Don’t Settle
A wonderful weekend of celebrating birthdays with family and friends – from 2 to 90! Thank You, Father, for opportunities to come together and enjoy the wonderful parts of life! Bless both of these ladies!
Mark 6:53-56 (<<click to read the passage)
It makes you think. Just in this short passage of Scripture many people’s lives were changed. In fact, it explicitly states that all who touched him – literally touched the fringe of his robe – were healed. v56
Clearly, Jesus had the power. He could do absolutely anything with that power that He desired. And wouldn’t you think that there would have to have been a modicum of faith for their healing to take place?
But here is what makes me think. All these people, who came into physical contact with Jesus, they saw him (even if at first there were blind!) They touched him! They experienced Emmanuel – God with us! But…and it is worthy of pause…did they allow Him to do anything more than have a physical impact upon them? Or did they just grab and go? They got what they wanted and they didn’t need Him any longer.
We have the living Lord at our disposal 24/7/365. There is no one, nowhere, at no time that cannot call upon the Lord and they will be saved. But what do we do after that contact? Do we move on? Do we just take what we got and forget what He has done for us…the life-changing things that He does for all of us!?
I would hope that some didn’t just take off with the gift of life that they had received but that there must have been some that followed…some, who believed. Because there is so much more to a relationship with Jesus than those gifts that we place such a high value on. Vision, speaking, walking, no disease, no blood issues…being healed from all that ails is wonderful! But knowing the Healer, now there is the true blessing. Because at some point these fragile jars of clay in which we live can no longer be fixed. Eventually, they cease to exist. And then what?
Matthew, in his Gospel, quotes Jesus as saying,
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:19-21
Prepare for the eternal…don’t settle for the here and now.
April 7th, 2019, Sun, 5:29 pm
I AM!
Thank You, Father, for enabling me to get so much accomplished for this Sunday’s worship service today. It is later that I like coming beside You but I am here and I know that You are always here. Please, speak to me what You would have me hear. Amen.
Mark 6:45-52 (<<click to read the passage)
Over the years I have read this passage many times. But in reading today, the footnotes of my study Bible point out something I have never seen before. (Isn’t it awesome how, though thousands of years old, God’s Word speaks to us new and fresh!)
The end of verse 50 states,
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here!”
In the Old Testament when Moses was protesting God’s sending him to the nation of Israel which was enslaved in Egypt he said,
“If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”
God replied to Moses, “I am who I am. Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.” Exodus 13 14
God is the Great I Am and in this 50th verse of Mark 6, Jesus proclaims,
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here!”
In the original Greek it reads “I am” or “The ‘I am’ is here”!
Now the end of this passage in Mark 6 goes on to say,
They were totally amazed, for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in. vs.51b-52
Jesus was literally the Son of God – He was God! And they just couldn’t wrap their minds around that! Even though at this point, the evidence of Your deity was quickly adding up for Your apostles but for them, it was way past 1+1=2! And for any that have struggled with advanced mathematics, sometimes it just does add up!
Lord Jesus, would we be any different? Are we any different? As we talked about a couple of days ago, You took 5 loaves and 2 fish and fed 5,000 men plus the women and children! We don’t readily process that kind of stuff! May we see Your mighty hand at work in our lives and in the lives of those around us! Most of all, may we see it for what it really is – the God of the Universe, our Savior, and Lord reaching down and touching us with Your almighty power! It’s there if we will just see it and believe it!
Apr 4th, 2019, Thurs, 7:24 pm
A Love that Sticks Out
It seems strange in that it came to mind while on my morning route but, Father, peace is the word. I begin my route before sunrise and as I move along bit by bit the sun breaks the horizon. And to me, it signals peace, a new slate with which to start – everything is new. Thank You, Father, for a fresh start each day.
************
One thing that I think that unbelievers think about believers is that our lives are totally encased in the church and that our faith may not really apply to other areas of our lives.
As I was reading through some of the things about George Müller, yesterday, I came across a very interesting quote.
At his wife Mary’s funeral, Müller’s loving words also represent a good example of the joy God gives when ministry and family priorities are balanced:
Were we happy? Verily we were.
With every year our happiness increased more and more. I never saw my beloved wife at any time, when I met her unexpectantly anywhere in Bristol, England, without being delighted so to do. Day by day, as we met in our dressing room, at the Orphan Houses, to wash our hands before dinner and tea, I was delighted to meet her, and she was equally pleased to see me. Thousands of times I told her, “My darling, I never saw you at any time, since you became my wife, without my being delighted to see you.”
I dearly love my wife, Karen! And I would not hesitate for a moment to say the same thing in regards to her!
Last month she was on bus duty – basically, she stood at the doors exiting the building to the lot where all the kids get on their buses to go home making sure they were doing what they were supposed to be doing. Anyway, there was not a single instance that my heart didn’t skip a beat when I saw her step outside those doors!
When I come home after my route, no matter what else is going on, we share a hug and a kiss!
I love just being with her! I like to run around with her. I like to eat with her. I like to shop with her! I love it when she can go on hospital calls with me! I even like to buy groceries with her! Now obviously those are not all fun and exciting things to do but the idea is we get to do them together!
God has truly blessed me with a soul-companion – a help-mate beyond my wildest dreams! I do not know what the future may hold for us but I will truly cherish every moment that we may have together!
Lord Jesus, I pray for the many couples who may read this post today. May our love go ever deeper, ever wider. May our love for one another be a true extension of Your love for us! May we have a love that sticks out from all the other loves around us! May it be genuine and real! Amen.
Apr 3rd, 2019, Wed, 11:20 am
Bread and Milk upon Request
Father, as I sit thinking of what my day will entail, I cannot help by think of the fact that I am just one of 7.7 billion people across this globe. I cannot even begin to fathom what their days will entail but You know it all! And You know each of us to the very core of our being! Thank You for loving me!
Mark 6:30-44 (<<click to read the passage)
I have referenced a gentleman by the name of George Müller, several times in my preaching. He lived and ministered throughout a good part of the 19th century. He traveled as an evangelist but he is known for establishing much-needed orphanages in England. One of the things that astonish me most was his utter and complete dependence upon God. Here is one well-known account of his faith.
“The children are dressed and ready for school. But there is no food for them to eat,” the housemother of the orphanage informed George Müller. George asked her to take the 300 children into the dining room and have them sit at the tables. He thanked God for the food and waited. George knew God would provide food for the children as he always did. Within minutes, a baker knocked on the door. “Mr. Mueller,” he said, “last night I could not sleep. Somehow, I knew that you would need bread this morning. I got up and baked three batches for you. I will bring it in.”
Soon, there was another knock at the door. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. The milk would spoil by the time the wheel was fixed. He asked George if he could use some free milk. George smiled as the milkman brought in ten large cans of milk. It was just enough for the 300 thirsty children.
********
Jesus is the Master of taking something small – or nothing at all for that matter! – and making something wonderful of it! He did it to feed 5,000 men plus women and children and He did it for George Müller over and over again. He has not changed one iota! He is there for us and our needs as well. Don’t hold back!
Lord Jesus, help us to believe that You will meet our needs. May we not be hesitant but emboldened to come to You and ask. May our faith grow ever greater! Amen!
April 2nd, 2019, Tue, 9:11 am
Best Laid Plans
Today, Father, has been a day just like many days before and I am sure many more days like it will come but that makes it no less a good day – a day where You are active and bring a vibrancy to life that would be sorely missing if You were absent. My life is so much more the richer! All praise to You, Holy Father!
Mark 6:30-32 (<<click to read the passage)
Sometimes things don’t go as we have planned.
According to, The Phrase Finder, a website from the United Kingdom the phrase, “the best laid plans (schemes) of mice and men” is from a poem by Scottish poet Robert Burns which he wrote in 1786. It tells of how he, while ploughing a field, upturned a mouse’s nest. The resulting poem is an apology to the mouse:
But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft a-gley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promised joy.
A little transliteration might be helpful,
But, Mousie, you aren’t alone
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Often go awry,
And leave us nought but grief and pain,
For promised joy.
In today’s passage, Jesus’ intent was for He and His apostles to get away for some time alone together for some much-needed rest. (Not everyone understands it but ministry, being used of God to touch others for Him, is very wearying. It truly takes a lot out of you.) That’s what Jesus wanted to do but it’s not what ended up happening. People found them – genuinely needy people – and Jesus’ heart went out to them. He couldn’t say “no”.
What about us? We need our rest, too, but in the middle of it all quite often “the best laid schemes…go awry”. And when that happens, just as our Lord and Savior did, we must drop what we were seeking after, at least temporarily and touch others for Him. Our hearts must go out to them, as well.
Lord Jesus, help us in the midst of the craziness of our lives to not miss opportunities to impact others around us with Your love and compassion – who knows the lives You will change through us! Amen!
Apr 1st, 2019, Mon, 7:06 pm