Don’t Chicken Out

“Don’t be terrified of them. God, your God, is leading the way; he’s fighting for you. You saw with your own eyes what he did for you in Egypt; you saw what he did in the wilderness, how God, your God, carried you as a father carries his child, carried you the whole way until you arrived here. But now that you’re here, you won’t trust God, your God— Deuteronomy 1:29-32-The Message

Moses is preaching his final sermon to the people of Israel. He is reminding them of all God has done for them and how they have responded to God’s goodness. In this passage God has brought them to the end of the wilderness and is commanding that they take the land He has promised, but they chicken out with excuses and additional requirements from God. They have watched God in action for forty years and just when He is ready to give them what He has promised, the task seems impossible to them, and they panic! 

Note- they had to fight to receive the promise, but He guaranteed success.

This entire chapter is a lesson for today. When God says “go,” we need to go even though the odds seem impossible. When God says “stay,” we stay even though the conquest seems reasonable, even easy!  Later in the chapter they repented and decided to try the easy way, but God said no! Even though they had the power to succeed, they were defeated because God was not with them. When God is with us, He has set the timing and circumstances to assure victory even though the task seems more than we can handle and entirely out of our comfort zone. How would we know it was God if we could do it on our own? Why do we need God to do what we know we can do?  After years of following Jesus, I know, even the things that seem easy for me need the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish their purpose. Even my gifts used in my own strength can backfire. I need to listen closely and go when He says go, even against my gifting and stay when He says stay, even with my gifting! I must trust and obey knowing His way guarantees victory.

Jesus, this lesson is as old as Adam and Eve, and yet I sometimes still struggle with it. I know I must test the spirits to make sure it is You speaking and not the tempter who appeals to my desire to please and succeed. Once I know it is You, I must obey and take the first step. Often, I have found You reveal only one step at a time, and I cannot see exactly where I will end up. Sometimes there are bumps even detours on the road, but You said I would have to fight for the victory. Oh Father, give me the courage and strength to fight at Your command and resist the temptation to take the easy way out!  Don’t let me miss out on the victory only You can give. I trust Your love always goes before me, behind me and hems me in. Thank You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit for Your presence and guidance in my life!!

Fight or Flight

The picture was becoming clear to the Pharisees that Jesus had gained a following much larger than that of John the Baptist, the wandering prophet. Now He could see that the Pharisees were beginning to plot against Him. 2 This was because His disciples were busy ritually cleansing many new disciples through baptism,[a] 3 He chose to leave Judea where most Pharisees lived and return to a safer location in Galilee. 4 This was a trip that would take them through Samaria    John 6:1-4

John is still baptizing for repentance of sins and now Jesus and His disciples are also baptizing.  Seems Jesus and his disciples are baptizing more followers than John. The Jewish leaders, always trying to make trouble for Jesus, chose to introduce the idea of competition and jealousy. Instead of fighting this idea and setting things straight, Jesus chose to continue His ministry of salvation Samaria.

This reminded me of what Bob Goff, author of “Love Does” said about this issue, “Don’t argue of fight about your faith, instead walk away in humility and confidence and let God handle your challengers.” Sometimes we feel driven to prove we are right, innocent, well-intentioned and justified in our actions, especially for the cause of the Kingdom. Maybe it’s time we let Jesus right the wrongs and fight the battles as we move on in obedience to Him.

Jesus, once again you are asking us to surrender our rights, even when we are right! This seems impossible in our human strength.  Just another area for us listen, learn, and obey, in faith and confidence. Another area to release our people-pleasing desires, our competitive nature, and our need to control. Wouldn’t it be much easier to choose the Jesus way, to humbly excuse ourselves and move on leaving them to argue among themselves.

Thank You, Jesus for another example of how we are to navigate in this sinful world. Help us to surrender our pride and stay focused on You and Your kingdom purposes.

The Aroma of Fresh Bread

32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:32-35

Jesus is the true bread of life, always fresh and ready to fill us physically and spiritually.

Jesus had met the needs of the people for physical nourishment with the loaves and fish. Because their physical needs were met, they followed Him. But when he began talking about their spiritual needs they were not as thrilled. Earlier in John, Jesus says that those who worship Him must worship “in spirit and in truth.” He continues this theme here as He uses bread as His metaphor. They knew full well the importance of bread to physical life but failed to make the connection to their spiritual life.

We have been decaying since the day we were born. No matter how well we take care of this physical body, it continues to decay. Nothing can stop that process!  So, Jesus is offering them hope and a future, not in the physical but the eternal.  Eating His Bread and drinking in His Spirit is necessary if we want to live with Him forever in heaven. Obviously, this crowd was still concerned only with the physical and when He moved to the spiritual, they left Him to continue searching for another to meet their needs.

 We are so often centered on what Jesus can do for our bodies, our families, our finances, our earthly concerns that we overlook the most important need that He came to meet, our need for forgiveness and eternal life.  The need to love others and put their needs ahead of our own.  The need to put God first and see and act as His hands and feet in this hungry world. We need Him to meet our daily physical needs, yes, but only to highlight the reality of our need for spiritual nourishment to prepare us for eternity.

Oh, Jesus, we have been taught to seek and serve You, but not for our physical and temporal health and success only, but to live in the spiritual reality that seeks to sacrifice so that others may come to this truth and experience hope and nourishment as they feed on the Bread of Life in community with all believers. May we drink of the Living Water and partake of the Bread of Life and share it with others both now and forever, we pray.

I Am Guilty

40-42 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s witness and followed Jesus. The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, “We’ve found the Messiah” (that is, “Christ”). He immediately led him to Jesus. 45-46 Philip went and found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote of in the Law, the One preached by the prophets. It is Jesus, Joseph’s son, the one from Nazareth!” John 1:40-42, 45-56

 John, the Baptist had been proclaiming that Jesus was coming and lo, Jesus came to be baptized by John. As Jesus is walking along after his baptism John is shouting out to tell his own disciples who Jesus is. Andrew hears and immediately chooses to follow Jesus and the first thing he does when He meets Jesus is run to find his brother to share the good news. Likewise, Phillip does the same and finds Nathaniel to share the good news and they follow Jesus.

I remember when I began to follow Jesus at the age of seven, when the preacher preached on heaven and hell. I certainly didn’t want to go to hell and Jesus loved me and wanted me to go to heaven, so I decided to follow Jesus that day. The next day I shared my joy with my friend Martha at school and invited her to come to church with me. I was so excited! Even at seven, I felt God’s transforming presence.

 Every Sunday morning and Wednesday night I was in church and learning more about Jesus. But gradually over the years the excitement of learning and sharing with my friends at church, took the place of sharing with friends who did not know Christ. If anyone asked or seemed the least interested in my Jesus, I had the answer for sure, but I had lost the excitement that made me want to shout to the world, “Come, see who I have found!”

 I fear that there may be the problem with many of us who have been saved as children or teens and been in church most of our lives. We have settled into the routine of Christian living. God is still very real and present in our lives. We participate in our churches, pay our tithe, have a daily time with Jesus and pray regularly, even for the lost, but we are often waiting for them to come to us, rather than boldly seeking them out. Is it that we have forgotten that excitement and joy of having the guilt, shame and fear of hell lifted and replaced by joy, peace, and the promise of heaven with Jesus? It seems it has become more about us than about sharing with others. Ouch!! If you can identify with me, join me in praying for God to restore the joy of our salvation.

Jesus, restore to us the joy of our salvation. Restore our desire to share with those around us. Rekindle a fire and burden for the lost and give us a Holy boldness to share Your miracles and work in our lives. Open our eyes to see where You are working and give us discernment, compassion, and a desire to join You in that work. In Jesus Name, we pray, Amen.

I Want It Now!

16. and [see to it] that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.  (Amplified) Hebrews 12:16 16. Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. (Message)Hebrews 12:16

Esau was the first born of the twins of Isaac and Rebecca and thus had the right to become the leader of his family when his father died. He also received a double portion of the family inheritance.  This was a treasured position in Israelite families. One day Jacob, the second born, who had food in his bag came upon Esau in the field. Esau had been working hard and was famished. When he saw Jacob, he was desperate for food and offered his birthright (the honor of becoming head of the family) to his brother, Jacob, if he shared his food. Of course, Jacob gladly made the trade.

I love the way The Message puts it, “trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite”. Who in their right mind would do that? I would never do that! You would never do that, right? Is that like wanting something so badly that you take matters into your own hands to make it happen?  Is it like saying if you give me this today, I’ll serve you tomorrow?  Is it like knowing a financial decision is wrong, but you can’t wait for Him to provide for you? Is it like telling God you can’t trust Him to take care of your needs and you want the issue addressed now!  Is it like saying after I get what I think I can’t live without, I’ll trust and serve You?

Thankfully, we do not live under Old Testament rule, but under New Testament love and grace. We can repent of our self-centeredness, but we lose what could have been ours if we had trusted from start to finish. We’ll never know the blessings we missed by choosing our wants over His Will. Thankfully we can determine to never miss another blessing due to our unruly appetites as we surrender those appetites to Him!

Lord Jesus, forgive us if and when we have allowed our immediate desires to overrule our commitment and faith in You. When we surrender our appetites, wants and desires to You, they will be met at the right time, in the right way, and bring glory to Your Name instead of shame for our lack of trust in You!  You, who created us, know just how to fix us, and give us what we need, to experience lasting satisfaction.  Thank You for loving us and extending grace, mercy, and strength to wait patiently on You!  Your grace is sufficient to supply all our needs! Thank You, Father.

Forget the Checklist

This new plan I’m making with Israel isn’t going to be written on paper,
isn’t going to be chiseled in stone. This time I’m writing out the plan in them,
carving it on the lining of their hearts. I’ll be their God, they’ll be my people. Hebrews 8:9-10

The law given to Moses on stone did not work. The people did not obey or follow the law; thus, God punished them and created a new law. This law would be written on the hearts of His followers, not on paper, stone or clay tablets. This time God would stamp it on their hearts, where it would always be with them and in them.

How often have I read this scripture in my seventy-nine years, and today it is more powerful than ever before.  I understand about the law being on the outside. The Israelites heard it over and over and maybe even read it a time or two from the tablets or parchments that were constantly being revised to add more laws. But it was not a matter of the will and mind which can be very weak, but of the heart. God’s new plan was to be written on our hearts by the Holy Spirit! Our obedience was to come from the inside with an inner knowledge of forgiveness and a clean heart before God. These inner laws were to be founded on the love of God and sacrifice of Jesus. They were lived out before us by the Messiah and regulated by God, not man!  God would look at the heart and not the list of more than 630 rules and regulations, which no one could ever expect to remember or obey. According to His new law, sins did not have to be forgiven over and over with animal sacrifices. They were forgiven once for all, never to be remembered again. This new forgiveness was not just for outward sins, but the sins of the heart where sin originates. What an awesome new plan! Forget the lengthy checklist and listen to the Holy Spirit and obey. Keep those first two commandments and all else will come from a heart of love for God and others.

Thank You, Father for plan B, which is really plan A that was thwarted in the Garden of Eden. Thank You that we will one day experience the fullness and completion of Your original plan. Although I have had Your Spirit in salvation since I was seven and experienced a deeper walk and fullness as a college freshman, there is still so much I have yet to learn and experience. Help me understand more about You, and the power made available to us in Jesus’ resurrection and the giving of the Holy Spirit.

No Fasting, Only Feasting

When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. Hebrews 6:17-18

The writer is encouraging these Christians to continue to grow in the Lord. He talks about the danger and consequence of going back on your commitment to Christ. He then encourages them with the fact that Christ has promised rewards and blessings to those who follow Him which are all guaranteed by His Word. If he said it, we can count on it!

One of the main reasons to study and deepen our understanding of God is to know what to expect as we walk in His truth. He tells us what is expected of those who follow His Word and what we can expect in return. The more we study the principals and character of God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit the plainer the future becomes, and the more joy we can have as our faith and commitment to Him grows. As doubts arise and fears dismay, His Word brings hope and keeps us grounded in our faith and trust in Him. The Holy Spirit uses the Word to speak truth to our hearts and keep us focused on Christ! 

I love it when scripture confirms itself and strengthens our faith in the Word! Oh, how much we miss when we relegate Your Word to the coffee table or a shelf in our bookcase to be pulled out for Sunday church. How sad when we miss the daily feast prepared for us. I know fasting is good, Father, but not when it is from food for our souls. We need and must eat a steady diet of Your Word to grow and mature.

Help us Jesus, to feed on Your Word and build strong spiritual muscles. Help us to stand firm on Your promises, knowing they will all come true in this life and the next.  You have given us much to feast on here, but nothing like the feast we will have with You in heaven!

Desperate Love

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered Hebrews 5:7-8

When Jesus was on earth, he prayed earnestly and fervently to His Father who was the only one who could save Him from death. He didn’t just go to the Father casually and ask Him to have the angels take care of thing, while He sat back and observed human life from the bleachers. No, He was on the field the entire game, tackling, blocking and pushing his team toward the goal line for the final touchdown.

Let’s remember how much Jesus gave up and yielded to His human form to be on that field with us. As God, He didn’t need to learn anything. He was there at creation. As God, he didn’t need to suffer; He could have spoken salvation into being. As God, He didn’t have to give obedience a second thought as it was inherent in His nature. As God, He knew He was the highest of the high priest. But, as man… He gave up total superiority so He could sympathize with us. He was humble, not expecting to be treated like royalty here on earth!  He chose to be confined to one location at a time. He chose to experience physical and emotional pain. He chose to die!  None of those choices were forced on Him. He chose so we can choose! It’s beyond human comprehension. “Such love, such wondrous love!!!”

NO words, Jesus, no words! Nothing we say can describe such desperate love and commitment to ones such as we are.!  Thank You seems so trite. We must not say “Thank You” with our words only but with our daily lives. Help us, Holy Spirit, to do just that. As we are required to make sacrifices for You, may we never forget what You gave up for us.

To Be Understood

14. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews4:14-16

The author speaks a language these early believers understood when he talks about a high priest. They knew well the job of the high priest was to present the people and their sins to God, offer a sacrifice and beg for mercy. They ruled from earth, sometimes with very little sympathy for the people. Often, they required more of the people than was possible in obeying all their 600+ rules But, the Great High Priest, Jesus, rules from heaven, after having lived among us and experiencing every problem we face, even the ultimate sacrifice, death for our sins!! Thus, He is the only High Priest who truly understands us. We can freely, with great confidence, bring our needs to Him because He knows exactly how we feel and how to help us!

We are often told how our trials and temptations can become a source of encouragement to others facing similar issues. We can accept that our struggles and victories will encourage others, and yet often overlook the fact that Jesus struggled in His human form just as we do and His victory over death is the ultimate encouragement and example to follow. We forget the huge price He paid, not only in death, but in life on earth!  He wasn’t born mature. He climbed trees, scraped His knees and caused problems for His parents. He knew hunger, rejection, had to escape for His life and knew great disappointment. He understood sorrow at the death of a beloved friend, and great joy at the wedding of another. He was tested and tempted and had to depend on his Father for strength. He knew the struggle we sometimes face in surrendering to the Father’s will. All this to become our “wonderful, merciful Savior, and perfect High Priest who understands and sympathizes with our humanity. He is the only one who can meet all our needs according to His riches in glory.

Jesus, thank You for the price You paid that we might know the Father and be able to spend eternity in heaven! Thank You for your great mercy and grace extended to us when we are confused, rebellious, stubborn, or lacking in spiritual graces. We know You are not there to condemn us, but to call us to faith and victory over our struggles. Your grace is sufficient to meet all our needs. Your mercy is everlasting, and Your forgiveness is ever present when we need it. You are an awesome and perfect High Priest who loves and understands us completely! Hallelujah!

My Way or the Highway

Even though they watched me at work for forty years,
your ancestors refused to let me do it my way; over and over they tried my patience. Hebrews 3:8 The Message

The author is reminding these Christians of their Jewish history and how faithful Moses was, but the people wouldn’t listen to God’s voice through him. He reiterates that Jesus is superior to Moses and that they need to listen and look at all He’s done and be obedient, not like their forefathers in their unbelief.

This passage reminds me of the lyrics from the old Frank Sinatra song, “I did it my way.” And I know we’ve all heard someone say, “it’s my way or the highway.” Or perhaps, “I know what’s best for me and my family,” or “God just doesn’t understand my situation.” Oh, how we must try God’s patience!

When I look at all God has done not just for me, but for my family, friends, the church, and the world in my lifetime, I am compelled to listen to His promptings, teachings, and call in my life. I have chosen to trust and believe that He can and will do what He says He will do! I never want to challenge Him with unbelief or self-centered thinking or actions. My way leads me to wander through a wilderness, while His way leads straight to the Promised Land!! How I want to reach that Promised Land and enjoy Father, Son, and Holy Spirit forever!!

Holy Spirit, help us to obey the truth. Help us to trust You to lead in the path of righteousness and reveal any unbelief we might have. Help us to see Your hand and recognize Your handiwork in our lives and give You the glory and praise Your Name!!  May we stand firm knowing You are in control and can part the seas of confusion, discouragement, disillusionment or unbelief. Keep us focused on YOU! May Your strength infuse us, and Your power overwhelm our weakness. Thank You, Father, for creation! Thank You, Jesus, for Salvation! Thank You, Holy Spirit, for resurrection power that indwells us to keep us focused on the prize – eternal life with You.