, and I certainly would like to take an easy out.  In the midst of this, I am choosing to stay the course, to trust that the Lord has a plan and that it is ultimately for not only my good, but for the good of the people I am working with as well.  

I have been reflecting on several different scriptures in my struggle, and it is interesting how many struggles there actually are in scripture. Everyone from Noah and Abraham, all the way to Paul and the other Apostles, experienced difficulty in their lives.  Struggle is not to supposed to be a surprise for us, nor the indication of failure or sin on one's behalf, but it is part of our human, and Christian experience.  If we look at Hebrews 11, we find the hall of fame of faith, people who believed in God in spite of the difficulties they encountered, and acted on that belief.  It is interesting, that the author of Hebrews notes that, 

"These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised" (Hebrews 11:39 NIV).   While this might seem like a very discouraging word, in each of the stories represented God did provide guidance, relationship and even blessing, it was just that there was always more, and each of the people in the list were looking towards the future towards Christ, without fully knowing or understanding what the fulfillment of that promise would look like.  

In a similar way, we are encouraged to look towards eternity, to our life as sons and daughters of God in relationship with Him.  There is more to our life than our terrestrial existence, and our eyes should be fixed on this greater reality.   Paul and John both write about eternal life, and how we are called to this, and gifted this by Christ.  Jesus constantly spoke about the Kingdom of God, and according to Peter this is an eternal kingdom, to which we are called (2Peter 1:11).  Jesus made the way for us to experience this eternal kingdom, enabling us to live with Him both now and eternally. He spoke of going back to the Father to prepare a place for us (John 14:2-3), so that He might bring us with him to that place.  

The tension in our lives is to live in the midst of our present reality, while looking towards the future, eternal reality.  We can't check out, for we have purpose and calling here, as well as the opportunity to experience some of that eternal kingdom, here on earth!  We must engage our faith, and act on our beliefs and trust that the Word of the Lord is true, regardless of our present situation.  Paul writes of how he was flogged, stoned, ship wrecked, hungry, thirsty, (2 Cor 11:24-27) and in all of this his faith was his anchor.  He believed, trusted and endured, and saw God do amazing things through his life, and witness.  His struggles didn't disqualify him, or indicate that God disapproved of him, but they were instead markers that pointed to the faithfulness of God in his life.

This morning I am encouraged to hold on, to press forward, to believe in God's promise, direction and faithfulness in spite of my circumstances.  I am encouraged to look at my situation as an opportunity for the Lord to move, to provide perspective, guidance and direction.  I am encouraged that by holding on to Him, in the midst of this struggle, I am strengthening my faith, and acting on my belief, both of which are good things.  

I know I certainly have not achieved everything I seem called to, but I am confident that as I turn my eyes to the Lord, He will see me through, and fulfill all His promises.  I am grateful for His peace in the midst of the struggle, and rather than complain about how this isn't what I signed up for, I can instead praise Him for His blessings and faithfulness, remembering how He has intervened in my life, over and over again.

Blessings!  -sam

Why We See Difficulty

This morning I have been reflecting on all of Psalm 89.  This is such an interesting Psalm, in that it starts out praising God, reflecting on His goodness, then waxes eloquent about how God blessed David (It wasn't written by David) and finally ends in some serious complaints against God, before finally finishing with one last praise.  I have copied a few snippets as examples - Psalm 89:1-2,28-29,34-39,46-47,50-52 NIV:

[1] "I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. 

[2] I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself. 

[28] I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail. 

[29] I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure. 

[34] I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered. 

[35] Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness---and I will not lie to David--- 

[36] that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun; 

[37] it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.” 

[38] But you have rejected, you have spurned, you have been very angry with your anointed one. 

[39] You have renounced the covenant with your servant and have defiled his crown in the dust. 

[46] How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? 

[47] Remember how fleeting is my life. For what futility you have created all humanity! 

[50] Remember, Lord, how your servant has been mocked, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations, 

[51] the taunts with which your enemies, Lord, have mocked, with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one. 

[52] Praise be to the Lord forever! Amen and Amen."

As I mentioned I was reflecting on the totality of the psalm, and was just thinking how strange it is that the Lord allowed this to be included in Scripture.  I mean it starts out well enough, and is really beautiful in parts, even flowing with some Messianic imagery, and but once you get to verse 38, basically it is a complaint against God.  

In my Bible, I highlight the sections and verses I like and the last verses from 38 - 51 are definitely not highlighted.  I like to read positive, uplifting, and encouraging stuff like the first 37 verses, and that is quite normal I suspect.  

So, the question in mind this morning is why are there verses like 38-51, or even the whole book of Lamentations found in our Scriptures?  Why do we find in the middle of Isaiah's Messianic prophecy a section titled the suffering servant (Is. 53: 1-12)? I believe this, more than anything, shows us that God is real, and not what we think He is like, or what He would be like if we had our way.  

There is in our worldwide Christian fellowship of believers, whole streams that associate anything bad with sin, and blessing as proof of God's favor on you.  In other words, anything bad happening to you is the result of your own bad behavior. While I like the sound of some of that, especially the blessing for favor, that Gospel derivation does not match up to the scriptural record, and these verses from PS 89, are just some examples of people struggling through difficult times, trying to understand them, and complaining to God about them.  

In  these verses the psalmist is reminding God of His promises and comparing those promises to their present experience and they don't seem to match up!  I like to think of these verses as a sort of, "Hey, this isn't what I signed up for!" example.   As I reflect on why they are in the scripture, I think God allows them to say He understands our situation, and wants us to understand we are not the first or the last to struggle with these things.  I for one don't like reading these types of verses, but they are part of our scripture and we must not leave them out.  I once heard a well respected leader I knew commenting about some of the prosperity Gospel proclamations, and how they were basically leaving out the Cross, and how that really isn't the Gospel at all. We must not reduce the Gospel or the Bible to just what we want to read, for to do so creates our own religion and makes our feelings our own 'god".

In a related thought, I am reminded of Paul's listing of his sufferings for the sake of the Gospel that is found in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 NIV: "Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. [24] Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. [25] Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, [26] I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. [27] I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked."

Imagine looking at Paul's life and trying to explain all this from a prosperity Gospel perspective!  Again, Paul considered these struggle to be part of His testimony, and he was unashamed of them.

So back to the question at hand, why do we see these types of struggles, as Christians, and why are they in the Bible?  First, we live in a fallen world, one that is affected by man's sin. Second, man was given free-will by God, and although He could intervene and remove our free-will, He doesn't, and this allows for mankind to continually mess up.  Third, God's redemption of man, His salvation of the world includes His Son suffering and dying, as payment for all sin.  Why is this the requirement, I don't know, but I do know suffering and dying for the ones you love is still considered one of the highest examples of love.  Fourth, our lives end in death, everyone of us, and while sudden in some cases, this is generally after a long period of decline, or lessening health and ability, and one could even say suffering. Our human experience is full of pain, loss and difficulty, and to present a Gospel that does not allow for this is unrealistic and untruthful.  Finally, our faith in the midst of struggles, God's intervention and help are meant to be a witness to the world around us that there is a different path (See Matt 7: 13-14)

I believe the truth of the matter is that God loves us right in the midst of our lives, regardless of whether or not they are full of joy and blessing or struggles.  God is aware of this all, is reaching out to us in the midst of it all, and is just fine with our complaining and understands and has compassion for us in our struggles.  Paul, surely struggled and might even have complained, and must have cried out in the midst of his situations, and God sustained him. 

God, in His infinite goodness is always good, just not always the way we think He should be, with us at the center of all His plans.  He is always faithful, always loving, always righteous, always just, and even though we can't make sense of it all, He is!  God doesn't wait for us to get our lives in order, rather He meets us right in the middle of our struggles and loves us, and He provides assistance, and encouragement and relationship.

Finally, God's plans for us do include eternal life, and while this world is far from perfect, that continued existence or eternal life in His presence is perfect.  Our reward isn't always found here on earth in our present lives.  We can experience some of that life here, enjoying the fellowship of believers, God's Kingdom being demonstrated and experienced here, but the fullness will never be experienced this side of eternity, and always in context of these mortal bodies, these "earthen vessels" as Paul calls them.  

While this in no way provides a comprehensive overview nor clarity for every situation, I know for me it has been helpful.  Our struggles are not examples of God punishing us, that view from Psalm 89 is expressed prior to the revelation of Christ, and His suffering and death.  We are invited into relationship with God, and His commitment is to be with us, to help us, to guide and ultimately to bring us into eternal life. Our lives of faith, in spite of our difficulties and struggles are meant to bear witness to our relationship with Him, to give encouragement and comfort to others in similar straits.  I am reminded of Paul's comments in his second letter to the Church in Corinth, as follow - 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 NIV:

[3] "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. [5] For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. [6] If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. [7] And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort."

Amen and Amen!

Worth It All!

This morning I am once again reflecting on Paul's extraordinary statement in his letter to the Philippians.  Paul is writing this late in his ministry, while in prison in Rome.  He had already completed his major ministry trips, and planted churches all over, and written the majority of his letters, and yet these are his words - Philippians 3:7-16 NIV:

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

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

[15] "All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. [16] Only let us live up to what we have already attained." 

The verses that are my focus this morning are verses 12-14.  At the beginning of this chapter, Paul started writing about the Gospel of grace through faith, and while that is still a major theme in the verses above, he refined his focus here the importance of knowing the Lord, and serving Him with everything.  In his view, all else was so much rubbish, and all the ministry, all the churches, all the people, everything paled in comparison to knowing Jesus and fulfilling all that He had called him (Paul) to do.  

It is almost as if Paul was having an end-of-life assessment and was looking back and seeing the relative value of everything he had accomplished and seeing His life clearer than ever before.  He realized he still had work to do, and still had not achieved his goal which was knowing Christ Jesus in all fullness.  He was all in, and was essentially refocusing his life, and making sure his last efforts were all about the most important!

Paul wasn't going to glide into retirement, resting on his accomplishments.  He wasn't easing off as he got older, instead he was doubling down, going all in, whatever phrase you want to use!  In my opinion, he had decided to have no regrets concerning his relationship with the Lord!  

If I ran into somebody like Paul, there is a good chance I would coach them to take it easy, to ease up a bit, to take a more moderated approach.  I tend to be uncomfortable when others are out pacing me in an are, especially if its an area where I have chosen differently.  I tend to have a "good enough" mind-set about many things, and at times find myself keeping a rough score in my mind, not so I can compare my accomplishments to God's purposes for me, but rather that I might compare myself to others.  Eww, that is ugly just admitting, but it is the truth.  I would prefer to be comfortable, not pressing forward, but rather strolling forward at an easy pace.  I would like people to admire me for my generally good life and balanced approach, and would like to not press past my "comfort zone".

Paul, had none of this attitude, yet he had accomplished more than most people ever will.  Instead, He was laying everything down and racing after the Lord!  He was so focused on Him, that all else no longer mattered!  Less we get the wrong impression here, Paul was still focused on the Body of Christ, and doing everything He could to love and encourage all those with whom He was interacting, but they were no longer his primary focus, if they ever were.  He wasn't leaving behind all the people and churches, he was just running in front of them all, showing them the way.  In fact, this was his exact encouragement, continuing in verse fifteen, "All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things." He was encouraging the church to press on, to pursue the Lord in all His fullness, and to live up to what they had attained in Christ Jesus. 

This morning I am encouraged to follow close after Paul's example, pressing forward, forgetting what is in the past, knowing that there is more for me, and more of Jesus for me to know.   I am encouraged to do so, not so others might be impressed, but because of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus.  He is worth it all.

Amen and Amen.

Personal Unbelief

Yesterday during worship, I was thinking, while playing bass, which is sometimes difficult to do, but I was thinking about issues of unbelief present in my own heart.  I found myself reflecting that its more of a personal unbelief, not a general unbelief.  What I mean by that is that there are things I do believe God does, just not through my prayer.  For example, I believe that God heals people in this day, and even does miracles, I just don't think they will likely happen as a result of my prayers.  Thus, while praying for people, I often don't think that God will answer "my" prayers, although He certainly might move in the situation.  I pray for people  all the time, but I guess in my mind, its more like making God aware of the situation, believing He is a good God and Father and that He will take care of it.

The reason I bring it up is that the Lord was addressing something in me, and calling me to press past that point of unbelief, to contend for the Truth.  I felt like it might be an issue others struggle with as well, and felt it was more of a corporate opportunity to press in, and press past.  

In the midst of that interchange the Lord reminded me of something I had read years ago about John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard churches, hopefully my memory of it is accurate.  As an organization, they were known for seeing regular healing, miracles, and all sorts of "power" encounters.  When they started out, they weren't known for this and the Lord had John teach on healing for a year.  Every Sunday he would teach and they would pray for people, and it was a solid year of frustration, as there were no healings.  However, John kept preaching and praying, and one day he was asked to pray for one of his board member's wives, who was REALLY sick, in bed and unable to do anything.  He went to pray, and said a short prayer and immediately turned to the husband and was explaining to him why sometimes people don't get healed when we pray for them, when suddenly the man's eyes got real big.  John turned around and looked and the wife was getting out of bed.  He asked her what she was doing??  He had no idea!  She replied that God had completely healed her!!  That healing was the first of literally millions of healings seen in the worldwide Vineyard churches.  

I felt like the Lord reminded me of this, to let me know that unbelief, caused by lack of answers is something He doesn't have a problem with, but that the requirement is to keep pressing forward.  There is something in the perseverance, in understanding that the prayer's success has nothing to do with you, other than obedience.  There are people who have the gift of healing, but it is because of God, not them, other than their obedience.  Randy Clark says something like "the best thing to do if you aren't seeing results to your prayers is to pray for more people, and look back after a year and count again."  

This morning as I was reflecting on this, the Lord reminded me of the story found in Luke 10, where He sent out the seventy-two.   This story follows him sending out the twelve, found in Luke 9:1-2 NIV:  "When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, [2] and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick."  He gave the seventy-two slightly different directions, as recorded by Luke, in chapter 10, but the command was the same to proclaim the Kingdom of God.  After they returned, Luke added the following - Luke 10:17 NIV: "The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”  

What I believe is the case here, is that the seventy-two came back and were exceeding joyful because they saw God working through them!  I think that part of the reason for this joy was that they weren't sure, going out, that they would be able to work the greater miracles, like casting out demons.  None of these seventy-two are named, so we don't really know who they were, but one thing is clear, they weren't the Apostles, the close followers of Jesus.  These were like the second and third string people, who might have seen Jesus pray, possibly even the Apostles, but had rarely had the opportunity themselves.  These were people pushing into a realm they had not entered before, and I am sure there was a certain amount of doubt, even personal unbelief in their own abilities.   

This brings me back to my own situation, God is calling me to press past that point, and to be obedient, and be believing.  It is not about me or my gifts, and never has been.  If God can heal someone like he did with the twelve or the seventy-two, then He can do the same through me.  It is about His power, still alive today, His ability, not mine. John Wimber never struggled with pride in the area of healing, that I am aware of, for God had made it perfectly clear it had nothing to do with him! 

So my question this morning is will I press in, and press past my own limitations and personal unbelief?  My answer today is yes, the question is will I keep answering yes tomorrow and the next day, and so on?  My prayer is that I will, it is certainly my heart to do so!  My prayer is that you too, will be so moved and press in!  Let us be about the Lord's ministry, let us proclaim the Kingdom and let Him demonstrate it!

Peace, Blessings and the Power of God be with you, 

Sam

"Rise and Thresh"

This morning I have been reflecting on some verses from Micah.  Some mornings the verses I am led to, are consistent with a recent theme, and some mornings, its completely different, and today is one of those different days.  Here are the verses - Micah 4:11-13 NIV:

[11] "But now many nations are gathered against you. They say, “Let her be defiled, let our eyes gloat over Zion!” 

[12] But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor. 

[13] “Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion, for I will give you horns of iron; I will give you hooves of bronze, and you will break to pieces many nations.” 

You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth."

It is important to note these verses do flow out of a greater context within this chapter.  Basically Micah is talking about Jerusalem being the center of belief in God, the sending and training, and of a world changing turning back to God.  He speaks of Kingship returning to Jerusalem, and this is clearly all a prophetic picture of Jesus, and the Church following His ascension.  I would encourage reading the rest of this chapter.  

It is into this context that these verses are then written, following restoration and raising up of true belief in God, there is a pressing back against this and nations gather to try to stop Zion.  This is where I am focused this morning, this strategic gathering of nations, and God's plans for them.  

Maybe it is just me, but this bold statement of God's strategy just caught my eye in verse 12.  Micah appropriately stated that the nations do not know the thoughts or plans of the Lord!  I would add, that much of the world does not even consider the plans of God, for they don't believe He exists, especially in the Western world, at least in the leadership.  The rich and elite and powerful, have become so focused on secular humanism, and humanitys control, power, destiny, and wealth, that they seem to be forgetting about God.  Again, this is my observation, but I don't know these people nor their hearts. 

If this is true, that we are leaving God out of our worldview, it doesn't reduce Him, it just reduces our openness to believing that He might be moving and arranging and setting up world events.  As Micah says, they don't know His thoughts and they do not understand His plans, and that could be because they don't even consider the possibility of His existence.  What a surprise they will have the day their plans and scheming are laid bare and defeated!

If we replace "Daughter Zion", with "The Church, My Bride", we see a interesting prophetic picture of the Church rising up and defeating these forces aligned against it.  While the language is of war, we understand that the weapons we fight with are not physical (Eph 6:17), and our battle is not against flesh and blood (Eph 6:12), thus the imagery here is more about spiritual warfare, and the battles that are won are in people's hearts, for God's Kingdom is in our very midst.  However, that being said, we see nations being broken, or humbled, and then devoting their wealth to the Lord!   

I would like to note that, while this speaks of wealth, I don't believe this is about actual wealth as in money, but has to do with what is of greatest value to God, the hearts of people, and relationship with Him.  Jesus came not as a financial wizard to establish control over the literal wealth of the world, for God's use and control, even though in the past and still at times today, certain people have thought this very thing.  Instead,  we see that He came to open the way to the Father, that we might have relationship with Him.  Jesus came to save the people of the world (John 3:16-17), and in so doing places highest value on us, not the money and riches.   Thus, when I read these verses I see massive waves of peoples, even whole nations, coming to relationship with God!  A revelation of His goodness that absolutely cuts through the lies, deceptions and delusions of the world.  Oh Lord, let it be so!

The command God give in these verses is to "Rise and Thresh".  Again while the language seems to speak of war and battle, the word thresh means to separate the grain from the rest of the plant, what we would call chaff, which is of little value.  In other words, the command is to rise up and separate that which of value from that which is not.  I see here, again, a focus on gathering the hearts of people (grain of value), and separating them from that of no Kingdom value, worldly trappings. One could almost call this a refocusing of valuation in the world from things to people!  Interestingly we see this exact thing happen in the early church - see Acts 2:44-45 & Acts 4:32-37.

In summary, I find my heart stirred this morning that God is moving and His plans are fully in place!  I am encouraged that God's purposes ad plans will come to fruition and the world will be stunned and humbled!  I am encouraged that we will see a massive revival of belief and relationship with the Lord!  We will see nations turning to God, whole people groups coming to Him!  We see people being raised up in value, and a turning away from worldly things to God!

Amen and Amen!

Discipleship - Steel on Steel

This morning I felt led to read from Proverbs, which I rarely read anymore, even though I greatly enjoy them.  Specifically I was led to Proverbs 27:17 NIV: "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."  This is a verse that was used in a men's movement called Promise Keepers, and it birthed a significant move among men to establish accountability and men's groups.  It was a very good thing, in my opinion.  

This weekend, I was having breakfast with a couple of very good friends, and we were talking about our churches, and the purpose and calling of the individual churches, and how we were involved.  All of us, though seasoned and mature Christians, were a bit hesitant to get too involved, as the needs of the churches would quickly overwhelm our free-time, and our ability to do the things we need to do.  Each of our churches were relatively small and have numerous opportunities to serve, and each of those opportunities were important and good, and would make a difference, but that would just be the door to more and more.  We saw in our places the need for more brothers and sisters of character and maturity, who could help bear the weight of vision and mission of the churches, but in all of our scenarios, there were not enough people. 

This got us talking about discipleship, and the raising up of leaders, and regular people of character, not just people with gifts.  I make that distinction because we have seen places that focus more on the giftings, than they do on the raising up, establishing and developing character (discipleship).  Which brings me back to the verse this morning, "iron sharpening iron".  Discipleship is accomplished best in small groups, where relationships are solid, trust is evident, and lives are open.  Discipleship doesn't just happen, it actually involves a process of formation and training up.  We see in the Gospels an outline of what Jesus did, calling the apostles to follow Him, to learn from Him, and then ultimately representing Him.  They went from a mixed group of guys to being world changers.

As we were discussing this topic, words came out of my mouth that hit me pretty hard.  I said something like the following, "church isn't about getting together and having a good worship and praise session and then a good sermon, church is about changing the world."  

As I reflect on that statement, I see in my own life the importance of being more intentional.  I have several good long-term relationships, but I would say that I am not involved with real discipleship.  I have had the blessing of being part of a church group that worked hard to establish a foundation, and small groups that were the foundation for real discipleship. Iron sharpening Iron is a good analogy, although I would like to upgrade that to steel sharpening steel, for it takes steel that has gone through fire to make it able to sharpen other steel.  The fire, applied correctly, changes the character of the steel, makes is hardened and allows it to become useful in sharpening other non-hardened metal.  

I am reminded of verses from Paul's letter to the Ephesians, where he talks about helping the believers mature.  He speaks about the role of the ministries that Jesus put in place, in the raising up and maturing the body for works of ministry, which brings me back to our conversation over breakfast.  Here are the verses  from Paul's letter to the Ephesians 4:11-16 NIV:

[11] "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, [12] to equip his people for works of (ministry) 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."

If we look closely at these verses, we find a framework for what Jesus put in place for the maturing of His Body, the church.  This is not optional, this is Jesus' plan, and His method.  We need the apostles, the Vision Casters, we need the Prophetic, the encouragers, we need the evangelists, the proclaimers and invitation specialists, we need the pastors, those who specialize in growing healthy, and we need the teachers, those that can help us understand God's word and how to apply it to our life!  These will provide the method and opportunities for equipping His people (those Jesus called) for works of ministry.  I am not talking about professional ministry, but relational ministry, body ministry, discipleship and living connected lives.  This helps establish maturity in the body, and these days maturity is critically needed.  

I go back to the great commission that Jesus gave us found in Matthew 28:18-20 NIV:

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

We are called to make disciples, not congregational observers!  We are called to change the world!

This morning I am encouraged to start praying for opportunities for discipleship. I am encouraged that this isn't an optional extra.  I am encouraged that God has plans and purposes for me, and I want to be mature enough to finish well. 

Amen and Amen!

It Is All About Jesus

This morning I opened my Bible and went back to the story of the crippled man that was healed by Jesus, through the prayer and command of Peter and John.  I say it that way, because it was clear the man was healed in Jesus' name, which means (at least to me) the power to heal came from faith in Jesus.  This morning I was continuing to read and saw something interesting concerning the man who had just been healed.  I will quote several verses and then comment - Acts 3:1-12,16 NIV:

[1] "One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer---at three in the afternoon. [2] Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. [3] When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. [4] Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” [5] So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. 

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

[11] While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. [12] When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 

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

Peter continues on preaching to the crowd (through the end of chapter three) into the early evening.  Suffice it to say that things were quite stirred up by this healing and this fiery preaching.  Here we cut back to the beginning of Chapter 4.

Acts 4:1-14 NIV

[1] "The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. [2] They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. [3] They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. [4] But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

[5] The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. [6] Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest's family. [7] They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” 

[8] Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! [9] If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, [10] then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. [11] Jesus is “ 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.' [12] Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” 

[13] When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. [14] But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say."

As I was reading this wonderful testimony of God's healing and the impact it had on the people who were familiar with the crippled man, I was looking at how the man was affected.  It is clear that He is miraculously healed, and even experienced a regenerative miracle, for after 42 years (See Acts 4:22) of being crippled he wouldn't have had the muscles, loose ligaments and tendons, nor nervous system coordination to be able to run, jump or dance about and yet he did all these!  It was an absolutely amazing sign, however my focus was on the man.  

We see him noted in Acts 3:9 and again in verse 11.  In verse nine, he is walking with the Apostles into the Temple and praising God as he does so.   In verse eleven he is standing with Peter and John, holding onto them, not for support but because of his new found faith, and overwhelming joy!  It was through them that his life was radically changed, and he was essentially their key witness now to their proclamation!   We don't hear anything more about the man who was healed until the next day, when Peter and John are on trial, and he is standing right next to them once again - see Acts 4:14.  

Now Luke doesn't say exactly how this came to be, but my thought this morning is that He went right along with Peter and John when they were arrested!  The other option is that he came back the following morning, looking for Peter and John, and walked right into their trial, but wither way, the man was standing there once again, bearing witness to his life being radically changed!  

My thought this morning was that this is just how they enemy tries to steal away our faith and belief!  He tries to crush it however he can, whether that is through  causing your first night as healed person to be spent in jail, or whether it is to attempt to discredit the one through whom your faith was birthed!  He is very afraid of our faith and belief in Jesus!  We can see why, noted in Acts 4:4, the number of people who were convinced by this display of the power of Jesus Name, and the proclamation of the Gospel grew to 5000.  

We don't know how many days after Acts 2, this was, but it seems to be relatively soon afterwards, for they teachers and temple leaders were not familiar with Peter and John yet.   We are told at the end of Acts chapter two that they met together in the temple courts (See Acts 2:46), so apparently this was early enough that they still were not aware of this major shift that was occurring right under their noses. In just a couple of days, the number of believers had grown from 120 who met in the upper room, to 5000.  The enemy was very afraid!

The other thought I had was how willing the man was to bear witness to his healing!  He wasn't afraid to stand up with Peter and John while they were on trial!  He wasn't afraid to proclaim his miraculous healing, his miracle!  His new life was so much better than his old life, he was willing to stand on his own legs, something he could never do before, regardless of whatever threat or discouragement was cast his way!  He had been changed and he wasn't going back!

Lastly, I was struck by one comment, made about Peter and John, found in Acts 4:14.  The rulers and elders of the people, and all the people who put Peter and John on trial  "saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men".  What a great encouragement for those of us who are not professional ministers (not taking anything away from those who are!) that we can bear witness to Jesus, we can proclaim the Gospel, we can pray for healing and miracles and see them happen!! 

My final note is the closing thought expressed by the leaders, after seeing Peter and John stand up to them, it says,  "they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."  Oh, that we would be known for our relationship with Jesus, first and foremost!  I think, at times, we can lose sight of the fact that Jesus is our one common focus and the only reason we have faith!  Sometimes we can get so caught up by the practice and pattern of life we experience as Christians that we can forget that the most important aspect of any of our lives is our relationship with Jesus!  Christianity isn't about being good people, or having a positive impact on society, or being members of a certain congregation or denomination, it is about being in relationship with Jesus!  He is the one we follow!  He is the one we put our faith in!  He is our only way to salvation!  As Peter and John exclaimed, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”  (Acts 4:12)

Amen and Amen!

To The One Who Believes

Our church had a interesting Facebook chat yesterday instead of a church service, due to illness and cold.  It was helpful to hear people's perspectives and thoughts on some verses.  We were sharing our thoughts on John 14:6-14 which has been one of my favorite verses for a long time.   For me, the verses that always resonated the most with me are verses 11 & 12, which I have copied here -  [11] "Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. [12] 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." (John 14:11-12 NIV). 

I am so aware of the way the Lord ties belief and faith to His signs and works (healings, miracles, etc).  The Father's intent was that these signs would convince people that Jesus was His son, and represented Him here on earth, which is essentially what Jesus says in verse 11.  Then Jesus issues the stunning prophecy, that those who believe in Him will do these same works, and even greater things!  He is talking about His followers and the future Church!  He fully intended that the Church would be built on the foundation of His words and works.  He also intended that those who continued His ministry would follow the exact same pattern of ministry, including His works.

One of the things that is astounding to me, is that Father entrusted the Church to us, that He expects us to do the same things that Jesus did!  I am amazed at His faith in us!  His faith was clearly rewarded in the lives of the Apostles and early Church, one wonders how He feels about our efforts today?  I would say that He has the same faith in us, for His plan has never faltered, never failed and never been delayed!  When the Lord spoke of the days to come, of people who believed in Him, but had never seen Him (John 20:29), He was seeing all of us, from Paul all the way down to the most recent converts, and everyone in between and to come.  He knows our weakness, our human frailty and sinfulness, our struggle to maintain our faith, and yet He knows that we will prevail and successfully complete His commission.  

There are many times that I look at my life and think, I don't see these works, these signs coming from my ministry, and I think that somehow I am either lacking or not who He meant when He said, "Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing".   However, I am encouraged this morning that this line of thinking is a lie from the bowels of hell.  While the Lord clearly does impart gifts, and the Holy Spirit does recognize individual gifting, the prophesy is for all who believe.  The Greek word used here is pisteuon, and it is defined as follows: 

From pistis; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. Credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ) -- believe(-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.  

In other words, anyone who puts their faith in Jesus, who believe that it is He who is working through you, who gives credit to Jesus for the things that are accomplished, these will do these works.  This is really what it means to pray, "In Jesus' Name", it is a clear recognition that He is the one doing the work, He is the one that is receiving the credit. 

I am reminded on one of the first miracles that followed after Jesus' Ascension, the healing of the man at the Gate Beautiful, as recoded by Luke in Acts 3:1-26.  I am just going to quote two of the verses - Acts 3:6,16 NIV:

[6] "Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 

And when Peter was asked to explain this miracle, this is what part of what he said: 

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

Peter was giving all the credit to Jesus, it was in His name that Peter commanded the man to walk, and it was Jesus name and faith in Him that healed the cripple.  Oh, that we would once again see the Name of Jesus lifted high, given credit for the healings, signs, wonders and works, as He demonstrates through us that YES, HE IS THE SON OF GOD!  

Lord, I pray that faith in You, in Your Name would rise up in each of us!  You have faith in us, help us to have faith in You! 

Amen and Amen!

The God of All Comfort

This morning I felt led to spend some time in Paul's second letter to the church in Corinth.  In particular, I wanted to take some time an reflect on his basic opening, found in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 NIV:

[3] "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. [5] For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. [6] If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. [7] And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort." 

While I was reading these verses this morning the word that stood out to me was the word comfort.  Paul writes that He is the God of all comfort, and while I love that, I don't think the NIV captures the full meaning, of the original Greek word.  The word is paraklesis. It is defined as follows:

1) a calling near, summons, (esp. for help)

2) importation, supplication, entreaty

3) exhortation, admonition, encouragement

4) consolation, comfort, solace; that which affords comfort or refreshment

      a) thus of the Messianic salvation (so the Rabbis call the Messiah the consoler, the comforter)

5) persuasive discourse, stirring address

      a) instructive, admonitory, conciliatory, powerful hortatory discourse

This word, or variations of the word can either be a noun or verb, in verse 3 its a noun, in verse 4 its all verbs. We can think of this as one aspect of God's Character, and then God acting from that character.

Looking at the definition of this single word  - God is someone we can call to; someone who is nearby ready to help; someone we can appeal to with significant concerns; someone who is willing to listen to our pleas; someone who exhorts us and encourages us, even admonishing us as needed to lift us up and out of our trouble.  God is someone who will bring consolation in our loss, comfort and soothing in our pain, to the point of refreshing us! 

As I was writing that last bit the image of bactine spray (it provided temporary relief) compared to a long soaking bath came to mind.  I guess the point is that God's comfort, is not just surface comfort, but rather for your whole being, soaked all the way through!  

Finally God is one who will encourage us, stir us up, give us vision and courage, instruct us in how we can be better or do better!  

This is what Paul was writing, and what the people in the Church of Corinth needed to hear!  As I reflect on this character of God, I can see I clearly need to hear this as well!  He isn't a God who pats you on the head and tells you it will be ok, He is a God who is all in, providing whatever we need, willing and able to help, and able to reach the very core of ourselves, treating our deepest pains, griefs and sorrows!  

Now that I understand this is what God is like, Paul continues on and says that as we experience this from God, we should extend the same to those we encounter, that they too might experience the paraklesis of God in their own life!  We are to be purveyors of this comfort!  If God dwells within us, then His character does as well, and we can ask to release this comfort (of God) to those in need.

I was just thinking that when Paul wrote,  "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 1:2 NIV) he wasn't just being polite, he firmly expected that this Grace and Peace, which are found in God, would be distributed to those who heard and or read these words.  He was essentially asking God to package this word with Grace and Peace so that when open and read, it would be released.  This would be the good spiritual equivalent to glitter! :-)

Oh Lord, I pray that You would release into me and through me, Your comfort, Your encouragement, Your exhortation, Your consolation, and Your peace.

Amen and Amen!

Remember, Reflect, Reread, Revisit

Over the last two days the Lord has had me reflecting back on some of His words to me. There has been a  theme of revisiting and reminding myself of some of the things He has spoken.  This morning I felt led to turn to Nehemiah chapter 8, Here are the verses that caught my attention this morning - Nehemiah 8:13-18 NIV:

[13] "On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the teacher to give attention to the words of the Law. [14] They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month [15] and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make temporary shelters”---as it is written. 

[16] So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim. [17] The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great. 

[18] Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly."

As I was reflecting  on this word I felt like I should turn to Psalm 77:6-15 NIV:

[6] "I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated and my spirit asked: 

[7] “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? 

[8] Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? 

[9] Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion? ” 

[10] Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. 

[11] I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. 

[12] I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” [

13] Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? 

[14] You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. 

[15] With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph."

Clearly the theme is remembering what the Lord has done and has spoken.  It is good for me to review what the Lord has said regularly, and that is something I have not been very good at of late.  The Lord speaks into our lives to give us direction and guidance, and perspective.  Sometimes His words are spoken as confirmation and to provide assurance that He is in deed paying attention to your life.  

In the verses from Nehemiah, the people discover that they have forgotten as a people one of the feasts they were supposed to celebrate.  They had been in captivity for a few generations and had apparently not remembered to pass down the teachings, or not done the job well.  One wonders what we as a Church have forgotten in the two thousand years we have been functioning, let alone in the last couple of generations?

The verses from Psalm 77 is more of a remembering history and recalling times of sweetness or closeness of the Lord!  The Lord never changes in His affection for us, but we certainly do go through seasons where we are more aware of His love.  It is good to remember, and rekindle on our side these memories and even the affection.  

In summary,  I am encouraged to spend some time today remembering, reflecting, rereading and revisiting God's words, actions and encouragements.  I am encouraged that there is much He wants me to be reminded of in my life.  He has done amazing things and remembering is a great way to feed the flames of gratitude and affection!  

Thank you Lord for all that You have spoken and done in my life in 2021.  I look forward to 2022!!

Amen!

Possessing The Land - New Testament Style

On Sunday, during worship, I heard a phrase in my mind, "possess the land".  This is reference to the promised land for ancient Israel, but the thought I had was that this phrase has a New Testament, New Covenant,  Kingdom of God now, application.  I don't believe I have thought that through before and I wanted to take some time to reflect on what that might mean for us today.  The original verses I was reading from came from Numbers 33:51-54 NIV:

[51] “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, [52] drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. [53] Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. [54] Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans. To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one. Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs. Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes."

Now the interesting thing about all this, which I am sure is not news, is that the people actually had to work to possess the land.  It was not an empty land and the previous inhabitants needed to be conquered or driven out.  Possessing the land requires effort.  Possessing the land was their inheritance, but they needed to work to clear the land and settle in it.  

Secondly, they needed to purify the land of the idolatry and wrong worship, effectively driving out the territorial spirits that had been resident in that land.  God was not just another god, with a small g, but was God of All, and this was His land, and they were receiving their inheritance from Him!

As I was reflecting on these verses I reminded of two things from the New Testament, the sending out the twelve apostles, and the early church accounts found in Acts 2 - 4.  The first bit is found in all three of the synoptic Gospels, but I like Matthews version.  Matthew 10:1,5-8 NIV:

[1] "Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness." 

[5] "These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. [6] Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. [7] 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." 

I see in this Kingdom proclamation a similar command to that which was given by the Lord, they are to go in and drive out that which is not of God, while proclaiming His Kingdom.  Jesus gave them authority, for it was in His name that they could do these things, as it was in God's name that Israel was able to take possession of the Land.  We know that the Kingdom does not exist of geography, but rather of the hearts of men and women, as Jesus says its within us (Luke 17:26).  In a very real sense, this sending out of the Twelve, was the first major expansion of the Kingdom, and they were allowing God to take possession of His Kingdom, and driving out the previous inhabitants, sickness, leprosy, demons and even death.  The question is whether our command as the church is any different today?

The second bit was the life of the early church, post-ascension.  I make that distinction only because Jesus was here on earth during the sending the of the Twelve, and one could think that maybe that command was specific to them, and not the church's command.  In Acts 2, immediately after Pentecost, we see an energized new church, 3000 people added to the believers in one day, now meeting regularly.  Luke writes the following account of those first days... Acts 2:42-47 NIV:

[42] "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. [43] Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. [44] All the believers were together and had everything in common. [45] They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. [46] Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, [47] praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

One could draw some parallels between these first days in the early church and the first days in the Promised Land, if one wanted to, for they both speak of a new era, and change in the destiny of people of God, and the fulfilment of one His promises. Rather than go hard after that comparison, I just want to look at what possessing this new land (if we use that analogy) looked like for this new Church.  

It was a time of regular expansion (people were added to their number daily).  The Kingdom was rapidly being added to, and they understood this was part of their command (see Matt 28:18-20)

It was a time of regular fellowship and regular communion (breaking of the bread)..  The people met together and established their identity, and shared as was needed. The sense was that they were a unique and new people.

They continued in the working of miracles, and signs and wonders, which were the calling card, or proof of God's hand upon them, and their authority as provided by God. It was this that made them different, this authority and miraculous provision for the expansion of the Kingdom.

They focused on the teachings and the Word of God, as spoken by Jesus and revisited by the Apostles.  They had a new covenant, and Jesus' teachings were the focus, rather than the Law (I am making an assumption here that is based on the later writings of the New Testament). 

This was a time of rapidly increasing belief - God was moving and they were all in. 

Continuing on and looking at Acts 4, we find the church continuing to hold onto what they had been taught and commanded to do, and Peter & John were thrown into jail for healing the man that was crippled from birth.  They got back together with the other believers after their release and this was how they all responded, praying a bold prayer - Acts 4:29-35 NIV:

[29] "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. [30] Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 

[31] After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. 

[32] All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. [33] With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all [34] that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales [35] and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need."

We find here similar happenings as to what was described in Acts 2.  They are proclaiming the word, continuing to work miracles, signs and wonders, continuing to meet together, continuing to share with one another as needed.  

I was just thinking, Luke writes, "no one claimed that any of their possessions was their own", and one wonders if this is because they were now focused on possessing something far greater!  They went from possessing things, to possessing the Promise, the New Covenant and the Command of the Lord!  They were embracing fully the Kingdom of God reality that was evident in their midst.  

I am reminded of an interesting point the Lord made concerning possessing the land, found in Leviticus 25:23-24 NIV:

“ 'The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. [24] Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land."

I am wondering if this bit, was being embraced fully by the early church, recognizing that the possessions they had were actually the Lord's and they were just caring for them, but were free to share them with others, specifically because of that?  It seems that they were taking a pretty radical approach, at least in my American mindset, and we don't really see this modeled anywhere else that we know of in the early church.  We do know they were encouraged to give freely, to spread the wealth, if you will.  

Anyway, things to think more on, things to look at in my own heart, and mostly a Gospel of the Kingdom of God present with demonstration to proclaim!

Lord help us!

The Coming Light

This morning, as I sat watching the approaching sunrise, I was reminded of some verses from Isaiah 60:1-5 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. 

[5] Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; 

the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come."

As I reflect on these verses I am reminded of John's opening stanzas in his wonderful Gospel, and I see many parallels.  Here are a few of his opening verses - John 1:1-5,9-14 NIV:

[1] "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. [3] Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. [4] In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

[9] The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. [10] He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. [11] He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. [12] Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--- [13] children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. 

[14] The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Truly, the words of Isaiah concerning the light, the Glory of God coming, has been fulfilled.  Nations have come to the Light of Christ!  Sons and Daughters from far away have come to the Light!  The world has been changed and continues to embrace the fulfillment of God's plan and purposes!  One day the Glory of the Lord will cover the earth!  Both Isaiah and John saw similar visions and heard similar statements:

Isaiah 6:3 NIV: "And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy , holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Revelation 4:8 NIV:  "Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “ 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come.”

Revelation 5:13 NIV:  "Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”

Each time we celebrate Christmas, we are one year closer to the final fulfillment of God's word and the Glory of Jesus Christ!  Let us celebrate Jesus,  the Light that has come into the world today!  Let us remember His great love, His desire for all the world to know Him and His love!

Amen & Amen!