Snakes, Doves, Wolves and Today

S - Matthew 10:16-20 (NAS): ""Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. "But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. "But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.""

O - These verses contain one of the five realities which Jesus warns his followers to be on guard against: beware of humans.  It's the reason he sends us out to be both shrewd and innocent.  People can be wolves.  It is also the reason to not worry about what one will say when surrounded like a sheep by wolves.  Jesus is informing us of the specific realities which are at work; and certainly ravenous and wicked humans is one of them but it is not the most important one.  The Father, God Almighty, is with us and will himself speak through us if we won't let worry or fear become a chokepoint for the flow of his irrepressible Spirit. In fact, it is that same spirit which enables us to be BOTH shrewd (not the same as skeptical) and innocent (not the same as naïve). This is how Jesus lived on our earth.  How he navigated each day and each circumstance with people from the least influential to the most; when he was with those who held no earthly powers and with those who held the power of bodily life and death.  The Father sent Jesus out and we too have been sent out … the same way. "So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." (John 20:21).

A - Today Jesus is not only sending me/us out … he's expecting us to go.  Regardless of the known and unknown territory we face in any given day, some things will not change.  There will always be wolves and we should always be his sheep.  As Psalm 23 points out, no matter where he leads we should/must follow.  The good news is that he is closer than we think; ready to help, encourage and lead.  Childlike is not childish.  Today, I am confident and ready to follow because he is with me, near me, for me and won't change his mind. Today, no matter who or what I face I will follow and the irrepressible life, love, truth and beauty that is Jesus will be flowing to me and through me.  Come what may, today is going to be a great day.

P - Lord who sends us out,

Thank for not sending us out on our own but for leading us out so that as you lived in the Father and worked with him we too may live in you and work with you.  Thanks for NOT wanting us to work for you, only with you.  Today I want to follow you and work with you in that which you've already decided to do.  I will be aware that wolves are always near and that you are nearer still.  Let me live in you so that perhaps I might be a reason another would believe.

I love you back,

Steve

"This Bud's for You" … for Me?

S - Matthew 11:25-30 (NAS): "At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.” Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.""

O - Advertising is really all about the concept not the person … the illusion of personal interest, concern, assistance is communicated in concept and the hope is that the individual can be "sold" as a result.  I mean, does Anheuser-Busch really think about me when producing Budweiser?  Is my name whispered down the assembly line at some point in the production run of 300 million barrels per year?  Jesus is a person not a concept.  The concept of Jesus has no power or authority.  It will not bring rest to a soul or lift the load one is carrying.  Jesus the person will do all of this and more.  Like advertising, religion, philosophy, pop-culture and literature all engage the concept … heaven is inviting all of earth to embrace the person who is whispering our names and thinking of us day by day. Children don't respond to concepts they respond to people.  They don't angle they ask.  They say what they want or think not what they think they should say according to culture's current axiom. The person Jesus is offering us all the person to person exchange which transforms.  He is not offering a concept but himself; he is not inviting us to a new and improved version of self-help … he is offering help, hope, friendship and life which is vibrant, irrepressible and refreshing.

A - The prayer and invitation of Jesus above are all about person to person realities.  Today, he doesn't want me to navigate the hours and circumstances it holds by the thought of a concept but in the reality of a person, his presence and ongoing relationship.  He's not calling me to a concept, a worldview, a principle, promise or task … He's calling me to himself and today I will turn to him, follow and stay near. Forget advertising … Jesus is for us/me and with us and I'm with him.

P - Lord who really is near,

Today I choose to be little so I won't miss you and your awesome presence.  Today I choose to refuse conceptual existence and embrace the reality which is dependent upon you in every way … except my willingness to agree with you.  The truth is I am little and weak on by best day and on by best day I see through a dark glass dimly.  I am forever grateful that you are asking for me just as I am and offering yourself to me as you really are … unto light loads, well-fitted connections and the rest and refreshing of the life that is really life.

Saying yes to your person,

Steve

Leaning is Unavoidable--the Choice is Upon What or Whom

S - Matthew 28:18a, 19a, 20b (TLJ): "All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me. So go and make followers of all people in the world. … You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of time."

O - All authority. All people in all nations. With us always.  These are the universals which do not change.  They encompass the whole and are dependent upon only one reality.  The person of Jesus.  Jesus has all authority.  Jesus wants all people.  Jesus is with us always.  The person of Jesus has always been the point of heaven's activity from creation to the end of the age and beyond.  Jesus is the Gospel. He is the exact representation of the Father's person and it is his person and his presence which is the essential factor in all of these "all statements."  Presence not theology.  Presence not methodology.  Presence not psychology.  Presence not religion. Presence not organization, resources, skills or capacities.  He has called us to make followers of his person not followers of others who represent him. Jesus the concept has no presence and no authority.  Jesus the person is a presence and has all authority.  He, not the concept of his being, will forever be with those who believe--starting now. Matthew 18:20: "For where two or three come together in my  name [the person], there am I with them [his presence not a concept]."

A - The problem is that I've been taught to rely (lean) on the concept of Jesus rather than the person. Jesus' call to all is not primarily a call to mission but a call to himself. Simply and straightforward he says 'follow me  … and I will make you …'.  Humans take control of the concept of Jesus and develop authorities which function exactly like the institutions of this age which are coming to nothing.  Heaven has given us the person of Jesus who functions like heaven on earth and is everything last will last forever.  Today, I will lean into presence not resource, information, skill, capacities or methods.  Today, I will be a follower of Jesus the person and hope to be made into one who might be a reason that others would believe HIM.

P - God Almighty,

You gave Jesus all authority and you give Jesus to all the world … Jesus the person not Jesus the concept.  I am asking you to please help me to see, know, believe, love and follow him.  Lord Jesus, I accept and welcome your presence and your authority over all things and all beings.  I want you to be the distinguishing feature of my very little life.  Today, I admit the purpose of following you and you making/transforming me.  Today I engage the assignment to love you back with my all, no matter how little or pathetic and to love all others as myself. I will turn to you the face and take up to work of believing … believing you the person not the concept. I do love you back and thank you for wanting to be with us and for us to live in you.

Not leaning on my own understanding,

Steve

How's Work?

S - Luke 17:14-19 (TLJ): "When Jesus saw the men, he said, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." While the ten men were going to the priests, they were healed. When one of them saw that he was healed, he went back to Jesus. He praised God loudly. He bowed at Jesus' feet and thanked him. (He was a Samaritan). Jesus said, "Ten men were healed; where are the other nine? This man is not even one of our people. Is he the only one who came back to give praise to God?" Then Jesus said to the man, "Stand up! You can go. You were healed because you believed.""

O - Jesus identified only one factor in the healing of all ten -- "because you believed."  Their belief was a motivator for their request, their starting out to show themselves to the priests and the beautiful discovery of their healed bodies.  Faith, not pedigree, theological acumen, religious standing or personal disciplines was and is the focus.  Faith is essential not in volume but in focus (Jesus) and consistency (from first to last).  Jesus' coaching of Jairus is applicable for us all "Don't be afraid, merely believe."

A - There are many fears and many sources for fear.  Faith has one source (God's grace - Ephesians 2:8-9) and one focus (Jesus - John 6:28-29). Mustard seed sized faith pleases God and makes all things possible to the one believing.  When fears are hounding and howling … faith is work.  When circumstances challenge and my expectations of how things should be going disintegrate faith is work. The ten lepers worked through it all and received.  One returned to give thanks and an affirmation which would inspire him forever.  Today, I get to do the work of believing according to grace … and everything becomes possible (I can hear Snow White's seven friends singing in the background…).

P - Jesus,

Thank you that my/our primary work is generated according to grace and focused exclusively on your person so that every day all things would stay possible for those who believe.  Lord, I believe … help my unbelief.  Thank you that successful faith is not about volume but your person; it is not about getting but following your directions all the way through.  Today, I want to please you by faith and love you back by following.  Today I ask for new wineskins, mulberry trees in the ocean and that which is too wonderful for me.

All my love,

Steve

Don't be Stupid, Connect the Dots

S - Mark 6:46-52 (NIV): "After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 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 - How did the disciples miss the obvious implications of Jesus' person and power via the loaves and fishes?  While walking on water is amazing, the text says they were "completely amazed" … which came only after being completely terrified. The Greek for completely amazed indicates an extreme which borders on insanity.  The term for hardened means to petrify or be calloused, to make stupid. The word for "understood" (sunivhmi: to set or bring together, to comprehend ) tells us they failed to connect the dots.  So, what was it that hardened their hearts and resulted in them missing this? Scripture does not tell us but I'm wondering if it was, at least in part, our constant assessing of possibility and probability; the degrees of difficulty.  The feeding of the five thousand was certainly improbable and difficult but walking on water would be exponentially more difficult.  Jesus doesn't think that way at all.  "Everything is possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23)."

A - This shows me (again) that even when thinking "theologically" I can have in mind the things of humans rather than the things of God.  I do assess degrees of difficulty and probability.  I do think about inevitabilities and how things work on earth, the patterns of occurrence.  It's not that I need to deny the normal workings on this planet, it is that I need to NOT be limited by them in my thinking, believing, praying, loving, acting and speaking because of Jesus and in my relationship with Jesus.  Today, with God all things are possible.  Today, as a recipient of so many miraculous happenings, I need to start with Jesus and keep my little mind and heart near him for whom nothing is too difficult, impossible or too wonderful.  He says to me and to all "don't be afraid, merely believe."  I say to me and to all don't be stupid, connect the dots J.

P - Lord of all and Lord of me,

Thank you for your willingness to keep acting, to keep loving, to keep showing mercy even when I fail to connect the dots.  Thank you for always remembering that I am frail as breath and just dust and for never forgetting to be merciful.  Today I need to think differently, to change the way I think because you are near!  Lord, help me start and stay in that nearness and beauty where everything is possible even when things aren't going as I had hoped because you are yet working everything for good.  I admit that you are purposeful in everything you cause AND in everything you allow.  Lord Jesus, today while it is called today I get to/need to change my thinking because you and your kingdom are near.

Looking for dots to connect,

Steve

Same Words--Very Different Conclusions

S - Matthew 16:21-27 (NIV): "From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done."

O - How can Jesus tell Peter he doesn't have in mind the things of God?  Peter has in mind justice, Christology, his love for Jesus, the greatness and worth of Jesus to name just a little of the inspiration which must have been working in "the Rock" who had received the Father's revelation about Jesus' true identity (cf. Matthew 16:15-20).  All of this and more Jesus dismisses as "the things of men" because it was all assimilated and concluded as earth thinks and acts not as heaven does.  The remedy for this tragic misunderstanding is as sure as the way this earth will end. We must lose our lives for them to be found, we must learn to think like heaven and not earth; and Jesus will come back in his Father's glory. Stephen Covey got it right "begin with the end in view."

A - This is the point for me every day and in each circumstance … will I have in mind the things of men with a religious or "spiritual" overlay OR will I have in mind the things of God … the God whose kingdom is at hand and who calls me to change the way I think because of it?  If I will lose my life he will find it.  If I will lay it down he will take it up and fill it with his irrepressible life.  If I will keep in mind the things of God by thinking, acting, loving and speaking like Jesus then I will avoid the tragic miscue of using the words without embracing their meaning.  Today, I will believe by following as Jesus instructs and leads.

P - Lord who is coming and is here right now,

Today is my only venue to love you back, grow, know you more, make you glad and be a reason someone else might believe.  Lord, today is your crafted gift to me and to the whole world and so I say heal my eyes, enable me to  open my heart and mind and let me follow so that your life will come into me and your life flow out of me. I ask, I seek, I knock according to new wineskins, mulberry trees in the ocean and that which is too wonderful for me.

Asking to think, speak, act and love like you,

Steve

Flowers for a Wedding or a Funeral?

S - Matthew 6:25-34 (TLJ): "Look at the wildflowers in the field. See how they grow. They don't work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that even Solomon, the great and rich king, was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers.  If God makes what grows in the field so beautiful, what do you think he will do for you? It's just grass--one day it's alive, and the next day someone throws it into a fire. But God cares enough to make it beautiful. Surely he will do much more for you. Your faith is so small! Don't worry and say, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' That's what those people who don't know God are always thinking about. Don't worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. What you should want most is God's kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these others things you need.  So don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries."

O - The trouble with this teaching is multifaceted. First of all, culture (secular and religious) teaches, insists, affirms, threatens and punishes all based on worrying about all the things Jesus says to not worry about. It's discovered it can, all on its own, TAKE the things Jesus says the Father is very willing to give.  Secondly, worry-inspired thinking and living can accumulate these things in vast quantities and even claim God's blessing and help in such undertakings.  Jesus, on the other hand, says that's exactly how people who don't know God act. The issue is ultimately NOT one of provision but of loyalty and devotion. He begins these observations with the truth (Matthew 6:24): "You cannot serve two masters at the same time. You will hate one and love the other, or you will be loyal to one and not care about the other. You cannot serve God and Money at the same time." Lastly, Jesus asks the question: "what do you think he [God] will do for you?" The culture of worry demands an uncompromising conclusion--nothing … God will not do for you what you can do for yourself. The result? Not only do we worry, we teach and affirm it; we don't want what God wants most and we deceive ourselves that we really can ignore the words of Jesus and still be his followers.

A - In my culture beautiful flowers are in attendance for both funerals and weddings.  The flowers are the same but the occasions they mark are extremely different. One is death the other life.  One is a conclusive conclusion while the other is a hope-filled beginning.  Jesus identifies for me that each day is already occasioned with flowers from God … and I choose the type of occasion the day will be.  My living and worrying or not worrying (not my talking and religious observances) reveal if my day (even amidst great abundance) is a funeral or a wedding procession; if I will live out the fierce personal loyalty God offers and deserves or if I will live out a diverted and perverted devotion. I really can't serve God and what I eat, wear or store up. Today, I am going to trust (fierce personal loyalty); engage the work of believing, the focus of following and the joy of a wedding procession.  

P - Lord who makes all things beautiful,

Today I want to thank you for sending flowers … and for letting me choose their place in the procession of this day. Lord, I choose life and wedding according to your greatness and grace. Today I want to live out loud the fierce personal loyalty you deserve; to refuse the worry my world insists I accept and to accept the joy of your will on earth like it happens in heaven … unto undivided devotion to you and daily bread.  Cause your life, irrepressible and vibrant, to come into and out of me.  Please let me be a reason another might believe.

Loving you back and thinking about all you will do,

Steve