Blood Is Thicker than Water
For the most part, there is just too much for us to deal with on any given day. I know we all deal with a lot but right now our family has a double load on our plates…it’s just the way it is. So, Father, I would ask for strength, love, wisdom, and patience to get through every moment of every day. We fall into Your arms of grace and mercy.
John 7:1-9 (<<click here to read the passage)
My first reaction in reading today’s text was in relation to what Jesus’ brothers said to Him. (A note from the Amplified Bible – The younger sons of Mary and Joseph included James and Jude, who penned the New Testament letters bearing their names, and Joses and Simon. See Mark 6:3.) Verse 5 tells us, “For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.”
Here is what they said in verses 3 and 4,
“Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” AMP
It’s easy for siblings to dish out more than their share of grief, deserved or in this case undeserved. But it made me think of the old phrase, “Blood is thicker than water.” We usually think that that means familial connections should be more binding than other connections we might have with friends and acquaintances. Well, Massey and I were talking about this, and he mentioned that the original meaning of the phrase was really the exact opposite of how we interpret it. And it’s true.
As I did a little digging, I came across a blog that did a great job of addressing the phrase and its origins. The blog is The Mom With Brownies and the post that I read was entitled, BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER… (<<click on the title to read it.)
For my purposes, a shortened version will do.
Biblical covenants often involved cutting an animal in half and the parties making the covenant would stand together between the halves, in the blood, with their right hands clasp, and swear a mutual oath binding them to each other. In some cases, each party would cut their respective hands, bind them together with the other party, allowing their blood to mingle. The resulting union of this blood oath was never to be broken. In effect, the two participants in the covenant would become “blood brothers,” and thus become one flesh.
The relationship born of this union was so knit, that brothers made through the blood of covenants were closer to each other than brothers who were born from the same womb. Hence, blood (of the covenant) is thicker than water (of the womb).
The author goes on to share the stories of Johnathan and David from the Old Testament and of Jesus and His disciples from the New.
Jesus’ covenant with us runs as deep as the blood He shed to seal it. At this point, Jesus’ brothers were not behind Him. They didn’t believe that He was who He said He was. They eventually came around but for now, Jesus was on His own – it was just Him and His heavenly Father.
Lord Jesus, my goal is to be a “blood brother” with You. As the old hymn goes, “Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.” I know Your oath will never be broken with me, but I pray that my blood oath may never be broken with You. Amen!
June 9th, 2021, Wed, 8:52 pm
Not an Easy Pill to Swallow
Today was the last day of school bus responsibilities for the 2020-21 school year – cleaned my bus and had my annual physical. Thank You Father for watching over us this year with all the craziness that went on.
John 6:66-71 (<<click here to read the passage)
A question for you. How many pills can you swallow in one sitting? Do you swallow one or maybe a few at a time? Or can you swallow a whole handful with no issues?
A few years back, one of the dear saints of my church (she has since gone on to her eternal reward) and I were talking, and this subject came up. She, like me, could swallow a whole handful of pills with no issues whatsoever. Someone else I know can only take a few at a time. I guess I must have a pretty size gullet (esophagus) to be able to swallow big and small pills alike.
Another thing I do is to take a swallow of water or juice before I put my pills in my mouth. I despise the taste of some of them and capsules have a bad tendency to stick in the back of my throat – yuck!
I’ve talked about this before, but it bears repeating. Following Jesus is most definitely not a walk in the park. It seems as I have gone through the Gospels, that this has become more clearly evident. There are days when I have struggled to write because what Jesus has said is not an easy pill to swallow. It is difficult to take no matter how I approach it.
The thing about following Jesus is that to truly follow Him, sacrifice and determined commitment have to be involved. We cannot just go with the flow of the world around us and expect to delve deep into His mind and heart. The world is all about “me”. It is very rarely about anybody else. Wholeheartedly following Jesus is not about “me” but first off, it’s about Him, and then it’s about others.
Remember Jesus’ statement regarding the greatest commandment of all?
“The first and most important one is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’ This is the second: ‘You shall [unselfishly] love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31 AMP
Lord Jesus, it may not be an easy pill to swallow, but You have promised to be with us and will never forsake us in our journey with You. Any sacrifice we make is nothing compared to the sacrifice You made to assure our salvation. Instill in us a determined commitment to follow You will our heart, soul, mind, and strength and then to unselfishly love others as ourselves. Amen.
June 8th, 2021, Tues, 8:04 pm
Wailing Accomplishes Nothing
My victory and honor come from God alone.
….He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
O my people, trust in him at all times.
….Pour out your heart to him,
….for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:7-8 NLT
John 6:61-65 (<<click here to read the passage)
As I stepped into a public restroom over the weekend, I could not help but hear a relative newborn wailing in the adjacent women’s restroom. I imagine the mother was attempting to change the child’s diaper and they were anything but happy! It was a quick trip for me, but the child could be heard wailing long before I entered and long after I had left.
The only thing the wailing accomplished was to bring attention to the child’s need – or probably their displeasure with the circumstances in which they found themselves. The cries of frustration in and of themselves accomplished absolutely nothing.
All newborns are in the same boat. I’ve recently seen videos of people coming to the aid of a newborn goose and one of a squirrel as well. They would both have died relatively quickly had it not been for the compassionate intervention of caring individuals. Whatever efforts they put forth were completely inconsequential in their ultimate survival.
In verse 63 of today’s passage Jesus proclaims,
The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. NLT [emphasis mine]
In our thick-headed arrogance, many of us think we have it all together. Especially in our country, we have the mentality that we can do it ourselves. We don’t need anybody! Many scoff at the idea of God. Believing in anything like that is just a crutch for the weak of mind. But in that, we err in great magnitude. Yes, God allows us a time of freedom to exercise our free will but as I have to remind myself over and over again, time will come to an end. This earthly body will not – it cannot – live forever. And honestly, I would not choose for it to. I have seen too many examples of how time ravages the body and mind.
It shows great wisdom, as we put up with body and mind, to put our effort and energy into the pursuit of Jesus’ words of spirit and life – that is eternal life in Him!
Lord Jesus, may I live with that intent in mind. And just as important may I be diligent in pointing others to You, our only hope of salvation. For it is only because of your compassionate intervention that we have the assurance of receiving that gift of eternal life. Amen.
June 7th, 2021, Mon, 8:19 pm
Line in the Sand
I wait quietly before God,
….for my victory comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
….my fortress where I will never be shaken. Psalm 62:1-2 NLT
John 6:41-59 (<<click here to read the passage)
About six years ago, Karen and I traveled to Texas to spend some travel time with Massey. One of the many places we visited was The Alamo in San Antonio.
Here is Wikipedia’s short synopsis of what legend says brought it into infamy.
In the waning days of the Battle of the Alamo (somewhere during March 3–5, 1836), with Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna having the Alamo completely surrounded, Santa Anna sent a messenger to Colonel William Travis, commander of the Alamo defense forces, demanding surrender, or else everyone in the compound would be killed. According to legend, Travis called the Alamo defenders together, explained that defeat was almost certain, and read the letter of surrender; Travis then (having chosen to die instead of surrender) reportedly pulled his battle sword, used it to draw a line in the ground of the Alamo, and asked for volunteers to cross over the line and join him, understanding their decision would be irreversible. Legend states that all but one of the defenders (including Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett) joined Travis on his side of the line.
The meaning of the idiom “line in the sand” is that of a point beyond which, once the decision to go beyond it is made, the decision and its resulting consequences are permanently decided and irreversible.
Many see this discourse of Jesus from the synagogue in Capernaum (v59) to be a “line in the sand” moment. Jesus in essence drew His line in the sand asking for volunteers to cross over the line and join Him. Verse 66 gives the response He received, “At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.” NLT
We have to understand that Jesus was saying some things that were very hard for the average Israelite to just accept. Words of eating His flesh and drinking His blood went against what they had been taught. It was repugnant to them. Just reading it myself, if I took it literally, it is difficult to comprehend. Honestly, that was one of the early labels that followers of Jesus bore, that they were cannibals.
But we must also understand that eating His flesh and drinking His blood means accepting Christ into our lives and becoming united with him. We are united with Christ in two ways: (1) by believing in his death (the sacrifice of his flesh) and resurrection and (2) by devoting ourselves to living as he requires, depending on his teaching for guidance and trusting in the Holy Spirit for power. *
The literal was tough. But in reality, what Jesus is truly saying is just as tough. Yielding ourselves to belief and devotion – basically stepping out of the position of control in our lives and allowing Him to take that responsibility – is not a decision to be lightly made. But…it is one that once made, once that line is crossed, is more rewarding and fulfilling than any decision we could ever make! Believe you me…it is worth it!
*Life Application Bible New Living Translation
June 6th, 2021, Sun, 7:58 pm
Summer Break Is Here!
Just so everyone is aware. I am now on summer break and while More than Useless will continue to post at 5:00 AM, it will only be doing so on the actual website. If you would like to get More than Useless delivered directly to your email, click on any post, and in the top right-hand corner is a Like to Subscribe box. Just fill in the blank, hit submit, and you’ll be set. Otherwise, it will post on Facebook and Pinterest a little later in the morning. Have a great summer!