Month: June 2023

So often when we’re in the middle of loss, suffering, or illness, our eyes are down-cast. Life is hard, the world becomes small, and we can only focus on what’s right in front of us. But Psalm 121:1-2 says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” That’s because if you think about it, we are utterly dependent upon God for every aspect of our well-being…for Who else called the universe into being and created everything out of nothing? So today, lift up your eyes…raise up your head, and look fully into the face of Jesus. For He loves you & wants to shoulder all your burdens.

What if that nagging hunger for more in your life is Jesus saying: “I Am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35) The true bread Jesus offers to you is spiritual & eternal, not material & temporary as the world offers.

What if your sense of not being able to find your way in the world is Jesus saying: “I Am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) Jesus is the light & truth of God’s Word & will show you the way in this dark world.

What if all your bottled up loneliness is Jesus saying: “I Am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9) On the other side of that door you will find Salvation, safety & guidance from Jesus Who will exchange all your loneliness for His everlasting love.

What if that ever-present anxiety is Jesus saying: ” I Am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11) Jesus willingly sacrificed His life for you in order that you may have eternal life, and there is nothing that will ever happen to you that has not already been ordained by God. Fear not!

What if the void inside you…the one you’ve tried all your life to fill, is Jesus saying: ” I Am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26) That void inside you is meant to be filled by our risen Lord, through faith alone, so that you may enjoy an abundant life through Him.

What if all your distrust is Jesus saying: “I Am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) You can place your trust in Jesus for He will never forsake you, abandon you, or leave you.

What if your feelings of worthlessness is Jesus saying: “I Am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” (John 15:1) In Christ you have a true union and relationship with God & in His eyes you are precious, loved and so worthy.

We don’t like to admit it, but we really have little that we’re actually in control of. The verses above make it clear…we don’t have control over tomorrow, let alone 5 minutes from now. We also have very little control over our physical body. Example… Try stopping a heart attack or stroke you’re suddenly experiencing. We even have trouble controlling our mind from wandering into for bidden areas it shouldn’t. And if we find it hard to control ourselves, what makes us think we can somehow control or change others? We can’t! The only person we can ever change is ourself. The issue of control is addressed in Romans 8…the contrast between our old life clashing with our new life in Christ…the flesh refusing to yield to God’s control. The two mind-sets battling for self-control or submission to the dominating influence of Christ through the Holy Spirit. But rather than freak out about our lack of control, we can joyfully praise God for His omnipotence & sovereign rule over all things.

There was definitely limits placed on what this phrase conveys. Anything bringing reproach to God’s Name is not what Solomon meant. Nor was he condoning allowing our sinful nature to just run rampant. In I Samuel 10, Samuel anointed Saul and then gave him specific instructions and, “Once these signs (bestowal of the Spirit) are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.” (I Samuel 10:7) In other words, “Listen to what the Spirit within you is telling you to do, Saul.” Throughout the life as a Believer we’ll find ourselves in the same place as Saul…”What do You want me to do now, Lord? There’s so many good ways to serve You…but what is the very best for me? ” That’s when we need to listen to the Spirit’s still small voice, obey, and then follow the advice of Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men.”

Here, Jesus is essentially turning the Old Testament thinking found in Leviticus 19:18 on its head. Israel was rarely ordered to show kindness to its enemies… for most times it was quite the opposite, they were instructed to totally annihilate & blot out their enemies. This was necessary for opponents of God’s kingdom and the Jews to survive, plus it lessened the chances of foreign gods & religion to seep into the Jewish fabric. But in these verses in Luke, Jesus is looking forward not back & showing how God’s mercy can not only transform us, but enable us to practice such counterintuitive and self-sacrificing acts to those who oppose us. So in no uncertain terms Jesus lays out what our loving response should be…compassion for cruelty, nonviolence for persecution, generosity for exploitation, and prayer for abuse.

Few if any of God’s people have ever been free from some kind of hindrance – whether physical, emotional, or oppositional. And here Paul beseechs the Lord three times for his “thorn in the flesh” to be removed. But instead, the Lord allowed it to remain. And in doing so will show Paul that despite it remaining, God’s grace will bring to perfection & accomplish His divine purposes in Paul’s life. This promise gave Paul tremendous strength & encouragement. For as he wrote in Philippians 4:11-14, he realized he had to solely rely on Christ’s power, “For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content…For I can do all things through Him that strengthens me.” Paul was able to face all circumstances that came up regardless of his hindrance…desiring to impress on his readers and us the same lesson.

What is hindering your Christian walk from being sound, healthy & vital? It might lie in your answer to Jesus when He asks you, “Do you want to get well?” You may (like the invalid in this story) blame others for your current situation, or blame past circumstances that were beyond your control…thus leading you to be stymied & stuck…but definitely not your fault! Maybe you will make excuses, refuse the request, or defend why you can’t… in what boils down to be plain old apathy & laziness. This is clearly described in the Parable of the Great Banquet in Luke 14:16-24 when those invited started making flimsy excuses why they couldn’t attend the Banquet. Finally, when Jesus asks, “Do you want to get well?” you may not be willing to put forth the effort needed to change…or you want someone else to do it for you. But Philippians 2:12 tells us we need to work out our own Salvation…no one else can do it for us. For if we truly want to have a healthy Christian Walk, we have to put in the work, stop the excuses, and be obedient.

Every night we pray for people we know. Friends going through tragedies, illness, loss, & suffering. We don’t know all the details of each person…but we don’t need to…for God does. So we pray God’s unique divine power & Will over each one, knowing His Will is perfect. For just think about it…God is bigger and greater than anything we can imagine. There is nothing that is beyond His ability. For if God has the divine power to create & sustain the entire universe…how can we think that it’s insufficient to more than handle the pain and suffering we see in others?

Paul, Silas, & Timothy had gotten wind of a group of Believers in the Church at Thessalonica that believed that Jesus was coming back at any moment…and so working for a living, they thought, showed lack of faith. This erroneous expectation was actually addressed by Paul in his first letter to the Church, (I Thessalonians 4:11) but the problem didn’t go away, and was only growing worse…so here in his second letter, Paul makes it clear, idleness only leads to an undisciplined & lazy life. He exhorts those with this chronic conduct to start behaving themselves in a more Christ-like way…becoming responsible Believers and thus glorifying God in the process. But this wasn’t the only place that Paul warned against idlers. He admonished Timothy to not place any widow younger than 60 on the Widows List for Church Assistance…citing that without anything to do, they could easily become idlers, gossips, & busybodies, “saying things they ought not to.” (I Timothy 5:13)

Ezekiel recognized that this new heart & spirit God was promising were gifts from God and not products of anything we could do on our own. (Ezekiel 36:26) God wanted to change His people from the inside out, giving them an devoted heart of loyalty to the Lord and a new, responsive spirit in place of their rebellious & dead heart. Hebrews 8:8-13 goes on to speak of this…the new heart and new spirit promised here in Ezekiel to God’s Old Covenant people now received by His New Covenant people – all those who trust in Jesus Christ alone for Salvation. For as we are renewed, God enables us to put off old ways of disobedience and put on new acts of faithfulness to Him, (Ephesians 4:22-24) as we are being changed from the inside out.