The Work of Believing

S - Acts 26:20,30-32 (NIV): "First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. … The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, "This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment." Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.""

O - Jesus calls us to not only think differently about sin but about everything because the Kingdom of Heaven in near.  This thinking produces more than a change in mental dynamics.  It inspires and ultimately insists on deeds in keeping with the change in thinking.  The term "deeds" is  ejvrgon: literally work.  It the same term used in Romans 8:28 assuring us that God is working everything for good. It includes the dynamics of toil, labor and action. The point? We're to be working to think and live according to the Kingdom which is near and the purposes God is working on earth.  I think Paul had to work at his thinking at the end of this  appearance before the authorities.  If the goal was Paul's freedom, then he just blew it big!  If only he hadn't appealed to Caesar.  However, the assignment, according to Jesus, was for Paul to get to Rome and speak there as well.  Hmmm … following Jesus requires everything, even this world's freedoms and rights.  Paul expresses no regret or remorse. Paul continues to work with Jesus; if it was only for Jesus he could have paid Felix the bribe and been off to whatever he thought best a couple of years earlier.  Instead, he's proving his repentance by his deeds … thinking like Jesus, speaking, living, loving, following like Jesus.  He's off to Rome to testify in keeping with God's will on earth like it happens in heaven.  Sometimes this repentance produces such ease in us … other times it requires our intense cooperation and focused work.  

A - Sometimes the work of repentance involves the toil of putting away activities which only produce death (i.e. sin).  Most of the time the work is the work of child-like thinking and living so I will not miss entering the Kingdom.  Or, it is the work of staying in the boundaries of today while it is called today.  The work of the life which is repenting (thinking differently because heaven is near) includes staying focused on the person and presence of Jesus not a plan, principle or even a promise.  The work includes keeping in mind the things of God rather than the things of well-intended humans.  I am working quite hard these last few days … and I do feel some fatigue (self-pity too)as a result.  I am working and thinking about today, believing, following, staying near, staying little and relying on the Lord's love.  I am leaning into him accepting the truth that we will do more than give me strength; but that he himself will be my strength.  Today, I will be little, work with Jesus and take my confidence from his presence and believe.

P - Lord,
Today I will be little by relying on your presence, not my resource, skill, information or history.  I will be little by being teachable unto to change, transformation and new wineskins.  I will be little today by defaulting to trust, to fierce personal loyalty, whenever I'm afraid, freaked out or even when I'm awesomely blessed.  I want to do the work of believing, and thinking like Jesus, loving like Jesus, acting and speaking like Jesus.  I turn to you the face and not the back and say, I love you back.  I welcome everything you want to do and will follow no matter where you lead. Please cause your life to come into me and out of me unto that which is too wonderful for me.
Steve 

The Only Known Remedy for Stupid

S - Mark 6:49-52 (NIV): "but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified.  Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened."

O - The closest friends Jesus had struggled (often without their knowing it) with hard hearts.  If their hearts had not been hard (pwrovw : to become calloused, petrified, to render stupid or blind) I wonder if would they have been less amazed, less terrified or both when he climbed in the boat? Frankly, when Jesus is "Jesusing" I think that we, in spite of our best hearted efforts, will often be amazed and terrified.  Perhaps the most essential question for followers of Jesus is more about is he still "Jesusing" in, around and through our lives?  He is the only remedy for the hardness of heart which produces the stupidity and blindness of a world (religious and secular) gone mad while claiming to be both sane and sound.  Jesus comes and tells us to change the way we think (repent), to open our hearts and minds to the nearness of God's kingdom and person and to welcome Jesus' presence, transforming power and miraculous activities on a day by day and moment by moment basis.  Maybe, if we get this right, we'll be less terrified and more amazed … either way we will be filled with and spilling over with the life that is really life here and hereafter.

A - I admit that my heart is a prime candidate for the same hardness described in this passage.  I can pass out the food, eat my fill, pick up the left overs and still not have an open and soft heart.  The beauty of being near Jesus is that he is not only fully aware he is fully prepared and wanting to see my heart being changed and transformed into the likeness of himself (Romans 8:29). So, when I'm terrified I need to take courage.  When I'm "helping with the chores" of following I need to pay attention.  Above all else I need to come near and stay near Jesus so that his Jesusing will not only take place around me or through me but in me.  He said … follow me and I will make you.  Today I am relying on him making me as he would have me to be according to his irrepressible and vibrant life.

P - Lord who lives and who freaks me out,
Thank you for wanting your life to live in me and thank you for freaking me out … for working in and through and around me. Thank you for calling me to not only join you in your work but for wanting to do your work in me unto the beauty of your image conformed and growing in me.  Today is my opportunity to be near, to believe, to follow and work with you in that which you already have in mind to do.  Thank you for always starting at love, leading with mercy and then addressing the facts of our lives.  Lord, I do love you back and I am saying yes to you … unto new wineskins, mulberry trees in the ocean and that which is too wonderful for me … and unto a heart that understands!
Asking for ongoing heart-help,
Steve

Pass the Bread, Hold the Yeast

S - Matthew 16:5-12 (NLT): "Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any food. “Watch out!" Jesus warned them. "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." They decided he was saying this because they hadn't brought any bread. Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said, "You have so little faith! Why are you worried about having no food? Won't you ever understand? Don't you remember the five thousand I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of food that were left over? Don't you remember the four thousand I fed with seven loaves, with baskets of food left over? How could you even think I was talking about food? So again I say, `Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.' “Then at last they understood that he wasn't speaking about yeast or bread but about the false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

O - Context is always important in determining and/or sharpening the content. In chapter fourteen Jesus, engaging the help of his disciples, feeds the five thousand families with five loaves and two fish and baskets of leftovers.  Then, in chapter fifteen and again with the direct involvement of his disciples, he feeds the four thousand families with seven loaves and a few fish again with baskets of left overs.  While time passes between these occurrences it is not weeks and weeks and here they go right back to bread.  The questions to those who are with him in his work:

1.       Why are you worried about having no food?

2.       Won't you ever understand?
3.       Don’t you remember… (baskets of food left over -- twice)?

4.       How could you even think I was talking about food?

These are still very valid and important questions for all believers and especially for all who work with the Lord.  However, they all turn on an assessment which Jesus makes and which precedes them all.  The assessment? "You have so little faith!"

A - While faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains it can also be unapplied, unengaged, missing the kingdom, the point and how life on earth with Jesus is to be lived.  It affects how we hear Jesus, how we think, what we're "willing to believe for" and how we live out our daily lives.  Jesus wants me/us to think like he does, speak, act, believe and love like he does - as the Father sent me so I am sending you.  The world, church and secular alike, will not encourage or support this mode of living.  My/our own fallen humanity will not gladly go this way … even though with him there is no reason to fear and no lack.  So, this day and in every way, with however much or little faith I may currently have, the work of God is to believe and this literally changes everything and changes me (my hearing, thinking, speaking, loving, acting, asking, believing).  How beautiful!  Pass the bread and get the yeast of the Pharisees out of here.

P - Lord,
This is the day … and every day begins the same way … with you all things are possible and the last thing you want any of us worried about is bread.  You are awesome and I believe.  I pray against the yeast of the Pharisees in me. I pray for the yeast of your kingdom in me.  I pray that today you will fill my eyes, mouth, mind, heart, hands, feet and spirit with faith so I can make you glad and live as you intend.  Lord, I remember all your provisions for us over all these years.  Lord, I remember your words, spoken and written and I believe them because I believe you.  Lord, I trust you will gladly and humbly live out the fierce personal loyalty you deserve.  Jesus, I love you back, need and want your help, and want to think, speak, act, love, believe and ask like you do.  Lord, thank you for letting me work with you and not merely for you.
How would you like to live and work today?
Steve

Not in a Million Years … Except Today

S - Jeremiah 42:3-12 (NLT): "Beg the LORD your God to show us what to do and where to go." "All right," Jeremiah replied. "I will pray to the LORD your God, and I will tell you everything he says. I will hide nothing from you." Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the LORD your God be a faithful witness against us if we refuse to obey whatever he tells us to do! Whether we like it or not, we will obey the LORD our God to whom we send you with our plea. For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us." Ten days later, the LORD gave his reply to Jeremiah. So he called for Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest. He said to them, "You sent me to the LORD, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply: `Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry for all the punishment I have had to bring upon you. Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore, says the LORD. For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power. I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.' "

O - The "unthinkable", though clearly predicted and warned about, has happened.  Jerusalem is in ruins and the invading Babylonians have set up their puppet regime and some crazy zealots have assassinated them.  This group in the text, this remnant, comes and begs for the word of the Lord, the Lord who has been talking to the people of Israel from Abraham on, to tell them what to do.  The Lord in his kindness answers.  They refuse to listen and run off to Egypt and their own demise.  What I observe here is that:

1.       They promise to obey.

2.       It takes ten days for the Lord to speak to Jeremiah.

3.       The Lord promises them rich blessing, protection and a secure future if they stay.

4.       They do not need to fear the King of Babylon … the one who ransacked and burned Jerusalem and the Temple, killed all of Zedekiah's sons in front of him, put out his eyes and then took him in chains to Babylon.

5.       The Lord will be merciful to them by making the King of Babylon be kind to them.

Apparently, all they really wanted was for Jeremiah to agree with the decision they'd already come to. They wanted their will to be God's will and if it wasn't their will would still prevail.  Things haven't changed so much from those ancient days to our 21st Century.

A - Of the many points this account reveals, it certainly underscores the working definition of faith.  Acts of obedience always precede the acts of God rather than acts of God followed by our promises to obey.  Faith relies on God and expresses the trust, the fierce personal loyalty, he deserves and offers.  Also, the length of time required to hear from the Lord is curious.  A ten day wait, which even in a slower time and season, is anything but immediate.  Finally, the Lord gives them the information they need and the reason they should comply … he will see that the ruthlessly brutal King of Babylon will be kind to them; after all he is the God of all the kings of the earth.  What?  Trust the Lord through the King of Babylon?  Faith says absolutely and reason and recent history say not in a million years.  Reason carried the day and sealed their sad and miserable fates.  With all I want to have changed today … today I lead with this plea: Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth, in me and through me, as it is in heaven.  I am living out the faith and history I've come to know in following  Jesus all these years … and come what may it remains acts of obedience followed by acts of God and if God doesn't act we'll be worse off for the wear and it will be apparent to all.

P - Lord of all,

Today is the day you have made.  You are engaged and purposeful not because I wish it but because you choose it.  Thank you for remembering me, for calling me to yourself and to work with you (not just for you).  I welcome you and your will and thank you for this new season and assignment.  I am trusting you through some folks … some known and some unknown to me but all known to you and under your sovereignty.  Please let my heart rise in faith and my mind stay focused on you … I will lean on you and NOT my own understanding.  Thank you for your awesome provision for us, your protection and the secure future we have because we belong to you not only by right but by grace.  Let your life, vibrant, refreshing and irrepressible come into me/us and splash out of me/us all day long.  Thank you for your defiant mercy, relentless love and unflickering forgiveness.  I seek you and ask for new wineskins, mulberry trees in the ocean and for that which is too wonderful for me.

Steve

Death Defying Prayers and Being Heard

S - Hebrews 5:7-10 (NLT): "While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could deliver him out of death. And God heard his prayers because of his reverence for God. So even though Jesus was God's Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. And God designated him to be a High Priest in the line of Melchizedek."

O - Jesus was heard not out of a position or status but because of his relational connection with God.  He wasn't heard because he was sinless (he was). He wasn't heard because he was perfect, flawless as a human (he was). He wasn't heard because he had a job to do for God (though he did).  He was heard as the Son, the one who is loved by the Father and who loves the Father back.  His love for the Father carried him to trust no matter what and to welcome his Father's will come what may.  His words to the twelve were (John 14:28-31, NLT): "Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really love me, you will be very happy for me, because now I can go to the Father, who is greater than I am. I have told you these things before they happen so that you will believe when they do happen. "I don't have much more time to talk to you, because the prince of this world approaches. He has no power over me, but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let's be going."

A - Trust, welcoming the Father's will … "come, let's be going."  This is pretty much it day by day.  I get to live out the relational reality of an adopted child.  I get to trust (fierce personal loyalty) and welcome God's will on earth as they do in heaven.  As I do, I pray and because I am loved I am heard (even if I do not receive that for which I've asked).  Obedience is not just something to "be done" but rather something to "be learned" which shapes us according to the image and likeness of God. In the suffering God is working everything for good (cf. Romans 8:28-29). He really is purposeful in everything he causes and in everything he allows.  When suffering is my/our portion (and at some point it is the portion for us all) my assignment is trust, welcome, pray … come on … let's be going and the going is WITH him and IN him regardless of the topography.

P - Lord who hears us because you love us,
I love you back!  I thank you for this day, this season and all it contains … even though there is pain aplenty.  Thank you for your fierce personal loyalty for every human being; that you would literally rather die than be without one of us.  Lord, I want to offer back to you my very little and limited version of fierce personal loyalty and to welcome all that you are doing and allowing even if I can't explain it, don't understand it or even like it much.  I'm in because I will go anywhere you are going.  I'm in because you are awesomely brilliant, limitless in power and extreme in your goodness … and you have loved me first, most and refused to change your mind.  I hope that the world will know that I love you, love the Father and love the Holy Spirit.  I'm not tough, but (kata karis - accoriding to grace) I am willing.  Okay, Lord, let's be going.
Steve