More Than You Can Ask or Imagine

Yesterday during some corporate prayer at our church, I was praying about God's future plans and paraphrased some verses from Ephesians about God doing more than we can think or imagine.  I said, "I can imagine a lot, Lord"!  Afterwards, I felt like the Lord whispered back a bit of a reply, "yes, but you don't think like I do, so everything you imagine is from man's perspective not mine!"

To put this in context, here are the verses from Paul's letter to the Ephesians 3:14-21 NIV:

[14] "For this reason I kneel before the Father, [15] from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. [16] I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, [17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, [18] may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, [19] and to know this love that surpasses knowledge---that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

[20] Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, [21] to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

I must say His word, while gentle, caught my attention, and I knew it was an invitation to begin pressing further into Him, that I might grow and learn to see things from His perspective, learning to think more like Him.  Recently, I was listening to John Wimber, one of the founders of the Vineyard Churches, giving his testimony about how the Lord moved in his life, and spoke something similar.  He was desperate to see God move and was crying out to the Lord and heard the Lord say something that changed everything.  The Lord said to him, "John I have seen your ministry, now I am going to show you mine!"

Up until that point John had been doing all the church things he knew to grow and establish the church, he was obeying the leading of the Lord, teaching from the Word, praying for healing, everything he could do from his own knowledge and experience, but it just wasn't enough, and John knew there had to be more.  

These verses from Paul's letter, help me to understand that there is so much more, things beyond which I can even think.... for I haven't been able to grasp the fullness of God's love for me, the lost, the poor and downtrodden, the lonely, the weak, etc.  I am aware of how limited my thinking really is, and how so much of my thinking is based on what I have read, what I have heard others teach!  I am limited and I know it... and I feel like the invitation is to press pass my own understanding into new things that He speaks and does!  

Oh Lord, help me!  Oh Lord, help us to not settle for that which we can do, or think on our own!  Help us to press further into You to discover what You purpose to do!  Help us to lay down our understanding and frameworks and allow You to speak new things into existence!  Show us Your ministry!  Show us Your Love!  Fill us with the whole measure of the fullness of You! 

Amen and Amen!

Light and Momentary?

This morning I continue my reading from Mark, moving on a bit to the following verses - Mark 8:34-38 NIV:

[34] "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. [35] For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. [36] What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? [37] Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? [38] If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.”

These verses probably don't make anyone's list of top favorite verses of all time, and for that very reason it is important that we spend time with them.  I believe there is a brand of Christianity today that preaches only blessing and good things.  This stream has no aswers for difficulty or struggles other than to cast blame, or at least suspicion upon the person walking through difficulty.  The logic of this approach follows that if God only brings blessings and good things than people struggling must have some amount of secret sin, or that they are in rebellion and God is punishing them.  I would imagine that these statements by Jesus are never heard in those churches.  

Jesus is quite descriptive of the cost of following Him, and while He had not yet gone to the cross, one expects His listeners understood what He meant when He said "take up their cross".  Apparently it was a form of punishment used by the Greeks as well as the Romans that was used prior to their time by the Phoenicians.  Thus, it was likely a widely understood term.  Some commentators believe that in this instance it was understood to mean persecution.  Here is a note from the Discovery Bible: "The "cross" (Mk 8:34) is not a symbol for suffering in general. Rather it refers to withstanding persecution (difficult times), by the Lord's power, as He directs the circumstances of life. As Christ's disciples, believers are to hold true – even when attacked by the ungodly.]"  Regardless of exact meaning, it is clear that Jesus' description of following Him would not be a life of all blessings and good things!   

It is important how we process such statements in our lives of faith.  If we look at the lives of the Apostles, and many in the early church, their lives while filled with miraculous experiences, opportunities to witness healings and other signs and wonders, and yet they were far from perfectly comfortable.  They understood the reality that following Jesus would invite persecution and derision from the family, friends, neighbors and government, yet they gladly embraced faith in Jesus!  They understood that the eternal benefits of being part of the Kingdom of God, followers of Christ Jesus, far outweighed the difficulties.  

Paul writes 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV:  "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. [17] For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. [18] So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Paul obviously writes these words post resurrection, and when we read Jesus' words above, we also must understand them from the place of the completed revelation of Christ Jesus' passion, death, resurrection and ascension!  He wasn't a popular leader looking for followers, He was the Son of God, come to earth, preparing the way for restoration of relationship with our heavenly Father!   His call and invitation is for us to take up this ministry of reconciliation.  

Paul writes the following further on in his letter to the Church in Corinth - 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 NIV: "So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. [17] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! [18] All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: [19] that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. [20] We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. [21] God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Our call in following Jesus is to be like Him, to take up His ministry, as Paul points out in the verses above.  Our moment of salvation, while it does seal our eternal destiny, is not a one-way ticket to heaven, and a "get out of all difficulty and pain" card.  When we choose to follow Christ we join ourselves to His Body here on earth, and our ministry becomes His ministry, our life becomes His life!  We have become a new creation, and our old life is no longer ours!  

While this may not seem the most encouraging word this morning, let me say that is only because we don't fully comprehend the eternal glory that far outweighs every trouble we may experience here.  Our invitation is to bring Heaven to earth (Matt 6:10), to proclaim the Kingdom of God present, and then demonstrate that reality, that the world might see, understand and be reconciled to God!  

Oh Lord, help us!  Oh Lord, show Yourself mighty to this, our fallen world.  Help us to follow you daily!  Help us to bear witness to Your Gospel of Grace!  Help us to bear up under the trials and difficulties that we might reveal You in all Your Glory!

Amen and Amen!

Don't Stop

Yesterday I was reading through some of Mark's Gospel, starting in Chapter 7.  I find it always helpful to spend time in the word, and I need to do so more often, reading over swaths of the word, just to keep it fresh in my mind and heart.  

One of the stories that caught my eye was Jesus healing a blind man.  I love this one in particular, because it invites us into something we don't see anywhere else, the process of praying for healing.  Here are the verses - Mark 8:22-26 NIV:

[22] "They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. [23] He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” 

[24] He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” 

[25] Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. [26] Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don't even go into the village.” 

A couple of thoughts to start.  First, I don't think we probably saw the breakout of a large ministry of spitting in eyes, following this healing. :-)  I don't know about everyone else, but I would have some qualms about spitting in someone else's eyes at the direction of the Holy Spirit.  I don't think it was probably a whole lot different back in Jesus day, spitting on someone is usual an act of derision or defiance.  It is at a minimum an odd way to bless.  

Jesus does talk about streams of living water coming out of us, but I don't think this is that! Ha!

Secondly, this is the only time I know of where Jesus had to pray twice over someone for their healing.  I am grateful for the method revealed and used in some of the best healing ministries, who are continuing Jesus' ministry of healing.  They know that our sensitivity to what the father is saying and doing is oftentimes off, but recognize the benefit of asking the one being healed what they are experiencing, so that they can focus on a particular area or effort, or continue pressing in for further healing. 

This also should help us to be encouraged when we see some impact of healing prayer, if they are experiencing some level of healing, we can be encouraged for Jesus demonstrates here the will of the Father to complete the healing.  I am reminded of a song by Journey, "Don't Stop Believin" and this is the encouragement today!  Any progress in an area of prayer should encourage us that the Father is engaged and at work, and we just need to keep pressing in for the more and completion!

Amen and Amen!

Wet Footprints

This morning I felt led to read through some of Paul's letter to the Galatians.  His words are always a fresh reminder and helpful for encouragement.  Here are the verses that stood out to me this morning - Galatians 5:6,13-14 NIV:

[6] "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

[13] "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. [14] For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Recently I was reflecting on the faith versus works/deeds discussion, and this morning these verses seemed to settle nicely into my soul.  I like the idea of "faith expressing itself through love" for that seems to add a very helpful perspective on James comments about faith and deeds (see James 2: 14-18).  "Faith expressing itself through Love" is clearly action oriented, but action motivated by love which is founded in faith.  

If love is the primary action of our faith, then the verses above (13 & 14) flow out of our faith, for our natural outflow would find us serving one another in love. Our vertical relationship and love with God, should fuel our love for our brothers and sisters, for they are exactly that, our brothers and sisters!  Our love should be more than mere words, or loving thoughts, as John wrote in his first letter (1 John 3:18).  

The invitation this morning is to allow our faith in, and our love of the Lord, to be our primary motivation in our daily lives.  Our understanding of God's love for us, the salvation He offers us, and His desire for relationship should spur us forward in our love and service of our brothers and sisters, not just in the Body of Christ, but even those who have yet to fully understand God's love.  Imagine what the impact would be if the outflow of the Church was humble service pouring forth from love!  

Lord, help me to embrace Your words today, to embrace this invitation to allow my faith to be expressed through active love!  Help me to embrace and rest in Your love for me, allowing this reality to overflow and saturate my being, soaking my daily words and actions.  I want Your love to be the source of my wet footprints in my day!

Amen and Amen!

Work, Labor and Endurance

This morning I felt led to read from Paul's first letter to 1 Thessalonians 1:2-7 NIV:

[2] "We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. [3] We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. [4] For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, [5] because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. [6] You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. [7] And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia."

Recently in our church we have talked through justification and the Gospel of Grace.  One subject that seems to always come up is how our works relate to these topics and truths?  Clearly we must believe in salvation and justification through faith alone (See Romans 3:21-28; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; Philippians 3:8-11) and yet James says the following - James 2:24 NIV:  "You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone."  While this can be confusing, I think Paul actually provides a lovely guide here in the verses quoted above.  The "work", "Labor" and "endurance" are the products of faith, love and hope.  

The way I understand it is that James was effectively arguing that the impact of our faith and belief should have an affect on our lives and these changes, visible in our works, actions and fruit all point to our changed lives.  While these are indicative of our salvation, justification and relationship with and knowledge of the Lord, they are not the cause.  

Secondly, it seems to me that James is looking at this from our perspective, not necessarily God's perspective.  If we were to take the second thief on the cross as an example (See Luke 23:39-43).  Clearly, he expresses his faith in Jesus, but certainly has no opportunity to do any "works" aside from his statement of faith, and yet one must believe the word's of Jesus are true, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43).  If we held strongly to the idea that works bring about justification, we could struggle with this statement.

It seems to me that one problem with adding works to the Gospel of Grace through faith, as a requirement for justification, is that we would never know for sure exactly which works are sufficient.  I mean the circumcision group was pretty sure that single act was sufficient and made them a "true" Christian.  However, couldn't the argument be made that a fasted lifestyle (a cutting away the pleasure of food and other comforts of life) was equally beneficial and the sign of a deeper faith, a more committed following of Jesus, and thus maybe now the only true indication of salvation.  Any additional requirement effectively says that Christ's sacrifice was not enough!  I definitely don't want to try to argue that case to Lord, as He sits on The Throne!

Quite simply, our response to Jesus' perfect sacrifice, to the Gospel of Grace, to our justification through faith alone, should be evident in our lives!  Our lives should bear fruit in keeping with our changed way of believing and thinking (repentance).  Our faith, love and hope should be evident in the fruit of our lives, and by this fruit our faith, love and hope will be visible to others, or at least cause them to wonder why our lives are changed.

Oh Lord, help me today to live my life in such a way that my faith, love and hope in You are evident through my works, labor and endurance.  I am so grateful for the sacrifice You made for me, for clearly it was enough!

Amen and Amen!

No Fruit, No Bueno!

This morning I felt led to read from Mark 11.  The section that caught my attention was the story of the cursed Fig tree.  I know I have reflected on this before, but I thought it was worth reviewing this morning.  At first blush it seems out of place in the Gospel's for Jesus was most often speaking of the Kingdom of God, preaching, teaching, healing or working signs and wonders.  As far as I know this is the only instance that Jesus curses anything or anybody, and thus it stands out.  Here are the verses followed by what David Guzik, one of my favorite Bible commentators, says:

[12] "Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. [13] And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. [14] In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it."

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

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

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

b. In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again”: The tree was cursed for its pretense of leaves, not for its lack of fruit. Like Israel in the days of Jesus, it had the outward form but no fruit. In this picture, Jesus warned Israel – and us – of God’s displeasure when we have the appearance of fruit but not the fruit itself. God isn’t pleased when His people are all leaves and no fruit.

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

As I was just thinking through these comments, I was reminded of something that John Wimber (One of the founders of the Vineyard churches) related concerning his questioning his church leadership, after reading the Gospels himself.  His question was simple yet profound, he asked the leaders when they "Did the stuff", as in miracles, healings, etc. that he had been reading about in the Gospels. Their reply was that the things he was reading about 'only happened back the bible writers time, not today.'  In John's mind, having a church patterned after the life and ministry of Jesus, you would obviously also experience the fruit of Jesus'  ministry.  It made no sense that the church didn't regularly see miracles, healings and the like.

This seems related to David's comments about having leaves (advertising the fruit) without actually having any fruit.   Unfortunately, I think this is the state of many of our churches today! Oh Lord, let it not be so! 

The same is probably true for many of us who profess faith in the Lord Jesus!  We have plenty of talk, but very little walk!  Oh Lord, we pray for an outpouring of the desire for prayer!  Help us to produce fruit in keeping with repentance!  Help us to show the world that You are alive and well! Help us to effectively represent Your ministry on earth, in our lives and the lives of our families and friends. Help us to be able to say, 'not only do we talk about healing, miracles and other wonders, we regularly see these in our midst'!

Amen and Amen!

Unity Not Division

This morning I was reading from Acts 21, and read something I have not remembered that way.  It is always good to read and reread scripture over and over to make sure that our understanding and remembering are correct.  Setting the stage, Paul has returned to Jerusalem for his final time and everywhere he has stopped up to arriving the Holy Spirit has warned him about what would happen.  Here are the verses - Acts 21:17-22,27-28,30-32 NIV:

[17] "When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly. [18] The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. [19] Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 

[20] "When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. [21] They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. [22] What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, ..."

[27] "When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, [28] shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.” ...

[30] "The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. [31] While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. [32] He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul."

What I didn't remember was that the Jews who were trying to kill him were possibly other believers, if we assume that these were some of the thousands of believing Jews James mentioned in verse 20, those that were zealous for the Law.  If so, it is such an interesting and frightening thing that there were a whole group of Jewish believers who were so committed to following the law, that they were willing to kill Paul!  Talk about denominational warfare!

Again, if it is true that Jewish believers participated in this riot, it is both amazing and sad to me that at such an early stage in the life of the church there was such violent disagreement!  We can see why Paul in a few of his letters was advocating and praying for a unified church!  It is good for us to continue to pray for all of our brothers and sisters regardless of their specific beliefs, that we all might be unified.  Clearly the voice of the enemy has been at work since the founding of the church to try and convince us to divide ourselves for a unified church would surely crush his plans.  

I am reminded of Paul's encouragement from Philippians 2:1-5 NIV:

[1] "Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, [2] then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. [3] Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, [4] not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. [5] In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:"

Yes Lord, help us!  Help us to lay down our pride and our opinions and even our particular understandings that cause division! Help us to embrace one another rather than fight against one another!  Do what only You can do, bring full unity!  We are clearly in a time of great division and strife!  Lord help us, sustain us with Your peace and the unity that only You can bring!

Amen and Amen!

The Fruits of Repentance

This morning I felt like I should spend some time reflecting on the message of John the Baptist, which while crucial to God's plans, has generally taken lower priority in my mind and heart, which I guess is right.  However, there is value in considering his words, his message for he was the fore-runner to Christ Jesus.  

I find it interesting that God, when He works, almost always prepares the way prophetically, as well as through personal interactions.  I am encouraged that He doesn't just show up, but He prepares people's hearts and minds and in this way extends mercy to those He intends to visit.

Here are the verses from the Gospel of Luke 3:2-18 NIV:

[2] "during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. [3] He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 

[4] As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

 “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. [5] Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. [6] And all people will see God's salvation.' ” 

[7] John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? [8] Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. [9] The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” 

[10] “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. 

[11] John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” 

[12] Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” 

[13] “Don't collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. 

[14] Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” 

He replied, “Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely---be content with your pay.” 

[15] The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. [16] John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. [17] His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” [18] And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them."

I guess the first thing that surprises me is the initial message of John - "You brood of vipers!"  Remembering that this was written by Luke decades after John first appeared, it is safe to say that this opening line was remembered for a reason!  In the history of public speakers, calling your audience a "brood of vipers" is probably not the most recommended opening lines.  These people had gone out of their way, one could say they were stirred by God to the point of actively seeking someone who would proclaim the word of the Lord, and John lays into them!  It surely grabbed their attention.

Secondly, he comments on the coming wrath.  It is interesting that the Greek word used by Luke here is orgḗ  defined as a ("settled anger") proceeds from an internal disposition which steadfastly opposes someone or something based on extended personal exposure, i.e. solidifying what the beholder considers wrong (unjust, evil). Additional definition:  "Orgē comes from the verb oragō meaning, 'to teem, to swell'; and thus implies that it is not a sudden outburst, but rather (referring to God's) fixed, controlled, passionate feeling against sin." 

While John saw this as a coming wrath, it was revealed as God's victory over sin by Jesus' death on the cross.  He had a plan, and while it was full of wrath and judgement, all that fell upon Jesus who took our place! This great victory does not preclude our need to repent from our sins, for repentance includes acknowledgement, owning the sin, and choosing to think and act differently going forward.  John calls on them to "produce fruit in keeping with repentance".  The people understood this to mean that they needed to change their behavior, not just their heart attitude.  

The people didn't just listen and walk away, thinking that was a good sermon.  They wanted to know how to apply the message to their lives. They asked "What should we do then?"  Wouldn't this be a good question to ask ourselves after we hear a stirring sermon?  How should my life change because of what I just heard?  It is not a works orientation, but rather an obedience orientation.  They were stirred and convicted by John's message and knew they needed to change, they needed to respond to God's words.

Jesus addresses this obedience in Matthew 21:28-32 NIV:

[28] “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' [29] “ 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 

[30] “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. 

[31] “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” 

“The first,” they answered. 

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. [32] For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him."

Embracing the Word of God, and allowing it to change us is not working our way to heaven or eternal life!  This is necessary for us to become more and more like Jesus, who we follow.  If we want to represent the Father, as Jesus did, we need to change our way of thinking and acting to do so.  This is what James spoke of when he said faith without accompanying deeds (lives changing) is dead (James 2:17).  I like the way John the Baptist said it, "produce fruit in keeping with repentance."  If we truly believe these are God's words, then we must change our lives to conform to them!  

Oh Lord, help me to listen and respond!  Help me to be obedient to Your word in my life that I might represent You more fully.  I recognize that I am so unlike You in many ways, and I do need to change!  Help me to produce the fruit in keeping with repentance!

Amen and Amen!

Invitation to Repentance

This morning I felt like I should read from Matthew 21:23-32 NIV:

[23] "Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?” 

[24] Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. [25] John's baptism---where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” 

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' [26] But if we say, 'Of human origin'---we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 

[27] So they answered Jesus, “We don't know.” 

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 

[28] “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' [29] “ 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. [30] “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. [31] “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” 

“The first,” they answered. 

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. [32] For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him."

As I was reading these verses I was reminded of something Bill Johnson said in a recent teaching.  He always asks himself the questions that Jesus asks, and that approach seems wise to me.  In this case Jesus is asking questions of the chief priests and elders after they asked Him questions.  I find that is often the case, Jesus asks questions in response to being asked questions, and they aren't usually because He doesn't understand, its because He is getting to the deeper issue at hand, and oftentimes it allows Him to dodge traps.

In this case, it seems they are trying to pin Jesus down trying to get Him to admit that He is the Messiah.  Instead He uncovers their unbelief, and unwillingness to embrace true repentance, something that is required for us to receive salvation.  The way of righteousness that John preached was one of repentance and forgiveness for sins - see Luke 3:3.  The chief priests and elders had effectively rejected John's message, and Jesus knew that and exposed that reality here.

In my looking at those same questions that Jesus asked, I must reflect upon my own response to the Word of the Lord.  

Do I respond immediately?

Do I change the way I am thinking, or do I agree that is sounds good, but remain unchanged?

If I agree with the Word, do I change my behavior and actions to match my thinking?

Am I someone who quickly says yes, and then forgets what I said yes to?

Am I a better follower of Jesus in my mind than in my actions?

Do I consider myself beyond the basics of the Gospel, and choose to listen only to certain Words?

As I look at my life, I find that my responses too often are more verbal than action, and my follow-through is poor.  I find that often I don't act like the Word I am hearing is from the Lord, and responding accordingly.  I have lots of good intentions, but my willingness to change my life is minimal.  Oh Lord, help me and forgive me!

Lord, You are the Messiah, the Son of God and Your Words are life!  Help me to fully embrace that which You are saying to me!  Help me to embrace the invitation to repentance, for that was certainly John's message and invitation.

Amen!

When Pride Blocks Belief

The last few days I have been thinking about the story of the Man born blind, and healed by Jesus, found in John, chapter nine.  I have spent many hours thinking about this whole scenario and this morning I saw another aspect worthy of further reflection.   I am focused on the  review of the miracle by the Pharisees.  Here are the verses - John 9:13-34 NIV:

[13] "They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. [14] Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. [15] Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” 

[16] Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. 

[17] Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.” 

[18] They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. [19] “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” 

[20] “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. [21] But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” [22] His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. [23] That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” 

[24] A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” 

[25] He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” 

[26] Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 

[27] He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” 

[28] Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! [29] We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from.” 

[30] The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. [31] We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. [32] Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. [33] If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 

[34] To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out."

The verse that caught my attention this morning was verse 18, where it said they (The Pharisees) did not believe he (the man) had been blind and received his sight until they sent for his parents.  The critical word here is "until".  They didn't believe until they sent for his parents, which means that after that point they believed it was true.

Isn't that interesting, they were confronted with the truth, and believed it... and yet they rejected Jesus!

They were unwilling to bend their pride and will and fully accept that Jesus was who He said He was!  

They were stuck... 

If they admitted that Jesus was working with God's blessing and His power, they had to admit they were wrong! 

If they admitted they were wrong, they would have to "eat humble-pie"!

If they admitted He was Messiah, then they would have to worship Him!   

They were able to move past only through casting judgment against the man who had been born blind, claiming He was a sinner! They ignored the fact that apparently that was no longer true for the sign of his "sinfulness,"  his blindness was no longer true!  There was no logic to their approach, but they didn't need logic, just emotion and offense!

As I was thinking through this bit this morning, I felt the following questions in my heart:

Do I really believe and live my life like Jesus is truly the Son of God?  

Am I willing to lay down my opinions, my held beliefs, my thoughts of what's right or wrong, when confronted with Truth?  

Is my pride holding me back from fully experiencing His Lordship in my life?

Oh Lord, help me to embrace humility and Truth whenever I am confronted with an area of my life where I am wrong, especially in areas of my faith or belief!  I don't want to reject You or Your words to me because of my pride, arrogance or stubbornness.  Lord help me to recognize when I have grabbed onto some lame excuse to discount You or Your work because of my own offended sensibilities or pride!  

Lord, help us all to put out of our hearts and minds the need to be right, even when we are wrong, especially as it concerns our faith and belief in You!  

Amen and Amen!

The Mystery of God

This morning  am reflecting on the following verses - Colossians 2:2-3 NIV:

[2] "My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, [3] in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

That is such a rich and full thought, that all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ.  He is the mystery of God!  I like that name and title, for we must understand there is so much more to Jesus than just a good and kind teacher!  His earthly ministry, while so important, and eternally impacting seems nothing when compared to His spiritual works, and yet the two are absolutely inseparable.  His sacrifice, as man, defeated sin and death, and reversed the curse of both for all mankind that believe!  

Not only mankind, but all creation is affected!  For Paul writes the following in his letter to the Romans 8:18-21 NIV:

[18] "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. [19] For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. [20] For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope [21] that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God."

Clearly I have not spent enough time getting to know You Jesus!  You are the Mystery of God!  In You are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and I feel like I am mostly poor if not penniless in those characteristics.  Lord, please help me, open my eyes and understanding that I might know You more, and dive deeper in the the mystery of God!

Amen!

Tasting and Seeing

I find it funny that this morning as I sat down to pray, I was reminded of the way our dog waits to eat her food.  She waits until I eat my food, usually lunch or dinner, because she knows that I will give her a bite of whatever I am eating, so she waits patiently (most of the time) knowing that she will get some tasty morsel from me.  She is always optimistic about my eating, believing that I will always share something with her. I usually take a small bite, cut it up into little bits and drop it onto her dog food, and then she eats it all. 

So why did this image pop into my mind a I sat down to pray?  I guess it is a quaint picture of my heart towards the Lord in prayer.  I am always optimistic that He will share something with me, something that will increase my appetite for His word, for His interaction, for my relationship with Him.  I am reminded of Psalm 34:8 NIV: "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him."

The Hebrew word for taste is taam, and its defined as: to taste, perceive

The Hebrew word translated see is raah, which is defined as follows: see, compare, expect 

I look at these words to better understand the fullness of their meaning, for often times our English translation just captures one aspect and doesn't provide all the nuances.  The word taam, is more that just tasting, it has to do with perceiving, as in studying and understanding.  I am reminded of the wine sommelier, who tastes the wine, swirls the wine, examines the bouquet of the wine, and lets the wine linger on their tongue and senses, picking out each flavor profile.  Those that are experts can identify the grape, the year it was harvested and even the vineyard at times.   As one spends more time with wine, their ability to understand and differentiate individual flavors and taste profiles becomes more acute especially if they are instructed as to how to do so.  

In the same way, our ability to truly see comes from practice and engagement.  I can almost hear my my Mom say, "don't just look at it!"  The point she was making is that I needed to engage my mind and actually pay attention.  If we are going to see and compare, we need to engage our mind... we need to really look at something, and in this case its the Lord!  When bank tellers are trained how to identify counterfeits, they are primarily trained with authentic money, the feel, the smell, the texture, the ink, the paper composition, etc.  They spend so much time with the authentic that their ability to identify the false is heightened.  Again, the more time we spend practicing to truly see, to compare, the better we are at understanding.  An art expert is able to identify an authentic painting because they are familiar with the brushes used, the pallet, even the brush strokes of the painter.  They have studied and compared, and know what to expect!

When we engage with the Lord, we are encouraged to look at His word, study it and familiarize ourselves with all of it.  When we do, we start to see the goodness of the Lord in much greater depth.  If we engage and allow His Word to roll around in our minds and hearts, perceiving the nuances of love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and grace, we will start to taste and see the richness and depth of His Word in our lives.  

As I reflect over my years of engagement with the Lord in my quiet times, I am amazed at how much I have learned, how many times He has spoken directly to my heart, provided instruction and insights that I have never seen before.  I have sampled the writing of others that have gone down similar paths and it is always encouraging to see what the Lord has shown them, to hear how they have encountered Him, but I always come away with a sense that my relationship and interaction with Him is unique to me!  I am not someone special in the world, but I am special to the Lord!  Just as each of us is special to Him, for He knows us and loves us, each uniquely!

Every day, I look forward to my times with the Lord, for I expect that He will speak, that He will instruct, and reveal!  There are times, where I will just rest in His presence, sometimes I will feel it strongly and other times its just the comfort of quietness.  Regardless, the richness of my experience tells me that there is always more to discover and more to experience, and the Lord is always drawing me deeper in Him.

I always liken my relationship with my sweetheart as an example of a committed deepening relationship.  I have been married 38+ years, and I am still getting to know my lover, discovering new things about her, find her engaging and surprising and lovely!  I don't believe I will ever stop growing in my knowledge of her, and if this is true of a human to human relationship, how much more true must it be of a relationship with the Lord?

This morning I am encouraged to taste and see, to perceive, to compare, to expect that the Lord will meet me, will speak to me and will love me in some new way!  It might be the smallest nuance, the lightest taste of something new, but it worth my time to really look, to examine and to let His word roll about in my mind and heart!  Sometimes, later in the day, a moment of clarity will come, after His word has marinated in my heart and mind all day!  I love how He reveals His goodness in countless ways!

My dog loves those little additional bits of flavor that I add to her food, so much so that she waits expectantly, sometimes for hours.  My prayer is that we might all experience the Lord pseaking to us in unique and rich ways, and that we might meet with Him daily, expecting Him to reveal new things, new tastes and new visions!

Amen!

Don't Dwell On The Past

This morning I was reminded of something that popped into my mind a few days back when I was walking our big dog, and I thought it a welcome encouragement again.  

I walk our Great Pyrenees every day I am home, taking the same 1.5 mile route to the local park, around the park and back home.  It is her favorite thing to do and she waits every morning for me to put on my shoes as she knows that means we are going to the park.  Normally she spends the whole time out at the end of her 25ft leash, sniffing, running ahead, checking every tree for squirrels, sniffing every suspicious brach or pile of leaves.  There are often other people walking, running, and sometimes people walking dogs.  Generally she ignores the other dogs, goes up the people for pets, but doesn't really let these distract her from the task at hand, sniffing and marking her way around the park.

One day, earlier this week, there was a woman walking her two little dogs about a block behind us as we walked the half mile loop at the park. I don't know what caught Tilly's attention, but she kept stopping and looking back at that women and her dogs for almost half the way around the loop.  I was constantly having to pull hard on her leash to get her to turn around and walk the way she always does.  In the midst of her constantly looking behind her, she completely missed sniffing one whole half of the park.  It was actually a bit annoying because it was taking much longer than normal, and she is a heavy dog, and my arm was actually getting tired.

As I was in the midst of this experience I heard the Lord say, "this is just what it is like when someone is constantly dwelling on the past!"  

As He said those words, I could immediately imagine Him working hard to move us, His beloved sons and daughters, forward into the plans and purposes He has for them, and some of us, those who constantly dwelling on the past, are missing the life and opportunities all around us!  We resist moving forward because we are constantly looking back.

I am reminded of two sets of verses this morning, the first being from Isaiah and the second from Paul.  Here are the verses - Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV:

[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."

- and - 

Philippians 3:13-14 NIV:

[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."

Both of these are encouragements to look forward to stop looking behind, and I think they are helpful in our daily faith relationship with the Lord.  He does want us to remember how He has worked i our lives in the past, for He had the Israelites build markers of remembrance, so they would remember His provision, His faithfulness, and His intervention in their lives.

The enemy tries to get us to look backwards, to condemn us, to accuse God of not being there, anything he can to get us distracted or introspective, missing all that is happening around us.  God is constantly moving forward, creating and available to us in the present, and if we aren't living in the present we miss Him, we miss encountering Him, and we miss the opportunities to see Him move (see Is 45:19).  He can heal our past, and help us move past our history, but that is accomplished in the present, today, or in the future.  

I can always tell when the enemy is attacking me as I find myself remembering my failures or difficult things in my past.  I have loved ones who can't forget, forgive or move past things that happened in the past, and it is sad to see them missing all of life that is in front of them.  They can't accept people for the who they are now, they can't get past what happened and they relive that old pain over and over and it is crippling and causing them to be bitter!  Oh Lord, set them free!

I am grateful I don't usually struggle with dwelling on the past, for I can see how it would limit my pressing into the new things, towards the things of God!  

Reflecting back on my dog's walk, if I was patient and merciful like our Father, I would have taken her around the park one more complete time so that she could enjoy the fullness of the experience.  The Lord, in His goodness, will, at times, bring us back through similar things so that we can encounter Him anew, in ways we missed while dwelling on the past.  I heard that jokingly referred as going back around the mountain again, to learn what we missed or didn't learn the last time. 

In the same way that a child that doesn't ever crawl doesn't develop an important part of their brain (see:  https://thefnc.com/research/crawling-is-important-for-childhood-brain-development/), when we miss things of God in our present, we miss learning from those experiences, and growing in our understanding of Him.  The good news is that you can teach an older child to crawl and those parts of the brain do develop.  God, in His infinite patience and mercy, doesn't punish us for missing things, He teaches us in new ways, but the new ways are always in the present, or near-future. 

This morning I am encouraged to press forward into the new things He is doing!  

Let us press forward to discover the new things, that we might perceive it and encounter Him!  

Amen and Amen!

Faith and Employment

I felt led to reflect on these verses this morning - Colossians 4:2-6 NIV:

[2] "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. [3] And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. [4] Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. [5] Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. [6] Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

This morning I am thinking about these verses, and how they apply to some work related opportunities, and while it seems a bit strange, I feel that these verses are for me today, especially verses 5 & 6.

Sometimes we tend to separate our work from faith, and I don't believe the Lord sees us that way.  He is better than any earthly Father, and most earthly Dads take delight in the success of their sons and daughters, in every aspect of their lives.  The Lord does care about every aspect of our lives, and does not only speak to us about our faith, or relationship with Him, but about all things we are experiencing and living.

I have a good example of how the Lord cares about our lives, and knows us intimately, and cares about even the smallest of things.  One day I was driving in the car with my honey and her birthday was coming up and I wanted to make her a cake, and wanted it to be her favorite cake.  The only problem was that I didn't know what her favorite cake was!  I wanted it to be a surprise, so I couldn't just ask her.  So while driving, in my thoughts, I prayed to the Lord and asked Him to help me figure out what Tina's favorite cake was.  No sooner had I prayed that prayer, then my sweetheart turns to me, completely out of the blue, and says, "You know I just love Lemon Cake!"  I couldn't believe it!  If the Lord cares about our birthday cake, He certainly cares about our work, our lives, and our happiness.

There have been many times where I have been struggling over and issue at work and taken that issue to prayer, and had the Lord give me clear instructions.  Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit is our helper, and while we often assume that means in terms of faith, I believe this carries over into our personal lives as well. Here is what Jesus said John 14:26-27 NIV:  "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. [27] Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Lord, You do care for me.  You care about my work situations.  I trust in Your provision and guidance and ask that You will guide me into all truth, and give me peace in the midst of difficult situations.  Help me to have grace for those I work with and encounter and help me to always represent You well in all my ways.  Lord, You know exactly what needs to happen and said, and I ask that You help me to be that voice.

Amen and Amen!

I Died!

This morning I felt led to read same very familiar passages from Paul's letter to the Colossians 3:3-14 NIV:

[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."

These verses have always been quite challenging to fully embrace and live out, especially verses 3-9, for our natural bodies argue against this spiritual reality.  Our old selves are dead and we are now alive, hidden in Christ.  In much the same way Israel struggled with wanting to go back to Egypt after being led out by the Lord, we tend to want to go back to our old ways, our old realities.  

There is comfort in the old familiar ways, even if they lead to slavery and death. It is my opinion that the 40 yeas spent in the wilderness had more to do with getting the slavery mindset out of the Israel than just about anything else. In fact the way that happened was a generation passed away, taking their old mindsets with them.  I think that is a rough picture of what we are invited to embrace in our lives.

I find that in my life there has been a slow softening of my rejection of my old life, a remembrance of things without the real perspective of the truth of the ugliness; sort of a nostalgic movie to be enjoyed that only shows the good things and none of the bad.  I think this is what we find in the grumbling of Israel, longing for the onions and leeks, remembering the tasty food (See Numbers 11:5) and forgetting about the whips, lashes and beatings.

Paul encourages us to take a pretty drastic step in putting to death such things and putting on a new self, a self who lives out the spiritual reality, a life that chooses compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and above all love!  There is a way forward where our mind is renewed in knowledge  in the image of God.  I certainly love the sound of that, now if I could just live that way!

I am reminded of the story of Les Miserables, where the main character Jean Valjean, spends his whole life pursued by the former prison official who is trying to capture him and return him to his life as prison 24601.  Valjean manages to reinvent himself, putting off his old ways and name, becoming someone completely different, but the prison official pursues him relentlessly.  The difference between Valjean and the Israelites, is he never forgot how bad things were in the old days, the days when he was a prisoner.  

I am encouraged today to embrace my new spiritual reality, reminding myself that my old self is dead!  My old identity is no more, I no longer have a prisoner number, or slave number, I live in Christ, hidden in Him! 

Lord, help me to grasp this reality!  Help me to embrace this truth, and to remember clearly the old ways, not with a nostalgic fondness but with a true knowledge of the path and price. 

Help me to live my life embracing compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, forgiveness, mercy, patience, and love.  Help me to live as Christ Jesus, in whom I am hidden.

Amen and Amen! 

Let Heaven Come

Yesterday during worship I was reading from Psalm 67, and I reflecting on the first couple of verses.  The very next song in the worship set was essentially a prayer as we sang, "Let heaven come!"  As this was percolating in my spirit, I had some inspiration.  First, here are the verses - Psalm 67:1-2 NIV:

[1] "May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us---
[2] so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations."

I love how the Lord highlights specific verses, and it seems, at the time, that you have never read this before.  I have clearly read these verses before, but that feeling of seeing something in a new light is exciting!  The word that stood out to me in the two verses above was the word "so".  In other words, verse one was true SO that verse 2 could be true.

While many might read thee verses as pertaining to financial or military might blessings, for God certainly provided both to Israel at times, my heart understood these verses in light of the ministry of Jesus, and the extension of His ministry to the Church.  We are supposed to be the way the earth knows about Christ Jesus, and the salvation He has won for us! 

Or we could say, we are supposed to be the vehicle through which heaven comes to earth.

We are His body, and we represent Him.

Which leads to the question, how i s God gracious to us and blessing us? The Hebrew word translated gracious is the word Chanan and a working definition would be "yearn towards, long for, be merciful, compassionate, favourable, inclined towards;"  which is quite helpful to my understanding.  The word translated bless is the Hebrew word "barak" and it means exactly that God's blessing.

We pray for God's blessing, His mercy, compassion, favour, his inclination towards us, His gaze upon us!  How better does He accomplish this than indwelling us through Holy Spirit, and empowering us to bear witness to Jesus' name, in our lives, through continuing His ministry, even as the early church did?  Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God present, and then demonstrated that reality, heaven's reality, through healing and miracles! 

Would this not be the way the whole earth will see and experience God's presence, through His church, through the extension of His Kingdom into our personal lives, the Holy Spirit transforming us from mere men and women, into His sons and daughters? 

Are we not called to be witnesses to the ends of the earth? 

How else will the world truly know His ways or His salvation?

I am reminded of Acts 2, for surely this prayer was fulfilled at Pentecost!

Oh Lord, help us to live our lives bearing witness to Your graciousness, Your mercy, compassion, Your blessing, and reflecting the light of Your face!  Let us live Heaven's reality here and now!  Let heaven come through us!

Amen and Amen!

Here is a link to the song: https://youtu.be/Uj1cLQ15zTk?si=u53wPeL0VGo0F-bL

Feeding The Masses

I had an interesting dream where I was working at some sort of camp, or gathering where there were about 100 kids.  We were out in the open and camping.  We had several campfires going and we were letting the kids take care of cooking their own food.  I was trying to help them, but it was clear most of them had no clue what to do, or how to do it.  In one group the kids had thrown ice on the fire to cool it down, as it was too hot.  In another they had dropped the meat right into the fire, another group had just wandered away, being distracted by something else and the fire had pretty much gone out.  I looked around and there were coolers stacked with food, untouched and just sitting there needing to be cooked.  It was getting close to bed-time and many of them hadn't eaten, so I was trying to marshal the kids around and show them what to do.  I started by instructing them how to build a cooking fire, and that was much more difficult than it should have been!  I was looking at their hungry faces wondering how I would ever feed them all, as it would take a couple of hours and a much better setup than I had to successfully make enough food to feed them all.  That is where I woke up.

As soon as I woke up I was reminded of Jesus feeding the multitudes, and specifically the time recounted in Luke 9:10-17 NIV:

[10] "When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, [11] but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. 

[12] Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” 

[13] He replied, “You give them something to eat.” 

They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish---unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” [14] (About five thousand men were there.) 

But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” [15] The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. [16] Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. [17] They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over."

This morning I am thinking about the absolute logistical nightmare it would have been to try and feed that crowd (5000 men)!  I have fed about 350 at one time, and we planned for a few days ahead of time and worked most of the day to have the food cooked and ready to eat at the correct time.  I had a crew of probably  10 to manage it all, and semi-commercial kitchen facilities (Steak dinner fund-raiser for our church).  While they only had fish (dried or smokes) and bread, neither of which would require much if any preparation, just the coordination and distribution would have taken a massive effort.  

I think this is the first time Jesus worked this miracle, based on the initial ask of the apostles.  I can just imagine them getting more and more worried as Jesus continued to speak, and the crowd continued to grow.  That might be why we only have a very brief description of what Jesus was saying as none of them were listening, but instead they were worrying about what they were going to do! 

I am reminded of times where someone is speaking and they are going over their allotted time, or I have someplace to be and I will be late, I just stop listening and start thinking about my escape plan, how I am going to communicate my lateness, etc. If I am sitting with my honey, we start working things out and become  completely distracted.  I think that is what was likely happening with the apostles.  They were probably gathering in the back, asking each other's opinions of what they thought, trying to catch Jesus' eye, signally that he need to wrap things up, etc.  They were concerned for sure and finally, when Jesus took a breath (late in the afternoon) and they all came up to Him and suggested He send the crowd away to fend for themselves!

It was the best idea they could come up with, thinking in natural terms, from a natural perspective.  If the number is accurate there was no way a crowd that size was going to find food and lodging anywhere near-by, but at least it wouldn't be the apostle's responsibility any more!  That is definitely the way I think...most of the time.  

Jesus, however, was in-tune with the Father and had a completely different perspective, and also knew exactly what they were thinking, so He says, "You give them something to eat." 

I can just imagine there was  a bit of a pause between Jesus' suggestion and the apostle's response, as I don't think they were really prepared for that statement from Jesus.  They must have made a quick survey of their vast food holdings (just kidding) and saw they only had 2 fish and 5 loaves, which wasn't enough to even feed themselves, let alone the masses.  I think they had already made up their minds there was absolutely nothing they could do for such a vast crowd.  

Jesus, rather than criticize them, just gives them simple directions to have the crowd sit down in groups of 50 or so, which meant there were 100 plus groups of people, and Jesus demonstrates the fact that it was the Father in heaven who was going to feed the people.  He is the only one capable!  

The apostles didn't have the faith to approach Him, let alone the faith to even imagine this solution.  They were looking at the situation from a natural logistics  perspective.  They knew how much food it would take to feed that many people, and I can assure you 12 people couldn't have carried that much food back from town!  The crowd was tired and hungry, and while some would suggest there was no miracle, it was really just people sharing their own provisions with everyone else once they sat down, that doesn't explain the 12 baskets of left-over food, nor the fact that Jesus did this enough that people followed Him just so He would feed them (See John 6:26).  

Going back to my dream, there is a need for people to be taught how to feed themselves on the Word of God!  We don't just know how to do this, we get distracted, we get uncomfortable with the fire of conviction, we don't rightly understand what we read and the potential help just turns to ash.  We are hungry and tired and don't know what we need!

We don't realize that the Word of God is essential for our lives!  I am reminded of Jesus' words concerning this, found in John 6:35-40,44-48 NIV:

[35] "Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. [36] But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. [37] All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. [38] For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. [39] And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. [40] For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” 

[44] “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. [45] It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. [46] No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. [47] Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. [48] I am the bread of life."

Lord, help us to give to those, who need to be fed, that which we have, namely relationship with You!  You are the Bread of Life! Your are our source of eternal life, and we need to learn how to give what we have, that the masses might learn how to feast and feed themselves on Your Word!

Amen and Amen!

The Father Prunes and Cleans

On Sunday during worship I felt led to read from second kings, chapters 22 and 23 (page 333 in my bible) and it had to do with the reforms under King Josiah. Essentially the book of the Law had been lost for 70+ years, and one of the priests finds it and brings it to the King.  When Josiah hears the Law, he tears his robes in sorrow, for they have clearly not been following the Law.  After inquiring of a prophet, he calls an assembly of all the people, and these verses are the account of that - 2 Kings 23:1-4 NIV:

[1] "Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. [2] He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets---all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. [3] The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord---to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant. 

[4] The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel."

As I was reading through these verses I immediately started thinking of the things of man that have made it into our present day worship of God, for that was clearly what Josiah was addressing after reading the Law.  His forefathers, the two previous Kings and the priests who served under them had brought into the temple items associated with the worship of false gods.  They had sullied God's name, reputation and worship.  Their message was that God was not all powerful, so they brought in other superstitions and practices, and it was an ugly thing.  

It was only after going back to the Law that the people were aware of how far they had fallen, and that was in 70-ish years.  They had even forgot there was a book of the Law! 

My question was,  "what in my belief of God is purely man-made?"  I continued to wonder, "what things have been forgotten, or lost their appeal or importance to the present day Body of Christ, that were of essential importance in the early days of the church?"

I think these are important questions that we need to consider as the church!  I think these are important questions that I need to consider for my own life in following Christ!  Holy Spirit, You are our guide, our teacher and You remind us of the truth, help us, help me!

Continuing on with that reflection, during worship, I was reminded of Jesus speaking of the pruning of the vine in John 15.  I turned there and saw something that caught my eye.  Here are the verses - John 15:1-4 NIV:

[1] “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. [2] He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. [3] You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. [4] Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

While I am sure this is not earth-shattering, my focus was drawn to verse 1.  Whenever I have read these verses in the past I have always focused on the pruning, as something the Lord does with us.  I have seen the Lord prune me, clean me, walk me through seasons of revelation and repentance, where I realize that there is something in my life that is not in line with His word, and His purpose and plan for me.  (This is the bit that reminds me of the verses in 2 Kings 23).  I am always grateful, in retrospect, when the Lord leads me through seasons of cleaning, knowing that His intention is to help me bear more fruit.  

Getting back to the verses at hand, what I saw so clearly on Sunday was that Jesus was the one getting pruned!  Again, as I said, not earth shattering revelation, since that is exactly what Jesus said, but I guess I saw it in a different light.  He welcomes the personal pruning and cleaning, for it is His Father who is doing it and He is faithful, loving, and gentle.  He clears and cuts away those things that do not bear fruit, and these are things (people and practices if you will) connected to Jesus, the True Vine.  Again, as the True Vine, these are removed from Jesus, and while pruning has its benefits, it is essentially cutting away!  It was this revelation that grabbed my attention!  

Switching from the Vine analogy to the Body analogy, this is the Father treating illness within the Body of Christ!  He is removing those things that are detrimental or non-fruit bearing, and is strengthening and cleaning those that are beneficial and life giving!  

If we were to take a very heavy example, my wife had melanoma in her leg, and once identified had surgery to remove that cancer.  While the spot as small, they removed a large section of skin and underlying tissue, and even lymph-nodes to make sure that sickness was unable to spread!  This is and example of the pruning/cutting to remove those things that are not beneficial.  On the other hand, we can look at the lives of professional athletes, who leave much of their old ways to embrace a season of training, diet and focus where their sole goal is to become stronger and more capable in whatever sport they are participating!  They are pruning / cleaning their lives for the hope of better fruit (faster times, heavier weights lifted, higher scores, etc.)

In my verses of focus this morning, it is the Lord who cleans and prunes!  First in 2 Kings, the Law, given by the Lord, was the guide for the cleaning of the temple, and the worship of the King, priests and people.  It was in reading the words that Josiah realized that much of what had been allowed was wrong and He began the process of cleaning the land!  His focus was to bring the people back to true worship.  In John 15, the Father has begun cleaning Jesus, and He is the one who is doing so with a clear purpose and plan.  The maximum fruitfulness of Jesus, of His ministry, of His Body, is the Father's goal, according to Jesus!  Jesus' word is that which is accomplishing this cleaning of us, and it is for His purpose!

Hopefully that makes sense, sometimes my early morning writing doesn't flow as thoroughly as I would like!  My encouragement this morning is to ask the Lord to clean me, to prune me that my life might bear more fruit for Him!  I am convinced there is much in me that is not of Him, and He knows what to clean and prune and when to do so for the maximum fruitfulness!  I am encouraged that His pruning and cleaning is something I should welcome, even though it might be painful for a while!  I am also encouraged knowing that my relationship with Jesus means that He is fully aware of any pruning in me, for I am connected to the Him, the True Vine.  As such, He has mercy and compassion on me, for He knows exactly what that cleaning and pruning entails.

Thank You Lord for revelation that causes me to press further into You and Your purposes!  I want to be fruitful for You!

Amen and Amen!

See, Hear and Believe

This morning I felt led to read from John 12:42-50 NIV:

[42] "Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; [43] for they loved human praise more than praise from God. 

[44] Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. [45] The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. [46] I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. 

[47] “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. [48] There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. [49] For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. [50] I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

I read the whole of chapter 12, which is loaded with good stuff to think about.  This morning I felt led to these particular verses for Jesus clearly tells us He is representing the Father.  In fact, whatever He said is exactly what the Father told Him to say.  This is so important for us to grasp!  Jesus is the correct and perfect representation of the Father.  He has revealed the Father to us, and we don't need to wonder what the Father is like, for we can just look to Jesus.  

What this means for us it that anything in the Old Testament that does not jive with the revelation of the Father presented by Jesus, is a partial picture, or man's best understanding of what The Father was saying based on His previous revelation.  Jesus is our filter, our dictionary, encyclopedia, and definition for understanding the Old Testament.

Jesus also reiterates what was said in John 3:16-17 that He came to save the world, not to judge it!  In case we might have missed that point, Jesus again provides us the foundational motivation for His visit to mankind, salvation.  He is speaking these words in response to some of what was happening around Him. There was conflict between the Pharisees and the people.  People were being judged for believing in Him, even put out of the synagogue.  Jesus was effectively responding to that religious spirit, and specifically not judging people's response, their fear, their questions. He continues to point them to the Father, urging them to listen and believe.

Jesus' primary message was announcing the Kingdom of God and then demonstrating that reality.  In doing so, He was pointing to the King, for Kingdom's are expressions of the Dominion and rule of the King, and this Kingdom has God as King. Jesus, in proclaiming the Kingdom, then demonstrating that reality was showing us what the Father is like!  The Father heals, delivers, feeds, has mercy, compassion and forgiveness!  He welcomes and saves sinners!  He has authority over every spirit, illness and disease!  He is glorious, transcendent, holy and humble at the same time!  He welcomes us, and invites us to eternal life, which means He wants to share His life with us!

Oh Lord, help us to believe and live to follow You, to represent You!

Help us to present the same nature and character to the world that You did!   Help us to proclaim and demonstrate Your Kingdom for all to see and experience!

Help us, Oh Lord!

Amen and Amen!