Yeild to the Caregiver
In the past, Father, I have known people have “lived” in the Psalms. For the most part, I have never really latched on to them but recently they seem to be speaking to me more. I am grateful that we quite often will open our times of worship with them. Here is a good one to ponder.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever. Psalm 136:1 (AMP)
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We very much enjoy the beauty of flowers around our home. Not all of our flowers need extra care but some do. For the most part perennials (ones that come back year after year) fend for themselves pretty well, and we have several areas of those. But we also love the color and variety of annuals (ones that only last a season).
Annuals are more needy for sure. By their very nature, they are fragile. It really helps if the soil in which they are planted has some extra fertilizers to give them a boost for growth. (We’ve had good success with worm castings.) We also have to be mindful of keeping them well watered. And they must have good drainage if planted in planters.
I must admit that I am an annual. For that matter, we all are annuals. We are needy and fragile, requiring a great deal of attention from our Caregiver. Our Father extends to us the time and devotion that will cause us to grow and flourish.
Quite often the difficulties we go through in life can feel pretty stinky at the time but they can “fertilize” us as nothing else can. And of course, in John 4:14 (AMP) it is recorded that Jesus Himself tells us,
“But whoever drinks the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. But the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water [satisfying his thirst for God] welling up [continually flowing, bubbling within him] to eternal life.”
We only doom ourselves when we refuse to let God attend to our needs. We are incapable of benefiting from the “fertilizer” that comes our way without His help. We have no means of watering ourselves – only He can do that. But…even when we spend years avoiding His loving care because of His resurrection power, though we are dead in our trespasses and sins, He is able to bring us back to life!
Lord Jesus, may we gratefully yield ourselves to You, the Great Caregiver. You know what is best and absolutely no one can tend to our needs for our greatest benefit, other than You. May we grow and flourish as a means of proclaiming Your active work in our lives. Amen.
June 9th, 2019, 8:39 pm
Against the Flow
A full day accompanied by You, Father! Thank You for Your abiding presence. It is not something I take for granted. I cherish it all!
Mark 10:28-31 (<<click to read the passage)
As I’ve mentioned before, following Christ is not for the lazy or the weak of heart. It is a lifelong, against the current battle. The world takes the natural route downstream and we, as believers in Christ, are diligently swimming upstream.
Have you ever been to a mall or a large venue of some sort with a ton of people and they are all going one way and you need to go the other? People are usually not very cooperative. In fact, many of them can be downright mean, some maybe even hostile to your choice of direction.
That, my friends, is the way of Christ.
Peter spoke up in verse 28 and said that he and the others had “given up everything” to follow Jesus. And Jesus acknowledged that fact but assured them that whatever they had given up they would get back a hundred times over. Of course, we have to keep in mind that we are talking Jesus math and not worldly math. It is not some sort of get-rich-quick scheme but our reward here on this side of eternity will far outweigh our loss.
That in and of itself is a tough way to go but Jesus stressed that that will not be all we get. Along with all of that will come persecution, as well (verse 31). That is what we get for going against the flow – the “flow” travelers being uncooperative and mean and…maybe even hostile.
The Apostle Paul, when writing to the Corinthian church penned these words,
But the natural [unbelieving] man does not accept the things [the teachings and revelations] of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness [absurd and illogical] to him; and he is incapable of understanding them, because they are spiritually discerned and appreciated, [and he is unqualified to judge spiritual matters]. 1 Corinthians 2:14 (AMP)
Those going with the flow just don’t understand why in the world we even consider going against the flow. But we do…and we must.
You may be bumped. You may be jostled. You may be hit – physically or verbally or emotionally. It’s going to happen but we are to love and not retaliate. Who knows who might be convinced to turn the other way if in our strivings we shine forth the love of Jesus? The more the merrier and the greater our reward will be!
June 6th, 2019, Thurs, 8:20 pm
Impossible… But…!
Father, sitting here I am thinking – the school year is complete, my bus has been cleaned and turned in and now, something I haven’t said in 33 years begins…summer break! I truly want to use it wisely. I want to have quality time with Karen, be it at work or play. And I also want to be used by You! Enable me to be a responsible steward with the generous gift I have been given. Amen.
Mark 10:23-27 (<<click to read the passage)
It’s hard! …but it’s not impossible. In today’s passage, the focus is on “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” v.23
The note from the Amplified Bible helps us understand why the disciples were “amazed” and “astounded” at what Jesus said.
What Jesus said ran contrary to the conventional wisdom among the Jews (and other ancient peoples). It was commonly thought that wealthy people who did their duty financially to the poor and their community were assured entry into the kingdom of God.
Once again, the reality of living in the Kingdom of God puts socially accepted mindsets on its ear! But it is important to understand that we are not just talking about wealth here. The disciples asked, “Then who in the world can be saved?” v.26
In essence, if the rich aren’t guaranteed a spot in God’s Kingdom then is there hope for anyone? And here is the point we need to latch onto. “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” v.27
As I have journeyed with Jesus over the last few years, in particular, I have come to realize more and more that humanly speaking it is truly impossible to live this life He has called us to. We are no more capable of a positive outcome than the Jews were who strove to fulfill the many requirements of the Law. It’s impossible.
“But…not with God.” And here, we all need to shout a resounding, “Praise God!” For “everything is possible with God”!
No matter how hard I try, I – in and of myself – will fail. I am not strong enough. I am not wise enough. My love is too limited – it is too shallow and too easily drained! But…not with God! He is all-powerful (omnipotent) and all-knowing (omniscient) and He is not just loving He IS Love! And when we give ourselves over to Him, He graciously and generously gives us of Himself.
Lord Jesus, You want me to depend upon You. You want me to lean on You. You want me to stop striving to do it all by myself. You are my yoke-brother – You have all the experience and the know-how and I just need to slip beside You and learn from the Master! Amen and amen!
June 5th, 2019, Tues, 6:03 pm
Aghast!
An old school chorus popped in my head this morning Father – all praise to You!
What a mighty God we serve
what a mighty God we serve
Angels bow before Him
Heaven and earth adore Him
What a mighty God we serve.
Mark 10:17-22 (<<click to read the passage)
I don’t understand why but it seems that in life quite often things come easy for certain people and for others it seems nothing comes easy. As I read this passage this young man seems to be of the former category.
He was not snooty but was quite respectful and polite. But the way he asked his question of Jesus, you just get the feeling that he expected Jesus to give him a simple answer and that he would go do whatever it was and he’d be in. He was a good guy. He did the right things, said the right things – it all was naturally easy for him.
Even with Jesus’ initial response about keeping the commandments, I’m sure in his mind he was thinking, ”Yeah, I’ve got this. I’ve worked hard and been diligent in all the right areas since I was a kid.” He wasn’t haughty about it – it was just a matter of fact. It’s who he was; it’s how he lived his life.
And Jesus loved him for who he was – Jesus loves us all for who we are! But He also knows who we are and because of that, He can get right to the heart of our issues. Jesus says to him,
“You lack one thing: go and sell all your property and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have [abundant] treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].” v21b AMP
Jesus might as well have slapped him across the face! He was aghast! His one vice, the one thing he couldn’t let go of…it was his security line! He may have been a good commandment keeper but my Life Application Study Bible says, “Ironically, his attitude made him unable to keep the first commandment: to let nothing be more important than God (Exodus 20:3). He could not meet the one requirement Jesus gave –to turn his whole heart and life over to God. The man came to Jesus wondering what he could: he left seeing what he was unable to do.”
Lord Jesus, I know that You love me for who I am but I also realize that You know who I am as well. May I never let anything come between us. I feel I have given my whole heart and life over to You but I also realize that I am a work in progress. I feel I am where You want me to be but it’s not yet where You want me to be. In Your strong and mighty Name, I ask these things. Amen.
June 4th, 2019, Tues, 10:33 am
Proper Perspective
Father, we are so close to wrapping things up for this school year. Transition can be difficult but it is necessary, regardless. May I make the most of it and may children, teachers, families and all the many school employees do the same. Draw us all to You, for truly you are our only hope. Amen.
Mark 10:13-16 (<<click to read the passage)
Sometimes I look back and wonder if I used my time wisely. I wonder did I place the proper amount of emphasis on things that were truly important and hopefully did not place a disproportionate amount of time on things that were less so.
I love my son dearly but, by no means, would I consider myself the perfect father. As Massey got into his Middle School years, I feel the Lord really got through to me concerning what was important and not important in our interactions.
As I’ve gotten “more seasoned” I have come to understand that so many of the things that stressed me out as a young father were, in the scheme of things, worthless. “What will others think? Oh, he’s embarrassing me! He’s old enough to know better!” So, so many times my heart and mind were more focused on myself than on helping him to grow and become a better person – the person that the Lord was molding him to be. I think that that is what the Lord did for me – He helped me to focus my perception on what was actually important in loving Massey into the man he has become
Jesus knew what was important. I love this paragraph from my Life Application Study Bible,
“Jesus was often criticized for spending too much time with the wrong people – children, tax collectors, and sinners. Some, including the disciples, thought Jesus should be spending more time with important leaders and the devout because this was the way to improve his position and avoid criticism. But Jesus didn’t need to improve his position. He was God, and he wanted to speak to those who needed him most.”
Lord Jesus, enable me to maintain my focus on the proper perspective in all aspects of where life finds me. May I see past what the world defines as important and see clearly what You see is truly important. May I listen and feel and love as only You can for You and You alone are at the core of what is genuinely imperative. Amen.
June 3rd, 2019, Mon, 5:04 pm