Fruit for My Labors
A psalm of praise to start our time together, Father!
1 I will exalt you, my God and King,
and praise your name forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day;
yes, I will praise you forever.
3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
No one can measure his greatness. Psalm 145
Mark 11:12-14, 20-26 (<<click to read the passage)
This is one of those part 1 / part 2 scenarios. On His way to Jerusalem where Jesus would clear the Temple, He came upon a “fig tree in full leaf a little way off…” He was looking for fruit but found none. Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!”
The next day when the passed the fig tree it had “withered from the roots up”!
We’ll look at what Jesus had to say about faith next time around but this evening, I’d like to look a little closer at the fig tree. My Life Application Study Bible states, “This incident occurred early in the spring when the leaves were beginning to bud. The figs normally grow as the leaves fill out, but this tree, though full of leaves, had no figs. The tree looked promising but offered no fruit. Jesus’ harsh words to the fig tree could be applied to the nation of Israel. Fruitful in appearance only, Israel was spiritually barren.”
Lord Jesus, I would pray that we would not be like this fig tree. So many of us, myself included, are so busy…and often we are busy with the work of Your kingdom but do we have fruit to show for our efforts? I realize that often we plant the seed or maybe we water the seed that has already been planted. But sometimes I struggle because I don’t seem to see much fruit for my labors. I also realize that there may be fruit born, but it just may be out of my range of sight.
But Jesus, please don’t let me be spiritually barren. I, like many of Your followers, am a work in progress. I struggle with things just as everyone does but I would pray that Your resurrection power would work through me to bring more and more victory and less and less failure. May I be a harvester of fruit as well as a planter of seeds. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear. May I share in Your sensitivity to accomplish what You have called me to accomplish. Amen.
You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I [Jesus] say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe [white] for harvest. John 4:35
June 24th, 2019, Mon, 9:25 pm
Hoop Jumpers
What a wonderfully full day, Father! We had a great time of worship to begin our day with both congregations and then thank You for Your love, direction, and protection as Karen and I spent the rest of the day together in Columbus, I am truly blessed!
Mark 11:15-19 (<<click to read the passage)
Some time ago I wrote of feeling that the religious leaders of Jesus’ were just out to have Him jump through hoops to prove He was who He said He was (Jump Through a Hoop). But in this passage, another scenario of hoop jumping is exposed by Jesus Himself.
For years, it seems, that the Church (capital “C”) has made being part of the body of believers a series of hoops through which we have to jump.
First of all, accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior over you and your life, after confessing and turning your back on the sinful life you have led (repentance) is the one act that is an absolute must and is at the core of being a follower of Jesus. That is when we become a member of the body of believers – the Church – the living, breathing, interacting body of Christ! God’s Word, the Bible, has laid out some very black and white dos and don’ts to which we must adhere.
But as humans, we have this great tendency to give our take on the dos and don’ts. And unfortunately, both then and now we add all kinds of “hoops”, if you will, that others must jump through.
In today’s passage, if you wanted to make a sacrifice at Passover you had to have an animal without blemish (Leviticus 22:20). And as the footnotes in the Amplified Bible explain, vendors would charge pilgrims inflated prices for acceptable animals. The religious leaders even contributed to all these shenanigans. According to the Talmud – the Jewish rule book – a blemish on an eyelid disqualified an animal for sacrifice.
On top of all that, you couldn’t use your money to do business at the temple – You had to use Temple currency, hence the money changers and, of course, there was an exorbitant exchange rate, as well.
And on top of all that(!), all of this “business” took place in “the Temple’s Court of the Gentiles, making it all but impossible for non-Jews to spend any time in worship (Isaiah 56:6-7).” *
Jump through this hoop! Now this hoop! Now this hoop! And that mindset hasn’t changed. Dress this way! Don’t say that! Don’t act that way! Jump, jump, jump, hoop, hoop, hoop!
Talk about justified righteous indignation! Jesus had every right to be angry! But He did not sin in His anger. He brought all these shenanigans to a screeching halt!
[Jesus] said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” v.17 (Isaiah 56:7, Jeremiah 7:11)
Lord Jesus, what stumbling blocks do we place in front of people today that keep them at a distance from You? Help us to love. Help us to forgive… Really, what we need to do, is to be like You! Patience, compassion, and understanding are scarce far too often. Help us I pray!
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
June 23rd, 2019, Sun, 9:08 pm
Providence
Father, early this morning I woke and discovered tremendous need with people I know in my small corner of the world – a woman dealing with Stage 4 ovarian cancer, a man hospitalized with serious leg issues, and a young man struggling with a recent diagnosis of brain cancer. I personally only know one of these individuals but You know each of them intimately. Father, be with them. Hold them. May they overwhelmingly feel Your love. Amen.
Mark 11:1-11 (<<click to read the passage)
One more phrase jumped out at me from this passage as I read through it last night and I am compelled to look at it a little more closely.
It is a phrase that sits in the middle of verse 10 and then shows up again at the end of verse 11. In most translations, it reads, “Hosanna!”
That word is the Greek translation of a Hebrew word which means “save” or “save now” becoming an exclamation of praise! The crowds were actually quoting from Psalm 118.
“O Lord, save now, we beseech You…” v25a
Like quite a few other times in the Gospels, people from all walks of life proclaimed the Good News of what Jesus came to do without really understanding all the ramifications.
As I’ve stated many times before, they presumed that Jesus was going to save them from the oppressive rule of the Romans. But oh, He came to do so much more! Yes, they were in bondage to the Roman Empire but they, and we alike, were in bondage to something far greater – something from which no king or conqueror could ever set them free. And that bondage was Sin.
The Amplified Version actually translates the beginning of Mark 11:10 as, “Hosanna (Save, I pray)!” And in God’s mighty providence that prayer was answered in a glorious way!
Remember my favorite verse? It is Ephesians 1:4.
“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.”
Lord Jesus, I loudly proclaim that You have provided for us in a mighty way before we even came into existence, before the world was even created! And once again I would plead before Your holy throne, “Hosanna! Save, I pray!” We need that salvation today as much as ever! We are blind… We are starving… We are naked… And many of us don’t even know it! Lord, save us, for only through You can salvation be found! All these things we ask in Your strong and mighty Name! Amen!
June 20th, 2019, Thurs, 9:02 pm
Correctly Filling in the Blanks
Father, fresh on my mind is our trip home from Newark. Thank You for Your guiding and protecting hand as we navigated through waters flowing over our way. With a van full of loved ones, it was challenging but we got home just fine!
Mark 11:1-11 (<<click to read the passage)
Over this last week, we enjoyed having Karen’s brother and his family visiting from Texas. We ate lots of good food and there was more than enough laughter to go around!
One fun thing I got to do was teach my niece, Lynden, how to play Sudoku. If you’re not familiar with it, it is a game composed of 9 blocks, with each of those blocks being composed of 9 blocks. Each big block has one each of numbers 1-9 in each block. Also, each column and row cannot have more than one of the numbers 1-9 in them. It’s challenging and stretches my brain to try and go through different levels of difficulty as I fill in the blanks with numbers 1-9. Lynden had never had anyone explain to her how to play and now she does!
We like filling in the blanks in many aspects of life but much like Sudoku quite often not just anything can go into those blanks. Each box must have a specific number put in it or the puzzle cannot be completed correctly. But…it turns out perfectly if you follow the rules.
At this point in Jesus’ ministry, we are at the beginning of the end as such (though in reality, we are at the end of the beginning – with the ending being out of this world!) Over and over again, Jesus has proclaimed what was going to take place. Just a few short verses back Jesus, for the third time, said to His disciples,
“Listen very carefully: we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and hand Him over to the Gentiles (Romans).” Mark 10:33 (AMP)
But unfortunately, repetition got Him nowhere. They thought they knew the answers and filled in the blanks as they pleased. But many – OK, most – of their answers were wrong. Their willy-nilly answers led them astray as to the correct answer to the puzzle of life and eternity. They misconstrued the rules and until they put their trust in the Master Puzzle Solver they would be doomed to fail.
Lord Jesus, help us, even today, to avoid just filling in the blanks with what sounds good. Our lives are a jumbled mess and no matter how hard we try, we cannot even begin to fill in the blanks with what will give us the answers to all of life’s questions. For truly all of those blanks must be filled with You for as You said in John 14:6 (AMP),
“I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Amen.
June 19th, 2019, Wed, 11:10 pm
Good and Faithful Servant
Father, thank You for a productive day. Much is ready for church Sunday. But I have just now sat down to spend some one on one with You. Open my eyes and my heart. May I hear Your voice clearly. Amen.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
This past Sunday was Father’s Day and I got to thinking, as I’m sure many of us do, about my dad. My father was a pastor for almost his entire life. In fact, he is 81 and just officially retired from basically full-time pastoral ministry at the end of December 2018.
He was not a perfect dad any more than I am a perfect dad. But through all the ups and downs of life and his ministry, I truly believe that he strove to serve God to the utmost of his abilities. He loved my mom and my sister and myself, and none of us ever doubted that he did.
He worked hard as a pastor but over the years, he drove school bus while pastoring and I remember the whole family worked in a privately-owned mop factory of all things for a time. We were never rich by the world’s standards but honestly, we were rich where it really mattered.
The nature of the denomination in which he served lent itself to moving pretty regularly – the longest we ever lived in one spot was a little over four years. So that was a little rough but no matter what Dad always took his new appointments head on. He gave it all he had – his time and attention, his love, his devotion. He was no slacker. And though he never made big money, he earned every penny he received.
Several years ago – when most people retire – he retired from the denomination in which he was raised and began attending a church of a sister holiness denomination. He was their head janitor for many years and served just as faithfully in that position as he ever had from behind the pulpit. It was God’s House and he cleaned it with the greatest of integrity and respect.
A few years later he was asked to fill a full-time position of Pastoral Care. Talk about a perfect fit, that was definitely it! It would be impossible to count the number of people that he impacted with true love and compassion. Once again, he strove to serve God with all that he had.
If anyone could see between the lines of people’s lives it was Dad. His heart was so attuned to the Lord’s direction that I am sure that his heartbeat was in rhythm with the Lord’s. He listened. He spoke. He loved. He touched. He was truly an ambassador for Christ everywhere he went – nursing homes, residences, the office, the altar at church, funeral homes – wherever the Lord guided him, he wholeheartedly followed.
As I said, Dad is retired now but he is still faithful. He still serves his Lord. He and Mom live off of what little retirement they have accumulated over the years but, my friends, his retirement is truly not here for he has stored up for himself a treasure in heaven. And someday, and truly I hope it is many years from now, the Lord will greet Him – and He will greet him by name, for He surely knows him well and he will say, “Well done, Tom, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!” Matthew 25:23 (NLT)
Lord Jesus, please bless my dad. He needs no introduction, for You know him well. Thank You for his example. Thank You for blessing me with having him as my father. He has surely been a shining example of You for all of us to see!
June 18th, 2019, Tues, 10:36 pm