Searching for Something When You’re Not Even Sure What You’re Looking For
It has been a full day, Father, and a lot of little things have gotten done. Thank You for prompting Karen to have us go for a walk this evening while the weather was still nice. We needed the exercise and the change of view! All praise to You!
Luke 9:49-50 (<<click to read the passage)
I have a friend…a good friend…who has become a changed man. I have known him for quite a few years now but the man he is today is not the man he was even just a couple of years ago. He was (and is) faithful to the church. He was regular in his attendance, supportive of his pastor, generous in his giving…anything the church got behind and supported, he was right there at the front of the line to contribute whatever he could in any way he could. He most definitely was active…but he was distant. Maybe even a little cold… Something in his youth, something from the church, had hurt him…it had hurt him badly. I would say it scarred him for life. But that did not stop him from doing what he could for God. It was just that there was a barrier, if you will, something that deprived him of the joy for which he longed. I don’t think he ever really stopped looking for it. But sometimes it is difficult to find something, when you are not even exactly sure what you are looking for.
That all changed a little over a year ago.
A series of extremely difficult circumstances enveloped his life. It was not just a couple of bumps in the road of his life. In reality, it was a life and death situation in which he found himself. He had no choice but to go down the path that stretched before him…and it could easily have brought an end to his life. But God…
God chose to intervene. He stepped into the situation – which mind you, was overflowing with prayers from the faithful. And God heard those prayers and saw fit to answer them in a mighty way…in a miraculous way! What could have brought death, was halted by life! And the life was not just of flesh and blood but was of the Spirit Himself!
The joy he sought, has been granted. And his life has been changed. And even that word “changed” seems so inadequate! It is much too small a word for how this new life in Jesus has impacted his life! And truly Jesus is everything to him. Jesus is no longer an obligation to be lived up to, He is a friend like no other! And my friend is following Jesus, to the best of his ability, with every word, every action, and every thought. He lives to bring happiness and joy to his Savior!
In today’s short passage, there are some pretty harsh words spoken. And what makes them even harsher in their impact is who said them. Verse 49 tells us that the Apostle John said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he isn’t in our group.”
Doesn’t that sound petty? Selfish? “Hey don’t do that! You’re not part of the club like I am!”
Remember, too, that John and his brother James – and it’s recorded in just a couple more verses -they wanted to call fire down on some unsavory villagers because they were ticked off at them! (Luke 9:51-54)
Mark’s Gospel has them vying for seats of honor in Jesus’ kingdom – something Jesus could not grant and something for which they had no right to ask. (Mark 10:35-45)
John wasn’t a bad guy…and even though he had spent a lot of time with Jesus, up close and personal time…he really didn’t know Jesus. But one day he would.
Read John’s own Gospel and you will see that he, too, had sought for joy and it was miraculously granted to him. And just as my friend’s life was changed, so was John’s…and without a doubt Jesus became everything to him, too.
Lord Jesus, may we all find the joy – that “joy unspeakable and full of glory” that You have in store for each of us who truly seeks You…for we will surely find it!
Apr 27th, 2020, Mon, 8:21 pm
Too Much for Breakfast
Father, thank You for my companion through life. You have blessed me in so many ways because of the blessing she is to me! Bless her, too!
Luke 9:46-48 (<<click to read the passage)
Humility can be hard – even for those who are pretty meek and mild.
I remember an incident from my middle school years. We were on a class trip to the Great Smokey Mountains. The unwise chap that I was, had squandered the money I had been given. When it came time for breakfast on the last morning of our trip, I was broke – nobody’s fault but mine. One of the mothers offered to buy me a bite. I eagerly accepted but instead of humbly ordering something inexpensive and modest, I ordered more than I really needed. I remember my benefactor being a little put-off…and she had every right to be.
In today’s passage, the disciples were arguing “as to which of them might be the greatest [surpassing the others in esteem and authority].” v46 and here is the last line of what Jesus had to say to them,
“…the one who is least among all of you [that is, the one who is genuinely humble—the one with a realistic self-view]—he is the one who is [truly] great.” v48
We can blame the world all we want, but in the end, it is our choice to be “genuinely humble” …or to think of ourselves with an unrealistic self-view.
Now, yeah, I was probably just being an unthinking, prepubescent dweeb but, here, over forty years later it still weighs on my conscience. Sure, I’ve matured, but for any of us does that tendency to do what benefits us ever really go away?
Standing at a buffet, do we stand before the bin of broasted chicken and deliberately pull out the choicest piece of the bunch? Or maybe we snatch up the three legs that are left because they are our favorite?
Or maybe more recently, when we’ve been out grabbing a few things at the grocery and there are only two packages of toilet paper left on the shelf and we’re allowed to get two, do we take them both without a second thought?
I could go on…but think you get the point.
My study Bible* has this to say,
Our care for others is a measure of our greatness. How much concern do you show for others? This is a vital question that can accurately measure your greatness in God’s eyes. How have you expressed your care for others lately, especially the helpless, the needy, the poor—those who can’t return your love and concern? Your honest answer to that question will give you a good idea of your real greatness.
Lord Jesus, speak to the depths of our hearts. May we truly…honestly…see who we really are. If there is something there that doesn’t belong, may we give it over to You. And then, and only then, can we move on to the greatness You have in store. Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Apr 26th, 2020, Sun, 8:41 pm
Preconceived Notions
As I come before You tonight, Father, and have some music playing, this is the song I hear…
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship Thee (As the Deer base on Psalm 42)
And it is more than enough…
Luke 9:44-45 (<<click to read the passage)
Have you ever had a job where you were responsible to train someone? If so, then you are aware that several contributing factors would make that an easy job or a difficult one.
One difficult hurdle is if the trainee already thinks they know everything there is to know about what you have to tell them. Or perhaps they just have preconceived notions as to what the job entails. Of course, there are many ways to do certain things and though we may think we know and understand them all, we can quickly realize that much of what we thought we knew was off a little or totally off base!
When Jesus clearly told his disciples what His future held (for the second time, no less!) Luke tells us that “they didn’t know what he meant. Its significance was hidden from them, so they couldn’t understand it…” v45 NLT (emphasis mine)
The Gospels run parallel on many points, and this is one of them. We’ve looked at this problem of the disciples before – they had their own ideas about who the Messiah would be (and as we’ll see in the next few verses, they were also concerned how they would fit into it all!) But regarding things being hidden, there’s a good chance that even we didn’t catch them because of our preconceived notions.
Preconceived notions are some of the biggest obstacles that we must strive to overcome when grasping God’s Word but there are several “notions” that fall into that category.
- I don’t need to read this; I’ve read it before
Over the years I have gone through the Bible several times (See Wide and Deep) but honestly, there is always something new!
It is because of the Lord’s lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 (AMP)
Of course, that passage refers to God’s lovingkindness to us, but don’t you think the Word He has given us is just one more sign of that love? So hold fast to the truth that His Word for us is new every morning. Read it…ponder on it…read it some more…pray over it…listen…He will speak!
- This is too hard to understand, I’m not even going to try.
Now I would never encourage anyone wanting to begin reading the Bible regularly, to begin with Leviticus or the Book of Revelation – they both are a lot to struggle through. Begin with things that are impacting but still relatively easy to read. The Gospels, for example, give us a great opportunity to get to know Jesus better. They all contain His life and teachings but all from a different perspective. Each author, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, wrote to a different audience – Matthew to the Jewish population, Mark to the Christians in Rome, Luke to the Gentiles (Theophilus, in particular), and John, probably the best to start with, since he was writing to new Christians and searching non-Christians.
Don’t let preconceived notions hinder you from getting into the Word. And most importantly as the old Gaither song goes, “I heard you’re into the word / Getting into the word / But is the word getting into you?”
Apr 23rd, 2020, Thurs, 7:58 pm
And just in case you’re curious…
Into the Word from the Passin’ the Faith Along album, released April 1983 and yes, that is a 26-year-old Steve Green!
Righteous Anger!
Thank You for the blessings of friends, Father. A gentleman from church knew we burned wood and generously brought us a truckload. Friendship and generosity – twice blessed! Bless Him as well, I pray.
Luke 9:37-43 (<<click to read the passage)
I know I spoke of it just a couple of days ago. But as I have read through this passage and many things pertaining to it, my mind drifts to situations in which I found myself on my bus.
First, a humorous story in which I am the one who brought a smile to many…many…faces. As I have mentioned before, we had in place a safe behavior incentive program for our elementary buses that involved awarding a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” concerning behavior on trips to and from school.
Well, I was coming into school one morning and my kids had done fairly well for several weeks…but not this particular week. If I remember correctly, we had already gotten three “thumbs down”. I knew they were capable of much better behavior and in an attempt to alter the course of their trajectory – I laid into them!
I grabbed my mic and for a good solid five minutes, I let them have it! Pointing out their misbehavior, their flaunting of the rules, their outright disobedience, the dangerousness of the actions, etc., etc. Well by the time I had finished, we had been parked with the brake set for at least a minute or two. I hung the mic back up and they just all sort of stared at me. Within seconds, other drivers and the Transportation Director let me know that I had not been lecturing my bus. In my haste to set my kids straight, I had grabbed the wrong mic! Instead of the in-bus mic, I had grabbed the radio mic! I had lectured every bus in the fleet! And not just that – the radio also connects to every main office in the district – the elementary office, the middle school office, the high school office, the district office, the transportation office, and the bus garage, too! Everybody got an earful…except for my kids! Everybody had a good laugh!
I think this is what happened in today’s passage from Luke…except nobody was laughing.
Reading Mark’s perspective (Mark 9:14-29) on this incident fills in a few more details but all in all, I think Jesus had just had it! He is surely holy, and He is perfect but there is definitely such a thing as righteous anger!
Jesus comes down off the mountain after His meeting with Moses and Elijah with Peter, James, and John in tow and meets up with the other disciples. At that point, the other disciples seem to be in a shouting match with some teachers of religious law. (Mark 9:14) The crowds were clamoring for His attention. And in the midst of it all a distraught father, comes forward and pleads, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, my only child.” His son was possessed by a tormenting evil spirit. He goes on to say, “I begged your disciples to cast out the spirit, but they couldn’t do it.” (Luke 9:38,40)
That was it! Jesus let them have it! He exclaimed,
“You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you and put up with you?” (Luke 9:41)
He didn’t stop loving a single one of them (not even the teachers of religious law!) It didn’t give Him second thoughts about fulfilling His God-given mission. But sometimes, folks, you’ve got to stop and clear the air! You’ve got to get everybody’s attention and get them back in line! We don’t listen to whispers and a few kind words here and there. Oft times we have to be grabbed by the shoulders and looked square in the eye and be told in no uncertain terms to straighten up!
Lord Jesus, forgive us for our misbehavior, our flaunting of the rules…our outright disobedience. You’ve got our attention. May we clearly hear and abide by Your guidance for us all. Amen.
Apr 22nd, 2020, Wed, 7:49 pm
It’s a Hard Knock Life
Father, I need You to pierce through the distractions tonight. There is so much on my mind and I am struggling to focus. I fall into Your arms of love and compassion.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Those who have read my blog for any period of time, know that I love seeing the birds at my feeders from my office window. This year is a little different in that I have one lone feeder up. The others I have are in need of repair due to age and a pesky raccoon!
The one that is up was a Christmas gift from my sister, and it holds black oil sunflower seeds and two suet cakes (which were gifts from my niece and her husband!) It is in the shape of an owl! Being there is the only one out there, it has been bustling! I am surprised at the variety of birds it has drawn. We live in a rural area with probably 2-3 wooded acres behind our home. For that matter, all the lots around us are wooded. So, there is plenty of habitat for my feathered friends!
One of my favorite birds is woodpeckers. I have three different species of them that are regular partakers. I routinely see Downy, Hairy and Red-bellied woodpeckers throughout the day.
Woodpeckers are surely unique characters in God’s creation. They have several special features that allow them to thrive and survive. Here are a few interesting tidbits.
- Most perching birds have three toes forward, and one back (anisodactyl feet), woodpeckers, on the other hand (foot?) have two forward and two back (zygodactyl feet). This helps them to get an extremely firm grip when scaling a tree and for when they are “drilling” for food
- They have spike feathers in their tails! This enables them to use their tails as a third leg. These feathers can actually “dig” in the tree to provide more support and leverage while foraging for food or carving out a home.
- They have super long tongues that are usually about twice the length of their bill so that they can reach for insects inside the holes they peck out. Their tongues are also either barbed or in some species are sticky to help pull out the insects.
- They peck up to 20 times per second or a total of 8,000-12,000 pecks per day. But they don’t get headaches because they have reinforced skulls structured to spread the impact force, and their brains are highly cushioned and protected from repeated impacts and jostling.
They also have a unique flight pattern, have “furry” nostrils and make new holes for their homes every year.
So why all of this about woodpeckers? They are fascinating for sure but just thinking about how unique and specialized God has made them bring me great comfort. We are all created by our loving Creator – we are not accidents. He knows every detail about us. And we all have purpose and can be used by Him to bring Him glory – no exceptions! And if God cares that much about the “birds of the air” don’t you think He will care for us even more so?
Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow [seed] nor reap [the harvest] nor gather [the crops] into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? Matthew 6:26-27 (AMP)
Apr 21st, 2020, Tue, 8:30 pm